The hum of the train filled the quiet between laughter and conversation, the steady rhythm of the wheels clacking beneath their feet as the scarlet steam engine cut north through the English countryside, on its way to the scottish highlands.
Golden fields rolled past the window, dotted with the occasional glimmer of distant villages, and once, what looked suspiciously like a dragon flying far in the distance.
Inside their compartment, the air smelled faintly of chocolate and pumpkin.
Empty wrappers littered the small table between them, and a pile of half-eaten sweets was stacked precariously near Neville's knee.
Daphne Greengrass had neatly arranged her share on a napkin, choosing only the ones that didn't stain fingers.
Hermione Granger, despite earlier protests, was now working through her second Chocolate Frog.
Neville Longbottom was feeding Trevor bits of pumpkin pasty.
And Cassius Snape watched them all with quiet amusement, having decided to play a game of russian roulette with his bertie botts every flavor beans.
Seeing him do so the others collectively joined their beans together in one box before joining in, with the rules adjusting to the numbers.
First they would play a simple game of ro-sham-bo (Rock-paper-scissors / Janken) with the loser being made to consume a bean, if it was good then they gained a point but if it was a bad one, amonst the ridicule they also lost a point.
The game quickly passed for hours as they enjoyed the source of entertainment while getting to joke around with one another, at least until all the beans had been consumed, neville was deemed the loser, due to his unlucky nature to draw bad beans, but Cassius himself honestly wasnt to far behind, while the girls were luckier only havent encountered bad beans a dozen or so times throughout the course of the game.
Which they commended the boys on defending them from the nasty beans.
Earning a red face response from neville, while Cassius just smiled like a valiant hero like it was planned all along.
Hermione broke the comfortable silence first, lowering her frog card to the table.
"So," she said brightly, "have any of you actually read all your course books yet?"
Three sets of eyes turned toward her.
"Read them?" Daphne echoed, sounding as if the idea itself were suspicious.
"Yes!" Hermione said, sitting a little straighter. "I thought it best to be prepared before term starts. There's so much to learn—Transfiguration, Charms, Magical Theory—oh, and History of Magic! I've been reading Professor Binns' notes in A Beginner's Compendium of Magical Civilizations, and it's fascinating!"
Neville blinked.
"Er… I started looking through One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi. Gran says I should at least know the difference between a Bezoar and a Bubotuber."
"That's something," Hermione said encouragingly. "And you, Daphne?"
The Slytherin girl arched a delicate eyebrow. "Please. School hasn't even started yet."
Hermione's brow furrowed. "But—but shouldn't you at least know what's coming?"
"Why?" Daphne said simply, plucking a Pumpkin pastie from the pile to her side. "If it's important, I'll learn it. If it's not, it's just clutter."
"That's not how education works," Hermione insisted. "You can't just show up and—"
"—and let instinct fill in the blanks?" Daphne cut in, smirking. "That's how magic works."
Hermione turned to Neville, seeking support, but he was busy trying to coax Trevor back into his lap after the toad had made another daring leap for the window.
"Honestly!" Hermione muttered.
Cassius, who had been quietly enjoying the back-and-forth, finally chuckled.
"For what it's worth," he said, voice smooth and unhurried, "Hermione's not wrong. Preparation is valuable. But you're forgetting something important."
All three looked at him now.
"For most magical-born students," Cassius continued, "this isn't just their first year at Hogwarts—it's their first time in school, period."
Hermione blinked. "Wait—what do you mean?"
Neville scratched the back of his neck. "Er… He's not wrong, i was taught by my Gran most my life before my parents got better but Hogwarts is the first school i'll have attended."
"Same here," Daphne added lightly. "Private tutors, etiquette lessons, and occasional spell practice at home. Never had to sit in a classroom before."
Hermione's eyes went wide. "But—but that's terrible! You've never learned maths? Or literature? Or even basic science?"
Daphne looked genuinely puzzled. "Why would I?"
Cassius hid a grin behind a bite of pumpkin pasty.
