Chocolate Frog

Silas passed through the portal, returning directly to the empty classroom he often used on the eighth floor of Hogwarts Castle. He clapped his hands together, satisfied that a troublesome matter was finished. He planned to find something to eat and, while he was at it, check on Hermione.

He had just left the empty classroom and hadn't gone far when he ran headfirst into Hermione Granger, who was hurrying around a corner in the corridor.

The moment Hermione saw him, her eyes immediately welled up, her face a mixture of extreme worry, relief, and a trace of barely suppressed anger. Without a word, she rushed forward and raised her hand—

"Slap!"

A crisp sound echoed down the corridor.

Silas cupped his cheek, which felt a little numb from the blow, completely stunned. "Hermione... Ow! Why did you hit me?!"

Hermione's chest heaved, her eyes red, her voice trembling with agitation as she unleashed a torrent of words:

"I heard from Professor McGonagall! Quirrell! That Quirrell! He's not a good person at all! He's a very powerful, very dangerous Dark Wizard! He might even be connected to the Dark Lord! How could you! How could you rush in alone! Do you know you could have died!"

Her voice was filled with fear and concern. Clearly, she had learned part of the truth from Professor McGonagall (the edited version, of course), knowing that Silas had faced and subdued an extremely dangerous Dark Wizard by himself, which had both shocked and terrified her.

Only then did Silas understand why Hermione was so furious. He rubbed his cheek, looking at Hermione's distressed face, on the verge of tears. The grievance of being hit instantly vanished, replaced by a touch of embarrassment.

"Oh, I thought it was something serious..." he tried to cover it up with a light tone. "It wasn't that dramatic. That guy was just a paper tiger, looked tough but couldn't take a hit. I tied him up in no time, I'm fine."

"Fine?!" Hermione's pitch rose even higher. "Professor McGonagall said Headmaster Dumbledore himself intervened! And you call that fine?! Do you know how worried I was about you!"

Silas looked at Hermione's red eyes and clenched fists, knowing she was genuinely scared. He scratched his hair, which was gradually returning to its light brown color, and softened his tone:

"Alright, alright, I was wrong, okay? Next time... next time I'll tell you before I act? Or bring you along?"

"You want a next time?!" Hermione was so angry she wanted to raise her hand again, but ultimately she lowered it, merely glaring at him fiercely. "Silas Cyril! You are forbidden from going on adventures alone like this again! Do you hear me!"

"Heard you, heard you..." Silas nodded quickly, making a show of promising. "I promise, I'll try not to rush in alone from now on, alright?"

Hermione looked at his perfunctory demeanor, knowing he hadn't taken it to heart at all, but she couldn't do anything about him. She let out a heavy huff and turned away, stomping forward angrily, but she slowed her pace, clearly waiting for Silas to catch up.

Silas watched her retreating back, touched his still-sore cheek, but the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curve upwards. Being worried about... didn't feel too bad?

He quickened his steps to catch up, nudging Hermione lightly with his shoulder. "Hey, don't be mad anymore. I'll treat you to a Chocolate Frog as an apology? I just got back from Honeydukes, the latest kind..."

Hermione ignored him but still subtly slowed her pace.

The two walked one after the other (quickly becoming side-by-side), bickering (mostly Hermione lecturing, Silas joking) towards the Great Hall. Along the way, although Hermione was still angry with Silas, she couldn't resist his constant "culinary temptations." When Silas pulled a beautifully packaged Honeydukes Chocolate Frog from his pocket (he always carried snacks), Hermione's tense expression finally softened slightly.

Silas tore open the wrapper, and the Chocolate Frog immediately began to wriggle, trying to escape. He snatched it up with quick hands and popped it into his mouth. He picked up the wizard card that came with the packaging and glanced at it casually.

"Huh?" he let out a soft sound of surprise and held the card out to Hermione. "Look, this Chocolate Frog card is from Slytherin House! Salazar Slytherin himself!"

Hermione's curiosity was immediately piqued. She momentarily forgot her anger and leaned in to examine the card closely. The card depicted a stern-faced old wizard with a goatee and sharp eyes, his name and a brief description written below.

"It really is Salazar Slytherin!" Hermione's tone was filled with the excitement of a researcher. "Chocolate Frog cards do randomly include cards of famous wizards from different eras, but getting a founder is very rare! Especially Slytherin; his portraits and information are quite scarce, with only some ancient records held by the Gaunt family."

She took the card and examined it carefully. "He's said to have emphasized blood purity very strongly, and... well, he had a rather stubborn personality." Her tone again conveyed her disapproval of Slytherin's ideology.

Silas watched Hermione intently studying the card and smiled, then pulled out another Chocolate Frog and offered it to her. "Here, this one's for you."

Hermione hesitated for a moment, then took it, quietly saying, "Thank you." She tore open the wrapper, just as nimbly caught the hopping Chocolate Frog, and then picked up the card.

"It's Morgana!" Hermione's eyes lit up. "A famous witch from the Middle Ages, rumored to be skilled in Transfiguration and prophecy!"

Silas looked at Hermione's face, which had instantly brightened as she became immersed in the joy of acquiring knowledge, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief: he had finally appeased her.

"Looks like you're having good luck today," Silas said with a smile. "At least you didn't get Voldemort."

Hermione chuckled at his teasing and lightly hit him. "Don't say that name!"

As they shared the chocolates and discussed the wizards on the cards, the tense atmosphere from earlier completely dissipated. For Silas, appeasing Hermione's anger with a piece of chocolate and a discussion about a small card was an incredibly worthwhile trade. And Hermione once again proved that in the face of knowledge and friends, her temper flared quickly and faded just as fast.