Platform Nine and Three-Quarters was louder than usual.
Not cheerful.
Loud in the way crowds became loud when fear lingered beneath every conversation.
Owls shrieked from within cages.
Steam billowed across the platform from the scarlet Hogwarts Express.
Parents clustered together speaking in hushed voices while pretending not to.
Everywhere Cassius looked he saw copies of the Daily Prophet folded beneath arms or clutched tightly in nervous hands.
WORLD CUP ATTACK LEAVES MINISTRY REELING.
The headline practically screamed from every paper on the platform.
Below it, moving photographs showed smoke rising over the campsites while Ministry officials sprinted through chaos.
Cassius stepped through the barrier smoothly beside Daphne and Astoria, dark coat hanging neatly over his shoulders despite the early autumn chill.
The moment he appeared, conversations nearby dipped lower.
Eyes followed him instinctively.
Some admiring.
Some wary.
Some calculating.
It had become normal.
Afterall he and his girls had played an integral part of the defences that night, their reputation personally was almost as high was the Arcanum organizations far outstripping the incompetant ministry of magic.
Ahead of him Hermione stood near one of the train doors holding a folded Prophet beneath her arm while arguing quietly with Ginny.
Harry and Ron stood further away looking exhausted already.
Clearly having been deeply unsettled due to recent events.
Harry noticed Cassius first.
His gaze locked on, but not filled with hatred or envy like before... ok there was still some envy.
But now it held a bit of respect, might makes right as it were and Cassius had fought the forces of the dark lord, openly at that, and won.
Two boys tied together by blood and fate while orbiting entirely different worlds.
Ron looked significantly less subtle.
His expression flattened immediately.
Already sporting a set of second hand robes and looking none to please when he caught sight of Cassius and the girls custom made luxury robes.
Cassius ignored both.
And interaction would only lead to a fight anyways.
In the beginning he had convinced himself that if Harry reached out he would like a dutiful loving brother respond but that moment never came, instead Lily's posion had warped the boy and making him into a brother Cassius wished he never had.
Astoria slipped naturally beside him while Daphne adjusted the strap on her luggage with practiced elegance.
Luna appeared seemingly from nowhere a moment later carrying her shoes in one hand.
No one questioned it anymore.
All her actions could simply be summed up in a single word 'Luna'
Cho arrived shortly after from farther down the platform, Ravenclaw blue scarf wrapped loosely around her neck a leftover from her years with that house before being transfered over to Draconis.
The seven gathered together naturally now.
Like gravity.
Harry watched the interaction quietly.
Then his gaze drifted briefly toward Ginny.
Toward Hermione.
Toward Luna.
And finally toward Cassius himself.
The train whistle screamed overhead.
Students began boarding quickly afterward, trunks levitating through doors while prefects shouted instructions no one listened to.
Inside the Hogwarts Express the corridors were packed shoulder-to-shoulder with students searching for compartments.
Fifth years looked nervous.
First years looked terrified.
Seventh years looked exhausted already.
Cassius moved calmly through the chaos with the girls following close behind.
The sisterly agreement made after the end-of-year duel had apparently remained firmly in place.
Meaning—
"You're with us this time," Astoria announced firmly the moment they found an empty compartment.
Not a question.
A declaration.
Cho leaned lightly against the doorway.
A clear look of longing in her eyes knowing she'd be seperated from him for close to half a day... something she wasnt looking forward to once again.
Luna climbed into the corner seat beside him moments later, tucking her knees beneath herself comfortably.
"The compartment likes you better in here anyway."
"Useful information."
"It told me when you sat down."
Cho closed the compartment door behind them, sighing as she did before following the senior girls in the hunt for another compartment..
The train lurched suddenly beneath them.
Then slowly began to move.
Platform Nine and Three-Quarters slid away outside the windows in clouds of steam and fading noise.
Another year beginning.
Cassius rested one arm lightly against the windowsill while the countryside slowly replaced London brick.
Around him conversation settled naturally.
Familiar.
Easy.
Astoria leaned against his shoulder while reading one of her books.
Ginny began to dig into her supply of chocolate frog all while expanding her card collection.
Luna hummed softly to herself while upside down reading an issue of The Quibbler.
Normal.
Or as close to normal as their lives ever became anymore.
Cassius unfolded the Daily Prophet eventually.
The moving headline immediately filled the compartment.
"Honestly," he muttered. "They're already downplaying half of it."
"Of course they are," Astoria replied.
The article shifted images again.
Masked Death Eaters firing curses through the campsites.
Screaming families running.
Burning tents.
"The Ministry claims the situation was contained quickly," Cassius read aloud skeptically.
Ginny scoffed.
"Contained by who?"
Cassius said nothing.
Which itself answered the question.
Cassius continued reading.
"Several Ministry officials reportedly injured…"
"Mm."
"…public reassured no broader threat remains…"
Ginny rolled her eyes softly.
"That's definitely a lie."
"Political reassurance usually is," Cassius replied calmly.
Then he paused.
"There's another article here."
That caught his attention slightly.
Smaller column.
Lower corner of the page.
he frowned as he read.
"Former Auror Alastor Moody involved in magical disturbance at his residence late last night."
Cassius's eyes sharpened faintly.
Ah.
There it was, the hidden tidbit article kicking off this years secret events.
"The Ministry claims accidental overreaction after suspected intrusion," he continued. "Several responding officials reportedly hexed through walls."
Ginny blinked.
"Through walls?"
"Sounds about right for Moody," Ginny muttered.
Cassius remained silent.
Inside his mind pieces moved immediately into place.
Barty Crouch Jr.
The real Alastor Moody already replaced.
Canon remained intact.
Mostly.
Interesting.
Luna tilted her magazine slightly.
"Someone pretending to be someone else always makes houses feel nervous."
~
The train ride continued afterward without much incident.
The kind old lady passed through selling the only food available on the journey... sweets.
Prefects attempted to maintain order.
Rain tapped steadily against the windows as the Scottish countryside rolled past in dark green waves beneath heavy clouds.
At one point Draco Malfoy passed by the compartment, paused visibly upon seeing the group arrangement, then wisely kept walking without comment.
Even he apparently valued survival instincts, choosing instead to go in search of the other Potter who was a much more reasonable target of his abuse.
By evening the train finally slowed.
Hogwarts appeared gradually through mist and rain beyond the windows.
Ancient towers rising above the black lake like something half asleep beneath the storm.
The castle lights glowed gold against gathering darkness.
Luna smiled faintly beside him.
"There it is."
Home.
Students flooded into the corridors gathering luggage and robes before spilling out onto the station platform.
Cold air hit immediately.
First years gathered nervously near Hagrid while older students moved toward the waiting carriages.
The seven naturally regrouped without discussion.
Cassius climbed into one carriage first before offering a hand outward.
Astoria took it immediately.
Then Daphne.
Hermione after a brief eye-roll.
Ginny dramatically announced she was "perfectly capable herself" before nearly slipping on the step anyway.
Cho climbed in gracefully.
Luna entered last.
The carriage doors shut softly behind them.
Then the thestrals began pulling them silently up the winding road toward Hogwarts.
Ahead, the castle loomed larger with every passing second.
Warm lights burned through towering windows.
Students filled the entrance hall beyond.
Voices echoed through ancient stone.
And together, the seven crossed into the Great Hall before moving as one toward the long black-and-silver table beneath the banner of House Draconis.