A Strange Author Likes Strange Posting Times

There were quite a few people in the library today.

By the window sat our familiar main trio. Harry and Ron had come to ask Hermione to tutor them so they could pass their final exams.

"You really finished your homework already?!" Ron, who was working on his own, stared wide-eyed at Hermione, who had already started reviewing. "In one night?"

Harry was rather reluctantly working on the homework Snape had assigned, with reference books for other subjects piled beside him.

"What are you thinking?" Hermione looked utterly puzzled. "How could I have done it at night? I need sleep too. Of course I did it when I got up this morning!"

"Besides, that was just the basic homework the professors assigned. There's still a lot I haven't mastered, so I need to make good use of these three days!" Full of determination, Hermione plunged back into her books, and Ron looked down at the one in front of him.

As he read, he muttered, "What? It doesn't even look that hard..."

Harry sighed. He thought it looked easy enough too, so why couldn't he remember it once he closed the book?

To make sure the two of them studied properly, Hermione had confiscated their phones and put them beside her.

"Since you asked me for help, I have to keep a close eye on you!" Those were Hermione's exact words.

As Ron read, his eyes gradually glazed over. He was the sort who got sleepy the moment he opened a book.

At the other end of the library, a group of Ravenclaws had gathered to discuss questions. Cho was using the phone's built-in recording function to record their discussion for review, summary, and analysis afterward. She and a friend had discovered it while exploring the phone together-and had also found that it had many convenient functions.

Yes, it was a very Ravenclaw approach.

"If only we had a few more of these," one of Cho's friends said. Cho smiled. "Unfortunately, there's only one, but it's still quite convenient. At least we've been studying much more efficiently lately."

They had tried giving Cho's phone to someone else, just as Malfoy from the neighboring house had done, but perhaps because Cho had already used it and registered her name, no more mysterious packages had arrived.

So Cho kept it herself. Whenever anyone needed it, she would offer it to help everyone study together. Ravenclaw was a united house, and perhaps because of the phone, everyone had gradually grown used to forming groups to study and discuss things together.

Once they had resolved the question at hand, Cho's friends turned their curiosity to the phone's other features, such as the icon that looked different from the other apps, which were obviously basic functions.

Ah, it was where they usually checked the group chat. Everyone knew what the app was called, so there was no need to say more.

So far, they had discovered that the app let people add each other as friends. If someone sent a request and the other person accepted, they could chat privately.

One of them smiled teasingly, sat down beside Cho, and gave her arm a little nudge. "That Cedric has one of these too, doesn't he? Cho, why don't you try adding him as a friend?"

"Huh? Wouldn't that be a little inappropriate?"

Cho blushed slightly. Across from her, a Ravenclaw blinked in confusion. "Cedric from Hufflepuff? He does get excellent marks, but if you want to ask him about something, Cho, you can just go over and ask!"

With that, she pointed to a spot quite some distance behind and to Cho's right. The others followed her finger, and Cho turned around too.

Since they wanted to discuss things, they had deliberately chosen a spot in a corner where they wouldn't disturb the other students studying quietly.

Near the library entrance, Cedric sat quietly, reading and writing something. He hadn't noticed, but a few girls around him were sneaking glances at him.

A handsome boy quietly reading and studying! Who could possibly concentrate on their studies with that around?

Cedric himself had just finished his homework for one subject. He put down his quill and rubbed his wrist.

Although he was supposed to balance work and rest, he had homework from his electives as well in his third year, and the professors had shown no mercy when assigning homework, except for Lockhart. All Cedric could say was that finals were even more demanding.

After studying for a long time, Ced picked up the phone beside him, planning to relax by checking the group chat.

Ever since he'd gotten the phone, it had been fun to read about the daily lives shared by those loving fans. Through them, Ced had also seen that students had the same enemies no matter what era they lived in...

It made him feel much closer to them.

But perhaps choosing the name Cedric back then hadn't been a good idea... mainly because the fans in the group...

Were too enthusiastic.

Strictly speaking, they had found a substitute. As Ced gradually became more active in his own fan group, someone noticed that his manner of speaking and personality were a lot like Cedric's! His profile was even named Cedric! Some people had already begun treating this "Cedric" as a substitute for the real one.

