After coming back from seeing Old Man Dumbledore, Dylan felt he'd gained quite a bit.
As soon as he got back to the common room, he zipped straight into the space inside his trunk.
— Though before he did, he borrowed Neville's Remembrall.
Remembralls were another sort of alchemical creation, but they didn't really have much technical complexity. After studying it for a little while, Dylan figured out the basic principle behind making them.
He held the Remembrall up to his eyes, peering through the transparent outer shell at the gas inside.
The manufacturing principle of a Remembrall wasn't complex at all – surprisingly simple, actually. It simply used a special magical gas that could react to the holder's mental fluctuations. When something unexpected happened, the mental fluctuations would become abnormal, and naturally, the gas inside the Remembrall would be triggered, turning red.
Dylan began to use some of the ancient runes he'd just learned from Old Man Dumbledore, under his personal guidance, and even with pointers from Headmasters of the past.
— The ancient runes on the Pensieve.
Dylan tinkered with Neville's Remembrall for a good while. His fingertips glowed a faint gold as he etched the runes onto the sphere. Magic was slowly injected into the transparent orb.
Alchemy, of course, still needed other things. Dylan took out a few small vials. Moonpetal powder shimmered with a pearly lustre in one bottle, while Star Sand looked like solidified bits of the Milky Way. These materials weren't exactly common, but Dylan didn't feel bad about using them up. Materials were meant to be used! If he ran out... well, he'd just go ask his good devotee, Mr. Borgin, for some more. It wasn't a difficult thing.
As Dylan injected magic into the Remembrall, he used a quill to dip into a small amount of adhesive he'd mixed, drawing out extremely fine foundational alchemical array patterns on the surface of the sphere. — This was a pretty basic alchemical array. In fact, the Remembrall itself already had patterns etched on it; Dylan was just adding more on top.
"The Memory Anchoring Matrix recorded in Nicolas Flamel's Basic Transformation Principles, hmm, etched quite standardly."
Dylan set to work on the Remembrall with great interest. First, he had to make these chaotic gases learn to 'understand'. Dylan mused, then ground three Memory Enhancing Potions into a mist using a silver mortar, heating and melting them with the Star Sand in a cauldron. Dylan placed the Remembrall above it.
A faint golden vapour drifted out from the cauldron, flowing towards the sphere like a living thing. "A normal Remembrall just triggers based on mental fluctuations — like throwing a match into a powder keg, but both Old Man Dumbledore and the books say alchemy is about layered construction —"
Dylan gently used the quill to draw spiral patterns onto the array positions on the sphere, each line precisely corresponding to the spiritual pathways of the human hippocampus.
"The first layer is a classification sieve. I can use moonstone powder as a medium to allow the Remembrall to recognise keywords like homework, pets, classes, supplies, etc."
"The second layer is the memory hook." This needed Neville's hair. That way, it would know what things were truly important to the owner of this Remembrall. "Good thing I sometimes collect other people's hair," Dylan thought, opening a small box on a nearby shelf. Inside was a transparent glass container with a few strands of hair scattered within. Dylan took one out and dropped it into the cauldron.
*Pop!*
A burst of gas erupted. The mist surged over the Remembrall once more. Dylan used a test tube to draw out the solution brewed in the cauldron, dripping the liquid mixed with bits of Neville's hair onto the surface of the Remembrall.
The Remembrall's transparent shell suddenly rippled with a wave-like shimmer. Dylan narrowed his eyes, adjusting the angle of a prism suspended in mid-air so that the light from above was broken down into a seven-colour spectrum by the prism, refracting miniature rainbow bridges inside the sphere. — This was a crucial step in alchemy for imbuing an object with sentience. To make an alchemical creation less rigid, this step was key.
Dylan carefully adjusted the prism, allowing the magical gas, under the effect of alchemy, to gain basic information processing ability. The smoke that would originally only blindly turn red could now condense into the shape of a cauldron when Dylan mentioned 'Potions class,' and then Professor Snape's rigid expression would appear.
"Neville is going to be so surprised when he sees this," Dylan chuckled softly. "Next, this is the most important part."
