At Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, there was a very unusual tradition that was very popular with the students.
Although the start of term, registration, and the Welcome Feast all fell on September 1, classes did not actually begin until the first Monday in September.
This usually gave the young wizards, freshly back from summer break after months apart, several days to discuss what they had seen and heard during the holidays.
Well, they could also get used to using their wands again while they were at it.
After all, the vast majority of the young wizards had not used their own wands for months. The saying "use it or lose it" was common in the Muggle world, and just as common in the Wizard World.
After so long without practice, they were bound to be rusty.
September 1 fell on a Wednesday that year. The young wizards could play around in the Castle for four whole days-some little darlings had even worked out that there would be plenty of time that year and had come back to copy homework.
In short, their first day of classes would not arrive for another four days.
Of course, there were exceptions. Fifth-year students preparing for their Ordinary Wizarding Levels and seventh-year students preparing for their Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Test essentially plunged into intensive revision as soon as they arrived at school.
There was no helping it. Those two examinations were simply too important for wizards.
Even if the young wizards themselves failed to appreciate their importance, their parents would help them do so.
Some young wizards from Muggle families had no parents at home to help them understand the importance of those two examinations. But when they saw their classmates from Wizard families working so hard, they unconsciously fell into step.