The train steamed out of Hogsmeade Station in a hiss of white vapor and coal smoke.
Snow swept past the windows in heavy curtains, blurring the world into a muted grey-white smear.
The long carriages clattered and swayed, filled with the hum of excited chatter, laughter, and the faint scent of chocolate frogs.
Hermione, Cho, and Cassius sat together in one of the forward compartments.
The girls had already signed the Ministry parchment forbidding the use of magic outside school — their quills pressing neatly into the official wax seal under the watchful eye of the Prefect who had passed through earlier.
Cassius, on the other hand, had not been asked to sign.
This agreement was just a secondary measure since the trace was already applied to all students, this agreement allowed the trace to temporarily be applied to their wands themselves.
"Because emancipated wizards are treated as adults," Hermione whispered, her brow creased. "It feels strange."
"Strange," Cho echoed, "and a little unfair."
Cassius merely looked out the window, his reflection flickering between the falling snow and the dull glass.
"It's neither strange nor unfair. It's bureaucratic. The Ministry isn't concerned with fairness, only precedent. Besides if you two use magic outside school you get a slap on the wrist, if i do it in view of non-assocaited muggles, well i can get sent to azkaban for it."
Hermione smiled faintly. "You make it sound so… cynical."
"I make it sound accurate," Cassius replied, lips curving slightly.
The train rumbled on.
Time passed quietly — they shared pumpkin pasties, traded Chocolate Frog cards, and spoke in low tones about everything and nothing.
When the conductor's call came at last — "King's Cross next! All luggage to be ready!" — Cho sighed softly, glancing at the frost-streaked window.
"It's funny," she murmured, "how quickly Hogwarts already feels like… home."
Hermione nodded. "It does, doesn't it?"
~
The platform at King's Cross was its usual chaos — steam, shouts, parents waving frantic arms.
Cho was the first to spot her family: her mother, elegant and impeccably dressed, stood beside a tall man with sharp features and a face that seemed perpetually caught between pride and disapproval.
"That's my cue," Cho said softly, rising and adjusting her scarf.
She smiled at them both, though her gaze lingered a moment longer on Cassius. "Try not to cause to much trouble while i'm gone."
He gave a small, wry bow. "No promises, milady."
Hermione laughed as Cho departed through the steam, her figure vanishing into the throng.
Then it was just the two of them — and for a long moment, neither spoke.
"So," Cassius said at last, "we find your parents?"
Hermione nodded nervously, her fingers tightening around the strap of her satchel.
"Yes, they should be waiting for me on the other side of the barrier, just... don't mention anything about dueling to them okay?"
"I'll try to restrain myself," he said dryly.
They stepped through the station crowd, weaving between trunks and trolleys until Hermione suddenly brightened, waving toward a pair standing by a coffee kiosk.
Mr. Granger — tall, sandy-haired, with a dentist's measured calm — and Mrs. Granger, shorter, with the same bright, intelligent eyes as her daughter, who was practically vibrating with excitement the moment she saw them.
"Mum! Dad!" Hermione called, rushing forward.
Her mother hugged her tightly, babbling delightedly about how much taller she'd grown in the few months since they'd last seen one another.
Her father smiled warmly — and then his gaze caught on the boy who stood a few paces behind, messenger bag slung on his shoulder, looking far too poised for his age.
"And who might this be?" Mr. Granger asked, polite but cautious.
Hermione hesitated, cheeks coloring as she turned.
"Oh—this is Cassius Snape. He's… um… my friend. From school."
Mrs. Granger's eyes lit instantly, and she clasped her hands together in sheer delight.
"Your friend! Oh, Hermione, how wonderful!"
Then, before Hermione could stop her, she turned toward Cassius, beaming.
"It's so nice to meet you, dear! My goodness, you're—well, aren't you a handsome young man!"
Cassius inclined his head with calm precision.
"You're very kind, Mrs. Granger. Thank you for allowing me to impose upon your holiday."
"Impose?" she gasped. "Nonsense! We're thrilled!"
Mr. Granger, however, looked uncertain.
"I wasn't aware we'd be having… company?"
Hermione bit her lip.
"I may have forgotten to mention it to you daddy. Cassius doesn't really have anywhere to go this Christmas, and—well—I thought he could stay with us?"
There was a long pause.
Mrs. Granger's gaze softened immediately she hadnt heard all the details as her daughters initial letter was quite contrite but hearing now how her daughter describe things she knew there was a deeper meaning. "Of course he can."
