"Come in, make yourselves at home, no need to stand on ceremony."
Hagrid plunked down a plate of rock cakes onto the table before plopping himself onto a chair, which creaked ominously under his weight. Evan and the others watched with concern, but the chair held firm, valiantly bearing the load it was never meant to support.
"Hagrid, this is Ron, and this is Hermione..." Harry introduced his friends as they settled in, but Evan didn't wait for his turn, standing up to greet Hagrid first.
"Hello, Hagrid, I'm Evan, pleased to meet you!"
"Oh, me too." Hagrid's giant hand engulfed Evan's in a handshake that looked comically mismatched due to their difference in size.
The large dog Fang was bustling around Ron, occasionally jumping up and dousing him with saliva.
Ron, who had swiftly tucked Scabbers into his pocket at the first sign of Fang's approach, was growing increasingly paranoid, as if someone was out to get his rat...
Harry and Ron then began to vent to Hagrid about Snape's deliberate targeting of them during class. Hermione listened with furrowed brows but held back any objections.
Evan did not join their discussion. Snape may have been prejudiced against Harry and Gryffindor students, but he was competent in teaching. Many of the potion formulas he taught were his own improved versions.
Especially surprising was the 'Outstanding' grade Snape had given Evan in their first potions class, which made it difficult for Evan to badmouth the professor.
Of course, Evan wouldn't mind if Snape decided to pose more questions during classes.
"The Gringotts break-in?" Evan's interest was piqued by a newspaper next to the teapot just as he was about to test the rock-hardness of Hagrid's cakes.
Harry and Ron paused their conversation and crowded around the paper, which reported a major robbery at Gringotts on the night of July 31st. Authorities believed it to be the work of dark witches or wizards, though the goblins insisted nothing was stolen.
"It happened on July 31st," Harry exclaimed as if recalling something. "Hagrid, that was my birthday, and we were there!"
"Was it?" Hagrid mumbled, avoiding eye contact with Harry and clumsily changing the subject to the rock cakes, urging everyone to eat more.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione all nearly broke their teeth on the cakes, which were as hard as bricks, but they didn't have the heart to discard them, seeing Hagrid's eager face.
Evan slyly soaked his rock cake in tea, softening it just enough to manage half a bite.
When it was time to leave, Hagrid, as enthusiastic as ever, stuffed everyone's pockets with rock cakes, despite their protests...
The group walked back to the castle together, then split up at the staircases, with Harry and Ron heading to their dormitory while Evan took the opportunity to search for the Room of Requirement.
Evan realized that no matter how much knowledge he had, without practical experience, his proficiency might plateau.
His search continued until the following Tuesday morning when he found traces on the eighth floor of the castle.
It was a broad corridor lined with portraits, ending in a tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy.
Evan paced three times across from the tapestry, focusing on the need for a practice area. Suddenly, a door appeared seamlessly on the smooth wall as if it had always been there.
Evan pushed open the door with a thrill, and once inside, the door closed on its own. He discovered a vast training area, brightly lit, with rows of dummies on either side for spell practice.
[Ding, you have discovered a mysterious location: the Room of Requirement...]
The voice in his mind was expected, but the three percent increase in his exploration task was a surprise to Evan.
Considering that the library of inherited knowledge only added five percent, this place was evidently of great importance.
"Reducto!" After warming up, Evan practiced his spells, blasting a dummy's arm off with a white light, which exploded into wooden splinters, then restored it with a Reparo spell.
For the next half hour, the practice room was awash with colorful spell lights – Transfiguration spells, Petrification spells, Summoning charms, Lumos...
After nearly half a month of intense study, Evan had learned all the basic spells, raising them all to level one, no longer hit-or-miss.
However, his first try revealed his spells' hit rate was worrying. Fixed targets were one thing, but moving targets were another; multiple shots might not guarantee a hit.
Evan also tried using a Scholar's Experience Card during practice, finding the learning buff equally useful in real combat.
Improved cognitive abilities and analysis speed helped Evan cast spells faster and more accurately, significantly increasing his hit rate and even allowing him to predict the movement of distant targets and the trajectory of spell lights.
With the buff, Evan's performance, despite having the same spell level, was much stronger than usual.
"I've become dumber, yet stronger..."
Exiting the experience mode, Evan couldn't help but sigh, feeling a sudden drop in his cognitive abilities each time.
After practicing all morning, with his mind foggy and magic nearly depleted, Evan rested before leaving the Room of Requirement. He found a new secret passage on the eighth floor, planning to use it to return to the Great Hall.
As soon as Evan stepped out of the passage, the long-absent system notification chimed in again.
[Ding, an unknown passage discovered. Exploration of Hogwarts progress has reached 40%.
Reward: 20 house points.
Additional reward: Please collect between 11 PM and 1 AM in the Restricted Section, at the seventh row, twelfth column of bookshelves...]