The Hogwarts Express was moving smoothly across the endless fields, and the lazy afternoon sun shone through the glass windows, making Harry and Ron drowsy.
Across from them, Hermione was wide awake. She was engrossed in a book called Wanderings with Werewolves, and was at a crucial point.
The afternoon tranquillity was suddenly shattered by the sound of the compartment door being pulled open. A boy with platinum blond hair was peering into the compartment through the crack in the door.
Hermione looked up at the sound and met those jewel-like, clear grey eyes.
"Draco," she whispered, surprised, trying to smile at him with a frozen face, "what brings you here?"
"There is something I have to do," he said, standing beside her seat and looking at her with a somewhat uneasy expression.
Hermione was puzzled. She instinctively moved closer to the window, making room for him. "Would you like to sit?"
"Thank you." He sat down, his expression softening slightly, though his pale lips were still tightly pursed.
Hermione probably knew where his unease came from—opposite them, Ron was giving this uninvited visitor a stern look.
That day in Diagon Alley, when she later took her parents to Flourish and Blotts to meet the Weasleys, she overheard Ron's sister Ginny Weasley whispering that "Lucius Malfoy just had a fight with Mr Weasley, and the man was very rude."
Then, on the day she returned to school, she spent the entire morning in the compartment of the Hogwarts Express receiving Ron's lectures and baptism, learning about the "evil pure-blood ideology" upheld by the Malfoy family, which deeply shocked her.
"Absolutely not! Draco does not seem like that kind of person! He has always been very friendly to me, how could his father discriminate against Muggle-born wizards—" she retorted anxiously to Ron, "Is there not some misunderstanding?"
"Misunderstanding? Hermione, just ask any of your classmates, especially those with wizarding backgrounds, and they will all give you the same answer," Ron said. "Lucius Malfoy used to be one of You-Know-Who's henchmen! A Death Eater for sure!"
"What are Death Eaters?" Harry asked.
"They are the most loyal followers of You-Know-Who. Dad said they are all proficient in Dark magic, cruel and bloodthirsty, and devoted to You-Know-Who." Ron swallowed and shuddered. "They hold the most extreme pure-blood ideology and love to torture Muggles and Muggle-born wizards."
"Draco's father is one of them?" Harry asked doubtfully. "But in the wizarding world, are there not any punishments for committing crimes?"
"Most Death Eaters were imprisoned in Azkaban, the wizarding prison," Ron said. "But Draco's father claimed he was spared punishment because he was under the Imperius Curse. My dad said that was a complete lie; his family had always liked to play with Dark magic and looked down on Muggle-born wizards, even pure-blood wizards who were close to Muggles. That day, Draco's father even called my dad a 'pure-blood traitor'..."
Good heavens! Draco's father was a Death Eater, the kind of Death Eater who "tortures Muggles and Muggle-born wizards"? Hermione felt a stomachache at the thought.
For some reason, she felt a little angry, though she did not know who she should be angry at.
She never imagined that Draco would have such a terrible father. After all, Draco did not seem like the kind of person who would discriminate against Muggle-born wizards, making it hard for her to imagine that he was a boy raised by a pure-blood wizard with such extreme prejudice.
Admittedly, he possessed a somewhat aloof air, and he was indiscriminately arrogant towards most students. This aligns with Ron's description of the Malfoy family's character.
However, that day in Diagon Alley, he was kind, gentle, and courteous to her parents, and the atmosphere was very harmonious. Even after they got home, her parents spoke highly of him!
He knew perfectly well that they were Muggles!
His attitude hardly suggests discrimination against Muggles, let alone wizards of Muggle origin.
How could he possibly have a father who was prejudiced against Muggle-born wizards?
Hermione spent the entire morning indecisive in her compartment.
Several times, she wanted to rush out of the compartment, find him, and ask him face to face what was going on.
If he denies these rumours outright, if he can offer some reason that has led to the misunderstanding between the two families, then she will believe him without hesitation, and even see if she can help him clear up the misunderstanding with Ron.
But she was unusually timid. She did not dare to go to him. She was not mentally prepared, nor did she know how to start the conversation.
If what Ron said is true, and there is no misunderstanding between the two families, and all the rumours about the Malfoy family are true, then what should she do?
How should she face the boy whose smile makes everything else pale in comparison?
How should she face her favourite study partner, her loyal Slytherin friend, the special boy she always could not help but steal glances at and talk to?
Hermione's feelings were a mix of emotions.
She buried herself in one of Lockhart's books, no longer wanting to hear what Harry and Ron were saying.
She was trying to escape reality.
However, reality does not cease to exist just because people try to avoid it; sometimes, it comes knocking on their door.
Just as she was becoming increasingly engrossed in Lockhart's book and her emotions were calming down, Draco unexpectedly came looking for her.
With an unsettling expression that made one's heart clench, he sat upright and tall beside her, his exquisitely sculpted profile almost touching hers.
He has a nice nose, she thought, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye.
Oh, come on, Hermione, this is not the time to think about that! She was furious with herself. She turned a page of her book with feigned nonchalance, thinking to herself, should she take this opportunity to ask him if these rumours were true or false?
The next second, without her even asking, Draco had already spoken.
He spoke bluntly to Ron, "Listen, Ron, I know you might have some issues with my father. I have to apologise to you for his words and actions towards your father. Judging from your sister's expression back then, although I do not know what he said, it probably was not very pleasant."
