Hermione and Atlas made their way into the library, their footsteps the only sound echoing through the silent aisles. Ms. Pince was the only other person there, diligently sorting through a pile of dusty books. Atlas couldn't help but wonder why more students weren't taking advantage of the quiet and peaceful atmosphere. He thought that most probably people were enjoying their first week and didn't want to sit in the library even between classes.

As they approached the corner of the library, where the potions books were kept, Hermione leaned in close to Atlas and whispered, "You asked me earlier what kind of magic I find most interesting. I think Transfiguration and Charms are what I always imagined magic could do. I don't particularly enjoy fighting, so Defence Against the Dark Arts will never be my favourite subject.” Hermione replied. “Transfiguration and charms, on the other hand, break everything I learned about physics, and that's both frightening and amazing.”

Atlas had never thought about it like that before. He thought that Defence Against the Dark Arts was the most interesting topic, especially if they had a competent teacher. However, he realized that Hermione was right; if he were to stay in this world, he would love to study transfiguration and charms in-depth. He had studied far more physics and biology than Hermione could have in her eleven years of life, and he was fascinated by how magic interacted with the world and the endless possibilities that came with that.

As he thought about it, Atlas seemed to grimace a bit, and Hermione asked if she had said something wrong. He realized he had been grimacing and quickly tried to hide it. He quickly reassured her that everything was fine and that he just hadn't thought about the topic like she had. Atlas also admitted to himself that he was a bit sad because his mission prevented him from pursuing his passion. He knew he couldn't abandon his mission, but he still found it difficult to accept. He realized that he really started to enjoy his life in Hogwarts and that he didn't really want it to end.

Hermione still looked at him with a concerned expression, "Anyway," he said, trying to change the subject, "let's focus on our potion homework for now." With that, he picked up their assignments and got to work, determined to keep his mind occupied and focused on the task at hand. Hermione nodded in agreement and handed over her homework while taking his.

Atlas was engrossed in Hermione's homework, his eyes scanning the pages as he absorbed the information. He couldn't help but marvel at the quality of her work - her handwriting was impeccable, and her writing style was simply amazing. It reminded him of the scientific papers and journals he used to read in his old world, but those were written by scientists and professors five times her age. This was an incredible foundation for research of any kind.

He knew Hermione was smart and talented, but it still surprised him just how amazing she was. The homework itself was almost perfect. She had explained every mistake and the resulting consequence of the last lesson with ease. The knowledge she displayed was simply astounding for someone who had only known about the magical world for a few months. Even though he knew Ethan had helped her, he couldn't deny that her homework was exceptional, and while Ethan may have explained a few things, he was absolutely sure he didn't dictate the homework like he did for Ron.

Atlas was a bit disappointed; he didn't find any more discoveries in her notes like the one he had listened in to when Ethan explained her something the last time in the library. He himself had researched the topic thoroughly because he knew Snape will target him, and he didn't want to give the professor a reason to make trouble for him. So probably he didn't find anything new, because there was nothing he had forgotten.

Hermione, on the other hand, was reading through Atlas's homework with a look of awe on her face. While she knew she had done well, she couldn't help but be amazed by the quality of Atlas's work. His handwriting may not have been as neat as hers, but the content of his homework was top-notch. She eagerly took a few notes to supplement her own work later on.

Hermione looked up from his homework and met his gaze. He could tell she was impressed by his work too.

Hermione walked over to Atlas, a broad grin on her face as she gazed at his completed homework. "I knew your work would be exceptional, but it's still quite nice to see that it's true," she said, her eyes scanning his notes.

Atlas felt a blush creeping up his neck, his eyes darting down to his hands. "Thanks, Hermione," he mumbled, feeling a bit shy. He couldn't shake the feeling that it was actually Hermione's work that was amazing. She had only been in the wizarding world for a few months but already grasped topics he struggled a few years with. He had ten times more time to prepare for school, and he would have been disappointed in himself if Hermione had already overtaken him. He felt that if his effort was worth so little, the multiverse should start writing its last will, as he wouldn't be able to kill the hero unless he was suicidal.

Hermione giggled "Hey, do you want to compare notes after every lesson?" she asked, her expression hopeful.

Atlas hesitated for a moment, feeling a sense of dread in the pit of his stomach. While in theory, comparing notes was a good way to prepare for Snape's torture... challenges, he didn't know if he would have the time to do it every time. "I would like to compare notes," he finally answered, "but I'm not sure I'll always have the time."

Hermione looked confused. "But we have the same lessons and homework to do. Why wouldn't you have the time?" she asked.

Atlas froze, realizing that he had slipped up a bit. He tried to save himself by quickly answering, "You're right. We can naturally compare our homework. I am just not used to have people around me with the same schedule as me."

Hermione's eyes widened in understanding. "Oh, I see. Well, don't worry about it too much. We'll make it work," she said, giving him a reassuring smile.

Atlas heard Hermione's stomach growl and couldn't help but smile. "Lunch?" he asked her, and she happily agreed. The two of them made their way out of the library and into the bustling Great Hall. They sat together at the Gryffindor table and filled their plates with a variety of delicious dishes.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

As they were digging into their food, the rest of their group arrived. Hermione and Atlas paused their conversation as Ron launched into a rant about Draco Malfoy. Atlas was intrigued and asked what had happened. Ron was too busy cursing and fuming to give a proper answer, so Harry stepped in to explain.

It turned out that Draco had formally introduced himself to Harry and then proceeded to make fun of Ron's family, claiming that his own was far superior. Atlas was surprised by this behaviour. It seemed like a similar encounter to the one Harry had in the original story before being sorted. With a smirk, Atlas concluded that this meant Draco was unlikely to be the hero. As it wouldn't make sense to antagonize the main character in such a stupid way.

