"That's wandless spellcasting," Ivan said, pointing to Hermione. "Although she can't do it yet, she's learned a lot of magic."
"Really?" someone asked, surprised.
"Ahem," Hermione cleared her throat, lifting her head proudly. She took out her wand, ready to show off in front of Neville.
After all, she was the first young witch from a wizarding family that they knew, and Hermione wanted Neville to see how skilled she was.
"Repair as good as new!" she declared, noticing a tear in Neville's clothes. With a flick of her wand, she used the repair spell to fix it.
"Thank you! Thank you!" Neville said quickly, looking relieved. "Hermione, you're amazing!"
"Not bad, not bad," Hermione replied shyly, lowering her gaze. She didn't want to lose to other young witches and wizards but wasn't really trying to show off.
Neville's heartfelt compliment made even Hermione blush a little.
As they chatted, the train left London.
The sound of "click, click" echoed in the aisle as a smiling woman with dimples opened the compartment door. "Dear, would you like to buy any snacks for the ride?" she asked.
"I want a licorice wand," Neville said, reaching into his pocket for the money his grandmother had given him.
Hermione, sitting next to Ivan, also perked up. She was curious about the food in the wizarding world.
"Hello!" Ivan said, pulling out a few Galleons. "I'll buy some."
"Ivan!" Hermione said, surprised. She thought he was being a bit reckless with his money. But Ivan explained that he wanted to try as many wizard snacks as possible. "We can take leftovers to Hogwarts, so nothing will go to waste."
Soon, a mountain of snacks piled up between Ivan and Hermione. They had Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Puffskein Bubblegum, Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, and other strange treats they hadn't seen before in Diagon Alley.
These goodies cost Ivan thirteen silver Sickles and four bronze Knuts.
"How should I put it? Prices in the wizarding world are quite reasonable," Ivan thought.
"Do you want anything else, dear?" the lady asked, noticing Neville looking puzzled.
Neville was having trouble. He couldn't find the money his grandmother had given him.
"Let's share," Ivan suggested, inviting Neville to try the snacks with him. This way, he could also help Hermione out.
In the end, it meant Ivan was treating three people, and even Hermione couldn't refuse.
"Thank you," Neville said gratefully, feeling relieved. "I always forget things. My memory isn't the best."
Ivan suspected that Neville's memory issues were due to a forgetfulness spell cast on him as a child. But Neville had talent too; he just hadn't discovered it yet. After all, he would later become a professor of Herbology at Hogwarts, showing that he was skilled in that area.
"Let's eat first," Ivan said. He and Hermione had only had a few slices of bread in the morning and were now quite hungry.
They each picked a snack. Ivan chose a Chocolate Frog, intrigued by it after seeing it in a movie. Hermione opted for the Licorice Wand, thinking it was a classic treat from a wizarding family.
"This is interesting," Ivan said as he opened the box. The Chocolate Frog inside jumped out excitedly.
Unfortunately, just as it was about to escape, Ivan froze it mid-air using the freezing spell from his wandless magic training.
"Wow!" Neville exclaimed, eyes wide with amazement. He was so impressed that he didn't notice his half-eaten Pumpkin Pastie fall onto the table.
"Hey, wake up," Ivan teased, waving a hand in front of Neville's face. He then poked the frozen Chocolate Frog and asked, "How do you eat this? Do you just put it in your mouth?"
"Uh, yeah, just eat it straight," Neville replied, still in shock.
"This feels strange," Ivan said, unfazed by Neville's expression. He played with the Chocolate Frog a little longer, curious about the magic on it, then finally put it in his mouth.
The moment he did, the Chocolate Frog started to squirm, trying to escape. Ivan frowned at the strange sensation.
"Maybe it's better to bite off its head first," Neville suggested. He was known for being a pro at eating Chocolate Frogs.
"Ah!" Hermione, enjoying her Licorice Wand, frowned at that comment. She knew Neville meant well, but it sounded a bit gross.
"Crunch, crunch," Ivan said as he took Neville's advice and chewed quickly.
As he bit into the frog, he felt the magic fading, replaced by a rich sweetness that filled his mouth.
"This tastes amazing! I've never had chocolate like this before."
Ivan realized that, in both of his lives, he had never experienced anything like this. The food in the wizarding world was truly special.
As the three of them laughed and shared fun stories about the wizarding and Muggle worlds, a cat's meow caught their attention.
"Hermione, you seem to have forgotten to let Yumi out!" Ivan said.
"Oh!" Ivan slapped his forehead. He used a levitation spell to pull Yumi's carrier closer.
"Meow!" Yumi exclaimed, freed from her bag. She looked at Ivan with annoyance. He quickly apologized, "I'll get you some snacks, Yumi. Please forgive me!"
After a moment of grumbling, Yumi jumped out and started picking snacks from the sofa.
"Yumi, come here," Hermione called. The cat jumped into her arms, having grown fond of Hermione over the last few weeks.
Meanwhile, Hermione also let her pet Crookshanks out.
Suddenly, two cats appeared in the compartment: Yumi, a cute ragdoll cat, and Crookshanks, a fluffy cat with a big face.
"Your pets are so cute!" Neville said, glancing between the two.
Just then, he remembered his own pet toad, Riff, and was about to introduce him when his face suddenly changed. He realized that Riff was nowhere to be found.
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