There are countless memorable moments in a student's life, but in the grand scheme, they're only scattered highlights.
What truly runs through one's academic journey are the endless classes, one after another…
And the only reason Andrew could reflect on such profound thoughts in class was thanks to the professor in front—well, he wanted to describe him as elderly, but after much thought, couldn't find the right word.
To put it simply: their professor was dead.
This wasn't a murder case; it was just a fact—their professor was now a ghost.
And from the looks of it, he planned to keep working in this role indefinitely, with no intention from the school to replace him.
The most important point? In terms of teaching quality, this professor's lectures were… incredibly sleep-inducing.
Between his advanced skill of reading straight from the textbook and the drowsy late-summer sunshine, many students—still mentally stuck in summer vacation—were respectfully dozing off on their desks.
Since no brave soul had yet tested whether falling asleep in class would cost points, Andrew tried his best to follow the relationships between the historical figures in the History of Magic textbook.
Unfortunately, it wasn't working—and the real tragedy was that even though his textbook was secondhand, it still looked as pristine and unused as a WWII French rifle, without a hint of entertainment.
After several failed attempts, he resorted to his old technique—adding fictional characters to the textbook.
Not hard at all. First, insert a favorite character. With a manuscript due next month, Andrew decisively chose Gryffindor as the protagonist. As for how the editor might revise it—sorry, not his problem; he didn't even know the name of the original author.
As for timeline issues? Easy: ley lines, the Moonlight Box, a time-traveling cellar, special planetary alignments, a dark wizard's curse, a mysterious river in a remote valley—thanks to his extensive reading, Andrew had countless ways to send Gryffindor to the right time period.
It became wildly entertaining. Finding major events in a dry textbook was easier than digging through fairy tales.
If the historical event had a clear main character, he'd claim Gryffindor was their secret mentor. If not, then Gryffindor—moved by tragedy—stepped in under a hidden identity.
He got carried away—finding interesting events, stuffing Gryffindor in wherever he could.
"Stay mindful, Andrew. The bottom line is not to fail History of Magic!"
After repeatedly reminding himself, Andrew successfully created a rough outline for next month's story.
This strange enthusiasm caught Kevin's attention. "What happened? Did you sneak a magazine in?"
"There was a really interesting beetle on my book. I was drawing its travel path," Andrew replied—just one of 17–18 prepared excuses for when someone peeked over.
But Kevin's response blindsided him.
"Let me play with it."
What?! Are you crazy?
Andrew nearly broke character—was the excuse that boring? Could this class really be worse than watching a beetle?
…Okay, yes, it could.
"It already flew off," Andrew muttered. "Guess it got bored too."
"Pfft…"
Kevin almost burst out laughing. But Professor Binns showed no reaction, as if short of the classroom collapsing, nothing could stop him from finishing his textbook reading and leaving on time.
"This could make for an interesting research project... too bad I don't have any spare time," Andrew thought, shaking his head slightly. He flipped to a new page and began organizing a relationship chart for the characters and events discussed in the lecture.
It was just a way to salvage his grade. With classes like this, it was all he could do.
Before class ended, Andrew tapped his wand on the note page he'd just completed. The page fluttered down and slipped into his textbook, ready to be glued in over the weekend.
As Professor Binns wrapped up his lecture, Andrew distinctly heard quiet sighs of relief. Glancing at his roommate, he saw that the tallest of them, Bell, was already fast asleep.
Professor Binns didn't float out like most ghosts but walked out properly—as properly as a ghost could. If you ignored his translucent body, he looked just like a retired professor heading home.
Only after confirming his exit did the students begin to talk louder. Some woke up their sleeping friends; others chatted freely.
"I'm going to the library. Anyone coming?"
"No group meeting for you? Oh, right—you passed…"
Hughes—by far the skinniest in their dorm—paused before answering himself.
"I'm free. I've never been to the library. You guys?"
"Reviewing…"
"Same."
"See ya then."
After parting ways, Andrew and Hughes headed to the library.
"You seem pretty into History of Magic, Andrew. That's great. It's just a shame Professor Binns isn't really… good at it."
Into it?
Andrew couldn't admit what he'd actually done, so he just nodded along.
"I really like it," Hughes continued. "History is amazing. My dad's a Muggle, but he loves history. He always told me history shows us where we come from and how often we repeat our mistakes."
…
Uh oh—an actual history enthusiast. Andrew decided not to mention the literary war crimes he just committed.
Fortunately, there was another topic to pivot to.
"Wow… I can't imagine how your dad reacted when he found out your mom's a witch and magic is real."
"I thought he'd be overwhelmed, but he wasn't. After the shock wore off, he said a lot of the unexplained mysteries in history finally made sense."
Hughes smiled. "But when my mom told him he couldn't reveal the wizarding world, he was disappointed. When he found out I was going to Hogwarts, he made me promise to connect magical and Muggle history—to uncover the hidden truths."
He looked troubled. "Only problem is… I really don't know how to tell him that our History of Magic professor is just…"
The word was swallowed, but Andrew got the idea.
"If you don't want to disappoint your family," Andrew suggested, "just say that our professor is a true, if ineloquent, witness to history. For him, much of history is just everyday life."
"Whoa, that's awesome!" Hughes's eyes lit up. "That fits perfectly with how he imagines magic should be!"