Adrian was genuinely caught off guard by Ron's unexpected question.

How to make Ron as strong as Harry?

The question itself wasn't unreasonable—in fact, witnessing his student demonstrate such rare ambition was actually quite encouraging from a professor's position.

Ambition, properly channeled, could be one of the most powerful motivational forces in reaching one's goals. However, the specific nature of this particular request had completely blindsided him.

The thing was that everyone was innately different, molded by unique combinations of natural talent, life experiences, and personal drive that couldn't simply be transferred from one person to another like a borrowed textbook.

Harry Potter, as the protagonist of this Wizarding World, had remarkable natural abilities but also experiences that formed his unique strengths. His abilities had been honed by years of facing mortal danger, combined with several years of rigorous, almost obsessive magical training under Adrian's guidance.

The boy's current level of capability was the result of both innate gifts and relentless dedication born from understanding that his life will be depended on his magical power.

As for Ron...

Adrian was observing the red-haired boy with brand new interest, considering his potential with fresh perspective.

To be completely honest, the Weasley family possessed genuinely excellent genes in each generation. Every single member of their family had developed their own separate areas of expertise and natural talents, creating a family tree that was curiously varied in its magical capabilities.

Bill worked as a senior curse-breaker for Gringotts Wizarding Bank. Charlie was one of the world's leading experts in international dragon control and handling—despite the recent minor incident with Torch, his reputation in the field remained authentic.

Percy showed exceptional academic aptitude and administrative skills. Even the twins, for all their apparent focus on pranks and mischief, showed amazing innovative talent in magical invention and creation.

"If your goal is specifically to defeat dragons," Adrian said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. "that would require many years of intensive, specialized training…..But perhaps the more relevant question is: do you actually want to pursue a career as a professional dragon handler in the future? Following the same path as your brother Charlie?"

"Dragon handler?" Ron repeated, his brow furrowing as he considered this possibility with obvious uncertainty.

He spent several moments thinking carefully about the suggestion, clearly trying to imagine himself in such a dangerous and specialized profession. The mental image seemed to conflict with whatever vague notions he had about his future, and he eventually shook his head with definitive rejection.

That career path simply wasn't part of his plans—though, to be entirely truthful with himself, he didn't really have any concrete career plans at this stage of his life.

He was only in his fourth year at Hogwarts, and the school's formal career guidance program wouldn't begin until fifth year. At that point, students would participate in career planning sessions, with their respective house heads conducting detailed one-on-one consultations about future possibilities and the academic preparation required to achieve various professional goals.

"Since you have no interest in becoming a dragon handler," Adrian continued with a slight shrug, "then I have to ask: why is defeating dragons such an important goal for you? Do you honestly believe that a dragon will suddenly appear on your family's property one day, waiting for you to heroically defeat it in single combat?"

His voice had a tone of gentle amusement.

"Don't be silly, Ron—in ordinary daily life, the average wizard has almost no chance of encountering dragons."

"But..." Ron began, then found himself momentarily speechless, struggling to voice the deeper frustrations and desires that were driving his request.

He ran his hands through his red hair with obvious irritation. When he spoke again, his voice had a tone of desperate sincerity.

"I'm not really talking about dragons specifically," He explained, his words coming faster now as he tried to make Adrian understand. "That's not the point I'm trying to make. I just want to become as powerful and capable as Harry."

"Ah, well then the solution becomes much more straightforward," Adrian replied with an encouraging smile, leaning back in his chair as the conversation shifted to more handy focus. "There's really only one reliable method for becoming genuinely stronger: more training, more spells, more knowledge, and more practical experience. It's not glamorous, but it's proven effective."

"So, what exactly should I do?" Ron asked, his eyes showing a mixture of hope and confusion, as if he expected some secret technique or shortcut that would accelerate his development.

"Study diligently, my dear boy," Adrian said with a playful wink that softened the potentially discouraging simplicity of his advice. "Read everything you can about magical theory, practice spellcasting until the wand movements become second nature, and push yourself to understand the basic principles that make magic work."

He paused, then added with warmth, "Of course, if you're truly committed to this path of improvement, I would be happy to provide you with additional tutoring during the upcoming holidays, completely free of charge."

"Huh?"

Ron opened his mouth, not knowing how to respond.

