Library

"Sean, where are you going later?"

"The library. I'm going to do my homework and read a few books while I'm at it. I'm really curious about what kinds of books the library has."

"Then... do you need me to come with you? If you do, then I'll..."

Sean looked at Blaise. The two of them had been hanging around together constantly these past few days, so of course he knew what Blaise wanted. Sean smiled and shook his head. "Go meet that upperclassman. She asked you out herself, so you shouldn't stand her up. Besides, you can't chat in the library. If you went, we'd just be doing homework and reading separately anyway."

With a chuckle, Blaise reached out and patted Sean on the shoulder. "Then I'll see you in the Great Hall tonight. I'll tell you how today's date went."

"Sure. I'm looking forward to hearing about your success."

Sean watched Blaise head toward the Quidditch Pitch. There were few people there when no matches were being held, making it a very suitable place for a date.

If he could, Sean might also choose to spend his student days in leisure.

But Sean knew very well what would happen in the future, so he had neither the time nor energy to deal with such things. Right now, he only wanted to make himself stronger as quickly as possible. In truth, that was the tragedy of being in the same year as Harry—something unexpected happened every year, and one wrong move could cost him his life.

The library was on the fourth floor. Standing on the Hogwarts staircases, Sean found himself utterly speechless at the endless shifting of the stairs. Especially for a first-year Young Wizard like him, taking one wrong turn could become a real hassle.

After finally reaching the library, he found that it was already packed with people. Fifth- and seventh-years in particular were preparing for their O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s. Any student with even a little plan for the future would devote most of their time to studying for them.

Students from the other five years, on the other hand, rarely chose to come to the library to study so soon after the school term had begun. Even Ravenclaw only had slightly more students than the other houses.

He found a seat by the window. It had originally belonged to a fifth-year Hufflepuff student, but as Sean passed by, the boy happened to remember something and left with his things. That worked out nicely for Sean, who got himself a good spot.

The homework assigned by the professors was not particularly difficult for Sean. With the skills he had gained from dealing with homework in his previous life, he could easily finish it all. However, Sean would not take such shortcuts in his major subjects. He only muddled through a little in courses like History of Magic and Astronomy; for the rest, he still wrote his assignments seriously.

The homework did not take much time. Since it was the first assignment, it was relatively easy. Even Snape, a professor who loved assigning homework, had not given them much for their first task. Once he had finished, Sean tidied his things and left them on the table before heading to the bookshelves in the back to find the books he needed.

At present, Sean's knowledge framework was centered on textbooks, supplemented by notes. The knowledge in the textbooks determined how deeply he could understand the material recorded in his notes. Whenever he encountered difficulties, he wrote them down and searched the library for relevant books to clear up his doubts and expand his knowledge.

He had found seven books and was carrying them back when Madam Pince stopped him before he could return to his seat. "You may only borrow five books at a time... But you look like a first-year. Remember that next time. Go on."

"Thank you, Madam."

Hearing Sean's quiet thanks, Madam Pince gave a slight nod, then continued patrolling the library with the feather duster in her hand.

Sean returned to his seat carrying the seven books he had found. But at that moment, he saw that Hermione was sitting in his chair, flipping through the homework he had left on the table.

When Hermione saw Sean return, she hurriedly stood up. She was just about to explain loudly when she noticed Madam Pince casting a disapproving look at her from not far away. She immediately lowered her voice and said to Sean, "S-sorry. I was sitting here too, and I happened to see your name on the homework, so I instinctively came over and looked at it.

"I-I was curious about the quality of your homework, so..."

Seeing Hermione's face turn red, Sean smiled indifferently and shook his head. He then gave Madam Pince a slight nod in apology before whispering to Hermione, "It's fine. You can keep looking if you want. It's only homework, not something that needs to be kept secret."

Hermione nodded. She looked at Sean as if she wanted to say something, but did not know where to begin.

Sean sat down without saying anything more and resumed his studies. Following the topics he needed to research, he began flipping through the books he had brought back one by one.

Seeing that Sean had not been affected at all and had continued studying, Hermione took a deep breath and lowered her head to begin writing her own homework. Each time she finished an assignment, she picked it up and compared it to Sean's. Gradually, Hermione discovered that while Sean's work seemed to follow the same direction as hers—answering the professors' questions and discussing the topics they had assigned—both its depth and breadth far surpassed her own. It did not look like something a first-year who had only just begun school could have written.

Hermione turned to look at Sean. He was currently bent over his books, searching for something and writing something down. In a daze, Hermione felt as though she had been inspired. She set aside the homework she had completed, took out a fresh sheet of parchment, and began rewriting it. After comparing it to Sean's work, the assignment she had once been fairly satisfied with no longer satisfied her at all.

The sky gradually darkened, and people began leaving the library one after another. Dinner at Hogwarts was served at a fixed time. If one was late, they could only find the kitchens themselves or go hungry. Therefore, no matter how hard they studied, many people would not miss dinner.

When less than half the people in the library remained, Sean packed up and stood. He kept two books to borrow and returned the rest to Madam Pince.

Once he had gathered his things, Sean looked at Hermione. "Granger, want to go to the Great Hall together?"

Hermione instinctively wanted to agree, but then she suddenly remembered that Sean was a Slytherin. Going together would inevitably be somewhat inconvenient, so she shook her head slightly. "I want to stay a little longer. You go ahead."

"All right. See you, then."

After saying goodbye, Sean took his things and left the library directly, heading to the Great Hall.

Blaise was already sitting at the Slytherin table in the Great Hall, waiting for him. But when Sean came over and was about to sit beside Blaise, he suddenly noticed that Blaise did not look well. He was staring at Sean with a face full of worry.

Sorry for being late. Please bookmark, vote, and keep reading. Thank you, everyone. Also, updates will be quite unstable for a while before the New Year, but there will definitely be an update every day. You can wait until evening to read, since it will definitely be updated by then.