After successfully gaining a wave of goodwill from the compassionate Professor Flitwick, Ryze took the opportunity to ask about several questions he had been accumulating in his notebook.
Most students probably wouldn't have noticed it.
But Ryze had.
During class, Professor Flitwick's repeated attention toward Neville had actually made the boy increasingly nervous. Each time Neville raised his wand, the professor's hopeful gaze unintentionally placed more pressure on him.
In the end, seeing Neville's hands shaking more and more, Professor Flitwick had no choice but to gently suggest that Neville consult Ryze later.
At that moment, Professor Flitwick's mood had clearly dipped a little.
As a teacher, watching a student struggle so much always left a bitter feeling.
So now, when Ryze approached with questions of his own, the professor seemed rather eager to help. He quickly accepted Ryze's notebook and began flipping through the pages.
"Oh?"
Professor Flitwick's eyes brightened slightly.
"So you've already studied to this point on your own."
He tapped one of the notes lightly with his finger.
"Although the theoretical difficulty of Lumos Maxima isn't particularly high, its practical applications are quite limited. Normally, this spell only appears in the advanced curriculum for sixth-year students and above, depending on their individual interests."
He continued examining the neatly written notes.
Beside them, Hermione stood quietly.
Her curiosity burned like a flame.
She desperately wanted to lean forward and peek at what Ryze had written in that notebook, but her pride prevented her from doing something so obvious.
Instead, she stood there pretending to examine her own books while secretly listening.
"This part," Professor Flitwick continued thoughtfully, "involves several niche theories taught in the fourth and sixth years. They're rarely included in exams, which is why they aren't part of the standard curriculum."
He looked up at Ryze.
"Normally I wouldn't recommend that first-year students study these topics yet."
His eyes returned to the notebook.
"But judging from your notes… you should already be capable of casting it, correct?"
Ryze nodded honestly.
"I can barely manage the spell," he admitted. "But I can't fully control its power yet."
Professor Flitwick's smile widened.
"Excellent! Then why don't you demonstrate it here for me?"
He raised his wand and lightly tapped the teacher's lectern.
"Of course," he added casually, "let me prepare some specialized goggles first."
The quills resting on the desk suddenly transformed into several pairs of protective goggles in different sizes.
Professor Flitwick handed one to Hermione.
"Miss Granger," he said kindly, "if you'd rather not experience the sensation of staring directly into a light brighter than the sun, I strongly recommend wearing these."
Hermione blinked in surprise.
She quickly grabbed the goggles and placed them over her eyes, awkwardly pushing her bushy hair aside as she adjusted the straps.
Once everyone was ready, Ryze stepped forward and drew his wand.
He took a steady breath.
With a smooth and precise motion, he performed the standard wand gesture.
"Lumos Maxima."
In an instant, a burst of blinding light exploded from the tip of his wand.
The entire classroom was flooded with dazzling brilliance.
The brightness was far stronger than normal sunlight. It resembled the blinding flash of a magical flare, so intense that even ordinary sunglasses would have offered little protection.
Without the enchanted goggles, staring directly at the light could easily cause temporary blindness.
Professor Flitwick's prepared goggles worked perfectly.
Even facing such overwhelming brightness, he merely squinted slightly.
Hermione, however, instinctively recoiled a little.
The light felt almost like standing inside a magical spotlight.
Ryze maintained the spell for three seconds.
The glow remained steady at first, but soon faint flickers began to appear along the edges of the light.
Recognizing the signs of instability, Ryze quickly lowered his wand and extinguished the spell before it could collapse completely.
Darkness returned to the classroom.
Ryze quietly glanced at the magical energy within his body.
A standard Lumos Charm consumed very little magic power. Under normal circumstances, a wizard could maintain it for an entire hour while spending only about ten points of magic.
But Lumos Maxima was entirely different.
Even though Ryze had maintained the spell for only five seconds, it had already consumed nearly fifty points of magic power.
Of course, that inefficiency was partly because he hadn't fully mastered the spell yet. Much of the magical energy had been wasted during the unstable moments.
He looked toward Professor Flitwick, waiting for guidance.
Professor Flitwick suddenly clapped his hands enthusiastically.
"Wonderful!"
His face beamed with genuine satisfaction.
"The result is excellent!"
He adjusted his glasses and continued examining Ryze carefully.
"Although the stability still needs improvement, that was already a fully qualified Lumos Maxima."
The professor chuckled.
"If used unexpectedly during a duel, that flash of light could temporarily incapacitate at least half of the wizards present."
