When Victor opened the compartment door, he was immediately hit with a sour, musty smell. How long has it been since this thing was cleaned? He quickly covered his nose and waved his hand. "Scourgify!"
The compartment instantly became spotless with the nonverbal spell, and the sour smell faded considerably.
Victor stepped inside, closed the door behind him, and cast a Silencing Charm to block out the noise from the corridor. He then opened the window to air out the space before finally settling down to rest his eyes.
Although he appeared to be resting, Victor was actually constructing a passive spell called Mind Ward in his mind, intended to defend against Dumbledore's Legilimency.
Victor had many ways to counter Legilimency, but they were all active spells.
Avoiding the caster's eyes, Occlumency, or the other spells he had learned in Earth Land to shield his mind—all of these required Victor to actively cast them.
He couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't let his guard down and accidentally reveal his secrets. So Victor decided to use Origin to modify a previous spell to passively defend against Legilimency.
The modification process for Mind Ward was quite complex. He had started half a month ago and had mostly finished, with only a few final tweaks to the magical structure left.
"Has anyone seen a toad? A boy named Neville has lost one!"
Just as Victor was about to complete the final adjustments to the magical structure of Mind Ward, the compartment door was suddenly flung open, and a little girl's voice came from the doorway.
Victor slowly opened his eyes and turned to look. A young witch with bushy brown hair stood in the doorway, her small head held high with an air of superiority.
It was Hermione Granger, one of the main trio in the books, nicknamed "Miss Know-It-All," a name she despised.
"Miss Granger, I think it would be more polite to say 'please' when you need help. Otherwise, people might think you're being rude," Victor said, rubbing his temples. The spell modification required intense concentration, and the sudden interruption had given him a bit of a headache.
"Oh, I'm sorry! A student in my compartment named Neville has lost his toad and is terribly upset, so I'm trying to help him find it," the young witch said, dropping her proud demeanor. She seemed to realize she had been a bit too abrupt.
"It's fine. You were just trying to help a classmate," Victor said, waving a hand dismissively. "Tell him not to worry. A wizard's pet will always find its way back to its owner. His toad will come back to him on its own."
"Really?! That's wonderful! I'll go tell Neville right now!" The young witch immediately turned and ran off to tell Neville the good news. But after a few steps, Hermione realized something was wrong.
How had the boy known her name? She hadn't introduced herself at all! Filled with questions, Hermione returned to her compartment.
What an impatient little girl, was Victor's first impression of Hermione. He got up to properly close the door that Hermione hadn't shut, then closed his eyes again to continue what he had been doing.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
After a while, a knock sounded, followed by a familiar voice outside the door.
"Hello, may I come in?" Hermione asked, knocking softly.
A while ago, after calming Neville down with the information Victor had given her, the conversation with him had been nagging at her.
How did he know my name? How did he know Neville's toad would find its way back to him? I've read so many books about magic this past month; how could I not know that a wizard's pet would find its owner on its own? No, I must ask him!
So, Hermione finally gave in to her curiosity and returned to Victor's compartment.
"Come in," a voice from inside replied. Hermione opened the compartment door and found Victor sitting by the window, watching her. The wind from outside rustled Victor's slightly long bangs. Combined with his delicate features and the faint purplish-red glow in his eyes, Hermione was momentarily captivated.
"What are you standing there for? Come in," Victor asked, confused. She obviously had something to ask him, so why had she suddenly frozen?
"Oh, sorry!" Hermione's cheeks flushed slightly as she walked into the compartment.
"What can I help you with, Miss Granger?" Victor naturally took out a chocolate bar from his pocket, broke off a piece, and offered it to Hermione.
"Thank you!" Hermione took the chocolate but didn't eat it right away. Instead, she asked directly, "I just want to know how you knew my name. Do you have a mind-reading spell? And how did you know a wizard's pet will find its way back to its owner?"
It was clear Hermione had already given this a lot of thought and had concluded that Victor was from a powerful magical family and had been able to learn magic from a young age.
"Miss Granger…"
"You can call me Hermione," she interrupted.
"Alright, Hermione," Victor said, smiling. "I'll answer your first question first."
"Mind-reading spells do exist, and I do know how to use them, but I didn't know your name because of one. The specific reason is something I can't tell you. But don't worry, I have no interest in prying into people's memories." This relieved Hermione's worries a little.
"Now, for your second question." Victor held up two fingers. "Hermione, before I answer that, can you tell me why the Hogwarts acceptance letter specifies that we can only bring an owl, a cat, or a toad as a pet?"
Victor had now unknowingly slipped into his familiar teacher persona. In his old guild, he had often helped his younger guildmates with their training. Everyone took his lessons seriously, except for Natsu and Gray, who he often had to tie up to get them to attend.
"I don't know," Hermione said, shaking her head. She didn't recall reading anything about that in her books.
"That's because those three animals, apart from magical creatures, are the most capable of magical assimilation with a wizard," Victor explained.
"Magical assimilation? What does that mean?" Hermione asked, confused. She had never heard of that concept.
"Let me give you an example. Neville's pet is just a normal toad. Unlike magical creatures, toads don't have magic." Victor took out his wand and drew in the air. A ghostly image of a toad appeared between them.
"Wow! What spell is that?!" Hermione's eyes sparkled.
"Light Projection. Pay attention!" Victor tapped Hermione on the head with his wand. His teacher mode was on, and he would not allow a student to get distracted in his class. "As I was saying, a toad doesn't have magic. But from the moment Neville got his pet, the toad started to absorb Neville's magic."
Victor tapped the air again, and the projected toad turned into a person holding a toad.
"Hermione, you must remember that everyone's magic is unique, like a fingerprint. Neville's toad absorbed his magic and will gradually begin to exhibit the characteristics of a magical creature. Their magic will assimilate with each other. Even if Neville's toad ran far away, it would be able to sense the magic that is identical to its own and return to its owner."
"Does that make sense?" The projection between them changed again to a person and a toad connected by a line, and the toad followed the line to its owner.
"Oh, I see! I understand!" Hermione nodded enthusiastically. With the help of the Light Projection spell and such vivid instruction, it would be a discredit to her reputation as a bookworm in the original story if she still couldn't understand.
"Thank you,…" Hermione started to say her thanks, but then she realized she still didn't know the boy's name.
"My name is Victor Dreyar. You can call me Victor," he said, smiling, seeing her embarrassment.
"Thank you, Victor," Hermione said with an awkward smile, revealing her cute little buck teeth.
Choo! Choo!
Choo! Choo!
Just then, the train's whistle blew loudly.
"All students, please be advised, the train will arrive in fifteen minutes. Please prepare to disembark." A prefect from one of the houses seemed to be shouting in the corridor. "First-years in particular, put on your robes. Do not wander off after you get off the train. Your luggage will be taken to your dormitories for you."
"We'll be there soon." Victor stood up and stretched his arms and legs, then looked at Hermione with a teasing smile. "So, my dear Miss Granger, do you intend to stay here and watch a gentleman change clothes?"
Hermione's cheeks turned red, and she whispered, "As if I would!" and ran off.
'Haha, just like Mirajane when she was a kid. A classic tsundere,' Victor thought, recalling how Mirajane used to get flustered and challenge him to a duel when he teased her. He smiled, then put his thoughts aside, locked the compartment door, and took out his robes from his pocket.