Hogwarts: Please, Just Graduate Already! Chapter 13

One galleon guaranteed per year?

Wayne licked his lips. He had to admit, that was rather tempting.

Fred and George, who were still enthusiastically singing the school song to the tune of the Funeral March, involuntarily shuddered, as though something terrifying had fixed its gaze on them.

Exactly.

The school song ended hastily, and Dumbledore was so moved that he even wiped at his moist eyes.

"That is the charm of music. All right, it's bedtime now. Everyone, return to your dormitories."

It was already past eight when the Sorting Ceremony ended, and after another hour of eating, there was nothing wrong with Dumbledore telling everyone to go straight to bed.

Everyone else scattered at once, while the prefects organized the new students into lines and led them back to their common rooms.

Cedric mingled with the first-years. "Wayne, how are you going to make this up to me?"

"I don't understand what you're talking about. Get some proper sleep tonight. We still have Cjb tomorrow, and that's physical labor."

Cedric laughed in exasperation. "Stop pretending. You definitely told Professor McGonagall."

"This is my first detention."

"Uh, what am I supposed to say? Thank you for giving your first time to Fred and George?" Wayne shrugged helplessly. "I didn't tell on you. Professor McGonagall found out herself. If you don't believe me, ask Hannah. You can ask Susan too."

The two girls were not far away, eavesdropping on their conversation. When she was called out, Susan nodded instinctively.

Cedric sensed that something was wrong and asked the two girls for the details. When he finished listening, his face turned deathly pale.

"I'm done for. Professor McGonagall must be furious with me. I still wanted to join her Transfiguration club."

"Don't worry," Wayne comforted him. "With George and Fred around, you can only count as an accomplice. Professor McGonagall will forget about it in a few days."

Cedric fell silent, secretly making up his mind never to provoke Wayne again.

The boy looked harmless enough, but he was full of dirty tricks.

The Hufflepuff common room was located in the school basement. Its entrance was among the large barrels on the right side of the kitchen corridor.

All one had to do was knock on the second barrel from the middle in the second row, following Helga Hufflepuff's rhythm. The lid would rotate open, revealing a passageway.

Unlike Gryffindor and Slytherin, whose passwords constantly changed, Ravenclaw students had to rack their brains answering questions every time they entered or left.

Hufflepuff's way of doing things revealed simplicity and practicality everywhere.

This "password" had been used ever since Hogwarts was founded and had never been changed.

Yet despite being so simple, no outsider had ever entered the Hufflepuff common room. It was also the only House with "facial recognition."

Even if someone knocked out the correct rhythm, the door would not open unless they were a Little Badger. Instead, the barrels would spray all kinds of vinegar to drive away intruders.

It was said that when some young wizards were short of money, they deliberately knocked incorrectly and collected the vinegar to sell.

Who knew what unscrupulous shopkeeper would buy it? That vinegar came in every imaginable flavor. Serving it to customers would be downright cruel.

The prefects conscientiously explained all this to the young wizards and demonstrated it three times before finally opening the common room door.

They ducked through the passageway and entered an enormous circular room.

The common room's ceiling was low, and the temperature was pleasant. It was plain yet comfortable, with plants hanging or placed everywhere, giving it the feeling of a cabin in the woods.

The soft carpets were covered with plush sofas and chairs. Wayne was very satisfied with the entertainment environment he would have for the next seven years.

Though it was in the basement, there were actually windows here, so sunlight was not lacking.

The female prefect walked over to the fireplace and pointed at the portrait hanging above it. It depicted a witch holding a golden cup, smiling brightly.

"This is Lady Hufflepuff. Because of her kindness, she took in many House-elves and spared them from abuse and insults."

"That is why Hufflepuffs always receive special treatment in the kitchens. If you need anything, you can get it from the kitchen next door yourselves. Don't be polite with them."

At this point, the prefect's face was filled with pride. This was a privilege unique to Hufflepuff.

