Elsewhere.
Dawn had no idea that Quirrell, now possessed by Voldemort, had memorized his name.
He stood on the staircase, waiting for it to move and carry him to the eighth floor. The incident with Malfoy had been thrown to the back of his mind.
After all, there wasn't much worth caring about.
What consequences could come from what he'd done?
Draco's hostility? Slytherin's provocation? The wrath of the Malfoy family? Pressure from the school board?
Hah!
The first two were hardly worth mentioning.
As for the latter...
Dawn believed he was still within Dumbledore's tolerance. Given the old headmaster's character, he would certainly shield him from those matters.
What else could happen?
Would the Malfoys be so humiliated they'd hire an assassin?
Putting aside the fact that purebloods were under intense scrutiny after Voldemort's fall, even if they did go that far, Dawn's Killing Curse wouldn't be any less precise than theirs.
.......
*Swoosh—!*
The staircase finally moved!
Dawn stepped upward, walking to the tapestry across the hall, silently repeating three times, "I want a quiet and comfortable room."
Then he grasped the handle and pushed open the door to the Room of Requirement.
At the entrance, he was greeted by a cozy room with warm beige tones.
A single armchair sat in the center of the room, paired with a clean white table, and the floor was covered in a soft woolen rug.
Perfect.
Dawn thought this was far better than the Ravenclaw dormitory.
He sat on the soft leather armchair at the center of the room, pulled out parchment and ink, and placed them on the round table.
It was time to sort through all his thoughts.
First and foremost...
[1. The Meaning of the Symbols]
Though he already understood the symbols weren't the source of magical power, their individual meanings still needed to be explored.
What did each one represent?
From today's Transfiguration class and Neville's two cases, it was clear that some symbols represented the body, and some the soul.
Were there others that signified different things?
Take the Lumos Charm, for instance... Based on his current thinking, it should be that the magic alters the air, giving it luminous properties.
So then, what symbol represents light?
Dawn scribbled and sketched on the parchment, jotting down the two symbols he had previously identified through potion analysis.
Even though his understanding of his ability had changed, the meanings of the symbols remained consistent.
In addition—
Thinking of Lumos, Dawn lifted his quill and wrote down the second point.
[2. General Summary of Magic]
Whether a conclusion holds depends on whether it can encompass everything.
Since Dawn believed, based on what he saw in the symbols, that magic was the process of altering the essence of things— Then he had to be able to explain various aspects of the magical world through these symbols.
For example, the relationship between spells and magic.
With Lumos, you create a floating light when casting, but once you stop, the light fades. The Levitation Charm is similar.
However—
Many spells, once cast, produce lasting effects.
Like the Blasting Curse, the Blood Extraction Curse, and the Forgetfulness Charm which, once used on Neville, permanently "fractured" his trait symbols.
Such questions had always existed in the wizarding world, but no one paid much attention—spells were spells, and individual differences were just part of it, right?
That explanation wasn't necessarily wrong. Everything was based on subjective understanding.
However, Dawn saw it differently.
His ability, and the way he viewed magic, meant that to make better use of his power, he had to figure all of this out.
.......
Next came the natural third point.
[3. Attempting to Use the Symbols]
Every wizard had something unique about them—like Voldemort's Parseltongue and his affinity for dark magic, or Dumbledore's phoenix and his views on love.
For Dawn, beyond talent, his most unique trait was the ability he gained after his magic surged out of control.
As for how to use this ability, he now had a preliminary idea— To study Transfiguration deeply, and then alter his own traits by fine-tuning his symbolic patterns.
For example, a phoenix had the traits of rebirth and immortality.
If he could find the symbols that represented these traits and alter his own accordingly, would that mean he could acquire the same powers?
Though it sounded unbelievable, Dawn was convinced it was entirely possible.
There would be many challenges and unknowns to overcome, but it was far from mere fantasy.
......
After noting down the three major points, he paused.
Then, Dawn began listing the unresolved mysteries.
◇Why Hogwarts Draws in Magic
◇The Uniqueness of the Sorting Hat
◇The Marauder's Map
These were all questions that arose after arriving at Hogwarts.
He was deeply curious about the truth, and if he had the time and opportunity, he would absolutely try to solve them.
In addition, there was...
◇The Tales of Beedle the Bard
This was a 200-year-old book he had found. Besides the stories themselves, many yellowed sheets of parchment were hidden inside.
Dawn had a gut feeling that there was some secret in them, especially since the book had been carefully sealed in a waterproof box.
After two days of spellwork, the centuries-old book had begun to regain some of its form. But to restore it to a readable state would likely take another two weeks.
Perhaps...
He could seek help from some upper-year students with greater magical reserves?
[Alchemy for Profit]
This was also fairly important.
If he could purchase that bottle of Felix Felicis from Jiggs instead of taking it by force, that would certainly be better—Dawn had no interest in wealth itself.
Moreover—
Besides making money, the process of alchemy could also help him explore the difference and connection between runes and the symbols he saw.
Before school began, Dawn had already compared the two and knew they weren't the same. But after understanding the truth of his ability, he believed there had to be some link between them.
For instance— He knew that one rune meant "light," and when inscribed on an object, it could make it glow.
So what was the relationship between that rune and the symbols changed by the Lumos Charm?
........
One by one, the tangled thoughts flowed onto the parchment in ink.
Looking at the eight densely written points, Dawn once again felt just how little time he had.
Thankfully, many of these tasks could be done simultaneously.
For example, while analyzing spells and magical theory, he could also observe the corresponding symbolic changes to understand their properties.
Just before putting away the parchment Dawn hesitated for a moment, then picked up the quill once more and added a final line.
[Magical Outburst]
Now that he understood how his ability worked, Dawn found magical outbursts more intriguing than ever.
He was incredibly curious about this phenomenon.
Unfortunately, the current conditions didn't allow for deeper research. After all, where would he even find young wizards to use as test subjects?