Hermione took a sip of water, placed the cup down, and pretended to listen attentively. Ryan cleared his throat and began, "It's true that pure-blood wizards study the dark arts in depth, but they rarely need to use them in daily life. Most pure-blood families, aside from a few exceptions, have accumulated enough wealth and built extensive social networks, allowing them to live comfortably without needing to fight for their place."
Hermione nodded in agreement.
Ryan continued, "It's different for Muggle-born wizards. They have almost no social connections in the wizarding world. After graduation, their only real options are to work for the Ministry of Magic or take low-paying jobs as clerks in wizarding stores. But the wizarding world is small and very closed-off. The number of jobs available each year is far from enough. That means many Muggle-borns end up unemployed after leaving school."
"In the Muggle world, their credentials only amount to an elementary school diploma at best. That makes it nearly impossible to continue their studies or get decent jobs outside the magical world. Once they cross into the magical realm, they essentially sever all ties with the Muggle world — they can't go back."
"And it's not like they fare better in the wizarding world," Ryan added. "Outside of Hogwarts, there are almost no other avenues to gain knowledge. And in the magical world, knowledge means power, and power brings status. Without sufficient knowledge, Muggle-borns are doomed to remain at the bottom."
"Occasionally, a few get lucky and marry into pure-blood families — mostly women. They become full-time housewives or use their husband's influence to break into the pure-blood social circle. For example, there are a few shops in Diagon Alley run by women addressed as 'Mrs. So-and-So.' Some of them are Muggle-borns. But the male shop owners? They're all pure-bloods."
Hearing this, Hermione opened her mouth as if to respond but fell silent. Her expression dimmed, as if she had just realized something troubling.
"It's hard to find a job in the wizarding world, and they can't return to the Muggle one. Under such pressure, some take the risk of learning dark magic — dangerous to both the caster and the victim — just to survive and gain some strength. But dark magic found outside is often volatile and has harsh side effects. Without the foundational training and family knowledge pure-bloods pass down, many of these individuals spiral into darkness. A large number of the dark wizards in Knockturn Alley ended up there because of these exact circumstances."
Once Ryan finished, the dormitory fell silent.
Hermione asked in a hesitant tone, "Is all of that true? How come I've never heard anything about this before?"
"Of course you haven't," Ryan replied. "We're just students. Our exposure is limited to Hogwarts, Diagon Alley, Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, and now Hogsmeade Village. How would we ever get a glimpse of the darker side of the magical world?"
Hermione scowled and glared at Ryan. "It's just so hard to believe. I've never paid attention to these things. Do you think what you're saying is really the truth?"
"I do. The backgrounds of people in the Ministry of Magic and Diagon Alley, and statistics on dark wizard arrests — none of it is classified. Percy and I have talked a lot about this. There's no reason for him to lie to me. And the situation makes sense, logically speaking."
"Logically?" Hermione frowned. "It sounds like systematic discrimination against Muggle-borns. Why would pure-blood families do such a thing?"
"It's like the old British civil service exams," Ryan said. "They required Latin and Greek, right? But only elite private schools offered those languages. Public schools didn't. So, while the exams claimed to be fair, only kids from aristocratic families could actually pass. It was a way for the upper class to keep control while pretending everything was merit-based. It's the same in the wizarding world — an illusion of fairness masking a deeper inequality."
Hermione clenched her fists. "That's so unfair. Is this the reality hiding beneath the beautiful, magical world?"
She placed her glass on the table, leaned back in her chair, and closed her eyes in contemplation.
Outside, the sun began to set, casting golden-red hues across the red wallpaper and carpet of the room. Afternoon classes must have already started, but Hermione remained frozen in place. Ryan sighed. With no way to coax her up, he decided to skip class and stay with her.
After a long pause, Hermione opened her eyes and said softly, "I'm sorry for delaying your class. Let's grab our books and try to make it for the second session."
Ryan let out a breath of relief. He had worried that he'd overwhelmed her with too much at once. After all, while Hermione might become Minister of Magic and lead sweeping reforms in the future, she was still only thirteen or fourteen years old. These were heavy ideas for someone so young.
Ryan hadn't intended to burden her. He had been thinking about his own future, too.
When he first realized he had been reborn in this world, his goal was simple: make money and live a good life. Then, after gaining his "golden finger" ability — the powers connected to the Myriad Realms Store — he hoped to use it to find a way back home. But as he spent time at Hogwarts and grew close to his classmates, his purpose began to shift.
He thought maybe he should kill Voldemort — the most dangerous threat in this world. That goal gave him clarity. But now, with that threat becoming manageable, he found himself unsure again.
Going home wasn't something he could achieve in the short term. It might take years — or longer. That meant he had to settle into this world for the foreseeable future. And that made the state of this world much more relevant to him.
Destroying Voldemort would end the old world — but what about the new one? What should it look like? Who would be his allies in building it? Who would oppose him? Should he even take part in shaping it? If so, how?
These were the questions swirling in Ryan's mind — questions he had no clear answers to yet.
He'd hoped talking to Hermione might bring clarity, or at least spark some insight. But it seemed Hermione wasn't quite ready for these kinds of conversations yet. Still, there was plenty of time to think things through. And the Myriad Realms Store gave him access to countless worlds — each one a potential blueprint for what a better magical society might look like.
Over the next few days, things seemed to return to normal.
Hermione, however, appeared more preoccupied than before. One day, Ryan found her in the library, engrossed in a book about the history of magic. Clearly, their conversation had left an impression.
On Friday afternoon, during their Patronus Charm class, the combat professor brought in a real Dementor for a practical lesson.
Thanks to Ryan's practice in Middle-earth Taoist techniques — which happened to be highly effective against evil entities like Dementors — he remained mostly unaffected. When it was his turn, he easily conjured a thick stream of silvery smoke that blocked the Dementor's advance.
By the end of the session, all three students had learned to hold off a Dementor and emit silver mist. And when no Dementors were present, they could even make out vague animal forms starting to take shape in their Patronus clouds.
The professor announced the end of the course. There was nothing more he could teach them — from this point on, developing a physical Patronus would depend on individual practice and self-discovery.
Ryan thanked him and left the classroom, thinking he'd practice more in private. He was deeply curious: what would his Patronus actually look like?
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