Basil decided to put his "Get Rich Quick" scheme aside for the moment.
His priority was distributing the timetables to the other first-years.
Especially since he couldn't enter the girls' dormitory.
Luckily, Hermione lived up to her reputation as the original "Grade Grinder."
She was up by 7 AM.
She planned to eat breakfast in the Great Hall, then read in the common room while waiting for Basil.
So, the timetable problem was solved.
Ignoring Ron's depressed expression, Basil and Hermione (who stuck to his side) headed to the Hospital Wing on the second floor.
After meeting up with Harry, who had just been discharged, they changed course for the Great Hall on the ground floor.
On the way, amid some idle chatter, Harry voiced his doubts.
"I think there's something really wrong with Quirrell. You know I woke up when Hagrid carried me to the Great Hall doors. I happened to see Quirrell's eyes."
"Even though Dumbledore defused the situation, Quirrell didn't look relieved. Instead, his eyes were filled with absolute despair. Like it was the end of the world."
No one could answer Harry's doubts.
Basil actually suggested directly, "Maybe Voldemort is hiding in Quirrell's turban? He's despairing because he thought about telling Dumbledore, but Dumbledore's reaction made him realize he has no choice but to go down the dark path."
But no one believed Basil's 'guess,' even with his King Arthur charisma buff.
Harry said he might have seen it wrong, and Basil's theory was impossible. If Dumbledore knew, he would definitely act.
Ron said even more bluntly, "Compared to Quirrell's turban, Snape's billowing black cloak is a much more likely hiding place for Voldemort."
Hermione looked at Basil gently, assuming he was joking, and giggled.
Basil could only gloomily shift his attention to the castle itself.
But because of this, he discovered a serious problem on the way.
It was something that would annoy him for the next few days.
Hogwarts' layout was ridiculously bizarre.
It wasn't just the moving staircases that led somewhere different on a Friday or vanished halfway up, like in the movies.
The main issue wasn't even the stairs.
It was the doors and the landmarks.
Compared to them, the 142 staircases—some wide and sweeping, some narrow and rickety—were minor inconveniences.
First, the doors. Even the ones not hidden behind sliding panels or hanging tapestries had their own temperaments.
Some doors wouldn't open unless you asked politely.
Some needed to be poked in exactly the right spot.
Some required brute force.
Some needed to be tickled.
And some doors opened not into rooms, but into solid walls... where a ghost was waiting to jump out and scare you.
And those were the good ones.
Some weren't doors at all, but solid walls that looked, felt, and sounded like doors when you knocked.
And just when you memorized the locations of these doors and stairs...
The truly ridiculous part happened.
Everything in the castle moved.
The people in the portraits visited each other.
The suits of armor wandered around at night and found new spots to squat.
The landmarks you memorized often changed locations overnight.
Basil got lost several times because of this.
He thought he was entering the boys' bathroom, but it turned out to be the girls'.
Even worse, Professor McGonagall happened to be right next door.
If Basil hadn't suddenly summoned the Boggart and made it transform into "False Voldemort" (Snape's face, Voldemort's body) to cause a panic...
He probably would have been caught.
And this was despite having a complete projection of Hogwarts in his mind.
Okay, fine. He panicked and forgot he could teleport.
The result was that, under Snape's orders, Filch began strictly inspecting packages to see if anyone was buying Polyjuice Potion or its ingredients, like boomslang skin.
This surprise inspection caused many upper-year couples, who used Polyjuice for... certain roleplay activities, to complain endlessly.
Aside from navigation issues, social relationships became another big problem for Basil.
Because of Hermione's fierce guarding, almost no other girl dared to stay near him.
After their conversation in the Sorting waiting room leaked, everyone assumed they were a couple.
He was locked down!
Luckily, he was only a first-year.
Basil also realized that before Hermione officially met him, she had offended pretty much every other first-year.
Even the Ravenclaw first-years, who should have had common ground with her, avoided her.
Only older students would give her the time of day.
So, besides him, Hermione's only friends were effectively Harry, Ron, and Neville.
No wonder Ron complained in the original story that she had no friends.
Logically, a bookworm like Hermione should have at least had friends in Ravenclaw. Turns out this was why.
Basil suddenly realized that, based on their initial behavior:
Hermione was like the protagonist of a classic "Face-Slapping" novel. Lowly background, ambitious, slapping everyone in the face with her skills, mastering everything instantly.
Harry, the original protagonist, was more like the "Villainous Senior Disciple." Noble bloodline, a lackey (Ron), admired by everyone, not incompetent but unworthy of his massive reputation.
Basil didn't plan to change his social circle.
After all, Hermione was a System-certified "High-Priority Character" who gave him the Gold Quality [Magic Scholar] Echo.
If they had a falling out, Snape—who seemingly "shipped" them (CP)—wouldn't let Basil off the hook.
And Basil wouldn't get preferential treatment in Potions class.
You heard that right. Preferential treatment.
In Friday's Potions class, Harry was dissed just like in the original plot.
But the difference was, when Harry couldn't answer and Hermione kept raising her hand...
Snape didn't snap, "Sit down."
Instead, he said, "Miss Granger, you answer."
After Hermione answered correctly, he said, "Potter, it seems your fame does not equal ability. Two points from Gryffindor. You should learn from Miss Granger. Because Miss Granger answered correctly, one point to Gryffindor."
During the practical brewing of the Cure for Boils...
Basil was surprised to find his [Potions Mastery] trait had awakened.
Harry's data panel changed too. After he started brewing his first potion, his [Potions Proficiency (Weak)] also awakened.
Next, Basil casually saved Neville, who had panicked and messed up due to Snape's deliberate intimidation.
Basil earned another point for that.
Although Snape immediately deducted it from Harry later.
"Potter, why didn't you help him? One point from Gryffindor!"
After class, Ron was very unhappy.
"How come you guys didn't lose points and even gained some?!"
Although Hermione pointed out that Gryffindor still lost points overall...
Ron was still grumbling on their way to Hagrid's hut.
However, Basil's favorite class wasn't Potions.
Even though his [Plant Affinity] and [Potions Mastery] made brewing easy—his Magic Field could control the reactions in the cauldron the moment it boiled—he preferred Transfiguration.
Transfiguration was their first class of the term, on Monday.
Professor Cat-Lady didn't transform into a cat and sit on the desk like in the movies.
This greatly disappointed Basil, who had planned to pretend ignorance and rua (pet) the cat.
Just as noted in his friends' data, Transfiguration spells were indeed more rational.
Although the principle was still "I think, therefore it happens" (conceptualization)...
The thought process during casting had to be clear, specific, and logical.
Take the matchstick-to-needle transformation from that lesson.
You had to know the composition of the match: wood, the red tip (oxidizer, catalyst, flammable material).
You had to be clear that you were turning it into a needle. In your mind, you had to visualize the needle's size, thickness, and color.
If you were detailed enough, you could even visualize patterns on it.
Only then would the Transfiguration spell work.
But the main point was that all Transfiguration spells were essentially the same incantation base.
You just added the target object at the end or modified the intent.
This led Basil to spend 100 Gems on the spot to create a new Spell Card: [Transfiguration Spell].
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