Everyone had a nightmare about three-headed dog that night, except Adam, who was still stuck in his dream world that felt real to him but could not remember on the next morning.
The next day early in the morning, Adam and Hermione went to the school grounds for their daily exercise. But noticing that there were no professors around, they decided to start with their magic practise. It had been a while since they practised magical spells so they decided to cast all the previously learned spells as a warm up. Thanks to Adam's system, he could cast all the spells without any problem but it was really surprising for him to see Hermione cast all spells after just couple of fails in the start. They had only learned these spells, there was not much practise behind it so even he had to admit that Hermione was a really talented witch.
By the end of their practise, Adam decided to try and see if he could ride the flying broomstick. He had bought one Nimbus 2000 and one cleansweep seven from his system. He wanted to practise on Cleansweep seven before riding Nimbus 2000. Hermione was surprised by these broomsticks but Adam managed to convince her that learning to fly was necessary if she wanted to perform well during class. He was slowly brainwashing her into breaking rules.
Both of them tried to ride broomstick one by one. Adam could easily call broomstick into his hand when he said 'up'. He rode on it before lightly jumping up. He stayed in the air for a bit before landing. It was just first day and they didn't have much time so Adam decided to just ride it once and get down. Hermione was also ready with her wand, in case, Adam fell off from his broom. She could not use levitation charm on Adam yet but she could still slow down his fall by using it on his clothes.
After Adam, it was Hermione's turn but it failed miserably as she could not even call broomstick in her hand. Adam laughed as he saw her struggle with it. Instead of waiting for broomstick to come to his hand, he had imagined himself picking up the broomstick when he said 'up'. But Hermione was not even trying to think different methods. She read in the book that broomstick will float into her hands when she says up so she just waited for it to come into her hands. They did not have much time so Adam pulled reluctant Hermione towards the great hall for breakfast.
In the great hall
"Why can't I do it?! I heard from Percy that we'll be having our first flying class in the second week so we might have this class in this week or maybe next week. I want to learn it before the class." Hermione grumbled, she was annoyed that she could not do it but Adam managed to do it on his first try. Adam was her best friend but for her, he was also her biggest rival in the school. She didn't want to fall behind him and it was also the motivation behind her hardwork since she arrived in the Hogwarts.
"Don't worry, You'll definitely learn it. We can't practise out in the open so let's look for an empty classroom or a place where we'll be all alone after classes. We really need practise. We can't just leave those spells as it is after learning them. We will also visit library to find more information about the spells that we need to learn. We have many things to do so don't just focus on flying. We can learn it sooner or later."
Adam looked around in the great hall as he sat on the Gryffindor long table. He could see Daphne who appeared to be in a dazed and confused state. She was there when they saw three headed dog so it was easy to guess that she also had nightmares about it, just like how Hermione couldn't sleep well.
Adam wanted to invite her to their table for breakfast but then he thought someone might see her on Gryffindor table and it would once again lead to conflicts so he decided not to. At the teacher's table, Adam could also see Snape sitting in his seat with daily prophet in his hands.
'Maybe Snape patrols on every Monday.' Adam guessed as he had also seen Snape in the great hall on the last Monday. Adam wanted to go and talk to him but then he thought about the last potions class which made him give up.
Breakfast appeared in front of them but when Adam was about to start, his eyes caught a familiar transparent figure passing directly through Slytherin long table and coming towards them. He had seen her many times in the past week. He didn't know much abput her except for the fact that she was Rowena Ravenclaw's daughter. He also felt she was somewhat familiar but he didn't know the reason behind this feeling. He always smiled and nodded at her whenever their eyes met as not to appear some proud idiot like Draco.
He originally thought that it was just a coincidence that they met so many times but after listening to Daphne's words, he felt something amiss in this whole situation. It was really weird for someone to see each other so many times in such a big castle.
Just as Helena was about to pass through Gryffindor table, Adam quickly spoke, "Good Morning, Ms.Grey."
