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"Is the course useful to you? This needs to be analyzed from each course. After the analysis, you can easily choose the courses you need," Lane said.
"Let's talk about the elective courses for the third grade first. They are divination, arithmetic divination, protection of magical animals, ancient rune, and Muggle studies. Everyone should choose at least two." Ryan paused here and saw Hermione concentrating. After a brief moment, he continued, "First of all, let's talk about divination and arithmetic divination. The contents of these two subjects overlap in part. However, I personally prefer arithmetic divination."
"Why?" Hermione asked.
"Arithmetic divination involves complex mathematical problems, and it is also very useful in the study of magic circles. Many Gringotts spell breakers have learned this. But divination is different. As far as I know, magical divination is a skill that requires talent, and if you don't have talent, you can't learn it—just like no matter how much we practice, we can't beat Harry at Quidditch."
"What about other courses?" Hermione continued to ask without expressing her opinion.
"If you need to be in the wild for a long time or if your future work involves taking risks, then the Protection of Magical Creatures class is very important. Some positions in the Ministry of Magic also require knowledge from this class.
Ancient Rune discusses ancient magic and the basics of magical rune composition. This is a must-learn course for any wizard interested in academic success. In terms of importance, it is one of the best subjects included in the Hogwarts curriculum.
Muggle Studies, on the other hand, is of little use to us Muggle-borns, except for a few specific Ministry positions. At least, I think it's pretty silly to describe what a rubber duck does or to draw how to move things without magic."
"And the biggest difference between the wizarding world and the Muggle world is that the wizarding world places great importance on individual strength. For example, our Headmaster Dumbledore is considered the representative of British wizardry—why not Fudge? It's because Dumbledore is the greatest white wizard in the world. If you're interested in changing the entire magical world, then I personally feel that at least your personal strength is a must."
After listening to Ryan's explanation, Hermione nodded silently. Ryan knew he didn't need to say anything more—Hermione was very assertive. At this point, it would be inappropriate to talk too much.
When it came time to hand in the course selection form on Monday, Ryan noticed that Hermione had taken the exact same courses as he had—Arithmetic Divination, Ancient Rune, and Protection of Magical Creatures.
Overall, there were not many Gryffindor students who chose Ancient Rune and Arithmetic Divination, as both were considered difficult. Most students, including Harry, Ron, and Neville, opted for Fantastic Beasts and Divination.
Ryan chose these two courses because arithmetic divination only required a college-level understanding of mathematics, which wasn't too difficult. Learning this was highly effective in cracking magical mechanisms and could be useful in adventures.
Ancient Rune was a choice he made because he had access to the complete lineage of ancient Viking wizardry. After reading Percy's Ancient Rune textbook, he realized the book's content was incomplete compared to what he knew. Given this, he saw no reason not to study a subject that was both prestigious and easy to score in.
Hermione, on the other hand, took these two courses because she was a dedicated student, always eager to learn more. It was no surprise that she ranked first in the grade every year—after all, someone who is both smarter and works harder than others is unbeatable.
In a school year without basilisks, everything proceeded according to the academic schedule. Saturday arrived, marking the Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. That morning, all Gryffindor team members sat at their house table for breakfast.
Captain Wood said enthusiastically, "It's the ideal weather for a Quidditch game!" At the same time, he piled scrambled eggs onto each player's plate—especially Harry's.
"Harry, you need to eat a good breakfast. Quidditch is physically demanding, and you need to eat more to last until the end of the game."
Yet Harry looked uneasy. The memory of being chased by a Bludger last time was still fresh, particularly since that Bludger attack had been orchestrated by a house-elf.
Just as Harry was lost in thought, a hand landed on his shoulder. Looking up, he saw Ryan, with Hermione and Ron standing beside him.
"Don't worry," Ryan said. "Professors McGonagall and Flitwick will be there this time. We will sit next to the professors. If we notice anything unusual, we'll alert them immediately."
This reassurance helped Harry relax, and during the match, he successfully caught the Snitch. Gryffindor won with a nearly 200-point lead over Hufflepuff.
It seemed that Dobby hadn't interfered today—perhaps the Malfoys were preoccupied. At the after-match celebration, Ron made an interesting observation.
Ron's guess was correct, as the next day's Daily Prophet reported that Arthur Weasley had inspected the Malfoys' residence and uncovered a large stash of Dark magic artifacts hidden in their back room.
Ryan suspected he had played a role in this. One night, while brewing a potion with the Weasley twins, they had complained about their father working overtime, struggling to locate Dark magic artifacts in pureblood families' collections.
Upon hearing this, Ryan shared various secret storage methods he had learned across his two lifetimes. Jokingly, he suggested that maybe the Malfoys' secret stash was hidden beneath their living room floor—after all, there was a saying from his hometown: the most dangerous place is also the safest place.
Apparently, the twins had passed this suggestion on to their father in a letter. Sure enough, during their late-night potion experiment, the twins excitedly thanked Ryan for his insight. They also swore they hadn't revealed his name—only claiming that the idea was their own.
This demonstrated why the twins would go on to build such a successful business. Their ability to frame things from other people's perspectives made them naturally likable and strengthened their friendships.
Since everyone was in high spirits that night, they successfully formulated a fever remedy that wouldn't harm the body. Thanks to Ryan's involvement, he eliminated several dangerous ingredients through medical analysis, sparing the Weasley twins from the repeated pain of using themselves as test subjects.
The next step was to solidify the liquid formula and mix in unrelated potions to obscure the actual recipe. Based on Ryan's assessment of their progress, the final product would likely be ready by summer.
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