Atlas stretched his arms above his head and let out a contented sigh. Lunch had been delicious, as usual, but now it was time to get down to business. Atlas knew he had to buckle down and get his homework done. After all, he still had Defense Against the Dark Arts and Magical Theory to complete. The others had all gone their separate ways, but Ron had mentioned something about secret passages, which had piqued Atlas's interest. However, he knew that if he wanted to get everything done in time to go for another round of training in the Room of Requirement, he couldn't afford to be sidetracked.

Atlas settled himself at the table closest to the fireplace, pulling out his Defense Against the Dark Arts and Magical Theory assignments. It wasn't the most exciting work, but he was determined to get it done. As he worked, his mind drifted back to the chaos of the previous day's fight. He couldn't help but think about the mistakes he had made and what he could have done differently. He realized that he had enraged Crabbe without thinking through the consequences, and that was only his first mistake of many. He thought that instead of enraging him, binding him from the beginning would have been far more effective.

As he continued working, Atlas suddenly remembered Hermione's involvement in the fight. She had helped him by enraging Crabbe as well, but he hadn't asked her what her plan had been. He made a mental note to ask her about it the next time they do their homework together.

Atlas was so absorbed in his work that he barely noticed when Neville joined him at the table. But after a while, Neville couldn't help but ask, "How's the homework coming along?"

"It's going alright," Atlas replied, taking a sip of water. "I just realized how many mistakes I made during the chaos in Quirrell's class. It´s a bit frustrating"

Neville wore a look of frustration as he gazed at Atlas. "Is that what's been bothering you?" he asked. "Have you tackled the Protego charm yet? It's driving me up the wall. How am I supposed to learn it without any guidance? Doesn't Quirrell know it's only our first week?"

Atlas found that Neville's concerns helped to ease his own worries. It was only the first week, and even with his previous experiences, he knew he lacked practical knowledge. Nevertheless, if he worked hard, he was certain he could improve rapidly, maybe not hero-fast, but still fast.

He nodded sympathetically at Neville and replied, "I know how you feel. But don't worry, you'll get the hang of it soon enough. In fact, I can help you with the Protego charm. I already know it."

Neville's face lit up at the offer. "Really? That would be amazing! Thank you, Atlas."

Atlas finished his homework quickly and headed over to where Neville was practicing the spell. He couldn't help but chuckle as he watched Neville waving his wand around haphazardly, while his attention was on an open book next to him. "Careful there, Neville," he warned. "You don't want to poke someone's eye out."

Neville immediately apologized a bit ashamed. Atlas chuckled and reassured him that there was nothing to apologize for, but he should be careful not to wave his wand around without paying attention.

Atlas was happy to help Neville with the Protego charm, despite Neville's poor posture and wand movement. With Atlas's guidance, Neville was able to cast the spell successfully within ten minutes, and after another ten minutes, he had a success rate of over fifty percent. Atlas was pleased with Neville's progress and allowed him to continue training on his own while he went to the Room of Requirement for his own training.

As he made his way to the Room of Requirement, Atlas reflected on his previous fights with the puppet and how he could improve. Quirrell's homework had taught him the importance of reflecting on his actions in battle to avoid repeating his mistakes. While he didn't write an essay about his fights, he thought about them on his way to the room and felt confident that he wouldn't lose as quickly as before.

But Atlas was in for a rude awakening. As soon as he attacked the puppet, two more puppets appeared out of nowhere and joined in the fray, making the battle even more challenging. Atlas cursed inwardly, cursing why he had commanded the room to train his adaptability in combat instead of just regular combat training.

Atlas sat down and took a moment to catch his breath. The previous round had caught him off guard, he had never faced multiple opponents at once. While he realised that the puppets were a bit weaker than when he only fought one, the fight itself was more difficult. But he knew that in a real battle, he might not always have the luxury of a one-on-one fight. He had to train for any possible scenario, even if it meant facing multiple enemies.

As he reflected on the fight, he remembered Hermione's words about how charms and transfiguration broke several laws of physics, but that didn't mean that basic physics principles no longer applied. That gave him an idea on how he could defeat at least one of the puppets.

He racked his brain for more ideas, but none seemed to fit the situation. Not a single solution he came up with would help him defeat the other puppets after he eventually finished the first one. After a while, he decided that he had to fight the puppets again. It was better to keep practicing than to keep thinking about strategies that might not work.

Atlas took a deep breath and stood up, ready to face the puppets once more. He knew that he had to keep his mind sharp and be ready for anything.

Atlas lifted his wand and immediately the puppets sprang to life. With a flick of his wand, he dodged two attacks and deflected the third. He then cast the accio charm to gather all the dust in the room. As the tiny particles began to swirl around him, the puppets refused to give him a moment's respite. Atlas quickly dodged two more attacks and hid behind some training weights. He used accio again to collect the dustball that had formed at his old spot.

Suddenly, he saw a spell directed at the weights he was hiding behind. Atlas rolled away just in time to watch the weights get blasted away and crash into the wall. Sweat dripped from his forehead as he realized that he should bring a medi-kit for the next time he trained here.

Since he had no plan to defeat two puppets at once, Atlas decided to use his strategy to take out two of them with one shot. He threw the dustball between the two puppets and followed up with a confringo charm. One pupped blocked the ball of dust and a giant cloud of dust was created. A mighty explosion rocked the room, as the confringo charm ignited the dust. He saw that the two puppets were covered in burns. However, they still weren't out, and he had failed to take down even one of them. The burns slowed the puppets down, as he had apparently damaged their legs. Atlas grinned, thinking he still had a chance, but then everything went dark.

It turned out that the third puppet had used the distraction to attack him from a blind spot.