It had been quite some time since Ryan left Ollivander's shop, yet he still couldn't resist caressing his new wand. Made of snow-white poplar wood covered in intricate, strange patterns, it contrasted sharply with the short, heavy black knight pistol he held in his arms—a striking visual balance of black and white.
"I'll call you the White Knight," Ryan muttered to himself.
The disappointment of failing to actively feel magical fluctuations had entirely vanished, replaced by the sheer joy of holding his wand.
"Dad, it's getting late. We need to buy my books. Let's head to Flourish and Blotts."
"Aren't you going to stop wandering around now?" Jack asked. Once the disguise hat was fitted, his tone matched George Smith's memory with uncanny precision.
Ryan fell briefly into thought. "No."
The sky was turning amber, and foot traffic in Diagon Alley was thinning out. Young witches, rugged wizards, and noisy goblins wrapping up their shopping were hurrying or strolling toward the Leaky Cauldron.
Ryan and Jack soon arrived at Flourish and Blotts. The bookstore's window featured massive magical texts the size of floor tiles, adorned with gold-gilded reliefs.
Stepping inside, the manager immediately stepped forward. "Hogwarts? Are you here to pick up your first-year books?"
"Not quite. Here is my list. I need a complete set of everything specified here. Have someone box them up, and we'll send a courier to collect them tomorrow."
The manager took the list, scanned it closely, and struggled to conceal his excitement:
The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1
The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2
The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 3
The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 4
A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration
Curses and Counter-Curses
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Magical Drafts and Potions
A History of Magic
The Theory of Magic
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi
Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection
Encyclopedia of Mushrooms
The Monster Book of Monsters
Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit
Dragon Species of Great Britain and Ireland
From Egg to Inferno
Quidditch Through the Ages
Flying with Brooms
Vacuum Cleaner Maintenance Kit
Journeys with Ghosts
Holidays with Hags
Me and My Monster
Journeys with Trolls
Journeys with Vampires
Walks with Werewolves
A Year with the Yeti
The Magical Me
Enchant Your Own Cheese
A Compendium of Common Curses and Their Reversal
Feast from a Charm
Breaking the Unbreakable: A Guide to Future Divination
Important Magical Events of the Twentieth Century
Great Wizards of the Twentieth Century
Important Modern Magical Discoveries
A History of Modern Magic
Notable Magical Names of Our Time
A Study of Recent Developments in Wizardry
The Adventures of Martin Miggs, the Mad Muggle
Gadding with Ghouls
Power Potions
How to Win Friends and Influence People (Wizarding Edition)
The Invisible Book of Invisibility
Forgotten Ancient Magic and Spells
Omens: What to Do When You Know the Worst Is Coming
A Guide to Medieval Witchcraft
"You want a complete set of all these?" the manager asked, hands trembling slightly.
"Yes, every single one. How soon can they be prepared?" Ryan asked impatiently.
There is a universal truth to shopping: you spend hours browsing leisurely when time feels infinite, but the moment you decide to go home, every second spent lingering feels like an absolute waste. Ryan was currently deep in that exact mindset; all he wanted was to return home and take a refreshing shower.
"They'll be ready by tomorrow, though I'll need some time to tally the total cost," the manager stammered, wiping sweat from his brow.
Jack stepped in smoothly. "I'll return tomorrow morning at nine. Here is a 300-Galleon deposit. Have the itemized quote ready then, and we will settle the difference."
"Splendid, absolutely splendid," the manager agreed eagerly.
"Let's go, Ryan."
"Mm, mm," Ryan nodded, anxious to wrap things up and head home.
Returning to the Leaky Cauldron, Ryan quickly made his way upstairs and, with a sip of a stabilizing potion, instantly transported back to the ancient castle deep in Nottingham Forest.
The following day around ten o'clock, Jack had settled the remaining balance, packing all the books into a specialized magical pouch while the bookseller watched with accustomed indifference.
Meanwhile, back in the training room, Ryan was busy testing his practical magic.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" Ryan muttered, snapping and flicking his wand.
A feather lifted smoothly from the table, hovering steadily four meters above his head. "Casting spells silently is exhausting work. I finally managed it."
After purchasing his new wand and textbooks, Ryan had run directly into the awkward mechanics governing modern combat magic. The successful execution of standard modern spells typically relies on three components:
First, precise verbal incantations. For instance, the Levitation Charm requires enunciating Wing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa, keeping the gar long and clear. Botching the pronunciation—much like Wizard Baruffio, who substituted a f for a s and ended up pinned under a rampaging buffalo—results in immediate failure.
Second, specific wand movements. The Levitation Charm demands a smooth swish and flick motion.
Third, absolute self-confidence and intent. This psychological conviction can bypass most traditional practice requirements, save for high-end dark arts requiring a genuine desire to kill (Avada Kedavra) or deep, positive emotional resonance (Expecto Patronum).
A handful of advanced spells rely only on the first two conditions, or perhaps their creators intentionally bloated the requirements. But for modern wizards, mastering these elements made spells safe, rapid, and low-consumption, entirely preventing the kind of lethal magic exhaustion seen in ancient history.
Imagine needing a full choreographed dance and intricate hand seals just to cast a simple light spell. Anyone trying that in a real duel would have been sliced to ribbons by a rival sorcerer long ago.
Modern magic streamlined everything: safe, fast, and effective. Once a caster thoroughly understands a spell, they can gradually discard the verbal and somatic requirements altogether.
However, casting spells through the Black Knight felt distinctly unusual. Standard wandcasting naturally aligns with cultural expectations, but drawing a handgun, flicking it like a wand, and racking the slide before firing felt mildly absurd.
Ryan muttered a silent incantation: "Guthra's Magical Weapon."
"Ah, what a cruel fate. I have to work hard to bring even the most basic spells to a silent execution stage, especially trying to eliminate hand gestures. Otherwise, the Dark Knight is just going to gather dust—or rather, only the dead will ever see me casting spells with it," Ryan thought wryly.
Three days had passed since his trip to Diagon Alley. During that time, Ryan focused heavily on studying The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1, A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration, and Curses and Counter-Curses. In his spare time, he lightened the load by reading The Adventures of Martin Miggs, the Mad Muggle and Gadding with Ghouls.
Martin Miggs, the Mad Muggle was Ron Weasley's favorite comic series, published originally in the 1960s. It followed a French Muggle wearing a striped shirt and beret who accidentally stumbles into the wizarding world. From a Muggle perspective, it was a humorous look at magical society; to Ryan, having lived as a modern human in his past life, it read like a hilarious parody of how wizards viewed the mundane world.
Gadding with Ghouls was picked from Gilderoy Lockhart's bibliography simply because the title sounded most promising. True to form, Lockhart's writing was flashy, full of fabricated surprises, and thinly veiled exaggerations of encounters with aggressive hags.
With his preparations well underway, Ryan decided to halt all outside excursions, choosing instead to hole up at home and master his craft until the school term finally began.
His current status update:
Race: Wizard
Power: 10 (The normal human limit is 10)
Constitution: 27 (The normal human limit is 10)
Magical Power: 18 (The normal human limit is 10)
Skills: Thinking Level 2 (91%), Body Transformation Level 3 (35%), Alchemy Level 2 (26%), Spells Level 1 (89%), Potions Level 1 (55%), Shapeshifting Level 1 (43%), Gun-Fu Level 1 (92%), Martial Arts Level 1 (86%)