Chapter 115: Could Spell Refinement Be Done This Way?
Looking at the two clowns' ugly crying faces, they cried for a long time without shedding a single tear.
Dylan rolled his eyes.
Looking around, he suddenly raised his wand and flicked it sharply.
The movement was so fast that the twins didn't even react.
They thought Dylan was going to curse them and immediately exclaimed—
"No! Dyllan, mate—"
However, the magic light that shot from Dylan's wand swished past them and landed on the bed opposite.
"Huh?" The twins were stunned, their wails abruptly stopping.
Dylan frowned. "What are you shouting for? You'll wake everyone up."
The twins scratched their heads, realizing Dylan hadn't attacked them. They breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled sheepishly.
"Our room has a Silencing Charm, Mum updates it every day."
Dylan's mouth twitched.
They really did.
No wonder he thought the soundproofing in this room was so good!
He waved his hand. "Alright, I've added a Silencing Charm to your bed too. If you want to research, go do it on your bed. As long as the explosions don't go beyond that area, I won't hear anything."
Fred and George exchanged quick glances, looking back at their not-so-large bed.
Then they turned back awkwardly.
"Dylan—"
"Isn't that area a bit too small?"
"The explosions probably won't be limited to just that spot."
"Otherwise, you could just put another Silencing Charm on your bed."
Dylan took a deep breath.
He flicked his wand again.
This time, he couldn't even hear what the twins kneeling beside the bed were saying.
"Alright, Harry, let's sleep."
Dylan lay on the inner side of the bed, next to the wall.
Pulling the thin silk quilt over himself, Dylan quickly fell asleep again.
Harry scratched his head.
He glanced sideways at the twins, who had suddenly stood up from the floor and were starting to tinker with their experiments again. Then he tugged at his own blanket and lay back down to sleep.
Happy times always pass quickly.
Otherwise, they wouldn't be called happy.
Dylan woke up again.
And sat at the dining table.
Because there were two extra people, there weren't enough stools, so the older Percy usually came down a bit later.
Therefore, Dylan and Harry quickly finished breakfast with the Weasley family and were about to follow Ron to wander around outside the Burrow.
But Mrs. Weasley called them back.
"Counting the time, it's not long before school starts. At this time, the Hogwarts owls might be bringing your school letters. Do you want to wait and see?"
As soon as Mrs. Weasley's words fell.
Immediately, an owl flew in through the wide-open window not far away.
Dylan and Harry both received their new school booklists and the timetable for the next school year.
Dylan casually opened the booklist and glanced at it.
He already had most of the books.
There were only a few others that he needed to buy again.
"Breaking with Banshees?" Fred tilted his head.
"Voyages with Vampires?" George tilted his head to the other side.
Ron frowned. "What are these books? Why do we need to buy them?"
Dylan chuckled and glanced at the authors' names for these books.
Sure enough, they were all by Gilderoy Lockhart.
Besides the two books the twins mentioned, there were several others, all written by this Lockhart person.
Harry looked at the list and the professor who required them to buy these books.
"These books are all required by the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor."
Ron grimaced and muttered softly, "Does this professor like Lockhart? The titles of these books don't seem to have any substance!"
He looked up at Dylan and Harry.
"I bet when school starts, Hermione will have read all these books and will complain to us about how boring they are!"
Dylan pursed his lips and smiled wryly.
"Then you might be wrong."
Although the author of these books was entirely Lockhart, the content of the books described in detail, from a first-person perspective, how to interact with or fight creatures like trolls, ghouls, hags, and banshees.
Among them were also interspersed a lot of wilderness survival knowledge, which could be called pure gold.
—After all, these experiences were real.
But they were other people's experiences, not Lockhart's.
By studying them in detail, readers could gain a lot.
Otherwise, these books wouldn't have become bestsellers.
Even Dylan had bought a few.
But not many.
Especially this time, the booklist that Lockhart required them, the new students, to buy as textbooks, Dylan hadn't bought most of them.
"You mean, these books are actually useful?" Ron looked up.
Dylan clicked his tongue. "I've read Lockhart's books. The content seems quite solid, and the experiences are described very vividly, making them interesting to read."
Fred and George widened their eyes. "But we heard that Lockhart's books... don't seem to be very cheap, right?"
"And this year's Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is a new one. The books he requires the whole school to buy means everyone has to have them—"
"We can only buy new books, we can't look for second-hand ones!"
Ron also realized this after the twins' reminder and couldn't help but look up at his parents.
Many of the things he used for school were second-hand items passed down by his older brothers.
—Or maybe third-hand or fourth-hand.
Having to buy all new books at once would definitely be a financial strain on his parents, right?
