#26 - Senior textbooks

"Good heavens, your experiences have truly opened my eyes, further reinforcing my belief that there are no shortcuts on the path of magic, and that diligent practice will surely be rewarded. →" Professor Flitwick was so excited he almost jumped up and down, his resolve to delve into magic strengthened after hearing Anduin's experiences.

"I agree with that view, Professor Flitwick. In fact, I'm not satisfied with my current level. I earnestly hope to receive more guidance from you. I've already mastered most of the first-year material, and I'm eager to advance further." Seeing the professor's excitement, Anduin thought he might as well seize the opportunity to ask for a little something.

"Indeed, I wouldn't say anything to discourage ambition. An insatiable thirst for knowledge is a wizard's greatest asset." Professor Flitwick nodded approvingly, then added,

"If you wish to study advanced spells, you can go to the upper-year Charms classroom. The bookshelves there contain many old books left behind by older students. Furthermore, I'll write you a suitable reading list, which you can use to borrow books from the library. And if you encounter any difficulties while learning spells, you can always come to me, and I'll personally answer your questions." After speaking, Professor Flitwick paused to consider, then continued,

"I'd like to invite you to join my Charms study club. Although I've never invited a first-year student before, you can start by observing. I believe you'll be able to keep up. You should know that Lily performed exceptionally well in my Charms study club back in the day." Flitwick, perhaps carried away by his excitement, was practically treating Anduin as if he were a student from his own house.

"Thank you very much, Professor Flitwick. I appreciate your recognition and admiration," Anduin said gratefully, bowing slightly to the professor as he sincerely expressed his thanks.

"Keep it up, Anduin, maintain your persistence and effort, and your future will be limitless!" Flitwick exclaimed, looking at the young wizard, who was taller than him.

Anduin concluded his conversation with Professor Flitwick, and, with the professor's reading list and club invitation in hand, he happily left the Charms classroom.

To have such a rewarding experience on the first day of school was truly unimaginable.

"First, I'll follow Professor Flitwick's advice and search for some upper-year textbooks in the upper-year classroom. After all, one must take things one step at a time, and not be too eager for quick success." After making his plans, Anduin headed to the Great Hall, ate a quick lunch, and then began wandering through the various upper-year classrooms.

"Alohomora." Anduin cast the unlocking charm at a fifth-year Charms classroom.

He had already searched classrooms from several year levels and had reaped great rewards, with each classroom's storage cabinets containing some old textbooks.

Some of these were incomplete, and Anduin even found textbooks that had been burned, leaving only half of the original. After prioritizing the more or less complete books, Anduin would browse through their contents.

Some textbooks were missing a few pages, which Anduin guessed might have been torn out by mischievous young wizards to make paper airplanes. The complete textbooks were all different, with some containing dense notes, many of which Anduin found to be insightful, making them much more valuable than blank textbooks.

Anduin thoroughly searched the remaining six year-level classrooms and found seven valuable textbooks. Why seven? Because two textbooks from the sixth-year classroom contained very rich notes, with differing content, but both of which Anduin found very valuable.

He even found Lily Evans' Charms textbook in the fifth-year classroom, which recorded many of Lily's understandings of charms. Most importantly, Anduin discovered many records about defensive magic in it, perhaps Lily already had the idea of a Patronus at this time.

This made Anduin treasure the book, and after collecting all the books, he realized that it was almost time for afternoon classes, so Anduin went to the History of Magic classroom with the books in his arms.

Anduin discovered that at Hogwarts, the classroom arrangements for each subject varied greatly. For example, the seven core subjects of Charms, Potions, Transfiguration, and Defense Against the Dark Arts each had independent classrooms for each year level, while Herbology was mostly taught in greenhouses, Astronomy in the Astronomy Tower, and History of Magic, which Anduin had originally thought would have one classroom per year level, only had one classroom.

He then understood why, as the History of Magic professor, Cuthbert Binns, was actually a ghost.

"It's said that many years ago, when Professor Binns was still alive, he fell asleep in front of the fireplace in the staff lounge. When he woke up and rushed to class, he forgot to bring his body with him. As a result, he died that night, but this small problem didn't stop him from continuing his teaching career. Rumor has it that he didn't even notice he was dead," Vivian told Anduin about the rumors she had heard from somewhere, but Anduin thought it was very likely to be true.

Looking at the ghost professor on the podium lecturing on the recent history of the magical world, Anduin was thoughtful.

"It seems that after becoming a ghost, memories don't just stay in life, because the history the professor is explaining now clearly happened after his death."

However, Anduin's interest in this course may only extend this far, because Professor Binns' class was incredibly boring, and almost all the young wizards below the stage were drowsy. Vivian, on the other hand, was very energetic and listened carefully.

Therefore, Anduin generously started to slack off, directly opening a second-year textbook he had just found and reading it with relish.

Anduin walked along the corridor to the library and found Madam Pince, borrowing all six books on Flitwick's reading list, and took them back to his room along with the seven old textbooks. He planned to retreat and practice directly for a period of time, mastering these books.

Anduin's priority was still the upper-year textbooks. After all, mastering the basic required content first would make the foundation more solid. He found that the teaching content in the textbooks from grades 3-6 was very rich in both quality and quantity, while the content of grade 7 was small in quantity but very profound in quality. It is said that in grade 7, students can choose to graduate or intern early, and the remaining wizards can choose the 'Ultimate Wizard Exam'. Most of the content in the textbook is related to it, including the teaching content of Apparition.

Two days passed, and Anduin, who had found a treasure, spent almost all his time studying spells except for classes.