"Looks like I've found it."
Marius Cloud opened his eyes and strode straight toward the carriage he'd locked onto with his mental scan.
He slid open the cabin door. Inside sat a boy with his head wrapped in white bandages, sitting alone in the corner with a rather pitiful air.
"Who's there?" the boy jumped up. "You!? Marius Cloud! What do you want?!"
"Oh, it's you, Theodore."
Marius cast him a casual glance. As expected, those bandages on Theodore's head were his doing—courtesy of the birthday party incident.
"Why are you here? Don't try anything, I'm warning you!" Theodore stood up, visibly trembling. Clearly, Marius had left a psychological scar deeper than any physical wound.
But Marius couldn't be bothered. He wordlessly drew his wand and pointed it toward the table near Theodore.
"Are you serious!? You're going to attack me here!? This is the Hogwarts Express, you know! Do you even realize the consequences—"
"Did your injury affect your brain?" Marius cut him off, tone flat. "Who said anything about attacking you? Now move. You're in my way."
He brushed past Theodore like he wasn't even there and tapped his wand on the table.
"Accio Toad!"
A squirming, slippery little creature shot out from under the table and floated into the air under Marius's Levitation Charm.
"So this is the infamous 'Trevor.' I really don't get it—why do wizards like to keep such slimy, disgusting things as pets?"
With a look of genuine disdain, Marius turned around and walked straight past Theodore, not even sparing him another glance.
That blatant disregard hit Theodore harder than a curse. As he stared at Marius's retreating back, his eyes filled with fury.
To him… I'm not even worth as much as a damn toad!
With the toad in hand, Marius's next goal was to find Hermione and hand off this slimy mess to Neville so he could go back to… whatever bonding thing they had going on.
But when he finally tracked Hermione down, he found her standing outside a rather unexpected—yet predictable—compartment.
"Hey, have any of you seen a toad?" she was asking.
Inside, a red-haired boy looked up and replied, "Nope."
"I've got the toad," Marius called.
"Oh, Marius! You found it!"
Hermione turned to him with delight, but the red-haired boy's face contorted as soon as he saw Marius.
"You again! That annoying guy with the arrogant face! I remember you! You insulted my dad at Flourish and Blotts!"
Marius glanced lazily at him. Of course—it was Ron Weasley.
"Insult?" Marius raised an eyebrow. "What I did was offer your father some much-needed guidance to keep him from spiraling further down the path of ignorance."
"You—! You're twisting words!"
Ron's face turned as red as his hair, but he couldn't find a proper retort.
Marius had no interest in bickering with Weasley. He casually took Hermione's arm and was about to leave when a curious gaze met his.
Across from Ron sat a boy with messy black hair and round glasses. His green eyes widened in recognition.
"Mister Cloud! It's me Harry—Harry Potter. Um, you remember me, right? We just saw each other at the station…"
"Of course, Mister Potter," Marius replied with polite indifference. "My memory serves me quite well."
"That's a relief. We met again."
Harry looked genuinely happy. Ron, on the other hand, looked as if he'd swallowed a Stinksap.
"You're Harry Potter!" he blurted out. "You don't need to be nice to someone like him! He's not a good person—he insulted my dad!"
"I'm not being nice on purpose…" Harry said, confused. "Even if Mr. Cloud argued with Hagrid at Gringotts, I thought what he said made sense. Besides, he helped me at the station."
"Ah, how fitting," Marius cut in, eyes cold. "Father and son—clearly slandering others runs in the bloodline."
Ron flinched as Marius's gaze sliced right through him.
"But then again, it's easy to bark when you've got someone like Harry Potter standing beside you," Marius sneered. "Without him, would you still dare challenge me head-on?"
Ron's face flushed with either anger or shame—perhaps both. The worst part was, Marius had struck a nerve. There was a part of him emboldened by Harry's presence.
What Ron didn't understand was that in Marius's eyes, Harry Potter was little more than a curiosity. A person of interest, perhaps—but far from a threat.
Marius turned to Harry again. "Seems you've already forgotten my advice. Let me remind you—choose your friends wisely. There's an old saying where I come from: 'He who stays near vermilion turns red; near ink turns black.' Think on it."
As far as Marius was concerned, Harry—aside from being Voldemort's destined rival—wasn't anything special. Defense Against the Dark Arts and Quidditch? Maybe. But the rest?
Spellwork: subpar.
Dueling: barely functional.
Agility: clumsy.
Reactions: slow.
If Harry thought he could go toe-to-toe with Marius Cloud… well, he could keep dreaming.
Just as Marius was about to turn and leave with Hermione, three familiar silhouettes approached from the other end of the corridor.
"Well, well, if it isn't Marius Cloud!" one of them called out. "Just as I thought—you're here early to butter up the Boy Who Lived, aren't you?"
--------------
T/N:
Access Advance Chapters on my
P@treon: p@treon.com/PokePals