Mr. Granger blinked, glanced at his wife, and then at Hermione. "Right… yes. Of course."
Cassius, to his credit, gave a small, graceful bow of thanks.
"You have my gratitude, sir. I'll make no trouble."
"Well," Mr. Granger muttered, "we'll see about that."
~
The Granger family car was small, neat, and smelled faintly of polish.
Cassius sat quietly in the back seat beside Hermione as they drove through London's snow-covered streets, his pale eyes reflecting the city lights.
Mrs. Granger peppered him with questions, her enthusiasm unflagging.
"So, Cassius, what do your parents do? Are they—oh, do wizards have schools other than Hogwarts?"
"Oh, well technically im an orphan of sorts," Cassius said gently. "Though both my parents are still alive... infact they both work at Hogwarts, so i get to see them fairly often... just not as my parents."
"Oh, I see," she murmured, instantly sympathetic. "Well, you'll be part of our family this Christmas, won't he, dear?"
Mr. Granger gave a noncommittal grunt, keeping his eyes on the road.
Hermione tried not to laugh. "Mum…"
Cassius meanwhile couldnt help blushing slightly, feeling like an incoming groom being so fervently accepted by his Mother-In-law.
~
The Granger home was a tidy two-story that would have ivy crawling up the exterior walls in the summer, along the front bricks and warm light spilling from the windows.
Inside, it smelled of cinnamon, and sweetness a clear sign Mrs Granger had already begun preparations for the obligatory christmas dinner tommorow.
Cassius stepped through the threshold and stopped, eyes sweeping the living room — the framed photographs, the stack of books.
There was a serenity here that Hogwarts never quite managed, no the entire magical world failed to meet.
A sense of real care brought about by ones own hands rather than magic.
As Hermione got herself settled into her own room, Mrs Granger led Cassius upstair to the guest bedroom, fretting about how it might not be clean enough for his use.
He didnt mind even offering to help if that was the case.
When the door opened it showed a simple bedroom though a bit of clutter from various hobbies strewn about all over the place.
"Would it be permissible for me to use magic?" Cassius asked quietly.
Mrs. Granger blinked. "Oh! I suppose… yes, if you want to."
He inclined his head and raised a hand.
A soft swirl of silver light rippled through the air.
In a flurry of activity, the various odds and ends began to zip about the room quickly sorting and filing themselves away perfectly, as the bed fluffed and made itself, the curtains likewise billowing before coming to rest in a semi-open state, Mrs. Granger clapped her hands to her mouth.
"That's amazing! You didn't even wave a wand!"
Cassius smiled faintly. "thank you, madam happy i could help."
~
Dinner that night was lively, if unconventional.
Mrs. Granger insisted on cooking, but Cassius subtly enchanted the utensils to stir, chop, and set the table themselves.
Hermione tried not to laugh at her father's wide-eyed expression as plates floated serenely into place.
"Does he always… do that?" Mr. Granger whispered.
"Not always," Hermione said, hiding a grin.
Though it wasnt a lie, it was only because each of the three housemates took turns setting the table using their magic, it was a means of practicing magical control, boosting the finesse in which they could use magic.
As they ate, conversation drifted easily — Mrs. Granger asking endless questions about Hogwarts life, spells, even how the other students were.
Cassius answered each with calm precision, neither boastful nor secretive.
He made magic sound like a science, something to be understood rather than feared.
Eventually, Mr. Granger cleared his throat.
"So, if you can do all this, why can't Hermione?"
Cassius looked at him, then to Hermione.
"Because the Ministry forbids underage magic. Students are restricted until they come of age. I, however, am legally emancipated — considered an adult in magical law."
Mr. Granger blinked.
"At eleven?"
Cassius nodded.
"It's… complicated. Due to my lack of guardians i strove for emancipation as soon as i could so when i was ten i went in and took the examinations securing my certificates and earning the write to apply for freedom from restriction, though..."
His words cut off towards the end, leaving the deeper meaning hanging.
Mrs. Granger, trying to dispel the heaviness, smiled brightly. "Well, we're simply delighted to have you, Cassius. And I must say, if this is what wizards grow into, Hermione's in excellent company!"
Hermione flushed scarlet. "Mum!"
Laughter followed — warm and genuine, filling the little dining room.
Cassius even smiled, the faintest flicker of true amusement ghosting his lips.
For the first time in years, perhaps in two lives, he felt something like belonging.
The warmth of the fire, the clink of cutlery, the soft hum of a Muggle household wrapped around him like a spell older than magic — a home.