Making a Friend

Seeing Hermione looking so dejected, almost burying her head in her book, Silas felt a bit guilty. He thought he should say or do something to ease the awkward atmosphere. He pondered for a moment, and his stomach rumbled a little.

So, he raised his hand and casually drew a circle in the air. Golden sparks crackled, and a stable portal opened beside him, clearly showing the scene of his dormitory in Hogwarts Castle on the other side—a comfortable four-poster bed and the small cabinet by its head.

Silas reached through the portal, precisely retrieved a beautifully packaged Honeydukes Chocolate Frog from the cabinet, then closed the portal and offered the chocolate to Hermione.

"Here, have something sweet. You'll feel better," he tried to make his tone sound lighter.

Hermione was stunned by the sudden spectacle, even momentarily forgetting her earlier frustration. She blankly took the chocolate frog, her gaze fixed on where Silas had opened the portal, as if spatial ripples still lingered there. Her mind raced, trying to explain the phenomenon with her existing magical knowledge.

"Th-thank you..." she stammered, then couldn't help but point at the air and ask, "Was that... some kind of special, space-related... uh... Transfiguration? Instantly transferring an item from afar to right in front of you? I... I don't recall seeing such advanced magic in Basic Transfiguration..."

Silas tore open his own chocolate frog packaging, took a bite of the frog-shaped chocolate (the wizard card inside was Dumbledore, which he casually stuffed into his pocket), and mumbled, "Uh... just think of it that way. It's more or less the same idea." He couldn't be bothered to explain the fundamental difference between Vishanti Magic and Transfiguration.

Seeing Hermione still looking a bit downcast, staring blankly at the chocolate frog, Silas decided to show off a bit more "fun." He took out his acacia wand, pointed it at the unopened chocolate in Hermione's hand, flicked his wrist, and uttered the Transfiguration spell.

"Vera Verto!"

A faint shimmer flashed, and the wrapper of the chocolate frog in Hermione's hand rapidly transformed, stretching and changing color, becoming a lifelike, golden sunflower! The petals unfurled, and it even gave off a faint, chocolate-like sweet aroma.

"Here, it's for you," Silas put away his wand, his tone casual. "A little trick. Don't worry, it's still essentially chocolate, and the petals are edible. Should taste pretty good."

Hermione's eyes widened as she looked at the sunflower made of chocolate in her hand, feeling its real texture and smelling its fragrance. This time, it was standard Hogwarts-system magic, complete with a wand and a spell! While equally exquisite, it was at least within her realm of understanding!

This magical "chocolate sunflower" seemed to possess a charm of its own, instantly dispelling most of the gloom in her heart. She carefully touched a petal, a hint of wonder and a smile finally appearing on her face.

"This... this is incredible!" Hermione exclaimed, then her academic nature resurfaced, and she began to analyze, "Transforming food into a non-food item while retaining its edibility requires extremely precise control over Transfiguration! This is definitely not first-year curriculum content!"

Her gaze towards Silas shifted from frustration and anxiety to intense curiosity and a desire to investigate. This boy named Silas was full of contradictions: he could cast unheard-of wandless, silent magic, yet he could also use standard Hogwarts spells; he claimed to be Muggle-born, yet possessed magical abilities far beyond his peers (and possibly even older students).

Seeing Hermione's eyes light up again, Silas breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that using a bit of "conventional" magic to distract her had worked well. He lay back on the sofa, yawned, and said, "Eat slowly. I'm going to enjoy the view for a while longer."

Hermione cradled the chocolate sunflower, and finally, carefully broke off a "petal" and put it in her mouth. The rich chocolate flavor melted on her tongue. She looked at the boy opposite her, who had once again become lazily inclined, and secretly made a resolution: no matter what this Silas Cyril was all about, she had to work even harder at Hogwarts! At the very least, she would never fall behind in her book knowledge.

Seeing Hermione finally emerge from the haze of self-doubt, showing wonder and a smile at the chocolate sunflower, Silas felt the atmosphere had finally eased a bit. He wasn't naturally good at initiating social interaction (a shut-in researcher in his past life, a lazy genius in this one), but he felt that Hermione, though a bit earnest and anxious, was smart, straightforward, and genuinely seemed to love learning (he did appreciate that about her).

He scratched his head and, in what he considered a very direct, even clumsy way, attempted to extend a friendly gesture:

"Uh... hey, Granger," he cleared his throat, his tone a bit hesitant, "Look, we're... getting along okay, right? How about... we be friends?"

Hermione, immersed in the sweetness of the chocolate and her thoughts on Transfiguration, immediately looked up when Silas spoke, her eyes sparkling. She nodded vigorously without hesitation: "Okay!"

She agreed so readily, partly because Silas had actively reached out, and more importantly, because in her heart, she had already categorized Silas as someone "exceptionally talented, extremely intelligent, worth befriending and learning from." Being friends with someone like that was more than she could have wished for.

Seeing Hermione agree so readily, Silas also relaxed. He nodded, a semblance of a friendly expression on his face, "Alright, Granger..."

However, before the end of his sentence even fully registered, a strong wave of drowsiness washed over him again. Perhaps it was the mental energy expended in unlocking new skills, perhaps the rhythmic rocking of the train was too hypnotic, or perhaps... it was simply his inherent laziness kicking in.

His eyelids grew heavy, his head nodded, and finally, before Hermione could utter another word, he slumped to the side, leaning against the window, and fell asleep--again!

A faint snore echoed in the compartment once more.

Hermione: "..."

She still held the chocolate sunflower in her hand, her smile frozen. Staring at the guy opposite her who had fallen asleep instantly, she was momentarily unsure how to react. She opened her mouth, and finally could only shake her head helplessly, muttering softly, "What a... strange guy."

However, this time, her tone held less of the previous anxiety and frustration, and more of a wry amusement and a hint of curiosity. She reopened her book, Hogwarts: A History, but her gaze kept drifting towards the sleeping Silas opposite her, and the cage containing strange small animals beside him.

The Hogwarts Express continued to speed towards the Scottish Highlands, carrying a carriage full of freshmen full of dreams for the future, and also carrying this peculiar, slightly "out-of-sync" budding friendship, towards the ancient castle. And Silas, perhaps in his dreams, was already previewing the cool, third-tier spells on his newly unlocked skill tree.