Hogwarts: Please, Just Graduate Already!

Students and parents carrying bags of all sizes could be seen everywhere in the station, hurrying toward their respective platforms.

Wayne traveled light, pulling only a moderately sized suitcase.

Clearly, the suitcase had been enchanted with an Undetectable Extension Charm, though it was not Wayne's own work.

The Undetectable Extension Charm was an exceptionally advanced spell, recorded in the book "Standard Spells: Level Seven," which meant only seventh-year students were qualified to learn it.

After spending an entire morning on it, Wayne had learned the spell and cast it on two of his trouser pockets.

As for the suitcase, he had acquired it through Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, at the cost of one hundred and twenty Galleons.

The use of the Undetectable Extension Charm was strictly restricted by the Ministry of Magic. It could not be used for private purposes and had to be registered and recorded to be legal.

Wayne strongly suspected that this law had been introduced because the Ministry of Magic had some shady dealings with tent and suitcase manufacturers.

But he was just a rookie right now, not qualified to wrestle with the Ministry of Magic. Better to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Any trouble that could be solved with money was not really trouble.

As he headed toward Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, Wayne observed the crowd around him.

He spotted several men in black trench coats and bowler hats casually patrolling nearby. He guessed they were Ministry of Magic staff sent to maintain order and deal with accidents.

After all, ordinary people might be Muggles, but they were not idiots. If a group of people ran into a pillar and vanished, someone would eventually notice.

That was when staff had to step in and clean up the mess.

Wayne looked around first. Once he confirmed no one was paying attention to him, he casually walked into the third pillar between Platforms Nine and Ten.

It felt like puncturing a thin membrane. At first, the passage was narrow, but after taking several dozen steps, everything suddenly opened up. When the light returned before his eyes, Wayne had entered an entirely new world. An old-fashioned steam train blared its whistle, and the bustle here was no less lively than outside.

After a quick glance around, Wayne cursed inwardly.

What the hell did Rowling know about Harry Potter? She said there were only three thousand wizards in all of Britain, but there were already one or two thousand people here alone.

Could it be that all the wizards in Britain had come here for a market day?

The young wizards hurried to say goodbye to their families while the parents rambled through endless reminders. It looked chaotic, but there was something warm about it.

Still, few wore sorrowful expressions.

In a Wizarding World governed by the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, those two months of summer holiday were hardly enjoyable.

They had classes at school, but at least they could use magic there and had a group of like-minded friends. That was far better than being disliked by everyone at home every day.

Of course, some people wore expressions of pure agony. They had probably remembered the homework they had ignored all summer.

Wayne did not linger at the platform. He searched casually for a moment, but when he failed to find Hermione, the only young witch he knew, he boarded the Hogwarts Express.

There were only ten minutes left until departure. By the time he made his way along the train, most of the front compartments were already full.

Carrying his suitcase, he continued into the rear half of the train before finally finding a compartment occupied by only one person.

The door was open, but he still knocked politely. "Excuse me, may I sit here?"

The young wizard inside, who had been reading with his head lowered, looked up and revealed a handsome face.

Both of them were startled.

Damn, this guy is only less handsome than me. That was Wayne's thought.

Merlin, there's actually a young wizard more handsome than me. That was the young man's thought.

"Of course. Sit wherever you like." The other boy recovered quickly. Even as he marveled inwardly, he warmly stood up and helped Wayne place his luggage on the rack.

Once everything was settled, the two sat facing each other. The young wizard extended a hand, a gentle smile appearing on his face.

"Hello, I'm Cedric Diggory, a third-year Hufflepuff student. You must be a new first-year, right?"

He sounded utterly certain. Even if he did not remember every student in the school, someone with the young wizard's looks would definitely be famous throughout Hogwarts. There was no way Cedric would not know him otherwise.

Wayne was stunned as well. He had not expected this person to be the Hogwarts version of everyone else's perfect child.

Cedric had appeared in only two books, yet he was incredibly popular. Wayne extended his hand too, and the two shook hands.

"Hello, I'm Wayne Lawrence. Yes, I'm a first-year this year."

Cedric and the Weasley Twins

Woooo!

Not long after Wayne sat down, the train whistle sounded again, and the train departed punctually at eleven o'clock.

After introducing themselves, they began chatting freely.

Cedric was a quintessential Hufflepuff, kind and warm-hearted.

After learning that Wayne was a young wizard born to a Muggle family, he explained many of the common things Hogwarts first-years needed to know.

"Don't be too nervous. The professors at school are all very nice people. Well, most of them, anyway."

Cedric recalled a certain greasy middle-aged Potions professor and hurriedly added that last sentence.

What if Wayne came looking to settle the score with him later?

Next, he introduced Wayne to the various Hogwarts houses.

Cedric spoke eloquently. "Professor McGonagall may seem very strict normally, but as long as you pay attention in class and do not disrupt lessons, she's actually very reasonable. Most of her anger gets vented on Gryffindor students.

"Professor Flitwick is more amusing. Oh, there are rumors that he has Goblin bloodline, so don't discuss his height.

"As for Professor Sprout from our house, she's also a very gentle lady. Her only taboo is the plants in the greenhouses. She doesn't even care much about deducting house points.

"Snape... let's skip him. Just stay far away from him. Wayne, is there a house you're hoping for?"

"Hufflepuff, I suppose. I read Hogwarts: A History, and young wizards born to Muggle families are generally sorted there." Wayne did not hide his intentions and stated his destination plainly.

Between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, he had ultimately chosen Hufflepuff. Exceptional intelligence might be the greatest treasure.

But... the Hufflepuff common room was right next to the kitchens!

As long as one wanted to study properly, knowledge would not abandon them no matter which house they joined, but the kitchens would.