"I suppose," he said, swallowing, "that's where the worlds differ. Muggle-borns are used to structure, exams, schedules. Wizards—especially purebloods—learn differently. Through instinct, tradition, and family magic, the ultimate struggle between hardwork and talent."
Hermione frowned thoughtfully.
"So you're saying… I'm at an advantage?"
"In some ways, yes," Cassius said. "In others, you'll find the rules don't always apply."
Daphne tilted her head, curiosity flickering in her blue eyes.
"And what about you, Cassius? You talk like someone who's lived both."
He met her gaze evenly.
"Because I have."
Neville's brow creased.
"You mean—you're muggle-born?"
Cassius shook his head.
"No. But I was raised in the Muggle world."
That drew a long, contemplative silence.
Hermione's expression softened a little.
"So you understand both sides."
"I try to," Cassius replied. "Ive attended muggle school probably as long as you have Hermione, but at the same time received a homeschool education from my mentor with things concerning the magical world, while hogwarts would be my first magical school so to speak."
Daphne leaned forward slightly. "You've gotten magical training?"
"In a sense," Cassius said. "My mentor is a member of a magical research institute that's been working on advancing magic, and trying to bridge the gap with the muggles technology."
Hermione perked up immediately.
"There is? What's it called?"
"The Arcanum," Cassius said, and there was a quiet reverence in his tone that made all three lean closer.
"Founded by an enigmatic wizard known only as Arcana—officially, it's a magical research collective operating independently from the Ministry. In truth, it's where the brightest minds go to build what Hogwarts can't teach, or allow students to continue growing even after graduation."
Hermione's quill appeared in her hand almost instinctively.
"I've never read about it."
"I'd surprised if you had!" Cassius claimed. " They've only existed now for around a half-decade or so, and aside from magical journals and the daily prophet they havent made enough of a splash to be cited in magical texts just yet, especially with the ministry getting in their way.
Neville's eyes widened. "Like… what sort of things do they do there?"
Cassius leaned back, folding his arms.
"I heard they've been creating new spells enough so to publish their very own spellbook, focusing mostly on elemental magic after attempting to combine magic with muggle science, then they've also been working on doing the same to convert muggle tools into magical devices, like how Radio is used now, they want to do the same with Television, or possibly even the internet."
Daphne's eyes gleamed.
"My father mentioned them once. Said they were dangerous idealists. But their enchantments—those were legendary. The Arcanum's runic weaves are supposed to be decades ahead of what the Ministry approves."
"They probably are," Cassius said quietly. "And that's precisely why the Ministry fears them."
Hermione was writing so quickly her quill squeaked. "So they're like a scientific research society for magic?"
"More or less," Cassius said. "Except their experiments often redefine what's considered possible."
Daphne gave a low whistle.
"That's… impressive."
Neville nodded, eyes wide.
"Sounds… kind of dangerous, though."
"Progress always is," Cassius murmured.
Hermione set down her quill, her mind whirring with questions.
"Are they connected to Hogwarts?"
Cassius's smile was faint, unreadable.
"Officially no. They accept hogwarts graduates but beyond that they currently dont have any known connection to the Hogwarts professors or even Dumbledore."
"Why?" Hermione asked softly.
"Because knowledge changes people," Cassius said. "And not everyone's ready to be changed, i mean if you look at the median age of the hogwarts professors you get like 60 years, and it gets worse still if you count Headmaster dumbledore in that, they've become a part of the establishment and are unlikely to adopt new ideas at this point."
The compartment fell into thoughtful quiet.
The countryside outside had shifted now to dark forests and misty glens, the light dimming as clouds gathered overhead.
The train's steady rumble seemed louder in the silence that followed.
In the end, the discussion evolved into what spells they had all heard of, along with Cassius bringing out a copy of the Arcanum's spellbook which Hermione compared against the standard book of spells chapters 1-3.
At least until they realized that the train had started to slow, the boys left the compartment for the hallways to give the girls privacy to change into their robes, before Neville entered afterwards to do the same.