#9 - Section 9
“No, that’s not popular in the wizarding world!”
“He’s just an exception.”
The little witch next to Hermione put down her book to defend the wizarding world. Usually, it was only wizards who looked down on Muggles, and she couldn't let this idiot tarnish the reputation of pure-blood wizards.
She had already recognized who this little fatty was. Among pure-blood families, Neville's reputation was quite significant, though not in a positive way.
“Sorry, Trevor was a gift from my great-uncle when I was eight…”
Neville recounted his legendary experiences, which were essentially the arduous journey of awakening his magic. He nearly died several times, but ultimately succeeded and was rewarded with the toad Trevor.
Hermione, listening from the side, was dumbfounded, not expecting the wizarding world to be so wild.
“Are you sure your great-uncle gave you the toad out of joy, and not some other emotion?”
Ethan was curious about this.
Although the thing was called a toad in Britain, toads weren't exactly a great choice as pets.
Hogwarts allowed students to bring owls, toads, and rats to school, but the main purpose of toads was that parts of their bodies could be used as medicinal ingredients, while rats were test subjects for spells and potions. Only a small number were actually kept as pets, and the reason they could be brought was because they weren't very dangerous.
The Weasley family used rats as pets because they were poor and couldn't afford other pets. If they could afford an owl, would they still want a rat?
Just like Percy, after becoming a prefect, he received an owl as a reward and immediately gave the rat to Ron.
The Weasley family was poor, but the Longbottom family wasn't. You could tell from the Remembrall Neville's grandmother sent him that it was definitely not a cheap alchemical product, and might even have been custom-made for Neville.
“Probably! I’ve always been a bit clumsy, so I might get sent back from Hogwarts… I…”
As he spoke, Neville fell into an emo state. He had always felt very inferior, believing he had no talent at all, and perhaps none of the four houses would want him.
Hermione glanced at Ethan, speechless, as if saying, 'Look what you've done.'
Another young wizard also scratched the fine hair on her forehead, feeling that the glory of pure-blood wizards was about to be ruined by him.
“Since you’ve received your acceptance letter, there’s no chance of being sent back.”
Ethan reassured him, which was also the truth.
If Neville hadn't been hit with a Memory Charm, he would definitely have been an extremely talented wizard, or rather, the prophecy of the savior wasn't just about Harry alone, but a prophecy for two people.
Without Neville's crucial sword strike against Nagini, Harry wouldn't have been able to achieve the final victory. The two were indispensable.
“Really?”
Neville perked up a bit.
“Of course. Have you ever heard of anyone receiving an acceptance letter and then failing to enroll?”
Ethan shrugged, saying matter-of-factly.
The only person Ethan knew who was not allowed to enroll and was expelled was a Squib.
He didn't receive an acceptance letter but broke into Hogwarts on the day of enrollment and stole the Sorting Hat from other young wizards, but the Sorting Hat told him he had no magical talent and could not become a student at Hogwarts.
“Neville Longbottom!”
Facing Ethan, Neville solemnly stated his name.
Over the years, the other people his age he had encountered had all mocked and scorned him. Only a handful had offered him kind comfort.
“Ethan, Adrian!”
Ethan also responded.
“Hermione Granger!”
Hermione said with a smile.
“Cassandra Voleur, the future pride of Slytherin!”
Cassandra proudly raised her head and declared.
“Are you a Slytherin student?”
Hermione asked hesitantly.
She had always thought that everyone present was the same age, and through the knowledge she had gained from wizarding books during this summer, she didn't like Slytherin.
“No, I’m also a first-year this year, but I will definitely go to Slytherin.”
Cassandra was very certain about this.
So that's who she is!
A character from the game, but the timeline seems a bit off.
Chapter 16: A Battle of Magic
“You guys were born into wizarding families, so you should have been exposed to magic since childhood. Can you show me some?”
Hermione had both anticipation and fear for her upcoming life at Hogwarts.
She had always been a top student since she was a child, and had never had any problems with her studies, which had cultivated her strong competitive spirit.
The only time she had been defeated was at Ethan's hands. Now, after studying hard during this time, Hermione believed that she would definitely not be worse than Ethan if they competed again.
However, Hermione had no confidence in magic. It was still somewhat difficult to learn magic on her own without anyone teaching her. Over the summer, Hermione had only learned three spells: the Lumos Charm, the Alohomora Charm, and the Reparo Charm.
Because of this, she was very worried that she would not be able to keep up with the teaching progress at Hogwarts, and would be left far behind by those children who had lived in wizarding families since childhood, becoming a so-called underachiever.
Now that she had the opportunity, she wanted to see what level the children who grew up in wizarding families were at, so that she could plan and prepare for her future academic career.
“This…”
Neville stammered, unable to speak, not knowing how to answer.
He had seen magic, and saw it every day, but perform it? Sorry, he really couldn't do it.
Pfft!
Ethan couldn't help but laugh. Hermione pressed on relentlessly, while Neville cowered and couldn't say a word.
“What are you laughing at?”
“I’m not laughing at anything!”
Ethan spread his hands, putting on an innocent look.
