Fred and George slipped out of the Gryffindor Common Room high in the castle tower.
They followed the corridor to the stairs, evaded the caretaker's sharp eyes, and, after a winding route, emerged beside a statue on the ground floor.
At a corner on the basement level leading to the Kitchen, they ran straight into Su Er and his two equally furtive companions.
"Look, Fred," George whispered.
"Oh, fellow nighttime wanderers," Fred said. "First-years, by the look of them."
"Exactly. I've got a good idea." George raised his eyebrows.
"So have I." Fred grinned mischievously, and the two exchanged a silent high five.
Just as Su Er was about to explore the Kitchen, he heard footsteps behind him, accompanied by an "authoritative" voice.
"I trust you know that wandering around at night is against school rules?"
"Sorry, Professor!" Justin spun around and bowed his head in apology, with Su Er and Morn following close behind.
They had not even seen who it was yet.
As the footsteps drew closer, the edge of a set of black wizard robes entered Su Er's field of vision. With each step, the fabric shifted to reveal a flash of red beneath.
Huh? Wait! Isn't this...
Su Er looked up to find a pair of identical twins, red-haired with a scattering of freckles on either side of their noses, grinning wickedly at them.
"Good evening!" one of the red-haired boys said. "I'm Fred, and he's George."
Justin and Morn raised their heads and breathed a sigh of relief.
For a moment, they had thought they really had been caught and were about to lose points.
"I'm Su Er," Su Er said. "These are Justin and Morn, my roommates."
"Hello. Actually, I'm Fred, and he's George," the other red-haired boy said.
"Fred's right," George said with a giggle. "Are you here for the Kitchen too...?"
"Yes. We heard we could get plenty of food here," Justin said. "Morn found out how to open it."
"That's right, as long as you're polite to the house-elves in the Kitchen." As Fred spoke, he pressed his palm against the door and pushed it inward. "They'll be happy to give you something tasty."
"Come on in. We spotted Filch on our way down." George slipped through the half-open doorway and beckoned to the three of them.
Morn and Justin followed George inside. Su Er went last, and just before the door closed, he thought he heard a cat meow.
Su Er surveyed the Kitchen curiously. It was enormous, far larger than a single room had any right to be. Long tables stood in the center, and a large portrait hung on the wall behind the head of the tables.
Many house-elves bustled about on one side of the tables, amid a vast assortment of pots, ladles, bottles, and jars.
Fred had already struck up a conversation with a house-elf whose clothes were ragged but clean. The elves looked much like the goblins at Gringotts, with long arms and pointed ears.
"Who's Filch?" Morn asked George curiously.
"Hogwarts' caretaker. He was the one standing at the Great Hall entrance during the welcoming feast. He has a cat."
"That cat's caught us a few times," George said through gritted teeth. "We've been planning to let the blasted thing have a taste of our Dungbombs, but we never get the chance."
Good thing you haven't. That old cat lady would give you seven years of detention. While Su Er was silently grumbling, Fred returned with a broad smile.
"They only have some pudding at this hour. You don't mind, do you?"
Su Er and his two companions shook their heads.
Then they leaned against the long tables and chatted, with Fred and George doing most of the talking. The brothers had begun their nighttime explorations of the castle in their first year.
They told them which portrait liked to hold concerts late at night, with singing so dreadful that even ghosts kept their distance.
They also mentioned a secret passage that led straight to the Great Hall, allowing them to sleep until just before class and still head there for breakfast.
Then there was the History of Magic class Hufflepuff had the next day. Professor Binns was so old that he could no longer recognize his students, and he did not care whether they paid attention in class, making it an excellent place to catch up on sleep.
"Professor Binns doesn't like people asking questions during class. Other than that, as long as you don't practice magic, he won't bother you about anything."
The castle, which had stood for a thousand years, was simply too vast. Like a beautiful woman hidden behind a veil, it had not allowed Fred and George to lift even one corner of that veil in their three years there.
"George and I plan to explore all of Hogwarts during our seven years here," Fred said.
"Gentlemen." A house-elf suddenly appeared. "Your food is ready."
"Thank you," Fred said politely, and the others followed his example, smiling at the elf.
"It is our honor to serve wizards." Overwhelmed by their kindness, the elf bowed deeply with tears in its eyes, its head nearly touching the floor.
The three of them parted ways with Fred and George at the Kitchen entrance.
Su Er and his roommates returned to their dormitory without incident.
After sharing the silky pudding, Su Er gazed at the badger on his bed curtains and closed his eyes. That night, he did not enter the pearly-white place.
His first day at Hogwarts was over. It seemed rather nice, he thought.
Daylight crept in unnoticed, and gentle sunshine woke all of Hogwarts. The sound of sweeping outside the castle roused Su Er from his sleep.
There were no windows in the dormitory, yet sunlight and a breeze somehow found their way inside. Su Er stretched his arms lazily, rolled out of bed, and washed and changed.
As he climbed the stairs from the basement, a gust of cold wind made him shiver. Through the corridor windows, he saw leaves carpeting the flagstone path outside, glowing gold in the sunlight. A large man was sweeping them up with an enormous broom, its bristles swishing across the ground.
While Su Er was adding sugar to his porridge, a hundred or so owls swooped through the ventilation opening above the Great Hall doors.
He recognized his own owl at once.
Besides naming the owl Little Ash, Angel had tied a conspicuous pink bow around his leg-it was her favorite hair ribbon.
Thump. A parcel landed on Su Er's lap.
"Thanks for the hard work, Little Ash." Su Er fed his owl a few pieces of bread before unwrapping the parcel.
The first things he saw were two sweaters, one black and one white.
Two envelopes had been tucked between them.
Ellison had written at length about all the things that had happened at home since Su Er left.
Apart from eating and sleeping, Angel spent most of her time in Su Er's bedroom. The little girl missed her brother terribly.
There were also reminders to keep warm as the weather grew colder and to be careful not to catch a cold.
At the end, "big brother" had been written in crooked letters. It was immediately obvious whose handiwork that was.
After reading the letter, Su Er tucked it close to his body, a smile tugging at his lips. The black wool sweater was wonderfully soft and even carried the scent of sunshine.
As for the white one, that was Hermione's, of course.
Speak of Hermione, and there she was.
"Is there a letter for me?" A bushy-haired head leaned over.
"Yes, and a white sweater. I think Mrs. Granger sent it for you." Su Er nodded and handed her the letter and sweater.
Rather than leaving with them, Hermione sat down beside Su Er and began reading her letter.
Su Er fetched an empty plate for Hermione and put a slice of bread fried golden brown and a fried egg with a runny yolk on it.
"I didn't mean to forget that you were waiting for me in the Great Hall." Su Er watched Hermione put away the letter and hold the sweater against herself to check the size.
"Do you really think I'm that petty?" Hermione said casually.
Su Er breathed a sigh of relief and promptly showered her with flattery. Before long, he had coaxed a bright smile out of her.
"What classes do you have this morning?" she asked.
"One History of Magic lesson." Su Er checked the timetable tucked between the pages of his book.
They chatted for a while, and Hermione finished the breakfast on her plate.
"I need to put these away in my dormitory. Shall we meet at the library this weekend, then?" she asked.
"Sure." Su Er nodded.
Before you continue