Chapter 50 : History of Magic
Thanks to all the bad rumours circulating around the school, combined with everything he already knew from canon, Tyson's expectations for History of Magic had been extremely low.
And unlike most of his other subjects, he hadn't bothered touching either the History of Magic or Potions textbooks over the summer. Even if the subject wasn't particularly interesting, there should at least have been some novelty in hearing new material.
But no.
Somehow, the class had still managed to disappoint him.
The second the bell rang, Professor Binns emerged straight through the blackboard, sending a ripple of surprise through the classroom. Then, without so much as acknowledging the students, he began reciting the textbook word for word.
Tyson honestly gave it a solid five minutes.
He really did.
Then his brain just stopped braining.
Tyson has had his fair share of shitty AI voiceovers in his previous life, but Binns somehow made those sound like seasoned Japanese voice actors.
The ghost's voice wasn't merely monotonous. It was fucking dead!
There wasn't even any rhythm to it. He didn't pause at commas, didn't emphasize important words, and apparently considered full stops more of a mild suggestion than an actual reason to stop talking.
It was like someone had taken a textbook, removed every trace of human emotion from it, and then enchanted it to yap indefinitely.
Even Anthony, the certified nerd of their group, had started the lesson sitting upright with a serious expression. Now, twenty minutes later, he was hunched over his parchment, quietly filling the margins with random sketches he wasn't putting much thought into.
How did Tyson know?
The one in the bottom-right corner looked suspiciously like a shrivelled dick.
The rest of the class wasn't doing much better than Anthony.
Most of them had either completely zoned out or were openly resting their heads on their desks. Tyson could have sworn he heard someone snoring somewhere near the back.
Binns, naturally, didn't give a single fuck whether anyone was paying attention.
He just kept yapping.
By the end of the lesson, Tyson had accomplished almost nothing beyond staring at Binns with increasingly half-lidded eyes and trying not to fall asleep himself.
He'd also made a vow to himself to bring a book from his reading queue to the next History lesson at all costs.
If he was going to suffer through the class anyway, he might as well suffer productively.
When the bell finally rang, it sounded less like the end of a lesson and more like a battle horn signalling retreat.
Chairs scraped violently against the stone floor as everyone scrambled to gather their things. Half the class was practically sprinting for the door before Binns had even finished the first sentence he'd started after the bell.
"I think my brain just melted," Terry muttered, rubbing his bloodshot eyes as they spilled into the corridor with the rest of the students. "I didn't catch a single date after 1420."
Michael also gave a tired groan beside him, looking even sleepier than usual.
"That might be because the chapter today mainly discussed the Goblin Rebellions, which took place during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries," Anthony interjected.
Terry scratched the back of his head, looking embarrassed."Oh, haha. That makes sense."
Anthony stared at his clumsy attempt at brushing off the mistake before letting out a sigh.
"Though I do agree with you on that. The class was absolutely horrendous."
He clutched his forehead in frustration. "I don't know why Hogwarts even keeps him on the staff. He's just spoiling the subject for everyone."
Tyson glanced at him.
Well, well.
That was a question of the century, wasn't it?
Who knows? Maybe Hogwarts had a strict policy against firing dead employees.
They joined the stream of students moving down the corridor, and Tyson's attention gradually drifted away from the conversation.
His eyes were searching for someone.
More specifically, a certain platinum-blonde Slytherin girl who he had a solid hunch was avoiding him.
A few seconds later, a flash of pale hair caught his attention among the crowd farther down the corridor, and his eyes lit up.
Daphne Greengrass was walking beside another Slytherin girl whose name Tyson didn't remember. The two were talking quietly as they made their way through the crowd.
"You guys go ahead," Tyson said, already turning toward the Slytherins. "I've got some business to settle."
Anthony and Terry simply gave him quick nods.
Michael, however, paused. He followed his gaze to Daphne and then gave him a knowing smile.
Tyson raised an eyebrow. "What?"
Michael's smile only widened.
Tyson stared at him for a moment before remembering exactly who he was dealing with.
'Right. This guy was a self-certified playboy in the canon. And...he had a track record of dating Harry's love interests in particular.'
Tyson simply ignored him and headed after Daphne.
"Daphne!"
When she didn't turn around, Tyson assumed his voice had been swallowed by the crowd and hadn't reached her, but then he noticed something interesting.
Daphne had quickened her pace.
'Yeah, she definitely heard me.'
"Daphne!" he called again, a little louder this time.
Still nothing.
He gave up and pushed through the crowd, keeping his eyes fixed on the two girls so as not to lose them.
The corridor eventually opened into a wider passage, giving him enough room to pick up his pace.
A few quick strides later, he stepped smoothly around a suit of armour and planted himself directly in their path.
The duo came to an abrupt stop.
...
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