"To House-elves, your politeness might mean they have not done their jobs properly. They will blame themselves."

After the introduction ended, the remaining time was free time.

As expected of Hufflepuff, many senior students warmly welcomed the new students, pulling snacks from all sorts of places to treat them.

They patiently answered the first-years' questions and offered plenty of their own experience.

Wayne was also chatting with Cedric about the school staircases.

"You absolutely cannot sleep in tomorrow. The school staircases keep changing, and if you take one wrong step, you could easily be late."

"If it's the Head of House's class or Professor Flitwick's class, it's not too bad."

"But if you're late for Transfiguration or Potions..." Cedric shuddered and gave him a look that said, Good luck.

"What's the point of just telling me that?" Wayne said helplessly. "I don't know what pattern these blasted staircases follow."

"How about this?" Cedric thought for a moment. "The first-years will get their timetables at breakfast tomorrow. Come out early, and I'll take you around first."

Wayne gave him a thumbs-up.

Just as expected of you, Cedric. A model Hufflepuff.

For being so helpful, once the Triwizard Tournament begins, I'll make sure you come through it safely.

As they got more animated, several prefects led some older students to the kitchen and brought back plenty of juice and hot water. Being fed while doing nothing felt amazing. Wayne could not help admiring his own skill at choosing a House.

Only when everyone started getting sleepy did the common room gradually empty out. Wayne also passed through the round door and headed to his dormitory.

Roommates, Let's Set the Twins Up Again

Following the common room's style, the Hufflepuff dormitories were equally spacious and warm.

The nearly one-hundred-square-meter room contained four beds, separated by desks and wardrobes. Everyone had enough personal space.

When the dorms were assigned, there was one student short, so Wayne's dorm had only three boys.

Their trunks had already been delivered to their beds by the House-elves. The three naturally unpacked, washed up briefly, then lay down on their beds for a little chat.

First came introductions.

"My name is Norman Sherlock." The blond boy nearest the door introduced himself excitedly.

"My family are all ordinary people. My dad is a schoolteacher, and my mum is a real estate agent. When we received the acceptance letter, we thought it was a prank."

"But Professor Flitwick came the next day. At first, my mum thought he was a disabled beggar and gave him five pounds."

"Later, Professor Flitwick used Charms to conjure a bison out of thin air, then made it float around and fly all over our house. Only then did they finally believe it." At this point, Norman's eyes sparkled.

Once he learned that trick, would his family never run out of beef again?

"I'm not much different from you." The black-haired boy sleeping between Wayne and Norman spoke up. His name was Toby Brown.

"My family is half and half. My mum is a witch."

Norman asked curiously, "Then aren't you half-blood? How can you say you're about the same as me?"

"To hide her identity, Mum never used magic in front of us," Toby explained.

"When the owl delivered the letter, Dad thought it was a scam, while Mum insisted that it was all real."

"But when Dad asked her to prove it, she had not used magic for so long that she had forgotten where she threw her wand."

"In the end, Professor McGonagall had to come before my dad believed it." "Ahem, ahem!"

Norman burst out laughing, and Wayne, who was drinking water, choked as well. What kind of weirdos were these?

"What about you, Wayne? Are you half-blood or Muggle-born?" Toby asked. Wayne did not need to introduce himself. His wild stunt in the side hall and his ten-minute Sorting process had made every young wizard remember his name.

"I was born into a Muggle family. My family reacted pretty much like yours did when we got the acceptance letter. Nothing special."

Wayne gave a simple explanation without introducing his family situation. It was already late, and the three agreed to wait in the common room for Cedric the next morning so he could show them around. The dormitory soon returned to silence.

It was clear that both roommates were easy to get along with. The only flaw was that Toby snored when he slept.

But that was no problem for Wayne. "Silencio."

Without even taking out his wand, Wayne casually waved a hand and muted Toby for three to five hours.

Sneaking an attack on a roommate, points +5???

Fine, fine. So that was how this worked.

