Hogwarts: I will not become the Dark Lord

“Jerry, the notice for prefects clearly states that prefects need to go to the front carriages to meet the Head Boy and Head Girl after boarding the train, and must patrol the corridors from time to time.” Hermione glanced at the time, “I have to go to the front carriages first.”

“Okay!” Jerry nodded, “I’ll go to the back carriages to find a seat and wait for you!”

“Also, let me take this little guy!” Saying that, Jerry gently took Crookshanks from Hermione’s arms.

“See you later!” Hermione waved with a smile and left with light steps.

At this time, most of the carriages were already full of students. Jerry declined the invitations from the students in the carriages, and holding Crookshanks, he peered through the glass doors, looking for an empty carriage.

Walking to the door of the last carriage, Jerry unexpectedly ran into an acquaintance—Neville Longbottom. He was struggling to drag his suitcase, while also having to spare a hand to tightly grip his constantly wriggling toad, Trevor. His round face was covered with fine beads of sweat.

“Neville, long time no see!” Jerry greeted him warmly.

“Yeah, Jerry, long time no see!” Seeing Jerry, Neville, who had been hesitating in front of the glass door, seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

“What’s wrong? Standing at the door and not going in? Is the carriage full?” Jerry curiously looked into the carriage, only to see Luna Lovegood, the Ravenclaw 'Loony', alone inside.

“Luna Lovegood, long time no see.” Jerry greeted Luna.

The girl sitting by the window slowly raised her eyes. She had long, slightly messy, dust-covered golden hair that reached her waist. Her eyebrows were so light that they were almost imperceptible, and her bulging eyes always gave her an expression of surprise.

Perhaps it was because she rebelliously stuck her wand behind her left ear, perhaps it was because she wore a unique necklace made of butterbeer corks, or perhaps it was because she was reading a magazine upside down.

Luna Lovegood exuded an indescribable air of madness.

Her gaze passed over Neville and finally settled on Jerry. She nodded lightly as a greeting.

“Jerry, I feel like you know every girl who appears!” Neville muttered in a low voice. Whether they were from the same house, or even the same school, Jerry knew them all, and had a good relationship with them!

Jerry: …

I'm not, I didn't, don't talk nonsense!

Harry, who had helped Ginny settle her luggage, felt the same way after hearing Neville's words, especially since Jerry and Hermione had confirmed their relationship, he was a little worried.

Whether it was Jerry or Hermione, they were both his good friends, and he didn't want to lose either of them. What if there was a rift in their relationship in the future, which side should he stand on?

Hopefully, the thing I'm worried about won't happen, Harry thought to himself. After all, at Jerry's Christmas dinner last school year, his three dance partners came from different houses and different schools, and it ended peacefully... …

Tsk! Harry expressed a little envy!

“Luna, how was your summer vacation?” Ginny asked, sitting next to Luna.

“Hmm,” Luna said softly, as if detached from reality, “Yes, very pleasant.”

“Jerry Green,” Luna continued, then her gaze settled on Harry: “You are Harry Potter, a celebrity has arrived in the carriage.”

Neville couldn't help but chuckle.

Hearing the laughter, Luna turned her light-colored eyes to Neville: “I don’t know your name yet.”

“I’m not a celebrity, I’m just an insignificant little character.” Neville waved his hands repeatedly.

“This is Neville Longbottom,” Ginny took the initiative to introduce, “and this is Luna Lovegood, she’s in the same year as me, but Luna belongs to Ravenclaw House.”

“Outstanding intelligence is mankind’s greatest treasure.” Luna said in an almost chanting tone, then raised the upside-down magazine to cover her face, and said nothing more.

The others exchanged glances and tacitly decided not to disturb Luna, who was immersed in her own world.

The train slowly left the city with a clanging rhythm and headed towards the vast countryside.

The weather in England is really strange and changeable. The light in the carriage is sometimes bright and full of sunshine, and sometimes dim and shrouded in dark clouds.

“Jerry, Harry, look at the new gift I received this summer vacation.” Neville said excitedly.

“It’s not another Remembrall, is it?” Harry joked.

“No, it’s not,” Neville shook his head, “One Remembrall is enough, and I lost the old one a long time ago. Take a look at this!”

Saying that, Neville carefully grabbed Trevor with one hand, and reached into his schoolbag with the other, fumbling around for a while, and then took out a strange item—it looked like a potted plant with a gray cactus, but the difference was that its surface was covered with boil-like bumps.

“This is extremely rare,” Neville’s eyes flashed with light, “Even Professor Sprout’s greenhouse at Hogwarts may not have such a variety. I can’t wait to take it to the greenhouse and show it to the professor.”

Harry knew last semester how much Neville loved Herbology, so he didn't know what was the use of this small plant that was still twitching slightly and looked like a diseased internal organ.

“Neville, what exactly is this thing?” Harry asked curiously after taking a closer look.

“It’s called a Mimbulus Mimbletonia,” Neville replied, while pulling a quill from his schoolbag, and casually threw the toad Trevor onto Harry’s lap, “Harry, please take care of Trevor for me for a moment.”

Seeing this, Jerry, who had been languid, instantly became focused. Neville's headless and brainless appearance didn't look like anything good was going to happen.

Luna Lovegood's eyes peeked out again from behind the upside-down magazine, also curiously watching Neville's every move.

Neville gently pressed the tip of his tongue between his teeth, carefully lifting the Mimbulus Mimbletonia pot to his eyes. He carefully aimed at a spot, then jabbed the quill tip sharply into the strange plant.

