A Certain Magical Hogwarts

In the final week before leaving school, the exam results were finally announced.

Once again, William achieved perfect scores in every subject, securing the top spot in his year.

Even though Snape wasn't happy about it, he had no choice but to acknowledge William's exceptional performance. After all, he wanted to use the basilisk materials, and giving William this recognition was the least he could do.

Of course, William wasn't entirely naive. He asked Dumbledore to keep an eye on Snape during the summer to make sure the professor didn't go on a materials-stealing spree, like when he stole parts of the dragon.

During the time loop, William had seen a portion of half frozen dragon corpse hidden in one of Snape's boxes! That dragon was William's property!

Hermione was undoubtedly the top student in the first year. However, unlike William, she didn't score full marks in every subject; Snape docked ten points in her potion-making.

Snape claimed he deducted the points to prevent Hermione from becoming too arrogant.

What a caring professor he was! If he didn't receive an accolade like "Top Ten Outstanding Young Men Wizards," it would be a disservice to his dedication.

Cedric, as usual, maintained his position as the top student in the third year.

It seemed William's circle of friends consisted entirely of overachievers, monopolizing the top spots in most year groups and leaving little room for others to shine.

When the term ended, everyone's luggage was loaded onto the train, and they left Hogwarts aboard the Hogwarts Express, heading home.

William, Cedric, Hermione, Cho, the Weasley twins, Harry, and Ron shared a compartment together.

Before long, the twins excused themselves, claiming they needed to use the bathroom.

Given the twins' reputation, it was obvious they were up to no good.

As the train approached King's Cross Station, Cedric suddenly remembered something.

"William, you must come to my house during the summer," Cedric invited, "My dad has been going on about it endlessly."

"Of course, no problem," William replied with a grin, then turned to Cho. "Cho, are you coming too?"

Cedric secretly gave William a thumbs-up. This was a friendship worth having!

"Sure, I'll be home all summer," Cho replied without hesitation.

Meanwhile, Ron began inviting Harry to his home, though Harry's attention seemed to drift toward Cho.

Hermione sat next to William, leaning against the window with a thick, hardcover book she had borrowed from the library as her travel companion.

Boba Tea, lay by the window, swishing its tail back and forth to annoy Hermione deliberately.

With a flick of her wand, Hermione tied a ribbon around the cat's tail, forming a neat little bow.

Watching ther interaction, William smiled before saying, "Oh, by the way, I'm planning to buy a house."

"Buy a house?" Cedric looked surprised.

"Yes, with the prize money from The Daily Prophet lottery," William said with a chuckle.

During the time loop, William had memorized the winning lottery numbers and, after leaving the loop, sent an owl to purchase two sets of tickets.

As a result, he won both second and third prizes, totaling 744.3 Galleons.

This caused quite a stir at Hogwarts, with students envious and astonished. Unintentionally, William sparked a frenzy of Daily Prophet lottery ticket purchases.

William wasn't short on money anymore, thanks to the Akalis's Mystery shop he ran, which had brought in significant earnings. However, he didn't plan to touch those funds.

Following the principle of expanding reproduction under capitalism, William intended to reinvest those profits into acquiring raw materials to grow his shop further and maximize returns.

Thus, the lottery winnings, which were more like pocket change, were perfect for buying a house.

Houses in the wizarding world weren't as outrageously expensive as those in the Muggle world. 

Most wizarding homes were located in remote villages and were quite affordable, often costing well under a few hundred Galleons.

The tricky part was the paperwork. Buying property required registration with the Ministry of Magic.

As a minor, William didn't yet have the legal qualifications, and his Muggle parents couldn't assist either.

Fortunately, Dumbledore could easily handle these matters. Sometimes, it's not so bad having powerful connections.

"Where are you planning to buy?" Cedric asked.

"I'm not sure yet. Professor Dumbledore suggested Godric's Hollow," William replied.

Godric's Hollow, located in the western counties of England, was a well known wizarding village named after Godric Gryffindor. It had been home to many wizarding families, including the famous magical historian Bathilda Bagshot.

"Nicholas suggested I build a house near his estate and become his neighbor," William continued.

"What about you? Where do you want to live?" Cho asked.

After a moment's thought, William said, "Honestly, I'd prefer to live near people I know. How about Ottery St. Catchpole?"

"That's perfect!" Cedric exclaimed, clearly thrilled, "You could be our neighbor!"

"I haven't decided on a specific house yet. Dumbledore will help with the arrangements," William said with a smile.

Harry listened enviously. 

He longed to have his own house too, far away from the Dursleys. Remembering the pile of gold in his Gringotts vault, he thought he might ask Dumbledore for help in buying a small home of his own.

"Oh, Cedric, how's the wand-making going?" William asked.

Previously, Cedric had made a wand for William using elm wood and a unicorn hair core. However, it often malfunctioned.

Since then, Cedric had crafted several more wands, gradually improving his technique, though the results were still underwhelming.

After the basilisk's death, William had given one of its horns to Cedric, hoping he could use it as a core to create a more powerful wand.

Cedric shook his head regretfully. "No luck yet. I've researched extensively but can't find the right combination. I'll consult Mr. Ollivander when I get back."

"Alright," William nodded.

As the train neared the station, Cho suddenly asked, "Where are George and Fred? They said they were going to the bathroom, but it's been half an hour. Did they fall in?"

At that moment, an explosion echoed from the distant carriages.

Boom!

The sound was unmistakable, and even their carriage shook slightly. Moments later, there was a rushing sound of water.

Percy came storming over, fuming. However, he didn't immediately open the bathroom door. Instead, he cautiously peered through the crack, then stepped back warily.

Having suffered enough of the twins' pranks, Percy had developed an uncanny sense of when trouble was brewing.

Pointing his wand at the bathroom door from a safe distance, Percy cast, "Alohomora!"

Bang!

The door swung open, and a massive wave of water gushed out. Malfoy was floundering in the two-meter-deep pool, desperately trying to swim.

Floating among the water were several yellow, foul-smelling objects of indeterminate origin.

"Help… me!" Malfoy cried before plunging underwater, "I… can't… swim!"

Luckily, the water level quickly receded after the initial burst.

Every student who saw Malfoy's state burst into laughter.

"How did they manage this?" Cho asked, clearly interested.

There was no doubt the twins were behind it.

"I'd guess they stuffed Filibuster Fireworks into a fire crab's mouth," William speculated, resting his chin on his hand.

"When the fire crab swallows them, it spits out a chain of explosions."

"But why would they do it?" Cedric asked, puzzled.

""Well..." William thought for a moment, "I remember Fred saying something like, 'We need to deliver a toilet seat for our dear sister Ginny.'"

"This is probably Fred and George's way of preparing a welcome gift."

Everyone burst into laughter as the train slowly came to a stop. Platform 9¾ had finally arrived

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