This was one of the few practical uses of Lumos Maxima.
However, the spell had an obvious drawback.
Its effect covered a large area and didn't distinguish between allies and enemies.
Because of that, it was rarely used during official duels or Auror operations unless the situation was very specific.
After offering praise, Professor Flitwick began explaining several theoretical details.
Unfortunately, the subject was far too complex to finish within a short conversation.
So he summarized the most important principles and then wrote down the titles of several books on a piece of parchment.
"You should visit the library," he said. "Read the relevant chapters in these books first."
He handed the list to Ryze.
"If you still have questions after that, you may come back and ask me anytime."
Then, almost as an afterthought, he added something surprising.
"Oh, and by the way… you may skip this class's homework."
Ryze blinked slightly.
Professor Flitwick laughed.
"Since you can already perform Lumos Maxima, I suspect you've probably mastered most of the derivative spells of the Lumos Charm as well."
"There's little value in forcing you to complete basic assignments."
He paused before continuing.
"If you maintain this level of proficiency in future lessons, I will consider waiving those assignments as well."
Professor Flitwick had already seen several pages of Ryze's notes.
It was obvious that Ryze didn't simply understand the Lumos Charm.
He had already grasped around seventy to eighty percent of the foundational charm theory normally taught in the first year.
If he continued progressing at this pace, he might even possess the knowledge required to pass the O.W.L. examinations by his third year.
Of course, Professor Flitwick didn't know that Ryze had far greater ambitions.
Ever since his system awakened, Ryze's true goal had been to reach Nymphadora Tonks' level before his second year even ended.
After finishing his discussion with Ryze, Professor Flitwick suddenly remembered Hermione was still standing nearby.
He turned toward her.
"Miss Granger," he said kindly, "if you can perform the same Lumos Charm that Mr. White demonstrated during class before next week, I will also waive this portion of your homework."
For a brief moment, Ryze felt as though he could hear the sound of a knife plunging straight into Hermione's chest.
Hermione's smile stiffened.
"I… understand, Professor."
She tried to maintain her composure.
"There is still quite a gap between Ryze and me," she admitted, "but I will work twice as hard to catch up."
Professor Flitwick nodded approvingly.
After confirming that both students had no further questions, he left the classroom in an excellent mood.
Soon, only Ryze and Hermione remained.
Ryze looked toward her politely.
"Miss Granger, do you still have something you'd like to ask?"
He smiled slightly.
"I've already shared my study methods with Professor Flitwick earlier. There's nothing I'm hiding."
Hermione glared at him.
But she didn't know what to say.
Should she ask why his magical knowledge was already so advanced?
Should she demand to know how he had reached sixth-year theoretical content while still acting so modest in front of her?
The thought made her feel ridiculous.
Because Ryze treated everyone the same way.
He was polite to every student, friendly during discussions, and always willing to help others.
And when she remembered the difficult childhood he had described earlier, Hermione suddenly felt guilty for even feeling jealous.
In the end, she sniffed quietly and forced herself to adopt a proud posture.
"I admit you are better than me in magical theory right now," she said stiffly.
"But I will definitely catch up."
However, her voice lacked confidence.
After holding Ryze's gaze for several seconds, she instinctively looked away.
Ryze nodded calmly.
"I believe you've memorized all the textbooks already."
"My roommates think you're incredible," he added sincerely. "None of us could do that."
He shrugged lightly.
"I only gained a slight advantage because I received tutoring during the summer."
"With your perseverance and talent, you will definitely catch up sooner or later."
For a moment, Ryze wondered whether he should imitate a certain future basketball star and pat Hermione on the head while declaring dramatically:
"The future is yours."
But as he watched Hermione's increasingly conflicted expression—and the faint blush creeping onto her cheeks—he quickly abandoned that idea.
"J-Just wait!" Hermione suddenly exclaimed.
Her voice rose several pitches higher than usual.
"You'd better not become lazy!"
"Before this semester… no, before this school year ends…"
"I will surpass you!"
After blurting out those words, Hermione hugged her books tightly and rushed toward the door.
Her footsteps echoed through the empty classroom as she fled in embarrassment.
Silence returned.
Ryze stood there for a moment before shrugging.
"Why did she suddenly become so tsundere?"
He shook his head with a faint smile.
"As expected, young girls are quite thin-skinned. They can't handle even a little praise."
He glanced toward the windows where the late afternoon sunlight was fading.
"Better get something to eat first."
"After dinner, I'll visit Professor Babbling."
He twirled his wand thoughtfully.
"It's time to absorb some more Curse Energy."
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