A Certain Scientific Harry Potter 11

"Your Royal Highness, you are too kind! I am the one who should be expressing my gratitude. I am truly thankful for the care you and your family have shown me!"

As he spoke, Harry kept his head lowered, not daring to meet the eyes of Prince Charles.

He felt guilty in his heart because, regarding what happened that night, he had ultimately chosen to keep the truth from the Prince.

After all, if the Royal Family were to learn that an Auror from the Ministry of Magic had dared to strike at the family of Prince Charles, it would surely cause a massive uproar throughout all of England!

Now that everything was about to settle, Harry truly did not wish to remain in the spotlight, so he could only apologize to the Prince's family in his heart.

However, he secretly made a decision.

That bastard Auror, John Dawlish, was someone Harry would not let off easily!

One day, Harry would personally drag that guy before the Prince's family and make him kneel to apologize to them!

At the same time, he would make him repent to all those ordinary people whom wizards looked down upon and felt they could manipulate and deceive at will!!

"It is getting late, you should be on your way." Checking the time, Prince Charles gave Harry's shoulder a final pat in farewell. "Harry, even though you have a new home now, remember to come back and visit often. Our family will always welcome you as a guest~"

"I certainly will!" Through the car window, Harry nodded earnestly at Prince Charles to promise him.

Regardless of what the Prince's true intentions were, Harry had received the greatest kindness and help from him during this time, so if circumstances permitted, he would naturally be happy to maintain a long-term friendship with the Prince's family.

The car slowly pulled away, the surrounding scenery flashing past. Before long, Harry arrived at his destination—the Granger home in the suburbs of London.

After getting out of the car, Harry found that Mr. Granger and Mrs. Granger were already waiting outside.

"Oh, you must be Harry. It is so wonderful that you could come!" Mrs. Granger excitedly stepped forward to take Harry's hand. "You know, we have been looking forward to your arrival for quite some time~"

"From now on, just treat this place as your own home." Mr. Granger spoke with full gentlemanly grace. "I can assure you, son, that we will surely spend some wonderful family time together."

"I am sure we will! Thank you both so much for taking me in... Uncle Granger, and Aunt Granger." Harry nodded gratefully, though he hesitated for a moment and chose not to change his form of address.

The Grangers clearly did not mind this. After enthusiastically helping Harry with his luggage, they began to discuss specific adoption details with the Prince's aide.

Taking this opportunity, Harry began to carefully observe the new family he was about to join.

The Grangers were typical of the English middle-class elite. Their manners were generous, their speech was proper, and every movement exuded gentility and elegance. While they did not quite possess the seemingly superior air of the blue-blooded aristocracy, they were certainly more than enough compared to those below them.

Their house was slightly larger than the Dursley home and also featured a two-story layout. The overall decor was not particularly luxurious, but it was exquisite and cozy in every detail, showing that the owners took great care in maintaining it.

The room they had prepared for Harry was on the second floor, right across from the couple's own bedroom, while their daughter, who was the same age as Harry, lived on the first floor.

"So... you are the Harry Potter everyone is talking about, the one who is supposed to be so amazing?"

A proud, somewhat overbearing voice came from behind him. Harry, who was busy organizing his luggage in the room, turned around and saw the final member of the Granger family.

She had a thick, bushy mane of brown hair, and her slightly protruding front teeth, combined with her current haughty, scrutinizing expression, made her look like a little lion cub baring its teeth.

"Mom and Dad have been praising you ever since they saw the news reports, but I think that if I had been in that situation, I definitely would have done better than you!"

"Perhaps..." Harry shrugged indifferently; he did not want to start a conflict with his foster parents' daughter the moment they met.

However, the young girl was relentless.

"Not perhaps, but definitely! Besides, I have looked into your situation. I am nearly ten months older than you, so you have to call me big sister!"

Confident light flickered in the girl's large, bright brown eyes, and from that, Harry read a hint of a desire to compete.

"Sorry... that is the one thing that is absolutely impossible!"

Are you kidding me? Harry's mind was that of an adult; he had no intention of playing pretend and calling a girl his own age "big sister"~

"Hmph, impossible? Then we shall see~" Not getting the answer she expected, the girl glared at Harry in displeasure, threw down a gauntlet, and turned to run downstairs.

She was an interesting little girl, Harry thought to himself.

Hermione Jean Granger...

