The Charms classroom.
Theo was still shaking his head, as if replaying what had just happened.
"Rock, that was awesome!"
Rock licked his lips—they were a little dry. After a full Charms class, he figured he had guided at least ten younger students.
Of course, the rewards were great.
[Levitation Charm Lv. 2 (460/599)]
Watching the spell experience go up again made Rock feel as refreshed as chugging an ice-cold soda in the middle of summer.
And the best part? This was steady income. Thinking about how every Charms class from now on would be like this made him even happier.
Adam checked the class schedule beside him, then looked up at Rock and Theo. "Looks like we only had one class this morning."
Rock glanced over—he had already checked it the night before. "Yeah, and we only have one Transfiguration class this afternoon."
Theo leaned toward Rock. "So what are we doing now?"
"Studying?"
"Nope!" Theo and Adam shook their heads immediately.
After an intense Charms class, their brains felt scrambled. If they studied now, they'd be useless in Transfiguration later.
Rock's eyelid twitched. He was beginning to doubt whether these two were truly Ravenclaws.
"Well then… how about a tour of Hogwarts before lunch?"
He thought about it—less than an hour. Honestly, exploring the castle sounded way better.
And he could look for the Room of Requirement without having to sneak around.
"Deal!" Theo and Adam nodded in unison. They were both super curious about Hogwarts anyway.
"Tsk. In a sense, Rock, you're really the Ravenclaw type," Theo said, clicking his tongue as he looked him up and down. "We were in the same Charms class—how are you not exhausted?"
"How are we the same? Rock literally cast the Levitation Charm after listening to Professor Flitwick explain it once."
Adam chimed in. This kind of magic talent was ridiculous.
"Who said I learned it in class? I was practicing before school even started."
Rock snapped his spellbook shut. "Come on—we still have over an hour before lunch."
"Let's go!"
Theo was absolutely serious about having fun.
The three of them headed downstairs from the fourth floor. They'd just reached a second-floor hallway and were about to take the stairs to the first floor—
A scream exploded from the girls' restroom on the left. A student bolted out, looking completely terrified, mumbling apologies as he sprinted past them.
He sped by like a gust of wind, muttering under his breath:
"That ghost is insane!"
"Oh, look who we have here—three little lambs heading toward the girls' bathroom!" a shrill voice called.
"Boys are always like this, aren't they? Never reading the sign. Is the lettering too small, or do you just think the rules don't apply to you?"
Rock tugged at the corner of his mouth. Myrtle's dramatic expression and that sharp, pity-tinged tone were… something.
"R-Rock… let's go," Adam whispered, face turning pale. Growing up in the non-magical world, he still had that ingrained fear of "ghosts."
To him, this was basically the same as seeing a ghost in broad daylight.
"I heard about this last night," Theo said. "A senior warned us—never get close to the second-floor bathroom."
"Ohhh. So that's why."
Rock nodded. He had zero interest in going near it anyway—especially since it was the girls' bathroom.
The three headed down to the first floor. Even though the moving portraits and stone statues were fascinating at first, after a while they all felt kind of… ordinary.
"I'm starting to think Hogwarts isn't that special," Theo muttered. His family had portraits too. Everything else was just novelty.
Honestly, his magical telescope at home was more fun.
Rock, however, thought differently. He'd noticed a few interesting things in the portraits.
Sure, they greeted passing students, but he remembered hearing that portraits could communicate with one another.
If used right, that was basically a real-time surveillance system—one that never got tired.
And beyond that, the people in the portraits were actual historical figures with their memories and personalities intact.
Plus, he'd overheard several portraits gossiping before they even walked by.
Like how Professor Snape was apparently even more irritable than usual in Potions this morning.
Or how Hagrid—the half-giant—had come into the castle late last night, then left again shortly after.
He'd also heard that the Weasley twins had been scolded harshly by Professor McGonagall.
Honestly, this wasn't a collection of paintings—it was a giant social network and intelligence system.
Or… the headquarters of Hogwarts gossip.
"I think it's kinda fun. Definitely better than ghosts," Adam said. As long as something wasn't a ghost, he could deal with it.
"Ghosts are everywhere! There are ghosts at the Ministry of Magic, and at St. Mungo's Hospital too. Oh—my dad said some old pure-blood estates have ghosts living in them as well," Theo said, counting on his fingers.
Rock stared at him. What was this kid's life?
Even the Ministry? Most wizarding families rarely went there.
If you were there, you either worked there—or got dragged in for doing something illegal.
Judging from Theo's tone, his dad probably worked at the Ministry… and visited St. Mungo's often.
Adam swallowed hard. Hearing that some old manors had resident ghosts made him shudder.
"Living with ghosts… doesn't that freak you out?"
Rock chuckled and pointed at a ghost drifting by. "We're already living with ghosts. And Ravenclaw has its own house ghost too."
Adam paled even more. Rock waved a hand reassuringly.
"It's fine. Our ghost hardly ever shows up. And thanks to Ravenclaw's vibe, the other ghosts rarely come by either."
"Haaah—"
Adam finally exhaled deeply. Seeing Theo's confused look, he rushed to explain:
"It's not that I'm scared… but in the non-magic world, ghosts are basically the same as evil spirits."
"Evil spirits?" Theo blinked. He understood the idea but still didn't get why Adam was so scared.
"You can think of it like dementors," Rock explained. "In the non-magic world, ghosts are like something adults whisper about in fear."
And honestly, dementors really were similar to what non-magical people feared ghosts would be—creatures that sucked away joy and left only pain, even killing in extreme cases.
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