The warm glow of the Hospital Wing's lanterns flickered softly against whitewashed walls.
The room smelled of lavender disinfectant, burn salve, and old parchment — oddly comforting, considering the chaos only an hour prior.
Madam Pomfrey fussed over the girls, murmuring diagnostic charms under her breath, her wand humming in gentle gold arcs.
Cassius sat on the far cot, silent, his expression composed and detached while his mind remained elsewhere — the fight, the smell of blood, the look in Dumbledore's eyes when he'd recognized the spell.
All three had been cleared of any serious injury, though Hermione still trembled faintly every time the word troll was mentioned.
Cho sat beside her, an arm draped protectively across the girl's shoulders.
"Nothing more than exhaustion," Pomfrey finally declared. "Some scrapes, bruises, and frayed nerves, but that's to be expected after—"
She cut herself off, clearly unwilling to say killing two trolls.
Professor McGonagall, who had been standing quietly at the foot of Hermione's bed, let out a long sigh.
"Very well. Miss Chang, Mr. Snape — back to your common room. Miss Granger, I'll escort you to Ravenclaw Tower myself."
Hermione's head jerked up at the name of her house, and her face twisted slightly.
Her eyes were still swollen from tears.
Cassius noticed the hesitation — the faint tightening of her grip on Cho's sleeve.
She had been bullied during class, and not one of her fellow students stood up for her, most likely even joining in mocking her efforts to help, jealous of her potential.
He stood, voice calm but certain. "Professor," he said, "if I may — Hermione didn't get any supper."
McGonagall blinked, caught off guard by the interruption.
"That can be addressed once she's in her common room."
"With respect, ma'am," Cassius continued evenly, "that's several floors away, and she's still shaken. The Draconis common room is much closer — just two corridors down. If you allow it, we can provide her with a proper meal and a place to rest for the night. It's safer, and easier."
The woman's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Mr. Snape, students of other Houses are not permitted—"
"She won't be alone," Cassius countered gently. "Cho and I will remain with her. I promise she'll be back to Ravenclaw Tower by morning."
Cho turned to McGonagall and added softly,
"Professor… she's really not ready to walk that far. Please."
The Deputy Headmistress hesitated.
Her stern expression softened at the sight of Hermione's trembling hands.
"Very well," she said at last, her voice carrying that rare edge of warmth. "Just for tonight. But if I hear even a whisper of impropriety, I'll have all three of you cleaning cauldrons for a month. Understood?"
"Yes, Professor," they chorused.
~
The three left the Hospital Wing quietly, their footsteps echoing through the dimly lit halls.
The castle was hushed now, drained of all earlier panic.
Only the faint rustle of enchanted torches followed them as they walked the stone halls past the great hall.
Initially Cassius thought about going to the kitchens for food before deciding not to dishonor his own house-elves who diligently served house draconis.
Having placed a whisper order to them before they had even left the hospital wing after securing McGonagal's approval.
Hermione kept close to Cho, who kept close to Cassius.
When they reached the section of corridor leading to the Draconis entrance — a smooth stretch of marble wall — Hermione frowned.
"There's no door," she said uncertainly.
"There is," Cassius replied, stepping forward. "It just doesn't show itself to those who aren't welcome."
As he approached the wall seemed to melt away, revealing the passage beyond, and the waiting door to the Draconis Commonroom.
Hermione gasped softly.
"I thought only members could enter," she said remembering what she'd head from Lady Draconis on the night of the sorting.
Cassius glanced back with a faint smile.
"Normally, yes. But i'm the heir, so if i want to invite someone, the room cannot refuse me."
He gestured.
"After you."
They stepped through the threshold — and Hermione froze again.
The Draconis common room was unlike anything she'd imagined.
Warm amber light spilled from dragon-shaped sconces.
Black marble walls inlaid with veins of gold reflected the glow like a starless sky filled with constellations.
At the center lay a vast circular hearth, the flames shifting between green and silver, casting dancing shadows on the stone floor.
Bookshelves lined one wall, filled not with the ragged spines she was used to seeing in Ravenclaw Tower, but carefully bound volumes arranged by subject and language.
Another section held tables set for study or strategy, surrounded by armchairs of purple velvet.
