After the initial excitement of reuniting with friends that after the long summer holiday, everyone in the compartment finally settled down and shared lunch together. This year, each of them had brought their own lunch. Scarlet, however, brought an extra-large, layered bento box filled with bite-sized snacks, all meticulously prepared by her kitchen staff under Meiko’s supervision.

“The snacks you have here are quite different from what we get at Hogwarts,” Amelia commented taking a bite of a rice ball.

“Perhaps it’s the seasonings,” Scarlet said thoughtfully. “I think my chef specifically went to Japan for a taste tour and brought back some of these seasonings.”

“Whoa,” the others – most of whom had never travelled abroad – exclaimed in awe.

“...Anyway, I got you guys some souvenirs from Japan,” Scarlet said, her tone lightly stiff as she attempted to change the subject, “I’ll give them to you tomorrow.”

“Hehe, wealthy girl,” Amelia teased, but smoothly followed Scarlet’s lead. “So, our CEO-cum-novelist had a busy holiday. Maya and I just lazed around, watching dramas together since we live nearby. How about you three?”

“I read through all my textbooks,” Hermione said with a proud grin. “When I ran out, I went to Diagon Alley to buy more. Oh, and I managed to get Gilderoy Lockhart’s autograph!”

“Really?!” Maya exclaimed. “Too bad I don’t subscribe to any wizarding magazines or newspapers. I didn’t know he was having an autograph session!”

“You can always get his autograph at Hogwarts - he’s our new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor!” Hermione said, brimming with excitement. Ron, however, rolled his eyes in frustration. He had heard enough about Lockhart’s supposed brilliance from his mum at home, and now had to endure Hermione’s admiration as well.

Harry, observing Scarlet’s calm demeanour, asked, “Scarlet, what do you think about our new professor?”

Scarlet blinked, pulling herself away from Neville’s report that she’d been silently reading. “My opinion might be a little different from the mainstream. Are you sure you want to know?”

Hermione immediately cut in with a matter-of-fact tone, “He must be a powerful wizard, skilled in Defence Against the Dark Arts. Just read his books and you can imagine how capable he is.”

Harry cast Hermione a sidelong glance but kept his focus on Scarlet, silently insisting she answer. He remembered how accurate her assessments of the professors had been in the past, especially with Quirrell. And now, with Peter Pettigrew still at large – a fact Sirius and Ron had both mentioned in their letters – he suspected Scarlet might have reasons for her aloofness regarding Lockhart.

Scarlet, noticing Harry’s quite persistence, smiled. “The books you’ve been reading seem to have done wonders for you,” she remarked.

“The more I read, the more I realise how much I don’t know,” Harry admitted, a modest smile lighting his face. “It wasn’t just books, either. I tried joining some activity clubs this summer, and I joined an archery club. I met all sorts of people. So...about the new professor?”

Well, so much for dodging the topic...Scarlet thought, exhaling softly. The Harry in front of her felt worlds apart from the one she remembered from their last meeting at the start of the summer holiday...like a slightly more mature version.

Directing her reply specifically to Harry, she finally said, “Let’s just say...he’s a narcissistic fantasy author and not much more than that.”

Hermione was visibly upset by Scarlet’s words. “He’s not narcissistic! What he wrote was his personal experience fighting dangerous magical creatures - that’s his autobiography! He’s obviously a powerful wizard.”

Scarlet didn’t respond to Hermione’s retort, her gaze quietly shifting to Harry, who appeared to be deep in thought.

An awkward silence filled the compartment. After a moment, Harry looked up and met Scarlet’s eyes. “So...are you saying he’s good at telling stories, but he might not have actually done all the things he claimed in his books?”

“Of course he did!” Hermione snapped, her tone rising again. This time, she turned on Scarlet directly. “Are you just jealous because Professor Lockhart is a more famous author than you?”

The others gasped audibly, and Amelia shook her head in disapproval. “Hermione, that’s rude.”

Scarlet, unfazed by the accusation, smiled like she always does. She saw then as children and, being more open-minded as an adult mentally, was used to handling such outbursts. Before she could speak, Harry intervened, his voice calm but firm.

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“Hermione,” he began, “I don’t know how famous our new professor is as an author, but you need to remember that the Muggles population is much larger than the wizarding one, whether here in Britain or globally.”

He met Hermione’s gaze directly, nudging a nervous Ron aside to address her properly. “Sure, his books are well-known in the wizarding world. But Scarlet’s books have a much wider audience – they've been translated into several languages. She has no reason to feel jealous of someone whose fame is limited to our world. And you know she’s never been interested in diving deeper into the wizarding community since the day you met her.

Hermione stared at Harry, stunned. He continued, his tone steady but pointed, “You’re the smartest witch of our year – you should be able to figure this out if you think it thought rationally. Scarlet has been writing and reading novels since she was five. She knows the ins and outs of storytelling. If anyone here is skilled enough to spot inconsistencies or embellishments in someone’s writing, it’s her. And you know she’s never lied to us about her insights before.”

