The start of the new term arrived quickly.
At platform nine and three-quarters, the little snakes of Slytherin scurried away in fear upon seeing Victor's sudden appearance, as if they had seen a ghost.
Over the short holiday of just over half a month, these young Slytherins had witnessed their parents at home tearing their hair out and flying into a rage over this very person. And as students of Slytherin, they felt an inexplicable, innate pressure in the presence of Victor, who had received the inheritance of Salazar Slytherin.
Victor wasn't at all surprised by the little snakes' reaction. As the train's departure whistle sounded, he was surrounded by the young eagles of Ravenclaw, who, as usual, had secured him three private compartments.
The Hogwarts Express rumbled and roared, spewing hot steam as it hurtled down the tracks through the late winter, early spring prairie.
Inside one of his compartments, Victor sat leisurely with his legs crossed, his head buried in a fantasy novel he had picked up from a street vendor. He often found that this kind of nonsensical literature unexpectedly brought him some inspiration for researching new spells.
Just as Victor was engrossed in his book, the door to his compartment suddenly slid open. Two little lions peeked in, looking utterly miserable.
"Master…"
"Can we hide in here with you?" Harry and Ron asked in unison.
Victor turned to see both of them wearing a woebegone expression. Anyone who didn't know better would think they had been dragged into the Black Lake by a summer merman.
"What's wrong? Don't tell me someone's been bullying you?" Victor put down his book and asked, looking at them in surprise.
Hearing the question, Harry and Ron exchanged a pained glance, then stiffly nodded. In a way, they had indeed been bullied.
"If someone's bullying you, you get your own back. If you can't even try to fight back, I'll send you both on a one-day trip as a pumpkin head. I guarantee your fighting spirit will improve dramatically in no time."
After saying this, Victor went back to his book. He took one look at their faces and knew they were likely facing a minor issue, so he simply rolled his eyes and motioned for them to go wherever they wanted.
However, even with Victor making it clear he couldn't be bothered, Harry and Ron still lingered at the compartment door, showing no signs of leaving.
Seeing this, Victor sighed in exasperation. He looked up with a stern expression and asked, "I'm serious, what's wrong with you two?"
"Actually, we weren't really bullied… it's just Hermione…" Harry said, looking a little troubled, and nudged his friend's shoulder, motioning for him to continue.
"It's just that Hermione... for some reason, she's been giving us the silent treatment. We were sitting in the same compartment, and we just couldn't take it anymore, so we thought we'd come and hide with you, Master," Ron said with a bitter look on his face, taking Harry's cue.
"Huh? The silent treatment? What on earth?" Victor was completely bewildered. He put down his book and asked, confused, "What happened? Give me the details."
Harry: "We were in the same compartment as Hermione when we got on the train, but for some reason, she wouldn't say a word when we tried to talk to her."
Ron: "Yeah, I asked her what was wrong, and she just glared at us." He even mimicked the glare to prove his point.
Harry: "There was a really oppressive aura coming from her. Ron and I felt like we could barely breathe in there."
Ron: "That's why we wanted to get out. If we had stayed in that compartment, I don't think either of us would have made it to Hogwarts in one piece."
Listening to the two of them, Victor still couldn't figure out what had happened to Hermione. He stood up, planning to see for himself, and gave Harry and Ron a disdainful look.
"Alright, I don't know what's going on, but seriously, look at you two. Two grown boys scared of one little girl? Have you no shame? Take me to your compartment. I want to see what kind of temper that girl is in." With that, he had Harry and Ron lead him to Hermione's compartment.
After walking down a narrow corridor, the three of them arrived at a compartment. Victor opened the door to find Hermione sitting by the window, resting her chin in her hand, her face cold. Ginny was also sitting nearby.
"Hi, Ginny." Victor greeted with a smile.
Ginny shyly waved in response, her face suddenly flushing as her eyes were drawn to Harry standing behind Victor.
"What's wrong with her?" Victor leaned down and whispered to Ginny.
As soon as he opened the compartment door, he could feel a strong low-pressure atmosphere, filled with a strange, slightly sour aura of resentment. The source of these negative energies was Hermione.
So, to gain the upper hand, he decided to gather some intel from Ginny first. After all, girls are better at communicating with each other and are privy to secrets boys don't know.
But Ginny looked troubled by his simple question. She discreetly glanced behind her and gave a vague answer: "Victor, I think it would be better if you asked Hermione yourself." With that, she moved aside, leaving Victor and Hermione alone.
"Hermione, what's wrong?" Seeing that Ginny was hesitant to speak, Victor didn't want to waste any time and got straight to the point.
But Hermione ignored his question. Instead, she shot a fierce glare at Harry and Ron standing by the door, as if to blame them for bringing the one person she least wanted to see.
Feeling her icy gaze, Harry and Ron instantly shivered, their survival instincts urging them to flee this dangerous place.
Ron quickly pulled his sister out of the compartment, slammed the door shut, and ran off with Harry.
Victor rolled his eyes. 'Is it that bad?' he thought to himself.
Still, he had a pretty good guess as to why the young witch was in such a huff. She must have seen the news about him and Luna going to Ireland and was jealous. He shook his head and, ignoring everything else, sat down directly across from Hermione.
He skillfully pulled out a slice of chocolate cake and teased her with a smile. "What's wrong? Who made our guild's princess so angry? Tell me, and I'll go beat them up for you."
But Hermione made it clear she had no interest in his attempts at kindness. She kept her eyes fixed on the window, her expression cold and unapproachable. But if you looked closely, you would notice a faint blush on her annoyed face. It was as if she was saying, "I'm in a little huff, and you need to cheer me up!"
Pfft! Victor couldn't help but laugh.
Hermione's current appearance reminded him of how Erza and Mirajane used to act when they were kids—they would sit there silently for no reason and wouldn't answer no matter how much you called them.
So, relying on his past experience, Victor decided to use a method that had always worked.
He got up and sat next to Hermione, took hold of her shoulders, and then forcefully turned her entire body to face him.
"What are you doing!" Hermione pushed back with a stern expression.
But as soon as she lifted her hand, Victor brushed the bangs away from her forehead. Their noses almost touched, and a familiar yet strange scent instantly filled her nostrils.
Staring at his face so close to her own, Hermione froze. She could feel her blood rushing to her face, and her body quickly started to heat up. From a different dimension, it looked as if steam was billowing from the top of her head.
Victor smiled instinctively at the sight of Hermione. He had used this method often, and it had always had a good effect, even on the proud Erza and Mirajane.
He pulled back from Hermione and stroked her head with a smile. "Well, are you still angry?"
Hermione didn't respond immediately. She just looked down, took a moment to compose herself, and then suddenly came to her senses, her face flushed as she tried to push Victor away.
But she immediately realized that even with all her strength, Victor was as immovable as a steel wall. So, in a mix of shame and anger, blue light began to radiate from her hands on his chest.
A moment later, a loud bang echoed through the train. A compartment door fell into the corridor with a thud, startling the young wizards on board.
The curious duo who had been watching from a distance looked on in horror. They were grateful they hadn't given in to curiosity and eavesdropped outside the compartment. Otherwise, they would be the ones in trouble right now.
——————————
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to my Patreon ——— patreon(.)com/PrimalDemon [remove the parentheses ( )]
There are 50+ advance chapters available for you to read!