A Certain Scientific Harry Potter

When he woke up again, Harry found himself lying in the school infirmary, and the first face he saw was his mother, Lily.

"Thank goodness, child, you're finally awake!" Lily rushed to the bedside in a flurry, looking at her son with concern. "How are you feeling now?"

"I'm fine, Mom... I'm sorry for making you worry." Harry shook his head apologetically, looking as if he had more to say. "Mom... I met Voldemort."

"I know, Dumbledore told me everything in detail... Harry, how could you be so impulsive?" Lily whispered, chiding him. "Dumbledore and all the professors were there, and your father and I were almost there too. How was it your place as a child to risk your life like that?!"

Lingering fear, yet mixed with deep pride—this was perhaps the contradictory state of mind Lily, as a mother, was experiencing at that moment.

"It won't happen again~" Harry flashed the smile he usually used to act cute after getting into mischief.

He was certainly not a person who liked to be impulsive, unless... someone touched his bottom line!

And what Voldemort had said earlier was the bottom line of all bottom lines!!

"Mom, I... I didn't actually defeat Voldemort, did I?" Mentioning Voldemort made Harry feel a bit dejected. "Voldemort said it was a lie... When I was one year old, it was actually that miracle that defeated him, the one that gave me this lightning scar. Today, I only escaped danger thanks to its power..."

"Yes, but also no." Lily smiled gently. "Voldemort was indeed not defeated by your own power, but if you look at it from another perspective, it was precisely because you are you that the lightning scar appeared. Child, that scar holds not just magic, but also intense emotion. That is the foundation you will rely on to truly defeat Voldemort in the future!"

Regarding the 'emotion' his mother spoke of, Harry did not yet have a very clear understanding, but this experience made him realize something else...

"Mom, after we go home, can you and Dad teach me more magic?" he asked, looking at his mother with anticipation.

"We can, but why so suddenly..."

"That's because our little man has something he wants to protect in his heart." A hearty male voice came from the infirmary doorway; Harry's father was arriving in the company of Dumbledore.

"Harry, you did a great job this time!" James nodded at his son with a satisfied smile. "Padfoot and Moony were both very happy to hear the news, but I didn't have them come over; there's no need to make such a fuss~"

"My godfather and the others... Right! That rat!" Harry suddenly remembered something and looked eagerly at his father, only to find that his father still wore a look of calm confidence.

"That matter has already been resolved, Harry. That rat was indeed the fugitive Peter Pettigrew, and he has now been locked in a specially made cell in Azkaban." It was Dumbledore who answered for him. "I must commend your keenness; I never expected that Pettigrew, who had been on the run for a full ten years, had been living with the Weasley family, and even spent most of his time at Hogwarts... I must also apologize to your family; it was my dereliction of duty not to have discovered this sooner."

"Professor, this is not your fault; you can't keep an eye on a rat all the time." James waved his hand hurriedly upon hearing this. "But Harry really did do well this time; I'm very proud of you~"

"Dad..."

"Haha! Lily, how about that? I told you our son would be outstanding! This is all because of your excellent teaching~"

"He's actually more like you, and Harry has always taken you as his role model~"

"Lily...", "James..."

"You two... could you please leave this infirmary?" Harry, who had just been feeling a bit touched, immediately had a vein pop on his forehead.

They started showing off their affection in public without a second thought; the Potters never had the self-awareness to be considerate of single people... especially when there were two of them in the room right now~

Fortunately, his parents didn't make Harry's teeth ache for too long, and they soon went off to find another corner to be lovey-dovey in.

Harry then took the opportunity to talk to Dumbledore about other matters.

"Professor, how is the Sorcerer's Stone now?" Harry was very concerned about the whereabouts of the object he had racked his brains to protect.

"Harry, I am truly grateful for what you did, but I must regretfully tell you... the thing you and your friends protected with all your might does not actually exist."

"What?!" Harry was stunned.

The Sorcerer's Stone... didn't exist?

"Missing... or more accurately, it was stolen. It was taken from the heavily guarded Gringotts vault without anyone noticing." Dumbledore explained softly. "My friend Nicolas Flamel seems to know some details, but he is unwilling to reveal too much."

"How could this happen..."

