Hermione excitedly entered the girls' dormitory after returning from their exercise and breakfast. Adam had informed her about his plan to start learning new magic. Since arriving at Hogwarts, they had spent most of their time walking around and taking pictures of the castle, without practising any magic at all. This had made Hermione increasingly anxious—she worried she wouldn't be able to perform well in class without proper practice.
Now that they had decided to start practicing new spells, Hermione hurried into her dormitory to read through her books and create a list of the spells she wanted to learn. She even decided to list all the spells they had already learned over the past month so she could analyze their progress and identify areas they were lacking in. She was determined to maintain a balanced approach—ensuring they progressed equally in Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts (DADA), Transfiguration, and even Potions.
Adam saw the spark of excitement in Hermione's eyes, so he didn't try to stop her. Instead, he encouraged her to also find some spells useful in dueling. Hermione, too, had become interested in dueling after witnessing Adam's match with Draco. She didn't want to feel that helplessness again, so she eagerly agreed.
Meanwhile, Adam returned to his room and checked his system for any updates. With nothing new to explore and knowing that Athena wouldn't return with his present until later that night or maybe even the next day, he decided to spend a quiet day in his room.
He chatted with Harry and Ron—even though Ron had been trying to keep his distance lately. Harry was happy to talk, especially as Adam introduced him to various magical spells and their effects. Being new to the wizarding world, Harry was incredibly enthusiastic. They also talked about their muggle lives. Although Adam already knew Harry's story, he still felt bad hearing it from Harry himself.
To Adam's surprise, Ron gradually joined their conversation. He was particularly interested in the magical discussion after Adam expressed surprise that Ron's mother, Molly, didn't allow him to use a wand until he turned eleven. Adam had assumed that many pure-blood families, like Draco's, taught their children magic early. But now, it seemed that Draco's situation was more of an exception than the norm, which eased some of Adam's concerns.
Adam felt sympathy for Harry—if he ended up facing Draco in the duel that night—but still didn't intervene. He was more interested in seeing the three-headed dog, so letting events unfold was preferable.
Adam spent his birthday in this peaceful way, knowing it might be the last time he could truly relax before dedicating himself to getting stronger. He had made up his mind to grow more powerful, and he was going to commit fully.
As Adam rested, Hermione buried herself in her spellbooks, searching through every volume she had brought. Her roommates, Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil, stared at her with confused expressions.
"Hermione, what are you doing? What are these lists?" Parvati asked, glancing at the papers Hermione had been writing on. They didn't recognize most of the spells mentioned.
Hermione didn't even look up as she responded, still scribbling furiously. "These are the spells that Adam and I can already use. And the list in your hand is for the spells we plan to learn next."
Lavender and Parvati were stunned. The list contained over twenty spells—far more than most first-years could perform. Typically, first-years managed two or three spells at most before they were formally taught in class. For muggle-borns, learning spells before Hogwarts was almost impossible.
Lavender scoffed. "You're joking, right? There's no way anyone can learn more than twenty spells before starting school. And you're just a muggle-born—there's no way you learned that many spells before coming to Hogwarts."
Lavender didn't realize the weight of her words, but Parvati did and was about to intervene. Hermione, however, had already looked up. Her eyes were blazing with anger.
"What do you mean, 'I'm just a muggle-born'?" she snapped. "Do you think just because you're from a pure-blood family, we're inferior? Do you think that just because you can't do it, no one else can? I did learn these spells. Adam learned them too. So do you still think muggle-borns are inferior? That kind of thinking is ridiculous and narrow-minded. I was going to show you, but now I don't need to prove anything."
She snatched up her lists and stormed out of the dormitory. Parvati called after her, but Hermione didn't stop. With tears faintly in her eyes, she glanced toward the boys' dormitory but saw no one. She left the common room and headed for the library.
