Ultimate Deception, Unleashing Power Right Before Their Eyes!

The girl was beautiful.

Even under the gaze of Ian's eyes, which were as authentic as a "raw camera," not a single flaw could be found; she far surpassed the "beauty-filter warriors" he had once seen on entertainment platforms like Kuaishou.

Her skin was as fair as delicate porcelain covered in fresh snow, radiating a faint luster. Her exquisite face was filled with a cold, aloof temperament, made all the more ethereal by her platinum-blonde hair.

Golden light danced amidst the girl's locks.

"I have seen you before."

The girl's voice was youthful and crisp.

"Uh, I believe that must have been at Ollivanders Wand Shop; I bought my wand just before you did." Ian recognized the girl in front of him almost instantly.

Ollivanders Wand Shop.

He had nearly collided head-on with this girl's cold, haughty guardian.

"Is that so?"

The girl was noncommittal.

She kept her gaze fixed on Ian's face.

Her heterochromatic eyes shimmered with the luster of gemstones.

"Yes, that is so."

Ian raised an eyebrow.

He felt a bit embarrassed under her stare.

He couldn't help but feel that her gaze had never once left his face. There had been other young girls who stared at him like this before, but none of them had eyes quite as unique as the one before him.

Ian felt that her beauty was truly dazzling.

Even though he possessed a face that was a few degrees more handsome than Leonardo DiCaprio in his youth, he felt slightly inferior by comparison.

"Is there anything I can help you with? Kraft is out on business, so I am looking after this place for him for the time being." The girl finally shifted her gaze away.

The Kraft she mentioned was likely the owner of the bookstore.

"I would like to sell these three books back to him, and then choose some textbooks related to potions." Ian tried his best to make his smile appear gentle and sunny.

It wasn't that his adolescent heart was fluttering; after all, he possessed the soul and mind of an adult, so naturally, he couldn't have any thoughts about a ten-year-old girl.

Leaving a good impression.

It was simply to secure a good price.

Mm.

Underage members of the opposite sex or whatever.

How could they possibly compare to the charm of a Galleon!

"Selling books and buying books, of course, that is no problem."

The girl's gaze fell upon the three books Ian was holding against his chest—books in the wizarding world were thick and wide, covering most of his chest area.

"So, you are the little wizard Kraft spoke of who doesn't know his own limits."

The girl saw the titles on the books and looked back at Ian with an expression of surprise.

From her rather rude remark.

It was not hard to tell.

Clearly, Ian had become a regular punchline for the bookstore owner.

"..."

Ian's smile stiffened considerably.

"My apologies."

The girl realized at this moment that what she had blurted out was inappropriate, and she hurriedly stood up to apologize to Ian as if she had done something wrong.

"Clatter~"

The book that had been resting on her lap fell to the floor.

The girl immediately scrambled to squat down and pick it up. Even in such a flustered state, she did not forget to offer Ian a sincere explanation.

It seemed somewhat inconsistent with the coldness of her appearance.

"I did not mean to mock you; those were Kraft's exact words, I was merely repeating his expression... er, though I suppose he was indeed mocking you."

Good grief!

Your explanation was worse than not explaining at all!

"Runes are indeed a bit difficult for me."

Ian forced himself to maintain his smile. He had not expected that while this girl appeared cold and arrogant on the outside, she gave him an indescribably bizarre feeling when conversing.

"Yes, that is the case for me as well."

The girl placed the book she had picked up onto the table and took the three books Ian handed to her. It was only then that Ian noticed the girl's previous book was also related to runes.

Analysis and Research of Runes

A title he had never heard of.

Or perhaps, this wasn't even a book at all.

Most book covers featured gold-stamped, printed titles, but the title on the girl's text was written in handwritten quill ink.

Could it be a notebook?

Regardless, it was certainly more advanced than the basic goods Ian had purchased.

"It belongs to the third-year elective courses; I was just a bit curious," Ian sighed with a feigned air, not showing off the fact that he had already mastered the basics.

Although at Hogwarts, one rarely had to worry about being targeted for standing out, Hogsmeade Village was, after all, a mixed bag of people.

