"Are you okay?" Michael carefully supported Shawn.
The young wizard was still breathing heavily.
"I'm fine." After a few minutes of recovery, Shawn came to his senses. He had overestimated this body that was just recovering from serious illness. He decided to walk slower next time and moved learning to fly up in priority, making it top importance after obtaining the scholarship.
"All right." Michael's eyes drooped, his gaze flickering.
After reaching the dormitory, what Shawn needed to do became much simpler. He only needed to face the simple History of Magic, Transfiguration, Potions, Charms, and Defense Against the Dark Arts homework. Originally these were all assignments due within a week, but Shawn obviously didn't plan to drag it out that long.
He completed the Defense Against the Dark Arts essay in just half an hour. The Charms essay didn't last twenty minutes. The only one requiring real attention was the one-foot History of Magic essay. Although there was a lot, Shawn had basically finished it last time—only the conclusion remained.
"You're kidding me..." Michael, who had witnessed the whole process, was somewhat dazed. "You just, like that, just like that, finished three assignments? Including that terrifyingly long History of Magic essay?"
Shawn turned his head, his long eyelashes trembling slightly.
"Don't look at me with that 'this is normal, can't you do it?' expression!" Michael slammed his book shut with a bang. "I guarantee, at this time, no one else has finished these assignments!" As he spoke, he quickly left the dormitory. When he returned, two wizards were following him—Terry and Anthony.
"Sorry to disturb you," Anthony greeted politely.
"Michael said there's Mer..." Terry began shyly but was quickly cut off by Michael's hand covering his mouth.
"Shawn, look, everyone hasn't finished." Michael proudly held up two pieces of parchment with nearly three inches of writing, but they were still far from the one-foot length. "So, please teach us!"
Shawn was somewhat confused. Although there was indeed quite a bit, it shouldn't be this difficult... Looking at three pairs of knowledge-seeking eyes, Shawn nodded and picked up his parchment.
"In fact," Shawn pointed to his handwriting, "completing a history essay is very simple. Professor Binns' topic is Emeric and Uric the Oddball. The first step is to draw a timeline and find the era these two wizards lived in..." Shawn picked up the timeline he'd drawn and handed it to the three who didn't dare be distracted.
"Next, we can find their living background. The content in A History of Magic is detailed enough. Then comes the second step: analyze these two wizards' actions within that context. Well, the book has a good saying: judging people divorced from context is pointless. Then the third step: re-evaluate their actions and propose your own argument. Next is the fourth step: compare the two with other people and events in historical materials, combining history with theory. This is the core of a historical essay. Finally, you can write a conclusion or write about the value of your argument. Adding some deeper prospects wouldn't be wrong either."
Shawn seemed to remember something. He opened a notebook written halfway through. "Because the timeline in A History of Magic is chaotic, I combined it with several books like Notable Wizards, Great Wizarding Failures and Their Lessons, and others to organize things. You can use this notebook of mine directly."
After he finished speaking, he watched the three young wizards' eyes go from dazed to increasingly bright. Finally, Michael reverently took the notebook, murmuring, "Shawn, you're a godsend... This is my bible... Parchment, where's my parchment? I'm pulling an all-nighter with this!"
Terry and Anthony also burst with enthusiasm. The three pored over the notes. The dormitory was suddenly left with only the rustling sound of quills and the crackling of flames in the fireplace.
Anthony's solemn thanks still lingered in Shawn's ears. He nodded and effortlessly completed the Transfiguration essay. In fact, that theoretical framework could extend to all assignments.
Shawn didn't mind that there were two more people in the room. He set aside the Potions homework separately and wrote down the second step of his plan in the notebook he carried:
[Find materials for brewing potions.]
He had preliminarily mastered material processing methods. As long as he had materials on hand, the prerequisite work for potion brewing would be complete. But where would the materials come from?
The school supply list didn't require buying materials. The young wizards all used potion materials provided by Hogwarts. So could they be used after class? Shawn thought they should be usable, but the probability of Professor Snape agreeing was infinitely close to zero.
Shawn inexplicably thought of Professor Snape's face written all over with rejection. He sighed slightly. If there was something more terrifying than having no talent, it was having no talent and encountering Professor Snape. What should he do?
The question circled in Shawn's mind. Dusk also enveloped Hogwarts. Blue and bronze silk curtains hung from the dome, dyed by the thin moonlight filtering through the windows into an almost night-like ink blue. The air was filled with the slight mustiness of old book pages, the supple scent of parchment, and a coolness like air after rain.
Shawn's gaze fell outside that huge arched window. His emerald eyes seemed covered with a layer of fog common in Scottish autumn and winter, reflecting the flickering light from the fireplace.
"There will always be a way," Shawn told himself. "This is magical Hogwarts."
The long night passed. The castle awakened again. The stone statues in the corridor were bathed in the first ray of warm orange-yellow, causing the young wizard holding a book to raise his hand to shield his eyes.
Wednesday. Because Ravenclaw had no first class in the morning, the first-years were still immersed in dreams. Shawn had gotten up early. Usually at this time was breakfast at the orphanage. Missing it meant no make-up, so Shawn had developed good habits of sleeping and rising early.
He walked into the Great Hall and swept through pumpkin soup, chicken and ham pie, and Cribbidge's Wizarding Crackers. Justin's gentle smile still reliably appeared beside him.
"Good morning, Shawn."
"Good morning." Shawn nodded, then saw Justin take out a thick An Anthology of Eighteenth Century Charms to read.
"Hogwarts is really magical. If Professor Binns hadn't assigned that one-foot essay, I think I'd have more time to explore the castle and the kitchen next to the common room..." Mentioning homework, Justin frowned slightly, and some shadow appeared on his usually sunny face.
"Yes." Shawn heard the word "kitchen," and more light appeared in his big emerald eyes. Damn. Sorting Hat, I also want to be a Hufflepuff with snack freedom... he thought.
Then he discovered something strange. "Professor Binns also assigned Hufflepuff a one-foot essay?"
"Also?" Justin looked up in surprise. "Could it be..."