The next morning, Noelle hummed a cheerful tune, skillfully navigating the bustling crowds at the station with Charles by her side, their parents following closely. The group quickly arrived at the famous dividing pillar between platforms nine and ten.
Without hesitation, the two walked straight through. After a brief moment of darkness, the scene before them suddenly brightened, and both families stepped onto a historic train station platform.
Wisps of white smoke from the train curled above the noisy crowd, and various pets scurried and played at people's feet. The sharp calls of owls rose and fell, weaving a unique station symphony.
The train's body was painted a deep, inky green, echoing the colors of England's autumn forests. Its windows were framed with gleaming brass, exuding a vintage charm. Whenever the setting sun's afterglow touched it, the entire train carriage seemed to be plated with a golden radiance, dazzling to behold.
Before parting ways, Charles and Noelle said their goodbyes to their parents. Noelle confidently patted her chest, promising to take good care of Charles as his older sister, despite Charles often being the one who looked after her.
Whoo-whoo-whoo-whoo!
The train whistle blew. Noelle leaned half her body out the window, waving vigorously at her family on the platform, while Charles stood behind her to prevent her from falling out.
After the train started, Noelle, seeing Charles immersed in reading, quietly enjoyed the fleeting scenery outside the window. Initially, she watched the rushing landscapes with great interest: rolling hills, winding rivers, and occasional glimpses of sheep.
But it wasn't long before she propped her chin in her hand, bored, and her legs began to swing restlessly at the edge of the seat.
"It's twelve o'clock, dear!"
A cheerful cart sound came from the corridor, followed by the smiling snack trolley old woman opening the compartment door. "Would you like anything? Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans."
Noelle instantly straightened up, her eyes fixed on the array of food on the trolley. Charles glanced at her amusedly, pulling out his money pouch. "A bit of everything, please."
"Yay!" Noelle excitedly took a large pile of snacks, dumping them all onto an empty seat.
Seeing this, Charles took a pen from his robe. Then, with a gentle flick of his wand, the pen instantly transformed into a table perfectly sized for the compartment, large enough to spread out all the snacks and let them occupy the entire surface.
After Noelle had eaten and drunk her fill, and had enough of the scenery outside, she turned to Charles and complained, "Charles~ I'm so bored. You've been reading all morning. Let's play a game!"
"Alright." Charles smiled helplessly, then with a gentle lift of his fingertip, the surrounding air quietly condensed. Tiny earth elemental particles gathered in mid-air, gradually taking shape.
Soon, a miniature mud figure appeared on the table, its movements and expressions identical to Charles himself.
Noelle's eyes widened. She looked down at her own lopsided clay doll, then compared it to Charles's model, which was so detailed that even the folds in its clothes were identical. She immediately grumbled indignantly, "No, that's not fair! You help me make one too!"
Charles shook his head with a laugh, flicking his fingertip. The mud surged and wriggled again, and in a blink of an eye, a lifelike "mini-Noelle" stood up from the table, even putting her hands on her hips and making a face at her.
The larger Noelle returned the grimace, not to be outdone, and both she and the doll had a blast playing.
"What kind of battlefield do you want?"
"A fiery battlefield, of course! It's perfect for my fire and earth element combination. But let's agree now, you're not allowed to cheat!" Noelle looked at the simulated battlefield, sparks of fighting spirit glinting in her eyes.
As her words fell, fire and earth elements intertwined, together painting a scorching and boiling landscape.
"Same rules as always, whoever's doll breaks first loses!" Noelle's fingertips sparked with fiery crimson runes.
In the array of floating runes, fire and earth elements poured into the clay doll before her like lava. Mini-Noelle was instantly coated in a dark red glow.
Mini-Noelle was like a brave little beast, leaving a trail of fine dust wherever she went.
Mini-Charles, however, met the challenge with an almost dance-like elegance. He lightly sidestepped, skillfully avoiding the opponent's frontal assault, and at the same time, using the momentum, he used water elemental threads to entangle one of the opponent's ankles, attempting to disrupt its balance.
"Ha! Classic water element opening! I was already expecting that move!" Noelle's eyes gleamed with the excitement of anticipating her opponent, and even sparks emerged from her body.
Whenever she manipulated elements, corresponding runes would appear in the air; fire elements were dancing flame patterns, and earth elements were gear-shaped rock carvings.