The compartment fell silent as everyone – including Maya, Amelia, and Ron – watched the tense exchange.

Hermione, no longer angry but clearly conflicted, turned hesitantly to Scarlet. “Do you...really think so? That Professor Lockhart isn’t reliable?”

Scarlet offered her a sincere smile. “Time will tell the truth. You might be right, and I might be wrong. There’s no way to know for sure until it’s revealed. But one thing I can say with confidence is that he is narcissistic. If you ever read other autobiographies, I’m sure you’ll noticed the difference easily.”

Harry nodded in agreement. “I’ve read a few autobiographies over the summer, and they usually feel grounded. Lockhart’s stories, though – they do seem solid on the surface, but they’re...overly polished. If I’m honest, they feel decorated. But just like Scarlet said, we’ll see how it unfolds this year.”

Yeah, Alexis is going to make sure you all witness something, Scarlet mused to herself with a cheerful smile.

Hermione huffed, crossing her arms. “Time will prove that I’m right and you’re wrong.”

Scarlet nodded, surprising Hermione with her earnest expression. “And I’ll be glad if you are. That would mean we’ll have a reliable professor – which would be good news for all of us.”

“...” Hermione struggled to find a suitable reply. After a long pause, she furrowed her brows and gave up with frustrated sigh. “Scarlet, you’re weird.”

Scarlet just shrugged, relieved that the diehard fan of Gilderoy Lockhart had decided to drop the subject.

Perhaps wanting to ease the tension, Harry shifted the conversation. “Scarlet, about the house-elf...”

“Oh, right,” Scarlet straightened slightly. “How did that turn out? You didn’t update me about him.”

“It all worked out,” Harry said with a small chuckle. “I didn’t update you because I knew you were in Japan, and it wasn’t urgent. I figured I’d fill you in once we were back at Hogwarts.”

“Good to hear,” Scarlet nodded.

Noticing the curious expressions on Maya and Amelia’s faces, Harry decided to start from the beginning. “I felt something was odd at the start of my summer holidays, so I called Scarlet for advice Turns out it was a house-elf. He’s a huge fan of mine and thought I’d be in danger at Hogwarts. So, to ‘protect’ me, he took all my letters, hoping to isolate me from anything related to Hogwarts. He was trying to make me give up going back this year...and was planning to escalate things if I insisted on returning by using magic.”

Hermione and Ron, who were already familiar with the story, simply listened, while Maya and Amelia looked utterly surprised. Amelia, as a half-blood with a wizarding mother, furrowed her brows. “That’s...a pretty stupid plan.”

“Yeah, probably the best he could come up with,” Harry shrugged. “So, I asked Sirius - my godfather - to send his house-elf to help us. We managed to capture him and, after a long discussion, he finally gave up on his plan and agreed that I wasn’t going to face any danger at Hogwarts.”

Maya looked confused. “Why would he think you’d be in danger at Hogwarts? Isn’t it supposed to be the safest school in the world?”

“Well...” Harry hesitated, blinking a few times. “He’s from a family with ties to dark artefacts, and they’ve got some political issues with Professor Dumbledore. So, basically, he believes anyone at school could be tricked into smuggling dark artefacts in and sabotaging things to damage the Headmaster’s reputation. It’s just that he was especially worried about me.”

“What?” Amelia shook her head in disbelief. “That’s it? That’s the reason he acted so recklessly? You’d be in serious trouble if Ministry found out about magic being used at your house!”

“Yeah...” Harry replied with a wry smile. “Even after talking to him, I still don’t get what goes on in their heads.”

Ron had been watching Harry closely, and suddenly he grabbed Harry’s arm, his expression serious. “Mate, are you sure you just spent the summer reading books and joining clubs?”

“Yeah, why?” Harry asked, raising an eyebrow.

“It feels like you’ve aged a few years over the holiday!” Ron exclaimed.

“Well, I’ve just been trying to make myself more useful,” Harry replied with a wink, his tone hinting at more than he was saying.

Ron paused, thinking. Slowly, he let go of Harry’s arm, then nodded un understanding. “And to think, I thought learning sword fighting with Fred and George was impressive. Give me your book list! And I’m joining whatever club you’re in!”

“If you’re fine with coming to London every day for training, I’ll happily refer you to my club,” Harry said with a grin. “I’m the youngest there, and the only one who did daily training throughout the holiday – most of the others only come once or twice a week. It’s be nice to have a company for a change.”

“Deal!” Ron exclaimed enthusiastically.

Meanwhile, Maya and Amelia ware whispering to each other in the corner. “What are they even talking about?” Maya asked.

“Probably some boys’ secret,” Amelia replied with a shrug.

Hermione, on the other hand, was lost in her thoughts, likely still brooding over her charming and favourite author.

Ah, teenager. Scarlet sighed, sipping contentedly from her thermal flask.