Ron Weasley sat dumbfounded in his seat—for a moment he thought Draco had come to argue with him; he never expected to receive an apology from an arrogant Malfoy.
Draco Malfoy, the aloof and proud Slytherin boy, surprisingly ran to their compartment to apologise, which was as unbelievable as "Professor Snape giving Hermione five points for a correct answer".
Unlike Harry's tolerant attitude, Ron's feelings towards Draco have always been somewhat complicated.
On the one hand, Ron believed that they were from completely different worlds—from the house to their family backgrounds, from head to toe—and because of the differences in their parents' ideologies, he always harboured a certain wariness towards this Malfoy.
On the other hand, although Draco was naturally aloof and lacked enthusiasm, he was still much friendlier to them than many Slytherins, never showing any malice and even extending a helping hand to them on several occasions.
If Draco had treated them worse than his father, things would have been much easier. But Draco was clearly friendly to them, and his behaviour was impeccable.
"It does not seem fair to hold a grudge against Draco because of his terrible father. He cannot choose who his father is, can he?" Harry had just advised him in this way.
Ron remained silent, his mind replaying the endless words of comfort Harry had instilled in him, his eyes fixed on the slightly tense face of the boy in front of him.
It was the owner of this face who guided them when they were lost to the Transfiguration classroom, rescued them from the troll who had terrified them, and helped them find the culprit who cursed Harry—Quirrell.
Harry is right, he has been helping them all along.
He did not do anything bad.
He might be different from his father. Perhaps Slytherin is not just home to bad wizards.
Ron hesitated.
Besides, Harry and Hermione—who have always liked him—are always speaking up for him, Ron thought helplessly.
They were all unwilling to believe that Draco had even the slightest connection to the word "evil," not even as much as Theodore Nott.
Sigh! Ron glanced at Harry, who was smiling kindly at Draco beside him, and then at Hermione, who looked worried and afraid that they might start fighting at the slightest provocation.
"Do not worry about it. This is between adults. They have different thoughts and perspectives, and it has been going on for a while. There is nothing to make a fuss about." Finally, Ron tried his best to appear nonchalant, his face slightly flushed. "Harry already advised me that none of us can choose who our parents are, correct?"
"I am glad you think that way," Draco said, a faint smile playing on his lips.
He never expected that forgiveness would come so easily.
He had no confidence in gaining their forgiveness. From the very beginning, his motives for showing goodwill towards Harry and the others were not entirely pure—and still are now—so what right did he have to earn their genuine forgiveness?
However, as he spent more time with them, Draco gradually realised that he did not want them to misunderstand him, and he did not want his wilful father to ruin their already fragile relationship.
After much deliberation, he stepped into the compartment, intending only to give it a try, but he never expected to receive such a wonderful surprise.
"Thanks, Harry." He turned his pale eyes to Harry standing next to Ron and smiled at him. Harry winked his gentle green eyes at him and returned the smile.
Harry must have spent a lot of time and effort persuading Ron, Draco thought.
Suddenly, Draco began to understand something—why Harry was so popular in his previous life.
When faced with the same bad thing, Harry's first instinct is to treat people with sincerity.
He does not hesitate to think about problems from a positive and kind perspective.
Harry was willing to believe him, even to the point of trying to console his estranged friend. Not only him, Hermione was willing to give up her seat for him, despite the stiff, unusually complex expression he saw on her face from the very beginning. And Ron—for whomever he was—was willing to set aside his prejudices and accept people with different perspectives.
This was a possibility Draco had not anticipated; it should not have been this simple.
He had expected today's conversation to be difficult, or even end badly—Slytherins were accustomed to thinking about things from a negative perspective.
These Gryffindors are different from the Slytherins.
They seemed exceptionally broad-minded, willing to try to understand others even when they had doubts... Draco thought silently, increasingly finding his past misunderstandings and hostility towards them so ridiculous and meaningless.
The friendships between teenage boys are simple; as long as they can talk things out, no obstacle is insurmountable.
In the compartment, the tense atmosphere vanished, and the conversation resumed.
"The Chudley Cannons will always be number one in my heart!" Ron exclaimed, gesturing wildly. "They have won the League Cup twenty-one times; no one can deny their glorious past..."
Unfortunately, many people believe that the team's glorious era has come to an end—the Chudley Cannons' performance over the past century has been nothing short of "lifeless," Draco thought to himself.
Because of the friendly treatment he had just received, he wisely refrained from commenting on it.
"Draco, which team do you like?" Harry asked curiously.
"I appreciate individual, exceptionally talented players more than the team," Draco said casually. "Eunice Murray of the Montrose Magpies is an outstanding player, and Gwenog Jones of the Holyhead Harpies is also quite good."
"They are both Seekers. Harry, this is not a good sign." Ron gasped, then nudged his friend with a grin. "Watch out, you might end up as opponents on the pitch one day..."
Draco smiled but said nothing, glancing at the trees rushing past the window and then casually glancing at the girl beside him.
She looked somewhat listless as she turned a page of her book with a wan expression.
That is true. This little girl is often hesitant about flying, and even less interested in Quidditch teams, Draco thought. She has every reason to be unenthusiastic about their conversation.
She probably could not get a word in edgewise, which was why she seemed listless, Draco thought.
So he glanced at the book in her hand and changed the subject, "Let us talk about Gilderoy Lockhart, the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. What kind of person do you think he is?"
"I had a brief encounter with him at the bookshop," Harry said, a complicated expression on his face. "I have to admit, I cannot say I liked him.....