London in 1991 was always shrouded in a gray haze. In a dormitory at St. Maria's Orphanage, Horatio Quibble looked out the window at a brown English round-faced chicken clutching a letter and repeatedly trying to smash the window with its head.
Horatio opened the window in confusion and removed the letter from the chicken's claws. The envelope was made of thick parchment and bore a wax seal: a shield emblazoned with a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake around a large letter "H." The letter read:
"Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry: Albus Dumbledore (President of the International Magical Federation, President of the Wizarding Association, First Class wizard of the Order of Merlin)
Dear Mr. Horatio Quibble: We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. A list of required books and equipment is enclosed. Term begins on September 1. We await your owl-borne reply by July 31.
Yours sincerely, Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall.
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
First-year students will require the following items:
..."
"Oh my God—no, getting this letter means I should say Merlin's underpants. No, that's not right either. Even though I'm European in this life, I was from Dragon Country Ba-Shu in my previous life. I should be saying, 'Oh, my Shudao Mountain.'"
Just as Horatio was agonizing over whether he should worship God, Merlin, or that mountain Ba-Shu people could never get over in their lifetimes, a voice rang out in his mind:
[Ding. Congratulations, host, on successfully receiving your Hogwarts acceptance letter. This system is exclusively sponsored by the Zheergen Immortal and the Zheergen Divine Teachings. The purpose of this system is to make houttuynia cordata bloom throughout other worlds.]
Horatio was startled by the voice in his head and was wondering whether there was some sort of conspiracy when he heard the words Zheergen Divine Teachings and instantly relaxed. People who loved eating houttuynia cordata could not be bad people. If whoever was behind this wanted to harm him, then he cursed their current residence to never grow houttuynia cordata again.
In some world, a man hoeing the fields suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
"Come on, come on. Houttuynia Cordata System, tell me what functions you have and what missions I need to complete."
[Ding. This system has no missions. It only hopes that once you become successful, you will plant houttuynia cordata all over Hogwarts.] [The system's main function is its status panel, which helps the host keep track of personal proficiency. It will also give the host a gift pack every year.]
"Oh, that good? Let me see my panel."
[Name: Horatio Quibble Talents (the human maximum is 10 points; 11 points is god-tier) Charm Studies: 9 (Professor Flitwick thinks you're excellent) Transfiguration: 9 (Professor McGonagall's foremost student at closing windows) Herbology: 11 (Professor Sprout worships you as a god) Potions: 6 (Professor Snape thinks your brain works a tiny bit better than a troll's) Alchemy: 10 (Nicolas Flamel feels as though he met you too late) Dark Arts: 8 (Will you eat houttuynia cordata, or eat Avada Kedavra?) Ancient Magic: -1 (Blame that transfer student) Divination: -10 (You can righteously tell Professor Trelawney, "My fate is mine, not Heaven's") Magical Creature Affinity: 5 (Hopefully, you like magical creatures rather than like magical creatures) Flash of Inspiration (Unique) (Sometimes, what is frightening is not an ambitious person but an idea machine.) Ideas that suddenly arise in your mind have a chance of succeeding. Mastered Magic: None Items: Beginner Gift Pack]
"Mm... not bad. Open the Beginner Gift Pack."
[Ding. Congratulations, host, you have obtained a bag of houttuynia cordata seeds, 4 free talent points, and the books: Five Years at Hogwarts, Three Years in Azkaban, A Certain Dimensional Demon's Research on Souls, <The Principle of Alchemy Is Equivalent Exchange, But I Can Haggle>, <Botany: Becoming a Great Buddha in Another World by Cultivating Plants>, <Secret Technique: Clap Your Hands and Whatever You Want Appears>, <Physics Textbook of a Certain Scientific Yet Actually Magical Academy: The Four Fundamental Forces>]
"Holy crap, System, you're amazing. These things give me such a strong sense of déjà vu. I suspect your background is a little complicated." Horatio scratched his head. Since he had come to a magical world, the first thing he obviously had to do was learn magic. "System, extract Five Years at Hogwarts, Three Years in Azkaban for me. Let me see what it's about."
Boom! A thick black book fell from a black hole and slammed down in front of Horatio. The impact even jolted the bed several centimeters into the air.
Horatio stared dumbfoundedly at the book before him, which looked to be a meter thick. "Uh, I'm supposed to learn this? How am I ever supposed to finish reading it?"
[This is only the introduction and table of contents. The rest will not fit in your room. Would you like to continue extracting it?]
"..."
A few days later, at St. Maria's Orphanage, a white-haired, white-bearded old man dressed in strange wizard robes arrived in the reception room.
"What? You're saying Horatio is a wizard and that you want him to attend some magic school? Oh my God, you know I'm Catholic." Sister Marilyn stared at the old man in disbelief.
"That is indeed the case." With a casual wave of Dumbledore's hand, a teacup on the reception room table transformed into a white rat. Before the nun's incredulous gaze, it jumped down from the table and ran away.
"My God, if this were several hundred years ago, I would definitely report you to the Holy See and prepare a stake for you."
Dumbledore's mouth twitched, his eyes full of speechlessness.
