Time flew, and soon the weekend arrived.
Su Er woke and squinted out of the window. A thin mist veiled the pink and pale gold sky, and the birdsong was clear and loud.
"It's only just dawn..."
Justin and Morn slept like logs. The birdsong outside seemed more like a lullaby to them.
"Hogwarts is quite pretty in the morning..." Su Er left the castle, planning to take a walk around the Black Lake.
Since he had risen so early, it was not yet time for breakfast.
By the time he wandered over to the lawn beside the Black Lake, someone was already there.
"Good morning, Su Er."
The boy practicing magic on the lawn greeted Su Er first with a wave of his wand.
"Good morning, Diggory. I didn't expect you to be up so early," Su Er replied. "Are you... practicing spells?"
"Yes. Professor Flitwick is going to teach me some new spells this school year, so I'm studying them in advance." Cedric Diggory looked very happy.
"That's not very Hufflepuff of you..." Su Er quipped.
"Haha, you're up early too, aren't you?" Cedric said with a smile. "I just don't particularly like sleeping in."
The more Su Er talked to Cedric, the more he admired him.
So talent alone certainly did not account for Cedric beating students from all Four Houses to rank first in the fourth year.
After all, who else got to see Hogwarts at five in the morning?
"By the way, Cedric, have you read up on Animagi?" Su Er asked out of the blue.
"Why the sudden question?" Cedric looked a little puzzled. "That's not part of the second-year curriculum."
"Nothing, really. I just saw this Transfiguration in the Library and got a little curious." Su Er shook his head.
"You don't study