Too difficult.
Studying at Hogwarts was too difficult.
For Vinson Wright, attending class seriously was simply too hard. Perhaps the easiest thing would have been pretending to be Peter Pettigrew and causing trouble at Hogwarts.
What on earth was wrong with this world?
During the entire Charms lesson, Professor Flitwick taught the students how to cast a spell called the Softening Charm. The incantation was "Molliare."
The spell's magical effect was to make ordinary objects—even stones—soft, theoretically preventing injuries from falling from high places and the like.
Listening to Professor Flitwick explain the spell, one could not help wondering whether the professor was worried that another student might someday be hung on a wall, fall to the ground, and get hurt...
That being the case...
A problem presented itself immediately.
This spell happened to be outside Vinson's area of study.
"Softening Charm."
Cedric slowly waved his wand, softly chanting the incantation. A faint, glimmering strand of magic lit up at the tip of his wand.
The magic landed on the wooden practice block on the desk. The block visibly wilted, and Cedric had successfully cast the spell.
Professor Flitwick waved his own wand and praised him loudly. "Look, Mr. Diggory did it! Ten points to Hufflepuff!"
"Thank you, Professor."
Joy was plainly visible on Cedric's face. His cheeks flushed slightly, yet he still politely thanked Professor Flitwick for the praise.
Cedric's delight was impossible to conceal. The boy turned toward his motionless friend, surprise immediately appearing in his expression.
"Vinson?"
Based on what Cedric knew of his friend, Vinson Wright should certainly have mastered such a simple Softening Charm before him.
After thinking for a few seconds, Vinson Wright tried channeling magic into his wand. He raised it toward the wooden block on the desk and softly chanted the incantation.
"Softening Charm."
The magic sank into the sea.
The wooden block on the desk did not move at all.
Vinson Wright's face instantly turned cold.
Watching Vinson's expression, Cedric quietly reminded him, "Could it be that you moved the wand a little too much, or that your chanting was a little too low...?"
"Heh..."
Vinson Wright looked at the wooden block and shook his head with a self-mocking smile. "There's no need to rush. I'll learn it slowly in my own way..."
Even by the end of the Charms lesson, Vinson Wright still could not cast the Softening Charm. Fortunately, the Hufflepuff students did not care about it.
Only Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, felt that Vinson lacked talent for learning magic. Every wave of his wand and every incantation contained some mistake. Perhaps the little fellow would have to rely on hard work to make up for his lack of talent...
Vinson Wright had no way to explain himself.
Because it was still early.
There was another Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson that afternoon.
Professor Amelia Bones, the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, finally began teaching in earnest. She taught everyone an extremely simple and practical Repelling Charm.
Unfortunately...
This spell also happened to be outside Vinson's area of study.
The result...
Everything was only to be expected.
By dinnertime, the whole of Hogwarts knew that Vinson Wright, the Hufflepuff first-year who had been so arrogant just yesterday, could not even learn the two simplest spells.
The Hogwarts Great Hall.
A group of Hufflepuff students were still comforting their little badger.
The fifth-year big sister, Nymphadora Tonks, sat across from Vinson. Suppressing her laughter, she consoled Vinson Wright. "Don't worry. They're only two simple spells. There aren't any spells simpler than those two. With more practice, you'll learn them soon. You even used a Transfiguration Spell to win House Points for Hufflepuff!"
"...Mm."
Vinson Wright continued chewing his food slowly.
"Vinson, look at this!"
The big sister seemed to notice that Vinson was unhappy. Her mouth suddenly turned into a duckbill. She lowered her head toward Vinson and quacked several times. "None of us are good at other things, but we're all good at Transfiguration!"
"...Right."
Vinson raised his head and looked at the duckbill that had suddenly appeared on Tonks's face. His expression was faintly confused, but in the end, he nodded seriously.
"So cheer up!"
Tonks giggled and returned to normal. Then she suddenly suggested, "Do you want to go play in the Forbidden Forest tonight? I'll take you to see Hagrid. His hut has lots of fun things!"
"...We have to obey the school rules."
Vinson's expression immediately became serious. Looking earnestly at Tonks, he said, "Two first-years from Gryffindor were deducted a hundred points yesterday for violating curfew. Everyone worked so hard to save up a few House Points. We can't let personal preferences..."
"Hahahahaha!"
A burst of laughter suddenly rang throughout the Great Hall.
In the Slytherin section, an upper-year student shouted toward the Hufflepuffs, "Hey, Hufflepuffs! Saving your House Points won't do you any good. This year's House Cup will definitely be ours again!"
The words were extremely arrogant.
But Slytherin did indeed have the confidence to say them.
After all, they had won the House Cup four years in a row. It had only been a few days since the start of term, yet Slytherin and Ravenclaw were already far ahead...
On top of that, Quidditch, one of the House Cup's major events, awarded quite a few points... The Slytherin Quidditch Team was far stronger than Ravenclaw's.
"Hahahahahaha..."
"Hufflepuff wants the House Cup?"
"A little fellow who can't even learn the two simplest spells dares dream of winning the House Cup? Hahahahahaha..."
The entire Slytherin section erupted in laughter.
Whether they were upper-year students or first-year newcomers, all of them burst out laughing at those words. The little wizard who had only just beaten their former Prefect yesterday had actually made such a joke today!
Clang!
Hearing someone insult Vinson Wright, Cedric could not bear it any longer. He put down his knife and fork, stood up with an ugly expression, and looked toward the Slytherin dining area.
This was not something Cedric could tolerate!
More precisely, insulting a friend of Hufflepuff was not something any Hufflepuff student could tolerate!
As Cedric rose, students from every year in Hufflepuff almost simultaneously reacted. One by one, they slowly stood and turned toward Slytherin.
What Slytherin had insulted...
Was the little badger they all loved and respected most!
Even the Hufflepuff Prefects no longer wanted to dissuade anyone. Instead, the Gryffindor Prefects were extremely nervous, because their House's dining area lay between Hufflepuff and Slytherin.
If a fight broke out...
The innocent would probably be caught up in it!
Tonks had even drawn her wand.
If the Slytherin students continued mocking them, Hufflepuff would not mind breaking the rules and starting a full-scale brawl!
The entire Hufflepuff House...
Only Vinson was still sitting peacefully in his seat!
The gray-haired boy seemed not to care in the slightest about Slytherin's insults. He calmly gripped his fork, speared a piece of apple, and slowly began soothing his classmates.
"Sit down and eat first."
"Don't ruin everyone's appetite."
Before you continue