The Weasley twins paid the price for their arrogance.
At first, they were only trying to intimidate Wayne a bit, not really planning to retaliate—just hoping to see him beg for mercy.
But fate had other plans. Just as they cornered Wayne in the Great Hall, Professor McGonagall walked in and caught them red-handed.
She had already felt something was off when she saw two Gryffindors standing at the Hufflepuff table.
When she got closer and overheard what was going on, her face turned livid with fury.
Third-year students—threatening a brand-new first-year? Completely unacceptable.
And when Wayne calmly told her what had happened, the twins even said they wouldn't be afraid even if Dumbledore himself knew about it.
Not afraid, huh?
McGonagall could respect their bravery—right up until she doubled their detention.
What was originally just polishing trophies three times became super-sized detention.
Now, after cleaning the trophies, they also had to hand-copy the biographies of every famous Gryffindor alumnus.
When they heard the punishment, the twins nearly fainted.
Three copies! Of several books' worth of content—that's at least dozens of inches thick altogether!
They didn't even have time to go after Wayne for revenge. Under McGonagall's fierce gaze, they slunk back to the Gryffindor table in defeat.
"You absolutely did that on purpose," Cedric said, having watched the whole thing unfold.
Still calmly chewing on his sandwich, Wayne replied blandly, "Everyone dies eventually. Some people just need a little... encouragement."
Cedric was speechless.
How on earth did this guy get sorted into Hufflepuff?
Sorting Hat, were you blind or what?
After breakfast, Hermione stood gracefully at Wayne's side. Norman and Toby, from angles where the little witch couldn't see them, gave Wayne discreet thumbs-ups.
Legendary. Just started school and already has an adorable little witch tagging along.
Hermione's hair was still a bit frizzy, but with a face like hers—so long as she wasn't baring her teeth—she was absolutely precious.
Seeing them gathered together, a few other first-years curiously joined in.
Before long, the group grew, with over a dozen little badgers crowding around Cedric. Left with no choice, he called a few friends to help and split everyone into teams.
They moved out in a lively group, heading toward the academic wing.
"There are 142 staircases in the castle," Cedric explained. "Their shape and position change constantly."
"Sometimes you're heading from the third to the fourth floor, but the staircase will swivel midway and dump you out on the top floor."
"Honestly, it took me almost two years to get the hang of them. Fridays are the worst—the stairs go absolutely mad."
"Even upperclassmen about to graduate sometimes get lost if they're not paying attention."
He led Wayne and Hermione to the third floor. His two roommates had gone with the other prefects.
"Watch this staircase. Never run or step too hard while going down, or it'll take you straight to the eighth floor."
"There are four like this… uh, I don't actually remember exactly. Might be more…"
Hermione nodded earnestly and even pulled out a notebook to jot it down.
Wayne, meanwhile, looked thoroughly bored.
"Cedric, this is what you're giving us? Come on, give us the real stuff," he said.
"What do you mean?" Cedric asked, confused.
"Give me the shortcuts. Secret passages out of the castle."
"What are you talking about!" Cedric scolded righteously. "I don't know anything like that!"
"Wayne, breaking the rules is wrong," Hermione added sternly.
"If you don't get caught, it's not really breaking the rules," Wayne said with a shrug.
Cedric clapped him on the shoulder—saying nothing, but understanding everything.
To have already figured out the school's most fundamental rule as a first-year… Cedric himself hadn't realized it until the end of his first term.
Why was the caretaker, Filch, a Squib?
Why was it that as long as students weren't caught red-handed, even if a teacher saw them from behind, there would be no points docked or punishments handed out?
This was the unwritten rule passed down for a thousand years at Hogwarts: a battle of wits between teachers and students — and also a form of training.
Many people only came to understand this mystery after graduation, even after settling down with families and careers — and by then, it was too late for regret.
How much wonderful life had they missed back then?
Cedric smiled. "Since you put it that way, watch me show off a few tricks."
He led Hermione and Wayne to an empty picture frame. With three quick taps of his wand, the frame transformed into a real door.
"Go through here and you'll end up in the bushes near the Quidditch pitch."
"Time's short, so I won't take you through it myself. On to the next one."
Next, Cedric introduced Wayne to two more secret passages.
One led to the opposite side of the castle — perfect for avoiding Filch and his cat, Mrs. Norris, during nighttime adventures.
The other ran from the fifth floor to the second, useful for getting around quickly.
Hermione's worldview was starting to collapse. She had always thought Cedric was like her — someone who loved studying and topped every class.
But clearly, that wasn't the case at all.
"All right, that's it for today. I've got to get to the dungeons — Potions is first period," Cedric said hurriedly and dashed off as the time neared nine o'clock.
"Let's not stand around either. To the second floor," Wayne said, prompting Hermione, who still seemed a bit dazed.
Their first class today was History of Magic, shared between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor.
"Ah—oh." Hermione finally followed behind him, but couldn't help mumbling,
"This isn't right... Aren't rules meant to be followed? Diggory's a model student. Why would he..."
"This is Hogwarts," Wayne suddenly stopped and turned around.
The young witch nearly stumbled right into his arms.
"The worldview of wizards is fundamentally different from that of Muggles. What seems outrageous to you might mean little in the magical world."
"The same goes for rules." Wayne spoke like a little devil tempting her: "Do you want to play it safe and miss the real Hogwarts? Or work on your skills to avoid the teachers and explore this thousand-year-old castle?"
Hermione felt dizzy, her mind a complete blank.
All she knew was she instinctively grabbed the corner of Wayne's robe to avoid getting lost.
The two entered the classroom, where quite a few students had already gathered — all with excited looks on their faces.
Until... a ghost drifted through the wall and appeared at the podium.