It felt like ages since Matt had been forced to wake up at 7 in the morning and he was not happy with the fact he was doing so now. His plan had been to look around and confirm the classroom locations before breakfast, but his pillow was still looking heavenly at the moment...
Get it together! I've got work to do.
With an effort of superhuman will he managed to get dressed without waking his roommates and went out into the common room. There were already a few early birds from other years sitting on the sofas reading, and he gave them a greeting before leaving. His class schedule contained a crude map, so he set off to the south tower where the Charms classroom was supposed to be.
15 minutes later, he was praising his own foresight as the Charm's classroom finally came into view. The labyrinthine maze of a castle had seemed simple enough in the movies, but Matt had been thoroughly lost there in the middle before simply asking a painting for directions.
How were you supposed to tell east from west when the castle changes every few minutes? Does that mean children have a better sense of direction than me?
Shaking off that depressing thought, he took note of his route before heading off to the Transfiguration classroom.
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I take back what I said about British food. At least they do breakfast right.
Matt had already finished confirming the classrooms he'd be going to today and was currently sitting at the Ravenclaw table in the main hall. He was dunking some toast in some over-medium eggs, and a side of hash browns and bacon completed the ensemble.
I get to eat this every day? Awesome. I really need to figure out how to get the kitchens later to give a proper thanks to the poor little guys.
The Hall seemed mostly empty of first-years and Matt was going to bet they had all slept in. He debated going back to the tower to make sure his roomates woke up in time for class, but Charms was in 20 minutes and he didn't have time to make the trip both ways. He'd just have to trust they managed it somehow. With that thought, he took one last bite before slinging his pack over his shoulder and heading off.
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Matt walked into the Charms classroom only to find Terry Boot already there, along with all the Ravenclaw girls and most of the Hufflepuff first years.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
"Hey, why didn't you wake us?!"
"Did you really want to get up at 7? I figured it would be fine to let you sleep in. Where are the others?"
"Why'd you get up that early then? Michael and Anthony were a bit behind me, but I don't know about the others."
He described to Terry about his little tidbits for directions and about the breakfast available, but no sooner had he finished that the others finally showed up. Not late then. Thay of course asked the same exact questions as Terry did, forcing Matt to repeat himself before they all sat down to wait. Professor Flitwick came in through door behind the central podium and took a perch on a stack of books to give a speech. It looked kind of comical really, but Flitwick was one of the more normal teachers in this school so he kept it from showing.
The class was slightly boring since Matt had already read ahead, but he tried to look alert as possible and answer whatever questions he could.
God, I feel like a teacher's pet already. This goes against the grain so much but I don't see where I have any choice. Unless I somehow score a boat load of points Ravenclaw will never be able to overturn Dumbledore's last minute rewards for Gryffindor.
Matt could tell he was going to have to go full-on loner this year already from the looks his classmates were giving him.
Maybe I could pull off the 'thousand miles away' driven look? Ravenclaws are known for their eccentrics after all.
He was still thinking of stupid things when Flitwick called the class to a close. Matt grabbed his bag before heading off to Transfiguration with Gryffindor.
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Classes in Hogwarts were not much different than he expected, and weeks passed as Matt spent every waking moment absorbing what he could. He barely interacted with his roommates and stayed in the library as long as he could. He had never studied so hard in all his life, and Matt didn't think he could have managed it if he didn't keep telling himself his life depended on it.
Nevertheless, all work and no play had started draining him and he was starting to develop dark circles under his eyes. His roomies avoided him when they could and probably talked about him when he wasn't there, but Matt decided to ignore them in turn while he walked his own single planked bridge.
At least he had earned a reputation as a bright student and earned about 40 points from various teachers during these weeks, which was some comfort. He had even somehow gotten 5 out of Snape, despite his own disinterest in Potions(it reminded him of cooking) and Snape's disinterest in actually teaching. Frankly Matt would call it a win as long as he didn't get buckled in that class.
Something was happening today that threw off the monotony however, which was Flying class. Gryffindor and Slytherin had already gone yesterday and the school was awash with everyone talking about Harry Potter being Gryffindor's new seeker and blah blah blah. His classmates were excited with dreams that they could duplicate the feat, and while Matt did not share their optimism he was still interested in trying to fly. He just hoped the broom wasn't as painful as it looked to ride.