Scarlet politely bid Professor Sprout goodbye, promising to report which room she’d chosen during dinner when they’d meet at the Great Hall. She then made a few cheerful hops before exploring the empty classroom nearby.

She noted down several empty rooms but couldn’t quite decide which to choose. However, during her exploration, she inadvertently found all the classrooms she’d be using this year, saving her some future trouble in getting lost. Though she had to admit, the moving staircase could be quite frustrating – it was almost as if they could sense when she was in a hurry and purposely shifted just to tease her.

She hurried to the Great Hall for lunch and joined her classmates at the long table.

“Scarlet, where have you been?” Amelia asked.

Scarlet preferred not to publicise her combat training, so she simply said, “I asked Professor Sprout if I could sponsor a few school owls for my letter deliveries. I’m expecting daily letters, and it would be a burden for my owl alone.”

The others looked puzzled, but she didn’t go into detail. “You’ll see. By the way, I took a look around the classrooms, and I think I found where all our classes will be. We should be safe from being late.”

“Oh, Scarlet, you’re too thoughtful!” one of her classmates thanked her, to which she responded with a polite smile.

Next was Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall, a class they’d be sharing with Slytherins.

“Ravenclaws seemed clever, Gryffindors are energetic, I wonder what the Slytherins will be like,” Maya said as she ate her roasted chicken.

“Well, I suppose we’ll be fine,” Scarlet said, glancing over at the Slytherin table. Just now, she thought of another way to describe them: old-money.

A noble, old-money mix - wealthy families who value status and carefully measure benefits, proud of preserving their traditions. She was confident they’re no challenge to her, but she wasn’t so sure about the others, especially the Muggle-borns.

The Hufflepuffs arrived early to the classroom, thanks to Scarlet. The Slytherins came in later, some politely nodding in their direction, while other arrogantly raised their chin, ignoring them.

Draco passed by Scarlet’s table as he strolled toward a seat and smirked when he noticed her book, “Redhead and a second-hand book. You’re looking more like a Weasley every day!”

Scarlet lifted her head and spotted the pale boy again, looking like a proud peacock flaunting his shiny feather. Resting her chin on her hand, she replied, “And what’s wrong with being a Weasley?”

“They’ve got more children than they can afford, just a bunch of poor blood traitors,” Draco sneered, his expression dripping with disdain.

Scarlet waited for a moment, then raised her eyebrows. “Is that all you’ve got to say?”

“To be honest, that’s more than enough,” Draco smirked again, “I’ve heard you’re a notable author. Here’s some advice – learn to make friends with the right sort.”

Scarlet nodded thoughtfully. “Indeed, as an author, I always do my research before drafting a story, and I’ve come across some rather interesting information. I’m not sure if you’re aware.”

Without waiting for a response, she continued, “Marriages between cousins often lead to higher rates of birth defects and a greater risk of genetic disorders.” She observed Draco’s face growing paler as she went on, “This means that if, say, one day you decided to marry your cousin, you’d have a higher chance of a miscarriage. Your child might be born with a weak body, perhaps with organ issues or even blood problems, and they could suffer from mental illness, like insanity. Often, marriages between cousins - or even worse, between siblings – result in descendants who, though they might have ‘pure’ bloodlines in their view, are quite unfortunate. They may die young from various diseases they’re destined to suffer from since birth, or they might go mad. The royal families of ancient Egypt could certainly attest to that.”

Draco was stunned, but Scarlet wasn’t finished. “These are all Muggle studies. If you’re interested, you could look up some biology and medical journals, perhaps textbooks from medical school or universities. I’m sure Mr. Malfoy, coming from a pureblood family, would grasp the true significance of this.”

Draco gritted his teeth and lowered his voice, making sure Scarlet could hear him, “This must be a fraud, my father will know about this!”

“Be my guest,” Scarlet replied, motioning for him to go ahead. He did move off, though, as the class was about to start.

Their conversation wasn’t loud, but Amelia and Maya, who sat beside her, definitely heard what she said. Both were stunned until Draco left.

Maya was the first to recover, tugging on Scarlet’s sleeve and whispering, “Is it true? The birth defects and all that?”

“Yes, it’s true. Scientific findings don’t lie.” Scarlet nodded.

Amelia leaned in, whispering as well, “I thought you wrote children’s book about imaginary magical worlds. Why are you reading journals and all that?”

“To keep up with the latest investment trends?” Scarlet fudged, offering a random explanation. Only now did she realize that she had inadvertently chosen two very good identities to cover up her oddities, “Now, open your book. Class is about to start.”

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

As expected, Professor McGonagall was strict and serious, but excellent at guiding students onto the right path. And, shapeshifting an object was much easier with a wand - perhaps that’s why wizards nowadays rely so heavily on them, with some rendered helpless when their wands are missing or broken.

Oh, wait - it’s not shapeshifting, but Transfiguration. So... does Ron’s rat with an adult soul has anything to do with Transfiguration?

Scarlet completed her class activity by turning a match into a needle on her first try.

Professor McGonagall was very pleased – impressed, in fact - and she showed the class the needle Scarlet had transformed. She praised Scarlet, awarded Hufflepuff 10 points, and remarked on her apparent talent for Transfiguration. But in truth, Scarlet had been practicing this ever since she was granted the runic stone. The class felt like a beginner’s level for her, and she was quite embarrassed by the public praise.

She quickly turned to her friends to help them with their class activity. This action won even more of Professor McGonagall’s favour, earning Hufflepuff another point.

Scarlet endured the appreciative stares of her housemates throughout the entire period, until they hurried off to their next class with the Slytherins. Their next subject was Charms, and Scarlet had unwittingly taken the lead in guiding the students to the classroom.

