manynovel Chapter 5 The Three Giants
Chapter 5 The Three Giants
Ron's eyes widened as he pointed to his forehead and asked about the scar. Harry didn't know how to answer. To be honest, after experiencing so many nightmares with Moran, he was reluctant to flaunt his so-called "Savior's Mark."
Are your whole family wizards?
He changed the subject, saying:
“I see you have several older brothers, and they are all studying at Hogwarts, right?”
“Oh yes, that’s how it is in our family, but I remember my mother mentioning a distant cousin who works in the Muggle world as… what was his name again? Right, the accountant! We hardly ever talk about him.”
Upon hearing Ron's reply, Harry immediately became interested. A child who had grown up in a wizarding family must know many things that Harry did not.
“I envy you. I’ve always lived with my aunt and uncle. They have a son, a son who isn’t exactly friendly.”
Are they Muggles?
"Yes, but I don't think it has much to do with whether they are Muggles or not. Let's talk more about you; you must know a lot of magic."
Ron seemed somewhat unhappy. Being born into a large, pure-blood wizarding family wasn't always a good thing, especially when the family wasn't very wealthy. As the sixth Weasley to attend Hogwarts, he had to take his older brothers as role models.
Bill and Charlie have already graduated, having served as president of the boys' council and captain of the Quidditch team, respectively. Percy is now a prefect, and Fred and George, despite their mischievous pranks, are both academically excellent. Their humor and playful antics are actually a plus among their classmates. Everyone thinks Ron should be as good as his brothers, and even if he were, no one would praise him, since the other Weasleys have already achieved it before him.
What's even more heartbreaking is that Ron has a younger sister. Although he loves Ginny and doesn't want to compete with her for attention, the fact is, he's the one among all the children who never gets to use anything new. Bill's old robe, Charlie's old wand, and Percy's discarded pet mouse.
Harry, who had also once had to beg for hand-me-downs from his cousin Dudley, could empathize with Ron. Sharing a similar plight, Ron recounted his experiences from a month prior, quickly bringing the two closer. Feeling much better, Ron showed Harry his pet mouse, Scabbers, and launched into a long list of amusing stories he'd heard from his brothers, much to Harry's amazement. Ron continued his incessant chatter until 12:30, when a smiling woman opened the box door.
"Honey, are you hungry? Would you like to buy some food from the food cart?"
Harry was starving; because he had overslept, he hadn't eaten anything since morning. But just as he jumped up from his seat, he found Ron sitting motionless, blushing and muttering something about bringing a sandwich.
Before long, their private room was piled high with snacks like Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Blow-a-Boo, Chocolate Frog, and Pumpkin Pie. He bought some of everything that had been collected from the food cart, but even so, it only cost him eleven silver shiks and seven copper nats.
"Let's eat together."
Harry generously said:
"I couldn't buy sandwiches, how about I trade you these? See if there's anything you like?"
Ron pulled out a bulging cardboard box, shook his head, and stared at the pumpkin pie and crucible-shaped cake, swallowing hard as he said:
"No, it's too dry, you won't like it. Mom always remembers I don't like cured beef, but she has to take care of the five of us..."
Harry snatched the sandwich from Ron's hand, then tossed over the pie and cake that Ron had been eyeing for a while, saying:
"Come on, I can't finish all of this by myself. Hmm... I think your mom is a great cook. The marinated beef is very fragrant. But if you don't like it, just tell her what kind of sandwich you like when she's not so busy. It's easier for her to remember than to tell her what you don't like."
This was the first time Harry had shared anything with anyone. Partly because he had no one to share with, but more importantly, during his years living with the Dursleys, he had practically nothing to share.
The two chatted as they ate, and Ron enjoyed explaining things Harry didn't know, especially the pictures from the Chocolate Frog cartoons. He had collected over 500 of them!
"Look, you've got a Dumbledore card."
"I'm only missing Agriba and Potolemi to complete the set. If you pull for them, well, I mean, if you don't want to collect them yourself, could you give them to me?"
Harry wasn't interested in collecting picture cards, but the descriptions of famous wizards on the back were invaluable mini-encyclopedias. He nodded to Ron and said:
"No problem, but you have to let me see your collection first."
……
Just as the two were eating Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans and flipping through picture cards, a little girl with brown hair opened the door to the private car compartment.
"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville lost a toad."
Her tone was somewhat arrogant, which greatly displeased Ron, who had just eaten a lemon-peel bean. He muttered to himself:
"If I received a toad, I would do everything I could to get rid of it as soon as possible."
The brown-haired girl seemed not to have heard what Ron said. She grabbed Harry's "A History of Hogwarts" from the hill of snack wrappers and began to lecture the two of them:
"If you're going to study, study hard and don't throw it away in the trash."
