Echo Sorcery Doctor

Chapter 13 Echoes [Sorcery Doctor]

[Ding! Your friend [Hermione Granger] has sent a friend request]

[Beep beep beep, verified as a high-authority character. Engrave Echo]

[Do you want to spend 1000 Gems to engrave the growth Echo [Sorcery Doctor]?]

[Note: Growth Echoes can grow according to the player's intimacy with the corresponding character (not limited to positive feelings)]

[Initial Quality: White]

[Echo quality will only grow, never decrease]

"So, enemies count too."

"If I killed Lucius Malfoy, little Draco's Echo would probably jump straight to the highest [Corrupted] quality."

"But . . . damn it! Harry and Ron, why haven't they sent requests?"

"Is our friendship fake!"

"We've been in this compartment for almost 2 hours! Not even as good as Hermione!"

These thoughts flashed through Basil's mind after he received the system prompt.

Then, he replied to the system in his mind, "Yes."

The sound effect of the Time-Turner turning played.

Whoosh!

Gems: 11134.431 (-1000)

[Ding! Obtained white quality Echo [Sorcery Doctor]]

Basil's heart stirred, and his [Grimoire] automatically opened.

In the Echoes section, Hermione's avatar had appeared.

Clicking on it revealed a line of text:

[All spells will open doors for you, learning difficulty reduced by 2%]

[Dark magic will not affect your mind, nor will white magic]

"This is white quality? It's completely different from the description in the game."

"But it's not bad, I can start learning dark magic now."

"But why isn't it like a gal game where it shows or even locks the affection level!"

Basil didn't think too much about it.

Right now, getting closer to Hermione was the priority.

So, Basil's eyes began to water, and his whole demeanor became frail.

"I'm an orphan."

"My parents died shortly after I was born."

"My grandmother raised me alone."

. . . . . .

"Not long ago, I was targeted by the most ferocious werewolf, Fenrir Greyback."

"Fortunately, the magic tree planted in my home protected me and killed that werewolf."

"Neville probably just heard me kill someone."

"He ran off before we could explain."

Hermione clasped Basil's hands, full of concern.

She felt like a terrible person right now!

"I'm sorry, I didn't find out anything before I—"

Basil saw the border of the [Echo] in his mind instantly turn blue.

Spell learning difficulty reduced by 2%, now 5%.

Additional description:

[The more spells you learn, the stronger your spell effects will be]

[1% increase for every 10 spells]

[Cap at 10%]

Basil was doing a tarantella dance in his mind.

But in reality, he gently and properly withdrew his hands.

He only wanted to enter her heart, not her body.

"It's okay. It was just a misunderstanding. I think Neville didn't mean to."

"He seems genuinely scared."

He nudged Neville with his elbow, gently releasing the Disarming Charm.

Tilting his head, feigning ignorance, he asked, "Neville, are you alright? You were completely frozen just now."

While the Full Body-Bind Curse immobilizes the target, their senses and thoughts remain normal during its effect.

So, facing Basil's gentle, friendly inquiry.

Neville, often belittled by his grandmother and even less confident than Harry, subconsciously assumed he had been scared and dared not move.

He didn't even question how Basil knew his name.

"I was scared."

Neville's face turned red, his eyes teary. "I bet I'll be sorted into Hufflepuff! Someone with no strengths like me belongs there!"

"No, my friend," Basil placed a hand on Neville's shoulder. "You are the true hero!"

"You belong in brave Gryffindor!"

"You genuinely thought I was a murderer just now. And in that situation, you still mustered the courage to stand in front of Hermione."

Neville was deeply moved.

Hermione, Harry, and Ron were too.

Listening to the three dings that sounded in his mind, and the Echoes of the "Sorcery Doctor" as the border gradually shifted from blue to gold.

Basil's smile became even more sincere.

He decided to check the friend requests from Harry, Ron, and Neville later that evening.

For now, maintaining friendships and gaining better quality Echoes was the priority.

The compartment door was closed again.

Neville and Hermione stayed behind.

The toad Trevor?

What is it?

With his inexplicable leadership, Basil took center stage in the conversation.

"You may have noticed, my name is Basil, which is the symbol of Hufflepuff—the badger."

"My ancestors were all Hufflepuffs. In fact, Hufflepuff isn't a place for people with no strengths, as Neville said."

"Hufflepuff has produced many outstanding individuals. Grogan Stump, one of the Ministry of Magic's most popular ministers for a long time; the world authority on magical creatures, Newt Scamander; the famous arithmancer of the thirteenth century, Hengist; and Hengist, who founded the wizarding village of Hogsmeade next to Hogwarts. They were all Hufflepuffs."

"In reality, Hufflepuff's poor reputation is mainly because it accepts all students deemed to lack the qualities of the other three houses. The great Hufflepuff believes that all children with magical talent should receive an education at Hogwarts."

Neville's eyes sparkled with longing. "I don't think being sorted into Hufflepuff is so bad now!"

Hermione, however, looked conflicted. "Basil, are you planning to go to Hufflepuff too? Like your ancestors?"

She had already made up her mind. If Basil said yes.

She was willing to give up Gryffindor.

In her eyes, it was the greatest wizard Albus Dumbledore's most formidable house.

Basil shook his head.

"No, I want to go to Gryffindor. The Granger family needs someone to be different, and that will be me!"

In fact, he had initially planned to go to Slytherin.

Because he didn't want to be targeted by teachers.

Even the excellent Snape in the movie was so biased; this world's version would likely be even worse.

But knowing that only those with high influence could provide [Echoes] through 'friendship.'

Enemies could also be considered 'friends,' and negative perceptions could advance the [Echo] tier progress.

Slytherin was crossed off his mental list.

After all, there were too few characters with significant roles in Slytherin.

Apart from the Death Eaters who had already graduated and found good jobs with free room and board and lifelong security in Azkaban.

Draco was probably the only person of high influence.

Hermione was unaware that the shining Basil in her eyes had considered Slytherin, the house that produced the most dark wizards.

She was completely immersed in the joy of Basil choosing the same house as her.

She didn't even notice that Basil mentioned the same surname as hers.

She simply cheered, "That's great! I'm planning to go to Gryffindor too!"

Ron coughed. "I probably will too; all of us Weasleys are Gryffindors."

Harry blinked. "I probably will too; Hagrid said my parents were both Gryffindor students!"

Neville cautiously added, "Then we're all Gryffindors? That's wonderful!"

Thanks to student Tai Shi Yu Xu for the monthly tickets and other students for their recommendations and subscriptions!