The sharp whistle sounded, and all the train doors closed. The locomotive spewed steam and began clattering forward, Vid waved from the window, watching his father's figure gradually recede.
He turned and sat down, feeling a heavy weight in his heart.
The Friendship Book was slightly warm, and when opened, the first page already had several new messages—
[Fiona: Was the journey smooth? The train should have departed by now, right?]
[Fiona: It seems Miss Ava isn't very happy, maybe it's because you didn't bring her along.]
[Fiona: Is it cold on the train?]
Vid chuckled and took out a pen to reply sentence by sentence—
[Vid: Everything's gone smoothly; the train just left, and Dad should be on his way home.
If Miss Ava is unhappy, perhaps you could give her some little fish treats? That's her favorite snack, I recall it's on the second shelf of the cabinet. Or perhaps some beetles or dried locusts, she'd be delighted—though don't overfeed her, it might cause stomach issues.
Of course, I trust you know all this.
Also, there seems to be a Warmth Spell on the train, so it's not cold, and the scarf is quite cozy.
I'll remember to take more photos.]
"Hi, Vid!" Just as Vid was about to stop writing, Michael poked his head in joyfully: "I knew you'd be in this direction—guys, over here!"
He gestured in another direction, then dragged his suitcase into the carriage, exclaiming excitedly: "Got some big news, right, Vid?"
"—What?" Vid was a bit puzzled.
"Of course, the Friendship Book!"
Michael pulled out his Magic Wand, levitated his suitcase onto the luggage rack, sat down, and said: "Before school started, my parents were eager to buy a copy! When they found out I had a whole book, they were stunned! But I had thought this was an SSC member secret, and suddenly heard it's already on sale in Diagon Alley—so the rumor is true, right?"
"—What rumor?" Vid realized after three weeks apart, he was slightly out of sync with Michael's topics.
"Oh, we all heard. Some even came to ask me, because they know we're in the same year—" At this point, Theo also entered and continued: "—But I have to say, they didn't seem to believe it, thinking someone was lying!"
"Hi, Vid. Long time no see—" Leian followed behind, saying: "I guess you probably rarely check SSC's chat page?"
"Hmm—because I have to read books..." Vid replied.
"I figured that was the case; otherwise, you wouldn't be silent—" Leian shrugged: "Let Theo explain, he's more informed."
Theo Mancini, though his surname wasn't among the legendary Twenty-Eight Sacred Families, was also pure-blood, and quite updated with news.
"Well, there was a rumor before the Friendship Book even emerged—" Theo looked at Vid and said: "They said a brand new, affordable, and more convenient communication method will appear, potentially disrupting the current loose Wizard structure, tightening relationships between people—"
Michael said: "At the time, I guessed—they might be talking about the Friendship Book—"
So despite having a Friendship Book himself, he didn't dare share it with his parents or friends, but instead hid it at the bottom of his suitcase, daily using the excuse of studying to secretly chat with friends, and instructing them not to reveal the Friendship Book.
But back then, besides Michael, others had already handed a page to their parents at least. So everyone hurriedly patched this oversight and reminded their parents to keep it secret.
Unexpectedly, a few days later, the rumor seemed to have spread worldwide, everybody knew.
"During those days, our Floo Powder consumed faster than usual." Leian said: "Lots of people wanted a share, my Dad said he knew a Pure-Blood Noble, who went to great lengths to secure the American agency rights—"
"But the owner of Aslan Magic Workshop—Machioni, is a cunning, elusive figure—that's my grandfather's assessment." Theo continued: "He said, Machioni is like a hyena, if someone provokes him, he'd pull the enemy's intestines out of... the backside."
Mancini's grandfather's wording was actually cruder, Theo was too embarrassed to repeat it plainly.
"Nobody dares provoke Machioni—no one ever gains anything from him. However, it's said Machioni also obtained the patent authorization for the Friendship Book from someone else, and the inventor is just a first-year Hogwarts student—" Theo glanced at Vid.
"Someone went crazy trying to find you; I was genuinely afraid of hearing your name, Vid." Leian said, somewhat worried.
Theo continued: "But the Great Alchemist Terence Moray publicly stated at a banquet—the inventor is his student, he will not tolerate anyone causing distress or trouble for his student. If anyone bypasses him to find his student, it will be considered insulting and challenging Terence Moray—"
Leian added: "I only learned later that Professor Moray has a high status in certain fields—and Hogwarts has Dumbledore—"
At this moment, the snack-selling Witch pushed her trolley past the door, interrupting the conversation, and each bought some snacks.
Then, the previously interrupted topic resumed.
"Professor Dumbledore also said he hopes everyone will respect his student; otherwise, he will choose to defend his student's rights—it suddenly became calm again."
Theo was unwrapping a Chocolate Frog's packaging paper while saying: "I heard those interested have gone to find Machioni now; they probably think compared, the cost of provoking Machioni is lower—oh, my Chocolate Frog!"
The frog leapt away suddenly, Theo hurriedly tried to grab but missed, it almost hopped out the window, but Vid caught it just in time.
"Thank you, Vid."
Vid handed the Chocolate Frog back, asking: "So... has my name not been spread?"
"Most people don't know; many still think it's a sixth or seventh-year student!" Leian said: "But I guess it can't be hidden from the Pure-Blood Nobles—although Professor Dumbledore and Professor Moray have spoken, Vid, you'd better not be alone at school—"
Michael reached over and put his arm around Vid's shoulder, smiling: "Don't worry, we'll be inseparable, like conjoined twins—by the way, brother, they say Machioni spent a huge amount of Galleons buying the usage rights—someone said you're already wealthy enough to rival nations, is it true?"
While the other two avoided this topic, he candidly asked.
Vid tried to use a calm, non-boastful tone to say: "Not that exaggerated, only fifty thousand Galleons."
Michael grimaced as if he had a toothache: "Fifty thousand Galleons! I've never seen so much money in my life!"
Theo relaxedly laughed: "Others said it was a million Galleons! What nonsense—"
Leian suddenly pressed his shoulder, and Theo immediately stopped talking.
Outside the carriage, there was a knock on the door.