The fourth-floor corridor—a place Dumbledore had explicitly forbidden students from entering at the start of the term.
But human nature being what it is, the more something is prohibited, the more the rules itch at one's curiosity.
From the very first day of term, students had been fascinated by it, and many had already attempted to explore.
The results, however, had been tragic.
The professors had anticipated this, so patrols were stationed there daily. Those caught faced penalties ranging from five-point deductions to outright detention.
The casualty list already numbered in the dozens, with Gryffindor accounting for a significant portion.
This also meant that after a full week, Gryffindor's point tally remained empty. Thank Merlin there was no negative scoring—otherwise, they'd be in debt by several dozen points.
Cedric stared at the twins in shock. "Have you both gone mad? Derrick is still scrubbing the lavatories every night—he reeks of it by the time he gets back to the dormitory."
"Of course not, we're perfectly sane," George said, spreading his hands in a bear-like gesture. "Please don't question our professionalism when it comes to nocturnal wanderings."
"Still sneaking out at night?" Cedric's voice rose an octave.
Fred said matter-of-factly, "There are too many people during the day. Nighttime is the best time to act.
"We've done our research. Filch will be patrolling the corridor tomorrow night—he's easy enough to handle. Lee will cause a diversion elsewhere, and Filch will charge off like a randy cat-lion."
"Why me?" Wayne asked curiously. "I don't seem to be needed for this, do I?"
"Of course, it's just in case," the twins chorused. "If anything goes wrong, we'll need someone to take the fall.
"At that point, as long as we outrun you, we're perfectly safe.
"Wayne, you're not scared, are you? You can always back out if you're afraid."
They spoke one after the other, their coordination seamless. It was a blatant ploy by the twins.
They didn't have any ill intentions, but if Wayne got caught, it would be his own fault for lacking the skills—no one else to blame.
Wayne understood this perfectly well and agreed without hesitation.
Having achieved their goal, the twins left arm-in-arm, grinning, while Cedric turned to Wayne.
"You're really going through with this?"
"Of course. I already said yes."
"If you get caught, you're done for. You might be the next one scrubbing lavatories."
Wayne shrugged nonchalantly. "Then I just won't get caught. Are you coming or not?"
"I'm in."
"Then stop wasting time and let's go play another round."
...
On his first weekend at Hogwarts, Wayne slept in until well past nine o'clock.
By then, breakfast in the Great Hall was long over. In any other house, he'd have had to snack on whatever he could find and wait until lunch for a proper meal.
But who was Wayne? A Hufflepuff!
With the kitchens right there, going hungry was out of the question.
Bowing respectfully, the house-elves handed him two tuna sandwiches as he left the kitchens. He wandered out of the castle and settled onto the grass by the Black Lake, casually eating his breakfast.
Students dotted the lawn in small groups—some strolling, others chatting. In the distance, shouts echoed from the Quidditch Pitch, though it was unclear which house was training.
Between bites, Wayne glanced at his system panel.
Most of his stats remained unchanged, but his points had climbed to over 500, with more than 400 earned this week alone.
He'd been rather lazy this week. Some of those points came from pranking the twins and giving Quirrell a hard time.
The rest were from casting spells on his roommates every night while they slept, starting at five points per cast, now down to two.
It would likely dwindle further. Too slow.
Still, tonight's escapade might yield a decent haul. After finishing his meal, Wayne headed to the Library and borrowed Dark Magic Exposed: How to Safeguard Yourself.
There, he spotted Hermione, the little witch nearly hidden behind a massive tome.
Seeing how engrossed she was, Wayne left without disturbing her. In the afternoon, he wandered around the entire castle again, testing all the staircases in the main castle area, gradually forming a three-dimensional map in his mind.
Many people would forget the patterns of the staircases before graduation for various reasons. Wayne keenly sensed that there might be a considerable business opportunity here.
Combined with some earlier inspiration, he already had an idea. What he lacked now was technical capability.
He still needed to earn more points for the lottery, preferably to draw some knowledge related to alchemy.
"Wayne, aren't you doing your homework?"
Watching Wayne stroll back idly, like an old man, his two roommates looked at him with utter confusion.
"What's the rush? There's still tomorrow, isn't there?
"Besides, I don't have to do the Transfiguration homework—Professor McGonagall exempted me."
"Being talented sure has its perks," Toby said, green with envy. The Transfiguration assignment was a full six inches long.
The two of them worked until evening, only finishing half their homework. Watching his roommates collapse into bed almost immediately, Wayne pulled out his wand.
He was afraid that if he left, these two might wake up and start making a fuss if they couldn't find him, potentially exposing him.
Better to add an extra layer of security.
"Sleepy—"
Wait, no, wrong incantation.
"Peaceful slumber."
The glow of the Bewitched Sleep Charm settled over them. There was no visible change, but as long as no external force disturbed them, they'd sleep soundly till morning.
Arriving in the Common Room, Cedric was already waiting for him.
"Let's go."
The model student seemed unusually excited. He'd snuck out at night before, but never with so many people at once.
Not to mention heading to the forbidden area, which the Headmaster had sternly warned them about. This was downright thrilling!
Wayne, however, acted as casually as if it were just another outing.
"Calm down, or you might attract Filch."
"Where are we meeting?"
"The trophy room on the second floor. Fred and George are probably already there."
"Let's go."
The two stepped out through the barrel door and reached the first floor.
The moment they set foot on the first floor, Wayne's system chimed with a notification.
[Host violating school rules by sneaking out at night: +20 points. Additional +5 points per hour.]
A faint smile curled at the corner of Wayne's lips.
Well, there you go.
If he came out for a stroll every night, 20 points would be his for the taking—practically free.
He'd been a good boy for a whole week. What a waste.
Seeing Wayne suddenly smile, Cedric was puzzled but still whispered a reminder:
"Tread lightly, Filch's cat's ears are sharp."