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Chapter 9: Gryffindor Common Room
Chapter 9: Gryffindor Common Room
Under the guidance of Prefect Percy, the first-years navigated through the bustling crowd, exiting the Great Hall and ascending the marble staircase. As they walked, the portraits lining the corridors whispered and pointed at them, and Percy led them through hidden doors twice, concealed behind sliding panels and hanging curtains.
Liam thought that Hogwarts being described as a fortress from the Dark Ages must be true. Only a castle built as a military stronghold would have so many inconvenient barriers and secret passages designed to thwart invaders.
Everyone was yawning, even Liam. It seemed that at 11 years old, their bodies were still developing. Otherwise, Liam, who had been adept at cultivation in his past life, wouldn't have been so tired at just past nine o'clock.
After dragging their heavy feet up many more flights of stairs, which felt as if they were enchanted and would never end, the group suddenly stopped.
It turned out Peeves was causing trouble in mid-air. Fortunately, Percy drove him away. They continued on, reaching the end of the corridor where Percy announced they had arrived.
At the end of the corridor hung a portrait of a very plump woman dressed in pink.
"Password?" she asked.
"Dragon dung", Percy replied. The portrait swung forward, revealing a round opening in the wall. They all climbed through, with Liam pulling Neville in after him, and found themselves in the Gryffindor Common Room. It was a cozy, circular room with a golden and red color scheme, filled with soft armchairs. A roaring fireplace against the wall dispelled much of the ancient castle's chill.
Clearly, the first-years were very tired. Percy, understanding this, didn't say much. He directed the girls through one door to their dormitory and then led the boys through another. At the top of a spiral staircase, Liam found his own bedroom.
Fortunately, he wasn't sharing a dorm with Harry. Otherwise, in their third year, there would be a 1/5 chance of being woken at two in the morning by a terrifying middle-aged man holding a knife at the bedside.
The bedroom contained five four-poster beds, draped with deep red velvet curtains. Their luggage had already been brought up. After a long day of train travel and the welcoming feast, everyone was exhausted and fell asleep without another word.
Due to his habits, Liam woke up early the next morning, just as the sun was rising. He was the first one up, and his roommates were still asleep.
A first-year timetable was placed on his bedside table, which surprised Liam since he usually slept very lightly and would wake up if someone else was around. The House-Elf must indeed be very capable to place the timetable there without disturbing him.
After looking at the timetable, Liam saw that first-years had eight classes. Classes were generally from nine in the morning to twelve, and from two to three-thirty in the afternoon, Monday through Friday. Astronomy was the only class held from eight to nine in the evening. Honestly, this schedule was much shorter than the school hours in junior high in China.
After washing up, and realizing he had no morning classes, Liam decided not to wake his roommates. He descended the stairs to the common room.
Hermione was already sitting on a sofa, reading a book.
"Good morning, Hermione", Liam waved. He then sat down on a sofa next to her and said, "Even though we don't have classes this morning, it's still a good idea to have breakfast. Skipping breakfast isn't a good idea."
Hermione flipped to a page in her book and pointed to a section. "I learned from Hogwarts, A History that the castle has a total of one hundred and forty-two staircases. Some are wide and grand; others are narrow and rickety; some lead to different places every Friday; and some have a step that disappears halfway up."
Worse still, there were many doors that wouldn't open for you unless you politely asked them to or poked the right spot. Some doors weren't even real doors but merely solid walls that looked like doors. Remembering where everything was was incredibly difficult because everything seemed to be constantly moving. The people in the portraits visited each other constantly, and it was certain that even the armor could walk.
Hermione closed her book and spread her hands. "So I can only wait here for now, hoping that an upperclassman might pass by and take us... take us to the Great Hall."
Fortunately, they didn't have to wait long. Footsteps echoed from the stairs, and a girl with black hair in a braid descended.
Liam immediately asked for help. This girl, who introduced herself as Angelina Johnson, readily offered her assistance and led Liam and Hermione to the Great Hall, explaining the special stairs and hidden doors along the way.
Upon reaching the Great Hall, she told Liam and Hermione that the changes in the castle had a pattern. With some effort, they could quickly memorize the characteristics of the stairs.
During the meal, Liam couldn't help but envy the Hufflepuffs, whose dormitory was the closest to the Great Hall and even next to the kitchen.
After the meal, Liam had planned to explore the castle while he had no classes in the morning. After all, as a Harry Potter fan in his previous life, how could he not visit the familiar places described in the books?
Unfortunately, Hermione disrupted this plan. She believed that studying before class was crucial, so she decided to go to the Library and invited Liam to join her.
Liam thought that if he didn't go to the Library, he would likely be looked down upon by Hermione with the disdainful eyes reserved for underachievers. Besides, the Library was also an important location in the original novel. So, Liam abandoned his plan to wander around the castle and went to the Library with Hermione.
The Library was located on the second floor of Hogwarts Castle and had a high dome. It housed thousands of bookshelves, each filled with countless books.
Since it was early in the morning, Liam and Hermione found the Library nearly empty. Hermione sat down at an empty table, opened her textbook, and occasionally jotted notes in her notebook.
Liam selected a few books that introduced the current state of the magical world. The information he had previously obtained was incomplete, and the novel he read in his past life only provided some insights. However, these comprehensive introductions to the magical world were the cornerstone for surviving in this wondrous place.
An hour later, the morning classes at Hogwarts ended, and a large group of students flooded into the Library to research and complete their homework.
The bustling environment was a bit irritating for Liam. Seeing that Hermione was deeply engrossed in her studies, he didn't want to disturb her. After checking out a few books with Madam Pince, Liam left the Library with his books.
Liam still hadn't memorized the route to the upper floors, but fortunately, he encountered Nearly Headless Nick on the way, which helped him return to Gryffindor Tower smoothly.
(End of Chapter)
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