On a certain early morning in the second week of school, the students arrived in the dining hall and learned a new piece of news.
"From now on, except under special circumstances, tables will no longer be divided by House. All students may sit wherever they like."
This was naturally Murphy's proposal. Next, he wanted to connect the four Houses' common rooms as well, but for the moment he had yet to find a truly suitable way to carry it out.
Tom and the three others took the chance to gather together, preparing to discuss the proposal for their "Hero Group."
The so-called "Hero Group" was a name Miss Hermione Granger had come up with, taking one letter from each of their four names: Harry's H, Hermione's E, Ron's R, and Tom's O. It was simple, easy to understand, and pleasant to hear.
"I evaluated it with some of the other students. Most students' topics probably won't make much progress, because they're too difficult," Hermione Granger said. "We think Professor Murphy may only be trying to test our ability to learn, and won't really make us complete them. That would be too unrealistic."
"What if we just pick an easy topic? Like what we learned in Transfiguration last time, turning a toothpick into a needle. I think that's pretty hard too," Harry said.
"Oh, I don't think it's hard at all. You just have to concentrate..."
"Please, don't make me listen to a lesson right now..." Ron Weasley covered his ears. "I'll lose my appetite."
"I think it would be a bit of a waste to just choose an easy topic," Tom said. "If we really are going to research something advanced, we'll definitely need a lot of profound knowledge. Maybe we can get the professor to open up access