After being forced to sign more than a dozen completely unfair “peace treaties,” Foufou finally stopped attacking Adam’s hair and climbed down from the top of his head.
The small creature curled herself comfortably into his arms, though her expression still looked slightly dissatisfied.
Adam could only sigh helplessly while fixing his now thoroughly ruined hair.
“Sorry for making you two laugh,” he said to Anthony and Terry.
Anthony waved his hand immediately.
“It’s fine.
Honestly, it was pretty entertaining.” Terry nodded in agreement, though the corners of his mouth were still twitching from trying not to laugh too hard.
Adam looked down at Foufou, who had now entirely forgotten her earlier anger and was comfortably lying against his chest like a spoiled child.
Anthony stared at the little creature with obvious interest.
“Adam… is this your pet?” “Yeah,” Adam replied while gently rubbing Foufou’s head.
“Her name is Foufou.” “She’s usually very well-behaved,” he continued calmly.
“She’s only angry because I left her inside the cage for too long today.” “Can… can I touch her?” Anthony asked the question cautiously, as though he were negotiating with some dangerous magical beast.
After all, everyone in the dormitory had already witnessed Foufou’s terrifying combat abilities earlier.
Those claws were no joke.
Foufou raised her head slightly after hearing Anthony’s words.
Her beautiful crimson eyes looked toward him lazily.
Even among ordinary cats, Foufou would have been considered exceptionally beautiful.
Her soft white fur looked almost flawless beneath the dormitory lights, and her elegant appearance made her seem more like some magical spirit than a normal feline.
Anthony instinctively wanted to reach out and pet her immediately.
Unfortunately, Foufou merely glanced at him once before turning her head away arrogantly.
The meaning was obvious.
Rejected.
Anthony froze awkwardly.
“…She understood me?” “More or less,” Adam answered honestly.
Foufou was far more intelligent than ordinary animals.
In fact, Adam sometimes suspected she understood almost everything humans said.
Before Anthony could recover from the emotional damage, Foufou suddenly leaped out of Adam’s arms and landed lightly on the floor.
Then she began sniffing around the room.
Anthony watched hopefully, assuming she had changed her mind.
Instead, Foufou walked directly toward Terry.
Terry blinked in surprise before crouching down slowly.
After a moment of thought, he reached into his luggage and pulled out a small bag of jerky snacks he had brought from home.
Carefully, he placed one piece on the floor.
Foufou sniffed the jerky cautiously.
A second later, she lowered her head and began eating enthusiastically.
Terry’s eyes lit up immediately.
Slowly and carefully, he reached out and placed his hand on Foufou’s back.
Foufou paused mid-bite.
Her crimson eyes slowly turned toward Terry.
For a brief moment, Terry felt an inexplicable pressure.
It was almost as though Foufou were evaluating whether he posed any threat.
Then— Apparently satisfied with the result, she returned to eating.
Terry instantly seized the opportunity and began gently petting her soft fur.
A triumphant grin appeared on his face.
Anthony stared at him in disbelief.
“What?!” He looked utterly betrayed.
“You bribed her with food!” Terry looked extremely proud of himself.
“Clearly, Foufou recognizes intelligent people.” Anthony almost exploded from frustration.
Even Adam could only smile helplessly at the scene.
Back at the Garden Spire, Foufou’s daily routine was remarkably simple.
First, she would run through the gardens and scare the flower fairies until they fled everywhere in panic.
Second, she would curl up in Adam’s arms and sleep for hours.
Third— And most importantly— She would eat.
As long as food was involved, Foufou’s standards became dramatically more flexible.
Anthony clenched his fists dramatically.
“Hmph!
Just wait until tomorrow!” He immediately began searching his pockets for snacks, only to discover absolutely nothing edible.
After several seconds of desperate searching, he reluctantly gave up.
“Tomorrow,” he declared seriously, “I’ll bring food back from the Great Hall too.” Terry looked smug.
Foufou ignored both of them completely and continued eating happily.
Adam glanced toward the dormitory clock.
“It’s getting late,” he reminded them.
“We should sleep soon.” “The first class tomorrow morning is Professor Flitwick’s lesson.” At the mention of Flitwick, Anthony and Terry both immediately regained their senses.
Flitwick wasn’t just their Charms professor.
He was also the Head of Ravenclaw House.
Nobody wanted to make a terrible first impression on the very first day of class.
Especially after hearing countless terrifying stories from older students.
Earlier that evening, Penelope Clearwater had warned them about Hogwarts professors in great detail.
Although first-year students only had two or three classes each day—and weekends were completely free—the professors themselves were extremely strict.
Missing class without a proper reason could result in heavy point deductions.
Or worse.
Adam still vividly remembered Penelope’s expression when she described one particular punishment.
“If you’re truly unlucky,” she had whispered fearfully, “you might get sent to Professor Snape for private instruction.” The moment she mentioned Snape’s name, her body had visibly trembled.
Anthony and Terry had both looked horrified.
Even Adam had become slightly curious about what kind of legendary teaching methods Professor Snape possessed to terrify students so thoroughly.
Naturally, neither Anthony nor Terry wanted to risk experiencing it personally.