Playing the fool to catch the tiger wasn't Ian's style, but being an attention-seeker at the wrong time wasn't his habit either.

"Are you a first-year student at Hogwarts?"

The girl's eyes sparkled.

"Yes, Ian Prince. If nothing goes wrong, we should be classmates, right?" Ian remembered that this girl had also purchased her wand only a short while ago.

"Perhaps. The Headmaster hasn't approved my enrollment application yet... My name is Aurora Grindelwald."

The girl seemed visibly nervous as she introduced herself. Her heterochromatic eyes were fixed on Ian, leaving him feeling somewhat bewildered.

Was she waiting for a handshake?

Thinking of this, Ian raised his hand toward her.

The girl was clearly taken aback for a moment.

Then, she hurriedly raised her hand to shake his.

"That's a very nice name."

Ian offered a habitual, polite remark. He felt the surname was somewhat familiar, yet he couldn't quite place where he had heard it; it felt as if it were hidden behind a veil just at the edge of his memory.

"Thank you. You have quite a lot of courage, too."

The girl named Aurora seemed to breathe a secret sigh of relief.

Her words left Ian feeling confused.

Noticing Ian's puzzled expression, Aurora's eyes darted away, and she quickly looked at the three books Ian had placed on the table.

"Kraft said that if you came to sell books, I could buy them back from you for three Galleons."

This was clearly a change of subject.

However, Ian didn't notice it.

He only felt a wave of disappointment.

The old man actually gave specific instructions. Ian had originally intended to tell a little lie to secure a higher buy-back price, but he hadn't expected the bookstore owner to be so airtight.

"I kept them in great condition, and I only read them for a few days. Perhaps they are worth four Galleons!" Ian still tried to probe, unwilling to give up.

Unexpectedly.

"You have a point. Then four Galleons it is."

The girl, Aurora, nodded and agreed so readily that Ian was left at a loss.

"Uh... then could you get me some second-hand textbooks on Potions?" Ian had to swallow back the long list of arguments he had prepared.

"Alright, I remember Potions is in..." Aurora looked around at the messy piles of books everywhere, her eyes beginning to glaze over in confusion.

"I'll find them myself."

Seeing her embarrassment, Ian—who was already quite familiar with the shop—quickly dug out the Potions textbooks for years one through seven from the scattered piles.

"How much?"

Ian looked at the stack of books that reached nearly half his height, feeling a bit anxious. He wasn't sure if the money left in his pouch, combined with the proceeds from selling his rune books, would be enough to cover the cost.

Damn this monopoly on knowledge!

This corrupt Wizarding World!

Was there no "Boss Lei" of the wizarding world who could step up and drive down the prices of magic books?

"Let me see..."

Aurora tried to check the prices on the back of the books, but since these were old textbooks, the price tags on most of them had long since worn off or been torn away.

The cold-looking young girl now looked as if she had turned into a cartoon character with dot-eyes.

"How much do you think they are worth?"

After a long silence.

Aurora feigned composure as she tentatively tested the waters.

"I think... one Galleon?"

Ian responded, upholding the belief that one is invincible once they shed all shame.

"Hiss, if Kraft finds out about this price, he'll surely jump up in anger and slap... slap his own face!" Aurora gasped, drawing in a sharp breath.

Her strange description left Ian feeling baffled once again. However, now was clearly not the time for Ian to ponder why Kraft wouldn't just slap Aurora instead.

"I'm not buying it; I'm renting it. I'll return it in the end."

Of course, Ian didn't dare actually spend just one Galleon to take home a book worth far more than that. He figured that if he bought a quill, he could certainly copy down the contents of the books.

Quills in the wizarding world were capable of automatic transcription, after all.

"He'll find out, won't he?"

Aurora's tone was filled with hesitation.

Renting books?

The shop didn't seem to have any such service.

"There are countless books here, and he only took over a few months ago. It's obvious he's never organized the inventory, so how would he know you rented a few out for a pittance?"

Ian lowered his voice.

He began his most practiced "rational" analysis. It wasn't that he couldn't afford to buy them, but renting was certainly more cost-effective; after all, the knowledge a single book could provide was truly limited.

