Rolling Up

Time quickly flew to the next week, and the learning atmosphere in the castle had become almost frenzied.

The first to feel the pressure were the Ravenclaws.

Their ancestral "Diadem of Wisdom" seemed to have been challenged.

In the common room, the voices discussing profound theories were now mixed with the recitation of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

"We absolutely cannot lose face in front of the other houses as the 'smartest house'!" the Prefect's rallying cry made every second-year Ravenclaw tense up.

But the real change occurred in the Gryffindor Tower.

The next morning, when Harry and Ron appeared in the common room with messy hair and sleepy eyes, they were stunned by the sight before them—

The place, usually almost empty at this hour, was now filled with students murmuring recitations.

Neville Longbottom was holding a book larger than his face, muttering to the fireplace as he practiced.

"Merlin's beard..." Ron rubbed his eyes. "Am I still dreaming?"

Even Peeves, as he floated by and tried to knock over students' textbooks, was shooed away by them without them even looking up, in a unified tone: "Don't disturb our studies!"

Peeves, scared, left dejectedly, muttering, "There's no fun at all anymore."

The most obvious battlefield shifted to the Great Hall.

At breakfast, the dining hall, usually filled with the clatter of cutlery and laughter, now echoed with waves of recitation.

The Gryffindor and Slytherin long tables had become the front lines of confrontation.

Students from the red and gold and silver and green camps, stuffing bacon into their mouths, stared intently at their copies of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, their voices growing louder and louder, as if they weren't reciting, but engaging in some kind of vocal duel.

"Red Caps, Riddikulus!" a second-year Gryffindor shouted.

"Especially Lumos Maxima!" a Slytherin opposite immediately retorted, not to be outdone, and took a fierce bite of his bread, his eyes full of provocation.

With every sentence they recited, they would glare at each other. It looked less like studying and more like they hoped to summon the dark creatures mentioned by their opponents with their eyes to attack their arch-rivals.

The Ravenclaw long table, sandwiched in the middle, was filled with an atmosphere of anxious academic dignity being challenged.

"How... how can they defile pure knowledge exploration with such hostility?" a fifth-year Ravenclaw lamented heartbrokenly, but the speed at which he turned the pages of his book had clearly increased.

When a Gryffindor or Slytherin student recited incorrectly or got stuck, nearby Ravenclaws couldn't help but subconsciously whisper corrections: "Wrong, it's 'partially resistant to the basic Confusion Charm,' not 'immune'."

This often caused both sides of the "duel" to freeze, glance awkwardly at their textbooks, and then re-engage in the "battle" with even greater "anger," as if being reminded by an opposing house was a profound humiliation.

The Hufflepuffs, however, displayed their unique wisdom.

Most of them sat quietly at their own long table, leisurely enjoying their breakfast while observing the "performances" of the other three houses. Only occasionally did they glance down at their notes, achieving "both watching and learning."

Although sometimes they got so engrossed in watching the show that they finished their pumpkin juice before turning a few pages of their textbooks, they enjoyed it.

This fervor soon extended beyond the Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

In Charms class, Professor Flitwick was enthusiastically explaining the wand movements for the Cheering Charm when he heard faint murmurs from below: "Red Caps, inhabit damp, dark places, extremely sensitive to bright light and flames..."

He tiptoed and saw several students mechanically following the wand movements, their lips unconsciously moving, reciting completely unrelated content.

In the Herbology greenhouse, Professor Sprout was surprised to find that the students who usually secretly threw dragon dung balls at each other now each had a copy of their Defense Against the Dark Arts notes. They seized the opportunity while she demonstrated how to repot Mandrakes to sneak glances.

The most dramatic scene occurred in Potions class.

Professor Snape glided through the classroom like a giant bat.

His sharp gaze caught the anomaly in the back row—

Potter and Weasley's heads were close together, their lips constantly moving.

"It seems our renowned Mr. Potter and his lackey are plotting some stupid prank again?" Snape's voice was full of malice.