Beyond this she could see a section that looked plain but the walls around were lined with practice dummies, clearly a training ground.
Cassius walked to the long dining table near the hearth and called softly, "Dinner, please. Turkey with all the fixings — enough for three."
Hermione blinked, unsure if he was joking.
"You're talking to the air?"
"Not quite," Cho said, smiling faintly. "The Draconis elves are shy. They listen more than they show themselves."
This wasnt exactly true, House-elves afterall had for centuries been bred to serve in the shadows, it was seen as a failing grade if a house-elf was witnessed while completing their tasks, unless of course ordered to do so in front of someone or their master.
A moment later, the table shimmered — and with a gentle pop, platters appeared in a neat cascade.
A perfectly roasted turkey gleamed on a large serving platter, next to it boats of golden gravy.
Bowls of garlic mashed potatoes, cranberry jelly, glazed carrots, candied yams and steaming rolls surrounded it.
The scent filled the entire chamber, warm and impossibly rich.
Then a second later a set of three pies appeared along with a container with toppings, ice cream, whipped cream, and spices or sprinkles.
Hermione stared, eyes wide.
"You just—summon food like that?"
Cassius took a seat and began plating up, having only taken a light snack at dinner origionally.
"Not summon. Request. The Draconis house has a kitchen seperate to the main hogwarts one. It's self-sufficient — a holdover from when this House wasn't part of the standard four, serving the Lady Draconis personally during your tenure at the school."
Hermione slowly sat to his right, as Cho took up the seat opposite her, the chair cushioning her as if enchanted.
"This is incredible," she murmured. "It's so… organized. And—"
She hesitated, glancing around again.
"Efficient. It actually looks like a place to live, not just lounge."
"That's the idea," Cho said, spooning mashed potatoes onto her plate. "Draconis isn't about showing off. It's the best of all worlds, as pompous as it sounds, Lady Draconis wasn't lying when she announced everything at the start of the year."
Cassius passed Hermione a plate.
"You'll find no talking portraits, no gossiping ghosts, and no riddles guarding the door. Just a head of house expecting results."
Hermione laughed weakly.
"Sounds more Ravenclaw than Ravenclaw."
Cassius and Cho burst out laughing not mocking her, but agreeing since Draconis was the progenitor of Ravenclaw afterall.
They ate in relative silence for a time, the kind that wasn't awkward but steady — almost grounding.
When Hermione finally slowed, pushing her plate aside, she let out a soft sigh.
"Thank you. Both of you. For earlier. I… I don't think I could've handled that alone."
Cho smiled gently. "No one should have to."
Cassius, however, only said, "Next time someone insults you, don't hide. Tell me, or Cho we'll make sure no one messes with you ever again. Bullying is the weak trying to present power."
Hermione blinked, unsure if he was comforting or advising. "Power?"
He met her gaze evenly.
"Ron insulted you during class because you tried to help him, which made him embarrassed that he needed help for something so simple, which caused him to lash out ultimately using the only power he had which is his social skills with his housemates and bloodline as a weasley."
Her lips pressed together, but she nodded faintly in agreement with his assessment.
He wasnt even there and yet, he'd gotten everything right, she only wanted to help and yet he bit her head off calling her a nightmare, and a miss-know-it-all who should keep her nose stuck in a book.
After they all finished, the plates cleared themselves away, with Cassius simply bowing his head in thanks, which Cho and hermione followed suit, thanking the elves for their hard work.
"There's a guest room beyond that archway," he said, pointing to a alcove. "the elves, have no doubt setup a bed for you."
Hermione rose following after Cho as she headed for the girls dormitory, but hesitated at the threshold, looking back once more at him.
"You're… really not like your father, are you?"
Cassius's expression didn't change when he heard this.
"No," he said quietly. "I'm not, i've never met my father beyond class, but from what i've learned he wasnt always like this... he became like this due to bullying during his own time as a student at hogwarts."
Cassius casually dropped one of Severus's secrets as if it was common knowledge, but Hermione was not shocked instead she felt like she could see the light, no wonder why Cassius came looking for her, and why he said what he had before.
He was trying to stop her from going down the same path his father had before.
She disappeared into the room.
Cassius simply watched from the table before, standing and walking to his own room on the other side.