Apparition—Professor, Can We Do That Again?

Under Charle's expectant gaze, silver light burst from the tip of the Elder Wand in Dumbledore's hand.

A silver phoenix with its head held high emerged from the glow. Spreading its long wings and trailing its lengthy tail feathers, it circled the hospital room several times before shooting out the window and vanishing without a trace.

A look of astonishment appeared in Charle's eyes.

Even though he had seen the Patronus Charm cast in films in his previous life, that shock was completely different from witnessing it firsthand now.

Dumbledore's Phoenix Patronus radiated a visible aura of power and nobility. Just like Dumbledore's terrifying talent and strength, it was utterly different from the Patronuses of the other wizards in the Wizarding World.

This made Charle look forward to it even more.

What would his own Patronus be?

At that moment, Dumbledore began explaining the conditions for casting the Patronus Charm.

Having just finished explaining the wand movement, Dumbledore had originally intended to elaborate on how the noble ideals behind the Patronus Charm—love, tolerance, and kindness—affected one's Patronus.

But just then, Dumbledore seemed to suddenly recall something. His expression changed abruptly, and he gave Charle an apologetic look.

"Sorry, Charle, I'm afraid today's lesson can only go this far."

"I remembered an urgent matter that must be dealt with immediately. Professor McGonagall will take you to buy your textbooks and Wand later."

With that, Dumbledore vanished from the spot with a sharp crack.

He had Apparated away.

A strange look appeared in Charle's eyes.

Dumbledore's departure had been far too hurried. What could have made him leave in such a rush?

Charle recalled that, in the original story, Gringotts had been robbed before Harry Potter enrolled at Hogwarts.

Quirrell, possessed by Voldemort, had broken into Gringotts in an attempt to steal the Philosopher's Stone and help Voldemort restore his body.

But Dumbledore had already made arrangements, moving the Philosopher's Stone away in advance. He had also planned to use it later to test Voldemort and put Harry Potter through a trial.

The only thing that could make the ever-composed Dumbledore rush off like this, without even sparing the time to say another word or two, must have been that matter.

Still, Dumbledore's hasty Apparition gave Charle an unexpected delight.

In his mind, images surfaced of Dumbledore casting the Patronus Charm and of Dumbledore Apparating away.

The Deep Blue System's mechanical notification immediately sounded.

"Detected knowledge available for deduction—Patronus Charm, Apparition."

"Proceed with deduction?"

Charle's delight was impossible to conceal when he heard the prompt.

This time, he had gained more than just the Patronus Charm from Dumbledore. He had also gained Apparition!

Honestly, in Charle's view, the Patronus Charm had an awfully narrow range of applications.

Even Dumbledore's Patronus could only truly shine when fighting Dark Creatures. Other than that, it had to obediently serve as a messenger.

With such limited uses, if Charle could not continue deducing it, its ridiculously high casting requirements would hardly be worth it.

But Apparition was unquestionably one of the most incredible forms of magic in the Wizarding World.

Not only was its barrier to entry low, but its effects were absurdly overpowered. A few turns and one could cross space itself; it did not even require a Wand. It was downright outrageous.

There might be the risk of Splinching, but compared to its ability to manipulate space, that risk was truly negligible.

He wondered who had developed Apparition. That person had definitely been a master of spatial magic in the Wizarding World!

If he carried out further deductions, he could probably develop even more spells involving space!

Unable to suppress the excitement on his face, Charle asked Deep Blue in his mind how many points it would take to deduce the two spells.

The answer, however, was like a bucket of cold water poured over him.

"The first deduction of the Patronus Charm requires 10,000 points."

"The first deduction of Apparition requires 50,000 points."

The Patronus Charm was manageable. Charle could grit his teeth and afford 10,000 points, considering he still had nearly 50,000 Deduction Points left.

But Apparition was outrageous. It required 50,000 points, and even adding up every point Charle currently had still left him a little short.

As for why it was so expensive, Charle could understand that.

Anything related to space was unfathomably profound no matter where it was.

Even subjects from Muggle disciplines, such as general relativity, consumed a great many points to deduce, let alone Apparition, which could directly transport a person through space.