Reluctantly, Terry stopped petting Foufou and stood up.
Anthony cast one final envious glance at Terry before returning to unpacking his luggage.
Compared to them, Adam’s belongings were already perfectly organized.
Ecter had meticulously sorted everything before packing his trunk.
Clothes.
Books.
Magical supplies.
Even personal accessories were arranged neatly by category.
Adam simply needed to remove them and place them in the correct locations.
By the time he finished organizing, Foufou had already devoured every last piece of jerky Terry provided.
Without hesitation, she jumped back onto Adam’s bed and curled up beside his pillow.
Adam gently lifted her and placed her properly near the blankets before climbing into bed himself.
As he stared at the ceiling, his thoughts drifted briefly.
‘I hope the weather is good tomorrow.’ Soon afterward, exhaustion overtook him, and he slowly drifted into sleep.
The next morning, Adam woke before sunrise.
Years of habit from life at the Garden Spire ensured he woke early naturally.
The Ravenclaw dormitory remained quiet.
Anthony and Terry were both still deeply asleep.
Apparently, the excitement of arriving at Hogwarts had kept them awake long into the night.
Even after Adam went to bed, he had continued hearing them whispering excitedly about magic, classes, Quidditch, and Hogwarts secrets.
“Meow~” A sleepy sound came from beneath the blankets.
At some point during the night, Foufou had crawled underneath the covers beside him.
Adam gently lifted part of the blanket.
Foufou blinked lazily at him.
“Do you want to come exercise with me?” Adam asked quietly.
“Meow~” Foufou immediately shook her head before burrowing deeper beneath the warm blankets.
Adam laughed softly.
“Lazy cat.” Since Foufou refused to move, Adam gave up on making the bed for now.
After changing clothes quietly, he left the dormitory.
The Ravenclaw common room remained peaceful in the early morning darkness.
As Adam descended the tower staircase, he felt genuinely relieved to discover that the moving staircases hadn’t changed positions overnight.
Yesterday’s journey back to Ravenclaw Tower had been chaotic enough already.
The constantly shifting staircases throughout Hogwarts were ridiculous.
“When I have time,” Adam muttered thoughtfully, “I should study the movement patterns carefully.” Memorizing the staircase changes might sound excessive.
But Adam disliked unpredictable situations.
And at Hogwarts, unpredictability seemed to exist everywhere.
A few minutes later, Adam arrived at the Central Courtyard.
Morning mist still covered parts of the castle grounds.
The courtyard itself was quiet and empty.
Soft grass covered the ground, while a massive ancient tree stretched its branches overhead.
Near the center stood a huge iron armillary sphere.
According to Hogwarts history books, the structure had once been enhanced with a wyvern-shaped fountain during the late nineteenth century.
In the silence of dawn, the courtyard felt almost sacred.
Adam stretched his arms slightly and began warming up.
Back at the Garden Spire, he normally started each morning with a long run.
But Hogwarts remained unfamiliar territory for now, so he decided against wandering through the castle grounds before sunrise.
Instead, he focused on basic exercises.
After warming up thoroughly, Adam reached into his dragon-hide wallet.
A moment later, he drew out a longsword.
Cold silver light flashed beneath the dawn sky.
Swish!
The blade cut through the air with astonishing speed.
Adam’s movements were smooth, precise, and incredibly disciplined.
Swish!
Swish!
Sharp sounds echoed repeatedly through the quiet courtyard.
Each strike flowed naturally into the next.
There was no wasted movement.
No hesitation.
Although he was still young, his swordsmanship already possessed a frightening level of control.
Completely focused on training, Adam never noticed that someone was secretly observing him.
Meanwhile, inside the Headmaster’s office… Albus Dumbledore sat comfortably in a chair wearing dark blue pajamas and a matching nightcap covered in tiny silver stars.
Before him floated the silvery surface of a Pensieve-like magical projection.
Within it, Adam’s figure could clearly be seen practicing swordsmanship in the Central Courtyard.
Dumbledore watched quietly while stroking his beard thoughtfully.
“What a fascinating child,” he murmured softly.
A mocking snort suddenly echoed through the office.
“Hah!
Ridiculous!” One of the portraits hanging on the wall glared downward disdainfully.
Phineas Nigellus Black.
Former Headmaster of Hogwarts.
And one of the most unpleasant individuals to ever hold the position.
“For a wizard to waste time practicing such crude Muggle swordsmanship…” Phineas sneered.
“Completely absurd.” His painted face twisted with contempt.
“Mudblood habits remain mudblood habits.
That boy should be expelled immediately.” Several nearby portraits frowned disapprovingly at his words.
Dumbledore merely sighed tiredly.
“Phineas,” he said calmly, “must you insult children before sunrise?” “And must you disturb our sleep before six in the morning?” Phineas shot back irritably.
He pointed angrily toward the glowing magical projection.
“Some of us are trying to rest!
Turn off that blasted light already!” Dumbledore chuckled softly.
But despite his relaxed appearance, his eyes remained fixed on Adam’s swordsmanship below.
Quietly.
Carefully.
Observing from the shadows.
Give me more motivation!