The fourth-floor corridor—expressly forbidden to students by Dumbledore at the start-of-term feast.
But that's human nature for you: the more something is off-limits, the more people want to see it for themselves.
Since the first day of school, students had been burning with curiosity about that corridor, and quite a few had already taken action.
The results had been… brutal.
The professors had anticipated this, so they patrolled the area daily. Any student caught there would, at best, lose five house points—at worst, end up in detention.
Currently, the casualty list had grown to dozens, with Gryffindor accounting for half of them.
That explained why, a full week into the term, Gryffindor's house points total was still a big fat zero.
Thank Merlin there was no such thing as negative points—otherwise, they'd be in the red by now.
Cedric stared at the twins in shock. "Are you two insane? Derrick's still scrubbing the bathrooms every night! He comes back to the dorms reeking!"
"Of course we're not insane—we're perfectly clear-headed," George said, raising his hands innocently. "Please don't question our professional expertise in the field of night wandering."
"Night wandering?!" Cedric's voice jumped an octave.
"Of course at night!" Fred said matter-of-factly. "Too many people around during the day—we have to move under cover of darkness."
"We've already scouted it out. Tomorrow night, the one on duty is Filch. He's easy to deal with. Lee will create a diversion somewhere else, and Filch will run off like a tomcat in heat."
"Then why are you asking me?" Wayne asked curiously. "Doesn't sound like you need me for anything."
"Obviously, you're our insurance policy," the twins said in perfect unison. "If anything goes wrong, we need someone to take the fall."
"At that point, as long as we run faster than you, we're totally safe."
"Wayne, you're not scared, are you? It's okay to say no, you know," they added, one after the other, perfectly in sync.
It was a not-so-subtle bait.
The twins weren't trying to be malicious—if Wayne got caught, that would simply mean he wasn't fast enough. Not their fault.
Wayne understood this perfectly, which was why he didn't hesitate to agree.
Mission accomplished, the twins sauntered off with arms around each other, all smiles. Cedric, on the other hand, looked concerned.
"You're really going?"
"Of course. I already said yes."
"If you get caught, it'll be bad. You might be the next one scrubbing bathrooms."
Wayne replied nonchalantly, "Then I just won't get caught. So, are you coming or not?"
"I'm coming."
"Then stop yapping and come back inside—let's finish that chess match."
…
It was Wayne's first weekend at Hogwarts, and he slept in for once, not waking until after nine.
By that time, breakfast in the Great Hall had ended. In any other house, students would've had to make do with snacks until lunch.
But this was Wayne we're talking about.
A Hufflepuff!
Living right next to the kitchens—there's no way a Hufflepuff goes hungry.
With respectful bows from the house-elves, Wayne left the kitchen with two tuna sandwiches and strolled out of the castle, finding a spot on the grass beside the Black Lake for breakfast.
Scattered students dotted the lawn—some chatting, some strolling.
Cheers and whoops echoed from the Quidditch pitch in the distance; one of the houses was clearly holding practice.
While eating, Wayne opened his system panel for a look.
There weren't many changes in his attributes, but under "Points," he now had over 500—400 of which he'd earned just this week.
He'd definitely been slacking lately. Some of the points had come from tricking the twins and messing with Quirrell.
The rest came from casting spells on his roommates while they slept—originally earning five points per night, now down to two.
And probably decreasing further.
Too slow.
Still, with tonight's night tour coming up, he wondered how many points he might rack up.
After breakfast, Wayne went to the library and borrowed Dark Arts Uncovered: How to Protect Yourself Safely.
There, he spotted Hermione—hidden behind a stack of thick books, utterly absorbed in reading.
Seeing how focused she was, Wayne didn't disturb her and quietly left.
That afternoon, he took another full tour of the castle, trying out all the moving staircases in the main section. He was gradually building a three-dimensional mental map of Hogwarts.
Many students, for all sorts of reasons, would forget the staircase patterns before graduation. Wayne keenly sensed—there might just be a business opportunity here.
Building on some earlier inspiration, Wayne already had an idea.
Now, all he lacked was the technical skill.
He still needed to earn more points to use in the lottery—ideally, to draw knowledge related to alchemy.
"Wayne, aren't you doing your homework?"
Seeing Wayne wandering back like an idle old man, the two roommates gave him confused looks.
"What's the rush? There's still a whole day left tomorrow."
"And besides, I don't need to do the Transfiguration homework—Professor McGonagall exempted me."
"Having talent is nice," Toby said enviously. The Transfiguration homework was a full six inches long...
The two of them kept writing until nightfall, only managing to finish half their assignments. Watching his two roommates practically fall asleep at their desks, Wayne took out his wand.
He was worried that if he left, they might wake up, not find him, and shout for him—getting him exposed.
Better to play it safe.
"Stupe—"
Wait, that was wrong. Wrong spell.
"Somnium." The soft glow of the sleep-inducing charm fell over the two boys. Although there wasn't any visible change, as long as nothing disturbed them, they would sleep soundly till morning.
Down in the common room, Cedric was already waiting for him.
"Let's go."
The model student looked visibly excited. It wasn't like he had never snuck out at night before, but this was the first time doing it with such a large group.
And they were headed for the school's forbidden area—one Dumbledore had sternly warned them about.
It was thrilling!
Wayne, on the other hand, acted completely normal, like he was just heading out for a casual walk.
"Try to stay calm. What if you attract Filch?"
"Where are we meeting the others?"
"Second-floor Trophy Room. Fred and George are probably already there."
"Let's go."
The two of them stepped through the barrel door and walked to the first floor.
As soon as they set foot on the first floor, Wayne heard his system chime:
[Host has broken curfew by sneaking out at night. +20 SP. Every additional hour: +5 SP.]
Wayne couldn't help but let a smile curl at his lips.
Now this was it!
If he came out for a stroll every night—20 points just like that. It was basically free.
He'd been acting like a good student for a whole week—what a waste!
Seeing Wayne suddenly smile, Cedric was confused but still quietly reminded him,
"Keep your footsteps light—Filch's cat has sharp ears."