For the Great Zheergen

The London of 1991 was always shrouded in a hazy, gray mist. In a dormitory room at St. Maria's Orphanage, Horatio Quibble looked out the window. A brown, round-faced English hen seemed to be clutching a letter, desperately pecking at the window with its head.

Horatio, looking puzzled, opened the window and took the letter from the hen's claws. The envelope was made of thick parchment, sealed with wax bearing a crest. Around a large "H" was a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake. The letter read:

"Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry: Albus Dumbledore (President of the International Magical Federation, President of the Wizarding Association, Order of Merlin First Class)

Dear Mr. Horatio Quibble: We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of the required books and equipment. The term begins on September 1st. We await your owl by July 31st.

Sincerely, Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

First-year students will require the following items:

..."

"Oh my god, no, this letter should be addressed to Merlin, no, wait. Although I'm European in this life, I was from Dragon Country Ba-Shu in my previous life. I should say, oh my Shu Road Mountain."

Just as Horatio was struggling with whether to believe in God, Merlin, or the mountain that the people of Ba-Shu could never cross, a voice echoed in his mind:

[Ding, Congratulations to the host for successfully receiving the Hogwarts acceptance letter. This system is exclusively sponsored by the Zheergen Immortal and the Zheergen Divine Teachings. The purpose of this system is to spread Zheergen throughout the otherworld.]

Horatio was startled by the voice in his mind, suspecting some kind of conspiracy. However, upon hearing "Zheergen Divine Teachings," he immediately relaxed. Those who love Zheergen can't be bad people. If they wanted to harm him, he'd curse their current location to never grow Zheergen again.

A man in another world, who was hoeing the ground, felt a chill down his spine.

"Come on, Zheergen System, tell me what functions you have and what tasks I need to complete."

[Ding, this system has no tasks. It only hopes that when you become successful in the future, you will spread Zheergen throughout Hogwarts.]

[The main function of this system is a panel to help the host master their proficiency. It will send the host a big gift package every year.]

"Oh, that's great. Let me see my panel."

[Name: Horatio Quibble

Talent (Human Max Score 10, 11 is God-level)

Charms: 9 (Professor Flitwick thinks it's great)

Transfiguration: 9 (Professor McGonagall's star student for closing windows)

Herbology: 11 (Professor Sprout regards you as a god)

Potions: 6 (Professor Snape thinks your brain is slightly more useful than a troll's)

Alchemy: 10 (Nicolas Flamel regrets not meeting you sooner)

Dark Arts: 8 (Will you eat Zheergen or eat big melons?)

Ancient Magic: -1 (All thanks to a certain transfer student)

Divination: -10 (You can tell Professor Trelawney with a clear conscience that my fate is determined by me, not by heaven)

Magical Creatures Affinity: 5 (Hope you like magical creatures rather than eating them)

Flash of Inspiration (Unique) (Sometimes the scariest thing isn't an ambitious person, but a brilliant idea generator) Ideas that suddenly pop into your mind have a chance of succeeding.

Mastered Magic: None

Items: Beginner's Gift Package]

"Hmm... Not bad. Open the beginner's gift package."

[Ding: Congratulations to the host for obtaining a bag of Zheergen seeds, Free Talent Points * 4, Books: Five Years at Hogwarts, Three Years at Azkaban, A Certain Dimensional Demon's Research on Souls, Alchemy Principles are Equivalent Exchange, But I Can Haggle, Botany: I Became a Great Buddha in Another World by Cultivating Plants, Secret Technique: Clap Your Hands and Get What You Want, A Certain Scientific, Yet Magical Academy's Physics Textbook: The Four Fundamental Forces]

"Awesome, the system is amazing. These items give me a strong sense of déjà vu. I suspect your composition is a bit complicated." Horatio rubbed his head. Since he had come to the magical world, the first thing he should do was learn magic. "System, please extract Five Years at Hogwarts, Three Years at Azkaban for me, let me see what's going on."

Boom! A thick, black book fell from a black hole, landing heavily in front of Horatio. The impact shook the bed a few inches.

Horatio stared dumbfounded at the book, which looked a meter thick. "Ah, I, I have to study this? How can I possibly finish it?"

[This is just the introduction and table of contents. Your room can't fit the rest. Do you want to extract more?]

"..."

A few days later, an old man with white beard and white hair, dressed in strange wizard robes, arrived at the reception room of St. Maria's Orphanage.

"What? You're saying Horatio is a wizard and wants to go to a magic school? Oh my god, do you know I'm Catholic?" Sister Marilyn looked at the old man in front of her with disbelief.

"Indeed, that is the case." Dumbledore waved his hand, and a teacup on the reception room table turned into a white mouse, which hopped off the table and ran away under the nun's disbelieving gaze.

"My God, if this were a few hundred years ago, I would have reported you to the Vatican and prepared a pyre for you."

Dumbledore's lips twitched, his eyes filled with speechlessness.

