Hogwarts Card System Chapter 022

The next day, as the sun was still struggling to rise above the horizon, Ted’s two-month-old biological clock woke him up.

His roommates were still sound asleep. Ted tiptoed to get dressed and wash up. Only Ansu, who was nestled in his bed, opened his eyes to take a look but still kept his beak tucked under his wing, not getting up.

After finishing his personal hygiene, Ted briefly checked his backpack.

He had all his pens, ink, and textbooks. He waved to Ansu.

Ansu spread his wings and landed on Ted’s shoulder with a flutter. He was about to open his beak to say something when Ted stopped him.

Ted pointed to his still-dreaming roommates, and Ansu tilted his head and nodded.

About an hour later, at 7:30, Hermione walked down the stairs with her satchel and entered the common room.

When they parted ways last night, she had already arranged to meet Ted in the common room in the morning.

She saw Ted sitting at a desk by the wall.

He was reading a book titled Basic Magic Theory and taking notes. Ansu was quietly perched on the windowsill, looking at the scenery. Seeing Hermione, he couldn’t help but greet her, “Hermione, Hermione~”

“Good morning, Ansu. Good morning, Ted~”

“Morning.” Ted waved his hand and started packing his things.

As expected of Ravenclaw, besides Ted, there were three or four other students studying by themselves at this hour.

Hermione couldn’t help but inwardly scold herself: How could she start slacking off on the first day of school!

If she knew that Ted was the first to appear in the common room and had already skimmed through the book in his hand this morning, her regret would probably be even greater.

It was getting late, so there was naturally no time for Hermione to make up for it. The two walked together to yesterday’s Great Hall, which also served as the dining room…

Walking through the corridors of the ancient castle, the countless old stone bricks seemed to condense time. The surrounding murals, statues, and suits of armor all exuded a sense of historical sedimentation, as if one was walking through time frozen in the Middle Ages.

The people and animals in the portraits were moving, each doing their own thing.

The suits of armor would also subtly adjust their postures, some even moving to different places on their own.

After descending the tower, they reached the stone bridge and entered the main tower complex.

Looking at the constantly moving and changing stairs above, Hermione couldn’t help but frown slightly.

“According to A History of Hogwarts, there are a total of one hundred and forty-two staircases at Hogwarts. They are all different in shape and constantly change. Every Friday, they connect to some strange places, and sometimes halfway up, the upper part of the staircase suddenly disappears…”

She looked at Ted with a slight headache. “The book says that new students always get lost and are late for various reasons.”

Ted nodded. “Exactly. Familiarizing ourselves with the routes is probably our main goal for the near future. We might even need to leave a long time in advance to find classrooms…”

It was said that the routes at Hogwarts were complex, like a labyrinth, and it was true.

The castle was built a thousand years ago, when wizards and Muggles had not yet separated and there was considerable conflict between them.

Therefore, this castle had strong defensive properties, and its complex routes were conducive to defense.

Fortunately, Ted’s sense of direction was good, and after becoming a Mind Mage, his memory had greatly improved.

So, he easily led Hermione to the Great Hall.

At this time, the four long tables were empty, and no one else had arrived; they were the first and second.

The two didn’t say anything, simply sat down, and began to study by themselves.

When it comes to studying, having someone to motivate you doubles the effect and more.

After about twenty minutes, students slowly began to appear.

Most were older students, as the first-years hadn’t quite figured out the routes yet; without someone to guide them, they probably had to explore for a while.

It was Penelope, the same prefect from yesterday. When she saw Ted and Hermione already studying early at the long table, a smile appeared on her face.

For a Ravenclaw, studiousness was absolutely the greatest virtue.

She walked over, placed a piece of parchment on the table, and then pointed her wand at it. “Gemino!”

Twice in a row, the parchment produced two “copies.”

“This is the Ravenclaw first-year timetable. You need to copy one for yourselves, as the products of the duplicating spell only last for a short time.”

“Okay, thank you,” Ted thanked her.

Hermione, meanwhile, quickly picked up the timetable and began to read it.

Penelope nodded. “It’s my duty, no need to be polite.”

Ted picked up the timetable and looked at it. It not only had the first-year weekly schedule but also the time arrangements.

