"You're absolutely right! That guy is just too much! I think he's a twisted pervert—he must be hiding somewhere right now, getting off on the joy of torturing us!" Qiu Zhang didn't doubt Ian at all; she just totally vibed with what he was saying, and the indignation in her voice was 100% real.
"…"
Ian opened his mouth.
But in the end, he didn't dare to defend himself—not that he'd planned on giving such intense lessons in the first place, but who knew that the Bronze Eagle Head would get hooked on studying like it was some kind of drug? If he didn't talk to the Bronze Eagle Head, there'd be trouble, and it even got to the point where the Bronze Eagle Head wanted him to go learn stuff he didn't know, then come back and teach it.
"C'mon, class fees, hand them over—William, you're on collection duty." With Ian's little class getting more and more popular, he'd ended up with a very dedicated, free cashier.
The evening session went just as smoothly as always, and everyone walked away with new tricks up their sleeves. Some of the more talented Little Wizards could now even tweak the light from their Magic Wands a little.
Before heading back to the dorm—
Ian even spotted William trying to fling the light from his Magic Wand. That green glow matched his hair perfectly. Maybe he'd been inspired by the time Ian scared someone out of their wits… So there he was, muttering "Avada Kedavra" over and over again, looking like he meant business, and Ian honestly couldn't hold it in anymore.
Michael was never really into "evening self-study" and Ian rarely saw him at the little class. But when he got back to the dorm tonight, he found Michael actually using William's little desk lamp to study—a once-in-a-lifetime event. The Brother Xiao Hei was usually the first guy to bolt out of class after the bell.
So, not quite like Ron.
Michael actually had a higher Magic Talent than William—not to say William's gift wasn't impressive. Among the first-years, William was rivaling Hermione. It's just, Michael was in the genius league; he'd always pick up what he was supposed to during class.
In the dorm.
One academic hotshot, one genius—seriously, the "overachievers' lair" vibe was strong. Ian was probably the only one in this dorm who didn't feel any pressure, because he was the dark horse slacking between a genius and a top student.
"What're you reading?" Ian noticed that as soon as he got back, Michael was awkwardly stuffing his book away. That guilty, caught-stealing look was priceless.
"N-nothing…" Brother Xiao Hei dodged his eyes and looked shifty. He waited until Ian had washed up and gone to bed, then sneakily took the book out to keep reading.
Ian cast a newly learned Illusionary Body Spell on himself, quietly sneaked out of bed, and crept up behind Michael for some hardcore investigative journalism. That's when he finally saw what ground-breaking tome Brother Xiao Hei was so absorbed in.
"A Wizard's One Hundred and Eight Love Techniques"
Yup, called it.
Michael never studies anything actually useful after class.
"Nothing in that book is gonna help you get a girlfriend, you know." Satisfied his curiosity, Ian just had to show himself and whisper a warning. Michael nearly leapt out of his skin.
He almost swapped his black skin for a raging tomato-red demon color.
"Impossible! The author literally said if I can't get the girl, he'll give me a full refund! There's even an ultimate secret technique at the end!" Michael refused to accept Ian's review. He quickly flipped to the last page and scratched off the sparkly coating.
[Remember, for us playboys, Amortentia is the ultimate secret weapon—works every time.] Reading that line, Michael's face turned a deep liver color.
The human body really is amazing.
"You totally got that book in Knockturn Alley, didn't you?!" Ian stared at the author's section—just as he guessed, the writer hadn't even dared to put down a name.
"I want a refund! Refund!"
Once Michael snapped out of it, he was fuming. Ever since he could remember, he'd been a Little Wizard who just wanted sweet love stories—so of course, he was allergic to those Hex-Tech tricks.
"We're bros, man. If you want, I can make you some. As long as Rebecca sips it for life, how is that not true love?"
While Ian was cracking jokes at Michael, who was now bouncing around the dorm, cursing out the author with all the creativity of a madman, he also reached under his own bed for his suitcase. Ian had always had this dream—having a giant house on him at all times—and the Traceless Stretching Charm was about to make his dream come true.
"Let me see~"
In the dead of night—
Once William and a thoroughly cussed-out Michael were asleep, Ian still couldn't put down his suitcase, busy testing out how much he could expand the internal space.
[Traceless Stretching Charm Skill Level +3]
[Traceless Stretching Charm Skill Level +4]
[Traceless Stretching Charm Skill Level +3]
The next morning—
It was another peaceful day.
The only weird thing was that Ian's dear uncle had skipped two classes in a row.
Yep.
The professor ditched class.
Rumor had it that Magic Potion class for other years was also being covered by substitute teachers. Officially, Hogwarts said Snape caught some illness and was recovering at Saint Mangos Magic Injury Hospital. But Ian had secretly checked his Living Map—Snape had never left his office at Hogwarts.