Many people knew Helena by the name 'Grey Lady' so most of the students called her Ms.Grey or Greylady.
Helena was tall and looked really beautiful with her waist-length hair. She had proud look on her face which always gave out a sense of aloofness. Adam felt it was really a pity that she was now just a ghost as he sneakily checked her out from top to bottom.
Helena paused and turned around to face Adam. She looked at his face for a few seconds before nodding her head. She rarely spoke with anyone so most students except for Ravenclaws thought she could not even speak. Her cold attitude towards everyone else except Ravenclaws also made it difficult for everyone to approach her which was also the reason why many students, be it in the past or the present, knew nothing about her.
She was just about to leave when she noticed something flying towards them. Adam noticed Helena's gaze stopping towards the entrance so he turned around to see what was she looking at.
Adam saw a white owl flying towards him. It had a big box tied to its claws.
Adam got up from his seat and stretched his both hands out to receive the box that his owl 'Athena' brought for him. He was happy to see this box as he knew it was his birthday gift from his parents. There was also a small box on top of the big box that Adam just received.
Adam quickly put the box on the table but when he was about to open it, Athena landed on his shoulder and pecked on his head. It was not her normal gentle peck as it was too hard and painful for him.
"Ouch! Ouch! It hurts. Stop it, Athena." Adam picked her in his hand and held her away from his face as he groaned in pain. Athena just stared Adam without making a noise.
"She looks tired. Maybe she is angry because she had to bring this big box with her." Hermione said while gently caressing Athena's head. Athena also responded enthusiastically and broke free from Adam's hand and landed on Hermione's bushy hairs. Hermione tried to get her off but failed to do so as Athena held tightly on to Hermione's hairs with its claw.
Adam could see that it was just a fake appearance that Athena put forward in front of them. Adam knew Athena was not tired at all and she just wanted a reward but he was still happy to get this gift so he felt generous.
"I will get you something to eat when I am done with my breakfast. Thank you for your hardwork, Athena." said Adam, but Athena didn't react to his words and just made a small noise and kept staring at him. Athena looked like she won't leave unless Adam gives her reward.
Adam's mouth twitched when he saw this but he still managed to maintain his composure and looked into his system.
"Athena, Adam will get you something good after the breakfast. Can you wait?" Hermione tried to convince the stubborn owl that sat on her head. As soon as she finished saying these words, Athena flew up from her head. Hermione felt happy that Athena actually listened to her words instead of listening to Adam but just when she was about to say something to tease Adam about it, she noticed Athena flying down to Adam and then quickly leaving the great hall with something wrapped in black covering in its claws. Hermione then heard Adam shouting beside her, "Don't you get sick by eating plastic!!"
Adam shout was loud that it attracted Snape and Daphne's attention. Adam looked at them with embarrassed look then sat down in his seat. Helena who was silent for a while was also amused by this scene. She muttered in low voice, "That owl is smart."
Adam was surprised to hear her voice. It was really pleasant to ears. It was as beautiful as her appearance. Adam once again glanced at Helena and sighed in pity before replying, "Yeah, she is smart."
Hermione wanted to say something about Athena but she swallowed her words and decided to ask about the box, "What's in this boxes?"
"Birthday Gift."
Adam causally replied as he opened the letter that was attached to big box.
"Dear Adam,
We won't be able to celebrate your birthday together so I(your mom) decided to make a birthday cake for you. You can cut it when you celebrate with your friends. We miss you very much. Take care of your health and send us a letter if you need money.
I(your father) decorated our house for your birthday even if we can't celebrate it. I will keep its pictures for you to see when you come back on Christmas. I also have a gift for you in the small box but don't open it till you cut the cake. Tell me if you need something.
Your father cried after you left that day. He doesn't want to say it but he misses you very much.
We both love you very very much."