His black robes billowed as he strode towards the back row, his long fingers already raised, ready to deduct a significant number of points.

"Let me hear what you are..."

His words stopped abruptly.

Because he clearly heard their whispers:

"...therefore, when encountering a Banshee, the primary measure is to block hearing, not to attempt to confront it..." Harry frowned, completely focused.

"Shut up, Harry, you're reciting it wrong! Page 138 of the textbook clearly states that junior wizards should try to use the Silencing Charm to protect themselves, not just stand there waiting to die!" Ron retorted fiercely, still clutching the parchment covered in highlights.

The two of them didn't even notice Snape standing beside them, his expression shifting unpredictably.

Professor Snape froze in place, the hand poised to deduct points hanging in mid-air. He couldn't lower it, nor could he raise it.

The muscles in his face twitched slightly, and for the first time, a look of near bewilderment appeared in his dark eyes.

He had seen Potter and Weasley passing notes in class, seen them secretly assembling Sneakoscopes, and even seen them dozing off, but he had never seen them so focused on—studying?

He opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to say something, but in the end, he only managed to squeeze out through gritted teeth: "...Don't... read other books... during Potions class."

His voice was dry, and had even lost its usual mocking tone.

He turned abruptly, his black robes stirring up a gust of cold wind, leaving Harry and Ron staring at each other, only then realizing belatedly that they had narrowly escaped Snape's point-deducting claws.

The other professors' initial relief soon turned into exasperated amusement.

Professor McGonagall had to make a serious declaration before Transfiguration class: "In my class, I expect your minds to be solely on Transfiguration!"

Professor Flitwick more subtly stated, "Children, focus is the cornerstone of success. It's best to lay one brick at a time."

Even the gentlest Professor Sprout couldn't help but remind them during Herbology class, "If you continue to be absent-minded, I'm afraid more than one of you will be knocked out by the Mandrake's cry next time."

Lin Du realized he had gone a bit too far.

So, during Defense Against the Dark Arts class the next day, Lin Du stood at the front of the classroom, looking at the students below with bloodshot eyes and an overly excited demeanor.

"I've noticed," he began slowly, "that the learning atmosphere in the castle recently... has been quite fervent."

The classroom fell silent, and all the students looked at him nervously.

"However," he changed tack, "learning is not a race for daredevils. My original intention in setting up rewards was for you to master the knowledge to protect yourselves, not to have you resort to any means to win."

He surveyed the classroom, his gaze lingering for a moment on a few students with particularly dark circles under their eyes.

"From today onwards, I am announcing a few new rules: First, studying after 2 AM is strictly forbidden; second, reciting Defense Against the Dark Arts content in other professors' classes is not allowed; third, the use of any stimulant potions to extend study time is prohibited."

A wave of disappointed sighs swept through the classroom.

"But Professor," a Ravenclaw student couldn't help but protest, "if we don't do this, how can we possibly win the rewards?"

The corners of Lin Du's mouth turned up slightly. "The rewards will still exist, but the rules will be adjusted. From now on, the scoring criteria will not only include exam results but also classroom performance, practical application, and—" he paused deliberately, "—whether healthy study habits have been maintained. Those who are excessively fatigued will have points deducted."

The students looked at each other, this turn of events completely unexpected.

"Knowledge is a weapon, but not one to harm yourself with," Lin Du said finally. "I hope you understand that true strength comes from balanced growth, not from obsessive madness."

After class, the sound of reciting could be heard significantly less throughout the castle.

Although competition still existed, the nearly frantic atmosphere of internal strife finally began to cool down.

Madam Pince was relieved to find that the library was no longer overcrowded after 10 PM; the house-elves in the kitchen also breathed a sigh of relief – the demand for late-night coffee and stimulants had significantly decreased.

Hogwarts, finally, slowly returned to its usual rhythm from this learning storm, ignited and then extinguished by Lin Du himself.