Seeing Hermione so dejected that she was practically burying her head in her book, Silas felt a little guilty. He thought he should say or do something to ease the awkward atmosphere. After thinking for a moment, he realized he was a little hungry too.
So he raised a hand and casually drew a circle in the air. Golden sparks crackled as a stable portal opened beside him. On the other side, his dormitory in Hogwarts Castle came clearly into view—a comfortable four-poster bed and the small cabinet by its headboard.
Silas reached through the portal, precisely retrieved a beautifully wrapped pack of Honeydukes Chocolate Frogs from the cabinet, then closed the portal and held the chocolate out to Hermione.
"Here. Eat something sweet. It'll make you feel better." He tried to keep his tone light.
Hermione was stunned by the sudden scene and temporarily forgot her earlier frustration. She accepted the Chocolate Frog blankly, but her gaze remained fixed on the spot where Silas had opened the portal, as though ripples of space still lingered there. Her mind raced, trying to explain what she had just seen using the magical knowledge she already possessed.
"Th-thank you..." she said reflexively, then could not help pointing at the air and asking, "That just now... was it some kind of special, spatial... um... Transfiguration? Instantly moving something far away right in front of you? I... I don't think I've ever seen such advanced magic in Elementary Transfiguration..."
Silas tore open his own Chocolate Frog, took a bite from the frog-shaped chocolate, and casually slipped the Dumbledore wizard card inside into his pocket. "Uh... sure, think of it that way. That's more or less what it was." He could not be bothered to explain the fundamental difference between Vishanti Magic and Transfiguration.
Seeing Hermione still looking somewhat downcast as she stared blankly at the Chocolate Frog, Silas decided to show her something else "fun." He pulled out his acacia wood wand, pointed it at the still-unopened chocolate in her hands, gave his wrist a light flick, and cast a Transfiguration spell.
"Vera Verto!"
A faint flash of light passed by. The wrapper around the Chocolate Frog in Hermione's hand swiftly transformed, stretching and changing color until it became a lifelike, brilliant golden sunflower. Its petals unfurled, and it even carried a faint, chocolate-like sweetness.
"There, it's yours." Silas put away his wand, his tone casual. "Just a little trick. Don't worry, it's still chocolate underneath. The petals are edible too, and they should taste pretty good."
Hermione's eyes widened as she looked at the sunflower made of chocolate in her hands, feeling its realistic texture and scent. This time, it was standard Hogwarts magic, complete with a wand and incantation! It was equally exquisite, but at least it fell within the bounds of her understanding!
This magical "chocolate sunflower" seemed to possess some sort of magic of its own, instantly dispelling most of the gloom in her heart. She carefully touched one of its petals, and at last, a trace of wonder and a smile appeared on her face.
"Th-this is incredible!" Hermione exclaimed. Then she immediately returned to her top-student habits and began analyzing it. "Turning food into a non-food item while preserving its edibility requires incredibly precise control over Transfiguration! This definitely isn't first-year material!"
The way she looked at Silas changed from frustration and anxiety into 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 also used standard Hogwarts spells; he claimed to be Muggle-born, yet his magical ability far surpassed that of his peers—and perhaps even older students.
Seeing Hermione's eyes light up again, Silas inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed using some "conventional" magic to distract her had worked rather well. He lay back down on the sofa and yawned. "Take your time eating. I'm going to look at the scenery for a while."
Holding the chocolate sunflower, Hermione finally carefully broke off a "petal" and placed it in her mouth. The rich flavor of chocolate melted across her tongue. Looking at the boy opposite her, who had once again started to seem lazy and languid, she silently made up her mind: no matter what Silas Cyril's deal was, she had to work even harder at Hogwarts! At the very least, she absolutely could not fall behind in book learning.
Watching Hermione finally emerge from the haze of self-doubt and smile in wonder at the chocolate sunflower, Silas felt that the atmosphere had finally eased somewhat. He had never been good at taking the initiative socially—he had been a homebody researcher in his previous life and a lazy genius in this one—but he felt that while Hermione could be a little overly serious and anxious, she was smart, straightforward, and genuinely loved learning. That was something he rather appreciated.
He scratched his head and tried to send a signal of friendship in what seemed to him like a very direct, even slightly clumsy, manner.
"Um... Granger," he said, clearing his throat, his tone slightly tentative. "Look, we've been getting along... pretty well, right? How about... being friends?"
Hermione had been immersed in the sweetness of the chocolate and her thoughts on Transfiguration. Upon hearing Silas's words, she immediately looked up, her eyes shining brightly, and nodded firmly without hesitation. "Okay!"
She agreed so readily partly because Silas had taken the initiative to be friendly, but more importantly, she had already categorized him as the sort of person who was "exceptionally gifted, extremely intelligent, and worth befriending and learning from." Being friends with someone like that was exactly what she wanted.
Seeing Hermione agree so decisively, Silas also relaxed. He nodded, and a passably friendly expression appeared on his face. "All right, Granger..."
However, before the last note of those words had fully faded, a powerful wave of sleepiness washed over him again. Perhaps unlocking a new skill had drained his mental energy, perhaps the train's steady swaying was simply too hypnotic, or perhaps... it was merely his naturally lazy disposition acting up.
His eyelids began to droop, his head bobbed little by little, and finally, before Hermione could say another word, his body tilted to one side against the train window, and he actually—fell—asleep—again!
Soft snoring once more sounded through the compartment.
Hermione: "..."
She was still holding the chocolate sunflower, the smile on her face frozen as she stared at the person opposite her who had fallen asleep in an instant. For a moment, she had no idea how to react. Her mouth opened, but in the end, she could only shake her head helplessly and mutter, "What a... strange person."
This time, though, her tone held less of her earlier anxiety and frustration, and more helpless amusement and a faint trace of curiosity. She reopened Hogwarts: A History, but her gaze drifted from time to time toward the sleeping Silas across from her, as well as the cage beside him containing strange little animals.
The Hogwarts Express continued racing toward the Scottish Highlands, carrying a train full of new students brimming with hopes for the future. It also carried this unusual friendship, newly formed and already a little "out of sync," toward that ancient castle. And Silas, in his dreams, might already have begun previewing the dazzling third-tier spells newly unlocked on his skill tree.
Before you continue