After the prefect finished introducing the common room, the young wizards headed up to their dormitories.
There were ten first-years: eight boys and two girls. Since each dorm accommodated four students, the eight boys were split evenly into two rooms, while the two girls were presumably placed in a room with some older students.
Second floor, left side, third door past the stairs.
Richie stepped into the room that would be his home for the next seven years.
It was a simple but cozy space. A bronze, star-shaped chandelier hung from the ceiling, casting a soft, warm glow. There were four four-poster beds, all draped with heavy blue velvet curtains. A desk sat neatly beside each bed.
The room also featured a large floor-to-ceiling window that offered a stunning view of the starry sky and the rippling surface of the Black Lake outside.
Richie found his bed—conveniently located right next to the window—marked with a small name card.
His trunk had already been unpacked and his belongings neatly arranged. Resting on his bedspread was a small booklet and two little cards.
Richie picked them up. The first card read:
"Your owl has been successfully housed in compartment 102 of the Owlry, located at the top of the West Tower."
The second card was his first-year Ravenclaw class schedule:
"Monday: 9:00 - 10:00 Charms, 10:15 - 11:15 Transfiguration..."
Overall, the days were packed pretty solid. Two classes in the morning, one in the afternoon. They even had scheduled study periods:
"Monday, Wednesday, Thursday 15:15 - 16:15: Great Hall Study Period. Tuesday, Friday 15:15 - 16:15: Magical Practice & House Tutoring."
So, roughly four classes—or four hours of instruction—a day?
Looking at the schedule, Richie actually felt a strange sense of comfort. Maybe it was because the twelve years of mandatory schooling from his past life had hardwired him to thrive in this kind of structured environment? That period of his life had taken up nearly an eighth of his total lifespan, after all. Seeing a familiar routine now seemed to trigger some deep-seated genetic code to reactivate.
As for the booklet, it was the Hogwarts Student Handbook – Ravenclaw Edition.
It was incredibly detailed, outlining the house rules, curfews, and disciplinary guidelines.
"Um, hello."
One of Richie's new roommates suddenly spoke up, breaking the ice.
"I'm Terry Boot. It's nice to meet you all."
It was a boy with dark hair and a slightly square jaw, looking incredibly shy as he spoke. Still, Richie was surprised he was the one to initiate the conversation.
Richie immediately followed suit. "I'm Richie Harland. I hope we all get along."
Seeing this, the other two boys quickly chimed in with their own introductions.
"I'm Anthony Goldstein."
"And I'm Stephen Cornfoot."
With the awkwardness out of the way, the three of them instinctively gravitated toward Richie's bed and started chatting.
"I remember you! You cast a Wand-Lighting Charm back on the platform!"
"It was really bright, too. I tried to do it, but I couldn't get it to work."
"Oh! I saw that too!"
"I'm from London, so I've never been around magic before. I only read a little bit of the beginning of the books. I didn't understand the rest at all!"
"Same here! Me neither!"
Watching the three eleven-year-olds instantly bundle together and start chattering away like excited birds, Richie's mouth twitched into a small smile.
Alright, fair enough. What did he expect? They were eleven-year-old kids. He couldn't really expect them to act all cool and aloof.
So, Richie dropped his guard and joined in on the conversation.
He lost track of how long they talked, but eventually, the three boys couldn't fight off their exhaustion anymore. They crawled into their respective beds and quickly fell asleep.
Richie, however, stayed up just long enough to write a quick entry in his diary before finally laying down to rest.
The next morning, Richie slowly opened his eyes to the sound of the Hogwarts bells chiming in the distance.
His three roommates were still dead to the world. Seeing this, he quietly slipped out of bed, got dressed, gathered the textbooks and supplies he'd need for the morning, and tiptoed out of the dorm.
He walked down to the common room.
It was completely empty. Richie tossed his books onto a nearby table, pulled out his wand, and cast a quick Scouring Charm over his face and mouth.
Feeling instantly refreshed and clean, he nodded in satisfaction. He had to admit, magic was incredibly convenient, especially for the little things.
After straightening his robes, he started browsing the surrounding bookshelves.
According to the student handbook, the first Hogwarts bell rang at 7:00 AM, signaling the house-elves to start preparing breakfast. The second bell rang at 8:00 AM, which was when students could head down to the Great Hall to eat. After that, the bells synced up with the start and end of classes.
Pretty nice system...
Since he was up early, Richie had an entire free hour to kill. He figured he'd spend it checking out the common room library.
"Oh, an early riser."
A drifting, airy voice suddenly echoed through the room.
A second later, a translucent female ghost wearing pearlescent robes drifted straight out of a bookcase.
Having already seen ghosts in the Great Hall the night before, Richie wasn't startled. Instead, he greeted her politely.
"Good morning, ma'am."
The ghost completely ignored him. She simply drifted toward the opposite wall, muttering softly to herself as she floated along.
"I used to like getting up early too... getting up early to read, just so I could be better than her... but..."
A moment later, she phased through the wall and vanished.
Richie watched her bizarre entrance and exit, shrugged, and turned back to the shelves.
Almost immediately, a specific title caught his eye.
Case Studies: What Happens When Magic is Cast with Opposing Emotions?
Intrigued, Richie reached for it. To his surprise, the entire section of the shelf slid outward like a drawer, presenting the book directly to him.
Oh?
Richie's lips curled into a grin. "I think I'm really going to like it here."
He pulled the book out, and the shelf smoothly retracted to its original position. He found a comfortable chair, sat down, and eagerly dove into the reading.
Before he knew it, a full hour had passed, and the Hogwarts bells chimed again.
When Richie finally looked up, he was startled to realize the common room was now completely full. (Granted, there were only about ten single desks total).
Aside from him, though, everyone else was an older student.
The bells didn't just pull Richie out of his book; they snapped everyone else back to reality too.
"Oh, what a cute little first-year."
An older girl stood up and walked past him. Without breaking stride, she casually reached out, aggressively ruffled his messy blonde hair, and giggled as she left the room.
"Let's see... Harland, right?"
While Richie was still frozen in shock, the sixth-year prefect who had guided them the night before, Hunter Clad, walked over.
"Didn't expect you to be the first one up reading."
"You definitely motivated quite a few of the older students today."
Hunter casually patted Richie on the head, then walked over to the notice board to update the announcements.
Wait a minute!
Richie whipped his head around to look at the other older students still in the room. Seeing the eager, calculating looks in their eyes, it suddenly clicked.
Terrified, he scrambled to his feet, violently shoved his book back onto the shelf, gathered his things, and bolted for the door.
"What a shame..."
"I knew I should have just gone for it."
"His hair looked so soft..."
Richie tripped over his own feet near the doorway and nearly face-planted on his way out.