The unluckiest person in the entire incident was undoubtedly Crabbe.
At that moment, he was still half-kneeling on the ground.
Following Draco Malfoy's earlier instructions, Crabbe had thrown a punch with all his strength. Unfortunately, the target had not reacted as expected, and the impact left his hand throbbing painfully. Judging by the sharp ache running through his knuckles, he suspected he might have even suffered a minor fracture.
To make matters worse, the situation had turned against them.
Not only had Slytherin lost house points, but when Malfoy and the others hurried away under Professor Sprout's stern gaze, none of them remembered to help him up.
So Crabbe could only scramble to his feet awkwardly while clutching his injured hand. Under Professor Sprout's watchful eyes, he looked utterly miserable as he stumbled after Malfoy and the others, his expression bleak and resentful.
Once the Slytherin students had left, Professor Sprout turned back toward Ryze.
She handed the document in her hand back to him.
"I'm not entirely clear about the exact relationship between you and Mr. Malfoy," she said calmly. "Nor do I know what caused the conflict between you."
Her gaze remained steady but not unfriendly.
"However, from what I observed today, the other party provoked and attacked you first. You exercised restraint, defended yourself, and did not retaliate."
She paused briefly before continuing.
"You handled the situation very well."
Ryze nodded politely, maintaining a respectful posture.
"In recognition of your composure," Professor Sprout continued, "I will award Ravenclaw two points."
The words caused a few Ravenclaw students nearby to whisper excitedly.
"However," she added firmly, "I hope such incidents will not happen again in the future."
Her tone carried a quiet warning.
"If similar problems arise again, I will have no choice but to contact both of your parents and invite them to Hogwarts. At that time, we will have a proper discussion about why you are here—whether it is to learn magic or to settle personal disputes."
Ryze immediately understood what Professor Sprout was implying.
She was reminding him not to drag the complicated conflicts of pure-blood families into the classroom.
Especially not during her lessons.
"I understand, Professor Sprout," Ryze replied obediently.
He lowered his head slightly.
"After class today, I will take the initiative to write to my two cousins and explain what happened. I also guarantee that such a situation will not occur in your class again."
Professor Sprout nodded approvingly before leaving to continue supervising the class.
Inside his mind, however, Ryze gave Draco Malfoy a silent thumbs-up.
You're actually a pretty decent guy, little dragon.
Honestly, without Malfoy's cooperation—intentional or not—it would have been far more difficult for him to gain the advantage during the Herbology lesson.
Two house points might not seem like much.
But in the following part of the class, Professor Sprout continued her usual fair teaching style, frequently asking students questions about the plants they were studying.
Ryze answered several of them accurately.
By the end of the lesson, he had accumulated three additional points.
That meant he had earned a total of five points for Ravenclaw—tying with another student for the highest score in the class.
At that moment, a faint red light appeared above him.
It formed the shape of a small raven circling slowly in the air.
Then the glowing bird dove down and merged silently into Ryze's body.
At the same time, the Raven collection counter on his character interface quietly changed.
Raven Collection: 0 → 1
Ryze felt extremely satisfied.
Around him, several Ravenclaw students had already gathered.
Their curiosity was obvious.
Some of them wanted another look at the mysterious magical creature that had appeared earlier. They were trying to determine exactly what kind of being it was.
Others were more interested in Ryze himself.
They asked questions about his background, his family, and how he had managed to possess such an unusual companion.
Fortunately for Ryze, he didn't have to answer these questions personally.
His dormitory roommates enthusiastically explained everything for him.
According to them, Ryze was not an illegitimate child.
His father had left the family before Ryze was born and was rumored to have been a very capable adventurer.
Ailey—the magical creature that followed Ryze—was supposedly a form of protection his father had left behind.
It was said that the creature came from an ancient ruin discovered during one of his expeditions.
Later, Ryze's father mysteriously disappeared while exploring another dangerous location.
With no one left to care for him in the wizarding world, Ryze had ended up growing up among ordinary people, raised by Muggles.
The story quickly attracted attention.
"It sounds just like a medieval heroic legend," one Ravenclaw student remarked thoughtfully.
Another student, a girl from a Muggle family, seemed particularly excited.
"This is exactly like a prince story from the Muggle world!" she said.
She counted on her fingers as she spoke.
"The murdered heir… the hidden prince raised in obscurity… and the mysterious fairy guardian protecting him."
She nodded with growing certainty.
"I already know how this story ends."
Several students leaned closer.
"The prince returns years later," she declared dramatically, "defeats all his enemies, and reclaims everything that once belonged to his father."
A few students laughed at the exaggerated interpretation.
However, the rumor had already begun spreading among the Ravenclaw first-years.
Ryze himself paid little attention to any of it.
Stories like these always appeared whenever someone interesting showed up.
Sooner or later, the excitement would fade and the rumors would disappear on their own.
After class ended, Ryze asked Anthony to take his textbooks back to the dormitory for him.
Then he quietly slipped away toward the library.
