Ron-Weasly book 1. V2 part 4-2

Chapter 4.2 The first friend.

I opened the door a crack and looked inside the compartment. A skinny kid with greenish eyes was sitting by the window next to a cage with a snow-white owl and staring out the window.

"Is it free here?" I asked the black-haired boy from the train station, pointing to the seat opposite. "In others, there is nowhere to sit at all." I lied. Although all the compartments we passed were already packed. But it was Harry I wanted to sit with.

He nodded, and I quickly sat down opposite the kid in black trousers and a white shirt under his jacket, who was sitting on the left next to the window. So don't stare openly, don't stare. Aunt Muriel said it was very annoying. I stole a glance at him, but immediately shifted my gaze, pretending that I was very interested in the landscape outside the window. Maybe I should invite him to play my chess while we go to school?

"Hey, Ron!" the twins called out to me as they looked into the compartment. They stopped in the hallway to chat with Alicia Spinet, their friend and a member of the Gryffindor House Quidditch team. "We'll go. Lee Jordan is riding two cars away from us, he's carrying a giant tarantul with him. You're not coming with us, are you? Well, stay here then. And we'll text Mom that we looked after you on the train."

Damn, did they specifically say about the tarantul so that I wouldn't get in their way? I really dislike spiders after their next joke. After all, a thirty-centimeter spider instead of a teddy bear is scary. Besides, he also bit me. Well, Mom had a universal antidote at hand.

"Go on," I said, pushing away the cowardly thoughts of the big spider on the train. Fred probably wants to talk to Alicia, and George just goes with him for company.

"Harry, we still haven't introduced ourselves to you." The twins were smiling. "Fred and George Weasley. And this is our brother Ron. I'll see you later."

"See you later," Harry and I said almost simultaneously. And the twins were gone.

"Are you really Harry Potter?" I blurted out, I was bursting with the desire to ask this question. "I hope this isn't another prank by these red-haired assholes."

Harry nodded.

"Although Aunt Petunia says that according to the documents, I am now Harold, but everyone calls me Harry. And you call me too."

"Roland, but it's all shortened to Ron. And you really have... Well, you know..."

I held out my finger, pointing at Harry's forehead. Harry ran a hand through his hair, exposing his forehead. When I saw the scar, I didn't take my eyes off it.

"So this is where You-Know-Who tagged you..." It's a strange scar, reddish, as if it's a little inflamed.

"Yes," Harry confirmed. "But I don't remember that. Just a lot of green light, and icy laughter."

Hmm, judging by the description, it looks like Avada. But they don't survive after it.

"Does it hurt much?" I sat and stared at Harry, not taking my eyes off, as if fascinated, but then I caught myself and stared out the window.

"It sometimes whines at night, like another nightmare. Do you have wizards in your family?" Harry asked. It looked like he was interested in me too. Well, he should have lived with Muggles again. Does he even know about school?

"Uh... yeah. I think so," I said after some thought. "Mom has a younger brother, he works as an accountant, but we never talk about him."

We need to ask him in more detail about his appearance.

"I read that you lived with relatives." I was very curious. Daddy's a fan of Muggles out there. "What are they like anyway?"

"Terrible... Probably not all of them, though. But my aunt, uncle, and cousin are terrible. They're all Muggles and they hate magic, can you imagine? Although our relationship has improved this August. My aunt even lavished on clothes that fit, even if they were second-hand. But I wish I had three magical brothers like you."

Yeah, I guess I guessed right. But who gave Potter to Muggles, doesn't he have an uncle and family on his father's side? However, they left with the ends.

"I have five of them." My voice was not at all cheerful. "I'm the sixth. And now I have to do everything to be better than them. Bill was the best student at school, Charlie played quidditch, and wore the captain's armband. And Percy has become a prefect. Fred and George, of course, do all sorts of nonsense, but they have good grades, and everyone loves them. And now everyone expects me to study as well as my brothers. But even if it does, it won't do anything, because I'm the youngest. So I need to become better than them, and I don't think I can do it. Besides, when you have five brothers, you don't get new clothes very often. So I'm going to school with almost everything old-I got my uniform from Charlie, Bill's magic wand, and Percy's ratty. Even though they bought me new clothes, they are second-hand."

I started to share my pain. Then he reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out a plump gray rat that was sleeping peacefully. Percy's been completely overfed by the jerk.

No, to think that he had fallen asleep again.

"His name is Brat, and he's completely useless— he sleeps all day. Dad gave Percy an owl when he found out he was going to be the head boy, and I wanted one too, but they don't have a de... I wanted to say that I got ratty instead."

