"Adrian, when we finish eating, want to go back to the dorm and play wizard's chess?" Ron asked through a mouthful of chicken leg after finishing his last class on Wednesday afternoon. He was sprawled in the common room, looking relaxed.
Adrian slowly chewed the last piece of beef in his mouth. After thinking for a moment, he shook his head. "No, I need to go to the library later. Why don't you play with Harry instead?"
"Harry's chess game is terrible. There's no challenge at all," Ron said, shaking his head in disappointment. Then, as if suddenly realizing what Adrian had said, he dropped his chicken leg on the floor. "My God! The library? I thought only one person went there during the entire year!"
"Hermione?" Adrian thought for a moment. The young witch who had been running to the library every day since school started could only be their know-it-all classmate.
"Yeah, who else would it be?" Ron said dramatically.
Harry suddenly nudged Ron's shoulder. Ron realized that Hermione, who was carrying a stack of books, was also in the common room. He lowered his voice and continued telling everyone about how much Hermione liked to lecture people and how annoying she could be.
Fortunately, because of the distance between them, Hermione didn't seem to hear Ron's comments.
Harry sat there looking embarrassed. He didn't like talking badly about people behind their backs, but the other students seemed very interested in the gossip.
It had to be said that Hermione had become famous in the first-year gossip circle within just a few days of school starting, thanks to her habit of lecturing everyone.
Adrian didn't join in the discussion about Hermione, but he wasn't surprised by the situation either. After all, they were all eleven or twelve-year-old kids. Nobody liked being lectured, especially by someone their own age.
"Adrian, what are you going to do at the library?" Harry asked curiously tilting his head.
Ron shot him a look that said, Seriously? We're not enough? He didn't say anything, but the raised eyebrow and faint smirk made his feelings obvious.
It was the same look friends gave when you ditched a fun hangout to hit the books instead.
Adrian's mouth twitched slightly. He didn't want to admit that he actually did find wizard's chess novel and fun. He was making this trip to see if there were other ways to earn academic points.
"Don't you think the assignments the professors are giving us are getting harder and harder? If we don't work hard now, what are we going to do at the end of semester?" Adrian looked at Harry and sighed after a long pause.
Adrian knew his talent was average at best. Combined with his wand compatibility problems, his spellcasting ability was basically in the bottom half of all first-year students.
In this situation, the only way to improve his professors' evaluations was to work harder on the knowledge side of things. If he could build up his knowledge and answer questions during class, maybe he could make a better impression.
"Ron, do you want to come along?" Adrian asked as he finished eating and started packing up.
Even though Ron's magical talent was better than his own, it was still only around mid-level at best. Compared to Harry, the gap was pretty obvious. Plus, Ron wasn't exactly known for working hard, which would make him the weakest member of their trio in the future and the laziest as well as the most hated.
So out of friendship, Adrian thought he should at least try to encourage him.
Not that Adrian expected Ron to actually agree.
As expected, Ron quickly shook his head. "Are you kidding? We've only been here a few days, and the end of term is ages away. What's the rush?"
"Fair enough," Adrian said, not really caring. He headed straight for the library.
"I bet Adrian will be back within an hour, or I'll eat my chess board," Ron muttered as his friend walked away.
The Hogwarts library contained the most complete collection of magical books in Britain, and possibly all of Europe. From basic textbooks to advanced curses and dark magic, it truly had everything.
Adrian, visiting the library for the first time, was amazed by the huge collection. Rows of bookshelves stretched in every direction, with thousands of magical books on each shelf. It was far more spectacular than anything he had seen in movies from his previous life.
Perhaps because school had just started, there weren't many students in the library. A few groups of two or three were scattered among the bookshelves and walkways, leaving the central seating area mostly empty.
[Ding!]
[Exploring the library!]
The system notification in his mind brought Adrian's attention back to the present. Looking more closely, he discovered that his [Explore Hogwarts] task had increased by five percent all at once.
More importantly, counting the increased academic points, he now had exactly the 100 academic points needed to exchange for a Study Genius experience card.
Adrian couldn't help but glance toward the Restricted Section. The magic he was really looking for could be found there.
"Child, are you looking for any particular books?" Mrs. Irma Pince, the librarian, approached and asked softly.
"Yes, ma'am. Where can I find books about Transfiguration? The more basic, the better," Adrian said, turning his attention away from the Restricted Section to face Mrs. Pince.
"Follow me," Mrs. Pince led Adrian to a bookshelf and pulled out a copy of "A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration," handing it to him. After a brief pause, she continued, "What you were looking at just now was the Restricted Section. Unless you can get authorization from the professors, you're not allowed to view or borrow any of those books."
"I was just curious. I don't actually plan to go in there," Adrian said, taking the book and shrugging casually.
Adrian had no intention of looking at those dangerous forbidden books for the time being. After all, with his current magical foundation, he wasn't ready to learn such advanced magic and even less using them so he better build a strong foundation before attempting more advanced magic.
Anyway, there was still a whole semester ahead. He could think about it when he had more free time and opportunity.
After Mrs. Pince finished her explanation, she quickly turned and left. After all, she had to keep an eye on the older students. Almost every day, some student would try to break into the Restricted Section.
Of course, before leaving, Mrs. Pince didn't forget to remind Adrian that no noise was allowed in the library.
Once Adrian found a seat in the study area, he wasn't in a hurry to test the effects of the Study Genius experience card. Instead, he opened the book and prepared to read it in his normal state for a while, then compare the difference to see how much his learning efficiency could actually improve.