Instantly, streams of slimy, foul-smelling, dark green liquid erupted from every pustule on the plant, spraying like a fountain into every corner of the compartment. The ceiling and windows were instantly covered in the disgusting liquid, and even Luna Lovegood's magazine wasn't spared, becoming speckled with it.

Ginny was lucky to react quickly, shielding her face with her arm in time. Even so, her head looked as if she was wearing a slimy, filthy green hat.

Harry wasn't so lucky. He was busy trying to keep Scabbers from escaping and couldn't pay attention to anything else, resulting in Neville's Mimbulus Mimbletonia spraying juice all over his face.

Neville himself wasn't spared either. His face and body were drenched in the foul-smelling liquid.

"I... I'm sorry," Neville said, panting, his face full of apology. "I've never tried doing that before, and I really didn't expect it to turn out like this. But don't worry, this slime is non-toxic."

Harry: "..."

I shouldn't have been curious!

"Jerry..." Harry started to call for Jerry's help, but suddenly realized Jerry's seat was empty.

"When did you sneak out?" Harry turned to see Jerry, who was holding his nose and about to open the compartment door. He complained dejectedly, then quickly followed him out, wanting to get some fresh air.

"You... hello." Cho Chang, who was outside the compartment selecting snacks from the trolley, greeted Harry hesitantly when she saw his appearance.

"You... hello." Harry was momentarily at a loss. His mind went blank, and he subconsciously picked up Scabbers in his hand and used him as a rag to wipe his blurry glasses.

"Potter, are you alright?" Cho Chang asked, frowning. "Do you need any help?"

"No, no!" Harry forced a smile, then hurriedly ducked back into the now filthy compartment.

"Scourgify!" Jerry waved his wand, instantly clearing the stains in the compartment. He then walked in and gently closed the compartment door.

"Sorry," Neville said softly again.

"It's okay," Ginny reassured him. "It's clean now, isn't it!"

"Harry, Harry!" Neville called Harry twice, trying to wake him from his daze. "Can I have Scabbers back now!"

"Here you go, Neville!" Harry handed Scabbers back to Neville, then fell silent again.

"Don't think about it!" Jerry said, lowering his voice after taking his seat and opening the window. "She's engaged to Cedric!"

Jerry's words hit Harry like a hammer.

"E... engaged?" Harry's fingers unconsciously tightened around the folds of his robes, his knuckles turning white as if a spell had been cast on them.

"I heard Cedric say it himself on the way here," Jerry explained. "So, don't dwell on it."

"I... I'm not! Jerry, don't talk nonsense!" Harry said, somewhat exasperated. "I, I was just... just the smell of the Mimbulus Mimbletonia juice was too awful, the stench is worse than Snape's cauldron!"

Neville: ...

The sound of the train wheels grinding against the tracks suddenly became exceptionally clear. Hermione and Ron pushed open the compartment's glass door and walked in.

"What's going on?" Hermione asked Jerry curiously, pointing to Harry, who was huddled in the corner of the compartment. As soon as she entered the compartment, she saw Harry looking emo, not wanting to talk to anyone.

Jerry chuckled, scratching Crookshanks' chin, and the cat purred contentedly.

"He might be heartbroken," Jerry lowered his voice and leaned close to Hermione's ear, but then shook his head. "Hmm, no, he should be considered to have ended his love before it even began!"

"Harry, guess who the Slytherin prefects are?" Ron suddenly jumped in front of Harry, shaking his listless shoulders, his emotions somewhat agitated.

"Malfoy," Harry replied weakly. "I already guessed it!"

"That's right."

"And Pansy Parkinson," Hermione said, a sneer squeezing out from between her teeth. "She can be a prefect? A troll who's had his head stuck in a door is smarter than her!"

"Jerry, you shouldn't have given up the prefect position!" Ron felt a little regretful. "If I were you, I'd give Malfoy detention every day, make him scrub the castle's toilets!"

"And Goyle, he hates writing the most, so I'd make him write lines."

Ron suddenly hunched over, imitating Goyle in a coarse voice, his distorted face reflected on the train window, looking like a troll hit by the Slug-Eating Curse.

Everyone burst into laughter, but none of their laughter was as loud as Luna's. She laughed so hard that the magazine in her hand slipped and slid down her leg to the floor.

"That's so funny!"

She said breathlessly, her protruding eyes sparkling with tears as she laughed, staring straight at Ron, who looked around at everyone in confusion.

Jerry picked up the magazine from the floor, *The Quibbler*, and casually flipped through it. He remembered that when he was in the Ministry of Magic office last time, Mr. Weasley had also handed him a copy to relieve boredom, but he was called away to attend the hearing before he had a chance to read it.

Jerry carefully looked through a few pages and found that they were all sensational, fear-mongering reports, with none of them accurate, timely, or truthful. Only one article about ancient runes was slightly readable.

"Jerry, are there any important reports inside?" Harry seemed to have caught a glimpse of Sirius's picture and asked casually as Jerry flipped through it.

"Of course not," Hermione interjected sharply before Jerry could speak. "As everyone knows, *The Quibbler* magazine is a pile of rubbish."

"Excuse me," Luna's voice suddenly became clear and firm. "My father is the editor of *The Quibbler* magazine."

"I..." Hermione was instantly embarrassed. "I mean, there are still some interesting parts in it, I mean, it's... still pretty..."

"Just give it back to me, thank you." Luna coldly interrupted Hermione, leaning forward and quickly snatching the magazine back from Jerry. She flipped to the page she had been reading, then unhesitatingly turned the magazine upside down, hiding her expression.

The atmosphere in the compartment suddenly became delicate and awkward. Seeing that Luna didn't want to talk to her, Hermione decided to wait until she got back to school to find a chance to apologize.