Chapter 23: Helping Out Friends, and The End Of The First Year

On an ordinary day, Quinn was studying in peace at the library. He was reading a book that expanded upon the resonance between prime numbers in the field of layered rune cluster structuring. It was a sixth-year book that intersected the subjects of Arithmancy and Runes. It was a fascinating book that Quinn found in Flitwick's weekly recommendation.

"Hey, Quinn." Quinn heard a voice calling out to him. He looked up and found his year mate Katie Bell standing in front of him. Quinn put on a smile and greeted her, "Ah, Ms. Bell. How are you? I haven't seen you since before the Christmas break." They were already in January, so it had been nearly a month since Quinn had talked to Katie.

"I am fine, thank you. May I sit? I have a favor to ask of you," said Katie, and Quinn motioned her to sit.

"If I can help, I would be glad to help," smiled Quinn, "So, what is the favor you want to ask?" Quinn had slowly built a friendly reputation among his housemates and the few people he knew outside of his house.

Katie looked nervous as she played with her fingers. She waited for a moment before asking, "Do you remember the Transfiguration homework that Professor McGonagall gave us two weeks ago?"

Quinn nodded, urging her to continue, "I kind of got busy and haven't made much progress on it... So, I was wondering if you could help me with it."

"Oh, my! What happened to the outgoing Katie Bell?" chuckled Quinn as he looked at the embarrassed Katie. He paused for a moment before saying, "You don't have to be nervous, Ms. Bell. I am your friend and a Ravenclaw at that. You don't have to be nervous when asking me about homework or studies. I would be happy to help you."

Katie looked visibly relieved at Quinn's words and sighed in relief, "Oh my god! I was so nervous. I ended up spending all my time at the Quidditch field watching the Gryffindor team and hanging out with them."

Quinn chuckled before warning, "Okay, now I did say that I would help, but I would only supply you with a list of things that you have to cover in that assignment and where you can find those things. You still would have to read all it and write it down in your own words."

Katie shook her head, "It is alright. I would appreciate any help."

Quinn nodded and took out a sheet of paper and split it in half. On the split paper, Quinn wrote the topics that one needed to cover for the assignment, then he mentioned the books and the chapters in the books where Katie could find the points. He mentioned the chapter, so she didn't have to flip through whole books, given that she was short on time.

After finishing writing, he slid the paper to Katie's side and said, "If you read everything on there, you would be able to complete your assignment in no time."

Katie looked at the paper weirdly as she was used to parchment instead of paper. After holding the sheet of paper and feeling the thinness of it, she read the contents. Her jaw dropped when she read it and gawked, "You remember the chapter number?!"

Quinn shrugged and gave the one excuse that always worked when it came to academics, "What... I am a Ravenclaw. Plus, I revised the assignment yesterday, so I remember it. No big deal." Quinn lied through his teeth; he had completed the assignment the day McGonagall had assigned it and hadn't even touched the parchment it was written on, much less revise it.

Katie nodded dumbly and spoke, "Anyway, thanks for this. This would make my work so much easier. Seriously, thank you."

Quinn shook his head and spoke, "Don't mention it. You can come to me if you ever have a problem with studying. I will be glad to help, but please don't tell anyone. I don't want random people coming to me asking for help. I am only doing this because you are a friend."

Katie nodded and then excused herself. Quinn looked at her retreating back and thought, 'Maybe I will start it next year.' Quinn had an idea he wanted to try, but he decided to wait till the next year before starting the plan he had in mind.

Quinn was about to get back to reading when someone once again heard someone call out to him. He looked up and saw Marcus Belby standing with nervousness clear on his face.

"Belby, what is it?" Quinn questioned his roommate.

Marcus fidgeted and softly asked, "Hey Quinn, you know the homework McGonagall gave us two weeks ago..."

"You too? Come on, man, you are a Ravenclaw," joked Quinn as he gestured Marcus to sit down. "So, why didn't you do the assignment?"

Marcus scratched the back of his head and answered, "I found a great book on Herbology and forgot to do my homework. I am embarrassed."

Quinn fought the urge to laugh, 'Of course, he forgot his homework because he found a book. Such a Ravenclaw reason.'

Quinn took the other part of the split page and wrote the same thing as he had written for Katie. He slid the page to Marcus, "Here you go. Read this, and you will be able to complete the assignment."

Marcus picked up the sheet and read the contents, "Interesting, I have read one of these. Don't you find it interesting how the density of an object affects the wand movement of the transfiguration."

