8 First Meeting

The noise level at the platform gradually increased as the bustling crowd grew in size. Adding to the chaos of parents sending their children off, a variety of cats wandered around while owls flew about in the sky that was a bit clouded from the smoke drifting out of the engine.

Pro calmly sat by the window and searched the crowd outside, intending to find some iconic characters. Although he may not want to be too closely involved with them due to the dangers of being by their side, he is still excited to meet the characters in one of his favorite books.

Suddenly, the door to his compartment roughly slid open. Glancing over, Pro saw three boys standing outside the compartment. A boy with a pale, pointed face and blond hair arrogantly glanced at Pro. Two dull, chubby boys followed the him and stood behind him like lackeys. Even though he looked a bit different from the movies, Pro was still able to recognize the bloke as Draco Malfoy.

"Hello. My name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy. What about you?"

After a moment of silence, Pro replied, "Pro Smith."

"Smith? Is it that Hufflepuff Smith?" Malfoy questioned while brushing his robes a bit while looking away, seemingly losing interest.

"No," Pro coldly replied as he already could tell where this was going to go.

"Not that Smith ... I haven't heard of any other Smiths. Crabbe, Goyle, do you know of any other Smiths?"

The dumb duo behind dully shook their heads in confusion after a moment of thought.

Seeing this, Malfoy sneered as his eyes stared over at Pro with disdain, "Then, you must be someone of the other kind. Pity, and I thought I could meet an interesting blonde compatriot. I really don't think Hogwarts should let your sort in. Crabbe, Goyle, let's go find another compartment. I don't want to end up breathing more of the wrong sort's air."

The door to the compartment slammed shut and the compartment returned to silence. Pro calmly sat in place as he couldn't help but feel a sense of frustration. Although he was excited by the fact that he met an iconic character, he was also disgusted by the attitude of the boy. Still, Pro couldn't blame him because it was just the result of his parents' horrible education.

Returning his attention to the crowd outside the window, it didn't take long for Pro to notice the red-heads that stood out from the crowd. A tall, thin boy walked off in a dignified manner, leaving his twin brothers behind. Glancing at the twins, Pro wasn't able to tell the difference at all, but he was able to guess that the Weasley that left them should be Percy.

Turning his focus to the platform entrance, it didn't take long for Pro to see the famous Harry Potter briskly shoving his cart forward with eyes closed. Seeing him, Pro inwardly groaned because he knew that he ended up going to school during the most dangerous times of Hogwarts. Not long after Harry Potter got lost in the crowd, Pro noticed Ron Weasley coming through the barrier with his mother and sister.

After observing the red-heads a bit, Pro lost his interest as there wasn't anything to note for the moment. Although they were an important part of the plot, but Pro wasn't a big fan of some of the members of that family. With the burden of Ron aside, just Percy alone is annoying enough. Pro just hopes that he won't end up on the receiving end of Fred and George's pranks.

Suddenly, Pro heard the compartment door open once more. Turning around, he saw a boy with short blonde hair. After observing the boy a bit, Pro was not able to recall which character he was, so he deemed him to be a side character.

"Hiya. It seems there is space in this compartment. Do you mind if I join you?" the boy asked with a cheerful smile

"Sure. Be my guest," Pro politely answered with a smile.

As Pro didn't plan on getting too close to the iconic characters of the Harry Potter verse for no reason, he didn't care if casual side characters would fill up his compartment and ending his chances of sitting with the iconic characters. Plus, making friends with side characters won't be as dangerous.

The short-haired blonde boy cheerfully stepped into the compartment and gently shut the door behind him. Plopping himself down across from Pro, the boy politely introduced himself while reaching his hand out for a handshake, "Hiya. I'm Anthony Goldstein. Nice to meet you!"

"Pro Smith, it's a pleasure," Pro politely replied as he shook the friendly boy's hand.

"It's my first year at Hogwarts, I'm guessing it's the same for you. If you have anything you'd want to know, just ask me. One of my parents was magical, so I'd say I know plenty about Hogwarts."

Pro politely nodded in response. Seeing no response, Anthony was about to continue chattering but was interrupted by the compartment door opening. This time, a boy with wavy, long, black hair stepped into the compartment. He gave a nod to the duo in the compartment before asking, "May I join you two?"

Before Pro could say anything, Anthony cheerfully agreed, "Sure! The more, the merrier! Hiya, I'm Anthony Goldstein, it's nice to meet you!"

The new member didn't reply until he calmly sat down besides Pro, "I'm Michael Corner."

Seeing Michael glance at him, Pro politely introduced himself after which Michael went silent. Hence, two silent boys sat on one side while the friendly one continued to chatter on the other side. It didn't take long for the compartment door to open once more and a boy with short-brown hair stepped in.

"Hi. I'm Terry Boot, can I join you?"

"Yes, yes, you can!" Anthony responded cheerfully as he patted the seat next to him, "Just enough to fill up the compartment. I'm Anthony Goldstein, it's nice to meet you!"

After everyone introduced themselves once more, Pro quietly watched as the duo across from him chattered on while Michael chimed in from time to time. He also responded but only when asked. Although he did plan to make friends, he wasn't sure what house he would be assigned in. So, he can only treat them as acquaintances at best.

