Harry Potter: From Muggle Cousin to Conceptual Archmage

In the corridor of a carriage adjacent to the one where Dudley and the others were.

A haughty, pale - faced boy with slicked - back blond hair, pretending to be a noble, was striding forward briskly, leading two short and chubby lackeys.

If they continued in this direction, they would soon run into Dudley's group, who were out looking for toad Leifu.

"Crabbe, Goyle, hurry up! Harry Potter is in the carriage ahead! I can't wait to make friends with him!"

The leading blond boy excitedly urged, moving his short legs even faster.

This was tough on his two fat lackeys, who had to run all the way to keep up.

"Malfoy, why do you want to make friends with Harry Potter? He isn't popular at the moment," Crabbe, the lackey following the blond boy, asked puzzledly.

"And what about his cousin? He used magic to knock down so many people. Are we going to get beaten up when we go to find them?" Goyle, the other lackey, chimed in with a question.

Hearing his two lackeys question his actions, Draco Malfoy was a bit unhappy and suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Crabbe and Goyle couldn't stop in time and bumped into Malfoy, making him stagger forward a couple of steps before regaining his balance.

Malfoy was even more annoyed. He turned around with a gloomy face, glared at his innocent - looking, dull - witted lackeys, and sighed before explaining,

"This is my father's intention. He believes that if I befriend Harry Potter, it'll bring us pure - bloods closer to Dumbledore!

As for Harry Potter's cousin, do you really believe he could blow away so many wizards? Impossible!

A Muggle - born with a surname I've never even heard of. How could he possibly cast such powerful magic? Even my father couldn't do it when he was eleven!

It must be a rumor!"

Facing Malfoy's rebuke, Crabbe and Goyle could only nod timidly, looking extremely obedient. But suddenly, their expressions turned to horror.

"Malfoy, you... your... shoulder..." The two lackeys didn't know how to warn their Boss.

"What now?" Malfoy said helplessly, then glanced at his right shoulder. "Shoulder? There's nothing there! Making such a big deal out of it!"

"The oth - oth - other... side."

Malfoy then shifted his gaze to his left shoulder.

And then... accidentally locked eyes with a toad.

"Quick... quickly! Quickly get this toad off me!"

Malfoy was really startled. His lips trembled, but he didn't dare to move, afraid that the toad would, in a fit of excitement, jump from his left shoulder onto his handsome face.

"What the heck?!"

Hearing Malfoy's order, Crabbe and Goyle, who were in a panic, were initially at a loss. It took them several seconds to remember to take out their wands.

This was different from bullying other wizards. At eleven years old, facing this sticky, scabby, cold - blooded animal instead of weaker fellow wizards, they didn't have much courage.

And by this time, Malfoy had calmed down a bit. He took out his wand before his lackeys and pointed it at the toad on his left shoulder.

"Toad Expulsion!"

Malfoy cast the Expulsion Spell, a simple spell that allows wizards to push away the objects they have in mind, creating a repelling effect.

"Leifu!"

Suddenly, a loud shout came from behind Malfoy just as the light from the tip of his wand was being launched.

"Croak~Croak~"

Just in the nick of time.

Malfoy's Expulsion Spell didn't hit Toad Leifu. Sensing the danger, the toad hopped off Malfoy's shoulder just in time, avoiding the spell.

However, the spell didn't miss. It went straight along a line and directly hit Neville, who was running up quickly to save his pet.

Poor kid!

He couldn't save his pet and ended up getting hit himself.

Neville was hit by Malfoy's Expulsion Spell and was immediately sent flying back the way he came.

His friends behind him were startled and wanted to help, but it was too late.

Only Dudley exerted force on his ankles and rushed forward instantly. He stretched out his right hand and used a gentle defusing force to support Neville's back.

He defused the impact of the Expulsion Spell on Neville, allowing Neville to land steadily and avoiding the embarrassing situation of falling on his butt.

"Are you okay, Neville!"

Hermione, Ron, and Harry also ran over at this time, surrounded Neville, and bombarded him with questions about his condition.

"I'm fine. Save my Leifu!" Neville gasped, relying on Dudley's support to try to stand up and launch another charge.

"Take a rest, will you!" Dudley said helplessly.

Because the corridor in the carriage was too narrow to move around freely and Neville had rushed forward suddenly, Dudley didn't intervene earlier to avoid accidentally hurting his teammates.

"That's right! Neville, take a break. I'll help you get Leifu back!"

Just as Dudley was about to take action, Hermione stepped forward to stand up for Neville.

This proud know - it - all girl took out her grapevine wood wand and was about to go and have a word with the Malfoy Trio.

"Wait a moment, Hermione. It was Neville's toad that jumped on that guy's shoulder first. It was just an accident!"

Dudley rubbed his forehead and stopped Hermione. At the same time, he made a gesture with his hand and said, "Air Summoning!"

Not far away, Toad Leifu, which had jumped onto the corridor floor, suddenly felt itself being bound by a large mass of air around it. Then, it involuntarily rose into the air and flew towards Dudley's hand beside its owner.

Before Hermione had taken two steps, Leifu flew over, passed by her side, and hovered steadily one centimeter above Dudley's right hand.

Without hesitation, Dudley quickly threw this pet that he couldn't appreciate into Neville's hands.

To be honest, it would be better to keep a snake than a toad!

Dudley didn't really understand, but he respected Neville's hobby.

Neville was extremely happy. He hugged his toad and stroked it with his chubby hand. Hermione also stepped back.

It seemed that the matter was perfectly resolved, and they could go back to the compartment.

However, the tree may prefer calm, but the wind will not subside.

The noble Lord Malfoy, accompanied by his two bodyguards, walked over haughtily.

Malfoy's pride was obviously different from Hermione's.

The former results from a false perception of bloodline, family background, and social hierarchy, while the latter stems from confidence in one's own knowledge and abilities.

"Are you just going to leave like this?"

Malfoy spoke up, opening with a scornful challenge. He first pointed the finger at Neville. "You're that idiot from the Longbottom family, aren't you! Watch out for that filthy, stinky toad of yours! It's a disgrace to our pure - blood families!"

"Sorry... sorry!" Neville lowered his head shamefully and stammered an apology.

"Who are you? How dare you treat Neville like this? You used a spell to knock Neville flying just now. You should also apologize to Neville!"

Hermione stepped forward again to defend her friend.

"I'm Malfoy! Draco Malfoy! A member of the Malfoy family, one of the Twenty - Eight Noble Pure - Blood Families! My father is a school governor of Hogwarts! Why the hell should I apologize to a fool who offended me?!"