"Oh my goodness, your experience has truly opened my eyes. It makes me realize even more that there are no shortcuts on the path of magic; diligent practice will surely be rewarded." Professor Flitwick was so excited he nearly jumped on his stack of books. After hearing Alan's explanation, his determination to delve deeper into the mechanics of charms only grew stronger.
"I agree with that, Professor. In fact, I'm not entirely satisfied with where I am right now. I sincerely hope to receive more guidance from you. I've essentially mastered the first-year curriculum, and I'm eager to push further." Seeing the Professor's enthusiasm, Alan realized it would be a missed opportunity not to seize this chance for a bit of mentorship.
"Hmm, quite right. I won't tell you not to bite off more than you can chew. An endless thirst for knowledge is the most powerful motivation a wizard can have." Flitwick nodded in approval, his eyes twinkling.
"If you want to study advanced spellwork, you should visit the senior Charms classrooms. There are many old copies left behind by former students on those shelves. Secondly, I will draft a reading list tailored for you so you can find the right references in the library. Also, if you hit a wall while practicing a specific charm, my door is always open." Flitwick paused for a moment, then added, "I'd also like to invite you to my Charms Study Club. I've never invited a first-year before, and while you can start by just auditing the sessions, I suspect you'll have no trouble keeping up. You should know, Lily Evans performed exceptionally well in that club back in her day."
Flitwick seemed so swept up in the moment he was treating Alan like a student of his own House.
"Thank you, Professor. I really appreciate the opportunity," Alan said, bowing slightly. He was genuinely touched by the gesture.
"Keep at it, Alan! Stay persistent; your potential is limitless!" Flitwick exclaimed, beaming up at the young wizard who already stood taller than him.
Alan finished his conversation and stepped out into the corridor. Clutching the book list and the club invitation, his heart felt light. To have secured such resources on the very first day of term was better than he had imagined.
*First, I'll check those senior classrooms for discarded textbooks,* Alan thought. *Step by step. I can't rush the process.* After a quick lunch in the Great Hall, he began his search.
"Alohomora," Alan whispered, pointing his wand at the door of a fifth-year Charms classroom.
He had already scoured several rooms and the haul was significant. The storage lockers in these classrooms were often goldmines of abandoned materials. Some were in rough shape—Alan even found one textbook charred down to a stump—but he prioritized the complete copies.
A few were missing pages, likely torn out by bored students to make paper airplanes, but the gems were the books filled with handwritten notes. To Alan, a book with dense annotations was far more valuable than a pristine, blank one.
By the time he finished searching the upper-year rooms, he had collected seven high-quality textbooks. Two of the sixth-year books had entirely different sets of notes, both of which offered unique insights into advanced theory.
He even stumbled upon a fifth-year text that had once belonged to Lily Evans. Her handwriting flowed across the margins, detailing her personal gripes and breakthroughs with specific spells. Most interestingly, she had left extensive notes on protective enchantments; it seemed she was already exploring the concepts of amulets and defensive layering long before graduation.
Alan tucked the books away safely. Realizing the afternoon session was about to begin, he made his way toward the History of Magic classroom.
He noticed that while core subjects like Charms, Potions, and Transfiguration had dedicated rooms for each year level, History of Magic seemed to stay in one place. It made sense once he saw the instructor: Professor Cuthbert Binns was a ghost.
"They say that years ago, Professor Binns fell asleep in front of the staff room fire," Vivian whispered as they took their seats. She was always the first to hear the castle gossip. "When he woke up for class, he just... left his body behind. He didn't even realize he was dead until he tried to walk through the door instead of opening it. He hasn't stopped teaching since."
Alan watched the spectral professor drift behind the podium, droning on about modern magical history. *So, ghosts don't just loop their living memories,* Alan mused. *He's teaching events that happened long after he died. His consciousness is still absorbing new information.*
Unfortunately, that was the only interesting thing about the class. Binns's voice was a flat, hypnotic drone that acted like a Sleeping Charm on the room. While most of the students were nodding off, Vivian remained inexplicably focused, scribbling notes with frantic energy.
Seeing no reason to fight the boredom, Alan propped up a second-year textbook he had just recovered and began reading under the table.
After class, he headed straight to the library. He presented Flitwick's list to Madam Pince and checked out all six recommended titles. Back in his dormitory, he organized his new library: thirteen books in total.
He decided to focus on the senior textbooks first. Building a foundation through the official curriculum of the third through sixth years would give him the technical vocabulary he needed for the seventh-year material, which was much denser and dealt with complex subjects like Apparition and the N.E.W.T. requirements.
For the next two days, Alan disappeared into his studies. Aside from his mandatory classes, every waking hour was spent deconstructing the spells and theories within his new collection. To him, these dusty, annotated pages were the greatest treasure in Hogwarts.