"You're already studying Advanced Transfiguration?" Hermione's voice rose in disbelief.
How is he learning more than I am?
Dylan glanced over and saw it was Hermione. He nodded and replied, "Yeah, but Advanced Transfiguration is no easy feat. It takes time and focus to master."
Hermione blinked, thinking to herself that he must be showing off.
For some reason, she felt a sudden urge to compete with him.
It's just Advanced Transfiguration, right?
Once she has mastered Basic Transfiguration, she could dive into the advanced stuff too!
"Neville, when you study The Standard Book of Spells, make sure you pay attention to a few things. I came across some conflicting details when reading The 18th Century Spellbook," Dylan said to Neville. "I'll ask the professor about it when school starts and get back to you with the details."
"...Uh, thanks," Neville replied, still confused.
The Standard Book of Spells, The 18th Century Spellbook?
He was pretty sure The Standard Book of Spells was their textbook, but what was The 18th Century Spellbook?
He'd never even heard of it!
Seeing that no one else was saying anything, Dylan returned to his meal.
This left a group of stunned Gryffindors staring at him, as though he was somehow different from them.
Once Dylan set down his fork, Dumbledore raised his hand gently.
All the food in front of everyone vanished.
Dumbledore stood up.
"Everyone, the new school year is about to begin. Be sure to remember the restricted areas I mentioned, especially the corridor on the right side of the fourth floor of the library. You must not go near it."
"Also, don't use magic in the hallways during breaks. It's dangerous."
"Finally, the Quidditch teams are looking for new players. If you're interested, you can contact Madam Hooch, but the tryouts won't begin until the second week of the term."
Dylan made sure to jot down everything Dumbledore said about the restricted areas of Hogwarts.
It wasn't that he planned on visiting those areas, but because he had long forgotten which parts of the school were off-limits.
Now, there was no need for him to explore those places.
What he needed to focus on now was constantly learning magic, studying it, and refining his magical skills.
After the opening feast finally ended, Dylan and Neville followed Percy, along with a group of other Gryffindors, to the Gryffindor dormitory tower.
Dylan and Neville were assigned to the same room.
"Yay! We'll be roommates!" Neville exclaimed excitedly before suddenly noticing his toad had gone missing again.
"Oh no! Trevor!"
His excitement came to a halt.
Dylan sighed. "Trevor, come here!"
He cast a spell, and the toad quickly floated back to Neville.
As Trevor hovered near him, Dylan stopped the magic just as Neville was about to grab it.
Neville didn't mind. He quickly scooped Trevor back into his arms.
Dylan didn't feel strongly one way or the other about sharing a room with Neville.
All in all, it was more convenient to be with someone he already knew rather than dealing with a new roommate.
When they reached their luggage, a house-elf had already placed Dylan's belongings there.
Just as he was about to unpack, three other people walked into the room.
"Hey, hi! I'm Ron," a small redhead bounced in front of Dylan.
Dylan glanced at him. "Hello."
"Hi, we're roommates now," Harry walked in as well.
"I'm Seamus. Looking forward to rooming with you," said another boy.
Dylan looked at them and nodded. "I'm Dylan."
He hadn't thought much about it, but then it hit him, Neville must have already been rooming with Harry.
That meant his arrival had bumped someone else who was supposed to live in this room to another one.
"Eh, whatever. Sleeping's sleeping," Dylan thought, no longer concerned.
Having mastered six ultimate Dark Magic spells, Dylan wasn't worried about whatever future events Harry might face.
If anyone dared to cause trouble, Dylan would just use a few quick, deadly curses; Cruciatus, followed by Incendio, and finish with an Avada Kedavra!
Even though his magic might not yet be as strong as an adult wizard's, in a surprise attack, no one would escape unscathed.
Dylan quickly unpacked his belongings, deciding to finish the rest tomorrow.
Before climbing into bed, he waved his wand lightly.
"Scourgify!"
The bed and his body were instantly cleaned.
He kicked off his shoes, crawled into bed, and stretched out.
"Magic really is the stepping stone of human civilization~"
With everything cleaned, he didn't even need to take a shower or change the sheets.
This also meant no more hanging laundry or drying socks.
Who knew how annoying it had been to hang up sock after sock on a line!
Then there was drying them and folding them. Too much hassle!
"I'm going to sleep now. Goodnight, everyone."
As soon as Dylan lay down, Ron paused and asked, "Aren't you going to change out of your robes?"
Dylan looked at his robe, shook his head, and smiled.
The next moment, something magical happened.
Before Neville, Harry, and the others, Dylan's robe vanished.
He swiftly slid into the bed.
"What... what kind of magic is that?"
"I've got a space pocket~" Dylan said, rolling over with his back to the others and closing his eyes.
Harry, Ron, and the others exchanged glances.
They were all a bit envious.
At that moment, a thought popped into Harry's mind:
"Magic! I really need to study magic properly!"
The others quickly finished unpacking and climbed into bed.
Since they had just met, everyone wasn't too familiar with each other yet, so they didn't talk much.
A night passed.
When morning came, Dylan's internal clock naturally woke him up.
He sat up and stretched again, then took his wizarding robes from his belongings. After putting them on, he turned to look at the others in the dorm.
None of them woke up from his movements. They all slept soundly, like they were dead to the world.
"Pretty peaceful," Dylan murmured as he glanced at the time.
"It's still early."
He decided to check on the owl he had recently bought. Grabbing his textbooks, he cleaned himself up with a simple spell to freshen up, then left the dormitory.
"Oh, good morning, dear. You're the first one up," Fat Lady's portrait yawned in surprise as Dylan walked past.
"Good morning, Fat Lady," Dylan smiled at her before heading straight to the Great Hall.
Before checking on his owl, he figured he should grab something to eat.
He grabbed a cup of milk, two slices of toast, and spread jam on one. He quickly finished them.
Once the milk was down, he headed toward the owlery.
"Hey~ Luna! I've come to see you!"