"I'm so stupid! I don't deserve to take this class!"
Lisa covered her face and sobbed. "I knew Ancient Runes was hard, but I didn't know it was this hard… I thought I just needed to memorize more…"
Padma, who was beside her and wanted to comfort her, now looked just as pale herself.
Because of Wade's success—especially the fact that he made it look so effortless—most Ravenclaw students had set their sights on becoming alchemists. That's why they had chosen to take Ancient Runes.
They hoped to earn an OWL certificate in this subject so that they could take Alchemy in their sixth year.
In previous years, it was almost always Ravenclaw students who advanced to Alchemy, with only a handful from other houses.
However, after actually taking the class, they realized that the complexity, tediousness, and depth of Ancient Runes far exceeded their expectations.
"Wade, how did you do it?" Lisa cried in despair. "How did you learn runes in the first year? This class is impossible!"
Everyone turned to look at Wade—even the Slytherins.
"Actually, your thinking isn't wrong," Wade said.
"Learning runes starts with memorization—just memorize The Rune Dictionary, Magical Hieroglyphs and Logograms, and Spellman's Syllabary. Once you're familiar with every symbol and all the common phrases, this class becomes much easier."
"That's like saying, 'If I memorize every magic book, I'll become a great wizard!'" Lisa wiped her tears and complained.
"Wait… is that really how you studied Ancient Runes?" Stephen asked, looking skeptical. "There has to be some kind of trick, right?"
"But that is how I studied," Wade said matter-of-factly.
Stephen's face froze, his expression shifting to pure disbelief.
"He really did memorize all those books in first year," Hermione said, frowning at their doubts. "And it took him less than two months."
Some students turned to Padma for confirmation. Even though she hadn't been very close to Wade back then, she immediately nodded.
—She hadn't seen it firsthand, but she had heard Michael complain about Wade's inhuman study habits more than once.
Then Wade added, "Otherwise, why do you think Professor Murray accepted me as a student? Just because of passion and enthusiasm?"
The classroom fell into complete silence.
"We should get going, Wade," Hermione said urgently after checking the time. "I have Potions next."
She had momentarily forgotten that Potions was actually with Slytherin—such as Draco Malfoy, who had been sitting quietly nearby the whole time.
"Mhm." Wade picked up his bag and stood up. "I'm heading to the library for a bit."
"Oh, we're not going the same way."
Hermione suddenly realized this, then hurriedly grabbed her books and dashed out of the classroom.
The Potions classroom was quite far from here, and everyone knew about Professor Snape's notoriously terrible attitude toward Gryffindors.
Although Snape generally didn't target Hermione specifically, she would never risk being late.
Wade watched her sprint away with a helpless expression. He knew she was used to this kind of frantic time management, and it wouldn't be easy to change her mindset.
Besides, in a girl's mind, aging faster than her peers was probably a far scarier thought than simply being late.
Several Slytherins also left the classroom, but they were much more relaxed—after all, Snape was always far more lenient with his own house.
Padma finally pulled herself together and tried to comfort her despondent seatmate. "It's okay, Lisa. You have such a good memory—if you just put in a little more time, I'm sure you can memorize everything."
Lisa's tears welled up again. Just thinking about the sheer thickness of those books filled her with despair.
Wade didn't bother with his distraught classmates anymore. He left the classroom, turned a couple of corners, and when he was sure no one was around, he turned back the Time-Turner by one rotation.
...
"What's up with this door?"
"Do we have to solve a riddle? Like the knocker on our common room door?"
"But it's all written in Ancient Runes…"
As the ticking sound faded, Wade heard Padma and some other students gathered outside the Ancient Runes classroom, discussing why the door was locked.
Not far from here, his past self was probably walking this way with Hermione, just as he had an hour ago.
Without hesitation, Wade transformed into a peregrine falcon, and swiftly flew away to avoid being spotted by his past self. With a single beat of his wings, he soared up to the seventh floor of the main building.
He entered the Room of Requirement, spent a few minutes finishing his Ancient Runes homework, then rested for half an hour before casting a Disillusionment Charm and heading to the entrance hall.
"...Of course, if you manage to bring him a manticore, he'd probably be willing to call you his long-lost brother."
His past self was walking into the hall, joking with Michael.
Wade knew how sharp his senses were, so he didn't get too close. Instead, he followed at a natural distance, blending in like an ordinary student.
Only when his past self used the Time-Turner and disappeared from sight did Wade lift the Disillusionment Charm and quickly walk forward.
"A manticore is out of the question… but I'm going to borrow a couple of books about hippogriffs. There must be books written about them—they're so beautiful! So intelligent, and they even understand humans!"
Michael sighed in admiration. "I wish I could have one as a pet."
"You know," Wade chimed in, "traveling by hippogriff violates the Statute of Secrecy."
Michael frowned, then suddenly had an idea.
"I could just cast a Disillusionment Charm on it—and on myself, of course. If no one sees it, it's not illegal!"
"Wake up. You don't have a hippogriff."
"Well, what if I get one in the future? I should at least be prepared…"
…
As evening settled over the small village of Hogsmeade, the warm glow of lanterns lit up the streets. Only the pubs remained lively, filled with chatter and laughter.
Suddenly, the door of the Three Broomsticks swung open, and a towering figure ducked his head as he stepped inside.
"Good evening, Hagrid!" Madam Rosmerta greeted with a smile. "What can I get you?"
"Four pints o' mead," Hagrid said. "And don't forget extra honey."
As he spoke, he glanced around the pub before spotting a wizard in a gray cloak seated behind a curtain of decorative vines.
"It's been a while, Remus. What've you been up to lately?"
Hagrid walked over and sat down, the chair groaning under his weight.
"Helping Sirius track down Peter," Lupin replied briefly. His brow was furrowed, and he looked troubled. "And investigating a few other things. I actually wanted to ask you something, Hagrid—about Hogwarts."
"What d'you wanna know—" Hagrid began, but then suddenly seemed to remember something. His expression turned apologetic.
"Oh, right… I owe ya an apology about Harry. I mean, Malfoy is a little git, but most of that mess was my fault…"
"Oh… hmm? What?" Lupin blinked. "What happened to Harry?"
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