Otherwise, why would the Sorting Hat say John was dishonest?
Ever since learning that he possessed magical talent, he had spent an entire year stuck at home, his mind filled with curiosity about exploring this magical world.
As a veteran RPG player in his previous life, John understood very well that certain events only appeared at night.
Because of that, he was extremely enthusiastic about the idea of a nighttime adventure.
“Uh, well…” Ryan and Ethan exchanged glances, clearly not expecting John to be reckless enough to break school rules on their very first day.
Seeing their hesitation, John stood up and looked down at them.
In Ryan and Ethan’s eyes, John stood beneath the light like some dazzling figure they could barely look at directly.
“Have you already forgotten the solemn vows we just made?
Didn’t we agree to form a lifelong nighttime exploration team?” Huh?
When did we ever make any solemn vows?
Ryan and Ethan’s faces were full of confusion.
But John spoke as though he occupied the moral high ground, leaving them unable to meet his gaze or think of any way to argue back.
Just as the two were still hesitating, the dormitory door was suddenly pushed open.
The one who entered was Prefect Robert, his expression dark.
“Didn’t I already say lights out at ten o’clock?
The students upstairs complained that you’ve been talking nonstop.
What exactly are you two doing!” Ryan and Ethan were startled by Robert’s sudden entrance and hurriedly scrambled to their feet.
“No, it’s not like that, we…” “Can’t you two learn from this student?
He already went to bed early.
There are classes tomorrow!” Robert directly cut Ryan and Ethan off as he pointed toward the “peacefully sleeping” John.
What the hell?
The two were instantly dumbfounded.
John, who had just been morally pressuring them moments ago, was somehow already lying in bed, looking completely asleep.
“No, Prefect, it was him…” “No excuses.
Go to sleep immediately.” With that, Robert shut the door, leaving the two staring at each other in confusion.
…
Ryan and Ethan walked over to John’s bedside, veins bulging on their foreheads and the corners of their mouths twitching as they glared at him fiercely.
Although John kept his eyes shut and continued pretending to sleep peacefully, sweat had already started forming on his forehead.
Danger.
“John!!” The moment they roared his name, a series of crashing and chaotic noises filled the room.
John was dragged off the bed.
One of them locked him in a chokehold while the other pinned down his legs, squeezing him so hard his eyes nearly rolled back.
Before the two could properly teach John a lesson, however, the dormitory door burst open with a loud bang as Prefect Robert kicked it open with a dark expression.
“I’m seriously about to use Stupefy!” Three flashes of blue light later, the Ravenclaw dormitory finally returned to silence.
…
The next morning, John stretched lazily.
He had slept very comfortably last night, but why were the three of them all sleeping on the floor?
One of them had somehow become his pillow, while the other served as a footrest.
These roommates of his were actually pretty nice.
He checked the time.
It was exactly seven o’clock.
After washing up and eating breakfast, he would arrive just in time for his eight o’clock class.
“Wake up, you two.” After climbing to his feet, John shook Ryan and Ethan awake.
The two of them were equally confused, completely unable to understand why they had ended up sleeping on the floor.
However, after hearing John urge them on, the two did not think too much about it and simply followed him to the washroom to clean up.
Afterward, they grabbed the textbooks needed for today’s lessons and headed toward the Great Hall for breakfast.
Following the upperclassmen who also had eight o’clock classes, they avoided the constantly shifting staircases and instead took a more stable route, allowing John and the others to become more familiar with the castle’s layout.
“Good morning, Luna.” When they arrived at the Great Hall, Luna happened to already be there having breakfast.
John led his two roommates over to sit beside her.
“Good morning, John.” John briefly introduced Ryan and Ethan to Luna before beginning breakfast himself.
The food at Hogwarts was prepared entirely by the house-elves.
Before each meal, they would arrange the dishes across the tables in the Great Hall for the young witches and wizards to choose from, much like a buffet.
Titus also came running over specifically to chat with John.
The relationship between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff was fairly good, so students frequently moved between the two tables like Titus was doing.
The little chubby boy was also quite popular, and even while sitting over here, he happily chatted with Ryan and Ethan.
Their first class today was Charms, which Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff attended together.
After breakfast, John and the others said goodbye to Luna and prepared to head to the Charms classroom together.
Along the way, they ran into Neville, who was following behind his friends and was probably on his way to breakfast.
John even recognized one of them.
It was Harry Potter, whom he had met once before in Diagon Alley, though Harry clearly did not remember him.
“Good morning, Senior Neville.” As they passed by, John greeted Neville.
Hearing him, Titus, Ryan, and Ethan also called out greetings in unison despite not knowing who Neville was.
Neville had just been about to respond to John when he was startled by the loud synchronized greeting from the other three.
It was the first time Neville had been called “Senior” by so many people at once.
For a moment, he could only reply with a bewildered “Good morning,” while Harry and the others beside him all looked over curiously.
The four younger students quickly ran off after greeting Neville.
Harry thought one of their backs looked somewhat familiar.
“Hey, Neville, since when did you become so popular with the first-years?” Neville’s good friend Seamus nudged him in the stomach and asked curiously.
“It’s just someone I met on the train yesterday.
I already told you guys about him.” Neville waved his hands awkwardly.
“You mean the guy you said actually dared to tackle a Dementor head-on?” Seamus asked in amazement.
“Yeah, the one leading them, John.” Neville nodded.
He had already told his friends about what happened on the train yesterday.
However, Harry had also said that he had been attacked by a Dementor yesterday and fainted, though Professor Lupin had saved him in the end, just like John.
“Alright, let’s go.
We still have Divination after breakfast.” Unable to endure everyone’s curious looks any longer, Neville hurriedly pushed the group toward the Great Hall.
…
Charms class.
Professor Flitwick stood atop a tall stack of books.
The classroom had two rows of long tables and benches on each side, more than enough to fit students from both Houses.
After briefly introducing himself and getting acquainted with the students, Professor Flitwick officially began their first lesson.
“Alright, children, open The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1 to page two.” “In our first lesson today, we will learn the uses and casting method of the Levitation Charm.” “This is one of the most basic forms of magic that every wizard must master.” Professor Flitwick’s voice was lively, rising and falling naturally with the lesson instead of sounding dull and monotonous.
As he explained, Professor Flitwick casually waved his wand, causing the books stacked beside the podium to float into the air, demonstrating the Levitation Charm for everyone.
“Did anyone notice which step I skipped when I cast the Levitation Charm just now?” After demonstrating the spell, Professor Flitwick looked toward the students below and asked.
“You skipped the incantation.” Ryan raised his hand and answered immediately.
“Correct, correct.
While casting the Levitation Charm just now, I was speaking to all of you at the same time.” “Incantations play a very important role in spellcasting, but they are not absolutely necessary.” “Incantations are merely a technique used to assist with casting magic.
They help witches and wizards better direct their magical power to complete a spell.” “But if you become sufficiently proficient with a spell, then even without speaking the incantation, or even without using a wand, you may still be able to cast it.” As Professor Flitwick spoke, he pointed his wand toward the students one by one.
Following his movements, the textbooks in front of the students floated into the air before gently falling back down.
Throughout the entire process, nobody heard Professor Flitwick say a single incantation.
Even the movement of his wand hand seemed off, or rather, he had barely moved it at all.
The students were completely amazed by Professor Flitwick’s display of skill.
“So, I’ve decided on a learning goal for all of you this year,” Professor Flitwick said with a smile.
“Before the end of the term, learn to cast the Levitation Charm nonverbally.” Whether they could actually achieve it was another matter entirely.
The important thing was setting the goal first.