The red train clattered along in a steady rhythm, and the scenery outside the window slowly changed. At first, they could see churches with pointed red-brick roofs, but they were soon replaced by an endless expanse of snow.
With both Michael and Theo having fallen silent, the compartment was unusually quiet. Ryan took out his holiday homework and lowered his voice as he asked Wade for advice.
"<On the Impact of Seventeenth-Century Goblin Rebellions on Wizard-Goblin Relations>—holiday homework. Professor Binns asked for three feet, but I've only written the beginning."
Ryan said awkwardly, "I don't know how to start."
Wade knew his friend well. This sort of A History of Magic assignment was not actually difficult for him.
Even a first-year student could muddle through a topic like this by copying from the textbook, then finding a couple of extracurricular books related to A History of Magic and copying out a few passages.
After thinking for a moment, Wade said, "I'm guessing it's not that you can't write it. It's that you have too much you want to write about, so you don't know where to begin?"
As though Wade had hit upon something that had been troubling him for a long time, Ryan immediately nodded excitedly.
"Yes, exactly!"
He turned and pulled a thin notebook from a gap in his luggage, then said quietly, "You know, I have quite a few Muggle Relatives. During the holidays, we visited one of my uncles, and I... I found several books in his study."
Wade asked, "What kind of books?"
Ryan hesitated before saying, "They were about... about those... wars they had without magic."
Wade raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
Ryan continued, "After reading them, those words from the books filled my mind while I was writing my A History of