HOGWARTS - HARRY

The holiday time passed quickly.

At King's Cross Station, Dylan was dropped off by his parents.

"Be careful, even when you get there…" Maeve reminded him.

"Have you packed everything?" Hubert asked.

"Don't worry, I have all my belongings with me. Other things have already been sent to the school. I'll also pay attention to safety," Dylan assured them.

Then, looking at his parents, he added, "You don't have to work so hard and do overtime. I'll become a magician in the future and make a lot of money. Don't overwork yourselves."

"My dear son, it's not your turn to worry about us yet," Maeve said with a smile, rubbing Dylan's head.

"Alright, don't be late. Go quickly," Hubert urged.

Dylan nodded. "I'll write to you from the academy. Keep an eye out for my owl."

"Mommy will."

With that, he said goodbye to his parents and walked into the station, carrying only a travel backpack.

This wasn't his first time here. His parents had occasionally taken him on trips before, so he quickly found the third pillar between Platforms 9 and 10.

When he arrived, he noticed that Muggles around him didn't seem to pay any attention to this place. Even when they did glance over, they quickly looked away as if pretending not to see anything.

Dylan saw a little wizard run straight into the pillar, disappearing without anyone reacting.

He took a deep breath.

Running headfirst into a solid pillar required overcoming a certain psychological hurdle.

"Here goes nothing."

Closing his eyes, Dylan stepped forward and plunged straight into the pillar.

For a moment, he felt as if he were moving through a void. Then, after a few steps, the sensation disappeared, and the scene before him brightened.

A red train stood on the platform, steam billowing from its engine.

Dylan blinked, momentarily thinking of the nearly silent high-speed trains or even maglev trains in the Muggle world.

"Technology hasn't reached that level yet, but I'm sure the wizards have cast spells on this train to make it move faster."

As he walked further in, he noticed more children and parents gathered around.

Since he was alone, there was no need for him to wait. The moment the train stopped, he headed straight for the nearest door.

There were no assigned seats, so after boarding, he immediately sought out an empty private compartment.

He placed his backpack beside him, sat on the left seat, and gazed out the window.

Then, he pulled a book from his inventory. Most of his belongings were stored there, allowing him to save on shipping costs.

Over the past few weeks, he had been researching spells and discovered that simply skimming the surface wasn't enough to master magic.

One needed to deeply understand the essence of a spell to unleash its full potential.

Opening the bookmarked page, he resumed reading Transfiguration in a Nutshell, a book that Professor McGonagall had recommended to him at the bookstore.

This book detailed the principles of Transfiguration, along with necessary precautions when using such spells in various situations.

Some chapters delved into advanced Transfiguration techniques.

Since Dylan had never attended a formal magic class, he found these complex concepts difficult to grasp by reading alone.

However, the book provided an in-depth explanation of even the most basic Transfiguration spells.

Starting from simple transformations, it gradually moved into advanced topics. It even described practical applications of Transfiguration in different real-life scenarios.

"This is an excellent book," Dylan thought.

If he could fully grasp its contents, his Transfiguration skills might reach a high level.

"I never expected that using a Transfiguration spell in a sneak attack could be so effective."

Flipping through the pages, he reached a section explaining the practical use of Transfiguration.

It described various battle strategies and how wizards could creatively utilize the spell in different situations.

Dylan thought about the special functions his wand possessed due to his system's enhancements.

At that moment, numerous cunning tricks flashed through his mind.

Some were even more devious than the sneak attack techniques mentioned in the book.

"I feel like this book explains things vividly, but something's missing. It doesn't thoroughly discuss practical applications for sneak attacks in real combat."

Although Dylan already had six spells at maximum level, he continued to expand his knowledge.

He could always infer new strategies from what he already knew.

His way of thinking wasn't bound by this century. Instead, his experience from two lifetimes had elevated his understanding to a whole new level.

Because of this, he came up with many unconventional ways to use Transfiguration to gain an advantage in battle.

Shua!

The door of the compartment slid open.

Two red-haired boys peeked inside.

"Hey! Hello, are you the only one here?" one of them asked.

"Do you mind if we sit here?" the other added.

Dylan glanced at them and recognized them instantly.

"I'm sitting alone. Feel free to join me," he replied.

The two redheads stepped inside and sat down.

"Thanks! My name is Fred."

"No, I'm Fred. He's George," the other corrected.

"Who said that? George, I'm obviously Fred!"

The two bickered for a while.

Seeing that Dylan was silently watching them, they turned back to him.

"What's your name?"

"Dylan," he answered casually.

Now that he knew their names, he realized they were the Weasley twins.

That meant…

"Are you upper-year students?"

"Oh, of course!"

"Are you a first-year? Then you'll be in the same class as our younger brother."

"But it looks like you won't be in the same house."

"Yeah, he's reading. No way Ron would read."

Ron?

That meant he was in the same class as Harry Potter.

Although Dylan had watched the Harry Potter movies, he didn't remember the exact timeline.

He only knew the general plot and key events.

For example, he vaguely recalled that one of the twins would die in the later battle.

But he couldn't remember which one.

"You look like a Ravenclaw for sure."

"I think so too!"

"Can't believe someone's reading on the train."

"And this isn't even a standard textbook—it's an advanced study book!"

"Oh my god, I think I know where the Sorting Hat is sending this little wizard!"

"I was just thinking the same thing!"

"I agree!"

(End of Chapter)