"Slytherin: rumor has it he came from the fens of eastern Ireland, though this has never been fully confirmed. Now, if you think carefully, you can determine Lady Ravenclaw's origin." Shawn paused and waited a moment.
"England, Wales, Ireland..." Compared to Justin thinking hard, Hermione's eyes grew brighter as she spoke. "It's Scotland! Hogwarts' four founders came from the four parts of the British Isles: Scotland, Wales, England, and Ireland!"
"Correct," Shawn confirmed. "Remember? The Sorting Hat's song: Fair Ravenclaw, from glen." Shawn recited that line. "Here, glen is defined as 'the Scottish term for highland valleys.'"
"Shawn, you must be a walking encyclopedia!" Justin exclaimed softly. Hermione also lifted her chin and nodded.
Shawn acknowledged with a sound, then picked up his wand and walked to the back of the classroom. There lay some scattered books with brittle yellow pages on the floor.
"S-cour-g-ify." Shawn waved his wand, drawing a smooth S-shape. Finally, the dust-covered books were also cleaned.
[You practiced the Scouring Charm once at Entry standard, Proficiency +3]
[Entry-level Scouring Charm unlocked]
[New Charms domain title unlocked, please check]
Shawn wasn't in a hurry to check. Instead, he picked up the books, returned them to the shelves, and surveyed the classroom. The cobweb-covered desks and chairs had been cleaned again, neatly arranged by Justin and Hermione. Although the huge bookshelf still leaned crookedly, all books had returned, cleaned inside and out by Shawn. Those oddly shaped apparatuses piled in another corner had also been stacked and categorized by the three.
Overall, this place truly seemed like a classroom in use rather than an ancient relic from a thousand years ago. So Shawn opened the panel:
[Title: Charms Entry]
[Slightly increases perception of charms, greatly improves Charms talent]
Greatly? Shawn looked down with anticipation.
[Wizard Shawn, Charms Talent: Blue (Charms Entry title boost, original talent was white) Note: Average wizards are green]
I should now barely count as half a Charms genius, right? Shawn thought.
Talent's effect was significant. The difference between white talent and blue talent was like the difference between a garden snake and a basilisk. Shawn had wanted to learn the four spells from the Defense Against the Dark Arts class very early on, but with little success. The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1, had no description, while The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection remained vague.
It seemed to require professor guidance, but counting on Professor Quirrell was like expecting Professor Snape to throw open his dungeon doors. So Shawn attempted self-study. Unexpectedly, in a short time, he unlocked Red Sparks and Green Sparks following a mysterious intuition. Only ten times. Just ten times.
This even made me somewhat suspect whether my former white-talent self could be considered deficient in the magical world, Shawn thought.
Now, about these two spells: Red Sparks and Green Sparks. They looked weak, but in actual combat had two uses: First, as an emergency distress signal. Shawn remembered they were used in the third task of the Triwizard Tournament. Second, as low-level offensive spells in battle. Ron said in Harry's first year: Harry and Malfoy, after only a few days of lessons, could at best shoot sparks at each other with their wands. The sparks here referred to Red Sparks and Green Sparks.
When Shawn left the classroom, he could occasionally hear Mrs. Norris's cries in the corridor, and a lady's voice indeed came from the wall beside him. Shawn looked up to see a portrait of a plump witch in a white dress, smiling at the portrait beside her.
"Sir Cadogan, you lost the bet fair and square. You need to fetch me a bottle of fine liquor from the Drunken Monks painting."
In that portrait was a short, stout knight with an overly long sword and grass stains all over his knees. He sighed deeply. "Merlin's beard! My dear Green, how can you not even care about Quidditch? Just hiding in the library all day, coming back so late! Look now, another bottle of wine gone from my share!"
Shawn immediately knew Sir Cadogan and Lady Violet had bet again. This situation was very common. Given being hung on walls with nothing to do until eternity, portraits naturally amused themselves with surrounding matters, such as secretly betting on Hogwarts students. Just like wizards when bored, would guess which raindrop on a window would fall faster, these portraits would also quietly compete over students. Common ones included seeing which one could first reach their destination through those moving staircases. (Of course, neutral portraits would follow along to judge).
Shawn didn't respond to Sir Cadogan, or this knight could chatter all the way to the common room with him. Revealing his name to him last time was regrettable enough. He could actually make up five or six jokes from one name: "Shawn Green decided to become a painter, but he failed because he'd only seen one color. Do you know why? Because he'd only Seen Green! Hahaha!"
Shawn Green found this not funny at all, so he casually moved the Drunken Monks painting to a temporary, hidden location.
Night quickly passed. Hogwarts would welcome a new week. And Monday morning was the only day that could cause Shawn significant emotional disturbance. Perhaps also the most tense day for all Ravenclaw first-years. Because this morning, they would have their second Potions class.
Shawn had already familiarized himself with the ritual three times last night and repeatedly reviewed his notes on the Cure for Boils. In fact, for today's brewing, he had only finished the Potions essay yesterday, just to ensure his understanding of Potions reached an excellent state.
In the silence, the dungeon door opened with a bang. Professor Snape's wide black robes billowed, making his sallow face appear even more gloomy. Although his movements were elegant enough, young wizards still felt the overwhelmingly powerful aura.
"The alliance of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, ha..." His voice was gloomy and powerful. "A week has passed. If I notice certain people still stubbornly maintaining an astonishing deficit in intelligence and operational ability..." Before he finished, young wizards were already trembling below, some turning pale.