Filling in the Gaps

Ryan could not help feeling somewhat shocked. By killing a wizard?

That must have been when Voldemort was in his fifth year. After accidentally killing Myrtle and fearing he would have to leave Hogwarts, which was like home to him, he suddenly discovered that his power had increased.

What had Voldemort felt at that moment? Could it have foreshadowed his later slaughter? More likely, this killing was what led him to create a Horcrux.

Ryan suddenly felt as if he had awakened from a dream. His understanding of this world had all been based on the original seven Harry Potter novels, seen through Harry's perspective.

In Harry's eyes, Voldemort regarded Hogwarts as home, the most important place to him, just as Harry did. Voldemort truly was exceptionally attached to Hogwarts. Even after Dumbledore died, Hogwarts continued functioning normally. Neville and Luna resisted at school several times, yet Voldemort never dealt with them harshly. While that might have had much to do with Snape's protection, Voldemort, as the boss, could not possibly have been unaware of it.

But Harry had thought too well of Voldemort. Myrtle's death had not been an accidental killing by the Basilisk; it had been premeditated by Voldemort. Hogwarts might have been important to both Harry and Voldemort, but faced with the temptation of eternal life, how could Voldemort possibly resist?

As the least popular person in Ravenclaw, Myrtle did not have a strong heart like Luna's. Whenever she was upset, she went to the bathroom to cry.

And Voldemort had happened to learn of Horcruxes at that time. He had opened Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets and was looking for a sacrifice, while Hagrid happened to be raising an Acromantula and was deeply unpopular.

With the timing, place, and circumstances all in his favor, why would Voldemort not act?

Voldemort's birth name was Tom Marvolo Riddle. "Tom" came from his father, Tom Riddle Sr., while his middle name, "Marvolo," came from his maternal grandfather, Marvolo Gaunt.

His original name could be rearranged into "Voldemort," derived from French: "vol" meant "flight" or "theft"; "de" was a preposition, equivalent to "of" in English; and "mort" meant death. Thus, it carried the meaning of "fleeing from death" or "stealing death."

Even Voldemort's name carried the meaning of fleeing death. Faced with such temptation, would he truly hold back?

Harry's perspective was not impartial. For instance, he was prejudiced against Slytherin.

This was a real world. If Ryan continued to cling to that attitude, his strength might keep him from suffering any losses, but he might end up doing things that went against his own morals.

Was "Pug-faced Pansy" really that ugly? After all, Malfoy had personally invited her to be his dance partner. Surely Malfoy would not pick an ugly girl to dance with. Though she herself was a clownish figure, Hermione had mocked her as "a complete cow" and said, "How can she be a prefect? She's dumber than a troll with a concussion."

In the seventh book, when Voldemort announced that he would not hurt the students or touch the school if Harry Potter was handed over, she actually climbed onto a table, pointed at Harry, and screamed, "He's there! Potter's there! Someone grab him!" She consequently became the first student Professor McGonagall ordered to leave the Great Hall with Filch.

Ryan had even read a report back when he was still Zhou Yi. Someone had asked, "Of the girls appearing in Philosopher's Stone, who would you most like to be?" J.K. Rowling had answered, "I'd like to be Hermione, but I would never want to be Pansy Parkinson." She was a character even the author deeply disliked.

After briefly becoming Draco Malfoy's girlfriend, she was eventually dumped. Malfoy went on to marry Astoria Greengrass, a Slytherin student two years below him. How should one put it? Boys always liked girls younger than themselves, perhaps? Harry had also chosen Ginny, who was one year below him.

In four years, he would have to go see for himself. After all, he was going to give every beautiful witch a home and save them from their tragic fates. A righteous expression.

Just as Ryan's thoughts were wandering, a shrill voice interrupted him.

"Young master, it is time to go to St. Mungo's Hospital." Jack suddenly appeared and spoke respectfully.

This was another plan Ryan had made: learning healing spells. Education in that area had long been monopolized by St. Mungo's.

Hogwarts had some minor healing spells, but had never taught them. The original Harry Potter story had complained about this as well. Only someone like Hermione, whose parents were dentists and who loved studying, had mastered healing spells.

Ryan was not going to St. Mungo's because he lacked those spells.

When it came to learning, Ryan was exceptionally gifted and did not particularly need instruction.

Rather, the magical hospital was filled with magical traces related to healing spells. Studying in such an environment would allow him to progress by leaps and bounds.

Crack! Ryan and Jack Apparated to Tautou Co. Ltd., an old-fashioned department store in London. St. Mungo's lay behind it.

This department store was, unsurprisingly, also a Smith property, and Smith had investments in St. Mungo's as well.

St. Mungo's had been built here mainly because Diagon Alley did not have enough space. It could not be constructed underground like the Ministry of Magic, either. In the end, under the pretext of making it easier for sick wizards to come and go while blending into the crowd, they purchased another obscure department store behind Tautou Co. Ltd. in central London.

Like the Leaky Cauldron, Tautou Co. Ltd. had a hidden entrance leading to the Leaky Cauldron. It avoided contact with the public, and patients could be admitted to the hospital directly without an appointment.

The hospital building had six floors in total.

First floor: Artifact Accidents Ward.

Second floor: Creature-Induced Injuries Ward.

Third floor: Magical Bug Infections Ward.

Fourth floor: Potions and Plant Poisoning Ward.

Fifth floor: Spell Damage Ward.

Sixth floor: Tea room and shop.

A portrait of Dilys Derwent, who also served as Headmistress of Hogwarts, hung on the first-floor wall. Guide witches sat beside the reception desk, explaining to patients which ward they needed to visit.

Smith's secret passage exited on the sixth floor, in a lonely tea room that no one approached.

Ryan and Jack, who had put on the Enchanted Hat and transformed into George Smith, pushed open the door to the tea room. Before them was a long emerald-green sofa surrounded by herbs. The wall directly ahead seemed to be one-way glass. The entire space resembled a tropical rainforest, planted all around with various rare plants.

Beyond the glass, people walked back and forth. Healers in dark green robes, with crossed wand-and-bone badges pinned to their chests, paid no attention at all to Ryan and Jack's arrival.

Jack sat familiarly on the edge of the sofa and pointed to a flowerpot in the corner. "As long as you move it, the wall will return to normal, and the healers will notice that there is a patient here who needs treatment. If you only water it, the healers will merely assume that the person in this room is a visitor."

Ryan gestured for Jack not to touch it and began his practice.

Ryan had actually gained a rough understanding of this sort of environment before coming, partly so he could get used to overcoming his embarrassment. Practicing spells in a place where people constantly came and went was, honestly, much harder than he had imagined.