Hermione's Secret Rivalry

Over the weekend, Dylan spent almost all his time in the library, apart from eating and sleeping.

He had been so absorbed in his studies that he only just managed to finish reading the precise recipes for Advanced Potions.

Fortunately, he did not need to immediately find Professor Snape to brew the potions. There was still a week until the next weekend, which was enough time for him to finish reading the Potion Safety Guide.

What he needed to do now was further consolidate his knowledge of Advanced Potions.

That way, he would not make any overly basic mistakes in front of Professor Snape.

Another half a week passed in the blink of an eye.

Thursday arrived.

Dylan still woke up early.

However, to his surprise, Harry and Ron had also sat up.

The other two were still sleeping soundly.

"Hey, good morning!" Ron stretched.

Dylan had already thrown off his covers and climbed out of bed.

As he packed his schoolbag, he asked Harry and Ron in surprise, "Why are you two up so early today?"

"Of course it's because we get to learn Flying Class today! I barely slept all night!" Ron jumped out of bed.

Flying Class?

Dylan did remember that they had Flying Class today. It was a new subject that had been added in the second week of term.

But what was there to get excited about?

"Being able to fly wherever you want in the sky must feel great." Ron chuckled. "That's how my brothers always describe it to me!"

Harry got out of bed too. "Once we learn to fly, we can sign up for the Quidditch Match."

The Quidditch Match, huh...

Not interested.

Rather than flying around in the sky and crashing into people like a flying, dim-witted ox,

he would be better off reading a couple more books.

Dylan had long since lost interest in bumper cars.

Of course, perhaps they should be called bumper brooms here.

"Dylan, have you studied the Flying Charm? You've already learned how to fly, right?" Harry blinked at him.

Dylan shook his head and corrected him. "There's no such thing as a Flying Charm. To get airborne, you generally need to use a magical tool and combine it with the Levitation Charm."

"Once you use the Levitation Charm to make the broom fly, you can control its direction. Its speed naturally depends on the quality of the broom."

This alone showed that spells could be combined with magical tools.

Just as wizards could use wands to guide their magic or amplify its effects,

the process of making a Magical Flying Broom must also involve many Magical Ingredients.

It had to be made through a complicated series of steps.

It would inevitably be able to combine with the spells cast upon it, thereby increasing their effects.

That was why high-quality magical brooms flew faster than others and were also more agile.

"When it comes to flying, it's best to have an adult watching over you. Trying it on your own could very well lead to unexpected danger."

Dylan said that he had never practiced flying at home.

"My goodness, is there anything you can't do, Dylan?" Ron asked in astonishment.

"...If I practiced on a Flying Broomstick at home, wouldn't the Ministry of Magic arrest me the moment someone saw me?"

Ron blinked, then understood.

No matter what, he was a Pure-blood Wizard, whereas Dylan was different. Dylan was only a Muggle.

The Wizarding World did indeed have explicit laws forbidding the use of magic in the Muggle World.

Harry walked over to his backpack. "Over the past two days in class, I've heard a lot of students say they've already practiced flying at home."

At that moment, Seamus woke up as well.

Hearing Harry's words, he sat bolt upright.

"I also heard that someone rode a Flying Broomstick over the Giant Mountains with their parents!"

Ron rolled his eyes. "It must be that braggart Malfoy again!"

"The Giant Mountains? The environment there is pretty harsh. Normal people wouldn't fly over there, would they?" Dylan smiled.

"More importantly, even in a Pure-blood Family, parents generally wouldn't let their children practice riding a Flying Broomstick before they started school."

Dylan looked at Ron. "Your parents didn't allow you to practice before the start of term, did they?"

Ron nodded repeatedly. "That's right. Once, George tried to teach me, but Mum caught him and gave him a thorough spanking!"

Seamus froze. "Really? Then were they just bragging?"

Dylan shrugged. "Maybe."

Young Wizards had very strong pride and competitiveness.

Telling a few little lies and boasting in front of their classmates was perfectly normal.

After packing his bag, Dylan took out the notes Professor McGonagall had organized for him and held them in his hands, planning to read them on the way.

As for the Levitation Charm, he had not yet attempted true flight, so it had not reached the maximum level. Even so, it was already at Level Seven.

In any case, he had already mastered several Max Level Spells.

Although those spells were Dark Magic, many types of magic shared certain principles.

Drawing lines from points, and surfaces from lines.

For Dylan, learning magic was no longer that difficult.

Not to mention that the Achievement System had also increased his Magic Talent considerably.

Since nearly everyone in the dormitory was awake, Ron ran over to Neville and shook him awake.

"Wake up, stop sleeping! Let's go eat!"

"Uh, what?"

Neville was still groggy.

"Stop acting like a zombie. Get up!"

After Ron's pestering, Neville got out of bed too.

He was quite honest and did not seem to suffer from any morning temper.

The group quickly got ready and left the dormitory together for the first time, arriving at the Great Hall.

"This is the first time we've sat together for breakfast!" Ron said.

"Dylan gets up too early every day. Even when I want to wake up early, I just can't manage to." Harry chose a relatively empty spot and sat down.

Dylan smiled faintly and sat down as well without saying anything.

Before long, Hermione entered the Great Hall. When she saw them gathered together, she walked over.

During this period, Dylan had been able to complete the magic exercises excellently in nearly every class, earning points for Gryffindor.

Hermione had been secretly competing with Dylan.

However, after a while, she realized that Dylan seemed not to need any entertainment at all. He was studying practically every moment of every day!

And the breadth of his knowledge left even her far behind!

Worst of all, the questions the professors asked him were on an entirely different level of difficulty from the questions they asked her!

Hermione had tried answering the questions the professors posed to Dylan, but...

The result was obvious.

After suffering defeat several times in a row, Hermione's mindset began to shift slightly.

She no longer tried to compete with Dylan only in class. Instead, she began quietly observing him.