Uhh—
The air hung heavy and silent for a moment. Even the roar of the moving train seemed to fade away.
In an instant, Ares retracted the chilling aura surrounding him and looked at the little witch beside him. She was pointing a finger at him, her cheeks and the tips of her ears flushed with anger, her brown eyes practically spitting fire.
A scammer who sells fake medicine?!
Harry, who had been forcibly dragged out to search for a toad, blinked and looked into the compartment.
There was indeed only one person inside—the same handsome young wizard he had met earlier.
This person is a scammer?
Are there scammers in the wizarding world too?
Harry pondered this, but immediately realized it was a stupid thought.
Of course there could be scammers in the wizarding world... So, this man wouldn't let me sit in the compartment because he was meeting an accomplice for some despicable transaction?
Harry subconsciously met the young man's gaze. He noticed the man in the compartment was also subconsciously looking at his scar—
"AHHH!!!"
It wasn't until he hit the floor that Harry realized the person screaming in agony was himself.
Everything before his eyes blurred. He could feel nothing but pain.
"What's wrong, Harry?!"
Heads popped out of many nearby compartments, faces filled with alarm. But the first person to react was Ron.
After a moment of frozen shock, a pale-faced Ron lunged to the floor, desperately trying to pin down the thrashing Harry!
"My scar!"
Harry's screams sounded like the wailing of a thousand banshees.
"What about your scar?" Ron shouted.
The other two searchers for the toad—the chubby, round-faced boy and the girl who had accused Ares of being a scammer—were both scared silly, standing there at a loss.
"It's alive! It's alive!"
Harry had no idea what nonsense he was shouting.
"It's afraid! It's drilling into my brain!!!"
"Poor child."
Only Ares heard the compassion-filled sigh from Gaspard as he withdrew his gaze from Harry's scar.
What do I do? What do I do?!
Sweating profusely, Ron could only struggle to hold down his newly made friend's convulsing body. He looked at Neville and Hermione... neither was any help, and the students in the nearby compartments were all cowering inside.
Find Percy!
A thought suddenly flashed into Ron's mind, giving him a jolt of hope.
"Go find Percy! Quick, Neville! He's in the prefects' carriage up ahead. He's a prefect, he might know what to do!"
"Uh... uh, okay!"
Cold sweat ran down Neville's round face. Nodding frantically in terror, he stumbled and ran towards the front of the train. The crowd of onlookers from nearby compartments parted to let him through.
Harry was still screaming incessantly, and Ron was using all his strength to calm him. Hermione Granger forgot about the scammer in the compartment. She slumped against the compartment door, covering her mouth as she stared at the famous Harry Potter, her frail body trembling with fear and helplessness!
"My goodness!"
Gaspard's exclamation fell only on Ares's ears. He opened the gold pocket watch on his chest and checked the time carefully.
"Is it that time already... I don't have much time left, Ares."
Gaspard looked at Ares.
"Have you made your decision... Do you plan to accept my commission or refuse it?"
Pausing, Gaspard looked at the young wizards outside the compartment, his eyes dimming slightly.
"Or perhaps keep me here, regardless of the cost?"
At that moment, several older boys came running, looking hurried. Leading them was a thin, red-headed boy. Wearing brand new robes with a polished prefect badge pinned to his chest, he looked quite pompous.
"Make way, make way! I'm a prefect!"
Percy Weasley frowned as he shooed away the onlookers. Then, staring at his brother and a black-haired boy, he puffed out his chest to make the badge more prominent.
"What kind of prank are you playing, Ron... What's wrong with him? Stomach ache?"
"This is Harry Potter!"
Ron was annoyed that everyone was just watching and no one was helping.
"He says his scar suddenly hurts really bad!"
"Wh—what?"
Percy froze. This answer was clearly not in his script.
"Ha—Harry Potter, scar... O—okay, phew—I should... Can't he just tell his scar to stop hurting?"
Under the gaze of so many people, Percy's face turned red. He muttered something incomprehensible, looking around blankly... then suddenly noticed the wizard in the compartment staring strangely at the empty air opposite him.
"So—er, who are you?"
"He's a scammer who sells fake medicine!"
Almost instinctively, Hermione raised her hand and answered the question.
"A scammer?!"
Percy frowned and puffed out his chest again. He stared at the man in the compartment, finding him vaguely familiar.
Ares had to turn his gaze, lest his reputation be ruined before he even arrived at Hogwarts.
"Actually, I am your new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor for the coming term."
Snap!
Suddenly, Percy stood up straight.
"Hello, Professor! I am Percy Weasley, a Gryffindor prefect!"
"Move this boy to a compartment further away from here, somewhere quiet. I will come to check on him shortly."
"Yes, Professor!"
"Tell the students to return to their compartments. Don't block the corridor."
"No problem, Professor!"
Percy's cheeks were glowing red. He withdrew his respectful gaze and looked sternly around him.
"You all heard the Professor's orders... get back to your compartments! Ron, help me carry Harry Potter to the prefects' carriage... You two, lend a hand!"
Uh—
Defense Against the Dark Arts professor?!
The little brown-haired girl moved stiffly, turning her head to look at the compartment with an expression somewhere between laughing and crying.
Did she just...
Did she just call a professor a fake medicine scammer???
But—but... it really was—
"What are you standing there for? Help out!"
Percy glared at Hermione in dissatisfaction.
"Those were the Professor's orders... Besides, maybe you'll end up in the same house as Harry Potter!"
So, filled with terror and confusion, Hermione struggled to grab Harry Potter's waist and stumbled away with the group.
"I really have to go."
Once Ares withdrew his gaze, Gaspard checked the face of his gold pocket watch again.
"Are you in a hurry?"
Ares's eyes flickered, lingering for a split second on the gold watch mostly obscured by Gaspard's hand, before he asked.
"Yes."
Gaspard nodded earnestly.
"So, what will you do, Ares?"
"My truest thought—"
Ares sighed, keeping his foot firmly on the dragon-hide suitcase.
"—is that I still hope to chat more with you, Mr. Gaspard."
"That is truly regrettable, Ares, because I have already told you everything I can," Larry Gaspard said, resting his left hand on the table, his brow lowered and his voice soft.
"I came to see you to try my luck... just in case you agreed to my request. It would avoid many risks—of course, I won't say I didn't anticipate the current situation."
Larry Gaspard raised his eyelids slightly, meeting Ares's sharp gaze again. His blue eyes flashed with an emotion of shame.
"I don't want to do this... absolutely not... it's too despicable. I despise myself for it."
Larry Gaspard took a deep breath, looking at Ares, whose brows were tightly furrowed.
"But the command of that Great Personage... I must obey, Ares. I'm sorry, I must obtain that item from Hogwarts... which means I must leave safely from your presence.
So, as a last resort, I have no choice but to use the lives of the children on this train...
To make a bet with you."
Thud!
As his voice fell, Larry Gaspard rapped his knuckles on the table of the last compartment of the Hogwarts Express!