Everyday Life of a Top Student at Hogwarts

Chapter 69 Relaxing on the Weekend (3.9k)

Although the practice of the Guardian Charm immersed everyone in a happy mood, after the training ended and they left the classroom, everyone quickly felt tired and hungry, and couldn't wait to get to the auditorium for a big meal.

At dinner time, Karen was putting a roasted potato into his mouth when he suddenly felt a warmth in his chest. He put down his fork, reached into the inner pocket of his robe, and saw it was the memory construct that his teacher, Castor, had given him. A line of tiny text appeared on its surface:

"Classes are suspended tonight; I have urgent business to attend to. You can come to the office tomorrow evening. —KG"

What happened again? But it seems like it's nothing serious, I should be back tomorrow.

"What's wrong?" Fabian, sitting opposite Karen, noticed Karen's actions and pushed up his glasses to ask.

"It's nothing. Professor Victor has something to do tonight, so the class is canceled." Karen put away her utensils and continued eating.

Since evening classes were suspended, Karen went straight back to the Ravenclaw Tower with her roommates. The stamina from a day of training finally kicked in. A whole day of Patronus Charm practice had left everyone exhausted. Even Wesley, who was usually full of energy, was unusually quiet. His usually fluffy curly hair was now flat and stuck to his scalp.

Karen was actually somewhat relieved that tonight's class had been suspended; otherwise, given the current situation, she probably wouldn't have been able to concentrate. She should learn from this experience and be more careful about controlling her practice time in the future, so as not to repeat this mistake.

"I think my arm is going to break," Wesley slumped in an armchair in the lounge, dramatically swinging his wrist. "It's more tiring than playing football all day. I bet I won't even be able to hold a fork tomorrow."

Fabian looked tired, but his eyes were still bright. He slowly straightened his cuffs, which had been wrinkled from his magical practice: "That's because you've been overexerting yourself, Wesley. While you have a talent for the Patronus Charm, I must remind you that it requires precise control, not brute force. The way you're swinging your wand is like you're wielding a steel club."

Ernesto sat in a chaise lounge by the window, gazing at the stars in the night sky. "To be honest, I didn't expect Karen to be able to summon a fully formed Patronus so quickly." He turned to look at Karen, his eyes flashing with a complex light. "That's very advanced magic. My father said that many Aurors in the Ministry of Magic might not be able to master it."

Karen sat on a low stool by the fireplace, his fingers gently tracing the lines on his wand. "I didn't expect it to go so smoothly," he said softly, his grey-blue eyes reflecting the flickering firelight.

In reality, he knew that he had only grasped the basics. After all, successfully summoning the guardian in a quiet environment was one thing, but whether he could do it in a crisis was another.

Karen recalled the descriptions in the books she had read in her previous life: the despair one felt when facing a Dementor could make even the happiest memories pale in comparison. Only when one could still use the Patronus Charm normally under such circumstances could one be considered to have truly mastered it. But where could one find a Dementor?

"Hey!" Wesley suddenly sprang up from his chair, his hair, which had been hunched over, standing on end as if electrocuted. The commotion startled the upperclassman next to him who was dozing off. "I remember now, tomorrow's the first Quidditch game of the season! Ravenclaw vs. Hufflepuff! Merlin's pants, oh, I almost forgot!"

Several upperclassmen in the common room turned around, their initial annoyance at the noise turning into friendly smiles after hearing Wesley's follow-up. A girl wearing a prefect badge shook her head, but the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up. Karen blinked, momentarily not realizing how the topic had jumped from Patronus Charms to Quidditch.

"Merlin's beard, oh, I'd forgotten all about it!" Fabian slapped his forehead, his glasses tilting to one side. "After learning about the attack on Cullen last week, I forgot what Captain Butt said about this weekend being Ravenclaw's first official match of the school year." He frowned in annoyance, revealing a rare, childlike expression.