Perhaps, life after being adopted would not be too peaceful after all~

Chapter 16: Tony the Hairdresser Will Absolutely Not Do It

"Little brother, come over here and wash my hair for me!!" In the morning, while the sun was shining brightly, a rather bossy shout suddenly shattered the original tranquility of the Granger home.

"..." However, the boy reading a book on the second floor did not move at all, as if he had not heard a thing.

"Little brother! Come here quickly, your big sister needs her hair washed!!"

"..."

"Harry, you stinky little brother!!!" After two consecutive calls yielded no results, the person blocking Harry's bedroom door finally blew her top.

"Hermione, I have been here for over a year now. Can you not face reality?" Lazily picking at his ear, Harry set down his book. "If you continue to use words like 'little brother' when addressing me, I will absolutely never respond."

"You! Harry, come over and help me wash my hair, is that better!" Hermione changed her tune quite quickly; clearly, she knew Harry's habits, and she had just been indulging herself.

"One week of homework, otherwise no deal~" Seeing that he had a business opportunity, Harry became a bit more serious and held up one finger to Hermione.

"Impossible, one day at most!" Hermione didn't even think before pushing the price to the lowest point.

She had actually learned this from Harry: no matter what you are negotiating, you must always start by asking for the lowest price possible; who knows, the other party might just agree~

Even if they didn't agree, it didn't matter; she could just add a little bit at a time.

In someone's words, this was a bargaining strategy.

"Don't try that with me, at least four days!"

See, you've caved in~

However, even though the original week-long workload had been cut by nearly half, the insatiable Miss Granger still wanted to push her luck a little further.

"Can we reduce it a bit more? Say, three days..."

"Door's closing, thank you!"

"Four days, four days is fine! I'll go wait for you in the bathroom~" Seeing that the deal was on the verge of falling apart, Hermione hurriedly agreed to Harry's previous terms, then scurried toward the stairs as if afraid he might change his mind.

But before she left, she couldn't help but make a face at Harry, refusing to admit defeat.

"Pfft, Harry, you're such a brat!"

"Heh~" Harry, who was just getting up to head downstairs, wore a rather intrigued expression on his face.

Hermione was still too impatient. She thought she had successfully slashed the homework payment by nearly half through her haggling, not realizing that there was no homework on Saturdays or Sundays, so Harry had actually only given her a one-day discount~

Of course, he could understand why Hermione was so desperate; her hair was truly difficult to manage.

Downstairs in the bathroom, Harry used a thermometer to keep the shower water strictly between 37 and 40 degrees. After thoroughly wetting Hermione's hair, he began to work the shampoo in with careful, rhythmic motions... yet this was only the first step.

Next, Harry had to use olive oil to nourish her scalp and roots, followed by a homemade conditioner made from egg whites to treat the strands, and only then would he finally rinse her hair clean.

This entire process took no less than two hours!

However, Hermione quite enjoyed the process.

In her view, knowing how to wash hair was one of the few redeeming qualities of this slightly "annoying" guy, Harry.

Although they had been living together for over a year, Hermione still felt she didn't like Harry—or rather, she didn't like him in the special way she liked her parents.

Harry had once captured the attention of all of England single-handedly. Hermione had expected him to be the type of child who was highly aggressive and stood out, but she later discovered that wasn't the case at all.

His grades were mediocre; he was neither outstanding nor at the bottom. He always aimed for a passing grade on exams and never cared to score a single point more.

He wasn't very talkative, rarely made friends, and even during his free time or on weekends, he didn't want to go out. Aside from the occasional visit to the Prince's family, he mostly spent his time reading or doing exercises that seemed completely meaningless to Hermione.

Running, push-ups, sit-ups, and so on... to Hermione, these exercises only served to make one strong in limb but simple in mind.

However, not long after, Hermione realized she was wrong.

Harry's brain was definitely not slow; he was just plain lazy!

For instance, he often scored exactly sixty points, but that wasn't because his ability was limited—it was because he only wanted to score sixty!

He particularly hated doing homework, even when teachers threatened him with expulsion, yet his grades remained remarkably consistent.

Moreover, Hermione discovered that for certain math and science problems, Harry seemed to possess many unique algorithms!

For example, a few days ago, when Hermione was struggling with a problem that required calculating the area of a triangle given the lengths of its three sides, Harry had glanced at it for less than a minute before providing the result, and it was completely correct!

(Harry: Pfft, she doesn't even know Heron's formula and has the nerve to call herself a top student~)

In short, once Hermione discovered Harry's hidden "secrets," she began to compete with him in various ways, both openly and covertly.

