The next morning dawned on the first day of the new term at Hogwarts.

As the Hufflepuff students entered the Great Hall for breakfast, the first thing they saw was Aileen Cadwaller, sitting all alone at the end of the Ravenclaw table, with only Luna Lovegood for company.

The divisions between the Hogwarts houses had never truly disappeared, a legacy of centuries of feuds and clashes.

But compared to the animosity between Gryffindor and Slytherin, the rivalry between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff was much more subtle and obscure—the warm-hearted Hufflepuffs wouldn't overtly reject those who considered themselves superior, while the clever Ravenclaws wouldn't deliberately express their contempt for the dull and mediocre in their words and actions.

Hufflepuff's rising star, a Hogwarts celebrity... these were all points against her in Ravenclaw's eyes.

"Aileen," Hannah Abbott hesitated for a few seconds before walking over, "why don't you come back to the Hufflepuff table? If it really doesn't work out, we can ask Professor Sprout together to have you switched back."

"It's only just begun, don't rush..."

Aileen glanced at the empty Ravenclaw table and replied nonchalantly, "Besides, my course schedule this term is still based on the Hufflepuff curriculum. I've just got another place to sleep, that's all."

Unlike the other three houses, Ravenclaw was arguably the least affected by her last year.

As such, compared to the gradually changing atmosphere in the other three houses, the resistance here was mostly within Aileen's expectations—in fact, in her original plans, it might have been even more difficult.

In any field, artistic youths are always the most troublesome of the "elite."

From the current situation, the simple Eagle Ring test couldn't break through the Ravenclaw students' psychological defenses. Some clever students weren't the same as scholars eager to pursue the truth; the two were fundamentally different.

After a year of observation, Aileen quickly realized her previous misjudgment.

Physical dominance, knowledge crushing, bonds of friendship... the methods she used to win over the other three houses weren't as effective in front of the Ravenclaw students. What Ravenclaw pursued was transcendence and uniqueness.

Ravenclaw, they needed more than just knowledge; that was just the smallest personality trait.

If one combined the age, gender, and personality trait distribution of the Ravenclaw students, one could draw a rough conclusion: they were mostly innocent, sensitive, and imaginative artistic girls and literary boys.

In other words, they needed an idol.

A spiritual sustenance that could be admired and carry their beautiful fantasies.

And in this regard...

Aileen turned her head and glanced at Gilderoy Lockhart, who was smiling broadly on the faculty bench. A meaningful smile appeared on her lips. She couldn't imagine anyone more suitable than Professor Lockhart.

...

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Hermione Granger led four or five Gryffindor younger students into the Great Hall.

As Gryffindor's "Miss Know-It-All," one of the few witches who could beat Aileen in class, Hermione's popularity at Hogwarts wasn't much lower than Aileen's. The only flaw might be that she couldn't fly.

She glanced at the white-haired dumpling talking to Hannah at the other end of the hall. Hermione shook her head and didn't choose to "accidentally pass" that area, but instead sat directly at a seat beside the Gryffindor table.

Next to her were Ginny Weasley and her large group of brothers.

"This is the second-year timetable; Professor McGonagall asked me to hand them out."

George Weasley reached across the golden plates and passed over the timetable, taking the opportunity to ask in a low voice.

"Aren't you going to check on Aileen, Granger? What I mean is—"

"No need." Hermione said, taking the timetable from George and looking at it carefully, replying casually.

"Aileen isn't the fragile type. If she wants to be lively, she can sit at the Hufflepuff or Gryffindor table at any time. Even in Slytherin, she has quite a bit of popularity..."

After more than a year of getting along, although she still couldn't see through the mysterious fog surrounding Aileen, she was definitely the person in Hogwarts who understood Aileen's personality and style of doing things the most... at least one of them.

If Ravenclaw really bullied Aileen, even just for one night, it would be enough for this stubborn-haired sprite to turn Ravenclaw upside down—the only reason she was so well-behaved and aggrieved now was that the white-haired dumpling must be planning something more important, which was why she was temporarily showing a docile appearance.

As Hermione thought this, she turned her head and happened to see Aileen looking over at her, secretly making a face at her.

Sure enough, she just didn't know who was going to suffer this time. Anyway, she wasn't familiar with the people in Ravenclaw.

"Don't worry," Hermione frowned slightly, saying calmly, "Don't you guys know Aileen's personality? She's so proud; even Peeves isn't her match, let alone those Ravenclaw girls."

"That's true. I heard she almost single-handedly defeated the entire Slytherin team."

Charlie Weasley nodded, glancing contemptuously at the Slytherin table not far away.

"Hey, bro," George said, "don't say such scary things. We were the first victims, okay..."

"So close, really! George and I almost became ghosts on the Quidditch pitch several times."

Fred Weasley nodded with lingering fear, agreeing with an exaggerated expression.

But speaking of which, Fred and George vaguely guessed one of the reasons why the Ravenclaw girls rejected Aileen Cadwaller—in the Quidditch matches last year, Aileen led the freshman team in facing the Ravenclaw team and completed the [entire team elimination] achievement in both games.

They still remembered how heartbroken those Ravenclaw girls were after they first woke up.

Compared to the other three Quidditch teams, who were slightly more gentlemanly and had some pity for the weaker sex, the battles between the little witches were too cruel. He even suspected that Aileen Cadwaller had secretly increased the intensity...

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ps: Only one chapter today ~ continue to guarantee 4000 words tomorrow, strive for 10,000 words!

ps2: Regarding why Ravenclaw is temporarily at odds with Aileen, if the fat chickens still don't understand, you can gather here, and ask the thoughtful class representatives to help answer ~ coo coo coo ~

ps3: Here is a vote on the number of words and chapters updated every day

A, guarantee double update, and evenly distribute each chapter according to the total number of words

B, according to 2000 words per chapter, decide the number of chapters per day based on the number of words.

C, according to 3000-4000 words per chapter, decide whether to update three times or more based on the number of words.