It was a short letter but it was enough to bring faint tears to Adam's eyes. He was just getting emotional when this moment was broken by Hermione's shout.
"It's your birthday today?!! Why didn't you tell me? I didn't even get you a gift." Hermione shouted. It was not that loud but it was enough for Snape and Daphne to hear in this empty hall. Adam quickly pulled Hermione's hand to make her stop shouting,
"It's not today. It was yesterday. I forgot to tell you. Don't worry about it. Let's celebrate it now. My mom made a cake." Adam whispered and opened the big box in front of him to show the big chocolate cake inside it.
Hermione looked annoyed when Adam replied like this but she felt like it was also her fault for not knowing her best friend's birthday. So she decided to celebrate Adam's birthday first, then giving him a gift on later date. She told Adam to invite professor Snape while she went to Daphne to get her for his birthday celebration. Adam originally thought, he wouldn't be able to celebrate his birthday this year but now it did not look too bad to him.
"Professor, Can I take your five minutes?" Adam said as he approached teachers table. He was feeling nervous because of that day in the potion's class but he still managed to act calm, atleast on the surface.
"What is it, Taylor? I don't have time to waste on your silly things." Snape looked annoyed as he looked at Adam. Adam didn't know if it was because of him or something else but Snape looked even angrier and gloomy compared to his usual appearance.
"I am sorry if I disturbed you, professor. I just wanted to invite you to celebrate my birthday. I'll leave now." Adam didn't want to stay in front of Snape anymore. He already felt bad for that day and now looking at angry Snape, he felt it was even more problematic than he had originally thought.
'Maybe I should find an opportunity to apologise to him.' Adam thought to himself as he rushed back to his seat. Behind him, Snape also sneakily walked towards the Gryffindor table and stood at the safe distance from the table. Everyone could understand how much he hated Gryffindor from the fact that he was not even willing to walk upto Gryffindor long table which was completely empty right now.
Adam was surprised when he saw Snape but he didn't say anything, in case he ruined Snape's mood.
Daphne reluctantly stood beside Hermione with her swollen eyes. She looked like she would fall asleep anytime but she still stayed for the birthday.
It was not what Adam had imagined but his birthday was still celebrated properly with Hermione's excited singing making up for Helena and Daphne's low voice and Snape's silence. If it was a month before, Adam would never imagine celebrating his birthday in Hogwarts, let alone celebrating it with Helena and Snape which he still could not believe. Both of them were emotionless when it came to students of other houses.
Snape stayed for Adam's birthday which made Adam realize that Snape from this world was really nice or maybe a bit too scheming to act nicely to know about him. Adam was happy to see nice Snape in this world but he was also worried about Snape just acting like this for getting some information about him. Snape was a great spy so it was not surprising for him to do something like this. But if Snape could leave behind his pride to act nicely to get the information about a student, then he was really very dangerous compared to straightforward Snape from the original story.
As for Helena, Adam had no clue about her motives. Adam felt she was really familiar but he didn't know why he had this kind of feeling. Helena stayed for his birthday and even sang 'Happy birthday to you' for him. Even though her voice was nearly inaudible, she still sang for him which was more important. Adam really wanted to know what was going on with her. He was worried about Helena's motives but he also saw her as his opportunity to know more about the trial left behind by her mother, Rowena Ravenclaw.
After his birthday celebration, Snape received his share of cake and left while Daphne chatted with Hermione for a while before going back to her dormitory. They also got to know that yesterday Draco was caught by professor Snape when he was sneaking out of his dormitory for the duel which really made Snape appear as Harry's guardian angel, even in this world.
Adam could not give birthday cake to Helena so he just apologized to her. He felt really bad eating cake in front of her, who could not touch anything and was stuck in this situation for over a thousand years.
"I don't need it. I am used to it." Helena said and left by passing through a wall. Adam could only stare at her back as she left and disappeared.
