The Hogwarts Express always had a certain charm to it.
The red engine gleamed beneath the late–June sunlight.
Steam hissed along the tracks, mingling with the chatter of hundreds of students saying their goodbyes, promising to write, laughing, crying, and dragging trunks behind them.
But in one particular case—one compartment near the center of the train—none of that mattered.
Because Cassius Snape, heir of Draconis, sat flanked by the three victors of the most destructive school tradition ever created entirely by accident.
Daphne Greengrass.
Cho Chang.
Luna Lovegood.
The girls had claimed their spoils.
And they were treating Cassius like it.
The train lurched forward with its familiar click-clack, click-clack, and before he even finished settling into the cushioned seat, Daphne had already slid smoothly against his left side, fingers threading gently through his while pretending she absolutely had not been shaken to her core in the battle just a few hours before.
Cho sat primly on his right, though her restraint lasted only thirty seconds before she allowed herself to lean lightly against his shoulder, exhaling a soft sigh of contentment.
Luna… draped herself across Cassius's lap like a sleepy cat, humming as the scenery outside blurred into rolling green.
"You three seem pleased with yourselves," Cassius remarked dryly.
"We earned this," Daphne said, eyes half-lidded as though daring him to contradict her.
Cho nodded. "After the week we've had, I consider this the highlight."
Luna tilted her head up. "The nargles like you. They told me I needed to sit with you today."
She paused. "Also, Hermione threatened to put me through a wall next term if I beat her for a seat again, so I'm cherishing this."
Cassius smiled faintly. "I'll be sure to protect you, from experiencing that fate."
"Oh, that's really nice of you to say..." She said absent mindedly twirling her hair in her fingers. 'I think I'll be okay, but thanks for offering!."
He decided not to ask.
~
Outside, the countryside rolled by in a wash of green hills and low plains.
Inside, the compartment was warm, quiet, peaceful.
But Cassius's mind was not.
It rarely was.
Summer.
A simple word, but one that carried a mounting storm of expectations and dangers.
Britain's Quidditch Team—revitalized under his record breaking flying and abilities as a national seeker—had qualified for the World Cup.
For the first time in fifteen years.
Cassius would never admit it, but he was more than half the reason they had even managed to qualify, if not for his impressive abilities to end the match on his own terms, ensuring victory always came to the team by the greatest of margins.
And so, naturally, the Ministry wanted him there.
Wanted his presence.
Wanted to leech off of his prestige and elevate their own crumbling administration on the world stage rather than continuing to be mocked for being unable to deal with a internal civil war for almost a decade.
Then there was the other matter.
The Death Eaters.
In the books and movies, they had planned an attack at the world cup, a means for the 'faithful' to show to the whole world the Dark Lord was not dead, that he was very much alive, and that they should never feel they did not need to fear.
There would be an attack at the Cup—that much was nearly certain.
After having lost three of his lieutenants trying to secure potter, along with a masterclass spy like Pettigrew, Voldemort would be anxious and willing to risk exposure by announcing his survival on the world stage.
This would send the world into Chaos, all while having the weak willed, and minded flocking to his cause once more.
But even still Cassius didnt report this possibility to the Ministry, they were surely already aware of the threat, having recevied word of the dark lords repeated movements over the last few years, even if someone of those were false trails created by Cassius himself.
~
Yet overshadowing even that, there was the girls' latest obsession—one somehow more daunting than dark wizards, scrambling like neglected children aiming to misbehave just to get attention.
An amusement park.
A muggle amusement park.
He still didn't understand why the girls were attracted to such a thing with such reverent awe, or why Hermione had started debating height restrictions and roller coaster physics with frightening enthusiasm.
I mean magically the girls ride around on broom just as terrifying if not more terrifying than anything a roller-coaster could ever provide.
In the end under the relentless asking, followed by reasons why they felt the need to go was beyond mere amusement, ranging from cultural exploration, to battle training as they experience a total loss of control at the hands of another.
Cassius sighed quietly.
Dark wizards?
He could handle.
International political tension? Easy.
Tactical magic? Child's play.
Six determined witches demanding a summer trip to a muggle theme park?
All while not so subtly calling it a group date.
Terrifying.
~
But even still with all these various things looming on the horizon for him:
Quidditch World Cup, Muggle Amusement Park adventure, even a possible Adult Wizarding Dueling tournament, followed by preparation for the coming school years Triwizard tournament.
Cassius was able to relax for now.
Planning could wait for later as he enjoyed the simple pleasures as he allowed the holds on him to sink in deeper, as his own head lolled to one side, before he ultimately joined the others in sleeping within their private little cabin away from the rest of the world.
~
Even so the moment couldnt last forever and hours later as the rising sun has slowly begun to set, Cassius awoke only to get brought into the latest conversion without warning, or even time to rub the sleep from his eyes.
"So," Daphne said, straightening. "For the Cup—where will we be sitting? Surely somewhere not near the rabid fans."
"We'll have a private box," Cassius answered. "I checked and you all can watch the match from the players box."
Cho nodded approvingly. "Good. That is most appropriate.."
Cassius blinked. "Appropriate... why?"
"Oh, nothing really..." she said calmly.
Luna patted his knee. "I can't wait to meet all the nice people there."
Daphne added, "I'll be sure to cheer the loudest for you out on the field."
Cassius felt like he was missing something, something that the girls were hastily trying to cover up by changing the talking point rapidly but he couldnt come up with any reason why this should be a problem.
Seeing him give up the conversation he started, the three girls all bore devilish smiles that you'd expect on a succubus but only for a moment before they warped once more into their standard charming smiles that were always radient and bringing light, joy, and chaos to Cassius's life.
~End Of Volume 4~