Ced himself didn't know yet. It would be exciting to see the fans' faces when they learned that this supposed substitute was actually the real person. They would probably burst into tears and then remember all the things they'd said and curl their toes so hard they could carve out a mansion.

In the group chat.

Oh My Mother: First day of Easter break, thanks, I'm dying.

Oh My Mother: Dying of exhaustion over Easter haha

Oh My Mother: (haggard)

White Gravel: Hope Teacher Di is okay (palms pressed together)

Draco's Hair Gel: What our teachers have said most these past few days: "Your exams are coming up soon," "Your exams are tomorrow!" "Your exams are in a minute!"

Greasy-Haired Professor Snape's Bat Robes: One of the world's four great mysteries: what exactly is a teacher's sense of time like?

Marriage Certificate-Stealing Niffler: Sigh... as everyone knows, tomorrow in a teacher's eyes means several months from now.

Proprietress Number Two: It's torture. Our school collects our phones as soon as we get back every week, and we don't get them back until the weekend.

Stepmother Literature: Hehe, that's why I have a spare phone.

Proprietress Number Two: Haha, they've already confiscated two of my phones. The teacher told me to bring my parents to collect them after finals. I'm doomed.

Proprietress Number Two: (at peace)

Fred and George's Off-Campus Girlfriend: I put up posters of Fred and George next to my bed in the dorm, and my roommate asked if they weren't the same person.

Zabini's Feather: Twins really do get mistaken for the same person easily hahaha.

Zabini's Feather: But at least you have posters. I have to rely entirely on substitutes hahaha, sob...

Bug Ming: Thanks for the effort (pat pat)

Kerun: Guys, guys!!! I'm so excited! I dreamed last night that I transmigrated to Hogwarts, sob

Kerun: (crying puppy.jpg)

Does Professor Snape Need Shampoo: Holy crap, holy crap, tell us everything!!

Kerun: I dreamed I was taking finals with them, ah, sob...

Proprietress Number Two: ...Why does this not make me jealous at all, but feel a little sad instead...?

Stepmother Literature: And then?! And then?!

Kerun: Ced was sitting next to me, and the twins were behind me! I even saw them cheating! (?

Qi Shen Is Not Qi God: Did you report them? (?

Kerun: I'm dying, they'd put a spell on me so I couldn't speak. Otherwise, I'd have squawked like a chicken in a cage until they had to stop the exam.

James-Brand Shampoo: Well...

Snape's Shampoo: Well...

My Younger Brother Isn't as Handsome as Me: ? Cheating? How?

My Older Brother Is Farting: I remember Hogwarts uses anti-cheating quills for finals.

Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes Proprietress: Based on my many years of experience, they must have been using coded hand signals to pass answers!

Kerun: Well, I forgot, hehe.

Fred was speechless in front of his screen. He'd been curious how else he could cheat, but coded hand signals wouldn't help. What was the point of communicating if they didn't know the right answers?

Beside him, George sighed silently. "Let's review properly, brother, or Mum's going to punish us again."

Fred tilted his head back and stretched. "If I weren't afraid of giving us away, I'd love to ask our fans how to do these questions." Across from them, Lee Jordan's eyelid twitched.

"? Are you sure they'd know how?"

"Come on, Lee, they know everything about us. The whole world knows George and I are going to open a joke shop," Fred said, waving a hand. They had practically been stripped down to their underpants.

Just look at Snape. They knew every last detail of his embarrassing past.

"But how come they know so much gossip? They even know gossip about our Headmaster Dumbledore."

Lee Jordan opened the book in front of him to a certain page and said quietly, "They even dare joke about You-Know-Who. What wouldn't they dare do?"

Fred suddenly had a bold idea. His previously slumped body snapped upright. "Hey! What if You-Know-Who had one of these too...?"

George gradually sat up straighter. "That's not something we should be imagining, brother."

True. After all, Tom's past had already been spelled out in black and white for the fans, and he hadn't even come back to life yet. He didn't have a body, so how could he use a phone?

So it was still a long way off~

But...

He really was curious how You-Know-Who would react if he saw those memes...

George stared at the piles of memes in the group chat and fell into thought. Oh no, his curiosity had already been piqued!!