"Getting stronger isn't something that happens overnight—it's like building a tall tower," Adrian continued.

"Now, if you insisted on becoming powerful immediately through shortcuts, you could theoretically learn some rather... er... questionable spells that operate outside the bounds of legal magic..."

Ron's eyes widened with alarm at this suggestion.

"Don't look at me with those horrified eyes," Adrian chuckled, raising his hands in a gesture of mock surrender. "I'm merely making a little joke to illustrate a point. Dark magic might offer quick power, but it comes with costs that no sensible person would accept."

Ron's shoulders relaxed slightly, though he continued to study Adrian's face.

"Feeling lost and uncertain about your abilities is completely normal for someone your age," Adrian said gently as he rose from his chair, moving toward the coat stand where his robes hung waiting. "Personal growth is rarely a linear process, and comparing yourself to others—especially to someone as unique as Harry can be more harmful than helpful."

He paused in the act of regaining his robes, looking back at Ron with an expression of sincere encouragement.

"I do need to leave now—there are several other matters requiring my attention this afternoon. But before I go, Ron, I want you to remember something important: you could benefit tremendously from having a bit more confidence in your own abilities and potential."

"Confidence?" Ron repeated.

"Yes, exactly," Adrian confirmed as he pulled on his thick robes that would protect him from the cold. "Believe in yourself and your capacity to grow and improve. Then follow that belief with consistent effort—persistent study and regular practice of magical spells. It's really that simple in principle, though admittedly challenging in execution."

Ron nodded thoughtfully.

Of course, Adrian thought privately, almost everyone understood such principles intellectually. The real challenge lay in the fact that very few people actually managed to maintain the discipline and motivation necessary to follow through on their good intentions over long periods.

Given Ron's personality and past behaviors, Adrian maintained a somewhat pessimistic attitude toward the boy's chances of sustaining this fresh motivation beyond the initial burst of enthusiasm.

"Alright then, please head back to your common room, Ron," Adrian said as he prepared to leave. "Remember what we've discussed, and don't hesitate to seek me out."

Time seemed to accelerate as autumn faded into winter, and before anyone quite realized it, December had arrived at Hogwarts with its bitter cold and increasingly frequent snowfalls.

Over the past two weeks, both Harry and Hermione had been genuinely surprised to witness a complete transformation in Ron's usually lazy approach to his studies.

Ron had suddenly begun studying with seriousness and dedication that was entirely out of character for him. Most remarkably, he had even started voluntarily accompanying Hermione to the library during her regular study sessions—something that would have been absolutely unthinkable just a month earlier.

For years, getting Ron to enter the library for any reason other than completing last-minute assignments had required significant persuasion and sometimes outright coercion.

However, as Adrian had privately predicted, this period of academic enthusiasm was short-lived.

Inertia was human nature, and wizards, despite their magical abilities had no special immunity to the psychological patterns that triggered motivation and habit formation.

Magic might allow them to accomplish extraordinary feats, but it couldn't provide them with different brains or eliminate the normal challenges of maintaining discipline and focus over long time periods.

After Ron's initial burst of enthusiasm began to fade, the dull reality of consistent studying became increasingly difficult to sustain. The learning process lacked the immediate positive feedback and excitement that had initially motivated his efforts, and without those reinforcing elements, his resolve gradually crumbled.

Within just a few days of reduced effort, Ron had essentially returned to his previous patterns of academic laziness and casual indifference toward his studies.

One Monday at noon, the three gathered in the Great Hall for lunch, sitting at their usual spots along the Gryffindor table amid the familiar chaos of hundreds of students eating, talking, and laughing together.

"Are you still going to the library later? Ron, you haven't been there for three days," Hermione reminded Ron, who was stuffing sausages into his mouth. "Remember what you said last week—read more books and practice some spells."

Ron's mouth was completely full of food, so he could only mumble indistinctly around his meal, "Mff alrffy wrkd hrd fr tw wks. Lt m rst fr fw dys."

[TL: I've already worked hard for two weeks. Let me rest for a few days.]

He swallowed the food forcefully, his fork clinking against the plate with a crisp sound.

