Lunch in the Great Hall was always a noisy affair — the chatter of hundreds of voices mixing with the clatter of cutlery and the occasional enchanted dish zooming between tables.
Cassius, however, had no interest in pumpkin juice or gossip today.
His eyes scanned the Hufflepuff table until he spotted his target — Neville Longbottom, currently poking nervously at a plate of shepherd's pie.
Cassius approached silently, drawing only a few curious glances from nearby students.
His presence always seemed to still the air around him — calm, deliberate, but heavy with quiet purpose.
"Neville," Cassius said, stopping just behind him.
The boy jumped, nearly dropping his fork. "O–oh! H–hello, Cassius. You— you're not here to hex me, are you?" he stammered weakly.
Cassius allowed a faint smirk. "No, nothing of the sort. I only wanted to offer you a bit of advice for your flying lesson this afternoon."
That earned him a round of curious stares from Neville's housemates. Ron Weasley, sitting behind them, eyed Cassius suspiciously.
"What are you doing helping Neville?"
Ignoring the redhead, Cassius leaned closer to Neville. "When Madam Hooch brings out the brooms, pick the one with a carving of a badger near the handle. You'll find it near the end of the line."
Neville blinked, confused. "A badger?"
Cassius nodded. "Yes. Trust me. You'll thank me later."
And with that, he turned, cloak whispering behind him, and strode off before anyone could question him further to his own table where using silent whispers asked the house elves to produce for him a simple black bean chicken ceasar salad with garlic bread, and peach juice for his lunch.
Neville glanced uncertainly at his housemates, but curiosity — and desperation not to make a fool of himself again — won out.
He would look for the broom, Cassius had afterall been a friend to him on the train, and more than that helped him get into a house that accepted him entirely while his parents letter calmed his nervous heart declaring they were so proud of him for making it to Hufflepuff, honestly anything other than slytherin would have made them proud.
~
After lunch came Charms — a joint class with Ravenclaw.
Cassius entered the classroom early, taking his seat near the window.
The desks gleamed under afternoon sunlight, and shelves of enchanted quills hummed softly along the walls.
Professor Flitwick stood atop his pile of books at the front of the room, smiling warmly as he watched his house members entering the room.
"Ah, Mr. Snape," Flitwick greeted as Cassius entered. "Back again? We're still on Lumos today, but you may continue with your own studies."
Cassius inclined his head.
"Thank you, Professor."
Flitwick honestly had expected Cassius to skip class afterall until the next spell was taught there was nothing for him to do here.
Cassius on the other hand was pleased he'd prefer to be personal taught by Flitwick but he'd have to wait until the other students could at least cast the spell and continue developing their powers for that the happen.
The Ravenclaws trickled in, chatting amongst themselves, their pride filling the air like a perfume.
They prided themselves on cleverness — and most wore it as visibly as their blue and bronze scarves.
When class began, Flitwick instructed the group to focus on wand movement and incantation precision.
The soft hum of chanted Lumos spells filled the room, flashes of light blinking like fireflies as each student struggled to sustain their glow.
The result, better than Griffindor, but still far from a pass, but being Ravenclaws they'd surely manage it within the week.
Cassius, however, was far beyond that.
He flicked his wand, his voice a soft murmur — and a sphere of warm golden light blossomed from his wand's tip, hovering freely in the air like a tiny star.
Before quickly contorting before him once more taking the shape of Tink as she floated before him.
Flitwick's eyes lit up.
"Excellent work, Mr. Snape! A perfect demonstration of controlled luminance! Five points to Draconis."
The professor simply couldnt hold back seeing Cassius repeat his brilliance from the last class but this time in an instant rather than slowly getting there.
His voice got squeaky as he his excitement grew.
The classroom meanwhile fell quiet.
The Ravenclaws — usually smug and self-assured — now exchanged uneasy glances.
One or two fumbled their spells entirely.
Light sputtered and died.
"Five points?!" a girl from the front row blurted. "But— but Professor, he's not even following today's lesson!"
Flitwick, ever patient, smiled. "True, Miss Stillton. But exceptional advancement should be rewarded, don't you think? Afterall young Mr. Snape has already passed the Lumos charm requirement in his last class, so i gave him permission to practice on his own for now."
A boy with pale blond hair scowled. "You mean to say a Draconis outperformed an entire Ravenclaw class? That's absurd."
Another chimed in, indignant. "We're the house of intellect and mastery! No offense, Professor, but we can outmatch him by the end of the term."
Cassius raised an eyebrow. "Can you now?"
A murmur swept through the rows of blue and bronze.
The gauntlet had been thrown without hesitation.
Flitwick sighed softly, rubbing his forehead. "Students, please—this isn't a competition—"
But it was too late.
A Ravenclaw girl with sharp eyes and sharper tone stood up. "If you're so advanced, prove it! By the end of the semester, we'll show you that Ravenclaws are the true masters of charmwork. And when we win, Professor will have to admit it in front of the whole class!"
Several heads nodded, confidence reignited by pride.
Cassius smiled faintly, setting down his wand. "And if you lose?"
The girl hesitated, then shrugged. "Fine. You can take our earned points for the week."
That was not quite what Cassius had expected — petty, small stakes.
Then, from the back, another voice piped up — a boy with sharp features and far too much arrogance.
"No, that's too tame," he said loudly. "If we win, Cassius should be expelled from Hogwarts as a false heir!"
Gasps rippled through the room.
Even Flitwick's wand clattered from his hand.
"That's quite enough, Mr. Chambers!" Flitwick snapped. "You do not make such suggestions about your classmates!"
But the spark had already spread.
More Ravenclaws whispered, emboldened by mob energy.
"Expel the dragon!" someone said mockingly.
"Send him back to his cave!" another snickered.
Cassius merely tilted his head, studying them with that calm, unshakable gaze that unnerved even upper years.
"Expulsion, is it?" he murmured. "That's… bold. But fine. I accept."
The class froze.
Flitwick sputtered. "Mr. Snape! You can't possibly agree to—"
"I can," Cassius interrupted gently, voice level. "And I have. A simple challenge of skill. If the First-year Ravenclaws can outmatch me in charms by semester's end, I will leave Hogwarts of my own accord, i can always apply to Beaxbatons or Ilvermorney as a late entrant."
He met each of their eyes in turn.
Professor Flitwick was at a loss, he had been present during the opening feast, he had hear Lady Draconis's words.
Any student could challenge Mr. Snape, putting up whatever stakes they wished for, but in their haste to eliminate the threat, they had overlooked on very important thing.
What if they lost, what was equal to expulsion of a student, and a genius one at that?