Mrs. Weasley pursed her lips. "Well... as bestsellers, I think there should be many second-hand copies available."
Her gaze fell on Ginny.
—The little girl was now sitting between Dylan and Harry, a shy smile on her face.
"There are many things at home that Ginny can use after school starts, so if we only need to buy these books for you... I think it shouldn't be a big problem."
Hearing this, Harry blinked and turned to look at the little girl beside him.
"Wow, you're going to school too? Is it Hogwarts as well?"
Ginny's cheeks flushed red. Facing Harry's question, she subconsciously pursed her lips, nodded slightly, and said in a voice like a mosquito's hum, "Mmm."
"That's so cool! I wonder which house you'll be sorted into," Harry grinned.
"I bet it'll be Gryffindor."
At this moment, Percy walked steadily down the stairs.
At home, Percy had shed his usual formal attire from school but still maintained neatness and order.
He wore a cream-colored linen shirt, the sleeves neatly rolled up to his forearms, the collar buttoned properly, and a familiar prefect badge on his chest.
Although Percy still seemed very old-fashioned at home, he wasn't as stern as he was at school.
After coming down, he walked to the empty seat and sat down.
Mrs. Weasley also served him a portion of breakfast.
"I think so too, after all, we're all Gryffindors!" Ron nodded.
"Then when are we going to buy the things we need?" Harry said.
"There's no rush for that, we can do it later," Dylan shook his head gently.
"Otherwise, let's ask Hermione. If she has time, we can even meet up during the holidays."
"Good idea!" Ron nodded repeatedly.
During the day, the group strolled around the vicinity of the Burrow.
The twins were again fighting over who got to ride the broom first.
Ron and Harry also followed behind them, having a great time.
Dylan relaxed with them for a while, then returned to the Burrow to read again.
By evening.
After dinner.
Dylan, Harry, and Ron sat in the living room, drinking tea.
The living room of the Burrow was small, and even with just the three of them sitting there, it still felt crowded.
However, the spot where they sat was bathed in the warm golden glow of the setting sun, and the aroma of the meal still lingered in the air, mixed with the fragrance of tea, making one want to relax and feel comfortable.
Suddenly, a "flap flap" of wings sounded.
Everyone looked up and saw an owl with dull, messy feathers and a wobbly flight path flying in erratically through the half-open window.
"It's Errol!"
Errol, dragging his tired body, flew straight towards the table in front of Dylan.
Then, with a "thump," it landed heavily on the table, startling the tea in the cups and causing a few drops to spill.
Ron quickly scooped up the old, worn-out owl and cradled it in his arms.
"Errol, try not to fall apart on us."
Ron gently stroked the owl in his arms before carefully untying the letter attached to its leg.
"It's a reply from Hermione," Ron said, glancing at the letter after opening it.
"What does she say?" Dylan and Harry both looked at Ron.
Ron's expression didn't look too good.
"She's scolding me!"
"Huh?"
Harry was taken aback.
Dylan, however, had expected this and couldn't help but smile wryly.
"She's not scolding you for only inviting Harry and me to your house, is she?"
"How did you know?"
Ron blinked and placed the letter on the small table, pushing it towards the two of them.
"Look, the things she's saying to me are really harsh! It's not like I didn't think about inviting her, but it just didn't seem right, did it?" Ron grumbled.
Dylan nodded. "You're right, it really wasn't appropriate."
He extended a finger, gently pulled the letter over, and quickly scanned it.
The letter began with a scathing reprimand for Ron.
And it wasn't just for Ron, but also for Dylan and Harry.
——————
To the two unreliable blokes, and Dylan, who's unreliable for going along with the unreliable blokes:
First of all, Ron, you are absolutely out of order! All this time, you, Harry, and Dylan have been hanging out together every day, and you haven't even asked me to join you?
And I thought you were my best friends!
I've almost finished my homework during the holidays, so I've been researching new spells and was looking forward to sharing them with you, but you've just left me out in the cold!
And Harry, Dylan, you two are just as bad! How could you go along with Ron and keep it a secret from me? Especially Dylan! You haven't even written me a single letter since the holidays started!
Alright, Ron has told me about your situation in his letter. Given the special circumstances, I won't hold it against you.
Hey, do you know what happened? Yesterday, when I was practicing a spell, I accidentally turned my mum's dinner plate into a sneezing toad—they were quite startled!
Are you all doing well at Ron's house? To be honest, I'm a bit out of sorts not seeing you for so long.
I've also received my Hogwarts school letter. Your suggestion is great, you finally thought of me—I was just thinking the same thing!
So, what time shall we meet in Diagon Alley to buy our textbooks? How about the week after next? Or we could aim for Friday.