Hermione spent the rest of the day alone in the library until Adam joined her in the evening. He had come looking for spellbooks and was surprised to find her there. Hermione brightened when she saw him but quickly began venting about Lavender.
Adam felt like his head was going to explode from the drama, but he still listened patiently and tried to calm her down. He reassured her that Lavender probably didn't mean to insult her, and after a while, his reasoning seemed to help Hermione relax.
By the time dinner rolled around, they had finalized the list of spells they wanted to learn. Adam no longer avoided spells taught in class—his focus had shifted from avoiding boredom to gaining power.
Although many of the spells they listed were difficult to master due to their limited magical strength, Adam was experiencing a qualitative and quantitative change in his magic since reaching level 10. His power was still growing and somewhat unstable, but he was confident that once it stabilized, he would be on par with—if not stronger than—second-year students.
Adam and Hermione had already learned 25 spells over the past month while practicing at the Leaky Cauldron. These included three cleaning spells: the scouring charm, wiping charm, and Skurge. They also knew spells for darning, packing, and washing up. They had even learned a meal-preparation spell, though it wasn't particularly useful given their poor cooking skills.
These were all classified as household magic. Some were easy, others were complex, but once they understood the principles behind the spells, they became easy to perform. For Adam and Hermione, the washing and packing spells were among the easiest because they understood how to create loops of actions—similar to the levitation charm, where objects are controlled mid-air. In these spells, magic was used to repeat set actions, like washing clothes or plates, in an orderly manner. They even practiced the manual tasks to better understand the mechanics before using magic. Still, they preferred doing such chores by hand.
Beyond household spells, they had also learned the wand-lighting charm, wand-extinguishing charm, levitation charm, and disarming charm(before duel)—They had picked up the smokescreen spell (used by Draco during their duel), good for escape. Adam had also taught Hermione basic Transfiguration, which she mastered after some effort.
They later learned simple tricks like creating red and green sparks from their wands. These weren't particularly useful, but still counted as spells in Adam's system. Adam also taught himself a wind-producing spell from a spellbook. It was described as powerful—capable of creating cyclones—but he could only manage a small breeze at first. Still, it was progress. Learning that spell helped him grasp the hot-air charm for drying things.
Thanks to his system, Adam didn't have to worry about failed spellcasting after his first attempt. Hermione, through sheer determination and the use of her wand, managed to keep pace.
Later, Adam learned the water-conjuring spell—which was much harder than the wind spell—but they eventually managed to summon enough water to fill a cup. From there, they moved on to the freezing spell to turn water into ice.
They also learned various fire-based spells, though none were strong enough to cause real harm. Bluebell Flames, the ignition spell, and a small fire-starting spell (used mostly on clothes) were in their repertoire. Recognizing the dangers, they avoided practicing the Incendio spell. To counter potential fire mishaps, they learned the extinguishing spell.
To fix magical errors or failed attempts, they learned the general counter-spell, which could reverse most charms, jinxes, hexes, and even some curses. Occlumency was on their list too, though they hadn't mastered it yet.
Most of these spells weren't particularly useful in duels due to their weak magical reserves, but they greatly improved their magical control. Now, their new list included dueling spells: harmless ones like the tickling charm and body-binding charm, to more aggressive ones like the fire-making spell and even a blasting curse Adam had found in a book. Defensive spells like Protego were also on the list.
Adam didn't care if they couldn't master them immediately—his goal was long-term growth. Strength wouldn't come overnight, and he was ready to put in the work.
Hermione added practical spells too, like the unlocking charm, which they hadn't gotten around to due to time constraints and their Occlumency studies (Book that Adam received from Sophie's house elf Timmy). After dinner, they stayed in the library until curfew, continuing their discussion.
Meanwhile, Harry and Ron were preparing for the duel. Harry was nervous, knowing he stood little chance against Draco. Ron regretted his decision to accept the duel on Harry's behalf.
"Maybe we should look for Adam and Hermione," Harry suggested. "They know a lot of spells. They might be able to help us."