My ears are red. I said a lot of unnecessary things. What will he think of our family? I stopped talking and looked out the window. What if Harry doesn't want to be friends with me because we're poor?

"Ron, you know, I've never had any money of my own. Only my aunt sometimes sent groceries to the store. And I always wore old clothes. They never buy me anything new, even what they bought at a second-hand store needs to be worked out. And for my birthday and Christmas, I usually get stuff like Uncle Vernon's old socks." — I cheered up a bit. Maybe I can really make friends with him? But at the expense of gifts, you will need to write to your mother, let her please him at least for Christmas. She said that our family knew his parents well. "And until Hagrid told me, I didn't even know I was a wizard." Harry continued. "And he didn't know anything about his parents or Voldemort..."

I shrank away from him in fear, clutching the seat with my fingers. Even brave wizards still don't pronounce that name. Is he crazy? My dad wrote my name on a piece of paper, he said that it was okay to write, but they were afraid to even write it. They say there's a summoning charm on the name.

"What are you?" Harry was surprised.

"You called You-Know-Who by name!" There was fear and respect in my voice. Even the bravest people don't say it after the war. Afraid. I thought you should know that...."

"I wasn't trying to be brave," Harry explained. "I just didn't know you couldn't say that name. Now do you understand what I was saying? I still don't know so much, I still have so much to learn... And I'm afraid... I'm afraid that I'll be the worst student in school" it seems that this thought has been bothering him for a long time. "I'm only good at cooking, but what's the point of cooking soups at a magic school?"

I should cheer him up.

"I had a wand myself, but my mother forbade me to do magic. And I only got it this summer. But I was practicing simple spells with the branch, which Percy showed me without my mother knowing. He's totally obsessed with studying. She taught me how to cook simple potions and how to cut the ingredients correctly and grind bones and teeth in a mortar. By the way, I started with soups myself, although my mother grumbled that Ginny should cook."

"But I don't know anything at all, and the textbooks are so complicated, sometimes I don't understand what's written there at all. I only learned English at school, and a little German."

"Don't be afraid," I reassured him. "There are a lot of students at the school who grew up in Muggle families, and they learn everything pretty quickly. After all, the school has a pretty strong selection process. After all, the school has a pretty strong selection process. They just don't take idiots and weaklings there. All graduates of Hogwarts must pass the OWLS at least satisfactorily, and a conversation with a future employer begins with good grades. Some even require excellent grades in their core subjects. I need transfiguration and potions at an excellent level. Additionally, mathematics is worth studying for calculations."

"And that there's no difference at all whether you're a Muggle-born or a hereditary magician?"

"Unfortunately, Muggleborns have problems with the higher branches of magic, which require a large reserve. That's where all these ministry bans came from. Although some rituals are really creepy. And they were banned long ago. But Dad says pureblood families still practice them on holidays. Or to protect their estates."

While we were chatting, the train had left London and was now speeding past fields and meadows where cows and sheep grazed. Harry and I fell silent, looking out the window. He seemed to be interested in everything. Meanwhile, I was thinking about what to talk about with him. And is it even worth being friends? After half an hour of thought, I decided it was worth it. Even with Harry's limited knowledge and family problems. And I liked him as a person.

Fields gave way to moorlands, then forests, then fields again....

At about half past one, there was a knock from the vestibule, and then a smiling woman with a dimple in her chin looked into the compartment.

"Would you like something to eat, kids?" Harry jumped up hastily when he heard the tempting offer.

"No, I brought sandwiches, Mom made them. I just love pork. Just a jug of pumpkin juice with an apple."

I took out a pair of copper knuts and handed them to the woman in exchange for a jug of iced juice, and Harry went out into the hallway to look at the sweets in the cart. Even though I had pocket money, I saved it for Christmas. It's necessary to make presents for Christmas. And Mom cooks delicious, as long as she doesn't put beef in my mouth again. I reached into my suitcase for the roll of sandwiches. So the smell is strange. Damn it! Beef, also without mustard.

A few minutes later, Harry returned loaded with purchases and dumped them on the seat. I looked at the small pile of sweets. Won't it tear?

"Are you that hungry?" I asked him. I was trying on a sandwich. He took a bite and chewed. I washed it down with pumpkin juice. Damn, how do Bill and Percy eat it?

"I haven't eaten since last night," Harry replied, unwrapping a pumpkin cookie and taking half a bite at once. I put down my sandwich and sipped my juice. The witch gave us two paper cups for juice.