“I’ll show you what real magic is.”
Cassandra stood up. Although she didn't think much of Neville, and even less of Hermione, a Muggle-born wizard, she didn't even want to interact with them too much.
But in the end, Cassandra was still an eleven-year-old child, and showing off her strengths to attract attention was a common trait.
Under the gaze of Ethan and the others, Cassandra elegantly drew her wand and pointed it into the void.
"Incendio!"
As the words fell, scorching orange-red flames spewed from the tip of the wand, forming a tiny vortex in mid-air that lingered for a long time.
After doing all this, Cassandra looked towards Ethan with some arrogance.
In her opinion, only Ethan was worthy of a second glance.
Ethan should be a half-blood wizard, after all, she knew all the pure-blood wizarding families of Great Britain.
She had never heard of the surname Adriane.
In addition, Ethan's purchase of books last time, spending more than a hundred Galleons at once, did not fit the characteristics of a Muggle family.
Eliminating all the wrong answers, there was only one result left.
"That's the Fire-Making Spell, right? I've tried so many times without success."
Hermione stood up abruptly, her eyes fixed on Cassandra's Fire-Making Spell.
As expected, students from wizarding families are far ahead of me in progress.
Ignoring the excited Hermione, Cassandra stared at Ethan and said seriously:
"What spells have you learned during this time?"
It was because of Ethan that she had additionally purchased textbooks for higher grades and studied desperately during this time, in order to surpass Ethan and become the brightest star in Slytherin, or even Hogwarts.
She just didn't know what Ethan's talent was like. Diligence and hard work could make her pay a little attention, but if his talent was not good, he would not be qualified to be her opponent at all.
"Incendio!"
The exact same spell was cast from Ethan's hand, and even the size of the flame vortex was the same as Cassandra's.
Although Ethan hadn't delved into the Fire-Making Spell during this time, wasn't it something you could learn just by watching?
Coupled with his good magic control ability and the thicker magic power than ordinary young wizards, Ethan could easily achieve this step.
Even if his proficiency in the Fire-Making Spell might not be as high as Cassandra's, he could still achieve the same effect.
"Ethan, you can do it too?"
Hermione widened her eyes, feeling a little unbelievable.
Although she had lost to Ethan before, this was a new track in terms of magic, and she didn't expect to lose again.
Cassandra's lips curled up slightly. It was only interesting this way. If Ethan was a mediocre person without any talent, it would be really boring.
Immediately, Cassandra flicked the wand in her hand, and the flame in mid-air seemed to come alive, turning into a fire snake and pouncing towards Ethan, as if to swallow Ethan's flame in one bite.
She wanted to use this method to tell Ethan that she was the most outstanding one.
But reality is often cruel. The moment the two Fire-Making Spells came into contact, Cassandra's side began to collapse.
Because they were in the carriage, neither of them dared to expand the fire, and in the end, Cassandra could only watch Ethan's flame come to about thirty centimeters in front of her before dissipating.
Although the form of expression was flame, it ultimately relied on magic. Now there were no combustibles, and it was not Fiendfyre, an inextinguishable flame born in destructive emotions.
In the end, what was being compared was the operation of the Fire-Making Spell and magic power.
"Ethan, we were both born from Muggles, and we haven't been exposed to magic before. How did you do it?"
Asking if you don't understand is not shameful. Hermione can only admit that whether in the wizarding world or the Muggle world, she is not as good as Ethan.
"We geniuses are just like that!"
Ethan showed a cheeky expression and said in a cheap way.
"You must have some learning skills, can you teach me!"
In order not to be a poor student, in order to graduate from Hogwarts smoothly, Hermione decided to go all out.
She was also considered a genius in the Muggle world!
Why can't she do it!
Hermione can only tell herself that this is just because no one is teaching her, and she can't master the wizarding way of learning.
"Wait, you said he was born from Muggles?"
Cassandra interrupted the conversation between the two, looking at Ethan with some surprise.
"Yes, I know him."
Hermione nodded affirmatively.
"I lost this competition, but this is not the right occasion. Next time, I will definitely win."
As the pride of the family, the genius in other people's mouths, Cassandra did not think that she was inferior to Ethan. If she could let go of the competition, the victory would definitely be hers.
Chapter 17: Malfoy Gets Beaten Up Again and Again
Under Hermione's entanglement, Ethan talked about some tips for casting spells, such as the gestures of waving the wand when chanting spells, how to control the output of magic power, and so on.
Neville would also occasionally talk about some things in the wizarding world, and Ethan and Hermione also had some things they wanted to ask Neville, a local resident of the wizarding world.
Cassandra on the side didn't say a word, still holding a book and reading, but it could be seen from the book that hadn't been turned for a long time that her attention was not on the book at all.
The atmosphere in the car was also good, and at lunchtime, everyone took out their lunches and then bought some food from the salesman. Everyone had money, even Hermione still had some Galleons.
Time passed in the chatting of several people, until the sky darkened.
With such a short distance, after a day's ride, Ethan couldn't chat anymore, and he was a little drowsy looking at the scenery outside the window.
"It seems like there's a fight next door."
After a piercing scream.
