Because he had discovered a secret of Castrobruchuo College, Ryan did not dare to linger in the Emerald Dream for long. For safety reasons, he avoided wandering through the building complex or venturing into the distant jungle. He simply observed the surrounding environment and then quickly left.
After returning from the Emerald Dream, Ryan felt a sudden wave of fear. He had originally thought Hogwarts was just a fictional place, something imagined in novels. That led him to consider causing a major disturbance in the British wizarding world using his golden finger to rack up deflection points. But after weighing the risks and benefits, he gave up that idea, guided by a mix of morality and caution.
Now, it seemed the magical world was far deeper and more dangerous than what had been described in the novels of his previous life. Looking back, his earlier thoughts had essentially been courting death. This also proved, in a roundabout way, that being a good person really mattered. Sometimes, doing the right thing for the right reason could unknowingly save your life.
It appeared that every top-tier magic school around the world had its own set of strengths and secrets. That realization made Ryan curb the arrogance he had begun to develop after gaining so many adventures and advantages. It was clear that he still needed to tread carefully.
Thankfully, after this journey into the Emerald Dream, Ryan calmed down and soon fell asleep in his comfortable, oversized bed.
The next morning, he was awakened by the sound of flowing water. When he got out of bed, opened the curtains, and looked out at the vast stretch of rainforest, he realized he was no longer in the British Isles. He had crossed half the globe and was now in the heart of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil.
He hadn't heard the sound of the rushing river the night before. Perhaps the soundproofing magic on the carriage had only been lifted in the morning to wake everyone up. After washing and dressing, Ryan made his way to the common room and found several students already immersed in their books. Since today and the following day were set aside for free exchanges, no one wanted to show any weakness in front of students from other schools.
After glancing around the lounge, Ryan took out his notebook and sat next to Hermione—the only familiar face around. Just as he sat down, he heard Hermione murmuring spell incantations to herself, carefully rehearsing wand gestures and casting techniques.
Ryan didn't interrupt her. Instead, he opened his notebook and started deconstructing a spell—breaking it down to its fundamental magical words and experimenting with variations. It was a long and tedious process, but also highly rewarding.
At the very least, Ryan discovered that by combining the right spells, one could achieve extraordinary results. Dumbledore's flaming python during the Ministry of Magic battle, or the water cocoon that trapped Voldemort—these complex magics were born from the flexible recombination of simpler spells.
Of course, Ryan could only analyze things at a basic level with his current magical abilities. The depth of Dumbledore's spellwork was still far beyond his reach. If he wanted to reach the level where he could freely reconfigure magic and wield it as elegantly as Dumbledore, he still had a long journey ahead.
That said, Ryan had achieved a few things. For example, once his magical strength reached the level of a senior student, he started analyzing basic spells using the Nordic heritage knowledge in his mind.
To his surprise, he found that even though British spells were usually cast in Latin, their underlying magical runes were rooted in Nordic systems, supplemented by Phoenician, Greek, and Latin characters from the broader Mediterranean region.
Ryan strongly suspected that when Britain embraced these various cultures, the great wizard Merlin had consolidated their magical systems—creating the foundation for modern Western magic. This system's convenience likely contributed to its dominance across Europe and America today.
Because spells were fundamentally built from runes, Ryan—already well-versed in runic languages—was able to analyze and fuse the Luminescent Flash and Disarming spells into a single spell: Flash Disarm.
This new spell required more magical energy than the two original spells combined, and it demanded a higher degree of magical control. But it allowed Ryan to release a blinding flash of light just as the disarming spell took effect, increasing its effectiveness.
After working on the spell for a while, Professor Sprout entered the common room. Seeing everyone quietly immersed in their studies, she smiled with satisfaction and clapped her hands to gather attention.
Once everyone was looking at her, she announced the day's schedule: they would begin with a free exchange session with students from Castrobruchuo College after breakfast, followed by a social activity in the auditorium at 3 p.m.
As the students headed toward the cafeteria, Hermione noticed Ryan and asked in surprise, "When did you get here? I didn't see you when I came out around 7:30."
"You were so focused on your studies that you didn't notice when I sat opposite you five minutes later," Ryan replied.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I guess I was nervous about the exchange with the Castrobruchuo students today."
"No worries," Ryan said with a smile. "Just treat it as a regular conversation. I honestly doubt there are students your age—anywhere—who can beat you academically. You'll be fine."
After breakfast, the students gathered in the auditorium for discussions. As expected, the sixth-year students took the lead, with fourth-years occasionally chiming in. Ryan and other junior students mostly observed quietly, listening attentively.
The morning's discussion focused on spellcraft and transfiguration. But as the seniors from both schools tried to outdo each other, the conversation quickly escalated into topics far beyond the understanding of lower-grade students.
After a while, Ryan felt like he was listening to an ancient text in an alien tongue. Realizing he wasn't absorbing anything useful, he looked around and noticed that most of the other younger students—regardless of school—were equally lost. The Castrobruchuo students, while sitting upright with an air of pride, clearly didn't understand much either.
Not wanting to waste the opportunity, Ryan decided to strike up a conversation with another student his age. He noticed a tall, thin third-year Castrobruchuo student sitting straight but glancing around distractedly.
Leaning forward slightly, Ryan whispered, "Hey, do you understand what they're saying? I feel like I'm completely lost."
The other student blinked, slightly startled. "What? What were you saying?"
Ryan noticed his thick Spanish accent and switched languages. "Do you understand Spanish? It might be easier for us to chat this way."
The student's eyes lit up. "Oh, you speak Spanish fluently! I've been worried my English would be a barrier."
Ryan nodded. "Language really is one of the biggest hurdles in these exchanges. I've always wondered why, in a world like this, we don't have universal translation or speech magic—like in other magical universes."
They both laughed. Though from different corners of the world, they found a shared frustration: how often communication got in the way of connection, even in a realm filled with magic.
FOR MORE CHAPTERS
patreon.com/STEPHENHART427