Luke, Hermione, and Neville wandered through the carriage, with Neville walking with his head down, clearly distressed over his lost toad.
"By the way, Luke, your Frog seems to have disappeared too," Hermione remarked, noticing that the Frog that had been resting on Luke's head had vanished.
"It's off on another journey, don't worry about it," Luke replied nonchalantly, thinking of the Frog that had recently assisted with his luggage. He was relieved that it had finally decided to venture out again after staying at home for so long.
"Really?" Hermione raised an eyebrow but didn't press the matter further.
"Your Frog is quite unusual," she remarked as they continued searching.
At last, Luke knocked on the door of a compartment, and they had already checked half the train without success.
"Hello, have you seen a toad?" he asked as he pushed the door open. Inside were two young boys, one with round glasses and the other with distinctive red hair.
"No, sir, we haven't seen a toad," the bespectacled boy replied politely.
"Hey, watch me do magic!" the red-haired boy chimed in, seizing his wand and directing it at a slumbering fat rat.
"Daisies, sweet cream, and sunshine, turn this silly fat mouse yellow!" he chanted.
However, despite his best efforts, the wand produced nothing but a puff of white smoke, and the plump rat continued to sleep contentedly, twitching its leg.
"How could it possibly fail?" Ronald flushed with embarrassment and tried again with his battered wand, but it only emitted more white smoke and had no effect.
Meanwhile, Hermione, who had been searching other compartments for toads, had joined them with Neville. She watched the scene unfold.
"Your wand movements aren't precise. Perhaps you should learn some basic spells," she suggested. With a flick of her wand, she smoothed the cracked mirror on Harry's glasses.
"It's a simple spell, isn't it?" She smiled.
Yet, even with the correct incantation and wand movement, the rat remained unaffected.
Luke knew the true identity of the rat before him, but he decided to play along.
"Luke Geralt, pleasure to meet you, Mr. Hippy Potter," he greeted, extending a friendly hand while trying his damn best not to laugh.
"Nice to meet you, Luke. Actually my name is Harr-"
"Harry Potter?" Hermione was taken aback but then lit up. "I know you! I've read about you in books like 'Modern History of Magic,' 'The Rise and Fall of Dark Magic,' and 'Important Magical Events of the Twentieth Century.' You're mentioned in several books. I never expected to meet you like this!"
"Well, I never thought I'd be so famous," Harry shrugged.
"I found my toad! Luke, Hermione!" A delighted voice echoed from the corridor, and Neville appeared, holding his toad triumphantly.
"Let's go, Hermione." With Neville having found his toad, it was time to return to their compartment, where plenty of snacks awaited.
"Ah, yes, redhead, you have something dirty on your nose," Hermione noted before following Luke out of the compartment.
Ronald's nose twitched upon hearing this remark. "What a nuisance. I hope the Sorting Hat doesn't place us in the same house!" he grumbled to Harry, who was still holding his rat.
After helping Neville locate his toad, it was already ten minutes past evening. The steam train was steadily approaching its destination.
Luke sat in his seat, engrossed in playing Pokémon on his game console, with half a piece of open chocolate in his mouth. Across from him, Hermione alternated between reading a book and admiring the scenery outside the window as the evening glow bathed the surroundings.
"Luke, which house do you think you'll choose?"
"Gryffindor or Ravenclaw?"
In Hermione's opinion, Luke was most likely to be sorted into one of these two houses. After all, Gryffindor represented bravery, and Ravenclaw represented wisdom, qualities she believed Luke possessed.
In response to her question, Luke pondered for a moment but didn't provide a direct answer. Instead, he turned the question back to Hermione, asking, "Which house would you like to be in?"
"Me? I prefer Gryffindor!"
"That's where the great Headmaster Dumbledore was from."
With that statement, Hermione displayed a Dumbledore trading card she had found in one of the snacks. Gryffindor was indeed the same choice as her favorite in the original story.
"As for me, I'll follow the Sorting Hat's decision."
Despite his prior agreement with Snape to join Slytherin, Luke was curious to hear the Sorting Hat's analysis of him. Moreover, he had reservations about joining Slytherin due to his mixed-race heritage and status as an orphan. Being friends with Slytherins might not be the most advantageous choice for him. In fact, with his current strength and abilities, he could potentially dominate the entire Slytherin house. Instead of being friends with a snake, he envisioned himself as the King of Slytherin.
"Don't you have a house preference?" Hermione pouted.
"I like them all," Luke replied vaguely, attributing it to his engagement with the game. After all, they would be attending classes together regardless of their house, and the only difference would be their dormitory. As long as he knew how to access the dormitories of different houses, he could visit anyone.
With that in mind, Luke turned his attention away from Hermione, who was immersed in her book.
Hermione, however, sensed his thoughts. "You're thinking about something mischievous!"
Luke raised his game console, a perplexed expression on his face. "I'm just wondering why people and Pokémon can have children. How do they..."
He explained that the idea had been bothering him, especially considering that his Frog could travel to various worlds, implying the existence of the Pokémon world.
Most of the snacks on the table had disappeared, primarily ending up in Luke's stomach. After all, playing games consumed energy.
As the stars replaced the setting sun, moonlight illuminated the table. The cabin's lights came on, and the train continued along the tracks through the wilderness under the night sky. Not far away, a glistening black lake and a massive castle appeared to be suspended in the air.
In the distance lay Hogwarts.
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