Adam and Hermione also left the great hall after their breakfasts and arrived in the common room. Adam wanted to take shower but Hermione forced him to open the small box before leaving. It was the gift that Adam's father prepared for him. Adam wanted to open it in his room, in case his father gave him some weird gift like every single year. But with Hermione not letting him leave, he could only pray for a normal gift before opening the box.
Small box was very plain looking from the outside so it was hard to guess what was in it. Adam slowly opened the box and peeked inside it through the small gap. Just when he noticed what was inside it, he quickly took it out of the box and threw the box away.
Hermione saw Adam's excited look so she curiously looked at the gift that Adam received from his parents. It was obvious that Adam really liked this gift so she was also looking for some ideas from this gift.
It was a small, delicate pocket watch in Adam's hand. It was just like any normal old pocket watches but it had some strange feeling to it. Hermione could feel something different about this pocket watch but she could not explain what was the difference it had compared to normal pocket watches.
"Is that... a pocket watch?" Asked Hermione.
"It's not just any pocket watch. I saw it in a store couple of years ago. I wanted to buy it but it was really expensive so I didn't say anything to my father..." Adam paused as he opened the pocket watch looked at the time in it, then he softly said, "But he noticed it and bought it for me. Even I forgot about this watch after so long."
Adam closed the pocket watch and looked at Hermione before speaking"Do you know what is so different about this watch? What makes it so expensive?" He didn't wait for her answer as he glanced at the pocket watch and continued,
"Old woman that sold this watch told me that this watch was a magical object and it had never stopped working since the time she bought it from the previous owner. She had never done anything for its maintenance but it still stayed the same as it is. She might be lying to me at that time but I found this watch really weird and mysterious ever since I saw it which made me believe her words. I really wanted to see if it really is a magical thing. When I first found out about the magic, I tried really hard to use it but nothing happened. My mom-dad can't use magic. Not even making small flame like your mom-dad, so magic was really new thing for me. This watch gave me hope of contacting something magical at that time, and that was also the reason why I wanted this watch. But the day I got Hogwarts admission letter, I never had any thoughts about this watch. I didn't need it anymore but now that I see it I find it even more..."
Adam stopped as he tried to feel something out of this watch but ultimately failed to do so. But before he could continue, he heard Hermione's dreamy voice, "Mysterious and really old. As if it has been like this for very very long time." Adam was surprised to hear these words as he also had the same feeling. He looked at Hermione in surprise and waited for Hermione to continue, "I can feel it too. It's really weird feeling but I am sure this is more than just a watch."
Adam looked at Hermione and then glanced at the pocket watch. He could feel it but he never expected someone else to feel it too. He stayed silent for a while then decided to end this matter for now as he saw Weasely twins coming out of the dormitory.
"Let's talk about this later. We better get ready for the classes."
Both of them went back to their respective dormitories and got ready for their classes. Today was the day when professors would start to teaching them and letting them cast spells. It was not that interesting for Adam and Hermione as they already knew basic spells that professors were going to teach in their classes.
Both of them could cast levitation charm which was the first charm taught by professor Flitwik, while they could also use basic Transfiguration spell taught by Professor McGonagall to turn match into needle.
Adam went to classes as usual. Herbology and Defense Against the Dark Arts classes were boring with no magic included but Adam still managed to enjoy learning more about the plants. During Herbology, Neville answered most of the question which brought many house points for Gryffindor. Adam also managed to learn many new facts about plants from Neville and many of these things were not even recorded in the textbooks. Adam could guess that Neville was probably interested in Herbology since childhood.
Neville was also Adam's friend but they only talked when there were not many people around as Adam didn't want Neville to be seen as his friend in front of others. It would be bad for him since his grandmother told him not to go near Adam. Neville didn't mind these things but Adam didn't want to bring trouble to his friend. Even during the exploration of the castle, Adam did not talk to Neville in front of others. Many people saw them together but they thought Neville was just Hermione's friend as Adam displayed cold attitude towards Neville. Today Neville somehow appeared even more courageous than usual days as he did not even listen to Adam's advice and kept talking to him.
