Harry gave him a suspicious look and waved his wand slowly.
The moment Goyle could move, he abruptly stepped back, knocking Crabbe to the ground, and the two of them rolled awkwardly on the floor a couple of times.
Draco immediately looked disgusted, as if looking at them for even a moment hurt his eyes, and said, "Get out!"
Crabbe and Goyle scrambled out meekly.
The carriage fell silent again.
Well, it wasn't really silent, but Harry and Draco had nothing to say to each other and couldn't stand the sight of each other, so they just sat there staring with wide eyes.
And neither blinked first, as if the one who blinked would lose.
After a moment, Draco's eyes started to sting, but Harry kept staring at him relentlessly, and Draco couldn't stand it, so he gritted his teeth and tried to outlast Harry by sheer willpower, hoping to glare him to death without blinking.
Harry made no move, but secretly used magic to soothe the dryness and fatigue in his eyes, so Harry won the staring contest.
Draco finally couldn't take it anymore and broke down, raising his hands to rub his eyes as tears streamed down uncontrollably. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"
Seeing Draco defeated, Harry silently sighed in relief and also raised a hand to rub his eyes. "You're the one being childish."
Then he muttered under his breath, "Childishness is contagious, I guess."
Draco didn't catch it, or else he would have started another fight with Harry.
But after this mutual torment, Draco finally remembered Lucius's instructions, so he cleared his throat, raised his head, and looked at Harry. "Even though you're annoying, I have to admit you're quite capable."
"I'm Draco Malfoy. What's your name?" He slowly extended his hand.
Draco didn't think Harry would refuse him; earning a Malfoy's friendship was a great honor.
Harry blinked, smiled, and extended his hand. "Harry Potter."
Before Draco could react, Harry added slowly, "By the way, has anyone ever told you that when you tilt your head back that far, all the person across from you can see are your nostrils?"
Draco: "???"
Before he could even process the thrill of meeting the Boy Who Lived, Harry had already infuriated him, but this time, his outburst finally had a name to go with it: "Harry Potter!"
"Uh-huh, let me guess," Harry said cheerfully, then mimicked sarcastically, "I'm going to tell my father."
Draco: "..."
Argh! Potter is so annoying!
After finishing his teasing, Harry pulled out a few candies from his pocket and pushed them toward Draco. "Fruit candy?"
He pointed at each one. "Watermelon gummy, strawberry gummy, grape hard candy, apple hard candy, oh, and a lemon one."
"Want to try?"
Draco cooled down from his anger, deigned to glance at the colorful candies in front of him, snorted, and reluctantly pulled them toward him.
As he unwrapped one and popped it into his mouth, a flash of genuine delight crossed Draco's eyes.
Sweets always soothed bad moods, and children's tempers flared quickly but faded just as fast.
Draco quickly grew curious again, glanced at Harry, and spoke hesitantly. "So, since you're Harry Potter… who were those people with you at the robe shop that day?"
"They're my aunt, uncle, and cousin," Harry said lightly, then deliberately sighed with a melancholy expression. "After all, my parents couldn't be at the platform to see me off."
The Potters had died at Voldemort's hands eleven years ago.
Draco's face stiffened as he couldn't help but recall what he'd said earlier: "Your parents and brother can't get in, right?"
Your parents… can't get in, right—
Draco's vision went dark: Merlin, I'm such an idiot!
He didn't know what to say; he wanted to apologize but couldn't bring himself to do it, and when he tried to change the subject, his conscience immediately began to ache.
"Uh…" Draco stammered, glancing at Harry's expression from the corner of his eye as he tried to steer the conversation elsewhere. "Which house do you think you'll be in?"
"I know I'll be in Slytherin, otherwise my parents would be furious. If I'm not in Slytherin, they might even make me leave school and go to Durmstrang in Germany."
As he spoke, Draco gradually pushed his embarrassment aside and looked at Harry with an arrogant expression, as if urging him to answer.
Harry didn't think for long; he quickly arrived at his answer. "I think I'll be in Gryffindor."
Draco paused for a moment, then responded slowly, "Oh… I think someone did mention that your parents were both Gryffindors."
But he actually kind of wanted the Boy Who Lived to join him in Slytherin.
No, no, this had nothing to do with family tradition.
Harry smiled.
He felt he could fit into any house, but comparatively, Gryffindor was the better match.
This red-and-gold house championed courage, and Harry had once struggled for survival in the ancient medieval magical world, clashing with the Church and leading wizards and commoners to challenge the lofty power of the divine.
He was a sage, but also a warrior.
"Well…" Draco muttered, "Even though I don't like those silly lions…"
He raised his head and drawled, "But if you ever need help, you can come to me, and I'll tell my father."
"Oh?" Harry raised an eyebrow.
But if his information was correct, the Malfoys were a Death Eater family, weren't they?
He thought for a moment, then smiled and agreed. "Sure. If you ever need help, you can come to me too."
Aside from a young witch who barged into the carriage looking for a toad and had a brief argument with Draco, there were no other incidents along the way.
After the express arrived, night had already fallen, and young witches and wizards in their robes crowded together as they got off the train; Crabbe and Goyle silently fell back in behind Draco.
By the Black Lake, the nighttime temperatures were quite low, and a cold wind made Draco shiver a little. He complained quietly to Harry, "Oh, this bloody weather."
Harry silently glanced at Draco; he didn't feel very cold himself, probably because he was wearing thermal underwear.
He hadn't always been healthy, but at first, he still thought he was as strong as an ox, so one autumn, he'd gone to seize territory at the port wearing only a thin shirt and carrying a cannon.
Without magical protection, the cold wind hit him, and he came back with a high fever of over forty degrees, nearly frying his brain; it took several pots of potion to get him feeling better.
From then on, thermal underwear became a staple.
Harry hesitated for a moment, then raised his hand and touched Draco's shoulder, casting a Warming Charm. Draco touched his shoulder in surprise. "I'm not cold anymore!"
Draco looked at Harry with a satisfied nod and said in a proud tone, "You're pretty good."
He thought triumphantly: Of course, even the Boy Who Lived has to bow before the noble Malfoy.
Harry: "???"
He shot Draco a look as if he were an idiot: Weirdo, shouldn't have helped.
Harry rolled his eyes and ignored Draco.
A large man called out to the young wizards, telling them to follow him, and led the way with an oil lamp. "Follow me! All of you! I'm Rubeus Hagrid, the Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts, and I'll be taking you to the school!"
The first-years stumbled after him, their fuzzy little heads bobbing and jostling together.
They made their way to the Black Lake, and across the wide expanse of water, the group of young wizards gazed in awe at the silhouette of the ancient castle under the night sky.
Draco could hardly contain his excitement; generations of Malfoys had graduated from Hogwarts. He looked at Harry with a hint of pride, his voice barely able to conceal his excitement. "So? Isn't Hogwarts magnificent?"
Harry studied the ancient Hogwarts castle from afar for a moment, then nodded in response to Draco.
Yes, it was quite magnificent.
Much more pleasing to the eye than the Church's cathedrals.