"What?" Michael looked bewildered.
Hogwarts' curriculum was seven years long, but if a student failed to pass a single Ordinary Wizarding Level (OWL) exam, they would have to leave school after their fifth year. Michael didn't understand why Wade would ask such a commonly known question.
"Seven years," Wade said somewhat gravely. "A year is only fifty-two weeks. Minus summer and Christmas holidays, we're only at school for about thirty-eight weeks a year. Seven years is only 266 weeks in total!"
"Uh..." Michael thought for a moment. "That's right—so?"
"So... even if I could thoroughly understand one book a week, that's only 266 books in seven years! But how many books are in the Hogwarts library? Thousands upon thousands! It's like a vault filled with treasure, left open for you to take freely, but you go in, stroll around, and leave with only a small bag of Galleons. Don't you think that's a shame?"
Michael found his words incredibly reasonable, and a sense of urgency, of "time is fleeting," suddenly surged within him.
"And think about it," Wade continued, "Only these seven years... no, these 266 weeks... can we be in the safest place in the world, asking questions anytime of the greatest wizards of our era. Professor McGonagall, one of only seven Animagi since the 20th century, teaches us Transfiguration; Professor Flitwick, the Duelling Champion, teaches Charms; Professor Snape, the Potions Master, teaches Potions... Even though the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is lacking, where else after leaving Hogwarts will you find such an excellent learning environment? When you encounter advanced magic or potion problems after graduation, who else will selflessly guide you, teaching you step-by-step how to do it? Wouldn't it be too late to yearn for the Hogwarts library when you want to learn powerful spells later but can't find a way?"
It wasn't just Michael; the students who had silently gathered around him also couldn't help but nod.
"So, Michael," Wade asked gravely, "Do you still think that using a seventh of our time to learn only eight books is enough?"
Michael, thoroughly convinced by Wade's theory, vigorously shook his head. He wanted to say something but couldn't, and the thought of the two weeks he had already "wasted" filled him with anxiety.
He immediately stopped chatting with the girls, pulled out his A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration, which he had tossed into a corner, and began to study.
For a moment, the Ravenclaw common room fell silent, with only the rustle of turning pages and the scratching of quills. This led two fifth-year students, who had rushed back just before curfew, to believe that Professor Snape had invaded the Ravenclaw common room. They immediately didn't even dare to breathe loudly, tiptoeing back to their dormitory.
Dinner time, in the Great Hall.
"Something's wrong, Fred."
"Yeah, something's really off, George."
The red-haired twins exchanged glances. They both reached out simultaneously and randomly grabbed a Ravenclaw student, pinning him to their house table before he could cry out.
"What do you two want, Weasleys?" the Ravenclaw boy, pinned down, said grumpily. "I don't have time for your pranks."
"Hm? What?" Ron, who was gnawing on a chicken leg, looked up blankly.
"None of your business, little Ronnie!" Fred pushed his brother's head back. The twins each slung an arm around the Ravenclaw boy's neck and asked, "Davies, what's going on with you Ravenclaws lately?"
"Carrying books during dinner—"
"Carrying books while walking—"
"Can barely see any Ravenclaws in the courtyard during lunch break—"
"Even Quidditch practice isn't as lively as it used to be—"
"You guys even skipped dates on weekends!"
"You never used to be so keen on reading, did you?"
"Seriously, did Snape secretly dose you with something?"
"—Like an 'Ardent Learner' Amortentia or something."
Connecting Professor Snape's face with the pink-scented notion of Amortentia, Roger Davies couldn't help but shiver. "Don't talk nonsense, Professor Snape wouldn't give Amortentia... No, I mean, there's no such Amortentia... No, we just suddenly realized—life is short, and the time we have for studying is even shorter."
"Huh?" The two Weasleys looked at him, puzzled.
Roger Davies took a deep breath, looking earnestly at the twins: "Fred, George, do you know how long we can stay at Hogwarts?"
Fred silently reached out to check his forehead for a fever.
"I haven't burnt my brain!" Davies slapped his hand away, then seriously explained theories like "266 weeks," "tens of thousands of books," and "not studying hard is like entering a treasure mountain and leaving empty-handed."
After speaking, Davies took his book and went back to the Ravenclaw table for dinner. The Weasley brothers looked at each other, and even Harry and Ron, who had been focused on their food, unconsciously stopped.
The trend of hard study began to quietly spread throughout Hogwarts.
Of course, most people were only motivated for three minutes. Ron, for example, only bothered to finish his History of Magic essay before going back to playing with his moving Wizard's Chess pieces. The twins still spent most of their time on pranks and researching magical tricks. But there were also some who were secretly inspired to work hard.
Michael was one such person who worked hard intermittently. He was intelligent but not particularly diligent. Sometimes he would be influenced by Wade and study hard for a while, but soon he would be attracted by something more interesting, such as manipulating little paper figures to fight with magic, or discussing music or clothes with pretty girls.
In the practice room, most of the time it was just Wade, Hermione, Theo, and Ryan.
Sometimes, Professor Sprout from Herbology would also come to check, probably worried they were conducting dangerous practices there. After seeing the setup of the practice room and the results of their studies, she praised them profusely, awarded five points to each house, and stated that students could ask her questions whenever she wasn't teaching, as she was happy to help.
Professor Sprout was truly a very gentle and kind witch. She almost never treated students differently based on their house, only showing a preference for those with exceptional talent in Herbology. Soon after, Professor Sprout recommended a Gryffindor student to their study group—Neville Longbottom.
The round-faced boy was honest and simple. He was quite clumsy in his studies, learning spells slower than anyone else, but he was very diligent and never caused trouble. He quickly integrated into their small group.
On a Saturday evening, a notice posted on the common room bulletin board stirred excitement among all first-year students—next week, they would have their first Flying Lesson!