During this time, Hermione was caught by Parvati and Lavender which left Adam all alone. It was really rare for Adam to be alone which let him realise that he really did not have any friends except Hermione and Neville in the Hogwarts. Harry and Ron were standing near him but none of them talked to him. As for Dean and Seamus, they always avoided Adam like they would get infected by some strange thing even if they go near him. Some Gryffindor seniors would talk to him but it was not like a friendship talk.
Weasely twins were the only ones who did not avoid him but they were also always busy with their pranks so it was hard to find them.
Gryffindors shared Herbology with Hufflepuffs so Adam had contact with Hannah Abbot and Susan Bones who asked about his origin on the very first day but afterwards they talked with him normally which was probably due to their Hufflepuff qualities. But other Hufflepuffs were not so open-minded, they mostly ignored him. As for Ernie Macmillan and Justin Finch-Fletchley, Adam even wondered why were they put in the Hufflepuff. All they ever did when they saw Adam was to gossip and create some crazy theories. Adam didn't mind it that much but many other first-years were afraid of Adam because of these stupid theories they spread.
Ravenclaws rarely had contact with Adam. Except for Padma patil who was Parvati patil's twin sister, Adam only had contact with Lisa Turpin who was lost in the castle and later guided by Adam. All Ravenclaws were indifferent to Adam's background as they were already very busy in their own studies. All of them started to study right from the very first week. So Adam had no problems with Ravenclaw house but he also didn't have any friends in this house.
As for Slytherins, all of them hated Gryffindors so it was not even worth Adam's concern. Except for Daphne, nearly everyone had joined Draco's gang. He was more powerful and wealthier compared to everyone else so his status was already fixed as their leader. This brought several more important things to Adam's attention.
Adam realized that if he truly wanted to ensure his and his family's safety while making his name known in this world, he needed things more than just the power.
He needed the power which was indispensable but along with it, he also needed to have enough wealth and reputation. He could not compete with the resources and wealth that the pure-blood families had but he atleast needs to earn enough to provide whatever he needed for himself. He could buy many things or maybe everything with his system but it also had a limitation- Gold and special points which were not unlimited.
Now he has to think of something if he wants to earn Galleons. Most easiest and quick way of making money was to make potions and sell them. Without Ministry's license, he could not officially sell potions so his only option was to sell it in the Knockturn Alley. It was a really good option but he didn't have enough time for it be a long-term money making plan as he could not spend his precious time to keep brewing so many potions. He already had other problems to look into and solve with the time he had.
Another option for making money was to make something new to this wizarding world with his knowledge. This was one of the best option but with his current magical knowledge, it was impossible to achieve.
Then comes the reputation which was even harder as he already had some reputation that brought him enough dangers to his life. If he got more reputation in this wizarding world, he was sure to attract more attention from pure-blood families and possibly from hidden pure-blood families too, which would not leave any hope for him in the wizarding world.
He could not gain enough power to protect himself in a short time. He did not have enough magical knowledge to create long-term plans to accumulate wealth so he had to work on smaller goals and also while keeping his profile low. Reputation was only a danger to him without enough power to protect himself so it was also a bad option.
So now only option left for him was to find himself a backer. There was Greengrass family that he could get as his backer but he could not trust them just yet. Even though he just met Astoria once, he still liked her. As for Daphne, she was also quite different from other pure-blood families. But just based on them, Adam could not completely trust Sophie Greengrass and Greengrass family. If he really wants to gain their complete support, then he needed to get his hands on the Book about blood magic that Rowena Ravenclaw left behind in her trial. It would leave a bargaining chip in his hand.
So for now, all he could do was to try to create his good image in front of his schoolmates and professors. He also wished for a normal school life that he could not enjoy in his previous life so he really didn't want to be isolated from others by all these rumours.
