Early the next morning, William arrived at the Great Hall.
He hadn't returned to his dormitory the previous night, instead spending the night in the Room of Requirement's luxurious bedchamber.
Luna's words had affected him to some extent, even though she had likely been joking.
Not long after, Professor Flitwick arrived, dropping a large stack of timetables in front of William.
"Distribute these when the third-year students arrive," Flitwick instructed before leaving.
William stacked the timetables neatly on the table.
Soon, Hermione arrived, alone as usual, bright and early to review her textbooks.
Sitting at the Ravenclaw table, she recounted what had happened the previous night.
Apparently, after Harry and Ron returned, they were treated as heroes by the Gryffindor students and became quite smug about it.
"They're still celebrating, as if it was something to be proud of," Hermione huffed indignantly. "Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if Harry and Ron were expelled!"
"Don't be so angry." William handed Hermione a slice of summerberry Italian sandwich.
Hermione accepted it and split more than half of it, giving the rest back to William, along with two fried eggs—one for each of them.
Taking a bite, William shook his head and said, "That's just how Gryffindors are. They don't fully grasp the seriousness of the situation."
"That's exactly the problem! They should reflect deeply on their actions," Hermione retorted, her tone uncannily similar to Professor McGonagall's.
It was no wonder that some students had secretly started calling her "Little McGonagall." As the saying goes, nicknames may be mistaken, but they're rarely misplaced.
Without looking up, William busied himself writing at the table and said, "Don't argue with Harry and Ron. They won't listen, and it'll just strain your friendship. Understand?"
Hermione responded softly with a nasal "mm-hmm."
William looked up, amused. "Don't try to brush me off!"
Hermione's eyes twinkled as she wrinkled her petite nose playfully. "Alright, I get it!"
"I know what you're thinking. You believe they should be punished… and they will be."
"What kind of punishment?"
"Detention—cleaning toilets, polishing trophies, or maybe a trip to the Forbidden Forest. Filch has plenty of creative ways to make them suffer.
"And Mrs. Weasley will definitely send Ron a Howler."
Mrs. Weasley had sent the twins a Howler before, after they refused to send her the Marauder's Map.
There was no way Ron would escape her wrath!
"Oh, by the way, where's Annie? Didn't you wake her up this morning?"
"Gryffindor first-years don't have classes in the morning, so I let her sleep in. But I won't let her get lazy again."
Hermione pulled out her Herbology textbook from her enchanted ring as she spoke.
William nodded and continued writing.
"What are you writing?" Hermione asked, leaning her small head against William's arm to peek curiously.
"I'm writing to Diagon Alley to order some supplies."
"Snacks for Boba Tea?"
"No, something for these little guys."
William opened his pocket to reveal three small Bowtruckles.
"Wow, Bowtruckles! I saw them in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," Hermione exclaimed, her voice high-pitched with excitement. "Where did you get them?"
"By the Whomping Willow."
Hermione reached out, but the Bowtruckles retreated in fear. They extended their long, slender arms and swung themselves onto William's shoulder.
"They're a bit shy."
William gently took Hermione's right hand, and with his patient coaxing, one of the Bowtruckles hesitantly climbed onto her arm.
William handed Hermione a bit of potion to feed the Bowtruckle.
Bowtruckles loved eating beetles and fairy eggs, but feeding them potions was extravagant. That's why William needed to buy some dried beetles from Diagon Alley.
Bowtruckles were incredibly useful—they could locate rare trees and unlock magically sealed locks.
Their long, sharp fingers made them natural lock-pickers, and paired with Nifflers, they formed the ultimate thieving duo.
William had plans for the Bowtruckles. There were still many locked rooms in the secret passage he had discovered.
He handed Hermione a silver ring.
"I've expanded the space in this ring. You can plant Devil's Snare in it, and the Bowtruckles can live among its vines. Just feed them beetles regularly."
Newt Scamander's magical suitcase had been expanded with an Undetectable Extension Charm, allowing it to house even dragons.
How did that song go again?
I fell in love with a dragon,
But my home has no meadow,
And this makes me despair,
Oh, Dragoness…
But for wizards skilled in the Extension Charm, such concerns were trivial.
"Is the other Bowtruckle for Annie?" Hermione asked.
William nodded.
"Have you named them yet?"
"Yes, mine is named Zu'an. You and Annie can name yours however you like."
William was eager for his Bowtruckle to embody the Zu'an spirit: polite and composed with other wizards.
Hermione beamed as her fingers danced, and her Bowtruckle extended its slender claws to wrap around her hand, delighting her.
Before long, Cedric arrived, looking particularly cheerful, as though he was walking on air.
"What's gotten you so happy?" William asked.
"The Whomping Willow was damaged, wasn't it?" Cedric said, sitting next to him.
"And that makes you happy?"
"No, but Professor Sprout needs to treat it, and I've volunteered to help."
Cedric grinned smugly. He planned to collect some of the broken branches during the treatment.
As one of Professor Sprout's favorite students, Cedric enjoyed certain privileges.
"William might not be able to join," Hermione said, holding up her Bowtruckle.
"Why not?"
"Because he has a packed schedule over the next two days," Hermione explained, lifting her chin toward the stack of timetables.
Cedric picked up one of the timetables.
"This morning… nine o'clock: Divination. Nine o'clock: Muggle Studies. Also at nine: Arithmancy. William, how are you taking three classes at the same time?"
"I'll attend selectively," William explained. "For Muggle Studies, I'll just show up for the final exam."
"Wait, you can do that?"
"Of course."
If he didn't have to attend classes, William would even skip Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration lessons.
After all, he'd already mastered the material during time loops, with one-on-one tutoring.
Although William had signed up for many classes, he planned to skip most and simply ace the exams to collect all his certificates by fifth year.
That's the luxury of being a top student.
Hermione seemed deep in thought. It appeared she was considering doing the same next year, especially since William had helped her preview much of the coursework over the summer.
Take Transfiguration, for example—her progress was remarkably advanced.
She could use the relatively light second-year schedule to have William tutor her further.
Hehe~
Hermione's face lit up with a sly smile.
"William, I really don't think you should waste time on that fraud's Divination class. Professor Vector's Arithmancy is far more interesting," Cedric said, popping a piece of bread into his mouth.
"Don't worry. I'll attend Professor Vector's class next," William replied.
Despite its name, Arithmancy was far more rigorous and logical than Divination.
Gringotts required curse breakers to have studied Arithmancy; otherwise, they couldn't break the curses in Egyptian pyramids.
Just then, a deafening roar erupted from the Gryffindor table.
"...stole the car… just wait and see what I'll do to you… You didn't even consider how your father and I felt when we discovered the car was gone…"
"…because you took it without permission, your father is now under investigation by the Ministry of Magic. This is all your fault! If you don't start behaving, we'll bring you home immediately and enroll you in a Muggle boarding school!"
The shouting finally subsided. Ron's face turned bright red, veins bulging on his forehead as he shouted back, "We weren't seen by Muggles! Does that even count as breaking the Statute of Secrecy?"
He then launched into a rant about the "Restriction of Underage Sorcery" and the "International Confederation of Wizards' Statute of Secrecy."
This drew laughter from the crowd, filling the Great Hall with a cheerful atmosphere.