"Then, sir, please come with me. I don't know what has happened to the child lately, but he has kept himself shut in his room and only comes out to eat. He is also the smartest child I have ever seen, but he is a little unsociable. He has few friends in the orphanage, and no one is willing to share a dormitory with him."
Alarm bells immediately rang in Dumbledore's mind. He hurriedly asked, "Has he bullied other children or abused animals in the orphanage?"
"Not at all. He just feels like a little adult and can't play with the other children. All right, sir, we're here."
Under Dumbledore's relieved gaze, Sister Marilyn knocked on Horatio's dormitory door.
"Come in."
The dormitory door opened, revealing a boy with a blanket draped over his head. His hair looked like withered grass soaked by a torrential downpour, with several strands stuck to his forehead. Dark shadows lay beneath his eyes, and his bloodshot eyes were red. He was clutching a black book and reading it intently. The floor was littered with shriveled corpses of small animals, including cockroaches, spiders, rats, and geckos. Before him was a diagram resembling some kind of ritual, painted with an eerie hexagram and unknown writing.
"Mr. Horatio, what are you doing? How did you get yourself into this state?" Sister Marilyn failed to notice that the old man behind her had already pulled a stick from his robes as she shouted into the room.
Horatio set down his book and looked toward the door. When he spotted the old man, light suddenly appeared in his eyes, and he rushed toward the entrance like a giant rat.
"You must be Professor Dumbledore. My name is Horatio Quibble. A few days ago, I received an invitation from your school. I sent you a reply, and I hope to study at your school." Horatio looked at Dumbledore expectantly.
Dumbledore helplessly put away his magic wand and pointed at the magic circle on the floor. "Child, can you explain what you are doing?"
"You mean this? Oh, I'm refining the Philosopher's Stone. I found this book a few years ago and always thought everything written in it was fake, meant to fool children. It wasn't until I received your letter that I tried following the book's instructions." That was a lie. The main reason was that Horatio had no patience to read Five Years at Hogwarts, Three Years in Azkaban. Since attending school required money and he did not have a single penny, he had specifically asked the system to extract the method for creating the Philosopher's Stone, also known as the Sorcerer's Stone, from Alchemy. He had even spent one talent point on Alchemy for that purpose. As a result, his Alchemy talent was now:
[Alchemy: 11 (A casual move from you is already a pinnacle beyond mortal reach. All kinds of elements and runes obey your hands like soldiers. Perhaps one day, you will be able to create a world with Alchemy.)]
"Recently, I used the flesh energy and soul energy of cockroaches, spiders, and rats to make this." Horatio took a dark red stone the size of his pinky fingernail from his coat pocket. "The Philosopher's Stone is also called the Sorcerer's Stone. However, because this one only used the life force and soul power of animals like rats and cockroaches, its effects are roughly the same as the genuine version, but it has a limited number of uses. It can currently be used at most five times." He touched the Philosopher's Stone to a candlestick in the corridor. Before Dumbledore and Sister Marilyn's shocked eyes, the bronze candlestick and white candle immediately turned gold. "Mm, four uses left now."
Dumbledore looked at the dark red Philosopher's Stone in Horatio's hand. His heart let out a series of marmot screams, but his face remained composed as he said to Sister Marilyn, "Ms. Marilyn, I have some matters to discuss privately with Horatio. Could you give Mr. Horatio and me some space?"
Sister Marilyn had only just recovered from the shock of seeing the orphanage's candlestick turn to gold. Hearing Dumbledore's words, she hesitated before nodding. What had happened today had dealt far too great a blow to her worldview. She needed to go to the prayer room and pray.
After Sister Marilyn left, Dumbledore said helplessly to Horatio, "Little fellow, you've truly given me a difficult problem." After some hesitation, Dumbledore ultimately chose not to use a Memory Charm to erase Horatio's memories. Alchemy involved quite a few matters concerning flesh and souls, but strictly speaking, it was not Dark Arts. His friend Nicolas Flamel was an Alchemy master, and he could make the Sorcerer's Stone as well. "But you must promise me that you will not use humans to refine the Philosopher's Stone."
Horatio curled his lip and said speechlessly, "Human soul energy is indeed uniquely blessed, but its life force cannot compare to that of large animals at all. If it comes to it, I'll book a flight to Australia and use cane toads to refine the Philosopher's Stone. If the quality isn't enough, I'll make up for it with quantity."
Dumbledore rubbed Horatio's head approvingly. "Good child. I'll keep this book for you, and I'll return it once you are a little older. In exchange, I can grant you one small request."
Horatio waved his hand indifferently. The system had a backup anyway, and he could extract it again whenever he wanted.
"Then, child, get ready. I'll take you to Diagon Alley to buy everything you need for school. I suggest you say goodbye to the nun. Given your current situation, I think we need to find you a guardian to keep an eye on you."
"All right. I'll write Sister Marilyn a letter in a moment. There's one more thing, though. I don't have any money."
"It's all right. The Ministry of Magic has an educational loan for new students. The amount is not much, but it's enough—"
Before Dumbledore could finish, Horatio tapped the Philosopher's Stone against the bedside table. The wooden bedside table instantly turned to gold. "I think I have money now." "..."
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