After leaving the Great Hall, Ted turned to his friends and asked, "Among the Slytherins, who was that tall student wearing a purple-crested robe? Looked like a first-year..."
He had noticed the boy during lunch, his expression starkly different from the rest of the Slytherins.
While most of them glared with disdain, this one simply watched with curiosity.
Ever since his psychic power had leveled up, Ted could analyze a person's attitude just from their expressions and body language.
And this Slytherin?
No malice.
Just intrigue.
That was unusual.
So far, only a handful of Slytherins had shown anything other than hostility toward their group, and most of them had been exceptions, like Daphne Greengrass and her quiet neutrality.
But this boy?
Ted had seen him at the Sorting Ceremony but couldn't remember his name.
Harley tilted her head in thought before answering,
"You're probably talking about Andre Lothar. The Lothar family is old—pureblood—but they've kept a low profile for decades.
I remember Sirius mentioning them once. Even when Voldemort was at his peak, no one from the Lothar family joined the Death Eaters."
It was rare for a pureblood family to stay out of the Dark Lord's influence.
Ted frowned, mentally filing the name away.
It wasn't easy to fake behavior, but mentality and ideology were even harder to disguise.
If Lothar truly wasn't like the other Slytherins, maybe he was worth keeping an eye on.
The Easter holiday, despite the excitement of the rabbit fiasco, wasn't all fun and games.
While Ted and his friends had spent the past two weeks exploring Hogwarts from top to bottom, two particular individuals had cast a shadow over their break.
The professors.
Every year, a large number of students stayed at Hogwarts over Easter, and the professors had a cruel way of making sure they didn't get too much free time—by burying them in homework.
Enough work to keep any normal student trapped in the library for three hours a day, for ten straight days.
It was so much that even the Hogwarts ghosts seemed sympathetic.
The students groaned and complained, suffering through essays and spell diagrams. But the real nightmare began when Hermione went into master mode.
The moment the break was halfway over, she had a book in one hand, a quill in the other, and a determined glint in her eye.
She took notes in between conversations. Transcribed entire paragraphs while walking to class. Summarized textbook chapters before breakfast.
"The cloud of doom has arrived," Ron muttered under his breath, watching in horror as Hermione filled an entire scroll with notes in under five minutes.
They were all gathered in an empty classroom—some playing wizard's chess, others practicing magic—but Hermione?
She was preparing for war.
Ron, unable to take the pressure anymore, hesitantly asked, "Uh, Hermione? You okay? Did Ted say something to upset you? Because if he did, we'll hex him for you—just please, please put the book down."
Jerry nodded rapidly, forcing a grin. "Yeah, yeah, don't be mad! We're all friends, right? Hahaha… ha… (nervous laughter)."
Neville peeked over at Hermione's book, then immediately recoiled.
"That title is way too long," he mumbled. "I got dizzy just looking at it."
Harley, being more direct, simply asked, "Hermione, what are you doing?"
Without even looking up, Hermione replied matter-of-factly,
"Preparing for exams."
Ron's face went pale. "Exams?! What exams?!"
Ted, already seeing this coming, sighed, "Final exams."
Jerry clutched his heart.
"That's still two and a half months away! You nearly gave me a stroke!"
Ted smirked. "Maybe—"
But before he could finish, he noticed Hermione staring daggers at him.
He cleared his throat and quickly corrected himself. "—Of course it's good to be prepared!"
Harley snickered. "Nice save."
It could only be said that Hermione took the final exams very seriously.
Speaking of which, their little group of six was doing quite well academically.
Ted and Hermione were the undisputed top two in their year, always battling for first place.
Harley's grades fluctuated, sometimes breaking into the top five, depending on whether the subject interested her.
If it was something she found exciting, she put in the effort; if not, well, she had other priorities.
Ron and Jerry had mastered the art of "strategic referencing" when it came to homework, but thanks to their meticulous copying and understanding of the work, they still maintained solid grades.
Even Neville, who used to struggle, had become a top performer in Herbology and managed to hold steady in other subjects.
No one in their group had to truly fear the exams.
Of course, as students, the mere mention of exams was enough to send a chill down their spines.
But if they were being honest, their magic had already surpassed most first-years, and they could even hold their own against some second-years.
Their spellcasting was sharper, their control stronger, and their practical application far beyond their peers.
Ironically, the spell they used most often wasn't a combat spell or even something flashy—it was the Revelio.
Exploring Hogwarts had turned them all into chronic treasure hunters, constantly on edge for hidden doors, secret messages, and enchanted objects.
At this point, using Revelio had practically become muscle memory.
April arrived, bringing with it new knowledge from beyond their world.
Ding!
[Talent: Knowledge of Other Worlds (Gold)] activated.
New knowledge discovered: [How to Create Rotten Stray Spirit Ashes (Green)]
Ted read the description:
Records the method for crafting Rotten Stray Spirit Ashes, as detailed by the Witch of the Void. Requires 260 experience points to redeem.
"Well, that's… weirdly specific."
Ted sighed.
Another obscure bit of knowledge from some distant world. The Rotten Stray Spirit Ashes—wasn't that an item from Elden Ring?
He had only experienced the game through secondhand sources, but he recognized the reference.
"Still… I've got experience points to spare."
260 experience wasn't much for him anymore, so he redeemed it, just in case it came in handy later.
What he learned afterward left him stunned.
This wasn't just some minor magic trick.
This was an entirely new branch of summoning magic that didn't fit into traditional spellcraft at all.
Based on what the knowledge granted him, Ted realized that if he substituted a few local materials, he could theoretically create something similar.
However, the deeper mechanics of how it worked were an enigma.
"This is going to take a lot of trial and error…" he muttered.
Ted had already spent time integrating knowledge from worlds like Azeroth and Dungeons & Dragons.
While they differed in execution, their core principles still fit within the broader understanding of magic.
With research and adaptation, he had found ways to make their spells function in this reality.
But psychic abilities?
That was a different beast entirely.
While he had started to grasp the basics, the fundamental principles were completely unlike anything he had studied before.
He had spent time researching Muggle psychology to aid his understanding, but the progress was slow.
And now this ashes technique? It wasn't just magic—it was something even stranger, bordering on spiritual manipulation.
Ted had never even considered something like this before.
Out of curiosity, he looked into historical records.
Some ancient Nordic religions had similar concepts of spiritual preservation, but it was a forgotten practice, long lost to time.
"Am I doing magic archeology now?" Ted joked to himself.
Still, it was intriguing.
He had the knowledge, and now, he just needed to experiment.
After redeeming his latest set of knowledge, Ted made a decision: it was time to level up his Psion class.
Previously, he had focused on upgrading his Wizard class, but he had hit a wall.
Reaching level 5 required 10,000 experience points—even with his talent discounts, it was still 9,000.
That would take him nearly a year to save up.
Better to invest in something else for now.
With his Psionic Aptitude reducing the cost, upgrading to Psion Level 2 only required 900 experience points.
A steal.
Upgrade confirmed.
A surge of mental clarity washed over him.
His Psion Level had increased to 2, granting him an additional attribute point, which he immediately allocated to Spirit.
Though Psion levels didn't grant traditional skill points like Wizard levels did, they did enhance his psychic abilities and mental resistance across the board.
Now, both Psychic Power and Psychic Resistance have increased to Level 3.
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Word count: 1432
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