You Really Are a Little Genius

"Jerry?"

About ten minutes after Jerry closed his eyes to rest, a somewhat surprised voice suddenly came from nearby.

He slowly opened his eyes and turned to look outside the compartment.

A little girl with bushy hair, dressed in a simple knit sweater and jeans, stood in the corridor with a slightly surprised expression, struggling to drag a large suitcase behind her.

It was Hermione Granger, the little witch he had met once in Diagon Alley.

"Ms. Granger, we meet again!"

Jerry smiled and greeted Hermione. Then his eyes flickered, and he stood up to take the suitcase from her.

"There are still seats here. Sit with me!"

"Thank you!"

Seeing Jerry casually place her heavy suitcase onto the rack above the compartment, Hermione quickly thanked him.

As a Little Wizard born into a Muggle family, Hermione had left her parents behind to travel alone to the mysterious Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. On the surface, she seemed very strong, even often using a slightly arrogant tone to disguise herself, but deep down, how could she not feel a little uneasy and afraid?

After all, she was only eleven.

Though she would turn twelve in eighteen days, twelve was still just a little girl's age—especially for someone traveling far from home alone for the first time.

Now, on this train bound for Hogwarts, meeting the only Wizard her age that she knew made her uneasy heart suddenly settle down a little.

Hermione's proud, stubborn personality and outstanding academic performance had left her with very few friends at Hogwarts. Even when she attended a Muggle primary school, she had barely had any friends.

And Jerry was currently the only person who made her feel that he did not dislike her during their conversations, someone suitable to be friends with.

"Wow, what a beautiful kitty! Is it your pet?"

After Hermione sat down and saw Crookshanks lying inside the compartment, snoring away, her eyes instantly turned into hearts.

Her expression seemed to say:

"Isn't this the cat of my dreams?!"

"Beautiful?"

Jerry glanced at Crookshanks' persimmon-cake face, which looked as though it had run headfirst into a wall, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

He had to admit that Crookshanks was a very good cat. It was extremely self-sufficient and hardly required Jerry to worry about anything. Most of the time, it could even handle its own meals, and sometimes it would bring Jerry a little something too.

It was also very smart and never pooped in the room.

But if anyone said it was pretty, Jerry really could not agree.

All he could say was that people's tastes were not always the same. Like Bull Terriers, the kind that looked like Sun Honglei; Chihuahuas, the kind that looked like aliens; and Cornish Rex cats, the kind that resembled Lord Beerus.

Though these pets were considered rather ugly by most people, plenty of people still thought they looked extremely cool.

So every radish had its hole. Hermione happened to be completely taken with Crookshanks' looks, and there was nothing anyone could do about that.

"Here, take her. Didn't Miss Granger buy a pet?"

Jerry picked up the soundly sleeping Crookshanks and handed her directly to Hermione.

Hermione quickly accepted her gently and held her in her arms.

Crookshanks, disturbed from her sleep, unhappily twitched her whiskers. But when she sensed Hermione's overwhelming goodwill toward her, she peacefully drifted back to sleep.

"Just call me Hermione. When I bought my books at the bookstore, aside from the required textbooks, I also bought a lot of extracurricular magic books, so I didn't have enough money left to buy a pet!"

Hermione gently stroked Crookshanks as she replied with some regret.

That answer was so Hermione!

To become such an exceptional academic, Hermione not only possessed talents beyond the reach of ordinary Wizards, but also diligence and hard work that most Wizards her age lacked.

"So, Hermione, you must have learned quite a bit about magic in advance?"

Jerry's tone carried a hint of praise.

Hermione immediately raised her little chin proudly.

"Of course! Not only have I memorized all the first-year textbooks, but I also tried several spells at home, and every one of them worked. I've also finished reading Modern Magic History, The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts, and Important Magical Events of the Twentieth Century."

"Wow, you really are a little genius!"

Jerry could not help letting out a sigh of admiration.

He was not being sarcastic. It was sincere praise from the bottom of his heart.

Setting everything else aside, simply memorizing all the textbooks within a month was already proof of extraordinary memory.

Jerry had also memorized the textbooks for four subjects, but that was entirely due to the panel's Mind Refresh function.

Back when he had been in school in his previous life, let alone previewing and memorizing the next semester's textbooks, even spending the two-month summer break reviewing and memorizing the classical poems and ancient prose from the previous semester had not been easy.

After being praised twice in a row by Jerry, Hermione was delighted inside, but her little face also turned slightly red.

After all, she was young. Being praised so much was bound to make her a little embarrassed!

With Hermione's arrival, Jerry no longer continued resting with his eyes closed. Instead, he happily chatted with Hermione.

Of course, their conversations mostly revolved around all kinds of magical knowledge from the textbooks.

Although Jerry had used Mind Refresh to memorize books such as Magical Theory and The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1, and had learned all the first-year spells within them—spells he could certainly cast far more skillfully than Hermione—that did not mean he had fully grasped everything in the textbooks.

It was like a modern person suddenly receiving an ancient book written entirely in classical Chinese. Though he had memorized all its contents and could roughly understand, through his own interpretation, what sort of story it was telling, he would only understand the general idea. Without professional guidance and explanation, many detailed aspects would be impossible to comprehend.

Moreover, even when reading the same book and the same content, different people would not necessarily understand exactly the same things.

With Journey to the West, some saw the adventure of Tang Monk and his four disciples overcoming countless hardships on their journey west to obtain the scriptures. Some saw a spirit of daring to challenge the shackles of feudal hierarchy.

Others saw the schemes and power struggles hidden behind every event, the calculations of sages who used heaven and earth as a chessboard and all things as chess pieces.

And the worldly wisdom within it: every sentence concerned the affairs of immortals in heaven, yet worldly hearts driven by fame and profit could be seen everywhere.

But some people simply watched it for the monkey and all the beautiful female demons and queens.

That was why people needed to exchange ideas and learn from one another, so they could embrace all rivers and improve together.

With Hermione's talent, she had taught herself most spells, read a large number of magic books, and surely formed her own unique insights into magic in just the month before school began. How could Jerry gain nothing from discussing things with her?

That was also why Jerry had taken the initiative to invite Hermione into his compartment.