If it counted as a sneak attack, then so be it. As long as it gave points.

September 2nd, the first official day of school.

Wayne woke naturally at seven, gave each of his roommates a hard slap to wake them up, and after washing up, headed to the common room.

The three did not wait long before Cedric appeared, rubbing his sleepy eyes. At the moment, they were the only four people in the common room. When it came to slacking off, Hufflepuff was absolutely serious.

Very few people left their dormitories before the last possible moment, and those who did went straight to the Great Hall to eat.

"Let's go. We'll have breakfast first, get our timetables, and then I'll show you around." They crawled out through the passageway and quickly arrived at the Great Hall.

Living in the basement had this advantage: it was close to the dining hall, and more than half the classrooms were on the lower floors, saving far more time than Gryffindor and Ravenclaw.

It was not yet eight, and there were very few young wizards in the Great Hall. At the Gryffindor table, Hermione was the only first-year.

When she saw Wayne, she waved in greeting. Wayne walked over.

"I'm going to follow Cedric around to learn the way later. Do you want to come with us?"

"Sure." Hermione agreed readily.

She had read Hogwarts: A History, so she naturally knew how troublesome the school staircases were.

That was why she had gotten up so early: to give herself time to familiarize herself with them. After saying a few words, Wayne returned to the Hufflepuff table for breakfast. Compared to yesterday's feast, breakfast today was much simpler.

There were roasted potatoes, bread, sausages, bacon, eggs, beans, milk, several kinds of juice, and hot cocoa.

Wayne took two slices of bread, spread mayonnaise on them, then added several slices of bacon and an egg to make a simple sandwich.

Not long after he sat down, a parchment timetable appeared in front of him.

First-year young wizards had eight subjects this year: Potions, Charms class, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, History of Magic, Herbology, Astronomy class, and Flying lesson. Astronomy class and Flying lesson were only held once a week, and Astronomy class was at night. The other six subjects had two or three lessons a week, with each lesson lasting fifty minutes.

Wayne had no classes on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons this term. Including the weekend, his class time and time off were basically split evenly, making things very easy.

After a while, the twins also arrived in the Great Hall.

They looked around and, after spotting Wayne, immediately charged over aggressively, looking ready to demand answers.

"Wayne, you still dare show your face?"

Wayne glanced toward the passage behind the High Table, his expression shifting as he asked in confusion, "Why wouldn't I dare? You and Cedric were the ones who tricked me."

Fred sneered. "We only told you. Who told you to tell the other young wizards?"

"I didn't know you were lying."

"Stop pretending, Wayne." George pulled a face. "I could tell at a glance that you weren't an honest person."

"Fred and I have always been the ones pranking others. We've never been set up like this before."

Wayne put on a frightened expression. "What are you going to do? Aren't you afraid I'll tell Professor McGonagall?"

Fred snorted. "Even if you tell Headmaster Dumbledore, what good will it do? Can you find any evidence?"

"Mr. Lawrence can't, but I can!"

An icy female voice came from behind them. The smiles on Fred and George's faces froze.

Then they shifted onto Wayne's face.

A Rule Passed Down for a Thousand Years

The Weasley twins paid the price for their arrogance.

Originally, they were only trying to scare Wayne and had not truly intended to retaliate. They just wanted to see him beg for mercy.

But unfortunately for them, Professor McGonagall, who had just arrived in the dining hall, caught them red-handed. She had already felt something was off when she saw her little lions standing beside the Hufflepuff table.

When she got closer and heard what they were saying, her face turned green with anger.

They were third-years, yet they were threatening a cute little first-year who had only just enrolled. When Wayne said he would tell her, the twins actually claimed they would not be afraid even if Dumbledore found out.

Not afraid, were they?

She admired their determination to die rather than submit.

What had originally been detention ending after polishing trophies three times was massively increased.

After polishing the trophies, they also had to hand-copy the famous Gryffindor alumni and their life stories once.