Packaging Knowledge, the Diligent "Ravenclaw"

There were still many places to spend money ahead, and two hundred Galleons might be a bit tight. Two wands were enough for now, so he didn't bother buying a backup for the backup.

Before long, Harry's wand was also selected.

Perhaps because Tom's presence had changed Harry's personality, the wand that chose him was different too—it became the one Tom had tested at the start: eleven inches, cypress wood, unicorn tail hair.

As Harry paid, Ollivander said to him seriously, "You will do great things, Mr. Potter."

Tom: I feel like I heard that exact line a few minutes ago.

Does this old man say that to every young witch or wizard?

Leaving the wand shop, the rest of the itinerary was less drawn out: Madam Malkin's Robes, Patage's Cauldron Shop, Eeylops Owl Emporium...

Bags and parcels were bought up in a flash, but when it came time to purchase a pet, Harry still bought the white owl.

Tom stood in the shop for a look, then ultimately decided against buying a pet.

Owls were mostly used for delivering letters, and at other times served as a sort of emotional anchor. Tom didn't have much need for emotional support, so he didn't buy one. If he ever needed to send a letter, he could just ask Harry's Hedwig to make the trip.

After finishing that round, the last stop was Flourish and Blotts.

"What? You want all the textbooks for years one through seven?"

"Yes, miss. Please wrap them all up for me—second-hand copies." Tom placed his entire money pouch on the counter.

Hogwarts textbooks got more expensive as the years went up.

First-year textbooks might cost only sixteen Galleons total, but by third and sixth year, the price could jump to twenty-eight or thirty-two Galleons.

The price change wasn't because the books were thicker, but because the knowledge was more advanced—wizards had to pay for knowledge.

"Tom, there's no need to buy so many books at once. The professors make small changes to the required textbooks every year. If you buy this many, some might be useless next year," Dumbledore advised.

On the shopping trip so far, Tom had already spent fifty-three Galleons. If he bought all the textbooks for every year, the remaining one hundred and fifty Galleons would probably be completely drained.

How tight would his daily life be then?

He had given Tom two hundred Galleons at once precisely so that his student life could be a little easier, with less pressure, to prevent any dark thoughts from sprouting.

"But those are still knowledge, aren't they?" Tom replied matter-of-factly.

"I plan to read through all the books. Even if I don't understand the content, when the professors bring it up in class, I'll have some impression of it and grasp it faster."

"This..." Dumbledore wanted to persuade him further, but then he remembered the row of trophies and books on Tom's shelf.

Good grief, this kid's a grindset king.

Ravenclaw is going to love this child.

["Diligence" +100 progress, Impression Level reached Lv.2, Achievement Points +1]

The longer Dumbledore interacted with Tom, the more reassured he felt.

Once this child enrolled, he definitely wouldn't end up in Slytherin.

It wasn't that he had any prejudice against Slytherin, but Slytherin was where Voldemort had grown up. If this little Tom didn't go to Slytherin, then the likelihood of him becoming a third Voldemort in the future would drop significantly.

Ideally, he still hoped Tom would go to Hufflepuff—the only house in all of Hogwarts that had never produced a single Death Eater.

If Voldemort had grown up in Hufflepuff back then, he might have become Minister of Magic by now.

Because Flourish and Blotts frequently served Hogwarts students, the clerks knew the required textbook titles for every year of every grade.

When the clerk emerged again from the back of the shop, a thick stack of books sat on the cart behind her, but perched on her head was a leather-bound book thrashing about wildly, as if alive, biting fiercely into the clerk's scalp.

After the clerk forcibly removed The Monster Book of Monsters from her head and wiped the blood from her forehead, she began calculating the price of the remaining books one by one.

"That comes to one hundred and forty-four Galleons. Let's round it down—one hundred and forty Galleons."

"Please wrap them up for me, thank you." Tom promptly poured all the Galleons from his pouch onto the counter and pocketed seven back.

Good thing I bought second-hand. If I'd bought new, the price would probably have shot past two hundred Galleons.

"Bro, how about we switch to new books? I'll cover the Galleons," Harry said, a little unable to bear it.

"No need. New and second-hand are no different—they work the same." Tom shook his head and refused outright.

Yes, he was still building his persona.

Opportunities to be in close contact with Dumbledore were rare, so he naturally wanted to perform as much as possible, to reinforce the impression before they parted ways.

Based on his observations of the panel, no matter what persona he built, it only brought him positive benefits, so any persona would do.

Besides, aside from being a bit more worn, second-hand books far surpassed new ones in content.

Most second-hand books came from Hogwarts graduates. As long as they were students, most had the habit of taking notes, especially on books that looked particularly battered—the more worn the book, the more detailed the notes.

Take that Half-Blood Prince's book, for example.

If a second-hand book was too new, he wouldn't even want it.

Soon, Harry's books were also purchased, and Dumbledore's work for the day was done.

Before parting ways, Dumbledore took the two of them to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, bought three chocolate, raspberry, and chopped nut ice creams, and gave one to each of them as a reward.

It's such cold weather, yet they're still eating frozen treats. The two children can handle it, but how can Dumbledore's old bones stomach this?

"These are your tickets." Dumbledore handed each of them a red ticket.

"September first, King's Cross Station, Platform 9¾."

Looking at the numbers on the ticket, Harry scratched his head.

"Old sir, how can a platform have three-quarters?"

Dumbledore only gave a mysterious smile. "You'll know when the time comes."

With that, Dumbledore waved his hand, then with an Apparition, vanished on the spot.

"Do these wizards really have to be so secretive about everything?" Tom couldn't help but complain.

In the original story, if Harry hadn't happened to run into the Weasley family, the train would have already left before he could find Platform 9¾.

Weren't these wizards afraid that Muggle children might get into trouble?

Oh well, at least today's haul was pretty good.

Tom's gaze gradually dropped, landing on that panel.

["Born Dark Lord" +2 progress... +5... +10...]

["Born Dark Lord" +10 progress, Impression Level reached Lv.2, Achievement Points +1]

[Current Achievement Points: 10 (one lottery chance)]

It had been a while since he showed up at the Leaky Cauldron.

Although people didn't dare talk about "You-Know-Who" in public, once they returned to the safety of their homes, they still dared to mention him in private.

Those wizards capable of knowing Voldemort's true name, though none were Dumbledore's equal, were mostly from the older generation—somewhat accomplished, somewhat influential.

So even with just small-scale word of mouth, [Born Dark Lord] quickly stacked to Lv.2, and the progress of that persona was still slowly rising.