For example, breakfast was from 8:00 to 10:00. Students without classes could sleep in and still have food.

Of course, first-years didn’t have mornings without classes. The first class was at 9 o’clock.

Lunch was from 11:00 to 12:00, and the first afternoon class was at 1:00.

Dinner was from 16:00 to 19:00, similar to a self-service cafeteria, with a longer serving time. Also, many Friday afternoons had no classes, counting as an extra half-day off.

Opening, closing, and holiday feasts had formal dinners, so they started later, at 6:00, lasting two hours, ending at 8:00.

The curfew for younger students was 9:00 PM, while older students could extend their curfew to 10:00 PM.

Hogwarts didn’t specify a lights-out time, but students couldn’t leave the common room after curfew. Otherwise, it counted as night wandering, resulting in points deducted and detention.

Theoretically, all other time slots outside of normal class schedules and curfew could be freely used.

Students could participate in club activities like Quidditch training, and teachers could also arrange make-up classes.

Hogwarts operated on a three-term system, with holidays for Christmas, Easter, and summer. Also, students from third year onwards could go to Hogsmeade on weekends when there were no classes.

Third year was when electives began. Overachievers could take all 12 subjects, while those who wanted to relax could stick to the required subjects like Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, Herbology, and History of Magic, making it quite easy.

Soon, their friends arrived. Being Gryffindors, they came together.

However, they didn’t look very composed, each resembling a deserter.

Before the two could ask, Harry had already begun to complain, “Damn it, Sirius always said the stairs in this school are the trickiest. They almost made us run into the dungeon.”

Ron, while straightening his crooked wizard robe, pursed his lips, “If you hadn’t said you knew the way, we wouldn’t have ended up in the dungeon.”

“Hmm? Are you blaming me~” Harry narrowed her eyes at him.

Ron felt a chill down his spine and immediately fell silent.

Jerry quickly tried to smooth things over, “Aren’t we here now? It’s good that we’re here, it’s good. Speaking of which, the stairs are really mischievous, aren’t they, Neville!”

Neville quickly nodded, “Yes, mischievous!”

The school stairs were very unruly, not only constantly moving but sometimes disappearing suddenly. This was indeed a problem.

Some students’ parents might ask: What if a student steps into thin air and falls?

Don’t worry, Hogwarts is fully equipped with a school hospital; no one can die!

By the time the four arrived, the feast had already begun. Cups, bowls, and plates were already set on the tables.

Everyone was hungry and quickly took their seats.

Jerry: “Pass me the pie, please.”

Ron: “I want a chicken leg, and another one.”

Ansu: “Get me some fries~”

Neville was also burying himself in food, only Harry wasn’t eating properly, looking around.

Soon, she got a timetable from other Gryffindors.

She looked at her own house’s schedule, then at Ted and Hermione’s. “Oh, our first class is together!”

Jerry asked, “What class is it?”

“Transfiguration, a two-hour long class!”

“Professor McGonagall’s class? We’d better go early then.” Ron’s words were surprisingly clear despite his mouth being full of chicken leg, which might be a talent.

First-year classes included Herbology, Charms, and Transfiguration, with three two-hour lessons per week for each.

These were equivalent to the main subjects like Math, Language, and Foreign Language!

Potions, Flying, History of Magic, Astronomy, and Defense Against the Dark Arts each had one lesson, lasting one to two hours.

It’s likely that the main subjects were more numerous in the lower years, and would decrease once elective courses were introduced in a couple of years, with more self-study and additional courses like Muggle Studies.

Otherwise, even if two houses took a class together, a main subject professor would still teach six lessons a week, totaling 12 hours.

With that workload for all seven years, a professor’s sudden death would be imminent!

While everyone was still examining which classes on the timetable were taken together, suddenly there was a “bang” behind them, startling Hermione, who was studying the timetable with Ted.

Everyone looked over and saw Seamus, one of Neville and Ron’s roommates—the “Explosion Genius”—with a sooty face and smoking head, holding his wand.

He had tried to demonstrate a magic trick he secretly learned at home, turning juice into wine, but the cup exploded in a large flash, blackening his face.

The Great Hall was filled with cheerful air~