"Hey, mind if I join you? All the other partments are full," said a boy standing at the door with a friendly smile. He rubbed the back of his head nervously.

  "Of course, e on in. There's plenty of room," Alex replied, gesturing to the empty seats. "I'm Alex Wilson, and this is Vivian Bulstrode."

  "I'm Charles. Charles Mon," the boy introduced himself with a shy smile.

  Charles was taller thahough a bit thin. Vivian gave Alex a meaningful look when she heard the name, clearly reizing it from their earlier versation. She raised an eyebrow as if to say, 'That's the Mon I was talking about!'

  Alex smiled back at her but kept things polite. He helped Charles with his luggage, and soon enough, Vivian started chatting with him. Luckily, the versation stayed light, and she didn't mentioensioween their families. Alex had been a bit worried that she'd bring it up, which would have made things awkward very quickly.

  As they settled in, Vivian pulled out a copy of the Daily Prophet and began reading aloud. "Have you guys heard? They say Harold Minchum, the current Minister of Magic, is about to step down. People are saying he hasn't done enough besides putting more Dementors around Azkaban. The Dark Lord is getting stronger, ah Eaters are causing chaos everywhere. They even attacked Sirius B Diagon Alley st month."

  ‘Teically, it was Knockturn Alley.’

  Charles frowned. "It's about time for a ge. The Ministry's just reag to attacks instead of stopping them. Those Death Eaters are a menace," he said, his previous shyness gone as his anger rose.

  Alex, sensing Charles's frustration, added calmly, "Don't worry. They won't be causing trouble for much longer."

  He didn't remember much of the plot of Harry Potter, but he knew ohing for certain—Voldemort would soon fall after Harry was born.

  Charles gave a weak smile, clearly forted by Alex's words. "I hope you're right. My family's been fighting against You-Know-Who for years. Several of my retives have joihe Aurors. My uncle was attacked by Death Eaters not long ago—one of them broke his leg. He's still at St. Mungo's Hospital. We're sure one of the Death Eaters was Travers, but the Ministry won't iigate without solid proof. It's infuriating."

  Vivian's eyes widened in shock. "That's awful! Didn't your uncle see who attacked him?"

  Alex stepped in to expin. "Mah Eaters wear masks whetack. It's hard them even if you see them."

  Charles nodded. "Exactly. My uncle's sure it was Travers, but without evidehe Ministry won't take a."

  As the versation shifted to pints about the Ministry of Magic, Alex realized just how fractured the magical world was. There were different opinions even within the Ministry itself, which was likely tributing to its ina against the Death Eaters.

  Before long, the Hogwarts Express began to move.

  "The train's finally off," Vivian said, settling into her seat. "I heard it takes several hours to get there."

  Alex uzzled. "Several hours? Why does it take so long? The magical world has so many ways to travel faster—why are we using a slow, old-fashiorain?"

  Vivian shrugged, looking equally curious. "That's a good question. I've wohe same thing. Why don't they just use magic to get us there faster?"

  Charles, who seemed more informed, chimed in. "There's an entment orain. It's supposed to give udents time to get to know each other and build excitement fwarts. Plus, it's a tradition. They've been using this train for decades, if not longer."

  Alex houghtfully. "I see. So it's more about tradition than anything else."

  "I heard that wizards used to travel to Hogwarts in their own way—some rode broomsticks, others used Floo Powder to ght to Hogsmeade," Charles Mon expined, leaning ba his seat. "But after the Iional Statute of Secrecy came into effe 1692, they had to stop all that. Too many wizards were being spotted by Muggles, and it put a lot of pressure on the Ministry of Magic to cover things up."

  "Well, since lenty of time orain, how about I teach you a game?" Alex suggested, a sly grin f on his face.

  "Sure, I'm up for anything," Charles replied, his earlier serious demeanor vanishing at the mention of games. "Is it Wizard Chess obstones?"

  Alex shook his head. "No, it's a game from my homend. Usually, it's pyed with four people, but three py too. I'll teach you."

  Alex reached into his luggage and pulled out a deck of cards, carefully pg it oable in front of them. He had a feeling that ohey got into the game, they wouldn't be able to resist its charm.

  "But wait... I still need a proper table," Alex muttered to himself. His Transfiguration skills weren't perfect yet, but he knew enough to manage a solution. He pointed his wand at the small table by the window and cast an Engio spell, extending the table just enough for their game.

  "That should do it," he said with satisfa.

  Alex began expining the basics of the game to Vivian and Charles. His teag experie the orphanage came in handy, and he quickly id out the rules in simple terms. "Alright, let's py a couple of rounds so you get the hang of it," Alex said.

  "These cards look fusing," Vivian admitted, frowning as she studied them. "Are you sure it's fun?"

  "You'll get the hang of it," Charles said, clearly intrigued. "Let's give it a try."

  With that, the three of them gathered around the table, Vivian and Charles sitting on chairs while Charles pulled a suitcase into the aisle to sit on. They began pying under Alex's guidance, slowly learning the strategy aement of poker.

  After about half an hour, both Vivian and Charles had picked up the basic gamepy. They each mao win a round, thanks to Alex letting them win to make sure they fully uood the game.

  "Haha, I won again! This is actually pretty fun," Vivian excimed, putting her card forward triumphantly, her earlier fusion repced by excitement.

  "Let's make it more iing," Charles suggested, grinning. "Whoever lost the most by the time the snack trolley es around has to buy the snacks."

  Vivian's eyes lit up. "I'm in! I feel like my luck is pretty ght now."