Dylan tapped the tip of his wand lightly on the top of the sphere. A Big Dipper array composed of twenty-eight pieces of Star Sand quietly formed.
"Hmm, I added a Tidal Charm to the Remembrall's reminder function and automatically adjusted the priority based on the ringing of the Hogwarts clock tower bell. Now it's pretty much done."
Dylan stroked his chin. At this point, the functions of Neville's Remembrall were far richer than before. For instance, after dinner, if Neville forgot something, it would strengthen the homework reminder. If Neville's beloved runaway pet, Trevor, quietly disappeared again and Neville forgot about his pet *again*, the Remembrall would flash blue light to remind him — instead of just simply heating up continuously.
Once the array cooled, Dylan looked at the Remembrall before him, a look of satisfaction in his eyes. He threw some food to his pets and his Basilisk before exiting the trunk space.
Neville noticed Dylan immediately. When Dylan had borrowed his Remembrall, he'd said he was going to modify it for him. He was really curious about how his Remembrall was now. Looking over, he saw that the Remembrall in Dylan's hand was no longer just a simple glass object. On the surface of the sphere, faint, intricate alchemical patterns could be seen, looking a bit like a spiderweb soaked in moonlight.
"Wow, Dylan, what did you do to it? It looks really different from before!"
Dylan handed the Remembrall to him. Neville quickly took it, holding it in his hands and examining it. The originally unremarkable Remembrall now looked much more advanced. The gas inside flowed in distinct layers. The upper layer was the silvery-white mist responsible for identification, and the lower layer was an amber light band storing keywords. In the middle, a pea-sized golden gear was suspended, slowly rotating, performing the task of separating the two streams of gas into layers.
Seamus and Harry crowded around. Ron stared blankly at the Remembrall, which looked very "expensive."
"Dylan, did you put the entire Department of Magical Memory inside there?"
"Try saying, 'What did I forget?'" Dylan ignored Ron and smiled at Neville. "This time it won't just sit there blankly emitting red gas, or be silly enough to burn your hand."
Neville blinked. "What did I forget? But I don't think I forgot any..."
Before Neville could finish speaking, the amber light band in the Remembrall moved sharply. The silvery-white mist responsible for identification transformed into the shape of a notebook. This notebook kept changing shapes, looking like it was transforming.
Neville's eyes widened. "Wait! Tomorrow's Transfiguration homework, I think I forgot to do it!"
Dylan was taken aback too. Because the professors always treated him and the other students differently, he actually didn't have much homework weighing him down. Therefore, he couldn't really understand Neville's current state of collapse. He just pursed his lips, holding back a smile.
"Well... since you still have time, you better hurry up and finish it. Otherwise, if Professor McGonagall finds out you didn't do your homework... I think you know the consequences."
Neville rummaged through his backpack with a clatter and pulled out a notebook. Dylan cast a Scouring Charm on himself, then lay down on his bed.
Next was still reading time. However, the book Dylan was reading was his notebook, which contained the ancient runes he had just recorded. Reviewing the old to learn the new, Dylan still needed to study them properly.
"Now I have a preliminary grasp of alchemy, and I've even dipped into the principle of the Time-Turner."
Next, Dylan was considering whether to return the Time-Turner to Professor McGonagall. However, with his current level, it was still too early to make a Time-Turner himself. Moreover, the Time-Turner Professor McGonagall gave him basically couldn't be used for anything else other than attending classes. This restriction made Dylan feel it would be better to return it sooner rather than later.
Before these Time-Turners were destroyed, Dylan could completely take a trip to the Ministry of Magic. Taking advantage of the time when the Ministry was in complete chaos, he could easily snatch all those Time-Turners.
So Dylan felt there was no need to fill his upcoming time with all sorts of unnecessary classes just for one Time-Turner. "The most important things are the alchemical runes on the Time-Turner and the principle of its manufacture, and I've already gotten a rough idea. I should just give this Time-Turner back."
Flipping through his notes, Dylan finally made this decision. Before going to sleep, Neville finally finished his homework. Dylan closed his notebook and then took out his timetable.
"These classes can finally be crossed off."
A large portion of the content in the elective classes Dylan had been taking recently, he had actually already mastered. Continuing to study them, in fact, the professors of those elective classes wouldn't be able to provide him with much help. — For example, Arithmancy class.
He did keep Divination class. Recently, his progress in Divination had been a bit slow. Dylan could just take this opportunity to make his technique more skilled. It's just that, regarding ordinary Divination prophecies... honestly, Professor Trelawney wasn't even as good as him.
The next day at noon, taking advantage of the fact that the afternoon's elective classes hadn't started yet, Dylan found Professor McGonagall after finishing his morning Transfiguration class and suggested going to her office to discuss something. After Professor McGonagall agreed, the two walked all the way to the Deputy Headmistress's office.
"What is it, Dylan? It must be something you can only tell me in my office."
Dylan smiled. "Of course, it's about what I swore." Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow, waiting for Dylan to continue. Dylan didn't waste words and took out the Time-Turner.
"Professor, after studying for a while, I found that I've basically mastered the content of these elective classes."
"Like Divination?"
"Yes... like Divination."
Seeing Dylan nod, Professor McGonagall not only didn't blame him for changing his mind so easily, deciding on a whim and saying he wouldn't attend classes anymore, but instead showed a smile of relief.
"I said long ago that some classes aren't necessary, and for you, even more so." Professor McGonagall looked at Dylan. "Even in core compulsory courses like Transfiguration and Charms, you are completely at ease in class, even reaching perfection. I don't think you would gain too much from elective classes."
Professor McGonagall extended her hand, her fingertips sweeping across the star-patterned scale on the Time-Turner's surface. "Since that's the case, I'll take it back then."
After taking the Time-Turner, Professor McGonagall put it into a small pouch. She didn't put it in her desk drawer but chose to keep it close to her person. She gently patted her pocket. Professor McGonagall smiled and nodded. "True scholars don't need more time, but deeper focus — so this is a wise choice."
"Professor, you haven't eaten yet either, have you? I'm sorry for taking up so much of your time. Let's go to the Great Hall together."
Watching Professor McGonagall carefully put away the Time-Turner, Dylan secretly nodded. After this, if Hermione used the Time-Turner to cause any more trouble, it wouldn't have anything to do with him.
"Of course, let's go." Professor McGonagall nodded gently, turned around, and walked towards the door, the hem of her robe rustling softly against the stone floor.
The two walked all the way to the entrance of the Great Hall. The large doors were open, and the aroma of roasted beef mixed with the scent of some sweets wafted out. Various smells drifted straight into their nostrils. Professor McGonagall headed towards the High Table, and Dylan went to the Gryffindor table.
After eating, it was another afternoon of classes. Since he no longer needed to attend the elective courses, he only attended one class and then went to the Great Hall to eat with Neville and the others. Hermione appeared at this time.
Taking advantage of the moment when there wasn't anyone near Dylan, Hermione walked over. She looked at Dylan with a strange expression, hesitated for a moment, then lowered her voice and whispered, "Where did you go this afternoon?"
Dylan blinked, looking at her. "I was in class, of course."
"What? But I didn't see you in any of the elective classes at all."
"Oh—that, I returned that thing to Professor McGonagall."
"What?!"
Hermione suddenly exclaimed, drawing the attention of Neville, Harry, and the others. Hermione stopped, gave an awkward smile, and quickly lowered her voice again. "You actually gave it back? You don't want to take those classes anymore?"
Dylan nodded. "Yeah, I feel like these academic subjects aren't things I absolutely *must* master. Or rather, they aren't particularly difficult subjects; I can understand them even just by reading books. So I don't really want to go to class anymore, and every class I attend means I need to do an extra piece of homework. The elective class professors won't exempt me from homework just because my performance in Transfiguration is good enough. Besides that, the exams will still proceed as normal afterwards, and I really don't want to spend that much time, so I just gave up on these unnecessary classes."
Hermione: "() So... what about me then?"
"Huh? What about you?" This time, it was Dylan's turn to be surprised.
Hermione's lips moved.