"Father!" Draco glanced nervously at Goyle and Crabbe beside him.
Lucius frowned, seeing his son's embarrassment, and turned to speak with the two men.
Noticing that Lucius had matters to attend to, the two tactfully took their leave.
Only then did Draco finally let go; he buried himself in Narcissa's arms, head down, too ashamed to show his face.
Narcissa's startled cry immediately rang out: "Oh, Merlin! Draco, what is that on your head..."
Draco's face flushed bright red, and he spoke with grievance: "Mother..."
Lucius finally got a clear look at the two small ears that had appeared on top of Draco's head; a flicker of shock crossed his face, but he quickly concealed it and swiftly removed the transfiguration for Draco. "Draco, what happened?"
Draco's eyes widened in anger as he began to pour out his grievances to his father: "It must have been that filthy Mudblood, it has to be him!"
Lucius and Narcissa exchanged a look; after a moment, Lucius frowned. "Draco, are you sure? He just tapped your head with his wand, but didn't say any incantation?"
"Yes—" Draco's voice caught as he realised something was wrong.
Without an incantation, that would mean… nonverbal magic?
"Draco, do you really think he's just an ordinary Muggle-born wizard?" Narcissa gently stroked Draco's cheek, her voice soft.
"I, I don't know..." Draco was confused.
He wasn't the only one confused; Lucius and Narcissa were equally perplexed. The couple exchanged a glance, both seeing the question in the other's eyes—were first-years this impressive nowadays?
Lucius thought back. Among the new students starting this year, there shouldn't be any from pure-blood families capable of using nonverbal magic.
… But this was the year the Boy Who Lived was starting school.
Lucius couldn't help but think of the prophecy: the Boy Who Lived possessed a power the Dark Lord knew not.
Lucius: "…"
Surely not? Even if the Dark Lord didn't understand it, a first-year using nonverbal magic was a stretch, right?
He paused for a moment.
"Draco, capable people, regardless of their background or personality, tend to have a certain arrogance," Lucius said, patting Draco's head. "Mind your words when you speak in the future."
"If possible, befriending someone like that will do you more good than harm."
Times had changed; it was no longer the seventies when the Dark Lord was at his peak.
The Death Eaters were either dead or scattered. Even though the mark that man left remained, faced with the Order of the Phoenix's opposition and the Ministry's raids, the nobles of Slytherin had to keep their heads down.
Moreover, the Order of the Phoenix had suddenly reformed and was now locked in a bitter rivalry with some mysterious Silver Sun Group, whose methods were even more extreme than the Death Eaters at their most frenzied.
Killing seemed as simple as breathing to them.
The Order now reacted at the mere sight of the Silver Sun's mark, but after several clashes, wasn't the Silver Sun's establishment still open for business in Diagon Alley?
Lucius paused. "The Boy Who Lived is also starting at Hogwarts this year, and the Order has been clashing frequently with the Silver Sun lately."
"Stay safe, Draco."
Finally, Draco hugged his parents and, still in low spirits, turned to board the train.
On the Express, Harry had already found an empty carriage and stowed his luggage.
From his spatial rune, he took out a pile of electronic devices. A mobile phone and a laptop were the basics, but besides these, there were also several scanners, a listening device, and a miniature monitor.
According to intelligence, Hogwarts did not allow the use of electronic devices. To use these things, he would have to find a way to bypass Hogwarts' electromagnetic interference.
After fiddling for a while, Harry figured out the phone.
He drew a few runes on it and would test their effectiveness once he arrived at Hogwarts.
Before anyone arrived, Harry put the items away.
His thoughts wandered elsewhere, like… the small, round ears on the Malfoy heir's head.
The spell Harry had placed on Draco was a form of Transfiguration, transforming part of his body in advance into the form of his Animagus.
Draco had opened a blind box and drawn the ears.
Odd. Wasn't Malfoy a Slytherin family? The young heir's Animagus was a fluffy little creature.
Harry mused to himself: I thought it would be a snake.
Still, teasing the young heir had been quite fun. He was actually a bit disappointed he hadn't seen Draco's expression when he discovered the ears.
Just as he was thinking this, a commotion sounded outside. The voices sounded familiar.
The next moment, the carriage door slid open abruptly.
Harry blinked and, still seated, met Draco's eyes at the doorway.
The two stared at each other in silence for a moment.
Then, Draco spoke gruffly: "What are you doing here?"
Harry folded his arms, unapologetic. "Why can't I be here? Does it have your name on it?"
Then, he glanced at Draco's head again, didn't see his handiwork, and looked visibly disappointed. "So you actually went to find your father? Smart move."
Not mentioning that would have been one thing, but at the mention, Draco exploded on the spot. However, remembering Lucius's warning, he took a deep breath and forced the anger back down.
Draco put on a fake smile and took a few steps inside. Crabbe and Goyle, who were carrying his luggage, hurried in after him.
"You don't mind if I sit here, do you?" Draco plopped down opposite Harry, asking insincerely.
"If I said I did mind, would you leave?" Harry asked flatly.
"… Hmph!"
Draco tried to hold back, but failed, and rolled his eyes at Harry. This person was so annoying!
… As annoying as he was, Draco was still curious.
Harry could sense Draco's surreptitious glances and didn't indulge him, staring back boldly along Draco's line of sight. "What are you looking at?"
Draco glared back, undaunted. "I'm looking!"
Harry gave a derisive laugh. "Childish!"
Just then, Crabbe and Goyle, having struggled to stow their luggage, poked their heads in and glanced at the two staring at each other.
Not daring to squeeze in next to Draco, they hesitantly shuffled towards the empty seats beside Harry.
Draco immediately looked on with an expression of someone anticipating a show.
Harry glanced at their physiques, which even dwarfed Dudley's, raised an eyebrow high, and made no effort to hide his disdain.
Harry's wand peeked out from his sleeve; without lifting his eyes, he flicked it to the side. Goyle, who had barely touched the edge of the seat, was instantly petrified in place.
Unable to move, he could only widen his eyes, stretching the flesh around them—whether in a plea for mercy or sheer terror was unclear.
Crabbe slammed to a halt, staring at Harry in terror before turning a pleading look towards Draco.
Draco's eyes narrowed, fixated on Harry's sleeve where the wand had just disappeared.
He looked at Harry tentatively. "… Nonverbal magic?"
Harry replied, "If you already know, why ask?"
Draco got angry again, but he wasn't stupid. He didn't want a direct confrontation with Harry; he knew he couldn't win.
So he suppressed his anger and instead demanded furiously, "Reverse the spell on them!"
Harry gave him a look that seemed to say on one side, "Are you joking?" and on the other, "Who do you think you are?", accompanied by a gaze that suggested he was looking at an idiot. Draco was so infuriated he almost let out a dragon's roar.
And roar he did: "Reverse, the spell, on them!"
Then, before Harry could start his mockery, Draco quickly spoke again, cutting off Harry's build-up. "I'll make them find another carriage."