The Slytherins didn’t seemed pleased. One of the boys deliberately bumped into Scarlet’s shoulder as they rushed into the classroom, now knowing which one to enter. “Show-off!”

The Hufflepuffs glared at that boy and quickly gathered around Scarlet, forming a protective circle to comfort her.

“It’s alright, let’s get ready for class.” Scarlet brushed it off, and in fact, she forgot about it entirely once the class started.

Professor Flitwick, who was clearly of mixed race, emphasized the importance of pronunciation and wand movement. The Latin incantations left Scarlet feeling more. They were so different from how ancient runic magic of the Queen worked. Although she could achieve similar results, the underlying theories seemed different...

Today’s lesson was purely a lecture with no practical activities. They learned the basic wand movements, the spells they would need to master in their first year, and – of course – were given homework. Every class today had homework, mostly essays. Scarlet found it amusing, as she had only written essays during her university years in her previous life and never in high school or middle school.

Since the professor didn’t mention a citation format, does that mean I can freestyle it? Or maybe it’s in the textbook? Scarlet mused as the class ended and they all exited into the corridor.

“Scarlet, we’re heading to the library to finish our homework, while the others are going back to the common room.” Justin said, “Want to join either group?”

Scarlet thought for a moment, “I’ll join the group heading back to the common room, but I have things to do, so I’ll leave halfway.” She still hadn’t found a suitable training spot.

After biding her friends goodbye, she began exploring the empty rooms around the dorm building.

She noticed the Gryffindors gathered near a tower, the Ravenclaws near another, and the Slytherins heading downstairs, likely to a level below the Hufflepuffs. Hogwarts was massive, with high ceilings, numerous corridors, and countless rooms. But it seemed that every house wanted to keep entrances secret, and soon she found herself lost in the building.

Scarlet, “...”

She wasn’t worried at all. In the worst-case scenario, she could jump out of a window, and re-enter the castle through the main entrance, but that would attract too much attention - best to avoid it. She recalled that magic wasn’t allowed in the corridors, so...should I go left or right?

“Oh, our honorary adopted sister! What a pleasure to meet you here.”

“You look lost, but are you actually lost?”

Scarlet chuckled as she turned around. “Oh, it’s you two. Nice to see you here.”

“I don’t suppose the Hufflepuff entrance is around this area.”

“Are you exploring the castle? Looking for hidden passages?”

“Nope,” Scarlet shook her head, then glanced at the Weasley twins, “Say, you two know the castle pretty well, don’t you?”

“Indeed we do!”

“No one in this school knows it better than us!”

The twins spoke proudly.

“Can you help me find a large room within this building?” Scarlet asked.

One of the twins raised an eyebrow, “How large are we talking?”

“Well, about the size of a classroom?” All the classrooms she had seen were spacious enough for her to practice with her spear.

The Weasley twins thought for a moment, then snapped their fingers in unison.

“There’s one room - quite huge, if you ask me.”

“Even a Quidditch team could practice inside it!”

They led her to the lower levels, below the Hufflepuff dorm but likely above Slytherin quarters. After rounding a corner, they came across a few doors leading to various rooms. The entered one of the doors to find a deserted room - vast but dusty, with broken chairs and ragged curtains, discarded cauldrons and herbs, suggesting that some students had once used it for something. The lighting wasn’t particular good, but Scarlet didn’t mind. The room was just the right size for her needs.

“Perfect!” Scarlet cheered, “Thanks for the help. I owe you two one.”

“Nah, it’s just a small favour.”

“You’ve been looking after our baby brother; we should be thanking you.”

“...Huh?”

“The ten Galleons deal.” one of the twins explained, “He seemed a lot happier, knowing he’ll soon be earning some pocket money.”

“Said he’s going to save his first bit of gold.”

“For his very own broomstick!”

Scarlet asked, “How much does a flying broomstick cost, anyway?”

“Hundreds of Galleons,” the twins replied.

“Well...” She thought for a moment, “If Ron does a great job with my questionnaire and I have more tasks to assign, he might actually be able to save up that much...Wait, what are you two doing?”

“Begging.”

“For funding.”

The twins bowed their heads, took her hands, and stared into her eyes with exaggerated sincerity.

“We’re much better wizards than our baby brother.”

“With good grades and plenty of skills.”

“We could be your guards--”

“--your assistants--”

“--your followers--”

“--your coachmen.”

“So, consider hiring us instead of our brother.”

“And we promise you’ll get your money’s worth!”

Scarlet blinked, “...Are you sure?”

The twins chorused, “Absolutely sure!”

Scarlet checked the time on her pocket watch. She had planned to spend a few days cleaning this room, but since the twins offered their help, she could save some time. She pulled out her pouch and dug out six gold coins, “I need this room cleaned. Will this be enough?”

They wiped imaginary tears from the corners of their eyes.

“More than enough!”

“Don’t you worry, we’ll definitely get it done.”

“Spick and span!”

“...Okay. Just, don’t overdo it. I’ll come back later to help as well.” Scarlet silenced them with a finger pointing in their direction. “It’s dinner time now. I suppose you haven’t had yours? I’ll bring you something. Sandwiches? Roasted potatoes? Beef steaks?”

“Sandwiched will be fine.”

“Thank you, Scarlet!”

“Well, I’m the one who should be thanking you.” She smiled at them before leaving. The boys fist-pumped the air and bumping each other with joy, clearly delighted at the prospect of earning pocket money.

I wonder why they’re so eager to earn money. Ron wants a broomstick, so...what are they after? Scarlet mused as she hurried toward the Great Hall.