First meeting of Book Club

Clap, clap, clap. First, it was autumn leading the applause, and then everyone in the classroom applauded to show their agreement.

Ryan pressed his hands down, and everyone quieted down, waiting to hear Ryan's next speech.

"Since everyone agrees to learn some real skills here, let me talk about my plan. If learning is to be effective, we should meet at least once a week. We will schedule our meetings for Sunday afternoons from now on."

"So, what are we going to learn?" Justin raised his hand and asked.

"We will use textbooks and school curriculum as a guide and then delve deeper into the subjects," Ryan replied.

"What does 'delve deeper' mean?" Justin asked with some confusion.

"Well, it's hard to explain clearly. Let Hermione and me demonstrate it for you. Please temporarily move to the side of the classroom to make space for our demonstration."

Quickly, everyone used their wands to move the tables, chairs, and benches against the wall, and then they watched as Ryan and Hermione stood at opposite ends of the classroom, each raising their wands.

After nodding in agreement, both of them moved simultaneously.

As Hermione had been reading Nymph's book on Transfiguration recently, her first attack was a Transfiguration spell. She transformed the lectern behind her into several wooden spears, about the height of a person, and then sent them flying towards Ryan.

Ryan dodged and evaded most of the wooden spears, using the Iron Armor spell to block one that slipped through.

But Hermione's attack wasn't over yet. She muttered an incantation, and the wooden spears that had fallen to the ground, blocked by Ryan, suddenly transformed into a vine-like tendril that wrapped around him.

Ryan calmly waved his wand, immediately taking control of the vine. Under his command, the vine turned into numerous wooden needles and flew towards Hermione, gradually transforming into a metallic color in mid-air.

Seeing the unfavorable situation, Hermione quickly converted her partially prepared attacking spell into a defensive spell, blocking this round of attack. Ryan took advantage of this opportunity and cast several more spells in quick succession, breaking through Hermione's defense.

Just as he was about to defeat Hermione directly, a burst of light flashed from the tip of Hermione's wand, momentarily dazzling Ryan. Seizing this chance, she managed to avoid Ryan's attack, albeit somewhat awkwardly.

However, after losing the initiative, Hermione's situation became increasingly disadvantageous, and soon Ryan used a Disarmament spell to end the battle.

After tidying up the scene with their wands, Ryan looked at the amazed classmates beside him and asked, "If you have any questions, feel free to ask."

"You guys are amazing! I finally understand how you earned the Order of Merlin, First Class. The battle with those dark wizards must have been intense, right?" Alicia asked with admiration.

"Oh, it wasn't like that. We just used some mechanisms that were already in place there," Hermione modestly replied.

"It seems like you were using simple spells just now, right?" Fred realized something.

"Yes, all the spells we just demonstrated were the simplest ones. They include Transfiguration, curses, and defense against dark magic. This is what we mean by delving deeper into the textbook content," Ryan nodded and explained.

"But it looks completely different from what we learn in class," George added.

"Magic comes in many forms, and there are many flexible ways to use it. We should make magic adapt to our needs instead of rigidly following certain rules. The purpose of organizing this study group, by Hermione and me, is to help everyone truly master magical knowledge through sharing our research. Of course, we are currently sharing our research, but in the future, everyone will need to participate," Ryan explained.

"What you're doing is really generous. We're starting to admire you guys," the Weasley twins whispered as they joined the conversation. As pure-bloods, they understood the significance of sharing knowledge in the knowledge-secretive European wizarding world.

"If everyone keeps their tricks hidden, it's hard for wizards to make progress. Someone has to change this unfavorable situation. Besides, we are students and have enough time to start sharing from the simplest knowledge. If we persist and continue, we can change the world," Hermione chimed in.

"Well, I think it's challenging," Fred said.

"But we believe it's the right thing to do, so we're willing to share a few tips we discovered in future activities," George added.

"This should be a good start," Ryan said with a smile, happy with the approval of the organization of the study group.

As everyone discussed the matter, Hermione stood on the platform and proposed, "Ryan Liang, Order of Merlin, Second Class, and the main combatant in that adventure. I suggest he leads us. Does everyone agree?"

After witnessing the combat demonstration, no one objected to the proposal. As Ryan had just mentioned, the wizarding world respects strength. The demonstration a few minutes ago showcased Ryan's power.

"Thank you all for your trust," Ryan graciously walked up to the stage and bowed, eliciting even more enthusiastic applause from the classmates in the classroom.

When the applause subsided, Hermione stepped forward and said solemnly, "As Ryan's assistant, I will be responsible for external relations and organizational matters. Since this study group is a place for learning, we should treat it seriously. If you can't attend an activity due to special circumstances, you must notify me in advance. If a student fails to do so three times, they will be considered as voluntarily withdrawing." Seeing Hermione's serious expression, everyone became more alert. However, no one objected to this rule.

For the remaining time, Hermione and Ryan explained how the Lumos spell was decomposed and transformed using ancient runes. By the time the meeting ended at 9 PM, those who progressed quickly, like the Weasley brothers, had already attempted to modify Lumos, while even the slowest learner, Neville, had understood the operational principles of the Lumos spell through Ryan's explanation. In short, each participant had learned something to a greater or lesser extent.

After agreeing to start the first official activity on the following Sunday, everyone returned to their respective dorms. Each person left with high spirits and great expectations for the next training session.

"At least it's a good start, right?" Hermione said to Ryan as they were heading back to the Gryffindor Tower.

"Yes, today was a good beginning," Ryan nodded in agreement.