Thoughts on the Eve of Term
In Nottingham Forest, many miles from Knockturn Alley, a white, snow-like fog was currently spreading along a narrow yet luxurious lane.
The path winds and twists, but the ground is paved with exquisite bricks and stones carved with various powerful and mysterious creatures.
Not far away, a huge tower stood majestically high, a tower that shone with a beautiful light, towering high and shining brightly, illuminating the way ahead.
There was no sound from all around, only the invisible cold wind howling, as if there were no signs of life in the surroundings. Only a fat black cat sneaked out of the forest onto the path, stretched, and yawned, as if waiting for someone.
Just then, with the sound of a bubble being popped, three figures appeared out of nowhere on the path, huddled together.
The fat cat's eyes widened, and it raised its round head, transforming into a black shadow as it charged towards the figure in the middle.
So, before Ryan could even vent his frustration or talk to Kate and Penelope, a heavy, fluffy ball jumped into his arms after he was transported to the grove outside Smith Castle by the dimensional barrier.
"Jerry!"
"Why are you so fat now?" Penelope curiously, reaching out to touch the kitten in Ryan's arms.
Jerry turned around, facing Penelope with his backside, and started cursing.
"Is he insulting me?" Penelope found it both infuriating and amusing.
She knew Jerry wasn't just any ordinary kitten, just like Hamster Wheel PhD, who always slept in Ryan's bedroom. But Hamster Wheel PhD didn't care about these teasing remarks.
"Penelope, Jerry used to be a well-proportioned young lady, she can't stand hearing this." Ryan gently scratched Jerry's chin, and she squinted her eyes comfortably, her tail swaying lightly from side to side.
"I'm saying, don't you guys want to say anything?"
"Do I not exist?" Kate puffed out her cheeks.
She took out three wands. In addition to the one she had chosen, Thunder Feather Looping Pine sparkled with Spark, she also bought two more for Ryan and two for Penelope, using her own money.
Ryan's staff was shrouded in black mist, with spiral patterns on the handle and a dragon-head shaped head made of natural Blackthorn wood.
Its name is Dragon Knight Blackthorn, which matches well with Ryan's White Knight and Black Knight.
Penelope's staff was inlaid with a large, round, strip-shaped yellow crystal at the top, and the staff itself exuded a golden aura that could be seen with the naked eye.
Its name is Staff of Time Acacia.
Kate looked at the three wands, which were just pretty but not really, with a sense of unease, and didn't know what to say.
"Didn't I say I'd pay the bill?" Ryan said helplessly, waking up from the joy of petting the cat.
He knew these wands all too well.
To be honest, he didn't understand why the wand was like that either.
Unlike the Dragon Knight Blackthorn, who did something reckless like in that dress-up game in his previous life, using Troll whisker as the core of his staff, he instead used the Dragon Heartstring.
Surely the magic wand's power couldn't all have been used for special effects.
Ryan, without subconsciously 'thinking', thought to himself with resentment.
"I don't want to, I have money. Besides, I haven't given you gifts in ages," Kate said, striking the leaves on the roadside with the Thunder Feather Looping Pine in her hand.
"Alright, aren't you curious about what Voldemort wrote? You know, even the Department of Mysteries couldn't help but try to prevent it from being revealed—this is such mysterious and forbidden knowledge!" Penelope said mysteriously, while gesturing to Ryan with her eyes.
Clearly, she wanted Ryan to cooperate and distract Kate from the wand.
After all, Kate is Ravenclaw, so she should be attracted to her, right?
However, Kate wasn't curious at all.
"He's just Voldemort," Kate said dejectedly.
She seemed both happy and sad, constantly admiring the ingeniously crafted magic wand in her hand, yet unable to stop the heartache.
It wasn't that she disliked knowledge; it was just that the journey to Atlantis, coupled with the things Ryan occasionally uttered, had already spoiled Kate.
Penelope, to be honest, spends most of her vacation time on her parents' trips, which she loves to take.
Although she enjoyed communicating by writing letters, almost every day, it couldn't compare to Kate's constant travels with Ryan.
In Kate's view, even Voldemort's writings were nothing more than common sayings and proverbs, still bound by the ancient, inaccurate, and idealistic knowledge of the Wizarding World.
It's easy to imagine how they spent the days that followed.
Kate sighed all day, lamenting the loss of her Galleons. Penelope, on the other hand, spent her days communicating with Ryan, learning about the Muggle world and comparing it to everything in Voldemort's books.
Ryan, however, was somewhat disappointed with Voldemort's book.
The contents of this document did surprise Ryan, but that was all that surprised him.
In this book, Voldemort, or more accurately, a teenage version of Tom Riddle, describes the Muggle world from a Muggle's perspective, including the basics of food, clothing, shelter, and transportation, the definition of science, the convenience of travel, the speed of their vehicles, and major events that have occurred in the Muggle world this century, such as the moon landing and the atomic bomb explosion.
It's hard to believe that this book was written by an anti -Muggle, wizard supremacist who has been out of touch with Muggle knowledge for decades.
Unlike the kind of content taught in Muggle Studies that emphasizes strengths and avoids weaknesses, his book contains no implicit praise for wizards, nor any neglect of things in the Muggle world that should have shocked wizards.
For example, regarding the atomic bomb, Tom's book will describe in detail its yield, core temperature, and radiation.
Unlike the casual assessment from Muggle Studies, which could be easily intercepted by a single, powerful bomb and dozens of wizards with decent Transfiguration.
Tom will also provide detailed comparisons of Muggle transportation with the Nimbus 2001, the fastest vehicle currently available, and address common misconceptions about Muggle transportation within the Muggle world.
That means you can ride a broomstick close to a fighter jet without being blown off the broomstick by the air pressure from its speed, or even die.
These things were only advanced for the Muggle Studies; his book merely broke the invisible, mindless education that the Wizarding World had been using to subtly indoctrinate wizards.
To help wizards gain a clearer understanding of Muggle society.
But none of that mattered to Ryan; his only surprise was that Tom Riddle had written the book.
Now, Ryan is only curious about one thing: how he will interpret the contents of these books.
After all, Tom Riddle takes Defense Against the Dark Arts, so why would he compare the dangerous aspects of Muggle artifacts to Dark Magic?
Or was he simply attending Muggle Studies, and his title as Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor was merely due to a curse?
Why is that?
Ryan suppressed his "thinking".
He can now clearly Prophecy the future through "thinking".
Maintaining a sense of novelty is what Ryan should be doing right now.
Moreover, school is about to start.