When Harry was struggling to drag his heavy suitcase through the crowded crowd, Vid had already found an empty compartment and sat down. Taking advantage of no one being around, he changed into his school robes in advance and took out the "Monsters and Their Origins" to start reading.
In the span of a month, Vid had skimmed through all the books he bought, and in terms of content, "Monsters and Their Origins" (also known as "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them") was his favorite. Of course, some of this fondness might also be attributed to the author. The book's author, Newt Scamander, is the protagonist of another series of Harry Potter movies; he has a deep love for various magical creatures and a magical suitcase that Vid envies immensely.
After a while, the compartment door suddenly opened. A brown-haired little girl stood at the door, looked around, and asked, chin up, "Excuse me, is anyone else coming to sit here?"
Vid's gaze swept over her rather prominent front teeth and said, "No."
"Oh."
The little girl dragged her suitcase in, sat down, and then looked up, saying, "Hello, I'm Hermione, Hermione Granger."
Vid put down the book, reached out, and said, "Vid Gray."
"You're reading 'Monsters and Their Origins'? Then you're a first-year student this year? Me too! By the way, I've memorized the entire contents of this book, of course, the other textbooks as well," Hermione said rapidly, with a trace of pride. "Oh, and I've also practiced some simple spells that worked. Like this – Lumos!"
The tip of her wand lit up with a soft glow.
"Although I haven't memorized the textbooks," Vid also pulled out his wand, "Lumos!"
The two small light bulbs reflected each other, as if proving they were kindred spirits. Hermione grinned, with a bit of longing, and said softly, "It's really magical, isn't it?"
Vid silently nodded.
Hermione suddenly remembered something and quickly explained, "Oh, I'm an ordinary person... a Muggle-born. No one in my family knows magic. I suppose these little tricks are quite common for you?"
Vid said, "No, my parents don't know magic either."
"Then we can help each other at school," Hermione said happily. "I mean, kids from wizarding families must have followed their parents and learned a lot of magic from a young age, right? I certainly don't want to be the worst student."
"You don't need to worry about that," Vid couldn't help but laugh, "I'm sure very few can memorize the textbooks; maybe you're the only one. Truly amazing, Miss Granger."
"Well, um... it's not really... uh... I mean, some of the content is also quite tricky, and there are spells I didn't dare try at home because the book says mispronouncing spells can have terrible consequences," Hermione said, blushing and stumbling over her words.
As she was feeling embarrassed, the compartment door was pushed open again. Hermione breathed a sigh of relief and immediately looked toward the door.
A round-faced boy hesitated at the door, stammering as he asked, "Excuse me, may I sit here?"
"Of course, come in!" Hermione said enthusiastically.
The boy clumsily placed his suitcase down, and after sitting, twisted his fingers nervously, as if he wasn't used to interacting with others.
Hermione proactively said, "Hello. I'm Hermione Granger, and he's Vid Gray. We're both first-years this year—what's your name?"
"Neville," he said. "I'm Neville Longbottom, um, also a first-year."
"Oh, are you from a non-magical family too?" Hermione asked curiously.
Neville looked down, "No... my parents are both wizards."
"Then you must know a lot of magic?" Hermione said. "I've only mastered lumos and Reparo, a few simple spells, but I'm still unsure about the Petrification Spell. Is it Petri-ficus To-ta-lus or Petrifi-cus Tota-lus?"
Neville looked confused, "Pe—Petri what?"
Hermione blinked, as if she didn't understand what he was asking.
Neville looked distressed and said, "I... I haven't even mastered Lumos yet!"
"...Oh." Hermione looked a bit disappointed but also slightly pleased; she puffed her chest slightly and said, "Well, it's okay, I can teach you—I mean—we can learn from each other..."
Neville looked like he was about to cry.
"Neville," Vid suddenly said, "something's moving in your pocket?"
Neville looked down, "Ah, it's my pet, it always likes to run around."
He pulled a black-gray toad from his pocket and happily introduced it to the two, "Look, it's called Leif."
Vid and Hermione leaned back unconsciously, trying to discreetly distance themselves from the unsightly creature without Neville noticing.
The squishy toad stretched its legs and suddenly leapt, jumping out from Neville's hand. At that moment, the compartment door hadn't been closed after Neville's entry, so Mr. Leif hopped ambitiously towards freedom and disappeared with two jumps.
Neville stared at his empty palm for two seconds and let out a cry of distress, "Leif!"
He chased after it, and Vid heard the sound of the boy accidentally bumping into the train compartment.
The two inside the compartment exchanged glances.
Hermione whispered, "Though the notice said so... I originally thought no one would keep a toad as a pet!"
Vid nodded in agreement. He knew that some golden, pink, or jade green toads could be considered attractive, but the gray, warty ones... how could anyone genuinely like them?
Neville truly cared for his toad.
After a while, the boy returned, wiping tears and sniffling, "I couldn't find it—everyone said they hadn't seen it—"
Vid consoled him, "The train is closed. You can look for it when we get off, you'll definitely find it," assuming no one would steal a toad.
Neville wasn't comforted, tears still pattering down.
Seeing him truly upset, Hermione sighed helplessly and stood up, "I'll go with you to look."
She sought Vid's opinion with her eyes, and Vid shook his head.
Hermione and Neville left, and the compartment that had been a little noisy became immediately quiet. Vid looked out the window as the rolling hills slowly moved away behind.
He knew that if he joined Hermione to find the toad, he would meet Harry and Ron, and eleven-year-old children can easily become friends. Thus, the golden trio could become a group of four.
However, after pondering for a while, Vid still felt no need to cling to the leading roles because what fascinated him wasn't the rather childish adventure of students fighting the Dark Lord this year. The magic itself was fascinating enough.