"No, no, no…" Ron interrupted, dragging Harry out of the common room. "We can handle it. We'll just beat Draco with our fists if magic doesn't work."
With what magic and strength? Harry thought but said nothing. As they reached the courtyard, Harry mentally braced himself for defeat. No one else was there—most students weren't willing to risk losing House points by breaking curfew.
"Where's Malfoy? He said he'd be here after curfew," Ron grumbled.
"We didn't set a specific time, so we should wait. It's only 10:15," Harry replied, sitting behind a pillar. The last thing he wanted was to be caught by Filch.
"They're waiting for Draco," Hermione whispered. She had seen them leaving the common room and guessed what they were up to. She pulled Adam along to follow.
"Let's wait here," Adam said. "I also need to meet Daphne at the astronomy tower at 11."
Hermione nodded but froze when she heard that. In a tiny voice, she asked, "Is it about the love letter?"
Adam was caught off guard. "Love letter?" he repeated, puzzled. Seeing her nod, he facepalmed.
"I was just joking. Did you really think she gave me a love letter? I may be handsome, but it's not that easy to get one."
Hermione stared blankly at him, then clenched her fists. She'd been stressing over that for days. Now she was angry—but also secretly relieved.
Adam wisely stayed silent. After a while, he left for the astronomy tower, leaving Hermione behind to observe the duel.
When Adam reached the tower, he was greeted by a star-studded sky. Despite it being his birthday, there was no celebration, and he felt a wave of nostalgia thinking about past birthdays with his parents—his mother baking cakes, his father decorating in a chaotic but heartfelt way.
He also thought of his mysterious neighbor—a kind woman with a pure smile who always treated him kindly. He always felt a strange familiarity with her, like he had known her from somewhere before.
As he reminisced, a voice startled him. "At least you didn't make me wait."
He recognized Daphne's cold tone and relaxed. "How could I make you wait?" he said, pausing just to hear her click her tongue. He lit his wand and continued, "But why meet here so late? We could've talked in the library."
Daphne's face was still unreadable. "I don't want anyone else to know about this. What did you find out? Any clues? And why didn't you contact me?"
"What do you mean?" Adam frowned. "Wasn't your job to bring me information about the trial? Your mother said you'd come with details."
Adam had a sinking feeling—like he'd been tricked by Sophie.
Looking at Daphne's face, Adam could tell she didn't know anything about the trial. That meant Sophie's initial goal had simply been to push Adam into searching for the trial, even if he couldn't complete it.
"We have to find where the trial is before we can complete it. I got a clue from the Sorting Hat—it said I can find what I'm looking for in the Ravenclaw house," said Daphne, avoiding eye contact with Adam. She didn't even know where Rowena Ravenclaw had left the trial, so it was really shameless of her to ask Adam for anything in such a rude tone.
"Then why didn't you join Ravenclaw house? I'm sure the Sorting Hat gave you that choice. Is it because your family members have always been in Slytherin?" Adam asked as he sat down at the edge of the tower, letting his legs dangle into the air. He could guess she had no real information about the trial, and it was already getting boring staying here instead of watching the three-headed dog with the golden trio, whom he had left alone in the courtyard.
"It said I wouldn't have the strength to overcome this trial if I joined Ravenclaw, so I chose Slytherin. And just so you know, my mother was in Ravenclaw," Daphne scoffed when she saw Adam's 'I don't care' expression. She explained what the Sorting Hat had told her, which did surprise Adam, but it was still nothing compared to the other surprises he had experienced since entering the wizarding world.
"That's really surprising... But anyway, we don't have any information right now. So I think I'll go. I've got more important things to do," Adam said, rising from his seat and brushing dust from his robes. He turned to leave, already disinterested in the conversation.
But before he could take a step, Daphne suddenly stormed forward, eyes blazing.