Quinn nodded, "Of course, the amount of magic changed with volume and density. Conversion of material also dictates the complexity and method to mold magic to transfigure the objects."

Marcus nodded, and without saying a word, left while staring at the sheet. Quinn followed Marcus with his eyes and saw he was heading to the Transfiguration section of the library. Quinn shook his head with a smile before going back to his book when he heard another voice, "Hey, man."

Quinn looked up to find a Hufflepuff standing there with a smile on his face. "Can I too have one of those sheets? I, too, forgot to do my homework."

Quinn smiled, "Buzz of dude. I don't know you. I couldn't care less if you get a troll in the assignment." The tone of his voice was warm, but the message was anything but warm and fuzzy.

Quinn then proceeded to ignore the unknown Hufflepuff and finally was able to return to his book.

- (Scene Break) -

On a usual Saturday, after spending some time at the library, Quinn was walking towards the staircase to go to the Room Of Requirement, but he froze when he heard Flitwick call out to him, "Mr. West, fancy meeting you here. I hope you wouldn't mind walking with me."

Quinn unfroze and turned back to face Flitwick with a smile, "Good Afternoon, Professor Flitwick. Of course, I wouldn't mind walking with you."

Flitwick caught up with Quinn, and they walked together. "So, where are you heading to, Mr. West?"

Quinn politely answered, "I was at the library and am heading to the common room. What about you, Professor?" Quinn was going to the seventh floor, but there was nothing above the fourth floor that would have anything to do with a first-year like Quinn. There were Arithmancy and Runes on the sixth and seventh floor, but Quinn wasn't a third-year. So, he could only saw the Ravenclaw common room that had its entrance on the fifth floor.

"Excellent, I am heading to my office, so we are going to the same floor. I have something to talk to you about?" Quinn mentally groaned as he now had to walk to the common room before going to the Room Of Requirement.

But he was curious what Flitwick wanted to talk to him about, "What is it, professor?"

Flitwick looked at Quinn with twinkling eyes and asked, "Have you finished the homework that is due this coming Monday."

Quinn nodded with a smile, "Yes, professor, I have completed it and can give it to you right now if you want." He had completed the homework on the day it was assigned, in the class itself.

Flitwick chuckled and spoke, "Of course, of course, you are never late on assignments. Why would you be? You complete the homework in the very same class it was assigned."

Quinn's breathing hitched as he froze for a step before speaking awkwardly, "Ah, so you knew about that, huh."

Flitwick laughed in his squeaky voice, "Of course, all the professors know that you do your homework in the class. It was one of the first things we talked about you during the faculty meeting."

"All the prof-?! I mean, aww, you talk about me?" Quinn was shocked to hear that all the teachers knew he did homework in class. But then he finished with a joke and instantly regretted it. 'Why did I do that?!' Quinn berated himself.

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Flitwick laughed and revealed, "Of course, we noticed. You don't take more than a single attempt on any spell that is taught in the class. In potions, you know exactly when to pay attention while brewing." Flitwick paused before continuing, "Ah, my mistake. I don't think professor Binn knows that you do your homework in the class. He usually sleeps in our faculty meetings."

Quinn sighed and asked, "If that is true, I am truly curious why Professor Snape never said something about it." Given Snape's reputation, Quinn was sure that he would've had at least gotten a month's worth of detentions.

"Contrary to popular belief, Professor Snape doesn't enjoy tormenting his students. He simply doesn't want any mishaps happening while brewing. It irritates him when students can't follow simple instructions, so Professor Snape is extra tough in his class. Other than that, he couldn't care less what students do in his class. And you don't cause him trouble, so he doesn't say anything. But, do understand that he would punish you the second you make a mistake, and because of your skill, he pays special attention to you," explained Flitwick as they reached the fifth floor that housed both the entrance to the Ravenclaw common room and the Head of Ravenclaw's office.

After parting their ways, Quinn walked while feeling embarrassed about getting found out. Quinn truly felt flustered when Flitwick told him the truth.

When Quinn reached the seventh floor, he spoke to himself, "Teachers really do see everything." Though he wasn't going to stop, as long as it saved time, he was okay with some attention from the professors. "I am sure they would get used to it and, with time, ignore me."

- (Scene Break) -

One day, Quinn was approached by some of the first-year Ravenclaws. With Eddie in the lead, he asked, "Hey, Quinn, you are a pureblood, right?"

