For the first class of the day, both the Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors were full of enthusiasm and anticipation.
They imagined themselves waving wands, chanting spells, mastering powerful magic, and earning house points from professors.
Unfortunately, once they received their timetables and saw that the first class was History of Magic, that enthusiasm immediately faded a bit.
Then came another blow — the professor turned out to be a ghost.
And it only got worse. Professor Binns' voice had a magical effect — wheezy and monotonous — and within five minutes, the young wizards and witches were already struggling to keep their eyes open.
Just as Wayne was about to close his eyes, Hermione pinched him gently and whispered:
"Don't zone out!"
Wayne looked at her helplessly.
Big sis, I'm not just zoning out — I'm about to lose my soul over here!
"He's just reading straight from the textbook. I can memorize the whole thing after reading it once. Listening to him is pointless."
"It's basic respect for the professor," Hermione replied sternly. She couldn't be swayed by Wayne on things like this.
Wayne was already regretting sitting next to Hermione. He couldn't even sneak in a nap.
At the same time, he couldn't help but complain inwardly — the headmasters of Hogwarts were all such cheapskates.
Professor Binns had been dead for hundreds of years — they probably kept him around just to avoid paying a salary.
Back when Hogwarts was first founded, Professor Binns had already been invited by the four founders as the History of Magic teacher — and he was already quite old at the time.
One day, on his way to class, he left his body behind in the staff lounge chair.
Since then, Hogwarts had never hired a new History of Magic professor. A teacher who doesn't need pay, never takes leave, and maintains perfect attendance year after year — he was every headmaster's dream laborer.
Unfortunately, that meant generations of students had to suffer through his classes.
In hundreds of years, not a single student had ever chosen History of Magic as an elective for the NEWTs. That pretty much said it all.
"Hi, Wayne."
Just as Wayne was inwardly cursing the headmasters and thinking they all deserved to be hung up on lampposts, Ron — sitting at the desk to his other side — suddenly greeted him softly.
Beside Ron, Harry Potter was nodding off, nearly entering dreamland.
The moment Ron spoke to Wayne, he snapped to attention.
"Something up, Ron?"
Seeing that Hermione didn't seem to mind, Wayne relaxed and responded.
"Oh, nothing much," Ron shook his head. "I just wanted to say thanks. You're incredible. It's the first time I've ever seen George and Fred suffer a loss at someone else's hands."
"Twice, even!"
Ron was a bit excited, his voice growing loud enough to wake several students from their sweet dreams.
Harry gave his newly-made best friend of one day a look that said: I don't even know what to say…
Anyone listening might think the twins were his enemies instead of his brothers.
"You can just think of Fred and George as your annoying cousins," Ron explained to Harry.
In an instant, Harry's expression changed — he totally got it now.
"No need to thank me," Wayne said, half amused, half helpless. He hadn't expected Ron to thank him for that.
The twins must really bully him a lot on a regular basis.
To be honest, back when Wayne first read the books and watched the movies, he wasn't a big fan of Ron's character.
Jealous, overly dramatic, not particularly gifted — and he ended up marrying Hermione, who became the Minister for Magic. That had to be rigged.
But the older he got, the more he realized how tough Ron's life really was.
Five older brothers, three of whom were perennial top students, rising from prefect to Head Boy.
The twins, though not top scholars, were legendary pranksters — their mischief was basically historic.
In a foreign environment like this, the twins were even more popular than Percy the academic achiever—undoubtedly the real stars.
Further down the line, their little sister Ginny had also inherited formidable magical talent.
Only Ron… was just Ron.
Growing up under such pressure, it was understandable that Ron developed an awkward personality, but he still had a solid sense of right and wrong.
He'd already proven he had a good foundation.
Of course, that didn't mean Wayne was going to deliberately cozy up to Ron—he just wouldn't judge people by his previous stereotypes anymore.
This was the real world. Everything should be based on his own experiences.
So far, his impression of Ron was pretty good—someone he could chat with casually when they crossed paths.
While Professor Binns lectured up front, the two of them chatted quietly below. Eventually, Harry joined in as well.
"Wayne, you're Muggle-born? That's great! No—I mean, it's nice."
"We don't even live that far apart. I'm from Privet Drive in Surrey."
In just a few words, Harry had already revealed everything about himself. Good-looking people did tend to win others over easily.
Wayne was the perfect example—Harry already considered him his first friend from another house.
The fifty-minute class passed quickly. Before ending, Professor Binns assigned a six-inch essay on the early origins of wizarding society in England.
The next class was Transfiguration, taken with Hufflepuff and Slytherin together.
Before they parted, the young witch angrily dragged Wayne into a corner.
"You can't act like that!"
"You bought loads of books before school started—I know you care about learning. You should listen in class, even if the teacher is a ghost!"
Looking at Hermione, who really did resemble a little lion, Wayne obediently nodded.
"Don't worry, I'll definitely pay more attention from now on."
Hermione didn't know if Wayne truly took her words to heart, but she was in a hurry and could only glare at him before rushing off, a little disappointed inside.
She genuinely saw Wayne as a friend, which was why she hoped he would take his studies seriously.
Wayne understood that, so he wasn't angry in the slightest.
Once Hermione saw his grades later on, she'd naturally stop acting like this.
The Transfiguration classroom was on the second floor. Wayne walked in with a group of little badgers.
The moment he entered, he spotted the tabby cat on the front desk. He gave it a small nod of recognition and found a seat casually.
To be honest, he really wanted to pet Professor McGonagall—just to see if an Animagus had a different feel to it.
But he'd already witnessed Professor McGonagall's transformation during the summer. If he tried to pet her now, it'd be suicide.
Still, Wayne knew—many of the other young wizards had no idea.
Especially the Hufflepuffs. Most of them loved animals and plants. When they saw the cat, someone even pulled out a snack from their pocket to offer it.
At that moment, Wayne looked at them with the same expression one gives to warriors walking into battle.