Hermione stayed all day long with Parvati and Lavender who seemed to be getting along with her after their initial disagreement. Hermione was happy to get along with them after they cleared the misunderstandings from before. She was happy to get two more good friends.
During the charms class, Professor Flitwik taught them how to cast the levitation charm. Many of them failed as Adam had already guessed; it was still very early for them to learn to cast spells, just like what professor Flitwik had said before. Many of them had wrong wand movements while remaining ones were still stuck with the wrong incantation pronunciation. This also led to the appearance of the same familiar scene from the movie when Hermione stopped Ron's stupid wand waving and incantation. She also told him how to properly pronounce the incantation, in return, Ron said something that Adam couldn't hear but it made Hermione really angry.
She marched away right after the class ended. Both Adam and Hermione received 10 house points for performing the levitation spell and 5 more house points for answering the questions but it was probably not enough to calm Hermione down so Adam could only see her leave.
He also noticed new task appearing in his system. He could now receive 10G(gold) and 100SP(special points) for every house point he earned which also motivated him to answer the questions in following classes.
During Transfiguration class, Professor McGonagall made everyone recall the Transfiguration alphabets and formulas but after looking at everyone's confused and clueless faces, she became extremely angry. She immediately cancelled her plan to teach how to use Transfiguration and let everyone review the things that they learned in the past week which made everyone dissatisfied but Professor McGonagall didn't care about it.
Adam could not find Hermione after they were done with their classes for the day so he decided to go to library alone. But then after a while, Neville came to the library to ask for Adam's help to practise levitation charm. Neville was really nervous about his progress compared to Adam and Hermione. He wanted to practise hard and catch up to them in hope of not being left behind too far away by his friends. Adam happily agreed to help him before taking him to school grounds for the practise. Many students looked at Neville in a weird way but he did not mind them at all and kept practicing with Adam.
As Adam practised magic spells while teaching Neville about Levitation charm, Hermione finally left her room after calming her anger. But as soon as she arrived in the common room, she heard a part of conversation that piqued her curiosity.
"Ron, see this news. Goblins are still refusing to tell what that thief wanted to steal from the Gringotts. I think that thief wanted to steal what Hagrid took out from the vault 713. Maybe we should warn him or professor Dumbledore." Harry said as he pointed at the news article in the daily prophet. Harry had already seen this news last week but now there was another follow-up about this incident in this article which reminded him of the thing that Hagrid took out from the vault 713. It was a small thing but it was kept in a big vault so it had to be important.
"Yes, We should go to Hagrid but maybe we should also ask about that three-headed dog. I heard that Hagrid knows about many magical creatures." said Ron. Both Ron and Harry had already left behind their initial fear and felt that it was quite an adventure to meet three-headed dog. They were keen to search for their next adventure.
"Hagrid should know about it. Why would school want to keep such monster in the castle? It could hurt somebody." Harry said thoughtfully. He was thinking all day about the three-headed dog. It had left a great impression in his mind.
Hermione listened to their conversation while hiding at the corner near stairs. She was listening to all their crazy thoughts, which were unbearable for her. She had seen the trapdoor under the three-headed dog so she had guessed it was there to hide and protect something. After a while, She finally had enough of their nonsense as she walked up to them and said in mocking tone, "You guys are really idiots. You can't even see what that monster was standing on."
Ron immediately made a face when he heard Hermione's voice. He was already tired of Hermione's bossy know-it-all attitude but before he could make her leave Harry asked curiously,
"What do you mean? What was it standing on?"
Hermione always loved to show her knowledge to everyone so she also walked upto them and sat on empty armchair, near the sofa they were sitting on before starting to explain about the trapdoor. Harry also put forward his thoughts about the thing that Hagrid took out from vault 713 being hidden under that monster. It lead to their conversation to last for couple of hours. If Adam saw them like this, he would definitely think that golden trio was starting to get together which was not acceptable for him.