—Don't bother replying to this. You can just come. This owl is too old, and I really can't bear to have you make it fly all the way back again.
Promise me, please don't torture this poor old messenger, okay? So—see you directly in Diagon Alley then!
Hermione.
——————
After reading the letter, Dylan couldn't help but chuckle.
Harry also blinked and looked up at the two of them. "Hermione says we should go to Diagon Alley together the Friday after next. Are we going?"
Dylan shrugged. "Sure, there's nothing else going on anyway. And Errol is indeed a bit old. Hermione told us not to reply, so we shouldn't stand her up."
"And we don't have any pigeons to stand up anyway," Ron said.
"...I know," Dylan's mouth twitched.
Ron picked up the letter again, reread it, and suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "Wait! What did I just see?"
Harry asked doubtfully, "What is it?"
"It's homework!" Ron's eyes bulged. "Hermione said she's almost finished all her homework already??"
"Merlin's trousers, there's still over half a month before school starts!"
Dylan recalled that during the day these past few days, Ron and Harry had basically been running around and playing with the twins.
He had sometimes joined in, but most of the time, he had been reading alone in the house.
But in any case, he hadn't seen Ron and Harry doing any homework.
He blinked and tentatively asked, "Don't tell me, you haven't even finished a single word of your homework."
Harry scratched his head sheepishly. "We couldn't do homework before, and now..."
"You don't really feel like doing homework, do you?" Dylan raised an eyebrow.
Harry's head sank even lower.
Ron put his hands on his hips. "The holidays are for playing! Dylan, don't tell me you've already finished your homework too!"
Harry poked Ron's leg beside him, reminding him softly—
"Don't you remember? Hermione said before that Dylan usually doesn't have much homework anyway."
Ron's expression froze.
At this moment, it felt like something shattered in his heart.
"Is this fair? Huh? They have so much homework, why doesn't Dylan have any?"
Dylan, as if hearing Ron's breakdown, waved his hand and smiled.
"Like you said, there's still over half a month left. If you start writing now, you should be able to finish your homework before the holidays end."
Ron's expression was very bad.
Harry also didn't really want to start doing homework right now.
—The time at the Weasleys' was too enjoyable.
He could play everywhere with his good friends, and there were kind elders taking care of him.
He could even sleep in the same bed as his good friend!
Looking at their expressions, Dylan roughly knew what they were thinking.
Shaking his head, Dylan stood up. "I'm going out for a walk to see if there are any interesting plants around. You guys can discuss with Mrs. Weasley about the day to go to Diagon Alley."
Leaving the Burrow.
Dylan searched the surrounding hills and fields.
—The Weasleys' house was quite remote. They had even enclosed a hillside for their children to play on.
Muggles couldn't perceive that there was a hill here at all. Anyone who approached would involuntarily veer off in another direction.
Dylan rode his Nimbus 2000, flying back and forth on the hillside.
He caught many small creatures, such as cockroaches, ice crawlers, and ants.
He put all these small creatures into his Pet Space Suitcase.
During the summer vacation, although he could still go and trouble other dark wizards, using them to grind his Unforgivable Curses mastery was too troublesome and not absolutely safe.
So Dylan planned to catch more small bugs to see if he could use them to grind his Unforgivable Curses mastery.
Dylan thought it should be possible.
After all, it worked with Acromantulas.
These small bugs were also bugs, so there shouldn't be any reason why it wouldn't work.
"Other bugs reproduce too slowly, but cockroaches reproduce very quickly, so I can catch more of them."
Dylan had recently started another Unforgivable Curse mastery task but found that to complete it, simply dealing with the same target wouldn't work anymore.
If Dylan only relied on dark wizards, even killing all the wizards in the vicinity might not be enough.
Going back to the Forbidden Forest to kill Acromantulas again was also too troublesome.
Although there were many Acromantulas in the Forbidden Forest, due to restrictions, their population wasn't infinite. If Dylan cleared them out again, they would definitely be on the verge of extinction.
So Dylan decided to focus on smaller creatures to complete his spell mastery task.
—Like cockroaches.
These little guys were independent, tenacious, numerous, and reproduced extremely quickly.
And they weren't small either.
Much bigger than mites and the like, more in line with the system's kill requirements.
"I can also catch some of those big-bellied black spiders and raise them. Although their reproduction rate isn't as fast as cockroaches, their numbers are also considerable. They lay a whole bunch in their lifetime."
Recalling a video he had seen in his previous life—someone smashing a big black spider with a shovel, and it exploding with a swarm of densely packed little black spiders bursting out.
Dylan caught some different kinds of spiders before stopping.
(End of chapter)