Days at Hogwarts

Chapter 16, Week 1 Lessons

The freshmen were extremely busy during the first week.

First-year courses at Hogwarts aren't many, and the initial assignments are relatively light. Most of the time is spent familiarizing oneself with the layout of Hogwarts, especially that peculiar staircase, whose pattern changes at different times of day.

Loren noted down in the morning that after turning right he should turn left, and at noon he used this pattern to get stuck on another disordered staircase for almost fifteen minutes.

Young wizards can often be seen wandering around on the stairs, with Neville suffering particularly badly from it. However, he has already written home to ask them to send him a memory orb.

The freshmen sought help from upperclassmen, only to be told that this was a Hogwarts tradition and that they should explore it on their own.

The Weasley twins told everyone that there were many secret passages inside the castle, and they had spent time exploring several shortcuts beforehand, which came in very useful whether they were going to class or taking nighttime walks.

Regarding secret passages, Loren only remembers the one near the Hufflepuff lounge, where scratching a portrait leads directly to the kitchen. There's also the Room of Requirement on the 8th floor, but he hasn't had a chance to try those yet.

Herbalism class is held three times a week, each time with a different house; there was another one this morning. In the greenhouse behind the castle, the freshmen, led by Professor Sprout, are transplanting a kind of fungus that smells sour.

Loren and Hermione were paired up. Hermione had already memorized the textbook and was listening attentively in class. Loren clung to her leg, and the two quickly completed the task, working together smoothly.

Few are willing to heed Hermione's advice, and she was quite pleased with the lesson, so she couldn't help but start lecturing Loren: "If you change your wicked, mischievous ways, we can be good friends."

"I'll try my best!"

Loren spoke firmly, but his voice quickly faded. "However, sometimes I just can't control myself."

"So you knew all along that the cat was Professor McGonagall, and you deliberately instigated me to go, to..." Hermione trailed off.

Loren, with his eyes downcast and mouth closed, acted as if it were none of his business: "I didn't, I didn't, don't talk nonsense."

Hermione was furious and pinched Loren's face hard with her muddy hands. Children have lots of collagen, so it felt nice to touch.

"Hey, don't go too far!" Luo Lun felt guilty but didn't dare to retaliate.

Hermione recalled Professor McGonagall calling Loren into her office. "Did Professor McGonagall reprimand you last night?"

"No, we talked about some things, but I can't tell you now. You'll find out later." Loren didn't change the subject. Although Hermione was very curious, she was also smart and didn't ask any further questions.

That concludes the matter.

At lunchtime, Loren saw that Professor McGonagall had called over all three of the Weasley children: Percy and the twins.

An older student said that the twins might have gotten into trouble again. Ron gloated and laughed heartily, truly embodying brotherly love and respect.

The afternoon class was Charms, taught by Professor Felix Flitwick, the headmaster of Ravenclaw. He was short, needing to stand on a pile of books to reach the table.

During roll call before class, when Harry's name was called, Professor Flitwick collapsed to the ground in excitement, exclaiming, "Harry Potter! Oh, the famous Harry Potter!"

Professor Flitwick lived through Voldemort's dark period, he had great faith in Dumbledore, was grateful to Harry for ending the turmoil, and held Harry's parents in high esteem.

Harry was somewhat embarrassed by this.

He made a fool of himself, and the other students began to underestimate this fighting master.

But when Professor Flitwick began his lectures, none of the students dared to underestimate this short professor anymore. He could always answer any questions you had about spells clearly and knew the origins of all kinds of spells like the back of his hand.

The first lesson began with the Glowing Charm, where only a few people's wands emitted faint wisps of light.

Hermione's light was the brightest, earning her another 5 points for Gryffindor. Although she was a Gryffindor, she still became Professor Flitwick's favorite student.

Loren mingled in, not daring to overstep his bounds since the course had just begun. He chatted with those around him while slacking off, getting along well with the few people he knew.

I only vaguely understood Harry's theory, but after a few classes, I found that others were in a similar situation, so I relaxed and stopped feeling anxious.

