Everyday Life of a Top Student at Hogwarts

The next morning, Karen awoke in his four-poster bed in the Ravenclaw tower, his grey-blue eyes adjusting to the blue-green light filtering in from the lakebed. He and his roommates had stayed up all night perfecting the map of the Forbidden Forest's outskirts after returning, and his eyelids were still heavy.

"Get up, geniuses!" Ernesto's voice was accompanied by a rapid knocking on the door. "Professor Flitwick has a Charms class today, and I don't want to be late like yesterday."

Karen rubbed his eyes, feeling as if this scene had happened yesterday. Then he reached for his wand on the bedside table, and with a gentle wave, the curtains automatically opened. Through the window, he could see the Black Lake shimmering with a mysterious light in the morning glow.

"I'm up," Karen replied, just as she heard Wesley groan in pain from the next bed.

"Merlin," Wesley's muffled voice came from under the covers, "why can't magic schools have reasonable schedules? We were up until dawn last night after fighting the eight-eyed spider!"

Fabian, already dressed, was organizing his notebook. "To be precise, we only escaped an attack by a few juvenile giant spiders; Hagrid chased them away. And staying up all night was our own choice. Besides, today's Charms class, haven't you been looking forward to it?"

Upon hearing the words "Charms class," Wesley sat bolt upright as if under a resurrection spell, his reddish-brown hair a mess like a bird's nest ravaged by a hurricane: "Oh yeah! Today we're learning the Lockpicking Charm!"

Karen smiled slightly and began to put on his school robes. In fact, he and Ernesto had already mastered the unlocking spell—Ernesto had learned it from a pure-blood family's education, while Karen had been deeply impressed by the spell from reading Harry Potter in his previous life, so he had specifically practiced it before enrolling, even using it to open the door to the Eagle's Nest when it was still an abandoned classroom. As for Fabian and Wesley, they had already practiced it many times inside the Eagle's Nest.

After a quick breakfast, the four headed to the Spells classroom. The classroom was located on the third floor of the castle, where sunlight streamed in through the tall windows, illuminating the various colorful ribbons floating in mid-air—teaching props left over from the previous class.

The first-year students from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff took their seats one after another, and Cullen and the others quickly chose a place to sit down as well.

"Today we will learn 'Alohomora,' also known as the Lockpicking Charm," Professor Flitwick said, waving his wand. A row of locked chests appeared at the front of the classroom. "It's a very useful spell, but it must be used with caution. Remember, opening someone else's belongings without permission is against school rules!"

"Now, please watch my demonstration." Professor Flitwick waved his wand and clearly recited the spell: "Open the Alohomora!"

The leftmost box popped open, and a colorful little bird model jumped out, flew around the classroom once, and disappeared. The students gasped in amazement.

"The key to the spell lies in the wrist movement and the accuracy of the pronunciation," Professor Flitwick explained. "Now, practice in pairs. There's a little surprise in each box; you'll see it when you successfully open it."

Karen and Fabian were paired together, while Ernesto partnered with Wesley. The classroom was soon filled with shouts of "Alajo open!" and occasional cheers of success.

"Open the Alaho Cave!" Karen chanted the spell with ease, flicking her wrist. The box in front of her immediately sprang open, and a paper unicorn jumped out, circling the table once.

"Fantastic, Mr. Hawthorne!" Professor Flitwick clapped his hands excitedly. "Perfect demonstration! Ravenclaw, three points!"

Fabian succeeded on his first try; a swarm of shimmering butterflies flew out of his box. Ernesto and Wesley also opened their boxes on their first try.

"That's incredibly impressive!" Professor Flitwick exclaimed, nearly falling off his books. "Mr. Brian, Mr. Griffith, Mr. Cruz, add three more points each! It seems you must have practiced in private!"

“Yes, Professor,” Karen replied, “we often practiced spells together in the Eagle’s Nest, uh, that abandoned classroom we applied for before.”

"The Eagle's Nest? What a fitting name!" Professor Flitwick's eyes sparkled. "This is the very essence of the Ravenclaw spirit! Team learning, mutual support! I'm going to tell the other houses about your approach!"

Other students cast envious or jealous glances at her, and Karen even noticed that some students had written down the name "Eagle's Nest" on their papers.

As the class was about to end, most students had successfully mastered the basic usage of the unlocking spell.

When class ended, several classmates from the same college surrounded Karen and her three friends, asking if they could join their study group.

"Well, the space at 'Eagle's Nest' is currently limited," Karen politely declined. "Perhaps we can expand it next semester."

"The Eagle's Nest?" a Ravenclaw girl asked curiously.

Ernesto immediately interjected, "That's where we practice. It's just an ordinary classroom, nothing special."

After dealing with the students who were asking questions, Karen and her three friends prepared to leave the classroom.

At that moment, Professor Flitwick called out to Karen at the door.

"Don't forget tomorrow's after-class instruction, Mr. Hawthorne," the professor said in a low voice, his little black eyes sparkling with anticipation. "I've prepared some advanced spells that I'm sure you'll find interesting."

"Of course, Professor," Karen nodded, "I'm looking forward to it."

As they left the classroom, Wesley curiously approached, "What kind of after-school tutoring? Is Professor Flitwick giving you extra help?"

"Just some extra spell practice," Karen said casually. "He gave me some advice on my silent spell technique."

Ernesto raised an eyebrow: "I've never heard of any first-year student being pulled in by Professor Flitwick for after-school tutoring. He must think highly of you."

Fabian pushed up his glasses and yawned. "That's understandable; Karen's talent for magic is indeed outstanding. But shouldn't we consider going back for a nap now?"

Upon hearing Fabian's suggestion, the other three boys yawned. Since they had no classes for the rest of the morning, they decided to go straight back to their dorm to catch up on sleep.

"I can cast the unlocking spell in my sleep now," Wesley said with a yawn, his red hair swaying with his steps. "Staying up all night and being so nervous this morning..."

"It's worth it," Fabian patted the breast pocket containing the map. "This map will be a valuable tool for our future explorations."

Ernesto looked like he wanted to argue, but in the end he just yawned gracefully: "I'm going to sleep until lunchtime. Anyone who wakes me up before then will be put under a leg-locking spell."