He was destined to need many, many books.

"Think about it. He's too lazy to even cast a simple organizing charm, which proves your elder doesn't care about these books. I, on the other hand, am a book lover who treasures knowledge like a precious gem."

"Miss Grindelwald! You must understand this principle! The purpose of knowledge is for people to learn, not to rot slowly in a corner until it eventually turns into a pile of dust!"

Ian had already honed a flamboyant tongue back when he set up his fortune-telling stall. His brainwashing attempt made the young girl named Aurora widen her eyes.

Her expression was one of utter astonishment.

The way she looked at Ian was filled with awe.

"I admire your eloquence, but Kraft definitely won't agree. He cares very much about Galleons." Aurora hesitated for a moment before shaking her head.

"I don't deny that, but clearly, neither you nor I know the selling price of these books, do we?" Ian snuck a furtive glance at the front door.

He then put on an incredibly sincere expression.

"As a customer, I certainly don't want to be at a disadvantage."

His words made Aurora nod in agreement.

However.

"But I don't want to be at a disadvantage either."

Aurora's delicate face was written with seriousness.

"That goes without saying."

Ian's expression remained unchanged, his smile still in place.

"I don't want to lose out, and you don't want to lose out. So, let's talk about this book rental business. How about we inconvenience your elder, Mr. Kraft, just a little bit?"

"May I ask, is he your grandfather or maternal grandfather?"

Ian

"Of course not."

Aurora shook her head.

"He is one of my guardians."

The young girl seemed unwilling to reveal anything more.

However.

It didn't really matter.

"Well, a guardian works too. Trust me, he won't know which books are missing from the shop. I can even offer three Galleons for you to hide away as pocket money."

Ian revealed his true colors.

He had deployed the most wicked tactic for dealing with a child.

"!!!!!"

Aurora's expression suddenly became very animated. She gasped, and the look she gave Ian was filled with an indescribable sense of disbelief.

"You actually want to bribe me?"

Aurora's voice carried a hint of incredulity, and perhaps a little excitement?

"This isn't bribery, Miss Grindelwald; this is a transaction between you and me." Ian corrected her with a straight face, continuing in an even lower voice.

"I will return the books secretly. When that happens, it will be a win-win situation where nothing ever happened. I gain the knowledge I want, and you gain Galleons that can buy plenty of Chocolate Frogs."

"Perhaps you'd prefer some Lemon Sherbets and Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans?" Ian felt that no child could resist the temptation of snacks.

As it turned out, he was right.

Aurora's expression wavered quite noticeably. The cold, aloof temperament brought on by her appearance seemed to dissipate significantly in that moment.

"I don't know if this is the right thing to do, but I don't think I've ever acted so rebelliously before. Perhaps this is what my grandfather meant when he said there were things I needed to learn at Hogwarts?"

Aurora seemed to be talking to herself.

"Learn what?"

Ian asked out of curiosity.

The beautiful young girl looked up at Ian.

She spat out two words.

"Cunning."

She delivered her concluding judgment.

"..."

Ian somewhat regretted his loose lips for asking.

However, fortunately, things did not deviate from his expectations.

"I can agree to this deal with you."

Aurora had been persuaded by Ian after all. Or perhaps it wasn't the Galleon that convinced her, but rather the feeling that such behavior might allow her to obtain the things she desired.

Hmm.

It was hard to imagine someone actually wanting to become cunning.

"A wise choice!"

Ian was somewhat excited.

"Here."

Aurora took out a piece of paper.

On it, she had recorded the names of every book.

Following that, she took a Galleon from the counter and handed it to Ian—this was the remaining money from the buyback of the previous three books, after deducting the three-book rental fee.

"Thank you! This is a huge help to me!"

Ian thanked her sincerely. If his wallet hadn't been so tight, he wouldn't have tried to swindle a little girl, but alas, a single penny can defeat a hero.

He hadn't expected that the textbooks for seven years would amount to dozens of volumes before he arrived, and given Professor Mara's situation, he would surely need countless more books in the future.

"You're welcome."

Aurora replied in a crisp voice.

Suddenly, she asked out of the blue.

"Does this make us accomplices?"

