After the three of them chatted for a while, Cho Chang—just as expected—managed to find the compartment as well. At Cedric's invitation, she took a seat inside. After a token exchange about how their holidays had gone, Avada's misfortune began—
They were all talking about Quidditch.
If Avada had some interest in broomstick technology itself, then he had absolutely no enthusiasm whatsoever for the sport of Quidditch. Setting aside his rather unremarkable athletic ability, the sport's absurd rules—and even more absurd rule enforcement—were more than enough to make him keep his distance.
Have you ever seen a sport where a player who barely participates in the main confrontation can end the entire match at any moment?
Have you ever seen a sport with unlimited overtime and fouls that cost practically nothing?
That was Quidditch.
So even though this kind of three-dimensional competitive sport was undeniably spectacular and dramatic, Avada was content to watch it purely for entertainment. As for playing it himself, or fanatically supporting a team—he would rather not.
That said, during the conversation he did hear that both Baron and Cho, having advanced to second year, were planning to sign up for their respective House Quidditch team tryouts. When the time came, he would definitely go watch.
"Oh—Baron, I just remembered," Cho suddenly said, turning to him with a horrified expression. "Didn't you say earlier that your family owns a Nimbus 2000? You didn't bring it with you, did you…?"
"What's with that look?"
Baron laughed at her reaction. "Relax. I'm not so outrageous that I'd use the world's top-of-the-line broom in a school match—that'd be bullying. Besides, with my skills, I wouldn't even be able to bring out the Nimbus 2000's full performance. It'd be a waste."
The corner of Avada's mouth twitched. That sounded suspiciously like a jab at a certain Chosen One.
"Thank Merlin for that," Cho said with a wry smile. "Even the richest students only bring a Nimbus 1700 at most. If you really pulled out a Nimbus 2000 during tryouts, that'd be—wow!!"
She suddenly shrieked and jumped up, startling the other three.
"What happened?!"
Avada and Baron reacted almost instantly, leaping back and drawing their wands, eyes locked on Cho, who was now standing on the seat, pale and shaken.
Cedric glanced at the two of them, hesitated, then reached for his wand without fully drawing it, edging closer to Cho instead. "What's wrong, Cho?"
"I—I don't know," she said, her voice still sharp. "I suddenly felt something cold and slippery brush against my ankle…"
All three frowned and bent down to search beneath the seats for anything that could have caused that sensation. Under Cho's seat, they found a large toad crouched quietly in the corner, completely motionless.
"Probably someone's pet toad wandered in here," Avada said.
He had been slightly distracted earlier, and only now noticed—through his Magical Perception—a mass of red life force near Cho's feet. With a Levitation Charm, he lifted the toad into the air in front of him. He had no intention of touching it.
Controlling the spell so the toad floated along with him, Avada opened the compartment door. "You three keep chatting. I'll see if I can find the owner. If not, I'll hand it over to a prefect."
"Alright—thanks," Cedric said.
Avada nodded and left the compartment.
If nothing unexpected happens, this must be Neville Longbottom's toad, he thought. Didn't expect to run into it myself.
With that thought, he guided the floating toad into the corridor and began knocking on compartment doors one by one, asking around. He had no idea where Neville was, so this was the only way.
"Excuse me, has anyone lost a toad? …Oh, Xavier, you're here too?You're trying out for Quidditch as well? That's great—I'll definitely come watch. Good luck."
"Sorry to bother you—has anyone here lost a toad?"
"Excuse me, is this toad yours? …Eh? What are you doing?"
In the compartment he had just opened, two boys were sitting across from each other, with a girl standing near the door, her back to him. One of the boys—a redhead—was placing a rat on a snack-covered fold-out table, pointing his wand at it…
A pilgrimage to sacred ground, Avada marveled inwardly. He had never expected to personally take part in this scene.
He remembered that before Hermione met Harry and Ron, Neville had already come by once—but he must have missed him outside some compartment earlier.
"Oh! This must be Neville's toad—thank you so much!"
The bushy-haired brown-haired girl—Hermione Granger—took the floating toad with a delighted expression, nodding gratefully to Avada. She then explained, "They were showing me how to change a rat's color. I was just about to watch…"
Avada glanced at the rat, a flicker of cold light passing through his eyes, before calmly turning to the two boys and smiling. "Fancy meeting you again, Harry. And you must be Ronald Weasley—Ron, right?"
"Hi," Ron said. He naturally remembered Avada's face, as well as what his brothers had mentioned about his name. He turned and greeted him. "I was just about to cast the spell. Want to watch?"
"I'd be delighted."
Avada smiled and sat down beside Harry, while Hermione sat next to Ron. Ron then waved his wand, cleared his throat, and recited:
"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow,Turn this stupid fat rat yellow!"
Nothing happened.
"Are you sure that's a real spell?" Hermione asked. "It doesn't seem very good, does it? I've tried a few simple spells at home, just for practice, and they all worked. At my house—"
"Wait,"
Avada interrupted her uncharacteristically, smiling at Ron. "Don't be discouraged. Your incantation method was just a bit off. Let me show you the correct way."
Under the curious gazes of Hermione, Harry, and Ron, he drew his wand, pointed it at the rat, and recited solemnly:
"O sacred sunshine, lovely daisies, and fragrant butter mellow,I beseech you to grant your power to this foolish fat rat,And dye its body with your radiant hue!"
A moment later, to the amazement—and shock—of the three, the rat's body actually turned yellow.
"How is that possible?!"
While Harry and Ron marveled at Avada's exquisite spellwork, Hermione frowned deeply, pondering the scene that nearly overturned the magical worldview she had only just begun to form. After a long pause, realization dawned on her face.
"I know!"
"The delay between your incantation and the spell taking effect was far too long—so that ridiculous rhyme wasn't what changed the rat at all!"
"You used a nonverbal spell, didn't you?"
She looked at Avada smugly, as if to say your trick's been exposed.
"I was found out?"
This time, Avada was genuinely surprised. He knew Hermione was knowledgeable, but he hadn't expected her to know about nonverbal magic before even starting school.
He turned to Ron, who looked slightly aggrieved, and smiled apologetically. "Sorry—just a little joke. A color-changing spell isn't something you can manage yet. At the earliest, you'd need to wait until the second half of first year. And your rat should revert in about five minutes. Alright, I should be going—my friends are still waiting for me."
He stood, bade the three farewell, and stepped out of the compartment. The corners of his mouth curved upward, beyond his control.
Hermione Granger was very smart—but unfortunately, not quite smart enough.
While chanting that so-called "prayer," he had secretly cast a Tracking Charm on Peter Pettigrew before following it with the nonverbal color-change spell.
The Tracking Charm would last three months. As long as he found chances to get close and refresh it, the effect could be maintained indefinitely—ensuring Peter's movements remained under his surveillance. Even after leaving Hogwarts, when the Marauder's Map would no longer function, he would still be able to sense Peter's location.
Though he very much wanted to speak Peter's true name aloud, in Avada's plans, Peter still had other uses.
Thanks to "A Respectable Profiteer" for the tip!
(End of Chapter)