Ernesto's lips curled up slightly, revealing a hint of excitement: "We have a good roster this year. Sixth-year Henry Butt is the team's Seeker and captain, and his skills are quite refined. The Chaser lineup is also stronger than last year, although the batters are still a bit young—"

Then he suddenly realized he had unconsciously said too much, immediately reverting to his usual indifferent expression, and coughed lightly.

Overall, it's still worth watching.

Wesley was already excitedly pacing around the lounge like an Owlman who had discovered a gold coin, almost knocking over a small coffee table with a magic candle on it.

"We have to go see this! This is our first official match since we enrolled! The last practice match was great, but it's nothing compared to this one. Just imagine, a real Quidditch match! Flying brooms! Blink balls! Golden Snitch!" His voice grew louder and louder, attracting some students from other grades to excitedly gather around, and the atmosphere in the lounge began to change.

Karen, meanwhile, was deep in thought. He had originally planned to continue researching the Patronus Charm and the concept of an autonomous defense system tomorrow, but looking at his roommates' expectant eyes, he suddenly realized that he might still be a bit too eager for quick results. Learning magic wasn't something that could be rushed, and the last practice match had indeed been quite good; the official match would undoubtedly be even more exciting.

"Okay," Karen nodded with a smile after thinking it over. "I'm also very curious about what the official competition is like. I can rest tomorrow."

"That's awesome!" Wesley cheered, hugging Karen tightly. His excited shouts drew even more attention. "I knew you'd agree! We have to get there early tomorrow to get good seats! I heard you have to arrive two hours early to grab the good ones!"

Ernesto rolled his eyes gracefully, his long, slender fingers adjusting the silver buttons on his cuffs. "The match doesn't start until eleven."

"Wesley. There's no need to get up before dawn; it's not like we're going to the Triwizard Tournament." He turned to Cullen, his tone softening slightly. "But if you want to understand Quidditch tactics, I can tell you about our team's strengths. After all," he slightly raised his chin, a hint of pride in his eyes, "the Griffith family has produced three professional Quidditch players."

And so, what was supposed to be a night of magic discussion turned into a Quidditch strategy analysis session. Ernesto brought several copies of "Quidditch Tactics Monthly" and a hand-drawn pitch diagram from his dorm room, while Wesley talked incessantly about the gossip about the teams he'd heard from the twins. Even the usually quiet Fabian joined in, his eyes gleaming with interest, occasionally interjecting to ask about details. Many people in the lounge also participated.

Karen leaned back in her armchair, listening to the lively discussion. At this moment, the Ravenclaw common room seemed to have become the Gryffindor common room. As the discussion time passed quickly, the occasional sound of an owl flying across the night sky could be heard outside the window, and the castle bells in the distance rang ten times.

"We should rest," Fabian yawned, rubbing his eyes. "We have to get up early to watch the game tomorrow."

"That's right!" Wesley jumped up, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "I'll set a magic alarm clock to wake us up at six!"

Ernesto scoffed, "Six o'clock? Are you crazy? The stadium doesn't open until 9:30, and the match doesn't start until 11." Even so, he couldn't completely hide the anticipation in his eyes.

Karen smiled as he looked at his three roommates, who had very different personalities. He gently patted the small notebook in his pocket containing notes. The research on the autonomous defense system could wait. They had all trained with him all day, and they should experience the competition together tomorrow.

The next morning, Karen was awakened by a violent shaking and a piercing ringing of a bell.

"Get up! It's game day! The sun's high in the sky!" Wesley's voice boomed in her ears like a horn. Karen barely opened her eyes and saw an overly excited face hovering above her, his red hair a mess like a bird's nest after a hurricane.

There were also several streaks of blue paint on his face.

Karen pulled out his pocket watch from beside his pillow and squinted at the time. "It's only 7:30—" His voice was hoarse with sleepiness. "Didn't Ernesto say we didn't have to get up this early?" He rubbed his eyes and realized that Ernesto's bed was already empty, the blankets neatly folded.