Gryffindor and Ravenclaw were both located in towers at the top of the castle. If Wayne got hungry one day, he would have to trek all the way down to the basement to find food. That was far too inconvenient.

Cedric was visibly more delighted upon hearing this.

"What a wise choice. I guarantee your school life will be incredibly happy, because Hufflepuff is the best house!"

"We can't pretend we didn't hear that!"

A teasing voice came from the doorway. The compartment door opened, and two young wizards walked in one after the other.

They looked as though they had been carved from the same mold. Both had fiery red hair, and even their expressions were indistinguishable.

"Fred, George." Cedric greeted them somewhat awkwardly. "Long time no see."

Although he had not insulted the other houses, being overheard praising his own still embarrassed him a little.

"Ah!"

One of the twins spread his arms dramatically. "Let me see who this is!"

The other immediately took over. "Idiot! You don't even recognize him?"

"This is Mr. Diggory, first in his year for two years running, the model student praised by every teacher and parent!"

The two spoke like a comedy routine, trading line after line. Wayne watched with great interest, while Cedric, the subject of their teasing, turned red to the ears and wished he could crawl into a hole.

He hurriedly grabbed the two before they could continue, gritting his teeth as he lowered his voice. "What exactly do you two want? At least leave me some dignity in front of my junior!"

That was right. Cedric had already decided that Wayne would most likely join Hufflepuff, so naturally he had to maintain his image.

"Tch." Fred curled his lip. "Now you care about dignity? Your dad bragged about your grades in front of our mum."

"Do you know how miserable George and I were this summer?"

Cedric sighed and released Fred's sleeve. He was in the wrong on this matter.

Who could blame him when his father bragged about his son's grades to everyone he met? Now the entire Ministry of Magic knew that the Diggory family had produced a genius young wizard.

"Fine. What will it take for you to let me off?" Cedric asked resignedly.

The twins exchanged a look and clapped excitedly. Their plan had succeeded.

"Hand over all your summer homework. We'll give it back before class tomorrow."

"We've been looking for you for half a month, but you were never home. Mum said you went to the United States to be a Vampire. Is that true?"

"Of course not." Cedric snapped irritably, taking his backpack down from the luggage rack and handing his homework to them. After putting the papers away, the twins had no intention of leaving.

The Diggory family and the Weasley family lived in the same village, separated by a mountain, but they could still be considered neighbors.

Therefore, even though they were not in the same house, they were quite familiar with each other. Only then did they have time to examine Wayne.

"Hello, I'm Fred Weasley, and he's George Weasley." Fred introduced them, then gave a thumbs-up. "You're really good-looking, much better than our little brother. He's also a first-year this year."

George added, "The redhead covered in freckles is our brother Ron. We hope you get sorted into Gryffindor. That's the best house."

Wayne neither agreed nor disagreed. "Everyone praises their own house like that, but I don't think there's much difference between them."

With the twins around, the compartment instantly became much livelier.

The two had a unique charm. No matter how boisterous they were, they never seemed annoying.

Except to the targets of their pranks.

Still, they would not prank Wayne for no reason.

First, they had only just met and were not familiar enough yet. Second, Wayne had not even started school. Bullying a child was not much of an accomplishment.

The train picked up speed. After some more time passed, a snack seller pushed a trolley over.

Wayne bought Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Super Bubble Gum, Chocolate Frogs, and several Pumpkin Pasties.

It only cost him ten Sickles and six Knuts.

The train had left at eleven, and it would not reach Hogwarts until evening. These were both snacks and lunch for him.

The vendor set the food on the table, and Wayne invited them to eat with him, telling them not to stand on ceremony.

Cedric and the twins could not refuse, so they could only enjoy the food with him. It quickly brought Wayne closer to the three of them. The twins shared a silent understanding and prepared to raise the stakes for Wayne.

Cedric sensed something was off and wanted to stop the two, but when he heard George's question, his expression turned strange.

"Wayne, did you know? You aren't actually a real Hogwarts student yet."

"Only after passing a strict test can you truly enroll."

A Fine Tradition at the Sorting Ceremony: Little McGonagall Hermione

Scaring newly enrolled young wizards during the Sorting Ceremony was a tradition all wizards had upheld for ages.

Even young wizards born to wizarding families would not receive any real information beforehand.

They had gotten rained on themselves, so of course they chose to tear up their own children's umbrellas too. Through a silent mutual understanding, this fine tradition had supposedly endured for centuries, and no one had ever broken the unspoken rule.

Clearly, the twins now intended to scare Wayne.

Ahem!

George cleared his throat and quickly got into character. His face wore an expression of gravity and faint fear that made even Wayne click his tongue in admiration.

With acting skills like that, why be a wizard? Wouldn't it be better to go to Hollywood as a young heartthrob and make piles of dollars?

"I truly don't want to remember what happened back then... because it was terrifying." Fred sighed theatrically in cooperation.

"In our year, young wizards had to last ten minutes against a Troll. Houses were assigned based on performance.

"Oh, do you know what a Troll is?"

Wayne nodded very cooperatively, even putting on a frightened expression. "I do. I bought a copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them."

"That's good!"

George was delighted inwardly. This made the story much more immersive.

"Those who charge to the front and are the bravest get sorted into Gryffindor. Those who use strategy go to Ravenclaw. Those who last the longest are sent to Hufflepuff."

"What about Slytherin?" Wayne asked curiously.

"Them?" Fred's eyes rolled. "They use the back door."

What the hell does that even mean, use the back door? Cedric mentally mocked the twins' nonsense, but he still nodded gravely.

"That's right. Exactly like that."

The twins stared at him in surprise.

They had not expected Cedric to cooperate with them. They had only hoped he would not spoil things, yet he had actually taken the initiative to help.