The Mysterious Smith

"Where am I?" Zhou Yi jolted awake.

His mind was a mess, as though stuffed with paste, filled with the memories of a seven-year-old British boy. They were brief and warm, painful and sorrowful, before finally fading into numbness.

"My name is Ryan Smith." The voice suddenly shifted from Chinese to English, from the deep, rich voice of a man to the clear voice of a young boy, as if there were two people speaking in this tiny room.

"I am a wizard, the descendant of a small British family. My parents died in a magical experiment when I was five."

"They left me to live with a House-elf." As the clear voice sounded, it felt as if a kettle of ice water had been poured into his head from above.

'I' was born on July 31, 1980, sharing the same birthday as Harry Potter, the one who defeated Voldemort. Not long afterward, Voldemort fell, and life at home became more comfortable. His Ravenclaw-born parents finally had the spare time to resume their little experiments.

"Ah, Jack." A creature with two bat-like ears and a pair of bulging green eyes as large as tennis balls appeared before Ryan.

"Master Ryan, how may Jack serve you?"

"Bring me a cup of Black Tea and light some candles. I want to sit for a while." Ryan rubbed his temples.

After sorting through his memories, a strange sensation filled his mind.

Under that sensation, Ryan could even see his own soul. It shone brightly like a full moon, surrounded by diamond-like fragments that were slowly being drawn into the moon and merging with it.

Then, accompanied by an invisible tendril, his thoughts touched that "celestial body."

He was abruptly bounced away, and a blue-glowing panel appeared before him. Ryan glanced at the House-elf Jack and realized that only he could see it.

In the upper-right corner was a full-body image of Ryan Smith. When he focused on it, he could see it more clearly: unlike an ordinary seven-year-old boy, he was 149 centimeters tall, with short black hair, silver-white eyes, fair skin, and a trace of baby fat.

Below the status bar was a string of numbers.

Race: Wizard

Strength: 5 (the limit for ordinary people is 10)

Constitution: 20 (the limit for ordinary people is 10)

Special Mutant Mental Power: 10 (the limit for ordinary people is 10)

Skill: Thinking lv.1 (3%)

The suddenly discovered skill drew Ryan's attention.

Once he noticed the skill section, he somehow understood where skills came from. As long as he devoted himself wholeheartedly to doing something, a skill would be generated, with no upper limit to its growth.

After roughly understanding how the panel worked, he shifted his attention to the sections for strength, constitution, and special mutant mental power.

This looks so awkward. Wasn't it called magic power in the original story? Ryan agonized inwardly.

To his surprise, the panel changed special mutant mental power into magic power according to his wishes.

In the blink of an eye, dawn had arrived. Looking toward the sun, he murmured inwardly, Four more years. Hogwarts, wait for me. I'm coming.

Smith was a common British surname. Its original meaning referred to someone who made things from metal, an occupation that had always been important throughout history. In the magical world, however, it was a rare family proficient in alchemy. This surname possessed a wonderful kind of magic: every Smith was among the most inconspicuous people in a crowd.

Inside a room made of silvery-white metal, the walls were covered in wondrous magical runes. Directly opposite the entrance was the portrait of a kind-looking old man. Beginning with him was a densely packed golden family tree that could be traced all the way back to the Middle Ages.

At the very bottom was a single, solitary name: Ryan Smith.

Upon closer inspection, the name was formed from Ouroboros, endlessly devouring their own tails. The other names were also made from various magical creatures—Thunderbirds, Phoenixes, even trolls—but those magical creatures had long since stopped moving, representing death.

In this room, Ryan slowly flipped through a book titled "Smith Records."

It was filled with the inventions of his various ancestors, along with their methods of creation, materials, and more.

There was a pure Metal Wand made from mithril mixed with hundreds of magical creatures, an Invisibility Cloak that did not make its wearer invisible but instead blended them into their surroundings, and a Thinking Cap that kept the scalp cool.

The greatest invention among them was this little house, an alchemy chamber that could be carried by the current family head and entered only by a Smith.

The magical runes on its inner walls were the ultimate manifestation of Smith's inherited magic.

It was also the invention of that old man, William Smith.

Every Smith had to create an invention of their own before the age of twenty-five. Otherwise, they would never again be able to enter the little house. Due to financial concerns and the chaos caused by the Death Eaters, Ryan's parents had never begun their experiment.

Voldemort's disappearance, the arrival of peace, and the economic recovery had instead led to their deaths.

George Smith was his father's name, and George's Metal Wand was the true culprit behind Ryan's parents' deaths.

A Metal Wand was another name for a gun in the magical world.

It had been three days since Ryan came to this world.

Race: Wizard

Strength: 7 (the limit for ordinary people is 10)

Constitution: 21 (the limit for ordinary people is 10)

Magic Power: 10 (the limit for ordinary people is 10)

Skills: Thinking lv.2 (5%) Body Modification lv.2 (70%) Alchemy lv.1 (0.1%)

These were the results of the past three days. Aside from researching his own status information, Ryan had also insisted on getting up early every morning to read and exercise.

Thinking at lv.2 had made Ryan's thoughts much sharper and greatly improved his memory. He could even slowly recall memories from his previous life that he had thought long forgotten.

Body Modification at lv.2 had also pushed Ryan's body toward becoming healthier and more perfect.

After all, based on what Ryan slowly recalled about Harry Potter, whether it was the films or the novels, footwork was rather important. If he could dodge quickly enough, even Avada Kedavra would not be able to catch him.

The importance of constitution was clear as well. Professor McGonagall was considered a powerful wizard in the original story, yet in the fifth Order of the Phoenix book, she was hit by four or five Stupefy spells. Because she was frail and elderly, she nearly lost her life. Hagrid, on the other hand, had a powerful constitution and giant blood. He was hit by spells without suffering any harm and even broke through the encirclement.

Based on the past issues of The Daily Prophet Jack brought me, I can roughly confirm that I didn't transmigrate into a fanfiction. Still, it's a bit of a shame. I won't get to see Snape constantly showing off magical pressure and calling people troll-brained, Dumbledore using Legilimency and putting Veritaserum in drinks and snacks, either, Ryan muttered inwardly.

Voldemort's Horcruxes should be fairly easy to deal with. Ravenclaw's Diadem is in the Room of Requirement at Hogwarts, and Fiendfyre or a Basilisk Fang can destroy it. The diary can be obtained in second year by directly controlling Ginny. Slytherin's Locket will have to wait until Sirius is cleared, or I can get it from Black House through him. The remaining four are more troublesome. Hufflepuff's Cup is in the Lestrange vault, while the Resurrection Stone—the ring—is at Gaunt Shack, surrounded by magic set up by Voldemort. Nagini is always beside Voldemort, and if all else fails, I can just kill Harry Potter.

The simplest option would actually be to send Dumbledore an anonymous letter. As long as he was careful when retrieving the Resurrection Stone Horcrux and did not give in to the urge to wear it, he could probably handle all the others except Harry Potter and Nagini in a single day.

Although Smith Castle had repelled Voldemort's invasions three times, under the influence of that wonderful magic, the Smiths, known for their secrecy, remained almost unknown to pure-blood families and the general public alike.

With such wonderful magic, Ryan would not have to fear exposure if he wrote to Dumbledore. Even if he were exposed, it would not really matter. Dumbledore's moral character was still fairly sound.

But if Dumbledore did everything, why had he transmigrated here? Besides, this was a real world. Better to play it safe and let Ryan try it himself first. The diary was the easiest one. If that did not work, he could tell Dumbledore later.