"The End of a School Year"

What did a person's charm mainly show in?

Appearance, conversation, knowledge?

Appearance did not merely mean having attractive features. To become the sweetheart in a girl's eyes, most people needed additional qualities. Good skin, not being greasy, looking clean and fresh, and having a well-proportioned body were all important criteria for judging a sweetheart.

Conversation referred to communication skills—being able to hit the right point during a conversation and make people feel pleasant.

Knowledge was an important quality in the eyes of girls who loved studying. Perhaps they might initially see someone as just a friend or even dislike them, but once they had the chance to get to know them more deeply, it would be hard to break away.

In Penelope's eyes, her prospective boyfriend Ryan was a charming presence.

His appearance alone had attracted her. He did not have much body hair, his skin was good, so fair it seemed to glow, and his hair was never greasy—clean and fresh. His features fit together almost perfectly, and his body was tall and well-proportioned. Of course, although Penelope did not know it, Ryan's Body Modification skill had made him nearly flawless both inside and out. Besides, his original foundation had already been excellent.

And unlike boys his age, he did not always deliberately bully her to attract her attention. He was mature.

Most importantly, Ryan understood much unconventional magical knowledge that did not match mainstream views or what was written in books, yet when Penelope secretly tried it herself, she found learning magic went far more smoothly.

Although Penelope sometimes disliked Ravenclaw's excessive coldness and had even considered going to Hufflepuff, her thirst for mysterious knowledge was also something she could not escape.

During the time they had known each other, Penelope felt as though she had lost herself. Ryan could always help her, whether with her studies or her life. Most importantly, he had made her realize what a good friend Kate was.

During the previous Crying Boy Loki incident, Penelope had immediately noticed what Kate had done and had originally planned to distance herself from her. But Ryan's reminder made Penelope realize that Kate had done it for her. Later, Kate had even helped her uncover that hateful red-haired snitch, Percy.

When she was clear-headed, she had sometimes wondered whether he might be an adult wizard using Polyjuice Potion to take the form of a child and interact with her. But Kate had personally investigated the Book of Admittance for her. Ryan Smith really was a Hogwarts student—just four years later, in the same year as the Chosen One, Harry Potter!

So that was Ryan's secret. That was why he had always avoided some of her questions. Penelope had considered whether she should expose Ryan and get back at the little liar.

But at Kate's prompting, she also realized she was not much better. She had pretended to be a little wizard born to Muggles just to find topics to chat about with Ryan.

Besides, Ryan could turn into a phoenix. Penelope, who understood phoenix magic, knew what magnificent magic that was. It was mesmerizing.

Becoming a magical creature, or a Metamorphosis as Ryan called it, was extraordinary and mysterious.

In the end, at Christmas, Penelope made up her mind and gave him an answer.

But something had been strange lately. When Ryan turned into a phoenix at night to chat with her, although he seemed energetic, he still appeared to lack some vitality, as if he had just gone through a magical duel.

What kind of letter will Ryan write to me tomorrow? Penelope thought in the dormitory.

"Crap! I was so focused on Easter break coming up—ahhh, I'm doomed, I'm doomed! I've been studying Transfiguration too hard lately. I still haven't memorized A History of Magic!" The next day, Penelope received Ryan's letter and was jolted out of her joy over the Easter holiday by information he had "casually" mentioned. The exams would be in June.

"Kate!" Penelope suddenly called out to Kate, who had been sneaking off on tiptoe.

"Come on, let's go to the common room and find some past exam materials. Since we're on break, we can make a study plan!"

"Ah! Aren't the exams in June? I don't want to, I don't want to! I already made plans to relax properly! Penelope, you can't be this cruel."

"Resistance is futile." With that, Penelope lifted Kate as if she were a little chick.

As though she understood resistance was useless, Kate drooped her little face and stopped struggling.

"There's one more thing."

"I need to write Ryan a letter and ask him some questions. What if they come up on the exam?" Penelope added.

Thus, that evening in the Ravenclaw common room, Ryan, in phoenix form, was stopped once more and asked a huge pile of questions.

At the end, Penelope added that he should remember to check the letters—there was more inside.

"Ahhh, did I just shoot myself in the foot?" On the other side, Ryan dispelled Phoenix Metamorphosis in the practice room and opened his eyes helplessly. "Is Penelope getting less and less restrained lately? I suspect she's after my brain!"

The difficult three months of exam preparation finally ended, and June arrived. Though they were in different places, Ryan and Kate both let out a breath when they realized they had escaped the hell of the study plan.

For Kate, exams were no longer hell, but heaven—the means to escape Penelope.

Besides, once the exam results came out during the second week of June, the end-of-term feast would follow, and then the third week would bring the summer holiday.

By September, she would be a second-year student at Hogwarts. How much taller would she be by then?

Kate quickly wrote Ryan a letter, arranging where they would go play in London during the summer holiday. This time, they would not bring Penelope.

Kate had also noticed that during this period, Ryan had come down with Penelope Syndrome just like her. Neither of them wanted to face Penelope for the time being. It was better to communicate through letters.

Besides, didn't Penelope herself prefer communicating by letter? I really am such a good friend, Kate said to herself after finishing the letter.

"Kate's letter?" Ryan took the letter from Jack.

"Luckily, Penelope's family happens to be going on a family trip soon. Otherwise, I'd be stretched too thin." Ryan breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'm so strong now... No, no, no. I still can't court death. I'll go check out a travel agency during the summer holiday and see what wizarding travel is like," Ryan considered.

After finishing his letter, Ryan handed it to Jack and arranged for an owl to deliver it.

"Terror Trips? I've wanted to go for ages, but Father and Mother have always forbidden it. They happen to be away on business during the summer holiday. Terror Trips, here I come!"

On the other side, Kate excitedly thought as she read the letter she had received.

Thus, the next day, after receiving the reply and confirming the time, Ryan went alone to 59 Diagon Alley.

Terror Trips was a wizarding travel agency located at 59 Diagon Alley.

They offered thrilling vacation trips such as renting Transylvania's Vampire Castle, hiking along Zombie Trail, and touring the Bermuda Triangle.

The company's public advertisements stated that they accepted no responsibility for injuries or deaths that might result from these trips.

But Ryan had investigated previously and discovered that not a single wizard had died during any of these supposedly thrilling vacation trips. The disclaimer was merely a gimmick. That made it just right to bring Kate along.