For some reason, he felt a hint of excitement in the little foreign girl's voice.

"We're friends."

Ian replied with a smile.

"Friends?"

Aurora's eyes became a bit vacant again.

However, they quickly refocused on the books.

"To be honest, I don't suggest you invest too much effort into studying Potions; it won't bring you much in the way of powerful strength," Aurora offered her advice earnestly.

"It's just an interest."

Ian began stacking the books one by one so he could carry them back. At this moment, Aurora walked to the corner and took a book out of a white satchel.

"My grandfather reminded me that to make like-minded friends, one must win them over. I think this will suit you." Aurora walked toward Ian, holding a book with a very expensive-looking cover.

"What is this?"

Ian was already holding a stack of books, and he watched as Aurora placed that book on top of the pile, which was already well above his head.

"I have a gift; I can feel that it is very suitable for you... far more suitable than it is here with me." Aurora's heterochromatic eyes gazed once more at Ian's face.

"Thank you."

No matter what it was.

After all, they were someone else's gifts.

Ian felt a peculiar sense of pressure emanating from her heterochromatic eyes.

"I'm heading back. See you in a couple of days."

Ian prepared to make his escape.

"You are the most manipulative person of our age I have ever met. You shouldn't be living here; you belong in Azkaban. You'll probably be thrown in there for fraud sooner or later."

Aurora waved goodbye, though her words were a heartfelt lament. As always, she was blunt and unfiltered, speaking exactly what was on her mind.

"I'll take that as a compliment. Azkaban isn't so bad, really. But if I had to choose, Azkaban is just for advanced studies; Nurmengard is where you truly graduate."

Ian joked.

He struggled to carry the towering stack of books toward the main entrance. If not for the physical stamina granted by his [Free Combat] skill, his small frame would never have been able to hold so many volumes.

"You know about Nurmengard?"

Aurora, who had settled back deep behind the counter, looked up in sudden surprise.

"It's the place where the first Dark Lord was imprisoned. I know that much—yes, it's probably recorded in the textbooks. I'll check the name when I get back tonight."

Ian knew these facts were documented in A History of Magic.

It was just that he had been too busy studying Runes lately to flip through any of the other first-year Hogwarts textbooks besides The Standard Book of Spells: Grade 1.

The information he was currently citing came from the movies he had watched and a few Hermione fanfictions he had read before transmigrating. His memories hadn't yet blurred with the passage of time, and he occasionally saw mysterious figures mention the name "Nurmengard" in the chapter comments of those fanfictions.

For instance, during the Sorting.

Or when the protagonist killed someone.

Some mysterious person would always shout to send the protagonist to Nurmengard.

"Gellert."

Aurora spoke in a low voice.

"Uh, is that it?"

Ian kept walking.

"I don't think I could be wrong about this. His name is Gellert... Grindelwald." Aurora's words fell slowly.

Ian stopped in his tracks.

The fog of memory that had clouded his mind since his transmigration, as if he had been drifting for too long, suddenly cleared away.

Damn it!

No wonder!

No wonder the name Grindelwald sounded so familiar!

Before he transmigrated, wasn't there a spin-off movie related to that name in development? Hiss! He had actually been stupid enough to call someone a Dark Lord right in front of their own family!

"Miss Grindelwald..."

Ian turned his head with great difficulty to look behind him.

He found the young German girl watching him with a haunting gaze.

"If I said 'Dark Lord' was a term of endearment, would you believe me?"

Ian forced a very strained smile.

"You should be grateful that Kraft isn't here."

Aurora suddenly seemed amused.

She raised her hand in a wave to Ian.

"But he'll be back soon."

It sounded like a warning.

Ian hurried off, clutching the books as he ran—panting all the way back to the small cabin Snape had arranged for him. After resting for a moment, he dumped the dozens of books onto the table.

Clatter!

A large pile of books spread across the surface.

Among them, the one from Aurora stood out the most—a strangely shaped book with a pitch-black cover streaked with purple, its appearance and texture entirely different from the other old textbooks.

Secrets of the Darkest Art

The title of the book seemed to possess a peculiar magic.

It appeared to writhe and twist.