"Don't dwell on it too much, Harry." Dumbledore shook his head with a smile. "At least Voldemort didn't get it, did he? And for us, as well as the Flamels, the Sorcerer's Stone is not an important object. Besides, we didn't come away empty-handed; at least we now know that the security measures at Gringotts are not entirely foolproof. Moreover, the person who took the stone left me a note as a return gift..."

"A return gift... what was it?" Harry frowned in confusion.

"The note said that I could hire Gilderoy Lockhart to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor next school year." Dumbledore said with a beaming smile. "This is a very timely reminder; I was just worrying about not finding a suitable candidate to replace Quirrell~"

"Gilderoy Lockhart? Goodness, that is a very famous wizard, and the most popular author in the British magical world!"

At the end-of-year feast, when Harry reunited with his worried friends and told them the news about the next year's Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Hermione immediately had stars in her eyes and looked as if she wanted to jump right out of her seat.

Heh... Harry hadn't realized before that she was actually a hardcore fan~

In short, watching Hermione's expression, which was bursting with girlish excitement, Harry inexplicably felt a bit annoyed, and even the joy of winning the House Cup by a large margin was dampened quite a bit.

No, he had to investigate that guy, and he had to do something during the holidays!

With this thought in mind, just as the Hogwarts Express was about to pull into King's Cross Station, Harry suddenly shoved Hedwig's cage into Hermione's hands.

"Huh? You want me to take Hedwig back... but why?" The young girl was instantly bewildered.

"So you can write to me during the holidays~" Harry requested as if it were only natural. "Please, write anything at all, but you must write to me."

"So what exactly are you trying to do?"

"Heh~" Unlike the clueless Hermione, Neville beside them had already seen through everything.

A ploy, this was all a ploy~

(p.s. This side story chapter hints at the main plot~)

VI: Harry Potter, meeting the parents already?

After the holiday life began, Harry counted the days, and finally, on his 12th birthday, he got Hedwig back.

Truth be told, he had waited for this letter to the point of losing his appetite and sleep; even the cake at the Longbottom family birthday party didn't taste good anymore~

The moment Hedwig returned, Harry immediately scooped up his owl and headed into the living room, opening the letter right in front of his parents.

Although it was just a simple birthday greeting and some casual daily chatter, Harry read it over and over again, his expressions shifting constantly as if he were scrutinizing a collection of love poems rather than a thin piece of parchment.

"Oh? Harry, who is this letter from?" Seeing her son intentionally showing off in the living room for quite a while, Lily, who was busy tidying up, decided to play along.

"Heh heh, it's my girlfriend, of course. Why else would Hedwig be the one delivering it?" Harry replied with a beaming grin, his mouth stretching so wide his back teeth were practically visible.

Heh-heh-heh, how about that? I finally managed to show off for once, didn't I?

Clutching the letter to his chest as if afraid someone might see it, he scurried back to his room in a flash.

"Sigh, this child..." Lily let out a knowing smile behind his back.

"What's wrong? What was he looking at just now?" James, who was reading the newspaper, asked curiously.

"Our boy is reading a letter from his 'girlfriend'~" The amusement on Lily's face was practically overflowing.

"Ha, that little Granger girl, I assume?" James figured it all out in an instant. "Who else would be willing to raise an owl for him during the holidays?"

"That's not necessarily true," Lily shook her head in disagreement. "Our Harry is so outstanding; he certainly wouldn't be short on admirers at school."

"But the only one who's been inseparable from him is that clever girl," James said with a laugh. "Let's just let him amuse himself for a while, otherwise he'd be too pathetic... don't you think, dear?"

Truth be told, it was impossible for Harry to pull a fast one on the Potters with such a flimsy trick.

James figured that those little schemes were things he had already played out back in his own school days.

Harry: I'm going to school!

James: You don't have a girlfriend~

Harry: I have a girlfriend!

James: You don't have a wife~

Harry: I have a wife!

James: You don't have children~

Harry: I have children!

James: You don't have grandchildren...

So, facts proved that a father is always a father, and some people are destined to be shown up by their parents for a lifetime.

Of course, if Harry could really bring Hermione home as his wife, the Potters would absolutely give their full support.

After the first year ended, they had completely understood why their fifteen-year-old son had been so hopelessly captivated by Miss Granger.

Smart, independent, and confident, Hermione Granger was undoubtedly going to become an exceptional witch. The traits she possessed—including her Muggle-born status—were very similar to Harry's mother, so it was only natural that they would catch Harry's eye.

