Stealthily raiding the Slytherin compartment wasn't an easy task. The biggest challenge was the timing.
The smoke bomb's coverage was limited, and they also had to be constantly wary of prefects from all the houses.
William and his friends didn't want to get caught, so a few of them had to set up distractions to temporarily block the prefects' passage.
That was Cedric, Fred, and Lee Jordan's job.
As soon as the smoke bomb hit the compartment wall, thick white smoke poured out from the Slytherin compartment. At the same time, the entire hallway was soon engulfed in smoke as well.
This was meant to create confusion and prevent other students from swarming in, thinking a real fire had broken out, which would trap them in a corner.
Screams echoed from every direction, and students in each compartment slammed their doors shut, genuinely believing there was a fire.
If someone had looked down from above at that moment, they would have seen thick smoke billowing from the middle sections of the Hogwarts Express.
Along with the train's "choo choo" sound, the rising smoke startled a flock of owls flying overhead.
Timing everything perfectly, George pulled out a small mirror he had prepared, intending to use it to reflect sunlight and draw the Niffler's attention.
But they had overlooked one small detail: the compartments were now shrouded in thick smoke, blocking out the sun. There was no sunlight left to reflect.
William immediately stepped in front of George, pulling out his wand and giving it a flick while whispering, "Lumos."
A red glow sparked at the tip of his wand, reminiscent of a firefly in the night.
Using the mirror, they reflected the bright red light straight into the compartment.
Red light, with its strong contrast, was sure to catch Robin Niffler's attention.
Sure enough, within seconds, a flurry of noise and commotion erupted from inside the compartment.
Then, a small black figure zipped towards the mirror, grabbing Cho's mirror and slipping it into its pocket.
George quickly snatched the Niffler by its paws, holding it upside down. William reached over and scratched its fuzzy little belly.
The Niffler let out a pleased "rrrrrr" sound, quivering its tiny tail in excitement while its paws hung limp.
But as with all good things, the moment was short-lived. A cascade of shiny objects spilled out from the Niffler's pouch, clattering loudly onto the floor.
A handful of Galleons, but mostly Sickles, and Knuts tumbled to the ground in a metallic symphony.
It seemed the Slytherin students weren't all as rich as their reputation suggested.
William's eye twitched slightly. Among the trinkets, he spotted a metal belt buckle... which meant the Niffler had actually swiped someone's belt from inside the compartment!
What a sneaky little creature!
George casually rifled through the loot, taking just enough to cover their "homework payments."
The rest, along with the miscellaneous trinkets, were stuffed into a small sack and tossed back into the compartment.
Thud!
The bag landed with a thump, followed by another round of curses from within.
William stared at the belt buckle in his hand, unsure of what to do with it. George, without thinking, grabbed it and tossed it straight out the window.
"..."
"Come on, we need to move! The prefects are coming," George urged, grabbing William with one hand and roughly hauling the Niffler with the other.
Dangling limply in the air, the Niffler stared wide-eyed as its precious treasures were thrown out of the window.
Its body trembled in disbelief. Despite the heat of the day, cold sweat broke out all over its little body, and its paws felt icy.
Hell was empty, and the devils were here on Earth!
Was there any justice left in the wizarding world? How were Nifflers supposed to survive in such a place, where wizards oppressed them at every turn?
Tears welled up in its eyes. This world was full of oppression for Nifflers everywhere. When would they finally be able to stand up for themselves?
...
...
Three minutes later, Percy stormed into the compartment, his face twisted in fury. However, his anger quickly turned to confusion.
William and Cedric were calmly discussing Transfiguration, Cho was cuddling her rabbit and staring out the window, George was waving a small fish snack to try and play with Boba Tea (who was pointedly ignoring him), and Fred and Lee Jordan were playing a game of Wizard's Chess.
Percy cleared his throat and asked, "That prank outside... it wasn't you, was it?"
Fred looked up, offended. "What are you suggesting, Percy? Do you think every bad thing that happens in the world is our fault? We're your brothers for Merlin's sake..."
Fred's voice grew louder and more indignant with each word, and by the end, he even squeezed out a tear.
Percy coughed awkwardly. "I was just doing a routine check. That's all."
George raised an eyebrow. "But I thought prefects were supposed to handle checks. Oh... I see now!"
George and Fred exchanged knowing looks, grinning mischievously.
George added, "You must be getting into practice early, Percy, preparing for life as a prefect. After all, that position is pretty much guaranteed for you next year."
Percy's face flushed red as a beet, and he yanked the compartment door shut with a huff.
Lee Jordan packed away the chess set, looking concerned. "Are we sure we're not going to get in trouble for this? What if Professor McGonagall finds out..."
Fred wiped away the tear from the corner of his eye—the one he'd created using a prank potion—and pursed his lips seriously. "Hmm, Gryffindor, minus five points!"
George patted Lee on the head with a grin. "Don't worry, the school term hasn't officially started yet. Technically speaking, we're still on summer vacation. Professor McGonagall won't dock any points for that."
Fred continued, "And don't forget, Slytherin's won the House Cup for six years in a row. Everyone's eager to knock them down a peg—including McGonagall... Oh, by the way, Lee, what's that in your bag?"
Fred's casual question drew everyone's attention to Lee Jordan.
Grinning proudly, Lee reached into his bag and pulled out a large stack of newspapers.
"These are copies of The Daily Prophet that I collected over the summer. You wouldn't believe it—there's so much coverage about your family and the Malfoys, it could fill a whole novel.
"Rumor has it the Ministry got attacked, but no one's sure what's real and what's made up..."
"Ugh, get that away from me! My mom's been furious about this all summer. Now, every time I see The Daily Prophet, I can practically hear her voice scolding me," George groaned, clutching his head dramatically.
Curious, William grabbed a paper and spread it out on the table.
To his surprise, there was a moving photo of him on one of the pages.
It showed him holding his wand, and right before their eyes, a calf materialized on top of Draco Malfoy.
Below the picture was a bold, flowery headline: "Outrageous! When Will School Bullying End?"
Flipping through a few more issues, William discovered that this was part of an education column. One of the opinion pieces even argued for Hogwarts to reform its education system and called for a salary cut for the professors!
But that wasn't the worst of it.
The prime spot in the newspaper was dedicated to photos of Mr. Weasley and Lucius Malfoy, mid-clothing-rip, grappling with each other.
The Daily Prophet had devoted seven issues and fourteen full pages to following up on the story.
The headlines grew more outlandish by the day.
"Shocking! Ministry Official Caught Assaulting a Law-Abiding Citizen!"
That was obviously from a Malfoy-bribed reporter.
"Inhumane! Malfoy Publicly Attacks a Core Ministry Official!"
No doubt, Dumbledore had someone in the press office as well.
One of the Quidditch commentators had a particularly bizarre take. They wrote: "Scotland Ablaze! A Stunning Scorpion Kick Reappears in Diagon Alley!"
"Speechless! Even England's Weakest Would Weep in Shame!"
But the most outrageous of all was an article titled: "Two Old Men Embrace in the Streets: The Untold Love-Hate Story of Weasley and Malfoy!"
William glanced at the author's name—it was none other than Rita Skeeter.
Just as he was about to ask about this mysterious witch, a sudden scream pierced the air.
The sound was so full of pain that it sent a shiver down everyone's spine, cutting straight to the soul.
Fred nearly overturned the table as he jumped up, clutching his crotch, and roared, "George, William—what did you do to that Niffler?! It bit me! By Merlin, it hurts so bad!"
William suddenly remembered Fred had originally pulled the Niffler from his pants, which meant the bite...
Fred's rage, trembling, cold sweats, and tears began all at once.