Charle sighed.

"The first deduction of Apparition alone needs 50,000 points. If I go for a Second Deduction, it'll take at least a hundred thousand or even several hundred thousand. It's practically a bottomless pit."

"Deduction Points really aren't enough."

He began calculating what other channels could provide large amounts of Deduction Points, aside from reimbursements from the Ministry of Magic and Dak, who would return at some unknown time.

In the end, Charle's thoughts settled on the target of Dumbledore's hasty departure.

"Quirrell, the Two-Faced Man..."

"The Philosopher's Stone, Horcruxes—both are good things..."

Charle could not help licking his lips, a trace of heat flashing in his eyes.

"This year, Hogwarts has the Philosopher's Stone, and Ravenclaw's Diadem can be found in the Room of Requirement. I wonder how many Deduction Points eating those two will provide?"

"By then, it should be enough for three deductions of the Apparition spell, right?"

Just as Charle was calculating, another crack sounded outside St. Mungo's Hospital.

A stern-looking, neatly dressed witch hurried to Charle's hospital room. She was naturally Professor McGonagall, whom Dumbledore had mentioned would take Charle to Diagon Alley.

When she saw Charle, Professor McGonagall's eyes reddened slightly, and she gave him a hug.

"Poor child, to have gone through something so terrible."

"Don't worry. Once you go to Hogwarts, no one will ever be able to hurt you again."

Feeling Professor McGonagall's sincere concern, Charle nodded in thanks.

In the original story, Professor McGonagall could be said to be someone without a single stain on her character.

Fair and just without lacking compassion, she held absolute affection for Hogwarts students.

When it came to character, Dumbledore truly did not seem as reliable as Professor McGonagall.

A moment later, Professor McGonagall composed herself and reached out to take Charle's hand.

"Come, Charle. I'll take you by Apparition to the Leaky Cauldron and teach you how to enter Diagon Alley."

"This process may be a little unpleasant, so bear with it."

Then, with a loud crack, Charle immediately felt the world spin around him.

He finally understood what the original story meant by saying that Apparition felt like being flushed down a toilet.

Space twisted, and countless scenes flashed past and receded at breakneck speed. The sensation was more intense than the worst carsickness Charle had ever experienced in his previous life.

By the time they landed, Charle was dry-heaving.

But at that very moment, a notification from the Deep Blue System sounded in his mind.

"Because the host witnessed spatial distortion during Apparition, the deduction has obtained partial reference material. The points required for the first deduction of the Apparition spell have been reduced by 5,000."

Charle's eyes instantly widened. How had I forgotten about that?

The Deep Blue System did indeed possess the ability for unlimited deduction. It could deduce advanced mathematics step by step from elementary-school math.

But that consumed far more Deduction Points, because it was equivalent to creating an entirely new field from nothing.

If he obtained the relevant textbooks, however, that was equivalent to having reference material. He merely needed to learn from it.

That would greatly reduce the points consumed.

It seemed the same applied to spell deduction.

If he could acquire enough reference materials, or personally witness the spatial distortions of Apparition as he had this time, Deep Blue's deduction difficulty would decrease, and the points consumed would also fall considerably.

That was absolutely good news for Charle.

Meanwhile, Professor McGonagall waited beside Charle.

She seemed accustomed to the reactions of young wizards after experiencing Apparition and patiently waited for Charle to recover from his dizziness and nausea.

She even moved slightly farther away, lest Charle's vomit splatter onto her Robe.

Only after Charle straightened up did Professor McGonagall speak.

"All right, Charle. We've arrived at the Leaky Cauldron. Come with me, and I'll take you to Diagon Alley..."

In her view, a young wizard about to witness the Wizarding World would surely be unable to wait.

This time, however, Charle's reaction clearly caught Professor McGonagall off guard.

Charle had no intention of moving forward at all. Instead, he stood where he was and pleaded with Professor McGonagall.

"Professor, could you take me through Apparition a few more times?"

"I love riding Muggle Roller Coasters and Ferris Wheels. That spinning sensation is so exciting, and Apparition is way better than a Roller Coaster."

"It's fun! I love it!"