The next second, Mini-Noelle's entire body burst into raging flames, and the water threads instantly evaporated. Following this, countless fireballs rained down on Mini-Charles, and at the same time, an earth dragon burst from the ground, opening its massive maw to bite!
Mini-Charles maintained the graceful agility of a dancer, moving nimbly through the sea of fire. He even used the smoke from the exploding fireballs to conceal his form, rendering the earth dragon's attack targetless.
Suddenly, several water bullets shot out from the smoke, striking the earth dragon heavily. Their powerful impact caused the dragon's form to gradually disintegrate.
Seeing this, Noelle nimbly commanded her earth doll to detach from the dragon's back while injecting a large amount of fire elements into the earth dragon's body, causing it to explode. The splashing dust instantly covered the entire miniature battlefield.
In the swirling dust, Mini-Noelle was surrounded by dancing flames, vigilantly defending against any possible counterattack.
As the smoke gradually cleared, she was surprised to find Mini-Charles had lost a leg. A surge of triumphant joy immediately welled up in her heart, and she charged at her opponent with full confidence, as if victory was within her grasp.
"Noelle, let me teach you a lesson: on the battlefield, what you want to see is often what the enemy wants you to see. Never let your guard down."
Charles smiled, looking at the battlefield before him, and spoke softly.
Noelle paused at his words, then suddenly realized something was wrong. She then saw the 'crippled' Mini-Charles dissolve into a pile of rubble.
Countless liquid Charles forms emerged from the puddles left by the water bullets. They quickly surrounded Noelle, forming an impenetrable water cage, leaving her in a dilemma.
"The victor is decided."
Charles manipulated the water element to intensify the swirling currents, and the surging vortex mercilessly tore apart Noelle's earth doll. Meanwhile, Charles's earth doll slowly emerged from the earth, nodding slightly towards Noelle.
"╮(╯▽╰)╭ Including this time, I've lost over thirty times, and each 'death' is different. Charles, you have so many tricks."
Noelle was used to losing; winning or losing wasn't important to her.
What truly captivated her was the freedom to unleash elemental power, the excitement and exhilaration when flames soared and the earth trembled.
"Hmm? Who are they?" Just as Noelle was about to get up and stretch, she saw the train corridor was already crowded with young Wizards pointing and gesturing at the "battlefield" in front of Charles. Their excited, flushed faces clearly showed they had witnessed her and Noelle's recent battle.
Just then, a platinum-haired boy squeezed into the compartment, his light gray eyes gleaming with excitement.
He bowed slightly with elegant posture, "Malfoy. Draco Malfoy. It's an honor..."
Before he could finish, the compartment door was pushed open again. A black-haired boy with round glasses peered in.
"Charles, Noelle!"
Harry's hearty voice burst into the carriage before he did. His glasses almost slipped when he pushed the door open, and his green eyes sparkled with joyful surprise behind the lenses.
He sat directly next to Noelle, casually taking a Chocolate Frog from the snack box on her lap, his movements as practiced as if he had done it a hundred times.
Because Harry's mother was very close with his aunt, he often saw her at the shop. Over time, Harry and Charles became acquainted.
Charles often marveled at how important a complete family was for a child. The boy in the original story and the one now were completely different people; apart from those green eyes, there was no resemblance between them whatsoever.
Outside the glass window, a red-haired boy was on tiptoes, waving inside, while the toad held by a round-faced boy took the opportunity to jump onto Ron's head.
Draco's mouth twitched. "Potter, interrupting someone's introduction is not..."
"...gentlemanly? He always says that." Harry unexpectedly finished the sentence, turning to Noelle with a sly smile.
The moment Noelle burst out laughing, a flush of annoyance appeared on Draco's pale face.
Charles sighed, and out of politeness, levitated a few candies, slowly floating them towards Draco. "Try these? They're element-catalyzed, more stable than regular Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans."
Draco hesitated, then finally reached out and pinched one, putting it into his mouth under Harry's gaze. A taste similar to lemon sorbet exploded on his tongue, relaxing his tight jawline a little.
Harry raised an eyebrow at him, then suddenly said cheekily, "...Sweet, Malfoy?"
Draco: "..."
(Well, the war has begun again. (ㅍ_ㅍ))