Albus Dumbledore was acknowledged as the greatest wizard of his age; in the wizarding world, his status should be about the same as that of the Sorcerer Supreme in Kamar-Taj.
Harry just didn't know who was stronger, Dumbledore or the Sorcerer Supreme.
Maybe he could learn more magic from Dumbledore and become even more powerful.
When the three of them had eaten about half of their sweets, the compartment door slid open again.
A round-faced, slightly chubby boy stood in the doorway, peeking nervously at the three of them.
He looked terribly timid, even more so than Ron had when he'd first walked into the compartment—a severe case of social anxiety.
"Hello… my name's Neville. I wanted to ask… have you seen my toad anywhere?" he said.
When Harry and the others all shook their heads, the boy immediately burst into tears.
"Boo-hoo… I've lost him again. He's always trying to run away from me…"
Having grown up with Peter since childhood, Harry had plenty of experience dealing with upset kids—and that applied just as well to young witches and wizards.
"Don't worry. Maybe we can help you."
Harry had already gotten into the habit of using a wand. He picked it up, pointed it out into the corridor, and spoke a spell.
"Neville's toad, Accio!"
Most other witches and wizards would need something like the owner's name as a focus to use the Summoning Charm, but Harry only had to tell his chaos magic what he wanted.
The round-faced little wizard looked a bit overwhelmed and doubtful.
"The Summoning Charm's something older students learn. First-years almost never manage it—and we haven't even started classes yet.
"Thanks for trying, but I'll just keep looking."
Hermione stopped him. The little otter tilted up her chin, looking quite haughty.
"Don't worry. Harry's the saviour—of course he's different from everyone else. The Summoning Charm might be hard for other people, but Harry can handle it easily!"
The round-faced boy stared at Harry in amazement, his eyes focusing on the lightning scar on Harry's forehead. Unlike Ron, though, he only glanced at it and then quickly looked down again.
Even so, Harry could hear the change in his voice; he sounded almost cheerful now.
"So you're Harry Potter… I'm sure you can find my toad."
Right on cue, as soon as Neville finished speaking, a toad came zooming through the air and stopped in front of the tip of Harry's wand.
Harry handed it over to the round-faced boy.
"Here. Is this your toad?"
The boy grabbed the toad at once and bowed over it, thanking Harry again and again.
"Thank you, thank you—that's Leif, my toad. Thank you so much.
"My name's Neville. I'll pay you back someday, I promise!"
When Neville had gone, Ron muttered,
"So that's Neville. I didn't think he'd be that cowardly. No way he's going to end up in Gryffindor—bet he'll be sorted into Hufflepuff."
Ron's comment immediately piqued Hermione's interest.
"Why can't Neville be sorted into Gryffindor?"
Ron hadn't really wanted to talk to this slightly annoying little witch, but when he saw the same interest in Harry's eyes, he relented and explained.
"I did some askin' around before term started.
"I heard Dumbledore was in Gryffindor, and the most important trait for getting sorted there is bravery—being bold and daring.
"But Neville's gran is really strict, and he's ended up really timid. So it's almost impossible for him to be sorted into Gryffindor."
"I see…" Hermione said thoughtfully. Then she asked, "What about the other three Houses? What sort of traits do they value?"
"Gryffindor's animal is the lion, and its values are bravery, daring, and chivalry.
"Hufflepuff's animal is the badger. They care about fairness, loyalty, honesty, and hard work.
"Ravenclaw's animal is the eagle, and they value wisdom and wit.
"As for the evil Slytherins—well, they're all a bunch of cunning gits.
"Their animal is the snake, which is vicious and ambitious.
"As long as I'm not put in Slytherin, I don't care which House I get.
"Harry, Hermione—once we're at school, you'd better stay away from Slytherin. Most Dark wizards come from there." Ron spoke with utter sincerity, genuinely trying to warn them.
Hermione was clearly intimidated by his earnestness. She immediately decided that Slytherin sounded like a very bad place.
Of course, that also matched what she'd read. In history, many of the most notorious Dark wizards had come from Slytherin.
Harry just smiled and shook his head.
He'd read more books over the summer than Hermione had, not fewer, and he'd gone through everything he could find on Hogwarts' four Houses.
It was true that many Dark wizards had come from Slytherin, but that didn't mean all Slytherin students were evil.
The spirit of Slytherin was ambition and leadership. They valued blood status and individual ability. The students there were sharp, driven, and very resourceful.
In a way, Ron wasn't wrong—Slytherin probably wouldn't be the best fit for Hermione.
Born to Muggle parents, she'd definitely be ostracized there.
For Harry himself, though, it didn't matter which House he ended up in.
Each House had its own strengths and its own value.
If he were sorted into Slytherin, he'd have the chance to befriend lots of pure-blood families, and those families had always held very significant influence in the wizarding world.
If he joined Gryffindor, he'd be surrounded by bold, warm-hearted classmates—just the sort of people who wouldn't mind helping to make the world a better place.
Ravenclaw's students longed for knowledge and learning; the magic of the other world would attract them easily.
And if some Ravenclaw student managed to use Kamar-Taj's teachings to create a new spell, that spell would run on the feeble chaos magic inside their bodies—but in Harry's hands it would be even more powerful.
Harry had already realized that the magic inside the witches and wizards of this world was an endlessly degraded version of his own.
As for Hufflepuff, which looked the most ordinary and unremarkable of the four, that House was actually the most important to Harry.
Because it was "ordinary," it was the perfect target for lending.
Maybe, in the future, he could turn the entire Hufflepuff House into his borrowers.
He was sure they wouldn't mind paying a few trivial little prices.
In short, no matter which House he joined, Harry would stand to gain a great deal…
Wait.
Why not take all four Houses in one go?
Harry suddenly realized he'd been thinking too small. A whole new door had just opened in his mind.
Whrrrrr!
The compartment door slid open yet again.
Unlike Neville, who had opened it very cautiously, this new boy clearly had no manners at all.
He yanked the door open with unnecessary force, making it screech loudly and set everyone's teeth on edge.
Harry looked over at the door, ready to teach this rude little wizard a lesson—when he suddenly caught sight of a shade of blond that looked very familiar.
He blinked in surprise. Well, what a coincidence.
It was someone he knew.
The blond little wizard who'd been scared into wetting his pants.