Clearly, Crabbe and Goyle hadn't picked up on Jon's intentions either.
Without hesitation, the two began reminiscing about the old days of their fathers and Lucius Malfoy.
As he spoke, Crabbe even started crying... until Jon pulled out a tissue and handed it to him.
In just half an hour, Jon had managed to coax nearly everything they knew out of them. Unfortunately, these two chubby boys weren't even trainee Death Eaters—they knew very little. There wasn't much useful information to be gained from their mouths.
And it was obvious they'd been warned beforehand... Even though they were almost at the point of talking about everything with Jon, they didn't mention a single word about Voldemort's resurrection or anything related to the Death Eaters.
Still, from their fragmented remarks, Jon could piece together quite a few relevant details.
...
About an hour later, Draco Malfoy pushed open the compartment door, followed by a dark-haired girl who looked a bit like a pug.
Inside, Jon was trading Chocolate Frog cards with Crabbe and Goyle.
"See you later, Pansy!" Malfoy said to the dark-haired girl before stepping inside.
"I'm starving!" Malfoy exclaimed, dropping into a seat and grabbing a Pumpkin Pasty.
"That damned Head Boy… what's his name again…" he grumbled between bites.
"Cedric Diggory!" Crabbe whispered.
"Right, that Diggory!" Malfoy crossed his legs. "He's such a slowpoke and a sissy, it's unbearable…"
Tearing open the wrapper, he took a big bite, then leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes as if the whole morning had exhausted him.
"And do you know who Gryffindor's prefect is?" Malfoy asked mysteriously, still with his eyes shut.
"Potter?" Goyle asked uncertainly.
"I thought it'd be Potter too!" Malfoy suddenly burst out laughing. "Turns out it's that idiot Weasley!"
Crabbe and Goyle froze for a moment before bursting into laughter, looking rather unhinged.
"That's right—Weasley, and that Mudblood Granger…" Malfoy opened his eyes again. "Slytherin's prefects are me and Pansy… Hufflepuff's are Ernie Macmillan and Hannah Abbott, Ravenclaw's are Anthony Goldstein and Padma Patil…"
Jon forced himself to look confused, pretending not to recognize any of those names.
Malfoy seemed to have recovered by now. He stood up and ordered Crabbe and Goyle,
"Let's go mess with Potter, shall we?"
Crabbe and Goyle immediately got to their feet, looking blank as ever.
"Potter actually lost to Weasley—that's priceless! I can't wait to see the look on his face…" Malfoy muttered to himself, a silly grin spreading across his face.
Then he suddenly remembered there was someone else in the compartment.
"Patrick, wanna come have some fun?"
"I'll pass… I don't even know who's who yet!" Jon declined easily.
Malfoy didn't insist and left with Crabbe and Goyle.
...
About half an hour later, they returned, looking quite pleased with themselves. Draco Malfoy seemed especially satisfied with the outing.
"We should change," Malfoy reminded them.
The boys hurried to open their trunks and put on their school robes. Malfoy carefully pinned his prefect badge to his chest.
Finally, the train began to slow down. The carriage erupted into noise as everyone scrambled to gather luggage and pets, preparing to get off.
As a prefect, Malfoy had to help maintain order. Jon followed Crabbe and Goyle off the train with ease.
They blended into the crowd at Hogsmeade Station, and Jon felt the cool evening breeze brush against his face.
Fortunately, with the bulky figures of Crabbe and Goyle clearing the way, pushing through the crowd wasn't too difficult.
Walking along the platform, Jon caught the fresh scent of pine trees lining the path to the lake... and then—
A limping figure stepped off the train, scanning the crowd before shouting,
"First-years, over here!"
...
The figure turned out to be Alastor Moody.
Jon knew that Hagrid was currently in France, so it made sense he couldn't come to ferry the first-years across the lake. But according to the original events, it should have been Professor Grubbly-Plank, the acting Care of Magical Creatures teacher, taking his place.
Now it was Moody? Did that mean Mad-Eye Moody would be teaching at Hogwarts? What about Umbridge then?
Jon didn't dwell on it. Everything would be revealed soon enough in the Great Hall.
He saw Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley approach, probably to ask about Hagrid's absence, but Mad-Eye Moody brushed them off quickly.
"First-years, line up here! All first-years, follow me!" Moody bellowed in his gravelly voice.
One by one, the tiny first-years gathered behind him, forming a neat line.
Jon hesitated briefly, then decided to head over as well. After all, even though he wasn't technically a first-year, he was still a new student—and he'd need to go through the Sorting Ceremony soon enough.
Mad-Eye Moody's grotesque magical eye swept over Jon.
Jon kept his gaze fixed on Moody's expression, but the man's face remained perfectly still—no reaction at all.
So… he hadn't seen through the disguise? That meant the illusion cast by Dumbledore's iron ring was strong enough to deceive even a magical artifact as powerful as Moody's eye.
"Chris Patrick, right?" Moody rasped.
"Yes, Professor!" Jon nodded.
"Professor Dumbledore mentioned you. You'll be joining the first-years," Moody said.
"Understood!" Jon nodded again and moved to the end of the line.
Just like three years ago, they followed Moody down a steep, narrow, and slippery path. The trail was pitch-black on both sides, and several first-years nearly slipped and fell.
At the end of the narrow path lay a dark, still lake.