"What do you mean by 'more important things to do'?!! This is about my sister's future! And you have more important—"
Her shout came at full volume, right in front of him. She had stepped so close that their faces were just inches apart.
In a split second, Adam reacted. He grabbed her waist with one hand, pulling her sharply toward him, while the other hand clamped gently but firmly over her mouth. Her body froze in shock at the sudden closeness, but Adam's voice was calm and controlled, spoken directly into her ear.
"If you want Filch or one of the professors to find us here, then by all means, keep shouting," he whispered, his tone low and serious. " I apologise for saying that, but I did not mean it in the way you perceived it. Neither of us knows anything about the trial yet, so sitting here arguing isn't going to help. We need to find clues first—then we talk. Understand?"
As he spoke, he heard something—a faint rustle, like footsteps or a shifting cloth. His eyes flicked past Daphne's shoulder toward the shadows behind her, scanning the darkness. Holding her still against him, he narrowed his eyes, but the corridor beyond appeared empty.
Must've been the wind.
He looked back at Daphne.
By now, she had stopped struggling. Her earlier anger was gone, replaced by stillness. Her eyes were wide, not with fear—but something else. The moonlight streaming through the tall window nearby cast a pale glow over them, illuminating her lightly flushed cheeks. She looked… calmer, almost hesitant. Maybe even embarrassed.
Adam didn't notice the change. He was too focused on the surroundings, alert for any hint of Filch—or worse. When she finally gave a small nod, he slowly pulled his hand away and stepped back, releasing her waist.
She didn't speak again as they began walking down the spiral steps in silence, their footsteps echoing softly in the empty corridor.
After a moment, Daphne spoke—this time in a quiet, almost remorseful voice. "I'm sorry for shouting. And… thank you for helping me. I was just nervous." She hesitated before continuing, "I thought you knew something and weren't telling me. I've seen Ms. Grey watching you often, so I assumed you were in contact with her about the trial. You really don't know anything?"
Adam froze mid-step, her words pulling him from his thoughts. "Ms. Grey?" he echoed, thinking for a second. Then it clicked—Helena, the ghost of Ravenclaw house. He'd noticed her watching him a few times but had dismissed it as imagination. Now that Daphne mentioned it, maybe it wasn't.
"Did she?" he muttered. Then, with a smirk, "Maybe she's just admiring how handsome and polite I am."
Daphne rolled her eyes as Adam continued, clearly amused with himself. "But no, I don't know what she's thinking. If I find anything, I'll let you know. Until then, focus on getting stronger. The Sorting Hat hinted you'd need it, remember?"
She clicked her tongue in annoyance at his self-praise but followed behind.
A few steps later, she bumped into him—he had stopped abruptly again.
In front of them, half-crouched behind the stone railing, were three familiar figures.
Hermione. Harry. Ron.
They had clearly been eavesdropping—and judging by their startled expressions, they'd just been caught red-handed.
Adam stared silently at them, his expression unreadable. Hermione stepped forward, clearly embarrassed but trying to keep her composure.
"Draco got caught by Filch and Snape," she explained quickly. "He probably told them about Harry and Ron waiting in the courtyard. We saw Filch's cat and ran. I thought of warning you... so I followed, but I wasn't sure how to approach."
Her voice grew quieter, guilt creeping in as she spoke. "I didn't mean to spy. I just didn't know what else to do."
Adam couldn't find it in himself to be angry. Seeing Hermione flustered, and Harry and Ron clearly awkward behind her, he just sighed and turned to Daphne.
"I really don't want to get caught by Filch right now," he said quietly. "Let's leave this place first."
No one waited for a reply. The entire group began moving down the corridor in silence.
After a few minutes, Daphne separated from the group to head toward the Slytherin common room in the dungeons. But as she approached the corridor's bend, a raspy voice echoed through the shadows.
"Sniff around, my sweet. They might be lurking in a corner."
It was Filch.
