บท 14: Chapter 14: The Savior, Just as Expected
The curiosity of first-year students is endless, and their energy is entirely capable of matching that curiosity.
What that meant was that Andrew somewhat regretted going to the restroom—since the corridor was even more packed than the compartment.
Judging by the height of the people in the hallway, there were definitely some upper-year students mixed in, all trying to sneak a peek through the compartment windows at Harry Potter before leaving satisfied.
Life without mobile phones was just too boring...
If they had mobile phones...
Andrew imagined it—probably a bunch of people making TikToks right outside Harry Potter's compartment door...
Alright... maybe not much different...
Unaware that Hogwarts interferes with Muggle electronics, Andrew made his quip and pushed his way back to his compartment—after all, they'd all see Harry Potter eventually, and if the topic came up later, he could always just make something up...
Anyway, it's not like the people in the compartment were holding back when it came to boasting, and making up an encounter with Harry wasn't exactly over-the-top.
Just as Andrew was planning how to boast without seeming too unremarkable, the compartment door was knocked on again. A round-faced boy walked in, tears welling up in his eyes. "Sorry, have any of you seen my toad?"
"A toad? Your pet?"
Andrew, who had been listening to the boasting and was preparing to join in, asked, "We haven't seen one in our compartment, but with how chaotic it is outside, I'd say it'll be hard to find your toad."
As soon as he said that, the boy's eyes turned red.
Not sure how to handle it, Andrew quickly added, "But you could try asking a Prefect for help. I heard from the older students that the Hufflepuff Prefect is the most helpful—you could give it a shot."
In a moment like this, when everyone was busy trying to catch a glimpse of Harry, getting someone to help look for a lost toad was no easy task—who'd give up their place in line just to help someone look for a toad? Most kids their age wouldn't think twice about it.
Only a Prefect could manage to control the situation and conduct a search—though there could still be conflicts between students from different Houses...
"But the Prefect..."
Seeing the boy on the verge of tears, Andrew realized that mustering up the courage to look for his toad was already quite an ordeal, let alone going to ask a Prefect for help.
"There's another way—you could ask Harry Potter. He's on the train, and I heard he's a really nice guy... Plus, he's also a first-year, so it might be easier to talk to him. Besides, you're going to his compartment to look anyway, right?"
The new suggestion seemed to make the boy waver.
"Go on, we're all first-years, and some compartments won't even open the door for us," Andrew encouraged. "But no one would refuse Harry Potter."
As if steeling himself, the round-faced boy quickly thanked Andrew and then rushed off, gathering all his courage, toward Harry Potter's compartment.
"Nice one, Andrew!"
A second-year student who had squeezed into the compartment praised him, "Now everyone gets to see Harry Potter."
"That kid must really love his toad, though," another commented. "If my family gave me one, I'd have lost it on purpose right away so I could get an owl instead."
"Yeah, I really don't get why anyone would get a toad."
"Apparently, like ten or more years ago, toad eggs induced by magic could be used as ingredients for Transfiguration and Potions?"
The conversation slowly veered off topic. Those who had initially been eager to leave the compartment to catch a glimpse of Harry now stayed put—after all, if they waited, Harry would come to them.
And indeed, that's what happened—just as Andrew expected, Harry was kind and soft-hearted.
At the boy's earnest request, several others joined the search, and each compartment was thoroughly checked. By the time Harry led the round-faced boy and about seven or eight others into Andrew's compartment, the boy—who finally introduced himself as Neville—was smiling a bit as he thanked Andrew.
After searching the compartment and failing to find anything, Harry thanked the group, along with Neville, and they hurried off to the next compartment to continue the search.
"Exactly what I expected from the Savior!"
A Hufflepuff who had squeezed in spoke in a low voice filled with admiration. "He's exactly the type to go out of his way to help others. Sorry, I need to go and lend a hand."
"Not necessary. Too many people actually make it harder to find anything."
Kevin chimed in suddenly, "If there are too many people in the compartment plus those helping, it's just a mess and makes the search harder."
"It's reassuring just to watch, though—maybe I can help somehow."
The Hufflepuff smiled and went along, but the rest, clearly convinced by Kevin, decided to stay, continuing their earlier conversation.
Andrew, of course, did the same. In fact, he was starting to regret giving advice at all.
Initially, he'd just thought about how funny it would be if he lied to the first-years and told them that helping find a toad was a crucial part of their Sorting Ceremony.
That amusing thought had made him chuckle to himself, but the more he thought about it, the scarier the idea became—what if causing a stir on the first day of school drew too much attention from the faculty?
Given the trouble he was already in, if he drew that kind of attention, then...
Yikes...
The thought sent a chill down his spine as an unwelcome vision came to mind.
"Three levels of the Levitation Charm, was it?"
"Betrothal rejection, was it?"
...
So yeah, better to let someone else take the spotlight. He wasn't avoiding helping, just helping in a different way. He wasn't someone who craved attention.
And so, an hour later, after he'd calmly chatted with the others in the compartment, the entire carriage erupted into cheers, and everyone naturally left their compartments to crowd the corridor, celebrating the good news.
The news spread like wildfire from one carriage to the next, until it had reached every student on the train.
Thanks to Harry Potter and the twenty-odd students who volunteered to help, Neville's lost toad, Trevor, was finally back in his hands.
There were some grumbles from those whose compartments Harry had missed ("We waited all this time, and that damn toad's already found?") but at least 80% of Hogwarts' students—first-years included—had seen Harry and talked to him.
Everyone was quite satisfied—except maybe the toad, who had tried to escape again, but that was a minor detail.
The Savior was just as expected.
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