The brown-haired girl, whose appearance was rather ordinary, introduced herself as Marietta. She was a pure-blood witch and seemed quite proud of her mother, who worked at the Ministry of Magic.
The silver-haired girl, who resembled a delicate porcelain doll, was named Eve. She was from Denmark and came from a Muggle family that had been non-magical for five generations—except for her.
Nolan couldn't help but suspect that Eve's mother might not have been entirely virtuous, but such speculations were inappropriate, so he dismissed the thought.
The three girls chatted animatedly throughout the journey, with most of the discussion revolving around the Hogwarts Sorting Ceremony. They debated which house was the best. Marietta expressed her desire to join Ravenclaw, as her mother had been a Ravenclaw herself.
Cho Chang declared, "Merlin's beard! As long as it's not Hufflepuff, I don't care where I end up. Oh...but preferably not Slytherin. They say if you're not a pure-blood in Slytherin, you'll get bullied. That house has such a bad reputation!"
Eve, on the other hand, was more pessimistic. She fiddled with her wand gloomily. Among the four of them, she was the only one completely ignorant of the magical world. She had also noticed she couldn't even perform a simple Lumos spell. "I don't know where I'll go," she admitted. "I'm not smart, I lack courage, and my bloodline isn't pure. I think I'll end up in Hufflepuff for sure."
Nolan sighed, saved his game, and closed his console. In a calm voice, he reassured her, "Don't talk about Hufflepuff as if it's a garbage dump. In fact, the 'garbage' is evenly distributed across all four houses. Besides, the houses aren't sorted by magical ability. The decision is based on your personality and traits. Even if you go to Hufflepuff, it's no big deal. I've heard the people there are very friendly—it's probably the house with the best atmosphere. Comparatively, Ravenclaw can be a bit aloof, while Gryffindor and Slytherin are cliquey. But the idea that Slytherin bullies those who aren't pure-blooded is just a misconception."
At this time, Slytherin indeed had a tarnished reputation.
It had only been ten years since the fall of Voldemort, and Slytherin's emphasis on blood purity and their overt chauvinism often drew comparisons to the Dark Lord. Additionally, many Slytherin students had Death Eaters among their family members. For at least the next twenty years, the other three houses were likely to continue isolating the Slytherin house.
To make matters worse, even Felicia had once mentioned that Voldemort, having used dark soul magic on himself, was likely not entirely dead.
Marietta pouted indignantly. "But everyone agrees Slytherin is bad!"
Nolan waved his hand dismissively, clearly annoyed. "Bad? What does 'bad' even mean? The Founders established Hogwarts to create a safe haven for young witches and wizards to develop their magical abilities. They were equally renowned and incredibly powerful—beyond what you can imagine. Yet of the four, why is it that only one founder is said to produce inherently 'bad' students? Gryffindor values bravery, but bravery doesn't preclude recklessness. Ravenclaw values intelligence, but intelligence doesn't preclude stubbornness. Hufflepuff values kindness, but kindness doesn't preclude a lack of ambition. Slytherin values pure-blood heritage, but pure-bloods aren't inherently arrogant. You only see Slytherin's arrogance but ignore Ravenclaw's intellectual rigidity. So don't mislead someone who knows nothing about the magical world with your immature remarks."
Marietta burst into tears and ran out of the compartment.
Cho hesitated, glancing at Nolan, who remained indifferent. She wondered if this boy was just too cold-hearted. After some thought, she decided to chase after Marietta.
Nolan shrugged nonchalantly and pulled out a game magazine from somewhere, flipping through it.
Beside him, Eve sat in stunned silence. After a long pause, she managed to stammer, "You shouldn't have… said that."
Without looking up, Nolan replied evenly, "What I said was correct."
Eve was stunned, her crystal-clear eyes blinking in confusion, unable to form a single word.
At that moment, a commotion erupted outside their compartment. Nolan could hear screams and cries from younger students, interspersed with a hissing sound that resembled a snake speaking in Parseltongue.
The white snake Sheila, hidden in Nolan's sleeve, poked her head curiously out of his cuff at the strange noise.
Eve was terrified. She had no idea what was happening outside. It wasn't hard to sympathize with her—she knew almost nothing about the magical world, like Alice stumbling into Wonderland.
The shouting escalated, followed by the sound of spells being cast and exploding. The racket made it impossible for Nolan to focus on memorizing his game walkthrough. Irritated, he slammed the guide shut and was about to get up.
Suddenly, the compartment door was blasted open. A blond-haired boy with a face smeared in dirt tumbled inside, rolling on the floor. It was clear he was the one who had accidentally broken their door.
Standing before the boy were three other students, all with wands in hand. Two of them looked identical, with freckled faces and striking red hair. The third was a Black boy with curly hair. One of the red-haired boys was holding what looked like a snake—no, Nolan was certain it was actually a toy snake.
"Can someone explain to me," Nolan said in an icily calm voice, "what exactly you're doing? Or have you mistaken the Hogwarts Express for an amusement park?"
The two redheads exchanged a glance. One of them quipped, "Looks like we interrupted their date, didn't we?"
The other one added, "I'll bet we did. Just look at how mad he is! Maybe we should apologize, Fred."
The first one replied, "Shut it, George. I'm Fred."
George—or maybe Fred—it didn't matter which, grinned broadly at Nolan. "Hey, mate, you're first-years too, right? Let's introduce ourselves! I'm Fred Weasley, he's George Weasley, and this guy here—" He gestured toward the Black boy.
"Coolest guy you'll ever meet. I'm Lee Jordan!" the Black boy said, twirling his wand in what he clearly thought was a stylish move.
Before Nolan could respond, the blond boy on the floor scrambled to his feet. Using the back of his hand to wipe away a trickle of blood from his nose, he glared at them furiously. "If I were you, I wouldn't be friends with the Weasley vermin!"
Fred—or George—mocked him with a smirk. "Oh, look at this—Malcolm Baddock's back to spouting his pure-blood supremacy nonsense. Why hasn't the Ministry just locked him in a cage with the Dementors already?"
"Shut up!" the blond boy, apparently Malcolm, yelled, raising his wand and pointing it at the twins.
One of the twins, still grinning, held up the fake snake. "Look, genius, it's your favorite Slytherin mascot!"
The toy snake hissed in response, emitting a low, eerie sound.
Malcolm's face, which had been flushed with rage, instantly turned pale. With a terrified shriek, he curled up in a corner of the compartment, clutching his head in fear.
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