𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐮𝐬 || 𝐋𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐄𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐬

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐰𝐨: 𝐅𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐬 & 𝐈𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐭𝐬

After lugging his heavy trunks from the Gryffindor cart to the Slytherin section, Barty hastily picked the nearest empty compartment without any consideration. Unfortunately though, out of all the available compartments in the Slytherin cart, the one Barty chose happened to be the closest to the Gryffindor cart as well. The Marauders, a notorious group of pranksters from Gryffindor, consistently pick that compartment for their mischievous antics, targeting anyone unlucky enough to be in it. During Barty's second year, he once saw a Slytherin boy emerge from the compartment covered in green frosting after the Marauders had slipped an exploding cake into the compartment, though no one was quite sure how it got in, not even the boy himself.

The unfortunate Slytherin suffered through public humiliation from the Gryffindors and even students from the other houses until Professor McGonagall intervened and threatened to assign detention to anyone who continued to laugh at the student. Even after Professor McGonagall had assigned detentions and punishments to the Marauders, more precisely, Sirius Black and James Potter, the mischievous Gryffindors only continued their tradition, pranking anyone who dared to be in the targeted compartment.

The Slytherins all knew about the cursed compartment's reputation. Most of them, wary of becoming their next victims, avoided the compartment at all costs. A few of them, however, dismissed its reputation, thinking it to be foolish until they were in the compartment themselves and experienced firsthand what kind of pranks the Marauders were capable of doing.

As fate would have it, this time, it appeared to be Silas's, Barty's and Evan's turn to face the Marauders' prank.

"We accidentally boarded the Gryffindor cart first, and by the time we made it here, most of the compartments were already taken," Silas explained.

"Tough luck, mate, but seriously, out of all the empty places, you had to pick the cursed compartment? There were still a few empty ones when I boarded the train," Evan looked down at his robes with a grimace. "I'm currently wearing a brand new robe. Father will kill me if I tarnish it on the first day."

"I was only following Junior. Ask him why he chose this compartment," Silas responded, prompting Evan to narrow his eyes at Barty who was quick to defend himself.

"My suitcases were fucking heavy, and the compartments closest to us were already full," Barty retorted, crossing his arms again.

"It wouldn't be that way if you didn't pack your entire wardrobe to school, you idiot," Evan rolled his eyes at Barty, and Silas actually had to agree with Evan on that one. Glancing at Barty's massive suitcases that looked close to bursting open, Silas was more worried about them falling on them rather than any of the Marauders' pranks.

"Not that you would know what it's like but it's not easy being this sexy, Rosier. You need to be dressed for any occasion." Barty wore a cocky expression, throwing a challenging look to Evan.

"Gladrags Wizardwear is still in Hogsmeade, you buffoon, and there won't be any special events in the first two months, so why bother bringing this many clothes when you can just shop there like you used to?" Evan rolled his eyes again in exasperation, mentioning the clothing store in Hogsmeade that Barty frequently goes to since his fifth year in Hogwarts.

Barty shot a nasty glare at Evan, the tension between them escalating. It became increasingly evident that Evan was oblivious to Barty's current situation, and given Evan's complicated relationship with Barty, it was only a matter of time before he taunted Barty once he found out the truth. "What?" Evan narrowed his eyes at Barty, not understanding why Barty was shooting him a glare.

Before Evan could ask about it, there was a sudden knock on their compartment door. A confused look appeared on Evan's face since he saw no one outside of their compartment. Choosing to ignore it, he focused back on the conversation, eager to find out what exactly Silas and Barty knew that he didn't. However, Evan's attention shifted when another knock soon followed.