Hermione kept trying to provoke Harry, wanting him to show his true "strength" in his studies, but unfortunately, Harry never took the bait and continued to live his life as a carefree slacker.

Furthermore, Hermione noticed that Harry was truly skilled at winning over her parents.

He could cook, handle most household chores, read almost every book in the house, keep the garden in perfect order all by himself, and even help out at her father's clinic by organizing instruments and medicine!

The competitive Hermione had once tried to follow suit on a whim, and well... there was no "and then"~

The most infuriating part was that the brat Harry actually commented something about "specialization in different fields." This clearly meant he looked down on her, implying she wasn't cut out for these things, right?

What a joke!

She was the widely praised genius girl, Hermione Granger. Was there really anything she couldn't handle?

Well, actually, there was~

Hermione's hair was the one "enemy" she had never been able to defeat since birth.

Her hair was too dry and too thick. No matter how much she racked her brain to style it, it would always end up looking like a frizzy lion... and a male lion at that~

So, just as Hermione was at her wit's end with her hair, Harry, unable to watch any longer, stepped in...

Of course, he wasn't doing this out of pity for Hermione, but rather to use it as a bargaining chip to get her to do his damn homework~

Harry wasn't a beautician in his past life, but his line of work required him to have a deep understanding of the human body, so he knew a few ways to improve hair quality, which he just happened to put to use on Hermione.

After more than a year of this care, while Hermione's hair hadn't improved drastically, at least it could finally be tied up when needed.

"Harry, with this skill of yours, you'd definitely make a killing opening a hair salon in the future~" Enjoying the professional head massage from Harry, Hermione felt so comfortable she was about to fall asleep.

Therefore, as long as she paid the small price of ghostwriting his homework, she could enjoy a professional-grade head treatment that rivaled Tony the Hairdresser down the street, gaining both comfort and a significant improvement in her hair quality. This deal was simply too good to pass up~

"I'd rather inherit your father's dental clinic~" Harry shook his head noncommittally and draped a towel over Hermione's head. "It's washed, dry it yourself."

What a joke; he wouldn't be caught dead as a hairdresser. That would be a complete waste of the knowledge he'd brought with him from his transmigration.

Besides, his hands were far too precious. Did she really think he was willing to touch just anyone's hair?

Chapter 17: You Must Support the Original

"By the way, Prince William has some private matters and has invited me to stay at Highgrove House for a few days. I'll be heading out shortly, and I've already cleared it with your aunt and uncle."

Seeing that Hermione had started drying her hair by the window, Harry turned to leave, preparing to pack the things he needed for his trip.

"You've already told Mom and Dad, so why are you telling me?"

Hermione raised her eyebrows with indifference. Over the past year or so, Harry had visited the Crown Prince quite often, and the Granger family had even had the honor of paying a visit themselves, so she had long since grown accustomed to it.

However...

"A private matter? What is that?" Hermione was clearly curious about royal gossip.

"It's something you'd best hope you never encounter in your entire life~" Harry shook his head, though he didn't elaborate for Hermione.

Harry got along well with William, and he also had a harmonious relationship with the young Prince Harry, who shared his name. Now that William was feeling down due to family troubles, he couldn't just sit by and not go see him.

As for this kind of family trouble, Harry felt that Hermione would likely never encounter it, given that Mr. and Mrs. Granger had always been deeply in love.

"Tch, fine, don't tell me then. It's not like I'm dying to hear it anyway~" Hermione feigned impatience as she toyed with the ends of her hair. "If you're going, then hurry up! Also... remember to come back early~"

"Got it~" Harry nodded with a light chuckle and turned to pack his things.

He truly enjoyed this current state of affairs. Although Hermione was always fierce and overbearing with her words, she was actually very kind-hearted and cared for Harry just like family.

Having such a smart and proud younger sister was truly wonderful~

(Hermione: Nonsense! I am clearly the older sister!)

Hermione continued to bask in the sun by the window, while Harry finished packing and prepared to head out... yet, neither of them could have predicted what kind of impact the few days Harry was away would have on their future!

On the afternoon Harry left, a special letter arrived quietly at the Granger residence; and by evening, a mysterious figure wrapped from head to toe in a cloak gently knocked on the Granger family's door.

A few days later, Harry walked home alone, and thinking of Prince William's previous troubles, he couldn't help but sigh to himself.