The reason was simple.
He needed a place to escape his overly enthusiastic classmates.
Hogwarts' library was truly enormous.
From the outside, the building looked roughly the size of several ordinary classrooms combined.
However, once someone stepped inside, the space seemed far larger.
The interior extended endlessly between tall rows of bookshelves.
In fact, it felt spacious enough to rival the entire Quidditch pitch.
The library could easily accommodate every student in Hogwarts if necessary.
Ryze walked up to the front desk and approached the librarian.
Madam Pince was a thin, elderly woman with sharp eyes and an equally sharp expression.
Despite managing the massive library by herself, she appeared perfectly capable of remembering the location of every single book.
Ryze politely handed her the note Professor Flitwick had written.
She glanced at it briefly.
Then, without hesitation, she began listing instructions.
"Third aisle on the left, second shelf from the top."
"Divination theory—fourth row, middle section."
"Ancient magical interpretation—last shelf near the restricted corridor."
Her answers were precise down to the exact position of each book.
Before returning the note, Madam Pince gave him a stern warning.
"Normally," she said sharply, "first-year students may only borrow one book at a time."
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"However, because you have Professor Flitwick's authorization, I will allow you to take all the books listed here."
She leaned forward slightly.
"But remember this carefully."
"Do not write in them."
"Do not fold their pages."
"And do not damage them in any way."
"If I find even the smallest mark…"
Her voice dropped into a cold whisper.
"You will face very severe punishment."
Ryze immediately nodded.
"I understand, Madam Pince."
Once he received the book list, he quickly located the required titles.
A few minutes later, he found an empty seat in a quiet corner of the library.
However, he did not immediately open the books Professor Flitwick had recommended.
Instead, he took out several sheets of letter paper.
He had said earlier that he would write to his cousins.
And if he said he would write, he intended to follow through.
If Malfoy had not provoked him first, Ryze might have ignored the entire situation.
But since the other party had taken the initiative to cause trouble, failing to respond would have been somewhat impolite.
This tactic had actually been taught to him earlier by Andromeda.
Before the school term began, she had explained it very clearly.
Pure-blood families cared deeply about reputation and appearances.
Even if Narcissa and the Malfoy family secretly despised Andromeda and Ryze, they were not fanatics like her eldest sister, Bellatrix.
In the current environment of the British wizarding world, certain forms of etiquette still had to be maintained.
At least until relationships were officially severed.
That was why they had still been able to speak normally when they met in Diagon Alley.
Ryze still remembered what Andromeda had said with a cheerful smile.
"Narcissa has always cared about appearances since she was young."
"And now she's married Lucius—who cares about image even more than she does."
She had leaned closer, lowering her voice slightly.
"So if—if—their son causes trouble for you at Hogwarts…"
Her smile had grown mischievous.
"…just write directly to Lucius and Narcissa."
"I know you have Ailey for protection, so you'll be fine."
"But if you win the conflict and send a polite letter afterward…"
She chuckled softly.
"…they'll be so embarrassed they won't be able to sleep all night."
"And if we're lucky," she added playfully, "Narcissa might even have to write back and thank you."
Remembering that conversation, Ryze began writing.
The letter to Narcissa was written in a formal and elegant style.
He carefully used refined vocabulary and graceful phrasing commonly favored by noble wizarding families.
First, he expressed his respectful greetings to the House of Malfoy.
Then he calmly and objectively described the events that had taken place earlier that afternoon.
He did not exaggerate anything.
Nor did he attempt to provoke them directly.
Finally, he ended the letter with a polite question.
Perhaps Draco required additional guidance regarding his education.
One particular paragraph stood out.
"Madam Narcissa, however you choose to view me is of little importance."
"What concerns me more is that Draco—an eleven-year-old boy who has only just entered Hogwarts—first thought to resolve a disagreement with his fists."
"Such behavior is neither beneficial for his personal development nor representative of the education expected of a young wizard."
The next lines were even more polite.
"However, if this reflects the consistent educational philosophy of Mr. Lucius and the House of Malfoy, and if our principles differ, then I will avoid contact with Draco in the future."
"I sincerely hope Draco will also refrain from approaching me unnecessarily, so that further misunderstandings over trivial matters may be avoided."
After finishing that letter, Ryze began writing another one.
This one was addressed to Andromeda.
In it, he carefully explained everything that had happened that afternoon.
He also summarized the contents of the letter he had sent to Narcissa.
Finally, after dealing with these ordinary matters, he added something else.
He mentioned the strange dream he had experienced the previous night.
He suspected that he might have awakened a talent for divination.
Near the end of the letter, he wrote:
"Professor Babbling has already found several books on divination for me."
"If I make any progress before Christmas…"
"I will demonstrate my divination skills to you when I return."
Ryze sealed the letter with a satisfied expression.
Then, at last, he opened the first book from Professor Flitwick's list.
The quiet atmosphere of the Hogwarts library slowly settled around him as he began to read.
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