He couldn't imagine how he would face his uncle's family's ridicule if he were really fired.

Ron's spellcasting wasn't going smoothly because of his broken wand, the core of which was showing through a unicorn hair. This actually showed that Ron possessed a talent that he himself was unaware of: being able to use some magic and keep up with the course progress even with a broken wand.

Neville barely managed to keep up with the group. His favorite subject was herbalism; tending to herbs didn't require any talent or brainpower, just patience, which Neville had no shortage of.

Seamus truly lives up to his reputation as a genius of explosions; even the Glowing Charm can blast a table black.

Hermione is always instructing those around her on how to wave their wands and how to chant spells.

This behavior made others uncomfortable, and apart from Loren, Hermione never made any friends.

Loren wouldn't fuss over something so trivial; he understood that Hermione meant no harm.

He responded to Hermione's instructions with "uh-huh, that makes sense," but then turned back to paddling as usual, finding it quite amusing to watch the little girl's exasperated expression.

On Wednesday night, they used telescopes to observe the night sky, learning the names of different stars and the orbits of planets. However, everyone treated it as a form of entertainment.

The most anticipated class was Defense Against the Dark Arts. Everyone was curious about the strange magical creatures and the eerie dark magic. It would be even better if they could learn some spells they could actually use.

But Professor Quirrell's first lesson turned into a joke; the entire classroom reeked of garlic, and Professor Quirrell was so ridiculed that he could barely maintain order...

Potions class is on Fridays.

That morning, while having breakfast at the restaurant, Loren sat next to Harry.

"Harry, have you previewed 'A Thousand Magical Herbs and Mushrooms'?" Loren's expectant expression was practically written all over his face.

"I flipped through it before school started, but I didn't look at it carefully." Harry noticed Loren's confused expression. "Why do you ask? Will there be a test before Potions class starts?"

"I don't know whether I'll take the test or not, but I see a dark look on your face, so today might not go well." Loren's tone became inscrutable.

Hermione chimed in from the side, "What kind of magic is this? I've never seen it before."

Just as Loren was about to say something, the email arrived.

When people eat at Hogwarts, owls fly in through the skylight, find their owners, and drop letters or packages in front of them.

Hedwig, with her snow-white feathers, flew over and landed in front of Harry, placing a note on his plate.

Loren seized the opportunity and grabbed Hedwig, lifting her down to pet her.

"Coo coo!" Hedwig flapped her wings, trying to struggle, but quickly became docile under the feeding of jam, bread, and candy. Hermione watched with envy and took the opportunity to pet her a couple of times.

Harry read the note; it was a letter from Hagrid.

Dear Harry:

I know you don't have classes on Friday afternoon. Would you be able to come over for tea with me around 3 PM? I'd like to know how your first week went. Please let Hedwig give me an answer.

Hagrid

"Ron, Loren, how about you come with me to meet a friend on Friday?"

Harry put the note away and invited Ron and Loren to join him. "Hagrid is our school's key custodian, lives in the Forbidden Forest, and is a kind, big guy."

"We can visit the Forbidden Forest!" Ron exclaimed, his mouth agape in surprise.

Loren also wanted to see the Forbidden Forest, so it would be a convenient place to practice magic in the future.

Both agreed, and Harry wrote a reply, which Hedwig took back to Hagrid.

The Potions classroom was underground, which was colder and darker than the main castle building. Glass jars containing animal specimens were placed along the walls around the classroom.

Loren's feelings towards Professor Snape were complex. He was undoubtedly a good person, but as the saying goes: What's most tragic? You meet someone, make a mistake, want to make amends, want to atone, only to find in the end that you're powerless to undo the damage, that the sins committed can never be redeemed. We can never atone for the sins we've committed…

However, it's still important to maintain a good relationship with Professor Snape, as Grandpa Bates' wolfsbane potion still depends on him; it would be best if he could teach us how to prepare it.

If not, buying from him is fine, but I don't know the exact price.

The Half-Blood Prince's notebook seems to be at the back of this classroom. Loren plans to look for it later, but it's best not to cause too much trouble at the beginning of the semester.

(End of this chapter)