23

Chapter 23: Who Can Refuse This?

The next day, just after seven o'clock, Ethan woke up early from his sleep. This had become a habit for him.

Taking out the schedule that was delivered with the gift yesterday, Ethan found that the courses at Hogwarts were arranged quite conveniently.

There were eight courses: Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, Herbology, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Flying, History of Magic, and Astronomy. Flying, History of Magic, and Astronomy had one class per week, while the rest had two classes per week.

Each class was one hour long, with a half-hour break before the next class. Except for the two consecutive Potions classes, other classes were separated.

Class time was from 9:00 to 11:30 in the morning and from 1:30 to 4:00 in the afternoon. The astronomy class was on Wednesday night.

All four houses had classes together. There were only about 70 freshmen in total, and one classroom could accommodate them all.

Besides, if the houses were separated, there would only be one professor for each subject, but he or she would have to teach seven grades, amounting to fourteen groups of classes.

Many professors also had other duties, such as being a head of house. As a head of house, they would have to deal with their house's affairs. When teaching, they had to prepare lessons, grade homework, and prepare exams.

If you consider all this, it would be too much for the professors. Even workhorses wouldn't be able to manage such a workload.

There was only one Transfiguration class this morning, which started at nine o'clock. It was still early.

The other three boys were still sleeping soundly, and Ethan did not wake them up. He washed up and left the dormitory.

"Senior, good morning!"

When he entered the common room, Ethan saw Penelope at a glance. Besides her, there were several other seniors, each holding a book and reading. They were all really diligent.

"Morning, Ethan, are you getting used to living in Ravenclaw's dormitory?"

Penelope raised her head and greeted Ethan with a smile.

"It feels okay. I just don't like the beds much."

Ethan sat down next to Penelope and saw she was reading "Standard Spells V."

"It's 7:30. Let's go have breakfast," Penelope suggested, standing up and stretching, revealing her perfect curves. At 16, she was well-developed and clearly well-nourished.

"Did you get up early to read?"

Following Penelope, Ethan asked curiously.

"Getting up at 6 o'clock to read isn't too early," she replied. "This year, there will be O.W.L. exams. I want to get an 'Outstanding' in all subjects, so I need to be serious."

"Senior sister, it should be no problem for you!"

Being a prefect was enough to prove their excellence, especially for a Ravenclaw prefect. A mere exam wouldn't be difficult for them.

O.W.L.s, or Ordinary Wizarding Levels, were exams held in the fifth year and directly related to the study of subsequent courses. There were also N.E.W.T.s in the seventh year, which were more advanced exams. High scores on these could lead to becoming core members of the Ministry of Magic.

"This isn't very difficult, but let's not talk about it," Penelope said, losing interest. If it were just the exam, she would definitely be among the top students in her class. But when it came to other aspects, it was different.

Ethan understood what she meant but pretended not to.

The class divisions among wizards were indeed too serious, much more so than among Muggles.

Soon, they arrived at the Great Hall. Whether for meetings, meals, or holiday celebrations, everyone gathered here.

Breakfast was simple compared to last night. There was milk, oatmeal, boiled potatoes, bread, ham, eggs, and bacon, all self-serve.

"There are 142 staircases at Hogwarts. Some stairs will change, so you might end up on the fifth floor instead of the third. It's common for new students to be late because of this."

"It's still early. Want to take a walk?"

After elegantly wiping her mouth, Penelope asked Ethan.

"Okay, thank you, senior sister!"

Of course, Ethan wouldn't refuse such an offer.

After all, it's easier to navigate at night if you're familiar with Hogwarts' layout.

Penelope was so enthusiastic partly because of Ethan's unique talent.

She wanted to make as many connections as possible.

However, she found that Ethan was not only handsome but also spoke well and was pleasant to be around. He was just a bit younger, so she treated him sincerely as a friend.

Among the three great Sorting Hat deliberations, the late Peter Pettigrew had earned a first-class Order of Merlin. The remaining two were even more impressive: one was Professor McGonagall, and the other was Professor Flitwick. (Some say that Flitwick is also a deliberation. He couldn't decide between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw and finally went to Ravenclaw, the opposite of Professor McGonagall.)

Ethan, who had the same talent, might also reach their level. A professor at Hogwarts held very high status in the wizarding world. Who among the graduates wouldn't show them respect?

Penelope's motivation also came from a bad precedent in the past.

Penelope, born a Muggle-born, had a senior who took good care of her when she entered school. This senior, also a Muggle-born, graduated two years ago and struggled to find a job in the Ministry of Magic.

Various large magical industries were unwilling to accept her. Finally, after working as a temp in Hogsmeade for three months, she chose to leave the wizarding world.

This summer, Penelope visited this senior and found that she was not living well in the Muggle world, working as a cashier in a bakery. Now almost 20 years old, she hadn't even finished junior high school, had no skills, couldn't use magic, and couldn't find a good job. However, the senior had adapted to Muggle life and started a relationship.

Penelope didn't want to return to the Muggle world like her senior. She wanted to change her fate.

"Don't walk along the wall on this staircase, or the floor it reaches will be random."

"And don't run on the stairs. If you run, they'll go out of place, and sometimes gaps appear where people can fall."

...

"Okay, these are the moving stairs. Do you remember them?"

"Yes, thank you, senior."

It's no exaggeration to say that Ethan now had a photographic memory, so remembering the rules of the stairs was no problem.

"Well, it's almost time for class. I have to rush to Charms now."

Watching Penelope leave in a hurry, Ethan turned around and headed to the Transfiguration classroom.

As a prefect, Penelope was responsible for taking care of the freshmen, but there was no need to go this far.

Ethan understood her reasons but didn't mind. Every effort has its reward, and she was just investing in advance.

Besides, who could refuse the help of such an enthusiastic senior?