Adam was disappointed, to say the least.
After a week of lessons, he mostly felt disappointment.
It wasn't that he already knew all the stuff they were learning or so good in magic, that he was just bored during lessons.
No, while he has already studied his books, you can't always learn everything through books and Adam learned that early on.
And the only two subjects he really got to do magic in were Charms and Transfigurations. While he did really well in the latter, he was just average in Charms.
So why was he so disappointed? The Teachers.
Adam loved learning more about everything, so he had always had this drive to learn as much as he could. And, on his path to learn more, he got to know a lot of different private tutors his parents had hired, and teachers from Dryads Haven, who taught some of the children there.
And he learned early on, that there was a big difference on how well one would learn depending on the teacher.
Most of his private tutors were typical pureblood wizards. Stiff in everything they did and only teaching through books. The Teachers in Dryads Haven were livelier and Adam noticed then how well such a positive environment had an effect on himself and the other children.
And the Hogwarts Teachers? They reminded Adam too much of his private tutors.
It wasn't that they were bad, no. But they weren't great either. The only exceptions Adam acknowledged were Professor Flitwick and Professor Sprout. Both were really enthusiastic about their subjects and their classes always had a positive environment.
Professors like McGonagall and Snape were to intimidating and oppressive, though McGonagall was definitely the better of the two, since Snape didn't even bother explaining what they were learning.
History of Magic was a joke and Adam had already decided after the first 10 minutes into the lesson that he would have to use the lessons to study by himself. And, after asking the Prefects about it, they told the first years that everyone was using the History of Magic lessons as a free period or to do homework.
Astronomy wasn't bad, but the interesting stuff would only be taught in later years, so they mostly were just taught names and charts to memorize. But at least Professor Sinistra was friendly and seemed enthusiastic about her subject. And she was a new teacher, so Adam couldn't really hold her to the same standard as the other Professors.
And the last subject, Defence Against the Dark Arts, was just as bad as History of Magic.
They had already learned from older years, that the Professors for the subject got worse and worse every year, since everyone started to belief that the position was cursed.
Some curse-breakers taught at the school to try and break the curse, but no one managed to even find it and slowly the hype diminished. Now no sane person wanted to teach that subject anymore.
And since there never had been a standard lessons plan, students suffered under the irregular teaching methods and pacing from different Professors.
This year, Adams first year, the Professor was a retired Auror called Byrne, who was content with just having them read a chapter each lesson and answering questions if there were some.
No need to say that Adam wasn't a fan of Professor Byrne.
Most of the Ravenclaws felt the same way as Adam about History of Magic and Defence Against the Dark Arts, but no one else voiced any opinions on the other Professors, which is why Adam kept his opinions to himself.
Well, until today. He agreed to meet up with Cole and Rosalie at the Quidditch field, since they wanted to check out the try-outs.
"…- so why would he even give homework if he can't even correct it? What's the point in that?" Adam finished his rant about the teachers and crossed his arms with an annoyed huff.
Cole and Rosalie shared a knowing look and mouthed to each other 'Ravenclaw', which earned both of them a smack to the head, since Adam was sitting between them and it didn't escape him.
The three of them laughed lightly and Adam felt the tension, he didn't even know he had, leave his shoulders.
"Don't worry about that. Some older Gryffindors said that he always gives out the same homework every year, so you can just ask some older students for their work.", Cole placated his friend.
"And Snape seems like a prick to everyone who is not a Slytherin, so who cares? You already told us about that Master Potioneer from that Centaur tribe in Dryads Haven. You could probably ask him to teach you over the summer the stuff Snape didn't." Rosalie advised and Adam nodded with a thoughtful expression.
While centaurs were pretty arrogant and didn't like to interact with others, those that often-visited Dryads Haven were quite friendly and easy to get along with. He could definitely try his luck and ask to be taught.
"Look! Wood caught it again! How many does that make?" Cole shouted in wonder, bringing their focus back to the practice match of the Gryffindors. The current Captain had decided on a match, since there were enough people to fill two teams.
"Did he even let one through yet? It seems like he will keep his position." Adam commented and cringed a moment later, when a Bludger smacked someone right in the face.
"I can't wait to try out next year! Look at those guys! They can't even throw the Quaffle properly!" Rosalie said, radiating pure energy.
This time Adam and Cole shared a look, since they knew Rose. She would probably play for a year and quit, because it would get too boring for her.
"Hey, look! Aren't those Fred and George?"
Adam and Cole followed Rosalies gaze and spotted two laughing redheads in one of the stands close to them. Both with beater bats in their hands and some balls looking like bludgers on the ground next to them.
"What are the- " Cole didn't get to finish his question, since the answer presented itself. While one twin threw a ball in the air, the other batted it into the distance, accurately hitting one of the Chasers and making them drop the Quaffle.
"Which position do you want to try for, Rose?", Adam asked after a moment of silence between them after witnessing that scene. "Because I don't think that you will have much of a career as a Beater."
"No shit." Rosalie deadpanned. The three of them grinned at each other and decided to just enjoy the show.
It took a while before someone noticed the irregularities and soon after there were 14 Gryffindors on brooms chasing after Fred and George, who were running for their lives.
Since the show was over, the trio decided to head back inside and work on some homework together, which quickly devolved into a short study session were Adam helped his friends in comprehending some of the confusing stuff from their lessons.
It had only been a week, so they didn't have much to do and decided to relax in one of the lounges where some other students played Gobstones or just chatting.
There were even some students who were playing some music or painting, creating a nice atmosphere overall.
After some rounds of Gobstones and Chess, they headed to the Great Hall for dinner and bid their goodbyes.
Adam joined his new friends at the Ravenclaw table while Cole and Rosalie joined their friends at the Gryffindor table.
"I heard they are still in the hospital wing because of all the hexes they received!" Adam heard Cecilia tell the others while he took a seat next to Amelia.
"The Weasley twins?", he asked and received a nod. "Yeah, we saw them. It was quite funny and even funnier when the others started to chase them."
"And the Players? Are they actually good?", Roger asked, more interested in potential enemies for the future. He didn't shy away from telling everyone about his aspirations to become a professional Quidditch player, so everyone knew about the intensity of his interest.
"I don't know about the others, but Oliver Wood is definitely someone I could see play professionally in a few years." Adam commented after chewing on a bite of his dinner for a bit. "He had this intense focus, like when you something with all your heart, and he played really well too. I think no one managed to score on him, but the Chasers weren't that great either."
Roger nodded with a serious expression, as if he would be the one playing against Wood in the next match.
The others decided to join in after that and the conversation quickly turned towards their favorite teams and players. Steven and Adam were the only ones who didn't care that much, that they had favorites, but after they saw the look of pure horror on Rogers face, they both decided to follow Amelias lead and named the Holyhead Harpies as their favorites. Which was quite believable, since they were on a win-streak lately.
After dinner they headed back to the common room together and talked for a bit more, before everyone headed to bed.
And, at the end of the day, Adam could acknowledge that, while still disappointed with the teachers, his first week at Hogwarts was definitely not bad. He even felt anticipation for the rest of the year.