As the end of August approached, the start of the school term at Hogwarts drew near. Andy had never imagined he would look forward to going to school.
"I'm obviously a poor student," he muttered.
In his bedroom, Andy closed the "Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration" and placed it alongside his other textbooks.
The past month had been the most fulfilling period since Andy's reincarnation. He spent time with family and exchanged information about Hogwarts with Ron, George, and Fred. Most importantly, Andy had a wand and could practice magic freely.
However, thinking about Hogwarts brought Andy a headache.
Let's go back a month.
Hogwarts was on vacation, and Andy wrote to Ron, inviting him to play Quidditch with the twins. Along the way, Andy sought information about the professors at Hogwarts from the twins.
After all, no matter which world you are in, having a good relationship with the teacher is always beneficial.
The information came smoothly.
The other professors were fine, but Severus Snape, the current Head of Slytherin and Potions Professor, was deemed the number one villain at Hogwarts by the twins. They described him as someone who couldn't be appeased even by a Killing Curse.
Andy had some impression of Snape from "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," where Snape seemed to target Harry Potter. But Snape also cast a counter-curse when Quirrell cursed Harry's broomstick.
In short, Snape appeared to be a bad-tempered professor who favored his own house but wouldn't let students get into real trouble.
Curious and eager for gossip, Andy asked his mother Helen about Snape. Helen, a former Gryffindor, knew quite a bit about him.
Andy learned about Hogwarts' bullying Snape and Snape's battles against the four Gryffindor warriors. According to Helen, Snape had a dark personality, a sinister look, and an obsession with the Dark Arts. He showed strong magical talent early on and joined the Death Eaters' youth training.
Snape even tried to win over a Gryffindor girl to divide Gryffindor's unity and bring her to the Death Eaters. Fortunately, the four Gryffindor warriors thwarted his plans.
"Why is Snape a professor then?" Andy asked.
"Dumbledore vouched for him. That's how Slytherins are—they side with whoever is stronger. Maybe Snape is betting on both sides," Helen replied.
The matter could have ended there, but Andy shared the story with the Weasley twins and got information about a secret passage from them. However, their boldness shocked Andy.
When Andy heard their plan, he broke out in a cold sweat. Thankfully, the twins promised not to betray him if something went wrong, which eased his mind.
Taking a deep breath, Andy stretched and leaned back in his chair.
During this period, Andy finished reading four books: "Basic Spells: Elementary," "Elementary Transfiguration Guide," "Dark Powers: A Guide to Self-Defense," and "Magic Theory."
He practiced magic whenever he had time and sought help from Kyle and Helen when he was stuck. In just one month, Andy felt ready to skip to the second grade.
Kyle often remarked that if he had worked as hard as Andy, he would have either become the Dark Lord or taken over as Headmaster Dumbledore, or at least become Minister of Magic. Unfortunately, he was no longer the same.
Hard training had indeed been effective. Andy felt his strength had significantly increased. It was now easy to bully Isabel with just a wave of his wand and a spell, which brought him joy.
However, these were not the most important things.
"System!"
Opening the system interface, the data [Potential Points: 4] made Andy grin.
This data had updated the previous night. The sphere now contained no red liquid, not even a drop.
"System, add points!"
When [Magic: 3] became [Magic: 4], Andy felt as if he had been elevated.
This was no illusion.
Andy genuinely felt subtle changes in his body. Casting spells became simpler, and learning spells became easier. Some spell theories he had never understood suddenly became clear.
This feeling was like being a genius.
Andy had felt this way before. His talent in Transfiguration was obviously stronger than in Magic spells.
Kyle and Helen both said Andy was a magical genius, but this was due to Andy's self-discipline, hard work, and adult understanding.
Apart from these, Andy was just an average person.
Today, Andy had a general understanding of the system's data.
1 was a troll, 2 was mediocre, 3 was ordinary, 4 was outstanding, 5 was a genius, 6 was a super genius, and 7 was...
Well, Andy didn't think too much about it for now.
At present, Andy's talent in spells and Transfiguration had reached the "outstanding" level. With Andy's early start, self-discipline, and adult understanding, he should have no problem surpassing first graders at Hogwarts.
"So next... I'll go to class as usual and then learn more magic."
These days, Andy had been monitoring the changes in the system interface's sphere.
After learning a spell and practicing diligently, the red liquid in the sphere grew rapidly. But once Andy mastered the magic, the growth rate slowed and eventually stopped.
In essence, the increase in red liquid was tied to Andy's progress, not hard training alone.
"Learn more magic, then add points to improve your talent. Improved talent strengthens magic, continuing the cycle."
This was a virtuous cycle.
"I really am suitable for Uncle Snake's style."
It's time to dance with Voldemort.
(End of this chapter).