Throughout the holiday, Harry remained immersed in the joy of successfully "showing off" to his parents. Of course, he hadn't forgotten to investigate Gilderoy Lockhart, and that was how he learned the news that the man would be holding a book signing in Diagon Alley.

"Neville, Neville, let's agree to go to Diagon Alley together that day~"

"Tell me, you didn't write to anyone else before inviting me, did you?"

From this back-and-forth, it was clear that Neville understood his friend perfectly.

The moment he heard about the book signing, Harry had immediately written to invite someone else, putting his own best friend second...

Pah, shameful.

It was said that the men of the Potter family always had that nasty habit of prioritizing their romantic interests over everything else... Neville had been hearing about this nonsense from Harry's godfather and uncle for ten whole years.

But the problem was, Sirius and Lupin had watched James get snubbed for six years straight, so they found it quite entertaining. Why, when it came to his turn, did he have to endure six years of Harry and his "girlfriend" flaunting their relationship?

However, complaints aside, they still had to go to Diagon Alley. So, on the appointed day, the six of them—the Longbottoms and the Potters—met up in Diagon Alley.

As an aside, they also successfully met Hermione... and her dentist parents.

However, watching the Potters and the Grangers chatting happily, the Longbottoms felt a pang of regret for having "bad friends."

What was this? Did one need a third party as a notary just to meet the parents these days?

And it wasn't enough for the third party to just show up; they had to drag their whole family along too?!

"Neville... maybe we shouldn't hang out with some friends anymore..." Neville's father, the elite Auror Frank Longbottom, patted his son's shoulder earnestly.

His wife, Alice Longbottom, happened to be pulling her gaze away from a small alley next to Gringotts, though it was unclear what she had been looking at.

Soon, Gilderoy Lockhart's book signing began, and the famous author certainly knew how to create a buzz.

He spotted Harry in the crowd at a glance and, without a word, stuck to him, forcibly pulling Harry into various photos. Finally, he insisted on shoving a full set of his "masterpieces" into Harry's hands as a gift.

Harry was happy to accept such a gift delivered to his doorstep... and after leaving, he immediately turned around and presented them to Hermione.

"Here, for you. Not only is the autograph fresh, but it even has a personal dedication."

"Ah... but, I've already bought them..."

"Buying them just means you can use these instead, it makes no difference~" Before Hermione could object, Harry laughingly snatched the book bag from the girl's hands and stuffed the stack of books into her arms.

"This..." Hermione was stunned by Harry's actions. She really did want a set of signed books from Lockhart and wasn't sure if she would have been able to get in line, but Harry giving them to her so openly really left her at a loss.

What's more, both their parents were watching. If this were to be misunderstood...

"Potter, you didn't actually make her your girlfriend, did you?"

"Hmm..." The sudden voice made Hermione's cheeks burn instantly, but when she saw who it belonged to, her eyes widened in indignation.

Draco Malfoy of Slytherin—without a doubt, this guy was the arch-nemesis of Harry and his two friends over the past year!

"You must really love this, don't you, Potter?" Malfoy sneered. "I heard it's a family tradition of yours, always wanting to show off at every opportunity? As expected, the famous Harry Potter can't even step into a bookstore without making a huge scene~"

"Don't talk nonsense, Harry never thought of that!" Hermione immediately retorted.

"Oh~ so you're already dying to manage the affairs of the Potter family?" Malfoy drawled sarcastically, causing Hermione to flush red once again.

However, faced with Malfoy, who was clearly looking for trouble, Harry remained silent throughout.

He didn't quite know—or to be more precise, he was reluctant to refute it, because after all...

What Malfoy had just said was actually quite accurate~

Chapter 7: Harry Potter, the Exposed Diary

The minor incident at the entrance of Flourish and Blotts naturally drew the attention of the surrounding crowd. People stopped to watch with great interest, wanting to see how the direct confrontation between Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy would unfold.

These two boys—one carrying the glorious miracle of having once defeated You-Know-Who, the other the only son of the wealthiest pure-blood family—could capture the eyes of a crowd in an instant with their every move.

Of course, some people didn't care about families or factions at all.

For instance, a certain red-haired girl, described in the original story only as having delicate features, had been stealing glances at Harry ever since the start, not even daring to blink.

Moreover, she was actually the one most angered by the 'big talk' Draco Malfoy had just spewed...