"Hey, Cho! How was your holiday? Uh—I mean, there's an empty seat here. Want to join us? We could share some snacks or play a fun game together?"
A fourth-year Ravenclaw boy slid open the compartment door, smiling nervously at Cho Chang.
Cho gave him an awkward smile and shook her head. "I'm looking for my friend, Marietta. Not sure where she's run off to."
"Oh… okay…" The boy looked visibly disappointed, his voice lowering as he added, "Well, if you can't find her or a seat, you're welcome to come back here, alright? I'll save you a spot. If your friend wants to join too, that's fine."
Cho gave him a polite nod before continuing down the train.
As soon as she left, the boy had to endure the laughter of his compartment mates.
"At least I had the guts to talk to her!" he grumbled, puffing up his chest. "That already makes me better than you lot!"
His friends snickered. "Oh, come off it. Everyone knows Cho's got a thing for that Slytherin prince. You must be out of your mind."
The fourth-year boy wrestled playfully with his friends, but then, almost dreamily, he murmured, "Did you guys notice? She seems… different. Like, she's even more like the girl of my dreams now."
"Girls change all the time," one of his friends scoffed.
Meanwhile, Cho continued down the train, dragging her trunk through the noisy corridors. Despite her searching, she didn't manage to find Nolan or Eve.
But she did find her best friend, Marietta.
The girl's freckled face looked even more speckled than usual.
"Marietta, can I sit here?"
"Of course!" Marietta bit off the head of a chocolate frog and quickly shuffled some snacks aside to make room while Cho stowed her luggage. "Why would you even ask?"
"Uh… just being polite?" Cho blinked before settling gracefully into her seat, listening as Marietta chattered about her holiday adventures—mostly about how she'd gone to great lengths to secure a signed copy of Gilderoy Lockhart's latest book.
Finally, Cho found an opportunity to interrupt. "Did you see Nolan anywhere? I haven't been able to find him on the train. I hope he didn't miss it."
"You worry too much!" Marietta waved a dismissive hand. "That guy is too clever for that. Even if he missed the Hogwarts Express, he'd find another way to catch up. Or have you forgotten? He can turn into a giant raven. He could cross all of Britain in the air faster than this train can move! And even if he couldn't, Professor McGonagall would probably fetch him herself. I hear they get along well. No idea why she's so fond of a Slytherin, though… Anyway, trust me, dear, there's no need to worry about him."
"But I haven't seen Eve either."
Marietta let out an exasperated laugh. "Why do you care about Stock? Did you forget she's your rival? If I were you, I'd be hoping she got expelled for excessive magic use over the summer."
"I wouldn't think that way…" Cho sighed, resting her chin on her hand as she gazed out the window.
Marietta shook her head. She couldn't understand why her best friend was so obsessed. It was just Nolan Von Draugr—what was so special about him?
…Okay, fine. Even Marietta had to admit he was something.
Actually, probably every girl at Hogwarts thought he was something.
But what did it matter? Marietta knew better than to think she stood a chance against Cho's beauty—or against that silver-haired lightning bolt of a girl.
Perhaps that was why most of the witches at Hogwarts never dared to throw themselves into the lioness's den.
Just then, the compartment door slid open with a loud thunk.
The person who barged in so rudely was none other than Hermione Granger, Gryffindor's top student.
Cho and Marietta exchanged uncertain glances. They weren't particularly close with Hermione.
Looking flustered, Hermione quickly blurted, "I just need to know—have either of you seen Harry? I can't find him anywhere on the train!"
"Harry?" Cho repeated, frowning. "Harry Potter? He's missing?"
"So you haven't seen him?" Hermione said in a rush before slamming the door shut and dashing off to the next compartment.
Marietta huffed, crossing her arms. "How rude!"
Cho shrugged indifferently. "That's just how Gryffindors are."
…
Meanwhile, after searching every compartment on the Hogwarts Express from front to back, Hermione returned to her own seat, sighing in frustration. "I can't find them. Neither Ron nor Harry. Merlin help us—I really hope they're okay!"
Sitting with her were the Weasley twins and Ginny. Ginny looked pale as she muttered, "But they were right behind me at the station… How could they just disappear in the blink of an eye?"
Hermione rubbed her temples, thinking hard. "Alright, let me figure something out. We need an owl. We should send a letter to Mr. Weasley—"
Hermione turned to the twins. "What about Prefect Weasley—uh, Percy?"
"Ha! You actually expect Percy to help?" the twinsshrieked dramatically. "He'd love nothing more than for Ron to get himself into trouble, just so he can report it and earn some extra points with the professors!"
Hermione frowned. "How can you say that about your own brother?"
"That's because you don't know him like we do!" The twin waggled his eyebrows conspiratorially. "Percy's ambitious. He's already planning his grand political career for after Hogwarts! And if throwing me and George into Azkaban could get him a leg up in the Ministry, he wouldn't hesitate for a second."
That was enough for Hermione to figure out she was speaking to Fred. Not that it really mattered right now. She paused for a moment before suddenly exclaiming, "Wait! We can go to Nolan. If anyone can find Harry and Ron, it's him!"
"Uh… That might be a bit tricky," Fred muttered. "We all know Nolan and little Ronnikins don't exactly get along. And whatever happened at the end of last term… well, no one really knows."
…
An hour later, Cho had finally convinced herself to stop worrying about Nolan.
She and Marietta were sharing a packet of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, chatting about the new school year.
"So, you've actually been to Hogsmeade before?" Cho asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Of course I have!" Marietta said excitedly. "Most pure-blood wizarding families take their kids there at some point. It's the only all-wizarding village in Britain! Hogsmeade is a lot of fun, and this year we finally get to visit! We should explore properly. And, well… if you want, you could invite Nolan along. I doubt he'd say no to you."
As if on cue—just like an hour ago—the compartment door slammed open again.
And, just like before, the culprit was Hermione Granger.
"Miss Granger!" Marietta shrieked. "You're interrupting us again! And I will remind you, neither Cho nor I have seen Harry Potter!"
"Uh…" Hermione winced, giving them an awkward smile. "Actually, this time, I wanted to ask—have you seen Nolan? I'm looking for him."
Cho and Marietta exchanged glances before sighing in unison.