"But we need to eat breakfast and prepare our support items!" Wesley was already dressed and waving a small blue flag embroidered with a bronze eagle. "I got it from Anderson in sixth grade last night! He even gave me some face paint!" He excitedly twirled around, showing off his face covered in blue paint. "How about that, is that enough for Ravenclaw?"

Fabian sat up in bed, his glasses askew, his face full of helplessness. He looked at Wesley with sleepy eyes, his voice still heavy with drowsiness: "Not at all Ravenclaw, but could form a trio with George Fred and the others."

And you stayed up with us until dawn last night, how come you're still so energetic? Tell me honestly, did you use any energy-boosting drugs?

"Pure Quidditch passion, my dear Fabian!" Wesley gave an exaggerated bow, then began rummaging through drawers. "I prepared four scarves, all blue and bronze! Oh, where's Ernesto?"

The sound of running water in the bathroom answered the question. Karen shook her head, threw back the covers, and got out of bed. Despite her lack of sleep, Wesley's enthusiasm was as irresistible as a contagious disease.

When the four finally arrived at the Great Hall, the Ravenclaw table was already much more lively than usual. Blue and bronze lanterns floating in mid-air illuminated the morning light in a dreamlike way, and students gathered in twos and threes, discussing the upcoming competition.

"Is this really Quidditch? It can make Ravenclaw look like Gryffindor," Cullen thought to herself.

"Look over there!" Wesley suddenly lowered his voice and nudged Karen with his elbow, nearly knocking over his pumpkin juice. "It's the team! They're here!"

Karen followed his gaze and saw a group of students dressed in blue and bronze Quidditch robes filing in through a side door.

The leader was a tall boy with brown hair that shone slightly in the morning light. He walked with confidence, and as soon as they appeared, the entire Ravenclaw table erupted in cheers and applause.

"Henry Boot," Ernesto introduced in a low voice, his grey eyes fixed on the group of players, "our Seeker and captain. His father is an official in the Department of Magical Sports, and he's quite skilled." There was a hint of envy in his tone. "He almost caught the Golden Snitch in last year's game against Gryffindor, if it weren't for Wood's foul interception—..."

Breakfast felt much more lavish than usual. Karen took a bowl of oatmeal and a few slices of honey-coated toast, but Wesley had already piled a plate full of food: five sausages, three slices of bacon, two fried eggs, and a large piece of buttered bread.

"Can you really eat that much?" Fabian pushed up his glasses, looking at Wesley's plate in surprise. "What Ernesto said last time did make some sense; wizards might indeed have troll blood in them."

"We need to build up our energy before the game!" Wesley mumbled, his mouth full of sausage, spraying some breadcrumbs onto the table.

"It's not like you're the one playing!" Ernesto rolled his eyes at this.

"But we'll be shouting all afternoon! I heard that during last year's Gryffindor vs. Slytherin match, a Gryffindor student got so excited that he fainted!"

Karen couldn't help but laugh. Wesley's passion for Quidditch reminded him of the fervent football fans of his past life. This pure joy was contagious, unconsciously drawing people in. But thinking about it, Wesley had watched football before; there was indeed a connection. Then Karen noticed Ernesto had quietly taken some extra food.

After breakfast, the four returned to the tower to change into warmer coats. November in the Scottish Highlands was already quite cold, and a thin layer of frost covered the grass in the early morning. Wesley insisted that everyone wear the blue and bronze bibs he had prepared, and even painted eagle patterns on everyone's faces with magical paint.

"This is way too much," Fabian said somewhat awkwardly, touching the itchy paint on his face, the tips of his ears turning slightly red. "I've never painted anything on my face before—"

"That's what you call team spirit!" Wesley had already painted his face full of blue patterns, and "Ravenclaw Will Win" was written on his forehead, making him look like a human Ravenclaw flag. "Look, even Cullen agreed!"

Indeed, Karen thought it was a bit childish, but he let Wesley draw a small eagle on his left cheek. Looking at his somewhat comical reflection in the mirror, he suddenly realized that this was what a normal eleven-year-old boy should look like, instead of being obsessed with magical research all day long.