Ron gave Harry a strange look, as if to say, "Is this guy crazy?"
Harry shook his head, drew his wand from his waist, and asked the little girl:
"Okay, what does that toad look like? What's its name? Is it dead?"
Harry's attitude annoyed the little girl, but when she saw Harry take out his wand, her attitude changed completely.
“Navi’s toad is called Raef. I’ve never seen what it looks like. Why are you asking if it’s dead? Does that have anything to do with spellcasting? You’re about to cast a spell, right?”
Harry didn't explain; he simply flicked his wand, pointed at the carriage, and read:
"Accio Trevor." (Accio Trevor)
"Accio Neville's toad."
……
There was no movement.
"What kind of spell is this? Are you sure you're reciting it correctly? It doesn't seem to work very well."
The little girl's tone was slightly sarcastic, but Harry simply put his wand away and said:
"This is a summoning spell. Neville's toad is either still alive or not on the train."
"Are you sure the spell didn't fail because of your own fault? For example, did you pronounce the incantation correctly, or was the wand shaken at the wrong angle?"
Harry glanced at Hermione, then rolled down the car window and threw his glasses out.
"Accio Glasses."
At Harry's call, the glasses, which had been blown far away, suddenly flew back into their owner's hand against the strong wind. Before Ron and the brown-haired girl could even show their surprise, Harry pointed his wand at the shattered lens on his glasses and said:
"Oculus Reparo."
"The Summoning Charm only works on inanimate objects, and it has a distance limit. I haven't seen Na'vi's toad Raef, but if it died on this train, this spell should be able to summon it."
Ron's jaw nearly dropped. During his conversation with Harry, he had assumed that the Savior was no different from other children from Muggle families.
"My goodness, you're amazing! Are you from a family of wizards?"
"I also learned the Restoration Spell you just used from a book, as well as a few other simple spells. I really envy you. No one in my family knows magic, so I was extremely surprised when I received my Hogwarts acceptance letter."
"Are all wizards from wizarding families as good as you? I mean, Hogwarts is the best magic school in the world, and I'm worried about whether I can keep up with the pace of learning, so I've memorized all the first-year textbooks. Good heavens, I just hope that's enough."
"By the way, my name is Hermione Granger. What are your names?"
Hermione's barrage of questions left Harry speechless; he only remembered that she asked for his name at the end.
“Harry Potter,” Harry said.
"Is it really you? No wonder! I know everything about you. I bought several reference books outside of textbooks at Flourish and Blotts. You are mentioned in 'A History of Modern Magic,' 'The Rise and Fall of Dark Magic,' and 'Important Magical Events of the Twentieth Century.' I believe you will also be included in 'A History of Hogwarts.'"
Hermione's voice completely drowned out Ron's mumbled "My name is Ron Weasley." Her conversation veered off-topic, from Hogwarts to the Sorting House, and then to Ravenclaw's exclusive library. She didn't give Harry or Ron a chance to speak again until she realized she needed to go back and help Neville find the toad.
"You two hurry up and change your clothes, we should be there soon."
……
"No matter which college I'm assigned to, I don't want to be assigned to the same college as her."
As Ron spoke, he began rummaging through his suitcase for Bill's old robes. Harry chatted with him casually, almost pulling out the black hooded robe himself.
"Which houses are your brothers in? I just heard Hermione say that one house has its own library. Do other houses have similar special features?"
"Gryffindor, my family, including my parents, are all from Gryffindor. Are you sure you were living with Muggle relatives before? Why did you cast spells so easily?"
Harry sensed some displeasure in Ron's tone, as if he were saying, "We agreed to lie down together, but you secretly started reading."
"Like Hermione, I bought the book and then studied it on my own because I was afraid I wouldn't be able to keep up with the school's pace. I thought everyone did that."
"Oh, then you guys better not get assigned to Slytherin."
"why?"
"Because all the bad wizards graduated from that academy, including the Mystic."
"You mean Voldemort?"
Ron was startled. He stopped what he was doing and slumped into his chair, as if he could hardly breathe.
"You...you said that person's name!"
He stared at Harry in horror and said, word by word:
"I know, I knew it, of all people, only you dare to..."
Harry went to Ron, helped him up, and patted him on the back to comfort him, saying:
“Ron, the reason I can say his name directly isn’t because I’m anything special or brave. I never knew he couldn’t say his name directly, do you understand what I mean? It’s like when I ask you about the wizarding world, or those chocolate frog pictures, there are so many things I don’t understand, so many things I need to learn.”
“You are outstanding. At least since I learned that I was a wizard, you have taught me the most.”
Ron was almost in tears. All the gloom from before vanished. He patted his chest and, with a sliver of confidence, assured Harry: