Over the next two days, Ryan gradually adjusted to his school life. He chose not to wander the nights again. Instead, after his regular daytime classes, he returned to his dorm to ponder his next plan.
"Magic power naturally increases with physical growth, but it's so slow... Is there no way to increase it faster? And where are the things the teachers left behind?" Constantly pondering, Ryan made sure to stay on track.
Over the course of two days, he attended two more Charms classes, one Astronomy class, two Herbology classes, one Transfiguration class, one History of Magic class, and one Defense Against the Dark Arts class. True to his self-image, Ryan quickly demonstrated his talent as a genius.
In Charms class, even Professor Flitwick, who had already been prepared for Ryan's brilliance, excitedly praised his talent for spells upon seeing the almost blindingly bright light from the tip of Ryan's wand.
"Perfect control of magic, impeccable Lumos spell—ten points for Ravenclaw!" Like Professor McGonagall, Ryan's unique identity allowed Professor Flitwick to legitimately award extra points to his house.
In History of Magic, Ryan's performance even more astonished all of his peers. The professor was Professor Binns—a ghost. Legend has it that after waking from a sleep, he returned to class only to hear students screaming. By then, his body was gone.
Thus, Hogwarts had a unique ghost professor.
And just as his unique identity matched his lectures' reputation for being uniquely dull. The monotonous, low tone carried the ghostly haziness, and the emotionless recitation of magical history was a wandless, spellless version of passing out.
"Professor Binns's tenure at Hogwarts is probably because he doesn't need a salary."
"How can you not fall asleep in Professor Binns's class? You're like this (thumbs-up)!"
This was the common sentiment among the young wizards. Professor Binns's class became the dream class for most of them—because they were truly dreaming most of the time. But during this History of Magic class, the young wizards were surprised to discover...
"Professor Binns, you said that legend has it Hengis of Woodcroft encountered the Four Founders before founding Hogsmeade and obtained land deeds from them. Is there any supporting evidence for this?"
"And Gryffindor slew the giant Morholt with a sword... You mentioned this happened in 1094 AD, meaning Gryffindor was still alive at the time... Oh, I'm not sure—is this anecdote?"
"Queen Maeve and Slytherin may have had children? Is that true? Tell me more!"
The young wizards were amazed to find that Ryan not only absorbed Professor Binns's lecture but also showed great interest. He was particularly interested in Salazar Slytherin's personal life, showing even more interest than a real Slytherin!
And he displayed an astonishing knowledge of the Middle Ages, the period surrounding the founding of Hogwarts. He not only keenly pointed out some inaccuracies and omissions in Professor Binns's description of the medieval wizarding world but also thoroughly understood many of the customs of the time.
"I've seen relevant records in the family vault. Professor, there's something wrong with what you're saying..."
The young wizards then saw that the lifeless Professor Binns seemed to have lost even his soul. Since his death, he had never encountered a student like Ryan. This left the old professor somewhat bewildered and panicked. Throughout the class, the sleep-deprived young wizards could hear Professor Binns's fragile, slightly audible, "Oh, perhaps I'm mistaken."
They even felt that the old professor seemed to have become more alive—albeit in a pitiful way.
And after tormenting Professor Binns, during the Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Ryan personally confirmed that what the twins had told him at the start-of-term dinner was indeed true. The new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Quirinus Quirrell, was a disaster.
He stuttered and seemed rather dull and weak. His lectures mostly consisted of reading from the textbook—even his voice was as low as a mosquito's. Even more unbearable was the pungent smell of garlic he exuded, which he claimed was used to fight vampires.
This only made Ryan feel completely unprofessional—for any skilled wizard would know that garlic had no effect on vampires; vampires simply disliked the smell.
The situation with Defense Against the Dark Arts also made Ryan doubt the Dark Lord's worth once again. He suspected he became the so-called Dark Lord simply because modern wizards were so poorly versed in the art of Defense Against the Dark Arts!
Later, during another Transfiguration class on Thursday afternoon, Ryan encountered a minor crisis. After successfully transforming a button into a beetle, he saw Professor McGonagall approaching. The Deputy Head of House first praised his Transfiguration skills, then hesitantly asked him again about the so-called 'magic book' in his vault.
"I went to the library to look up information, but couldn't find anything relevant—I mean, it might be nice to have a copy of that book in the library..." Professor McGonagall, always serious about her students, was a little reserved.
Ryan decisively pretended not to understand Professor McGonagall's words and fled after the Transfiguration class. Inwardly, he also felt guilty to the old transfiguration master while also berating himself for his carelessness. His old teachers were right, it would take a thousand lies to cover a stupid one. Fortunately, Professor McGonagall didn't press further, so he could take a deep breath again later.
In this kind of school life, Ryan's reputation for genius grew ever louder.
Many young wizards believed that Ryan might be the best young wizard at Hogwarts this year... or even in the past few years.
"He's a genius in every aspect. Did you see him cast a spell in Charms class? Professor Flitwick was so excited that he fell off the bench... Of course, he had already fallen once before because of Harry at the beginning of that class."
"Didn't you see Professor McGonagall's expression before? My brother said he hadn't seen Professor McGonagall so friendly in the three years he was at school."
"Maybe he'll be the next Dumbledore..."
"Oh, brother, that's a bit too much—that's Dumbledore!"
"Yeah, and didn't he do anything special in Defense Against the Dark Arts class?"
"Did you get bit by a troll? With Professor Quirrell's expression, who could possibly do well? Don't you know that during the Sorting, Slytherin's Malfoy was...?"
Such discussions have been popping up frequently among young wizards lately. Some of the young wizards were somewhat disgruntled by Ryan's outstanding performance, but most were filled with admiration.
Ron Weasley was clearly envious.
"Ryan, I wish I could perform like you," he said to Ryan as he walked with Harry and Hermione.
"Oh, Ron—I thought you were catching up on some sleep during Professor Binns's lecture," Hermione rolled her eyes at him. Even a top student like her felt powerless against Ryan. As for Ron... he'd probably been studying harder these days than her cat. At least the latter would sit quietly beside her every night while she reviewed the daily lessons, but Ron seemed ready to fall asleep during class.
Ron, however, was unconvinced, arguing to Hermione that he was just a little tired. "A lot of young wizards are like that, even the seniors—I saw Fred and George the other day, and they looked exhausted too." He was confident he would do well in today's flying lesson.
"My childhood dream was to become a member of the Charlie Cannons. Today might just be the first step toward that dream..."
At this point, even Harry glanced at his good brother in silence. He, too, wanted to emulate Ron's confidence. But then, Hermione noticed Ryan, who was walking ahead with Seamus and Neville. His expression was serious, as if he were about to go to war. This puzzled Hermione—it was the first time she'd seen Ryan so wary.
But soon...
During the following flying lesson, she understood the reason for Ryan's attitude.
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Author's note
If you want to read more chapters of this story, please visit patreon/achmz . You can read this story up to chapter 48! Thank you for your support!