Chapter 103

Harry and Neville moved quickly through the corridors of the train, peering into compartments already filling up with students. After passing several noisy groups, they finally found one with only two girls inside.

Neville knocked politely.

"Mind if we join you?"

Susan Bones and Hannah Abbott looked up from their conversation. Both wore the badges of old wizarding families — families with not just history, but political influence. The Bones and Abbott families had recently formed a strong alliance, tied by both politics and business.

Still, the moment Susan's eyes landed on Harry, her breath caught. Hannah blinked.

"You're—" Hannah started, wide-eyed.

"Harry Potter," Susan finished, her tone somewhere between surprised and curious.

Harry gave an awkward smile. "Yeah. That's me."

They were staring. Not unkindly, but with the kind of stunned attention Harry had been warned to expect. He decided to head it off before it became uncomfortable.

"I grew up in the Muggle world," Harry explained. "Only learned about all this… recently. I barely know the basics."

That seemed to break the tension. Susan relaxed a little, nodding.

"My aunt said this might happen."

Harry blinked. "Your aunt?"

"Amelia Bones. Head of the DMLE." Susan sat up straighter. "She said there were rumors you'd been raised in the Muggle world. Some wizards supposedly saw you, even tried to approach you on the street. But those people… well, someone Obliviated them not long after."

Harry frowned thoughtfully. "I think I remember that. A few people got really excited when they saw me. They acted strange… and then they were just gone the next time I looked."

Neville glanced at him. "Sounds about right, considering."

Before the conversation could go further, the compartment door slid open again.

Hermione Granger stood there, looking slightly flustered.

"Sorry… everywhere else is full. Can I sit here?"

Hannah gave a polite smile.

"I guess we have room for one more."

Hermione smiled in relief. "Thanks." She pulled her trunk inside, setting it neatly by the door before sitting down.

Harry offered a small nod. "Harry."

"Hermione Granger," she said, pushing her frizzy hair behind her ear.

Hermione's eyes widened as she realized.

"You're Harry Potter. I've read all about you."

Harry gave a small frown. "Those books aren't real. They're fantasy."

Hermione blinked, confused.

"But… they're written as true events."

Before Harry could answer, Susan Bones spoke up.

"My aunt works at the Ministry of Magic. She told me the truth about those books. They were written by people inside the Ministry — people who wanted to make as much money off Harry Potter's name as they could. None of it was meant to help him."

Susan shrugged. "They've started pulling those books off the shelves lately. Quietly."

For Hermione, that was a shock.

"How could they lie about something like that?"

Neville sighed.

"You must be Muggle-born."

Hermione nodded slowly. "I am… why?"

Neville leaned forward, lowering his voice.

"There's a lot you probably weren't told. During the last war, things weren't simple. Voldemort targeted Muggle-borns. A lot of them fled the country. They called it the 'Muggle-born Exodus.' My dad and mum helped a lot of families get out."

Hermione listened, stunned as Neville explained more — how the Ministry had tried to cover its own failures, how many Death Eaters had escaped justice, how the truth was often twisted for convenience. Hermione wanted to deny these things, but Susan's Aunt was the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement

"Professor McGonagall only told me there'd been a war with a dark wizard. She said it was over." Hermione's brow furrowed. "She never said anything about how many of them are still free…"

Susan nodded knowingly."She probably didn't have the authority to tell you. Headmaster Dumbledore's under a lot of pressure to boost Muggle-born numbers at Hogwarts. They've only given you the version they want you to hear."

Hermione sat back, quietly processing everything. For the first time since she'd stepped onto the platform, she wasn't sure she knew what she'd gotten herself into.

For Hermione, it felt like the ground had shifted beneath her feet. She had grown up respecting authority, and she had entered the wizarding world with a kind of reverence for people like Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore. To hear now — plainly, undeniably — that they had hidden things from students, from the public… it was a blow.

She didn't speak right away, trying to make sense of it in her head.

Harry, sensing her hesitation, offered gently:

"Maybe you should read the International Bugle. It's an international newspaper — they've covered all the facts about what really happened in the past."

Unlike the Daily Prophet, the International Bugle had built a reputation for honest reporting. Elijah Mikaelson secretly owned it, and it had been his answer to the Ministry-controlled narratives pushed by the British press. The Bugle had gained fame across the wizarding world for its integrity.

When it finally broke into the British wizarding community, Fudge hadn't been pleased. He'd tried to use the Daily Prophet to smear it, but that strategy had backfired spectacularly. The International Confederation of Wizards (ICW) had reprimanded him after uncovering how deeply the Daily Prophet was tied to his office — and how often its reports were exaggerated or outright fabricated.

The Prophet had already received a strike from the ICW. Two more, and they'd face mandatory shutdown. Fudge hadn't dared to push his luck since.

And with each passing month, his approval ratings had only gotten worse as the truth about his connections to Lucius Malfoy and certain Death Eaters came to light.

Hannah nodded."Yeah, that's a good place to start."

Susan added with a hint of scorn:"And definitely don't read the Daily Prophet. It's nothing but propaganda these days."

Hermione hesitated, then gave a small, quiet nod."All right… I'll read it."

It wasn't easy for her — letting go of what she thought she knew never was. But a part of her understood now: truth wasn't something you could trust to come from authority. Sometimes, you had to go looking for it yourself.

Just then, the compartment door slid open with a sudden clatter.

It was Ron Weasley.

He gave the group inside a quick, scanning look — his eyes landing on Harry almost immediately.

"Everywhere's full. Can I join?" he asked, though it sounded more like an expectation than a request.

The compartment was already clearly full. Three girls — Hannah, Susan, and Hermione — and two boys — Harry and Neville. If Ron also entered,there wasn't an much space left.

But before Neville, Harry, or Susan could so much as open their mouths to explain, Ron barged in anyway, dragging his trunk halfway through the door.

He wedged himself onto the edge of the seat next to Harry, his tone overly casual as he forced his way into the conversation.

"Blimey, packed this year, isn't it?"

Harry exchanged a quick glance with Neville. Neither needed to say it aloud: this wasn't a coincidence.

Susan's polite smile tightened.

Hannah gave Ron a confused look.

Hermione just frowned slightly, noting the obvious — there were plenty of other compartments he hadn't even checked.

But Harry already understood why he was here.