Hermione's Shock

The Hogwarts Express slowly pulled into the small, dark platform at Hogsmeade Village. As soon as the doors opened, the first-year students surged out like a bursting dam, crowding the narrow passageway. The din of voices, the hooting of owls, and the clatter of luggage merged into a single roar.

Silas was jostled from side to side by the crowd, frowning as he felt his personal space was severely violated. He turned to Hermione, who was also struggling in the crush and trying to protect her thick book, and complained, "It's so crowded... What do you think, Granger? This experience is terrible."

Hermione deflected the pushes from those around her with her elbows and replied, "Yes, there are too many people! By the way, Silas, we're friends now, why do you still call me Granger? You can call me Hermione. Oh, right!" She suddenly remembered something, her tone becoming somewhat excited, "I think I saw Harry Potter on the train just now! And his friend, a red-haired boy, they..."

Silas had little interest in gossip about the "Savior"; his mind was solely focused on escaping the chaotic crowd. He looked at the sea of heads, then at the massive figure at the end of the platform, resembling a small mountain, waving a lantern towards them—it was Hagrid.

"I can't take this anymore," Silas said decisively, his tone laced with a "I've had enough" finality. "I have to use my Z-axis advantage."

Before he finished speaking, he didn't give Hermione time to react. His Levitating Cloak billowed instantly, and with a "whoosh," he detached himself from the throng, lightly taking to the air and flying low towards Hagrid, leaving Hermione and the surrounding group of stunned new students behind.

Hermione watched Silas "fly" away, her jaw nearly hitting the ground in shock. She shouted towards his rapidly shrinking figure, "Hey! Silas! What about me?!"

Her voice was instantly swallowed by the noise of the crowd.

However, just as she felt a wave of helplessness and anger, a golden, circular portal made of sparks suddenly appeared on the platform beneath her feet without any warning! This portal wasn't vertical but lay flat on the ground, like a magic circle.

"Ah--!" Hermione only had time to let out a short gasp before she "fell" into the portal.

The sensation of weightlessness lasted less than half a second.

The next moment, she found herself standing steadily on the other end of the platform, next to Hagrid's enormous figure. And Silas, who had just retracted his cloak, landed lightly beside her, a relaxed expression of "job done" on his face.

Silas patted his robe, which was completely free of dust, and gave Hermione, who was still shaken and a bit dazed, a "praise me" smile, his tone a little smug:

"The great Sorcerer Supreme never forgets his friends! Hermione," he turned to the gamekeeper, who was staring with wide eyes at the two of them appearing as if by magic, his beard even bristling in surprise, "this is Rubeus Hagrid, the gamekeeper of Hogwarts. Hagrid, this is Hermione Granger, a friend I made on the train."

Hagrid looked at the two who had suddenly appeared, especially at Hermione's still-recovering expression, and exclaimed in his deep voice, "Merlin's Beard! Silas, your... your entrances always manage to startle me!" Then, he quickly offered Hermione a kind, simple smile, "Hello, Miss Granger! Welcome to Hogwarts!"

Hermione looked at Silas, then at the towering Hagrid, and recalled the magical (and slightly terrifying) teleportation experience. She opened her mouth, but only a long sigh of resignation and wonder came out.

They followed Hagrid's massive figure down a steep, narrow path from the small hill where the station was located. The September night in the Scottish Highlands was already quite biting. A cold wind carrying the dampness of the lake blew, making the new students, clad only in thin robes, shiver.

Silas tightened his Levitating Cloak (which helpfully emitted warmth) but still couldn't help but shiver, muttering under his breath, "September in Scotland is damn cold..."

Hermione, hearing the curse, frowned in disapproval, but the cold left her no energy to correct him.

Silas clearly didn't want to endure the low temperature. He raised his hand again, drawing a small circle in the air. A portal quickly opened, and he reached inside, precisely retrieving two bottles of steaming Butterbeer.

"Here," he handed one bottle to Hermione, "I warmed them up in my dormitory beforehand, drink this to warm up."

Hermione held the warm bottle, feeling a wave of heat spread from her palm, dispelling some of the chill. She took a grateful sip, the sweet and warm liquid making her feel much better. But her curiosity was immediately piqued. She looked at the portal that had just vanished, then at Silas's empty hands (except for the bottle of beer), and finally asked the question she had been holding back all the way:

"Thank you, Silas. But... you said 'dormitory'? Which dormitory? And I've been wanting to ask, where's your luggage? I only saw you carrying that cage with the small animal when you got on the train."

Silas, happily sipping his Butterbeer, answered naturally, "Oh, Hogwarts'."

"Hogwarts' dormitory?" Hermione blinked, then realized, her voice rising with surprise, "So the dormitory you mentioned is... you've lived at Hogwarts before you even enrolled?"

She recalled Silas's unbelievable abilities on the train, and his seemingly unusually familiar demeanor with Hogwarts. A bold guess surfaced in her mind.

Silas nodded, took a large gulp of beer, and casually dropped a bombshell, "To be precise, I lived there for four years. Starting when I was seven."

"Pfft--!" Hermione nearly choked on her Butterbeer. She coughed violently, her eyes widening like saucers, and looked at Silas in disbelief, "F-four years?! Starting at seven?! How is that possible?! Hogwarts doesn't admit students under eleven, does it?"

She felt the common sense she had built up about the wizarding world was being shattered piece by piece by this boy in the most casual way.

Silas looked at her shocked expression, shrugged, with a "it's no big deal" look on his face, "Well, the situation was rather special. Professor Dumbledore made an exception. Mainly to allow me to... uh... practice some rather special magic, so I wouldn't blow up my home or central London."

Hermione's mouth hung open, speechless for a long time. She looked at Silas, and images flashed through her mind: the wandless Levitation Charm on the train, the chocolate that appeared out of nowhere, the instantaneous teleportation portals, and this astonishing fact of "living at Hogwarts four years early"... She suddenly felt that her previous anxiety about being "behind" seemed so... insignificant and ridiculous in the face of this huge "outlier" named Silas Kirill.

She silently took another sip of Butterbeer, feeling that the amount of information she had received tonight was even more shocking than when she received her acceptance letter. She looked across the Black Lake at the magnificent castle, which was becoming clearer in the moonlight. For the first time, she felt a complex, ineffable emotion towards her upcoming life at Hogwarts, far beyond nervousness and anticipation.