"Yah?!"
What Harry thought was wind was actually Ron's pet, Scabbers, an old hand me down. Scabbers lunged at Goyle's fingertips, sinking his front teeth in like he meant to tear into him.
"Oww!"
"Y Your finger, are you okay, Goyle?"
When Goyle shook Scabbers off, faint bite marks were left on his finger.
"I I'm not staying here! Let's go, Goyle! Crabbe!"
"But the candy..."
"Wait until the feast! Don't embarrass me any more!"
Without clearing up his attitude toward Harry and without apologizing to Ron, Draco seized the chance and left the compartment.
"Nice one, Scabbers. ...Good work, buddy, except he's out cold. He's already snoring."
"We were pretty mean to Goyle."
"Were we? Do you really feel bad, huh?"
Ron laughed, looking proud of his pet, and Harry gave him a mischievous grin right back.
Then a voice reached Harry's ears, a voice only Harry could hear.
"Harry. Hey, Harry. You can hear me, right? I don't need you to answer. Just listen."
"What is it?"
"Drafty in here or something?"
Harry played dumb with Ron and kept chatting like nothing was happening. Even as he did, Asclepius, Harry's pet snake, kept talking.
"That rat the red hair's got. Scabbers, right? That thing isn't a rat. I'm the one who eats little rats, so I'm telling you, I'm not wrong, got it? You know I don't lie to you, right, Harry."
Harry almost sprayed pumpkin juice, but he swallowed it down and forced himself to finish drinking.
"Probably some Dark wizard turned into a rat and snuck into that family's house. Drag him in front of an adult fast. If you don't, this isn't gonna end with somebody just getting hurt."
Asclepius was a Kusushi snake, just a reptile, or at least he should have been. But animals raised in the wizarding world, maybe because of magic, had intelligence closer to humans. They did not fully understand language, but they seemed able to pick up the nuance in small human movements.
Harry hesitated.
It was possible Asclepius was mistaken, and Scabbers was simply a clever rat born in the wizarding world.
But what if he was not?
(What do I do... Do I tell an adult on the snack trolley right now and have them catch him? If Scabbers really is a person, that would be safer and more certain... No, adults are no good. I can't trust them. I need to find proof and expose him.)
What Harry had learned over ten years at the Dursleys' was that adults lied and could not be trusted. If he told an adult and they did not believe him, Harry would be nothing but the boy who cried wolf, and he might even lose Ron's friendship.
But he could not leave Scabbers alone. If Scabbers was a Dark wizard, Ron might be in danger.
In his head, Harry pictured what he needed to do and ran through spells that might help.
While he thought about how to reveal Scabbers's true identity, Harry kept up the small talk with Ron. It was about what house Harry wanted, a topic that had gotten muddled when Draco barged in.
"Harry, you wanna be in Slytherin?"
"...Yeah. Ron, do you think I don't fit in Slytherin?"
At that moment, Harry thought Ron's pet had nodded at his words.
(Calm down... Don't freak out. Maybe it just looks like that, and if it really is, it's bad if he notices I noticed.)
Maybe Asclepius's words had planted suspicion in him. Or maybe Scabbers really was human and understood Harry's words.
Either way, Harry could not let a rat pick up on the tension inside him.
"I see... I think Gryffindor fits you better than Slytherin. You were brave back there."
The values Gryffindor was supposed to hold were courage that did not flinch from powerful enemies, and chivalry that reached a hand to the weak. Even to Ron, Harry standing up to Draco like that looked like courage and chivalry.
"Thanks. I'm really happy you said that. ...But I want to become a great wizard."
Harry felt ticklish at Ron's praise, but he still thought he did not belong in Gryffindor.
"...If I were really brave, I wouldn't be here."
"You are brave! Otherwise you couldn't pick a fight with Malfoy."
"I said it because I trusted Draco. I said it because I thought he wasn't the kind of person who wouldn't get it or wouldn't listen."
(...Like Dudley and them aren't.)
Harry gave Ron a weak smile in response.
If Harry had the courage he truly needed, it was the courage to apologize to Vernon and Petunia and Dudley for blowing up the hut. That was the courage Harry needed. But the time for it had clearly passed.
Somehow, Harry could not make himself have that courage.
The bravery Gryffindor prided itself on was different from Slytherin's cunning, which always seemed to carry an ugly edge. It was a virtue closer to Hufflepuff's spirit too, honesty and straightforwardness, not lying to yourself and doing what must be done.
But what Harry wanted was glory.
Get into Slytherin, and become a great wizard.
If he could not do that, he would be failing the parents who had given their lives so Harry could survive.
If he could not at least do that, there would be no meaning in having abandoned the Muggle world, betraying Vernon and Petunia who raised him.
Harry tried to fill the emptiness inside himself with glory and fame.
But Harry was greedy, too.
"But if... if I'm in a different house than Ron, will Ron still be my friend?"
Because he was greedy, he could say something that selfish. Choosing one thing also meant throwing something else away. Harry did not understand that yet.
"Of course!"
Ron said it on reflex. At that moment, Ron had no disgust or distrust toward Slytherin. He only wanted to stay friends with the kid he had become friends with.
And against Ron's chest, Harry thought Scabbers let out a quiet, sneering laugh.
After blurting it out, maybe Ron got embarrassed, because he added in a mumble.
"Ah, but I really do think Gryffindor fits you, Harry. I mean it. Not in a bad way."
"Gryffindor fits you better, Ron."
Ron's ears turned a little red. For Ron, no matter what he said, getting into Gryffindor was a dream, and being chosen by Gryffindor was the highest kind of praise.
But Harry could not choose that bravery. More than that, he thought he did not have the right to.
"...Well, I really don't think it'll happen, but if you somehow end up in Slytherin, then I guess that means Slytherin isn't as bad as people say."
With Ron's words, the Hogwarts Express journey came to an end.