HP: I beat the otome game at Hogwarts

Chapter 73 The Platinum Young Master Searching the Carriage

As soon as Harry boarded the train, he was eager to tell Ron and Hermione what he had overheard the night before.

But when they arrived at the very last carriage, they found someone already asleep. Since the other carriages were full, they had to sit down—tiptoeing so as not to wake the stranger.

"Who do you think he is?" Ron asked in a low voice.

“Professor Lupin,” Hermione whispered immediately.

Harry and Ron were both shocked: "Hermione, are you omniscient?"

“Don’t talk nonsense,” Hermione chuckled, pointing to a worn-out little suitcase on the luggage rack. “It says on his suitcase, Professor RJ Lupin.”

Ron and Harry looked up and saw the words "Professor RJ Lupin" printed on the corner of the box, though the letters had peeled off.

Upon closer inspection of the stranger, he was wearing a tattered wizard's robe, as worn as a suitcase, with patches in several places, suggesting he was not in good financial condition.

Professor Lu Ping looked quite young, but he had a sickly appearance, and his light brown hair was already mixed with white hair.

“I wonder what he teaches?” Ron frowned as he looked at Professor Lupin’s haggard figure. “Hopefully he can handle it; he doesn’t look very robust.”

"Shh, let's try not to wake him," Hermione whispered to the other two boys.

But afterwards, the three of them completely forgot about Professor Lupin.

Harry told his two friends everything he had learned from Mr. Weasley.

Black, who had killed thirteen Muggles and blown up an entire street, was chasing Harry. Ron was somewhat frightened and confused, not understanding what this had to do with Harry; Hermione, on the other hand, was very worried and immediately gave Harry a series of warnings to be careful.

Then Ron changed the subject to something more cheerful, mentioning that the third-year students would finally be able to visit Hogsmeade Village, which Hermione found unusually interesting.

But this new topic wasn't so friendly to Harry—he used magic to inflate his aunt and failed to get her guardian's signature.

Harry's two best friends had completely opposite attitudes toward this matter—Hermione believed that Harry could not go to Hogsmeade without a guardian's signature on the application form, as she always followed the rules, especially since Black was still hunting Harry down!

Ron suggested asking Professor McGonagall, or asking Fred and George about the secret passage, so they could sneak into Hogsmeade.

Then Hermione released her cat Crookshanks from its cage, which terrified Ron's mouse, Spotted Mouse.

The two almost got into an argument over their respective pets, but Professor Lupin suddenly rolled over, startling all three of them to stop.

Fortunately, Professor Lu Ping turned his head to the side and went back to sleep.

But the peace didn't last long. The person the three disliked the most, Harry's archenemy, Malfoy of Slytherin, arrived with his two henchmen, Crabbe and Goyle.

Malfoy opened the carriage door, glanced around, and then said in his usual annoyingly drawn-out tone, "Weasley, I heard your dad finally made some money this summer, is that right?"

Ron's face immediately turned red.

"Your mother didn't die from shock from being too excited, did she?" Malfoy asked with a mocking look.

Ron and Harry both jumped to their feet. Ron was so quick that he almost kicked the cat basket to the ground.

A war between the two small groups was about to break out—at this moment, Professor Lupin snorted.

"Who is that?" Malfoy took a step back.

“New teacher,” Harry said, “you dare say what you just said to the professor again.”

Malfoy narrowed his eyes, angrily leading Goyle and Crabbe away.

*

Draco Malfoy sat in the nobleman's private carriage, listening absentmindedly as Daphne chatted with Pansy and Blaise.

Theodore Nott, sitting by the window, propping his head up and looking out at the scenery, seemed even more impatient with this meaningless nonsense than the man himself.

During the holidays, they went to which small island in Europe for vacation, attended how many balls, talked about the latest trendy robe styles, and discussed who was getting engaged to whom, blah blah blah.

Sometimes he wondered if there was something wrong with Blaise, that she liked to listen to the chatter of these boring pure-blooded ladies.

In his view, these young ladies from pure-blooded noble families, though seemingly virtuous and gentle, were actually all cut from the same cloth.

Their conversations are always about balls, pretty dresses, and jewelry. They talk like a flock of wicked birds, and listening to them for even five minutes is torture and a mental ordeal. It's annoying and gives you a headache.

Then he heard Blaise telling Daphne and the other girls about his wonderful French vacation, praising how the air by the French sea had a purifying effect on him.

"..." Draco Malfoy was speechless at his only friend and roommate. Everyone present had been to France, so how could he not know that a French vacation had such magical effects?

Brace then went on to talk about fulfilling his duties as the family heir during the holidays, attending some dinners and parties, and experiencing the joy of it all.

Draco Malfoy couldn't help but glance at Blaise, but the handsome chocolate man had a strange gleam in his eyes, as if he had found a treasure that no one else had discovered at these boring parties.

However, when the topic of parties he attended during his vacation came up, Draco Malfoy immediately recalled the dark-haired girl he met at a publishing industry party.

The two never saw each other again after that day.

For the first time, Draco Malfoy was so looking forward to the start of the semester, even though they weren't in the same house, they could still meet in the Great Hall for three meals a day.

I wonder which carriage she's in now, and who she's laughing and talking with...

Draco Malfoy couldn't sit still any longer; he wanted to search the other carriages to find the dark-haired girl.

The platinum-rich young master suddenly stood up, interrupting the group who were engrossed in their conversation.

"...I'm going outside for some fresh air." He made up a random excuse and hurriedly left the carriage.

As soon as the young master Platinum moved, his two burly henchmen habitually followed suit.

Draco Malfoy, completely forgetting about the two of them: "..."

Well, since we've already come all this way, let's go check out Scarface's carriage first, just in case she's in there too.

In short, you shouldn't act too intimately with her in public.

Draco Malfoy, along with Black and Goyle, stormed off to the very last carriage at the back of the train.

That scarred guy often hid inside with his two friends, sharing secrets only the three of them knew, thinking no one would find out. Did they really think everyone else was a fool?

Unfortunately, she's not here.

Platinum Prince didn't see Lyra in Scarface's carriage, casually provoked Weasley a few times, and then hurriedly left.

He was both disappointed and relieved.

He was certainly not happy to see the dark-haired girl getting close to his nemesis, but her absence meant she could be in any of the carriages, and he would have to search them one by one.

Just as I was racking my brains about which carriage to look for, the train slowed down and then came to a sudden stop. All the lights went out, plunging the entire train into darkness.

After a few seconds of silence, it immediately became noisy, with sounds of doors being opened, questions being asked, and various voices searching for people.

"What happened?"

"Annie! Where are you?"

"Rosalie, is that you?"

"Ouch, who stepped on my foot?!"

In the darkness and chaos, Draco Malfoy was shoved hard by someone and fell into a carriage, unfortunately bumping into the corner of a table.

"Hiss—" He gasped in pain.

"Draco?" There was another person in this carriage.

"It's you—," Draco Malfoy exclaimed with delight upon hearing the voice, immediately trying to stand up but crying out in pain, "Where are those two red monkeys?"

Suddenly, a dog in the carriage started barking wildly at the door.

The carriage doors were slowly opening.