As the saying goes, "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated in a hundred battles!"
Hermione thought that if she could learn Dylan's approach to studying, she might be able to communicate with professors as effortlessly as he did.
After some time observing and researching, she discovered...
Dylan was completely immersed in his studies!
One day, she tried to stake out Dylan in the morning to see what time he actually woke up.
But she waited until class started and still didn't see him.
In the end, she almost ended up being late herself!
This meant Dylan must have woken up even earlier than she did.
This discovery left Hermione utterly shocked.
She had gotten up at 6:30 a.m. to stake out Dylan.
If she still missed him, what time did he even wake up?
Could he have been studying all night?
Did he even sleep?
The next day, Hermione tried waking up at 6:00 a.m., but she still didn't catch him!
Finally, she pushed her wake-up time to 5:00 a.m.
Dragging her groggy body to the common room to wait, she finally caught Dylan!
This discovery completely shattered Hermione's determination to compete with Dylan.
What was the point?
If she kept this up, she'd be the one collapsing first...
She had always thought waking up at 6:30 a.m. was early enough, especially since everyone around her was still asleep at that hour.
But she realized she had been naive.
After calming down, Hermione noticed something else.
Dylan's attitude toward magic was always calm and steady. He never seemed anxious about struggling with a complex spell.
Unlike her, who would get extremely anxious if she couldn't finish her homework or understand a difficult concept.
He was always so composed.
Sometimes, she even wondered if the Sorting Hat had placed Dylan in the wrong house.
"Good morning, Hermione!" Harry said, his eyes widening as he looked at her. "You look much better than you did the past couple of days!"
Ron nodded in agreement. "Yeah, what were you up to? You had such dark circles under your eyes!"
"..."
Hermione walked over and sat down with them. "Nothing, really. I just moved to a new place and had trouble sleeping."
Since she stopped waking up early to stalk Dylan, her energy had improved significantly.
Last night, she had even gotten a full night's sleep!
No wonder she looked better.
"Are you all ready for flying class today?" Hermione asked the group.
A while back, to better observe Dylan, she had gotten closer to Harry and the others, thinking she could gather some intel on his study habits by befriending his roommates.
This had led to her becoming good friends with Ron and Harry, and the three of them often gossiped about Dylan behind his back.
"I'm a bit nervous. I'm just worried I'll make a fool of myself," Harry admitted honestly.
Dylan, who was cutting a piece of bread, looked surprised. "Make a fool of yourself?"
"That's nothing to worry about, is it? We're all beginners in magic. It's normal to struggle at first. Just keep practicing, and you'll get the hang of it."
Harry and the others exchanged glances, then looked at Dylan.
Of all people, *you* have no right to say that!
Sure, they were beginners, but what about you?
With all those fancy advanced spells you've been showing off in class, can you even call yourself a "beginner"?
Hermione picked up a glass of milk and pulled out a book titled *Quidditch Through the Ages*, flipping through it intently.
"I've heard that flying is really hard to control. It's easy to mess up! If I don't do well, the professor definitely won't give me a good grade in this class!"
Dylan glanced at her. "From what I know, the first-year final exams include a mandatory flying class, but it only tests basic flying maneuvers."
"You just need to control the broom and perform some simple actions. You won't get a bad grade just because of how you perform in the first class."
Hermione nodded slightly, but she kept flipping through the book, trying to find any flying techniques she could learn from Quidditch matches.
Seeing this, Dylan shrugged.
Hermione was smart and hardworking, but she was too much of a perfectionist, wanting to memorize every detail and achieve flawless results.
However, after mastering several high-level spells, Dylan had come to realize that some magic only needed to be functional, while others could be perfected.
For example, in flying class, if someone could continuously use Apparition, wasn't that basically the same as flying?
Absolutely!
So, among the vast sea of spells, some spells' effects overlapped with others.
Instead of trying to master everything, it was better to let go of some and focus on others.
"Whoosh—"
Just as Dylan was about to take a sip of his sea cucumber soup, a flock of owls flew into the Great Hall.
At the same time, a white figure fluttered over and landed next to Dylan's table.
"Luna?" Dylan was surprised.
Looking at the snow-white owl, he noticed the letter tied to its leg.
"Is this a letter from my parents? But why are there two?"
It couldn't be that both his parents had written him separate letters, could it?
What could they possibly have to say to him that they couldn't share in one letter?
Dylan untied the envelopes from Luna's leg.
Hermione and Harry leaned in, not looking directly at the letter but at a shiny silver card tucked inside the envelope.
"Wow! What's that?" Ron asked curiously.
Dylan wasn't sure either, so he pulled it out and took a look.
It was a permit.
A permit to keep a Thestral!
Dylan's heart leapt with joy.
He glanced through the contents of the first letter.
It was from the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, informing him that he now had permission to keep a Thestral.
What was strange, though, was that the person who had recommended him wasn't Hagrid, but Dumbledore.
Curious, he opened the second letter.
This one was from Hagrid, explaining that he had originally intended to write a recommendation letter for Dylan.
However, due to some "complicated circumstances" in Hagrid's past, he had decided it would be better not to risk affecting Dylan's application. So, he had asked Dumbledore to step in instead.
The letter also mentioned that if Dylan had time, he should go and thank Dumbledore for his help.
"Uh..."
Dylan's joy was instantly dampened, and he felt a bit helpless.
Seriously, Hagrid, if you couldn't help, you didn't have to promise so quickly!
Now he had to go and thank Dumbledore in person?
It wasn't that he couldn't do it.
But still...
(End of Chapter)