A new chapter is up.
Come in, get comfortable, and let’s see what kind of trouble waits this time ❤️ ✦ Edmund looked at the food on the table and immediately felt his appetite wake.
He had eaten plenty of snacks on the train, but he was at an age where hunger returned quickly.
Besides, the Hogwarts house-elves clearly knew their work.
Roast beef, pork chops, lamb ribs, mashed potatoes, chips, sausages, Yorkshire pudding, pea shoots, gravy, onion soup – the usual food of Britain had been prepared with astonishing skill.
Edmund took a steak, added a generous serving of gravy, and began eating with real enjoyment.
Cho watched him for a moment, then smiled brightly.
She was not especially hungry herself, so she began adding small portions to his plate instead.
Slowly, Cho seemed to discover the pleasure of feeding him.
Edmund was enjoying that particular service when he noticed an extremely resentful gaze.
He looked up.
A student not far away was staring at the two of them with open envy.
When the boy realized Edmund had noticed him, he did not become embarrassed.
Instead, he looked at Edmund with a face full of admiration.
“Hello.
I’m Roger Davies, fourth year.” He leaned forward, almost reverent.
“You are incredible.
You only just entered Ravenclaw and already won over the prettiest girl in the house.
Could you teach me?” Cho’s face flushed, though she did not deny it.
Edmund answered with a teasing smile.
“If you can be as handsome as I am, you may manage it.
You might also need to produce a phoenix from your wand.” Cho’s blush deepened.
She reached out and pinched Edmund lightly at the waist, but when she remembered the day at Ollivanders, she could not help smiling too.
Roger Davies looked at the two of them flirting and felt his chest grow tight.
He had asked for advice.
Instead, he had been given a front-row seat.
After everyone had eaten their fill, the remaining food vanished from the tables.
“Now, before you go to bed, let us all sing the school song!” Dumbledore said.
With a light wave of his wand, golden letters appeared in the air, forming the lyrics.
Then he raised his wand like a conductor’s baton.
“Ready.
Sing!” At Dumbledore’s signal, the entire school began singing in completely different melodies.
Every student chose a tune of their own.
At the Gryffindor table nearby, the twins sang with solemn faces to the rhythm of a funeral march.
Edmund’s eyebrow twitched.
When the song finally ended, Dumbledore wiped a tear from the corner of his eye.
Then he gave a few notices, placed a very tempting warning around the forbidden third-floor corridor, and allowed the prefects to lead their houses back to their dormitories.
Derek Wiggins, a sixth-year, was Ravenclaw’s male prefect.
He led the students out of the Great Hall, up marble staircases, and along a shortcut that brought them quickly to the tower.
At last, they stopped in front of the entrance to the common room.
A bronze knocker in the shape of an eagle sat on the door.
Wiggins stepped forward and lightly touched it.
The eagle seemed to come alive.
“What can make ugliness seem beautiful without changing a thing?” Instead of answering at once, Wiggins turned back with interest and looked at the first-years.
“You may try to answer.
We Ravenclaws are different.
We do not use fixed passwords.
So long as you possess wisdom, Ravenclaw welcomes your visit.” He smiled.
“But if you cannot answer the question, even if you are a Ravenclaw, you will need to wait for someone else to open the door.
Tonight, however, there is an additional reward.
Whoever answers this question may claim an individual dormitory.” Several first-years began whispering together, but no one stepped forward.
Edmund, however, was extremely interested in an individual dormitory.
He had too many secrets.
A space of his own would be useful, and it would keep others from discovering what they should not.
He stepped up and said calmly, “A lie.” “Correct.” The door opened slowly.
The other young Ravenclaws looked at him with envy.
They wanted individual rooms too.
Wiggins smiled and led them into the dormitory area.
At the end, he assigned Edmund a somewhat smaller private room.
Edmund stepped inside and looked around.
He was satisfied.
In the center of the room stood a double bed.
On the right was a large desk.
On the left were a fireplace and another door, which opened into a small wardrobe.
Following the prefect’s instructions, Edmund placed the slip of paper bearing his name into the slot at the foot of the bed.
Not long after, his luggage appeared in the room.
He could not help marveling.
That should have been house-elf magic responding to his information and delivering his things.
Just then, the system’s voice sounded in his mind.
[System] Enrollment detected.
Daily Mission module activated.
Complete daily missions to receive 100 coins.
No penalty for failure.
Edmund opened the system and examined the new function carefully.
This was now his only repeatable source of coins.
Daily missions refreshed three tasks each day.
Completing any two of the three would grant the full reward.
Today’s missions were simple.
[System] Daily Missions Cast Accio: 0/10 Read The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1: 0/30 pages Spend time with Aurea: 0/10 minutes Edmund smiled lightly.
For now, the daily missions seemed manageable.
At least the system had not opened by asking him to fight Voldemort.
After unpacking, Edmund snapped his fingers.
Fire flashed, and Aurea appeared in the air.
The phoenix flew to Edmund’s side and pecked gently at his hand, expressing clear dissatisfaction at not being summoned for an entire day.
“All right, all right.
My fault.
I was afraid you would frighten my roommates.” Originally, Edmund had not intended to bring Aurea to Hogwarts immediately.
Arriving at school with a phoenix from day one was the sort of thing that could startle anyone sharing a room with him.
He had planned to wait until his roommates knew him better.
Now that he had lucked into a private dormitory, that concern no longer mattered.
After playing with Aurea for a while and casting Accio ten times, Edmund completed the day’s missions.
Then he opened his status panel.
[System] Name: Edmund Gaunt Birthday: October 31 Identity: Hogwarts first-year student Legacy: Gaunt Ancestral Magic, awakening Arcane Capacity: 8.5 Magical Items: Guardian Necklace, Felix Felicis x1, Draught of Inspiration x3, Instant Arcane Recovery Potion x3 Charms Talent: 5 – Exceptional Defence Against the Dark Arts: 5 – Exceptional Spells: Accio, Protego, Sectumsempra, etc.
Dark Arts: 9 – Dark Lord-tier potential Coins: 1,300 Edmund studied the panel.
His magical power had already surpassed that of many adult wizards, and he had gained access to a useful range of spells, though real mastery would still take time.
Next, he only needed to save enough for guaranteed draws and obtain more character cards to improve his talents.
His future had become very difficult to limit.
After appreciating the strength he had worked so hard to gain – if one politely ignored how much of that work the system had handled – Edmund washed, lay down on the bed, and soon fell asleep.
Tomorrow would be a new beginning.
CREATORS’ THOUGHTS AuroraVale Thank you for reading.
I hope this chapter pulled you a little deeper into the story.
Stay close, because things are only getting more interesting.