"Mom always forgets that I don't like smoked beef," I said sadly. "Well, when Mom stops confusing me with Bill. My brother loves beef. Harry, will you share some sweets? Pour yourself some juice, it's delicious by the way."

Harry handed me a cookie with pieces of dried pumpkin.

"Come on, join us... Can I have a sandwich? I would have eaten something more substantial than sweets."

"Take it, but you won't like these sandwiches— the meat is dry and there's no sauce", I shook my head and tensed up. "Mom just forgot-she has a lot of us... And I really look like a young Bill. I didn't think to take the sauce myself. I decided that since mom gave me pork, you can eat it without mustard. I love pork ham and fried chicken legs. What do you like?"

"My Aunt Petunia's meat pie, she makes it awesome, and pudding with steak and kidneys. We made it last Christmas."

"Can I have some sweets?" I reached for the package of pumpkin cookies. "I love him."

"Come on, eat." Harry nodded at his sweets and took a bite of his sandwich, chewed. "It's really dry." He put down the bread and started nibbling on the smoked meat. I moved to his seat and reached for a pile of cookies and chocolate frogs. Well, their sandwiches. I'll leave it as a stash or give it to Percy. He likes beef, unlike me and the twins. The twins, like Charlie, love smoked fish, and our whole family just loves chicken.

"What's this?" Harry asked, picking up a box of chocolate frogs. "They're not real frogs, are they?"

I almost laughed at the thought of his face when he unwrapped the chocolate frog. After all, she will come to life and start jumping around the compartment until you touch her with your hand. The truth doesn't last long, she was enchanted for only fifteen minutes of moving around the little wizard.

"No, they're not real, they're just made in the shape of frogs, and they're made of chocolate. And look, they're kicking and if you hesitate, they can jump away, it's not far, so let's close the window for now," I smiled. "If you eat, don't throw the liner away-I don't have enough Agrippa..."

"What?" said Harry. He tore open the box and dumped a dozen small boxes of chocolate frogs on the seat.

"Oh, of course you don't know," I said. "There are collectible cards inside. From the series "Famous witches and wizards". Many guys collect them. I have about five hundred of them, but Agrippa isn't here, and neither is Ptolemy, I think. Frogs on sale are delicious and not expensive. Mom often bought us packaging for the holiday.

Harry unwrapped the "frog" and pulled out a card. The frog came to life and tried to escape, but he automatically jerked his hand and grabbed it, after which he put it in his mouth. Hmm, he only has to be a hunter on the team. Good reflexes and a good build. But he's going to have trouble buying a broom.

"They say these frogs came up with professional quidditch teams to train future hunters. You should be on the Gryffindor team."

After chewing on the chocolate, Harry began to turn the card over in his hands. I was happily munching on soft biscuits with pieces of dried pumpkin. It's delicious, but Mom makes the pastries better anyway. I had such a great raspberry pie last night, and I ate three huge pieces.

"So that's what Dumbledore is like!" Harry exclaimed.

The guardians didn't tell him about the school at all, because Dumbledore is the greatest dark wizard who became the headmaster of the school after a duel with the great necromancer Grindelwald, who unleashed a great magical war in the magical world of Hyperborea.

"Don't tell me you've never heard of Dumbledore!" I protested. "Can I have one of the Wizard's Delight Chocolates, try it delicious, especially with hazelnuts."

Harry turned the card over and began to read the insert.

Then he turned the card over again and was surprised.

"He's gone somewhere!" he yelled.

I looked at him in surprise.

"He's moving!" he yelled.

I looked at him in surprise.

"All the magical photos and paintings are moving. Portraits of wizards generally visit each other, can I have another chocolate bar?"

"Help yourself," Harry offered, following the direction of my gaze. "By the way, did you know that Muggles, if a person is photographed, then he doesn't move anywhere?"

"Are you kidding?" It's so boring. Although it can be useful. "What, they're not moving at all? Well done! Dad used to bring the camera home, but he enchanted it so that the photos on the film would move."

Harry stared at the card for a long time, then unpacked the next frog. We ate all the frogs he had bought, and I handed him the cards. Soon he had eight of these cards. By the way, he caught all the frogs quickly, they didn't even have time to go anywhere. It took a long time before Harry put aside the last of his collection. He stared at her for ten minutes. Just like Ginny with her collection of gems.

I woke the Brat up and fed him sliced carrots and grains of cereals, I need to get more at school, otherwise I only have enough for two weeks.