Chương 17: Malfoy Gets Beaten Again
Under Hermione's entanglement, Ethan talked about some tricks of performing magic, such as the gestures of waving the wand when chanting spells, how to control the output of magic power, and so on.
Neville would occasionally mention things about the wizarding world, and both Ethan and Hermione had questions for him, as a local resident of the magical community. Cassandra, on the other hand, remained silent, engrossed in a book. However, judging by the fact that the pages hadn't been turned in a while, it was clear her attention was elsewhere. The atmosphere in the compartment was improving. By lunchtime, everyone took out their lunch boxes and bought some food from the trolley witch. Money wasn't an issue for anyone, and Hermione even had a few Galleons left over.
Time passed as they idly chatted until it grew dark. Despite the short distance, after spending the entire day in the train, Ethan found himself exhausted. He gazed out of the window, feeling sleepy, when suddenly, a shrill scream pierced the air.
"It seems there's a quarrel next door."
"Looks like it. Do you want to go check it out?"
Ethan instantly perked up. It's human nature to be curious!
"We probably shouldn't go. It might cause trouble."
"Trouble? What's the harm?" Ethan said as he walked out of the compartment. After all, what's life without a bit of excitement?
Cassandra silently followed Ethan out of the compartment door, while Hermione hesitated for a moment before trailing behind them.
"I... I think I'll stay here," Neville said, remaining frozen in his seat. Years of experience had taught him that joining in on the excitement often led to becoming part of it.
When they reached the neighboring compartment, they saw five people inside, the atmosphere tense. The scream had come from a boy who, despite his pitiful appearance, was quite strong. A mouse was hanging from his finger, its sharp teeth deeply embedded in his flesh. The boy screamed and frantically waved his hand, trying to shake the mouse off.
Apart from the unfortunate boy, everyone else turned their attention toward Ethan and the others.
"Who are you? Get out!" A platinum-blonde boy with a pale face, looking as though he suffered from some ailment, yelled at Ethan and the others as they entered. Humiliated and suffering, he didn't want anyone else witnessing his embarrassment.
After all, his father was a school governor; he had the right to be arrogant. But upon seeing Cassandra behind Ethan, Draco quickly changed his tune. "I-I wasn't talking to you! I meant the other two."
At the pure-blood banquets, Cassandra and Draco had crossed paths more than once. However, Draco, always the arrogant one, had clashed with Cassandra, who was equally haughty. Before they learned magic, Draco often lost in physical confrontations because girls tended to grow faster. At the pure-blood gathering in August that year, Draco had tried to use the magic he'd just learned to redeem himself, only to be beaten more soundly than before.
Though Cassandra's family wasn't one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, it was still a noble pure-blood family, no less prestigious than Draco's. While Draco's father was a school governor, Cassandra's father was a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Magic. He couldn't suppress her with his family's influence, nor could he defeat her in a duel, leaving him feeling powerless whenever she was around.
"Draco Malfoy, no matter where you are, you always manage to cause trouble," Cassandra remarked with disdain.
Draco, flanked by his two goons, was nothing more than a bigger piece of trash leading two smaller ones.
"I..." Draco couldn't respond. He had once again made a fool of himself.
"Ethan, are you also going to Hogwarts?" Unlike Draco, who was both ashamed and angry, Harry seemed delighted to see Ethan. Although they couldn't be considered close, they had been classmates for two years. During that time, Dudley had never dared to bully Harry in class, thanks to Ethan's presence.
In this strange, magical world, seeing a familiar face was comforting.
"Yeah, I'm starting at Hogwarts this year as well. Who's your friend?"
"This is Ronald Weasley, a friend I just met. He comes from a wizarding family," Harry readily introduced his new companion.
"Enough! A mudblood from a Muggle family? Crabbe, teach him a lesson!" Draco, already angry from being rejected by Harry, ridiculed by Cassandra, and ignored by Muggle-borns, finally lost his temper. He couldn't vent his anger on Harry, the Boy Who Lived, or on Cassandra, nor could he pick a fight with Ron, who was a member of the Weasley family. But this mudblood? He was nothing.
Bang!
"Ah!"
"Incarcerous!"
Everything happened so fast. Before Draco knew it, Crabbe was lying on the floor, having been struck on the chin. The mudblood had pulled out Crabbe's wand and was now pointing it at Draco and Goyle. How ridiculous—trying to use someone else's wand! But before Draco could laugh, he realized he couldn't move.
"You should be thankful this is the Hogwarts Express and that you're still a first-year student at Hogwarts," Ethan whispered in Draco's ear, patting his cheek.
Then, turning to Harry, Ethan asked, "They were giving you trouble just now, right? Well, they can't move now, so feel free to handle them however you like."
"Leave it to me! I'll make sure to teach them a lesson. That spell you used was amazing! What was it?" Ronald kicked Draco excitedly. The Weasleys had been at odds with the Malfoys for generations, and now Draco had fallen into his hands.
"And that spell—if I could learn it, I'd be unstoppable. My brothers only taught me useless tricks, and they didn't impress Harry."
"The Binding Spell is in the textbook. Didn't you read it?" Ethan replied.
Hearing this, Harry and Ronald exchanged glances and shook their heads. Read textbooks during the holidays? The two boys quickly pushed the thought aside and got back to dealing with Draco and his goons. Under Harry's guidance, Ron knew exactly where to strike to cause the most pain without leaving any evidence, drawing on his prior experience.
"The train will arrive at Hogwarts in five minutes. Please leave your luggage on the train, and we will deliver it to the school."
The announcement echoed through the train, signaling that they were approaching the station. Ethan waved his wand, dispelling the binding spell on Draco and his cronies before returning Crabbe's wand to his pocket. After all, the wand wasn't to blame.
The liberated trio didn't dare say a word and quickly scurried away in shame.
After a few more pleasantries, Ethan led his group back to their compartment to change into their wizard robes. On the way back, Hermione couldn't stop complaining that she shouldn't have come along, as they had caused trouble before even reaching Hogwarts.
Cassandra, however, remained silent, her eyes fixed on Ethan's back. She pondered how she would have handled the situation if she were in his place. Defeating those three pieces of trash wouldn't have been difficult, but doing it as swiftly as Ethan had? Although she knew the Binding Spell, could she have cast it so efficiently with someone else's wand?
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