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The Weasley twins paid the price for their arrogance.
Originally, they were just threatening Wayne and didn't really want revenge. They just wanted to see him beg for mercy. However, Wayne survived and was caught by Professor McGonagall, who had just arrived in the cafeteria.
She felt something was wrong when she saw her little lion standing on the long table of Hufflepuff Academy. When she got closer and heard what was happening, her face turned blue with anger. A student, who had been at school for three years, was actually threatening a new kid.
When Wayne told her, the twins proudly said they weren't even afraid of Dumbledore knowing. "Not afraid, are you? I appreciate your willingness to die rather than surrender," she said.
The detention, which was supposed to end after wiping the trophy three times, was doubled. After wiping the trophy, they also had to make handwritten copies of famous Gryffindor alumni and their life stories. When they heard about this punishment, the twins almost fainted. Three times! Those books combined are at least dozens of inches thick!
The two of them didn't care to settle the score with Wayne. Under the fierce gaze of Professor McGonagall, they returned to the Gryffindor table dejectedly.
"You definitely did it on purpose," Cedric said with great certainty after watching the whole process.
Wayne continued to eat his sandwich and said calmly, "Everyone dies, and some people need a little help."
Cedric was speechless. How did this guy get into Hufflepuff? Sorting Hat, you must be blind!
After breakfast, Hermione stood beside Wayne in a lively manner. Norman and Toby quietly gave thumbs up from an angle the little witch couldn't see. It's really amazing. There was a cute little witch following him when he first entered school. Although Hermione's hair was a bit messy, Hanako was definitely the cutest without showing her teeth.
The other freshmen saw them gathering together and asked curiously. The team immediately grew stronger, with more than a dozen little badgers surrounding Cedric. Desperate, he called a few friends to help and divided into several teams.
A group of people walked out of the passage in a mighty manner and came to the teaching area.
"There are a total of one hundred and forty-two staircases in the entire castle, and their shape and position can change at any time," Cedric explained. "Sometimes you might be walking from the third floor to the fourth floor, but the stairs can change and take you directly to the top floor. To be honest, I haven't understood the pattern in the past two years. Especially on Fridays, these stairs seem to go crazy. Even senior students who are about to graduate sometimes get lost if they're not careful."
Cedric took Wayne and Hermione to the third floor, and his two roommates followed the other seniors.
"Pay attention to this staircase," Cedric warned. "Don't use force or run on it, or it will take you directly to the eighth floor. There are four more staircases like this, maybe more. I can't remember exactly."
Hermione nodded vigorously and even took out a notebook to write it down. Wayne felt a little bored.
"Cedric, are you just fooling your brother with this? Why don't you give me something useful?" Wayne asked.
"What do you mean?" Cedric looked at him blankly, not understanding what Wayne was referring to.
"Let's take a shortcut to the secret passage outside the castle," Wayne suggested.
"What are you talking about?" Cedric rebuked righteously. "How could I possibly know such a thing?"
"Wayne, it's wrong to break school rules," Hermione said seriously, criticizing Wayne's dangerous idea.
"If you haven't been caught, you haven't violated it," Wayne replied with a wave of his hand, not caring.
Cedric patted him on the shoulder and said nothing. He had figured out the school's basic rules when he first arrived and gradually understood more as time went on.
Why was Filch a Squib as the caretaker? Why did students not get punished as long as they weren't caught in the act, even if teachers saw them from behind? This was an unspoken rule at Hogwarts, passed down for generations. It was a battle of wits and bravery between teachers and students.
Many only understood the secrets of the place after graduating or starting a family, often regretting the experiences they had missed. Cedric smiled and said, "Since you said that, let me show you some tricks."
He led Hermione and Wayne to an empty picture frame. With three taps of his wand, the frame transformed into a real door.
"Exit through here, and you can reach the bushes near the Quidditch pitch. Time is limited, so I won't take you to the next location."
Next, Cedric introduced two secret passages to Wayne. One led to the other side of the castle, good for hiding from Filch and his cat, Mrs. Norris, during night trips. The other led from the fifth floor to the second floor, useful for quick travel.
Hermione's worldview began to collapse. She had always thought Cedric was like her—someone who loved learning and ranked first every year. Now, she saw that this wasn't the case at all.
"Okay, that's it for today. I have to go to the basement quickly. The first period today is Potions," Cedric said hastily as nine o'clock approached and then left.
"Let's not daydream; we need to get to the second floor," Wayne urged Hermione, who was still processing everything. Their first lesson was History of Magic, a class shared by Hufflepuff and Gryffindor.
"Ah, oh," Hermione followed Wayne and finally couldn't help but complain, "It shouldn't be like this. Aren't rules meant to be followed? Diggory is a good student, why would he..."
"This is Hogwarts," Wayne stopped suddenly and turned around, almost causing Hermione to bump into him. "The worldview of wizards is very different from that of Muggles. Many things that seem excessive to you are not important in the magical world. The same goes for rules," Wayne explained, guiding Hermione like a little devil. "Do you want to follow the rules and miss the real Hogwarts, or do you want to improve your ability to avoid teachers and explore this thousand-year-old castle?"
Hermione's mind spun, and she found herself clutching Wayne's clothes to stay close.
The two entered the classroom, already filled with excited students, until...a ghost walked through the wall and appeared on the podium.