Neville was trying very hard not to panic.
Reginald was trying very hard not to be very annoyed.
"I've got to find Trevor!" moaned Neville. His brand new toad had somehow hopped away on the Hogwarts Express.
Trevor was a Scottish Slivering Toad. Extremely hard to keep in captivity, rumored to bring good luck, Trevor was a gift to Neville from his great uncle. Reginald wasn't impressed.
"It's a dumbass toad," argued Reginald. "If I were you, I'd be wanting to be rid out of it immediately. I met your great uncle. He's a donkey's arse. Didn't he hold you out of a window?"
"I told you not to mention that," muttered Neville.
"Fuck me," groaned Reginald. "Why is this so important to you?"
"Great uncle Algie gave me him!"
"And why do I care?" snapped Reginald.
"Algie is rich!"
"So is your gran," pointed out Reginald.
"No, like richer than the Malfoys rich."
"What do I care about money? I am an anger poltergeist. What would I do with the money? Buy my way into the Headless Hunt?" drawled Reginald.
Bickering about what exactly a poltergeist could do with an old wizard's money, they came to a compartment. There was a boy with red hair talking to a skinny boy with glasses. Neville suddenly became very nervous. The one with red hair looked very familiar.
"Um, excuse m-me," mumbled Neville.
"Yes?" asked the redhead.
"Have you s-s-seen a toad? My toad is missing!" said Neville, a little too loudly.
"Sorry," asked the boy with the glasses.
"Look, this dumbass amphibian was a gift from our rich as fuck uncle. We need it back like now," said Reginald.
"Bloody hell," said the Redhead. "An anger translator poltergeist! They're super rare!" Reginald beamed.
"Will you please let me know if you see him?" asked Neville. It came out far more like a plea.
"Four Eyes, Carrot Top, you tell us anything," said Reginald.
Four Eyes looked at Carrot Top and shrugged.
"Sure," said Four Eyes.
The two continued down the train to another compartment. One after another, there was no sign of the damn toad. At last, they came to the last compartment on the train.
A girl with very bushy hair was talking to several girls, including twins who Neville had Sunday dinner with once a month. They seemed to be discussing Hogwarts houses.
"Excuse me, Padma? Parvati?" asked Neville.
"Hello, Neville!" said Parvati warmly. "Would you like some Chocolate Frogs?"
"No, no, thanks. Has anyone seen a toad?" asked Neville timidly. The girl with bushy hair stood up.
"Hi, I'm Hermione Granger. What's your name?"
"I just told you, it was Neville," laughed Parvati. Another girl giggled.
"Come on, I'll help you look," said Hermione. She marched out of the compartment.
"Oooh, I like this one," said Reginald. "Don't make an arse of yourself."
Neville groaned.