Wednesday marked the first Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Ryan entered the classroom, excited to finally meet the hidden big boss behind the scenes—well, no, it was just Professor Quirrell, the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.
Sitting in class, less than ten meters away from the real villain lurking in the shadows, was an exhilarating experience.
The position of the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts was notorious for its high turnover rate. Yet, every year, brave wizards still applied for the job. This alone showed why the wizarding world rarely had foreign professors—British wizards certainly didn't lack courage.
More importantly, many of these ill-fated professors were far from incompetent. Even Gilderoy Lockhart, known as a fraud, had successfully manipulated experienced wizards, erasing their memories with flawless Obliviate spells. Then there was Dolores Umbridge, whose political prowess was enough to temporarily oust Dumbledore. One only needed to look at her cursed quill to understand her expertise in dark magic.
Other past professors included Remus Lupin, who had survived years among werewolves; the brilliant double agent, Severus Snape; and Barty Crouch Jr., who had managed to deceive Dumbledore for an entire year. Even Voldemort's personally selected Death Eater, Amycus Carrow, had proven his effectiveness. These individuals were undoubtedly elites in their own right.
Unfortunately, Voldemort's curse on the position was too powerful. In the end, the only two survivors were the now-insane Lockhart and Umbridge, who ended up in Azkaban.
As for this year's professor, Quirrell, he had been an outstanding student during his time at Hogwarts. Now, after his ill-fated journey, he had returned as a host to Voldemort, forming the bizarre Quirrell-Voldemort fusion.
Yet, something seemed off. Instead of exuding an aura of combined strength, Quirrell came across as weak and timid. His classroom reeked of garlic, and his lessons were filled with exaggerated, dubious adventure stories.
Ryan speculated that Quirrell was deliberately acting this way to avoid Dumbledore's scrutiny. However, drastic personality shifts often drew more attention. It seemed that sometimes, when two minds shared one body, their combined intelligence might be lower than that of a single brain.
The Dreaded Potions Class
By Friday, after nearly a week of classes, it was time for Potions—the subject Gryffindor students feared the most.
Potions class was held in a dungeon-like basement, noticeably colder than the rest of the castle. The walls were lined with glass jars containing preserved creatures, giving the room the eerie atmosphere of a dark wizard's lair. Many students shivered as they entered.
Professor Snape wasted no time, delivering his infamous opening speech before immediately singling out Harry Potter. Watching the scene unfold, Ryan couldn't help but compare it to a familiar trope—children being made to pay for their parents' sins. It seemed the concept of generational grudges was universal.
After reprimanding Harry and deducting a point from Gryffindor, Snape moved on, pairing students together to brew a simple Cure for Boils potion.
Due to his surname's initials, Ryan was partnered with Neville Longbottom. This meant he had to not only focus on the potion but also ensure Neville didn't accidentally cause an explosion.
Fortunately, Neville was merely clumsy and lacked confidence rather than being careless. He followed the textbook instructions with great seriousness, accurately measuring dried nettles and crushing snake fangs.
Snape prowled around the classroom, scrutinizing each pair's work. When he reached Ryan and Neville, he criticized their flame control, stating that the slug tentacles weren't cooking at the correct temperature.
Ryan was in the middle of discreetly glancing at Malfoy's cauldron, trying to learn from his technique, when he caught sight of Neville reaching for the porcupine quills.
His heart skipped a beat.
He immediately grabbed Neville's wrist, stopping him from adding the quills to the potion too soon.
Neville looked at him, puzzled.
Ryan whispered, "The blackboard says porcupine quills should only be added after taking the cauldron off the fire."
Neville's eyes widened in realization—he had completely forgotten that step.
Just then, a system notification appeared in Ryan's mind:
[You have prevented the Neville-cauldron-explosion event. Earned 1 offset point.]
Meanwhile, Snape had silently approached and, rather than acknowledging Ryan's intervention, turned his attention to Harry and Ron at the next table.
"Potter," Snape sneered, "why didn't you stop him from adding the quills too early? Did you want to see him fail for your amusement? Gryffindor loses another point because of you."
It was clear that Snape's resentment toward James Potter remained as strong as ever.
An hour later, after all the students had submitted their potions, Ryan noticed that Snape had marked his bottle with a simple A.
Well, at least he passed.
A Moment of Gratitude
After class, Neville repeatedly thanked Ryan. For the first time, he had managed to brew a potion correctly without blowing up his cauldron or getting hurt.
Ryan, however, didn't think Neville was entirely at fault. The problem was Snape's overwhelming presence, which put immense pressure on the students. Even Ryan, with the mind of an adult, felt uneasy when Snape hovered nearby. It was no surprise that Neville, who already lacked confidence, found the experience terrifying.
At that moment, Harry and Ron joined them. Neville immediately apologized.
"I'm sorry you lost points because of me," he said sheepishly.
Harry simply smiled, while Ron waved it off. "Don't worry about it. We already knew Snape wasn't fair."
An Afternoon in the Library
With Potions class concluding their first week, the students had no afternoon lessons. After lunch, Ryan gathered his school supplies and headed to the library to get a head start on his weekend homework.
It was far better to finish assignments early and enjoy the weekend than to rush at the last minute.
Upon arriving, he found Hermione already immersed in her studies. He greeted her before settling down to work.
In his previous life, Ryan had been a student who believed in doing just enough to get by. He had initially planned to slack off at Hogwarts for seven years, but fate had other plans.
Going to school with his childhood friend made maintaining his grades necessary—if his performance suddenly dropped, it would draw attention. Worse, acquaintances might report it in letters home, alerting his parents. That was a risk he couldn't afford.
And so, most of his free time was now dedicated to studying.
This routine reminded him of his past life's college entrance exam preparations—definitely not a fond memory. However, the realization that power was everything in the wizarding world kept him motivated. After all, knowledge equaled power, and power meant survival.
By dinner, he and Hermione had completed most of their assignments. They packed their bags and headed to the Great Hall together.
The scene felt nostalgic to Ryan—walking to dinner with a classmate, just like in his primary school days.
"It feels good to be young," he mused silently, despite being a 30-year-old man in spirit.
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