108 Tricks for Getting Detention After Class [Harry Potter]

Ailuo Qie'lehe is an utterly ordinary little wizard from the East, with a touch of Siberian ancestry. Somehow, he has turned himself into a war correspondent in the wizarding world. The following are excerpts from Ailuo's collection of articles (Ailuo's note: This collection was confiscated by the greatest white wizard in the world, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. Please read and cherish it while you can.)

Article 1: Hogwarts is a pretty good school, except everyone has such a phenomenal memory that it makes me anxious.

"Hello, my name is Ailuo Qie'lehe." The Eastern boy, who looked a head shorter than everyone else, had inherited his Siberian grandfather's skin, pale as year-round snow, and ice-blue eyes like an alpine lake. From his Eastern beauty of a grandmother, he had inherited soft, dark hair and delicate, gentle features. He smiled as he introduced himself to the person before him.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Qie'lehe," his new classmate replied, blushing a little.

Ailuo kept smiling, with just a hint of weary embarrassment. "I'm glad you remembered my full name, and you certainly do have a phenomenal memory, but my surname is Ai. Just call me Ai."

Article 2: I think the famous Sorting Hat is actually pretty unreliable.

"You're clever and calm. You'll be a Ravenclaw star, but you're also careful and a little reserved. Would Slytherin suit you, too?" the Sorting Hat muttered on his head. "Where should I put you?"

"One moment, sir," Ailuo said politely, trying to reason with it. "I'm not very fond of blue or green..."

The Sorting Hat spoke kindly. "Oh, you do have a bit of courage most people lack. Gryffindor would suit you, too."

Ailuo shook his head slightly. "But, sir, I'm not too fond of red either..."

"Then where do you want to go?" the Sorting Hat wondered. Who would put a little schemer like him in Hufflepuff?

Ailuo's eyes suddenly lit up. He looked like an innocent puppy who had spotted a bone. "Sir, you're a wonderful hat. I hear Hufflepuff has the best Pumpkin Pasties in the world! Thank you!"

Article 3: Shocking! A righteous, kind-hearted senior caught peeking at his adorable junior's diary! Is it a distortion of human nature or a collapse of morality?

Ailuo was hunched over a table in the common room, scribbling furiously. Cedric walked behind him and saw him write in large, bold letters: I think the Chaser is the cutest position on the pitch. Nothing is more fun than being allowed to give someone a good beating in public! By comparison, being a Seeker is utterly dull...

Cedric couldn't help laughing. Ailuo heard him and looked shocked. "Even the most upright senior peeks at other people's diaries?!"

Cedric was about to explain, but Ailuo solemnly held up two fingers. "Two Pumpkin Pasties, and I'll keep quiet."

Article 4: I think maybe the suspended bridge effect is real.

The thick darkness seemed to be mixed with golden sunlight. The boy's black robes were tattered, and his bare feet pressed against the dark ground.

Dense fog wrapped around him, but sunlight fell into his eyes, like amber flecked with golden honey. A pristine white Arctic rose bloomed brilliantly on his chest, its pearly petals glimmering like stars scattered across the Milky Way. The boy smiled and said, "See? I told you that both the Northern Lights and I would appear before dawn. So you never have to fear the darkness."

Before reading, here's a long list of notes for all you little witches and wizards:

1. This is a non-typical Harry Potter fanfic, written in a banquet-style format: canon characters x original characters.

2. The protagonist is a non-typical Hufflepuff with three past records of dropping out of Ravenclaw, so he didn't choose his house. Even the Sorting Hat felt sorry for him. This is not meant to suggest that no one can graduate from Ravenclaw. Just to be clear!

3. He's not just called a war correspondent in the wizarding world for show. His ambition is limited to playing matchmaker. If that doesn't work, he'll beat up the people involved and try again. He also has a relationship with multiple canon characters that's like "you and me and Steve" (that is, the third wheel). (Grindelwald and Snape: Let me thank you.)

4. The blurb may seem to contain out-of-character behavior and logical errors, but these are just ideas for now. The main story will follow up on Evernight (Dragon Raja). Why did it turn into a double-update situation? Because I've fallen behind on Evernight but also promised everyone this story would start updating on the eleventh... I'll do my best to keep the logic within a range I can accept. If you can't accept it, feel free to leave, but please don't curse at me. I'll cry.

5. Knowing myself, as the plot develops, little Ai is very likely to become a firefighter, constantly hopping back and forth to save his old friends' lives. The rescue list includes Sirius, Severus, Regulus, Albus... (The list keeps growing. Little Ai: I think it's fair to call myself a great benefactor of the Black family, right?)

6. Warning:

☆ Fans of Cho Chang and James may not like these choices, and little wizards who ship Newt and Tina may also be affected a little (I'm not sure, we'll see. Better warn you first).

First, it's not that I dislike Cho. I also agree she's pretty and gentle, but her dating Harry barely a year later doesn't sit right with my values (I can understand it, but I just don't like it). Also, since Cedric will be little Ai's love interest, that may affect the reading experience for Cedric/Cho fans. If you find it uncomfortable, please click away and cut your losses in time.

Second, the warning about James Potter fans is because I don't like what he and Sirius did to Snape at school. I admit that he later grew into a brave and responsible wizard, but simply letting the past go would be unfair to little Snape. So in this story, James won't be the one to save Severus. Feel free to make a fuss; little Ai will be the hero who saves the beauty (not really).

Third, I may later write a story about Newt x an original character, a cold little wizard who can turn into a cute, fluffy animal. So if Newt comes up in this story, he may be paired with this character instead of his canon partner. However, I'm not sure whether Newt's mother will appear later, so I'm giving you advance notice in case some little wizards are especially uncomfortable with it.

☆ The story's focus will shift from the original Gryffindor perspective to the Hufflepuff perspective. My friends and I have reread and rewatched the books and films, and consulted relevant materials, but people are bound to have different opinions. This story also covers a very long timeline, with complicated cause and effect and plenty of invented details. So I apologize in advance if any plot points or characterizations make you uncomfortable. Sob.

Also, special thanks to my dear friend, Gong Shang from Slytherin, who has worked day and night to help me figure out whether little Ai is out of character and has provided all kinds of details about Dark Magic and History of Magic. Hooray, may the friendship between Slytherin and Ravenclaw (meaning Xiao Yan is actually a Ravenclaw) last forever! QAQ

7. Important:

This story is written purely out of love. I've reread the original books and watched the films many times, hoping to recreate the magical world as I imagine it while keeping the characters as in character as possible. But I'm not the original author, and everyone has their own version of the magical world. There will inevitably be oversights, or things that conflict with the original canon or with your understanding of it. Please read patiently. (Maybe I've changed that part as an invention of my own, right? Trust me, most of the time I'm able to explain myself.)

I welcome kind reminders, but please don't give me writing instructions. If you don't like the protagonist's personality, think I've made him too out of character, or feel he doesn't fit your idea of the magical world, please click the X in the upper right corner. We can meet again another time. There's no need for us to make each other miserable.

8. That's about it. Updates should be every Friday. If I don't finish writing in time, they'll be delayed until Sunday. The first five days were daily updates because that's all the material I had saved up, but I've already worked out the outline and plot, so don't worry that I'll abandon the story. I'm just an old person with a side job who writes slowly. QAQ Please bear with me.

Theme: The path of development is tortuous, but the future is bright.