"Well then, sir, please follow me. This child, for some reason lately, has locked himself in his room and hasn't come out except to eat. He's the smartest child I've ever met, but he's a bit of a loner. He doesn't have many friends in the orphanage, and no one wants to share a dormitory with him."

Dumbledore's internal alarm bells rang. He quickly asked, "Has he been bullying classmates or abusing animals in the orphanage?"

"No, not at all. He seems like a little adult, and he can't really play with the other children. Alright, sir, we're here."

Under Dumbledore's relieved gaze, Sister Marilyn knocked on Horatio's dormitory door.

"Come in."

The dormitory door opened. Inside, a boy with a blanket draped over his head, his hair like a clump of wet, dead grass after a downpour, with a few strands stuck to his forehead, dark shadows under his eyelids, and bloodshot eyes, was engrossed in reading a black book. The floor was littered with the dried corpses of small animals like cockroaches, spiders, mice, and geckos. In front of him was a drawing of a strange hexagram and unknown characters, resembling some kind of ritualistic pattern.

"Mr. Horatio, what are you doing? Why do you look like this?" Sister Marilyn shouted at the boy in the room, not noticing the old man behind her had already pulled out a stick from his pocket.

Horatio put down the book in his hand and looked towards the door. He spotted the old man standing there, and his eyes lit up. He rushed towards the door like a big rat.

"You must be Professor Dumbledore. My name is Horatio Quibble. I received an invitation from your school a few days ago and replied, hoping to study at your esteemed institution." Horatio looked at Dumbledore with anticipation.

Dumbledore reluctantly put away his wand and pointed at the magic circle on the ground. "Child, can you explain what you're doing?"

"This? Oh, I'm refining the Philosopher's Stone. I found this book years ago and always thought it was fake, something to trick children. I only tried following the contents after I received your letter." This was a lie. The main reason was that Horatio was too impatient to read that book, Five Years at Hogwarts, Three Years at Azkaban. Considering that schooling cost money and he didn't have a single cent, he specifically asked the system to extract the method for creating the Philosopher's Stone from alchemy. For this, he had even put a few talent points into alchemy. Therefore, his current talent in alchemy was:

[Alchemy: 11 (Your casual efforts are already at a peak unattainable by mortals. Various elements and runes obey you like soldiers. Perhaps you will be able to create a world with alchemy later.)]

"Recently, I used the physical and soul energy of cockroaches, spiders, and rats to create this." Horatio pulled out a small, dark red stone, the size of a pinky fingernail, from his jacket pocket. "The Philosopher's Stone is also called the Sorcerer's Stone. However, because I only used the life and soul energy of animals like rats and cockroaches this time, its function is similar to the genuine article, but it has a usage limit. It can be used a maximum of 5 times currently." After speaking, he touched the candlestick in the hallway with the Philosopher's Stone. The bronze candlestick and white candle immediately turned golden before the shocked eyes of Dumbledore and Sister Marilyn. "Well, that leaves 4 uses."

Dumbledore looked at the dark red Philosopher's Stone in Horatio's hand, and a prairie dog's squeal of excitement erupted in his heart. His expression remained calm as he said to Sister Marilyn, "Ms. Marilyn, I need to speak with Horatio privately. Could you give us a moment of privacy?"

Sister Marilyn had just recovered from the shock of the orphanage's candlestick turning golden. Hearing Dumbledore's words, she hesitated before nodding. The events of today had impacted her worldview too greatly; she needed to go to the prayer room to pray.

After Sister Marilyn left, Dumbledore said to Horatio helplessly, "Little fellow, you've really given me a difficult situation." Dumbledore struggled for a moment before deciding not to use a Memory Charm to erase Horatio's memory. The main reason was that although alchemy involved many aspects of the physical body and soul, strictly speaking, it was not considered dark magic. His good friend Nicolas Flamel was a master alchemist and could also create the Sorcerer's Stone. "However, you must promise me that you will not use humans to refine the Philosopher's Stone."

Horatio pouted and said speechlessly, "Human soul energy is indeed unique, but their life energy is inferior to that of large animals. If necessary, I can book a flight to Australia and refine the Philosopher's Stone using cane toads. We'll make up for the lack of quality with quantity."

Dumbledore patted Horatio's head with relief. "Good child, I'll keep this book for you. I'll return it when you're a bit older. In return, I can grant you one small wish."

Horatio waved his hand indifferently, as the system had a backup of the item and could extract it anytime.

"Now, child, get ready. I'll take you to Diagon Alley to buy your school supplies. I suggest you say goodbye to Sister Marilyn. Given your current situation, I think it would be best to find a guardian to keep an eye on you."

"Alright. I'll write a letter to Sister Marilyn later. Oh, and one more thing: I don't have any money."

"It's alright. The Ministry of Magic has a scholarship loan for new students. It's not a large amount, but it's enough..."

Before Dumbledore could finish, Horatio tapped the bedside table with the Philosopher's Stone. The wooden bedside table instantly turned into gold. "I think I have money now."

"..."