"Look, I'm not you, Hermione," He said with a mixture of defensiveness and exhaustion. "I need to do something relaxing occasionally. Er…..reading about magical history and memorizing potion ingredients isn't exactly what I'd call a restful activity."

"Oh, suit yourself then," Hermione said indifferently.

Honestly, she should have anticipated this outcome from the very beginning.

Observing this familiar play out once again, Harry could only shake his head with mild disappointment. He had witnessed all of Ron's changes during the previous two weeks, including his friend's unprecedented decision to join Harry's daily magical practice sessions.

For several years now, Harry had maintained a demanding personal schedule that included dedicated time each day for spell practice, magical theory review, and physical training.

During Ron's brief period of motivation, he had faithfully followed Harry to these practice sessions, working with genuine dedication to improve his magical skills and knowledge. Unfortunately, his persistence had lasted only two weeks.

But Harry had learned not to judge anyone too harshly for these limitations. Everyone had different priorities and different levels of internal drive, and he couldn't reasonably demand that Ron adopt his own somewhat obsessive approach to magical development.

To be completely honest, Harry didn't particularly enjoy living with such constant pressure and intensity either. If he'd had a choice in the matter, he would have preferred a more relaxed, typical student experience.

However, his fingers unconsciously moved to touch the lightning bolt scar on his forehead—that permanent reminder of the dark wizard who had tried to kill him as an infant and would undoubtedly try again.

That omnipresent danger, that knowledge that Voldemort remained a threat to both him and everyone he cared about, forced him to continue pushing himself to become stronger and more capable.

After finishing their meal, the three returned to the Gryffindor common room for a brief period of rest and relaxation. Hermione intended to head to the library shortly to work on her pile of assignments, while Harry planned to spend the afternoon practicing advanced spellwork in one of the unused classrooms.

They had just sat into their favorite armchairs near the crackling fireplace, savoring the warmth and the temporary break from their academic responsibilities, when a sudden commotion near the portrait hole caught their attention.

Turning to investigate the source of the disturbance, they saw two similar red-headed figures rushing into the common room with urgency. One of the twins was carrying something small and fiery red clasped in his arms.

When Fred and George spotted the three sitting by the fire, their eyes immediately brightened with relief and they strode over.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked, straightening in his chair as he tried to get a better look at the mysterious red object in George's hands. "What exactly is that thing you're carrying?"

Without giving any explanation or word, the twins immediately thrust their burden into Harry's arms.

Only when the small creature was safely transferred to his care did Harry realize that the red figure was actually a fire dwelling salamander.

However, this salamander was clearly in dire condition. Its eyes were half-closed and dulled with exhaustion or illness, and the flame that should have been dancing vigorously at the tip of its tail was so weak and flickering that it appeared on the verge of being extinguished.

Simply put, it looked like it was about to die.

"Where on earth did you find this poor thing?" Harry asked with growing concern, gently adjusting his hold to provide better support for the weakened salamander.

Hermione leaned forward to examine the creature more closely, her expression immediately shifting to one of concern as her knowledge of magical creatures kicked into analytical mode.

"It's in extremely poor condition," She observed pointing out various symptoms that indicated severe distress. "How long have you kept it separated from a proper fire source? Fire salamanders have very specific environmental needs that can't be ignored without serious consequences."

Fred and George exchanged meaningful glances, clearly sharing some information that they hadn't yet revealed to the others.

"We discovered it lying in one of the corridors just a few minutes ago," George explained. "As you can see, the poor creature is dying. We thought that taking it directly to Hagrid would probably be our best option, since you three are quite familiar with him…."

Harry looked at the fire dwelling salamander in his arms and said, "Fire salamanders die almost immediately when they're completely separated from flames. However, if you can regularly feed hot peppers to a fire salamander that's been removed from its natural fire environment, you can potentially extend its survival time up to six hours at maximum."

He looked up at his friends with determination.

"I think this little fellow needs to consume some peppers right now if we want to save its life. Either that, or we should consider placing it directly into the fireplace."

"Where exactly are we supposed to find hot peppers at this time of day?" Ron asked with concern.

"Let's just go directly to Hagrid," Harry decided, rising immediately from his chair. "His hut is practically a menagerie of magical creatures and their supplies. If anyone has hot peppers or knows the best way to treat a fire salamander in distress, it would definitely be him."

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