After all, Pro knew that he would spend most of his times grinding XP instead of hanging out with friends. So, there was no need to make too many. Perhaps after he has gotten strong enough to survive the dangers of the first and second years, he would consider befriending more.

Time rolled forward on the tracks and the train whistle sounded. It didn't take long for the train to begin to move. Pro watched the crowd outside slide across his windows before disappearing completely as the train rounded the corner.

Pro knew that the journey will be fairly long, and he didn't want to spend all his time listening to the chatter of the others in the compartment. Hence, he pulled out a book to grind for magic XP. Of course, he also spent some time to remember important points. After all, he will still need the knowledge for written tests and homework.

It didn't take long for his companions to notice him reading. Anthony couldn't help but comment, "You'd probably end up in Ravenclaw won't you? I was told that I'd also end up in there."

Glancing up, Pro gave Anthony a nod before returning to his grinding. Pro didn't have any aversion to the Ravenclaw house. In fact, he would be happy to end up in there as it would allow him to safely grind XP. Perhaps the only two houses he might not want to join would be Slytherin, where he would be discriminated against, and Gryffindor, where the reckless, danger seeking trio stayed.

The scenery flew by outside and the train eventually left London. After a glance at the fields of cattle in the countryside, Pro returned to his reading. The clattering of a cart echoed from outside before coming to a stop outside their compartment. The door slid open and a smiling, dimpled woman gently asked, "Anything off the cart, dears?"

Putting his book aside, Pro took the initiative to purchase one of everything. After paying eleven sickles that he secretly took out of his inventory by reaching his hands into his robe, Pro returned to his seat and shared his purchase with his compartment mates. Perhaps they would all end up in Ravenclaw in the near future, so he won't mind brushing some favor by spending a small amount of money.

Pro also tried out the sweets as it was a magical experience for him. The only sweet he avoided was Bettie Bott's Every Flavor Beans because Pro recalled that there was earwax flavor, booger flavor, and other nasty flavors in that. He won't try it until he figures out which ones those are.

Pro also got his first chocolate frog card, Cornelius Agrippa.

CORNELIUS AGRIPPA

1486–1535 Celebrated wizard imprisoned by non-magical folks for his writings.

"Never heard of him. Must be some side character in the wizarding age. Maybe he has something to do with the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge?" Terry muttered as he glanced at card that Pro passed around.

"Chocolate frog cards are made for famous wizards. We are just lacking in knowledge," Michael stated before passing the card back to Pro.

"Don't worry everyone! We'd definitely not be some side characters at Hogwarts, let's become famous together!" Anthony encouraged cheerfully as he bounced in his seat.

The true side characters are you guys! Pro secretly rolled his eyes before picking up his book to continue his grinding. A while later, the train arrived in a new scene filled with twisting rivers, dark green hills, and trees. The other three were still chattering away in the compartment, but it was eventually interrupted by a knock on the door.

Glancing up from his grinding, Pro saw the compartment door slowly slid open to reveal a chubby, round-faced boy. The boy glanced around with tearful eyes as he asked in a timid voice, "Sorry, I've lost my toad. Have you seen a toad at all?"

After a bit of thought, Pro recognized the boy as Neville Longbottom. Recalling the plot, Neville should be looking for his toad, and if he was correct, Hermione Granger may show up soon.

Although Pro didn't want to associate with the dangerous trio too much, he definitely wouldn't mind meeting the genius lady of the trio, Hermione Granger. He also knew that she would grow up to be a beauty, and she would probably be the same here. After all, how can the important girl by the protagonist's side be ugly.

After the group replied no, the miserable Neville left after telling them to notify him if they find it.

"Poor bloke, how did he manage to lose something large like a toad? If I'd guess, he would definitely not end up in Ravenclaw," Anthony muttered while the rest silently agreed.

After a while, the compartment door slid open once more. This time, Pro looked up in excitement as he saw the girl he expected. Light skin, bright brown eyes, lots of bushy brown hair, and dressed in her school uniform, Hermione asked in a bossy voice, "Has anyone seen a toad? Neville-"

Suddenly, Hermione's voice cut off as her face stiffened in surprise when she locked eyes with Pro. She recovered in moments and her eyes glared at Pro in shock, "You're here too!"

Huh? Pro tilted his head in confusion as he glanced at his compartment mates that were also confused. Turning back, Pro noticed that Hermione was certainly glaring at him. Pro recognized her because he had knowledge regarding her from his past life, but now it seems she knows him?

After glaring at Pro for a couple more moments and getting no response, Hermione bit her lips as her eyes watered a bit.

"I won't lose," Hermione uttered in a bossy, yet aggrieved tone before slamming the compartment door shut.

Uhh ... Pro blankly stared at the door in confusion. The other three boys turned away from the door and glanced over at the confused Pro. Anthony's eyes were already lit up by the fire of gossip as he couldn't help but ask, "Pro, do you know her?"

Not recalling any encounters with the girl in his memory, Pro twitched his lips as he replied, "No."

The other three boys glanced at each other with confused eyes while Terry muttered, "Weird."

However, it didn't take long for the trio to go back to their chatter, leaving Pro to sit there in a daze as he tried to recall his past in his jumbled memories. Did something happen that he didn't know of? Did he accidentally entangle with one of the iconic characters of the dangerous trio before he attended Hogwarts? How come he doesn't remember?