The compartment was peaceful.
Too peaceful, if Ares were being honest.
He had just finished the last page of Les Misérables — again — and was trying to decide whether the ending was bittersweet or just bitter, when the door slammed open with all the grace of a charging Hippogriff.
"Have you seen a toad?" came the voice, loud, clear, and far too close.
Groot, startled, fell off the seat with a surprised yelp of, "I am Groot!"
Ares blinked slowly, lowered the book, and turned his gaze toward the doorway.
There stood a girl with bushy brown hair and frantic eyes. Her voice had the clipped, business-like quality of someone used to being right.
"I've looked in every compartment so far," she said, brushing her hair back with an impatient sigh. "A boy named Neville lost his toad and—"
Her eyes landed on Groot.
Then Nox, now glaring at her from the overhead rack.
Then back to Ares — who looked like he'd stepped straight out of a 19th-century aristocrat painting, with his long blonde hair, pale skin, and ice-blue eyes that did not blink as he stared at her.
There was a silence.
Ares broke it. "I regret to inform you that this carriage is toad-free."
"Oh," she said. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt, I just—wait, what is that?"
She pointed directly at Groot, who had now climbed back onto the seat and was cautiously hiding behind a stack of Chocolate Frog boxes like a tree-born goblin.
"That," Ares said without missing a beat, "is a walking bundle of joy, mayhem, and poor impulse control."
Groot peeked out. "I am Groot!"
"Exactly," Ares said, nodding gravely. "He agrees."
Hermione tilted her head, blinking. "What… is he?"
"A Flora Colossus," Ares replied, almost lazily. "A sentient plant species from—well, that part's complicated. He's with me."
"He's magical?" she asked, inching closer, eyes wide now.
"Of course," Ares said. "So is the raven, by the way."
Right on cue, Nox unfurled her wings, letting out a caw that was half crow, half thunderstorm. Her feathers shimmered with violet iridescence, eyes gleaming with unnatural awareness.
Hermione stumbled back half a step. "She's… watching me."
"She always is," Ares said, turning the page of his book without looking up. "It's best not to lie in her presence. She's rather judgmental."
"I'm not lying," Hermione snapped, hands on her hips. "I'm just looking for a toad!"
"And you've now disturbed a plant, a bird, and a man who was at peace with the universe. Your search party is turning into a diplomatic incident."
Hermione made a noise somewhere between a growl and a huff.
"Fine! I'll keep looking," she muttered. "But if you do see a toad—"
"I'll inform the proper authorities," Ares said with a small bow of his head.
Hermione scowled, opened her mouth, then closed it again. After a moment, she pointed at Les Misérables on his lap. "That's a Muggle book."
"Is it?" Ares asked innocently. "And here I thought I was reading ancient goblin poetry."
"…It's good."
Ares smiled faintly. "Very."
Another long pause.
"…Well. Bye then," she said awkwardly, clearly not sure if she had been insulted, impressed, or both.
"Best of luck with your amphibian," Ares replied smoothly.
And with one last glance at Nox — who was still watching — Hermione turned and stormed off.
Ares waited until the door shut, then let out a breath.
Groot looked at him and raised his branch arms questioningly.
"I like her," Ares admitted. "But she seems exhausting."
"I am Groot."
"Yes, I am allowed to say that."
Later
The whistle of the train let out a shrill scream, followed by a hiss of steam that rolled over the station platform like a waking dragon.
The Hogwarts Express had stopped.
Ares stood slowly, adjusting his robes and brushing off a bit of Chocolate Frog dust from his lap. He turned toward Nox, who sat perched above the window, her violet-black feathers glowing faintly in the late daylight.
Her gaze locked with his — intense, intelligent, loyal.
"Nox, be calm," Ares said quietly. "It's only temporary. I don't trust them either."
The bird tilted her head, ruffled her wings, and gave a low, disapproving click.
"I know," he sighed, removing a reinforced travel cage lined with soft black velvet. "But if they see you gliding over the boats like some mythical omen, I'm afraid someone might fire a spell and we'll both end up exiled before term begins."
Nox stared.
Ares stared back.
"Please."
A long silence.
Then, with the reluctant elegance of a queen tolerating fools, Nox stepped into the cage.
Ares latched the door gently and whispered a soft charm to muffle the magical aura she radiated.
"Good girl," he said, voice soft. "I'll bring you out the moment I'm through this... ceremony nonsense."
The moment he turned, a tiny hand reached out of his hood and tugged on a strand of his hair.
"Ow."
"I am Groot," came the muffled voice, buried somewhere in the folds behind his neck.
"Yes, I'm aware it smells like steamed socks and pumpkin pasties out there. We'll survive."
The corridor was chaos — students scrambling, robes getting caught in doors, cats meowing in confusion, someone yelling about a broken wand and exploding perfume.
Ares moved through it like a ghost through fog — untouched, unbothered, a little amused.
As he stepped onto the platform, holding Nox's cage carefully at his side, several second-years gave him a wide berth.
Likely due to the raven's glowing violet eyes staring at them through the bars.
Groot let out a low hum from inside Ares' hood.
"I told you not to speak too loudly," Ares whispered. "We're trying to blend in, remember?"
"I am Groot," the tree said, indignant.
Ares smirked. "No, sarcasm is my job."
Then, a booming voice echoed across the platform:
"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!"
The crowd shifted.
Ares spotted a giant of a man waving a lantern — Hagrid, though he didn't know the name yet.
Students began to follow, dragging trunks and cages. Ares moved with them, quietly, expression unreadable.
As they began to walk toward the boats, he glanced back once — at the Hogwarts Express steaming in the dark.
And then, ahead — the glimmer of water, the black shape of the boats, and in the distance, lit like a dream…
Hogwarts Castle.
Ares stopped.
The castle stood like a memory he'd never had.
Ancient. Powerful. Strange.
Somewhere behind his calm expression, his chest ached—quietly, like a wound reopened.
Groot poked out from the hood just enough to whisper, "I am Groot."
Ares didn't answer.
He just stepped forward onto the boat.