Quinn quirked his brows and thought why they were asking, so instead of doing the obvious and asking why he used Legilimency on every single one of them and read their surface thoughts. 'Ah, so they are wondering why I use paper and pen, huh.'

Quinn closed his book and decided to entertain them, "Yes, I come from a pureblood family. Why do you ask?"

Eddie looked at the group of first years before speaking, "Umm... we were wondering why do you always use muggle quill and parchment."

Quinn chuckled and pointed at the pen and paper in front of him, "The muggle quill is called a pen, and the muggle parchment is called a paper. The reason why I use these is that they are more convenient than quill and parchment. I don't have to dip my quill into ink repeatedly, and the parchments are tough to write on."

In response to that, one from the group asked, "What about self-inking quills and treated parchments. They cover the problems of the standard quills and parchments."

Quinn nodded before asking, "True, but do you know the downside of using charmed quills and parchments."

A different first-year raised his hand like he was in a class that amused Quinn, so Quinn pointed at him to speak. "Charmed quills and parchments breakdown with time. Feathers of a bird needed to be thoroughly treated to make them last longer, but the cost of producing them is much too high, and the same thing applies to parchments."

Quinn clapped for the guy and said, "See, you guys already knew the answer. You just needed to put your minds together. For the fantastic job you guys did, go treat yourselves with candy. You deserve it," he then gestured to them to go away, "Now, scamper off." While saying that, he casted a mild Confundus charm on the group to make them much more susceptible to his words.

He smiled when Quinn saw the group walk away like a group of gazelles. He was about to return to compiling notes on undead creatures like Vampires, Banshees, Vampires, and Dullahans when he heard a giggle.

When Quinn turned back, he saw Penelope Clearwater standing there with a hand on her mouth. Quinn tilted his head and asked, "What is it?"

She shook her head and laughed, "The way you talked to them was funny. You coaxed the answer out of them and then sent them away." She also narrowed her eyes and asked, "Their behavior was also unnatural. Did you cast a Confundus charm on them?"

Quinn's fake wand was in his room above in the dorm, so he grinned at her, and with a twitch of his finger, conjured a wand replica in his right hand, which was not visible to her.

"Yeah," saying that Quinn raised his right hand to show Penelope Clearwater the conjured replica.

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"Confudus Charm is an advanced skill, Quinn. It is in the fifth-year charms curriculum, and you are in the first year," Penelope stared at Quinn, curiosity apparent in her eyes.

Quinn stared back at her and considered using legilimency to scan her thoughts but decided there was no need and spoke shyly, "I learned it from the fifth-year book I took from our library. I was curious and tried casting it, and it worked. Though I wasn't able to make any other spells work, hehehe."

Penelope stayed silent before smiling, "Is that right. Sometimes a wizard or witch can use a spell beyond their capabilities."

Quinn smiled but didn't say anything as he didn't want to continue the conversation with her, but just to be sure, he changed the subject, "So, how are your O.W.L. preparations going?"

Penelope was currently in her fourth year, so next year was her O.W.L year.

"Oh, it is going well. I am thoroughly following Professor Flitwick's schedule, so I pretty much all covered. What about you? Are you ready for the end-of-year examinations?"

Quinn showed an 'OK' hand gesture and replied, "I am all set for the exams. It will be a breeze~."

Quinn sighed when Penelope went away. He was glad that the conversation didn't cause him problems as he still wasn't able to use the Memory Charm.

'I need to be more careful when using magic in public. It would be a pain in the butt if people know I can cast spell way above my grade,' Quinn breathed a sigh of relief.

- (Scene Break) -

At the end of the year, exams came, and Quinn aced the tests without breaking a sweat. Quinn completed the theory part with ease but only mentioned the parts he learned from the Hogwarts course books and library. Quinn didn't want to answer where he learned all the extra information. But, Quinn was sure that he would still get all Os in the exams.

During the practicals, Quinn had to resist rolling his eyes when he mimicked wand movements and chant incantations. When the results came, Quinn was pleased to see that he had all Os and Flitwick personally congratulated him for being at the top of his year.

And, the first year ended without any incidents and accidents.

-*-*-*-*-*-

Quinn West - MC - Number One, Numero Uno, Top Dog, Victor, Student Of The Year.

Filius Flitwick - Charms Teacher - Waddles like a Penguin.

Katie Bell - Gryffindor - Shadowing the Gryffindor Quidditch Team

Marcus Belby - Ravenclaw - Ravenclaws' Ron

-*-*-*-*-*-

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