Snow had come to Hogwarts like a silencing spell.
The grounds lay blanketed beneath thick white drifts, the lake glazed over with ice so smooth it mirrored the turrets above.
The castle, always ancient and alive, seemed almost peaceful now — smoke curling from the chimneys, windows glowing with soft candlelight, the air inside perfumed with pine and cinnamon.
The chaos of the term had ebbed.
No duels.
No trolls.
No screaming matches between Houses.
Only the quiet hum of students preparing for their end-of-term exams and dreaming of home.
For Cassius Snape, "home" had always been a complicated word.
~
The Draconis common room glowed in gold and green from the enchanted fire that never quite decided what color it wanted to be.
It was a spacious place — half-library, half-lounge — carved beneath the castle's oldest foundations, where ancient runes still pulsed faintly in the walls.
Books hovered at the edges of the room, fluttering like birds returning to their nests as Cho and Hermione studied by the fire.
Cassius sat opposite them in an armchair far too big for him, reading silently by the flicker of fire light.
Their academic prowess while strong before had been enhanced.
Thanks to Cassius managing to change how the Ravenclaw diadem worked, now it has an AOE effect granding a slightly lessened boon to all those within a certain area helping the three young students to progress with their studies and homework in a flash, leaving great amounts of time for spell work, and advanced learning.
Hermione broke the quiet first. "You're not concentrating."
He didn't look up. "I'm always concentrating."
"No, you're pretending," she said, closing her book. "You've been on the same page for ten minutes."
Cho chuckled softly, twirling her quill between her fingers. "She's right, you know. You've been staring into space since dinner. Something's on your mind."
Cassius sighed and finally closed his book. "The term's nearly over."
Hermione nodded. "And you're dreading Christmas break?"
"Dreading is the wrong word," Cassius replied, resting his chin against his hand. "I'm… uncertain. I have business in London. Gringotts."
Cho blinked. "Gringotts? What for?"
"An inheritance test," he said simply. "It's… overdue."
The girls exchanged a look.
Hermione leaned forward slightly, curiosity lighting her eyes.
"Inheritance test? You mean—bloodlines? Wills? Magical lineage?"
Cassius smirked faintly.
"Something like that, since Lady Draconis named me as the heir it's something thats been on my mind, if i truly am the heir to the Draconis line, then if i can secure the heirship in the test, i'll gain access to the heir's vault, but not just the one, of the four founders, three have no known bloodline heirs, so i could attempt to become the heir of them all, save for Hufflepuff."
Cassius was almost telling the truth except for the fact that even if he claimed the heirship of slytherin, there wouldnt be much for him, Voldemort afterall was the lord of Slyterin's line as the previous heir, and the man always wanted immortality so the chance of him leaving anything in an heir vault was slim.
Hermione's curiosity warred with her politeness.
Cassius rarely spoke of family, and when he did, it was like speaking of ghosts, the school assumed he was the son of Professor Snape except that the two never interacted with one another more than they needed to.
Instead, Cho asked,
"So you're going to leave Hogwarts over the holidays?"
"For a day or two, yes. Just enough to ride back to London, stay a night at the leaky cauldron before going in for the tests, i'll catch the knight bus back afterwards."
Hermione frowned. "You'll be alone."
He raised an eyebrow. "I'm used to it."
That didn't sit right with her.
Not at all.
"Then… don't be," she said suddenly, cheeks coloring as both Cassius and Cho looked up. "You could come stay with me."
The words tumbled out before she could stop them.
Cho's eyebrows rose, amused. "At your house?"
"Yes," Hermione said quickly, sitting straighter. "My parents—well, they're dentists, but they're kind. And—well, we have a guest room. You wouldn't have to spend Christmas in a vault or an inn somewhere."
Cassius tilted his head, the faintest flicker of surprise showing through his calm mask.
"You'd invite me into your home, knowing almost nothing about me?"
Hermione met his gaze without flinching. "People think all sorts of foolish things. You're my friend. You've done more for me in three months than anyone in Ravenclaw ever did."
Cho nodded softly. "She's right. You've made both of us stronger, than if we'd remained where we were."
It was true.
Under Cassius's tutelage, both girls had flourished.
Hermione's magic had sharpened — controlled, elegant, precise.
She no longer focused entirely on theory alone, thanks to the diadems effect her need to study was greatly reduced allow her to properly train alongside Cassius quickly developing combot instincts.
Cho, once graceful but cautious, had grown bold, her dueling fluid and fierce.
Together, they'd become known as the "Draconis Trio," whispered about even by the upper years as they were almost entirely unmatched during dueling club meetings.
Cassius leaned back, studying them both — his two protégées, his allies, perhaps his friends, and if Lady Draconis had her way, his future concubines.
The warmth their company seemed to fill the room.
Hermione found herself smiling too, watching him with quiet fascination.
He looked older when he laughed — less like the calculating strategist who'd all but bent Hogwarts to his will, and more like an ordinary boy.
Almost.
"So," Cho said, breaking the gentle silence. "Will you do it?"
Cassius blinked. "Do what?"
"Accept Hermione's offer. Stay with her for Christmas."
He considered it for a long moment, eyes glimmering in the light of the fire.
Cassius exhaled softly, the corner of his mouth twitching upward. "Very well. I'll come."
Hermione's eyes lit up. "Really?"
"Yes," he said. "But I should warn you — I've lived the life of an orphan since... well ever so i will probably be sociall awkward around adults..."
"My parents will adore you," she said confidently, though her ears burned pink at the thought. "They'll probably ask you a hundred questions though, so as long as you're fine being interrogated."
Cassius raised an eyebrow. "About magic?"
"Most probably," Hermione admitted then followed up under her breath. "Because you're a boy."
Cho's laugh rang bright as bells, being near enough to hear everything.
~
After the girls had turned in for the night, Cassius lingered in the lounge before the still buring fire.
The thought of spending the holiday season with the grangers oddly enough didnt sound all that bad.
Afterall, in his past life he'd always had a muggle christmas, but then when coming to this world his christmas's passed without celebration or merrimint as his time was spent dedicated to progress or training.
So as the date approached Cassius prepared himself for a new adventure.