Hermione was about to launch a question from her endless list when the compartment door slid open again. A red-haired boy with a smudge of charcoal on his nose and somewhat disheveled robes peered in, looking at everyone with impatience.
"Have you seen Harry Potter?" the boy blurted out without preamble.
Tonks and Harry exchanged a quick glance and shared a complicit smile that Hermione couldn't quite decipher.
"And who are you?" Tonks asked, leaning her chin on her hand with feigned interest.
"Ron Weasley," he replied proudly, puffing out his chest. "The best friend of the Boy Who Lived."
Tonks looked back at Harry. He simply shook his head almost imperceptibly, maintaining his serene expression.
"No, we haven't seen Harry Potter," Tonks said with a mischievous smile. "But if you find him, let us know. We'd like to meet him too."
Ron nodded with an air of importance, turned around, and stepped out into the corridor. In his haste, he bumped loudly into a girl who was about to enter, but he kept walking without even apologizing.
"There's always a black sheep in every family," Tonks commented, shaking her head as she watched the redhead walk away.
"Susan," Harry said, his voice regaining that soft warmth as he addressed the girl who had just been shoved by Ron.
"Harry, I was looking for you," said Susan Bones, composing herself and entering the carriage. "I wanted to introduce you to Hannah, my lifelong friend." Susan stepped aside to let a girl with blonde pigtails pass, who was looking into the compartment shyly. "Hannah, let me introduce you to Harry Potter... though everything you've read about him in those books, you can count as a lie."
Harry stood up and stretched out his hand with elegance. Hannah stood petrified for a few seconds before reacting.
"Hello, Hannah. Like Susan said, I'm Harry Potter... but currently, I prefer to be called Harry Peverell."
Hannah felt her cheeks flush and, with a somewhat clumsy movement, shook Harry's hand. "Hannah Abbott," she whispered, fascinated by the calm the boy radiated.
The two girls took their seats, squeezing a bit into the space now filled with people and ancient books. Tonks, noticing the compartment was starting to get crowded, stood up to leave.
"Wait, Tonks," Harry said suddenly. He leaned toward his trunk, searched for a moment, and pulled out a small, dark velvety wooden box. He handed it to her carefully.
Tonks placed a hand over her heart, over-dramatizing the scene with her usual sense of humor. "Harry! Wait a few years before proposing, you're still far too young for me."
Harry let out a small laugh and winked at her, a gesture that seemed much more mature than his eleven years. "Open it."
Tonks opened the box, and the air seemed to chill slightly in the carriage. She covered her mouth with her hand, losing her vibrant hair color for a moment as it turned a pale pink. "Harry... is it what I think it is?"
Harry nodded gravely. "The Devourers' earrings."
Tonks let out a squeal of pure joy, lunged at Harry to give him a hug that almost knocked the wind out of him, and ended with a loud kiss on his cheek. Harry blushed instantly, drawing laughter from Susan, Hannah, and even a small smile from Hermione.
Harry cleared his throat, trying to regain his composure as he straightened his jacket. "Uh... I recommend you only wear one, the one for the right ear. They are marked. If you put both on, you'll be able to see Cursed Spirits, and believe me, they aren't pleasant at all. With just the right one, you'll have protection for your mind, both against legilimency and other interferences."
"Thanks, Harry. Truly," Tonks said sincerely, giving his arm one last squeeze before walking toward the door. She paused for a moment and looked at the group of first years. "Guys, I'll see you at Hogwarts... and I expect to see you in Hufflepuff!"
With a wink and a hair color change to a bright yellow, Tonks disappeared down the corridor, leaving the three girls staring at Harry. He sat back down, leaning against the leather seat, and noticed the silent scrutiny.
"What's wrong?" he asked with a relaxed smile.
Hermione, who had been holding her breath, blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "You're really Harry Potter... I've read about you."
Harry shook his head, amused. "Believe me, if I had the magic from *Harry Potter and the Crystal Dragon* or *Harry Potter against the Nundu of the Shadows*, I wouldn't be coming to Hogwarts. What's more, I don't even have a phoenix, I haven't fought vampires... and worst of all, I only know three wand spells."
The girls' eyes widened in surprise.
"I'm not talking about children's tales," Hermione countered with her usual tone of academic authority, "but *A History of Magic* and *The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts*. But, changing the subject... you only know three spells? Didn't you read the first-year books? I read them all and I've been practicing; some are quite complex."
"The reason I didn't read them is because I'm supposed to come to Hogwarts to learn," Harry replied with crushing logic. "Otherwise, I would have just stayed home and read."
"But... the grades! Being prepared, being one of the top students... don't you care?" Hermione insisted, nearly scandalized by his lack of rigor.
"Well, the truth is that I like magic," Harry said, his voice growing deeper. "That's why I've been researching magic from other schools and different types, like Ofuda amulets and science-based magic. Like for example..."
He peered out the window. The sky was clear, not a single cloud in sight over the Scottish hills. Harry raised his hand slowly, his gaze fixed on the air in front of him.
"Most people think making it rain is a complicated spell," he said calmly. "But in reality, you're just replicating a natural process."
A faint glow began to form in his palm. Little by little, a runic circle appeared, rotating softly, composed of symbols that shifted as if they were alive. Hermione leaned forward, completely forgetting her textbooks.
"Rain doesn't appear out of nowhere. First, you need moisture," Harry explained. The air inside the compartment seemed to vibrate. A small sphere of water began to form over his hand, floating and growing slowly. "Vapor is everywhere... you just have to gather it."
The sphere increased in size, crystalline, reflecting the light of the compartment like a tiny world. Harry turned his wrist slightly, and the runic circle changed, becoming more intricate.
"Then... you lower the temperature. Condensation."
A light cold vapor emanated from the sphere. The ball of water trembled gently, fragmenting into multiple tiny drops that remained suspended around his hand. Harry looked up at the sky through the glass.
"But doing it down here would be inefficient. So you do it up there... where it belongs."
With a smooth motion, he raised his hand. The drops shot upward, passing through the roof of the train as if they were ghosts. The runic circle projected onto the sky, enormous and translucent, spinning slowly among the clouds that were beginning to swirl. For an instant, the world seemed to hold its breath.
Then, the first drops hit the glass. Soft at first, then steady. Within seconds, a fine rain began to cover the landscape outside. Harry lowered his hand, observing the result with an almost icy calm.
"Pressure, temperature, and density," he murmured. "It's not complicated magic... you're just accelerating the right process."
Hermione, Susan, and Hannah remained in absolute silence, watching the water slide down the window.