Daily Life at Hogwarts - Chapter 21

“Alright, before we head to bed, let’s all sing the school anthem together!” Professor Dumbledore lifted his wand lightly, and a series of golden, ribbon-like twisted text floated before everyone.

The Hogwarts choir took the stage, and the prefect sitting next to Albert was among them. In the front row, a few choir members even held large toads.

As Dumbledore waved his wand, all students began singing the school anthem in their own rhythm.

Albert blended in, moving his lips pretending to sing.

He had no choice; the song felt a bit… juvenile. Even the expressions of the professors at the head table seemed somewhat stiff, apparently somewhat reluctant.

It’s one thing for children to sing it, but a group of adults singing such a song felt overwhelmingly embarrassing!

“Hogwarts, Hogwarts…” Beside Albert, the mischievous Weasley twins were singing to the melody of the ‘Funeral March’. Their rhythm was entirely off from everyone else, and their surrounding peers were giving them side glances.

“…We study hard until we turn to dung.” When the song finished, the twins were still singing slowly. Albert felt an urge to facepalm, pretending he didn’t know them.

After the final note, Dumbledore advised everyone to retire.

The welcoming feast finally ended, and everyone rushed out, creating immediate congestion.

Now Albert realized why the first years were placed upfront.

Following other grades could lead to getting lost. Imagining Gryffindor students mistakenly ending up in the Hufflepuff common room only to realize later was a comical scene.

“First-years, follow me,” the prefect, who had just performed on stage, led the way.

He guided them through the bustling crowd, out of the Great Hall, and up the marble staircase, where they diverged from other students.

Moving through the corridors, they avoided the fabled moving staircases.

Portraits lined the walls, their subjects whispering and occasionally greeting the passing students.

The prefect led them through the castle, and the entrance always remained a mystery.

Some doors only opened when touched in the right spot, others were hidden behind curtains or behind other portraits. But the worst were the tricky steps, which, if stepped on, would trap a foot.

For the newcomers, this was a nightmare.

“Are you okay?” Albert reached out, helping Lee Jordan up.

“Not really,” Lee grumbled. “I don’t understand why the school has all these weird things. What’s the point?”

“I find it amusing, right, George?”

“I feel the same.”

“These were old defensive mechanisms left behind. Now they’ve become one of Hogwarts’ unique features,” Albert explained. “Let’s keep up. I don’t want to get lost.”

After what felt like hours, when Albert’s legs began to feel sore, they finally reached the eighth floor. At the end of a long corridor stood a portrait of a rotund woman – undoubtedly, the Fat Lady, the guardian of the Gryffindor tower.

“Password?” she asked.

“Balderdash,” replied the prefect, and like a door, the portrait swung open, revealing a round entrance.

He didn’t immediately proceed inside but turned to the newcomers, “You must remember the password. You can only enter the common room by giving the Fat Lady the correct password. The current password is ‘Balderdash’.”

With that, the prefect led them through the portrait hole into the Gryffindor common room.

This was an old circular room, with many sofas inside. In one corner of the room, a roaring fire burned in the fireplace, surrounded by plenty of firewood. Several people were seated on sofas, chatting. Upon the newcomers’ arrival, they looked over and waved in greeting.

“Your luck is good; tomorrow is Saturday, meaning no classes. It’s a rare opportunity. I suggest you use these two days to get familiar with the castle. The castle’s layout is more complex than you’d think. If you don’t want to get lost, figure out the classrooms’ locations quickly.” The prefect concluded and gestured towards two doors. “Girls, that way, and boys, follow me.”

After exchanging greetings with another female prefect, he led Albert and the others through the other door, descending a narrow spiral staircase. Along the way, they encountered many doors, with the prefect introducing them to the locations of bathrooms and showers for the newcomers.

Of course, the bathrooms and showers were communal, thankfully with partitions. A blessing, indeed.

As for their respective rooms, they had to find those on their own. The doors had specific name labels.

Albert, the twins, and Lee Jordan shared the same room, accommodating only four people.

The room wasn’t large, featuring four canopy beds, each with personal luggage beside them.

Albert easily found his own trunk and, stifling a yawn, pulled out his pajamas to change.

“In the days ahead, please take care of me.” Albert greeted the other three with a smile.

“Likewise.” The four exchanged glances and couldn’t help but laugh.

“Tomorrow, I plan to explore the castle. Are you guys joining?” Albert took out his camera from his trunk, stepped back, and snapped a photo of his dorm room.

“Of course. Remember to wake me up in the morning.” The twins exchanged glances and said in unison.

“What about you?” The three turned their gaze to Lee Jordan.

“Definitely, I’ll come along.” The black guy clearly didn’t want to be left behind.

“Good night.”

Lying in bed, even though he was quite tired, Albert couldn’t fall asleep. He always had trouble sleeping when arriving in an unfamiliar place.

Others, apparently, didn’t share his problem. Satisfied after eating and drinking, they had just laid down and were already fast asleep.

Albert shifted his position, opening his task panel. His exploration progress was now at 3%.

He wondered how much of the castle he would explore tomorrow. He glanced at his skill list, several pages long.

Most spells were at Level 1, with a few yet to be mastered.

Looking at those skills still at Level 0, Albert suddenly felt an urge to spend experience points to raise them to Level 1.

This was a bad habit left over from playing games before. He would instinctively max out his skill points.

Albert took a deep breath, closed the panel, so as not to accidentally spend all his hard-earned experience. This experience could determine his future.

Half-asleep, Albert drifted off. He had a dream, a dream of his past life. He saw himself holding a book, reading. He remembered it was the first time he had encountered the book ‘Harry Potter’.

“Is all of this a dream?”

No, it wasn’t a dream. Ever since that moment he opened his eyes after dying and started anew, he had confirmed it time and time again.

This wasn’t a dream.

He had a feeling he was becoming like an author of fanfiction stories, creating another Harry Potter fanfiction story of his own. However, this time, he couldn’t indulge in all the wild content he wanted like other fanfiction writers.

Ah, being a literature enthusiast is truly a condition.