Ced browsed the big group for a while, then switched to the smaller one. No matter how many times he saw it, the group name always broke his immersion...

Cedric Fan Support Club.

[Admin] I Am Ced's Dog: Sometimes I often wonder, if Ced hadn't died and had grown up normally, what would he have done for work after graduation?

Mrs. Diggory: Yes, but judging by Ced's personality, I believe he'd do a great job no matter what he did!

Miqiu: Maybe he'd become an official at the Ministry of Magic? But I'd rather see Ced return to Hogwarts to teach. He seems like he'd make a great teacher!

Cedric's Underpants: I don't really want our senior to join the Ministry of Magic... but it'd be different if Hermione were minister! Mainly, the Ministry later on was really...

Aaaaah Ced I Love You: How do I put it? This government doesn't even make people feel as secure as the title of a savior does.

[Admin] I Am Ced's Dog: Ahem, we're getting a little off topic. We shouldn't say too much about this, guys.

kyria: No matter what, Cedric will always be my pillar of support!

Considerate Little Badger: www, another day of loving Ced.

Cedric's Underpants: Seriously, Cedric's outstanding qualities as a Hufflepuff senior drew me to him!

Press F to Escape the 3D World and Meet Cedric: Seriously, Underpants, brother, your ID doesn't go particularly well with what you're saying.

fffffff: I'm back in the postgraduate entrance exam break zone. Has any creator made fan content today? If not, I'll come back and ask again later.

Miqiu: Feels like the group has gotten a lot quieter lately.

[Group owner] Ced Is Mine: Finals are coming up, after all~

[Group owner] Ced Is Mine: As a corporate drone with a job, I don't have to worry about studying at all~ (haggard)

Hufflepuff's Great Food Thief: Great group owner, you're working overtime again today?

Cedric thought about working overtime. His father seemed to work late and come home very late quite often too. That must be hard, right?

But as for what they were discussing, what he would do after graduation... it did seem too early for him to think about that when he was only in his third year.

But if it meant returning to Hogwarts as a teacher, he thought he would be happy to!

Thinking that, he typed:

Cedric: Thanks for working so hard. Whatever you do, make sure to get enough rest.

It was just an ordinary expression of concern.

[Group owner] Ced Is Mine: Sob, damn it, it's so easy to imagine Ced saying that! Are you busy with finals too, Ced?

Hm? Cedric was a little surprised. They rarely asked about him personally.

But they weren't wrong.

Just then, some of Cedric's friends gathered around. It was nearly noon.

"Cedric! Let's go eat in the Great Hall together!" someone invited him. Cedric was well liked, and he smiled and nodded. "Sure, let me pack up first."

When Cedric stood up, it wasn't as though he hadn't noticed some girls sneaking glances at him, but since it didn't affect his daily life, he didn't pay it much mind. One Hufflepuff girl who had accidentally met Ced's eyes while sneaking a look hurriedly turned back and pretended to study, excitedly thinking to herself how handsome Cedric really was.

Cedric: Yes, I'm busy reviewing for finals. The homework the professors assigned really is a bit much.

Then he left the library with his friends and headed for the Great Hall.

At lunchtime, most people pulled themselves away from their demanding studies, ready to have a good meal and replenish their tired bodies and minds.

On the way to eat, Ron suddenly remembered something and whispered to Harry beside him, "Speaking of which, Harry, aren't you curious what's actually under that trapdoor?"

Harry tilted his head in confusion. "Why bring that up all of a sudden? Didn't we say the professors had set up obstacles down there to protect the Philosopher's Stone?"

Hermione had said she would eat a little later, so only Ron and Harry were heading to the Great Hall now.

"I'm just a little curious, that's all."

The plot that should have unfolded had been disrupted. The Philosopher's Stone was safely protected at Hogwarts, Snape no longer had to take the blame, and Harry didn't have to face the dangers from the original story.

They could all now devote themselves to their busy lives and studies in peace, concentrating on preparing for their upcoming final exams.

This was the life they should have been living.

The original reason I wrote this book was to make up for regrets, so a large portion of it has nothing to do with the original story~ Because what I'm writing is a healing, heartwarming slice of life~

Everyone can guess when each person's identity will be revealed~