Daphne's eyes widened in panic. Without hesitation, she turned and bolted back the way she came. She caught up to the group and dashed past them, shouting, "Filch—he's coming!"
"Meeooowww!"
Mrs. Norris's cry echoed like a warning bell. The group didn't hesitate—they ran.
Adam couldn't help but grin inwardly. They were already heading toward his original destination.
He wasn't too worried about the danger. Even if that beast tried to attack, he had fire and smokescreen spells ready—just enough to create an escape. All he wanted was to see the infamous three-headed dog up close.
In their panicked sprint, the group missed the usual staircase leading to their common room and instead veered toward the forbidden third-floor corridor. The darkness here was thicker, the air heavier, and the towering statues covered in cobwebs gave the place an eerie, abandoned feel.
Adam recognized the area instantly. They had arrived.
The door stood at the end—simple, yet ominous.
Ron tried the handle. "It's locked," he muttered in dismay. "We're done for."
Adam sighed, a sudden realization hitting him. In the original timeline, Hermione had opened this door with the Unlocking Charm. But this time, thanks to their misadventures, neither she nor he had practiced it properly yet.
He groaned internally. Maybe he should've let her spend more time in the library after all.
Just as he was about to give up, Daphne stepped forward.
"Stand aside… Alohomora."
A soft click echoed, and the door creaked open.
Adam stared at her, half stunned, half impressed. "Daphne, you're the best," he whispered excitedly.
She looked annoyed at the compliment and quickly looked away.
They stepped inside one by one—Adam, Harry, Ron, Daphne, and finally Hermione, who hesitated at the threshold.
"We're on the right side of the third floor," she whispered. "This area is forbidden. There might be something dangerous inside."
Ron, clearly unnerved by the place already, tried to brush it off. "The only danger here is Filch, so stop trying to scare us."
But Adam's gaze was fixed deeper into the room. The shadows were moving.
A massive silhouette loomed in the dark—a hulking figure with three distinct heads.
The dog.
Hermione had noticed it too. She paled and instinctively reached for her wand, just as Adam did.
This wasn't the cute beast from the movie. It looked vicious. Its glowing eyes stared straight at them, and one head slowly lowered toward Ron, who was still oblivious.
Adam's wand was already raised, ready to cast flames if needed. "Daphne," he whispered steadily, "slowly walk toward me. Don't look back."
Daphne obeyed without question. Her steps were quiet, deliberate. She passed behind Adam and turned to face the others.
"Harry," Adam whispered next. "Same for you."
Harry nodded and moved.
Ron, however, was confused by Harry's expression. When he finally turned around—he screamed.
Adam didn't bother with subtlety. "You bloody idiot," he muttered, casting Bluebell Flames immediately. The soft, magical fire lit the space and startled the beast. Hermione followed with her own spell, and the dog growled, retreating just slightly from the flames.
It was enough.
Everyone bolted for the door.
The dog barked furiously and gave chase, but they had already slipped out. The heavy door slammed shut behind them.
They didn't stop running until they were far, far away.
Adam's heart still pounded in his chest. That had been far too close—but also thrilling. He almost wanted to go back and fight the thing. Almost.
Daphne, catching her breath, glanced at Adam. She thought—just for a second—that maybe this could be the trial Rowena Ravenclaw had left behind. But it wasn't the right time to ask.
She would talk to him in the morning.
As for Adam and the others, they finally reached the Gryffindor common room. Hermione was furious—not at Adam, but at Harry and Ron for sneaking out and dragging everyone into danger.
"I wouldn't have followed if I hadn't seen you two sneaking off!" she snapped, glaring.
She turned to Adam, visibly calming. "Thank you, Adam… for what you did back there." Then, without waiting for a reply, she stormed into the girls' dormitory.
Adam, Harry, and Ron stared at each other in silence. There wasn't much to say.
Moments later, they too headed up to their room and collapsed into bed, exhausted.