Harry Potter: The Heir to Hufflepuff

After a while, Hermione finally seemed to run out of questions—or perhaps she just realized I wasn't going to answer half of them anyway. The cabin fell into a comfortable silence, though I occasionally caught her glancing at Twig out of the corner of her eye. It was obvious she was still curious, but thankfully, she held back, probably realizing she'd been bombarding me enough already.

Twig, for his part, seemed to have calmed down too. He perched lazily on my shoulder, his tiny golden leaves shimmering softly in the light that filtered in through the train window. I reached up to scratch under his chin—if you could call it a chin—and he made a contented little sound, almost like a purr.

A couple of minutes passed in relative peace, the rhythmic clatter of the train on the tracks providing a soothing background noise. I was just starting to relax when a knock on the cabin door startled both of us.

The door slid open, revealing a boy who looked like he'd rather be anywhere else. He had a round face, a mop of brown hair that seemed to have a mind of its own, and slightly crooked teeth. His robes were already a little wrinkled, and he clutched a worn-looking wand in one hand like it was the only thing keeping him upright.

"Er... sorry to bother you," he said nervously, his voice soft and unsure. "I was just wondering if... if either of you had seen a toad? I've lost mine. His name's Trevor."

I exchanged a glance with Hermione, who shook her head. "Sorry, we haven't seen any toads," she said, her tone brisk but not unkind.

"Not a single toad," I added, shrugging.

The boy looked crestfallen, his shoulders sagging as he muttered, "Oh. Right. Thanks anyway."

Before he could shuffle off, I stood up. "Wait. I'll help you look for him," I offered.

Hermione raised an eyebrow, but after a moment's hesitation, she stood as well. "I'll help too. It's always easier to find something with more people looking."

The boy blinked at us, clearly surprised. "Oh... um, thanks. I'm Neville, by the way. Neville Longbottom."

"Cassius Hufflepuff," I said, introducing myself.

Hermione perked up, as if she hadn't already memorized my name hours ago. "And I'm Hermione Granger."

Neville gave us a shy smile, though his nerves didn't seem to settle completely. "Thanks again. Trevor's always getting into trouble. I just hope he hasn't jumped off the train or something..."

I patted him on the shoulder, trying to reassure him. "Don't worry. We'll find him."

Twig leaped from my shoulder to my head, settling himself like a crown of golden leaves as we stepped out into the corridor. Hermione led the way, asking every student we passed if they'd seen a toad, while Neville stuck close to me, mumbling apologies every time someone gave him a weird look.

We started opening cabin doors and peeking inside, asking around and scanning the floors. Some kids were helpful, while others just seemed annoyed or outright ignored us. Twig was probably the most useful of the group—he climbed down onto my arm at one point and tapped against the floor, almost as if he was trying to sense where Trevor might have gone.

We wandered up and down the train for a while, with Neville anxiously wringing his hands the whole time. Finally, Hermione stopped and turned back to us, her face set with determination. "He has to be here somewhere. We just need to be thorough."

I nodded, looking down at Twig. "What do you think, buddy? Got any ideas?"

Twig tilted his head, then pointed his tiny arm down the corridor. It wasn't much to go on, but it was better than nothing.

"Guess we're heading that way," I said with a shrug.

--

We made our way further down the train, following Twig's silent direction. Neville stayed close, clearly grateful for the company, while Hermione seemed determined to interrogate every passenger we passed about the missing toad. Eventually, Twig's little golden hand pointed toward a cabin door on the right.

"This one?" I murmured to Twig, who gave a decisive nod.

"Well," Hermione said briskly, "let's check."

She slid the door open without hesitation, and we were greeted by the sight of two boys sitting inside. One had a mop of messy black hair and round glasses that made his green eyes stand out. A faint scar, shaped like a lightning bolt, could be seen just beneath his fringe. The other boy had bright red hair and a smattering of freckles, and he was holding what looked like a half-eaten sandwich in one hand.

"Excuse me," Hermione said, stepping into the cabin without waiting for an invitation. "Have either of you seen a toad? Neville's lost one. His name's Trevor."

The black-haired boy blinked in surprise, clearly caught off guard by her sudden appearance, while the redhead just looked bewildered.

"A toad?" the redhead repeated, his mouth still half-full of food. He swallowed hastily and added, "Haven't seen one. Sorry."

The other boy shook his head. "No, no toads here."

Neville sighed, looking even more dejected. "Thanks anyway," he mumbled.

Hermione, however, didn't seem ready to leave just yet. Her sharp gaze flicked to the black-haired boy's forehead, and her eyes widened slightly. "Wait a minute," she said, her voice tinged with curiosity. "Are you... are you Harry Potter?"

The boy looked startled, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. "Uh... yeah, I am," he said hesitantly.

Hermione's eyes lit up, and I could already see the gears turning in her mind. "I thought so! I read about you in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and—oh!—Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century. You're in all of them!"

Harry looked thoroughly embarrassed, while the red-haired boy—Ron, if I remembered correctly from the chatter in the corridor—gave him a nudge. "Famous already, eh?" he said with a grin. "That's Harry Potter for you."

Hermione wasn't deterred by the teasing tone. "I'm Hermione Granger, by the way," she said, her voice warm with enthusiasm. "And these are Cassius Hufflepuff and Neville Longbottom." She gestured to us as she spoke.

Harry gave a small nod in greeting. "Nice to meet you," he said politely.

"Yeah, you too," Ron added, though he seemed more interested in finishing his sandwich.

Hermione's attention shifted to the wand lying on Harry's lap. "That's your wand, isn't it?" she asked. "What's it made of? I've read that wands are matched to the wizard, and no two are exactly alike."

Harry blinked, glancing down at the wand in question. "Er... holly and phoenix feather," he said. "Eleven inches."

"Really? Fascinating!" Hermione exclaimed. "You know, I've read all about wand lore too—"

I tuned out the conversation at that point, glancing at Neville, who was fidgeting nervously. It was clear he didn't want to linger too long. Twig, still perched on my shoulder, tilted his head toward me, as if to say, Are we done here?

"Well," I said, cutting into Hermione's enthusiastic rambling, "thanks for your time. We should probably keep looking for Trevor."

Hermione shot me a slightly annoyed glance but nodded. "Right, of course. Let's go."

Neville gave Harry and Ron a shy wave as we stepped back into the corridor. "Thanks anyway," he said softly.

As we walked away, I caught a snippet of Ron's voice behind us. "Mental, that one," he muttered, though he sounded more amused than anything.

Hermione either didn't hear or chose to ignore the comment, her focus already back on the task at hand. "Let's try the next few cabins," she said briskly.

{Word Count - 1284)