Dylan, You...

Dylan was rendered speechless by these little brats.

He couldn't help recalling his own childhood. Had he also been as fond of making a fuss as Ron and the others?

After thinking for a moment, he secretly shook his head.

That had been far too long ago. He had already lived through two lifetimes and had long since forgotten.

The group had just arrived at the Great Hall.

They had barely sat down.

Quirrell suddenly pushed open the doors, looking terrified, and rushed straight inside.

"Troll! A troll in the underground classrooms! There's a troll!"

Dylan was eating a lamb chop.

When Quirrell appeared, he showed no reaction.

Harry, sitting beside him, nearly choked when the mashed potatoes in his hand went straight down his throat.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Dylan handed him a glass of milk.

Harry gave Dylan a grateful look, then gulped it down.

Only after he had caught his breath did he recover.

The young wizards who had been smiling happily moments ago were now frightened and at a loss. Some had already begun screaming involuntarily.

The older students were somewhat calmer, but they too wore shocked expressions as they got to their feet and frantically searched for their wands.

In an instant, the entire Great Hall descended into chaos.

Yet no one went to help Quirrell, who had already collapsed on the floor.

"Calm down!"

Suddenly, a burst of purple fireworks exploded at the top of the Great Hall.

Old Dumbledore's extremely powerful voice drowned out everyone's screams.

"Wow, that Sonorus Charm was used perfectly!"

Dylan had studied the Sonorus Charm as well.

In fact, he had conducted some basic research into many spells.

It wasn't that he was trying to learn too much. Rather, since he already possessed the Six Max-Level Dark Arts Spells, he could draw parallels from the principles of many different kinds of magic.

As a result, he could often learn many spells with barely any deliberate study, easily grasping the basics.

That meant that even if he didn't expect to master those spells at max level or an advanced level right away, he could at least achieve a proficiency of Level One to Level Four in them.

That was more or less equivalent to having mastered a new spell.

Thus, Dylan's principle was simple: regardless of whether a spell's proficiency was high or low, learn it first.

Knowing something was always better than knowing nothing.

As for how much he could master, that was something to work out later.

Forget "knowing a little of everything but mastering nothing." He knew a little of everything and could use it everywhere.

Besides, spells shared similarities to one degree or another. Learning one might inspire him in another area, causing his proficiency there to advance by a significant amount.

"Prefects of every year, lead your students back to the dormitories!"

Old Dumbledore's voice echoed throughout the Great Hall.

Harry and Ron exchanged glances, their expressions looking rather grim. They had clearly thought of Hermione.

Dylan took the opportunity to study Old Dumbledore's control over the Sonorus Charm.

"Hmm... This proficiency has to be at least Level Eight, right? His voice is not only immense but also rich and pleasant, without the slightest trace of noise or harshness."

Just then, Ron's older brother Percy began walking back and forth among the first-year Gryffindor young wizards.

"Come on, stop eating, you! Hey, I'm talking to you! Put down that Voodoo Worm Puff and get in line!"

"And you, what are you eating? A Screaming Pickled Tongue Snail? That's far too spicy. You're too young to be eating that! Get up and come with me!"

Percy quickly led the first-year Gryffindor young wizards out of the Great Hall.

Partway there,

Harry and Ron moved closer together.

They also edged toward Dylan.

The two of them looked worried and turned to Dylan in unison. "There's actually a troll in the school? Good heavens, that's unbelievable! And Hermione didn't come to dinner just now. Could she still not know about the troll?"

"About that..." Dylan paused. "She probably doesn't know."

Wasn't that obvious? They had only just learned about the troll themselves. How could Hermione have found out?

"Huh?" Harry's eyes widened.

Ron panicked as well, forgetting all about being difficult. "Then should we go look for her?"

Dylan's eyes shifted.

In fact, if he went looking for the troll directly now, he might well run into another professor.

But if he went with Harry and the others...

"Forget it. I'll just use Avada Kedavra as Diffindo."

He had already changed his attack effects into pink starry particles. It wasn't merely a matter of letting a few young wizards like Harry see how he cast it.

Even if a professor came over, they might not be able to determine what spell he had actually used.

Besides, his use of Dark Magic left no traces. Even if Harry witnessed him killing the troll and reported it to Professor McGonagall and the others,

they still couldn't determine which spell he had used.

"We have to find Hermione!" Harry's voice was resolute.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's sneak out of line!" Ron immediately grabbed Harry and Dylan by the hands.

Dylan: "..."

I haven't even said whether I'm going with you yet!

Thinking about the materials on the troll,

Dylan still bent down and quietly slipped out of line with Ron.

"Too bad my system didn't give me a pet-taming function."

As Dylan lamented,

Harry's voice rang out. "Let's go that way."

"Which way is that?" Dylan asked.

"I don't know." Harry looked wary, glancing around as he led Ron and Dylan on a frantic run in every direction.

"..."

I have no idea what he's getting so worked up about.

"Oh! Someone's there! Quick, hide!"

Harry passed a corner and had just rushed out when he immediately ducked back, dragging Dylan into the shadowy area around the corner.

Ron followed them in.

Their movements were so smooth that the two of them were clearly already practiced at this sort of thing.

Dylan clicked his tongue.

Then he saw a large swath of black robes sweep rapidly past in the corridor outside.

"That looks like Professor Snape." After Harry and the others had left, he cautiously poked half his head out.

"Where are we supposed to look for Hermione now?" Ron lowered his voice and glanced away. "I think I heard that Hermione's been hiding in the bathroom crying."

"Then let's go take a look." Once things outside had quieted down, Dylan drew his wand.

"Disillusionment Charm!"

The Disillusionment Charm was an advanced spell, and Dylan's current proficiency was Level Five.

Although he couldn't yet achieve complete invisibility with the charm alone like Old Dumbledore and Voldemort, without relying on an Invisibility Cloak,

it was more than enough to fool a few young wizards.

A flash of pink starry particles swept past.

Harry and Ron were left staring in stunned confusion.

"Dylan, you..."