First Meeting with Hermione, Searching for Materials

At that moment, Charle paid no attention to the strange expressions of the young wizards' parents beside him. He was wholly focused on sucking the magic out of the brick wall facing Diagon Alley.

With every brick he sucked, the Deep Blue System in his mind chimed with a notification.

"Deduction Point +2..."

"Deduction Point +3..."

The increase in Deduction Points each time might have been small, but based on Charle's experience over the past ten years, it was already far more than ordinary food could provide.

Take the Deluxe Meal at the Leaky Cauldron, for example. It was a huge serving, but it was all ordinary food. Even eating ten portions might not earn him two or three Deduction Points!

Compared to that, the Deduction Points gained from the brick wall were actually quite substantial.

Most importantly, the wall was maintained and repaired by the Ministry of Magic. Once he drained its magic today, the Ministry would replenish it later.

Over time, this would become an endless source of income.

After passionately kissing every brick wall he could reach, Charle had gained roughly a thousand points.

Feeling that the magic inside was becoming a little precarious, and that if he kept sucking, it might not even be able to open the entrance to Diagon Alley, Charle finally left the wall reluctantly.

Just then, a doubtful voice sounded beside him.

"Charle Evans?"

Charle turned and found that it was the young witch who had been watching him in astonishment all this time.

She had bushy brown hair and slightly large front teeth, making her look a little like a squirrel. Her entire being radiated the air of a top student.

The moment Charle saw her, he felt a sense of familiarity.

Could this be Hermione Granger, one of the original Harry Potter trio?

But how did she know his name? And why did he seem to have met her somewhere before?

Hermione soon gave him the answer herself.

She stared at Charle with wide eyes, her gaze brimming with eager competitive spirit.

"You received a Hogwarts acceptance letter too?"

"That's wonderful! I've always wanted to beat you. I thought I'd never have another chance after coming to Hogwarts, but I never expected you to be going to Hogwarts too!"

"Just wait, Charle Evans. In the Wizarding World, I definitely won't lose to you again!"

Charle froze for a moment before suddenly understanding.

So, back in the Muggle World, he and Hermione had participated in competitions together.

Hermione might have been a top student, but there was no way she could have been a match for someone like him with cheats. Had she been thinking about defeating him just once ever since?

At this point, Hermione's parents, who stood nearby, also came to a realization.

This oddly behaving child was actually Charle Evans, the genius student their daughter had always talked about?

Oh, then it made perfect sense. Geniuses always had a few quirks.

They invited Charle as well.

"Charle, what a coincidence. So you know Hermione."

"Would you like to take a walk around Diagon Alley together?"

Hearing her parents invite Charle, Hermione's heartbeat quickened slightly, and a faint blush appeared on her face.

Ever since Charle had defeated her in their first competition, she had been paying attention to him.

As a top student, Hermione had her own pride, and she had wanted to win back some ground in the competitions that followed.

But there seemed to be an enormous gap between a top student and a genius. In every competition, Charle crushed every opponent with absolute dominance.

Later on, the competitions Charle participated in had already reached a level Hermione could not hope to attain.

From childhood until now, it was the first time Hermione had been so thoroughly outclassed by someone her own age. As a result, she had paid especially close attention to Charle.

Running into Charle in front of the brick wall at Diagon Alley this time truly gave her a feeling that it was somehow fated.

Sensing Hermione's expectant yet slightly shy gaze, Charle smiled faintly, then decisively refused.

"Sorry, I have some personal matters to take care of."

"Next time, definitely next time."

Then Charle waved goodbye to them, tapped a brick, and quickly passed through the entrance into Diagon Alley.

Watching Charle leave, Hermione's eyes showed disappointment, but she still forced herself to be comforted.

"He must really have something to do. Didn't he say so himself? Definitely next time. I'll invite him again the next time I see him."

Even so, Hermione still felt frustrated.

When it was time to enter Diagon Alley, she even pressed the wall brick with a little more force than before.

A thought emerged in her mind.

Perhaps she might run into Charle again in Diagon Alley later?

But the next moment, something even more frustrating happened to Hermione.

The entrance Charle had just passed through had vanished without a trace.

The brick wall seemed to have malfunctioned. No matter how Hermione took out her Wand and tapped the bricks, there was no response.

"What is this?"

"When the professor brought me here last time, she clearly told me that this brick wall was regularly maintained by the Ministry of Magic and would never have any problems. So why did it break down now?"

"Is this the result of the Ministry of Magic's maintenance?!"

Hermione glared at the brick wall indignantly, as if she could already see the Ministry bureaucrats occupying their positions without doing their jobs and cutting corners.

At that moment, after suffering one setback after another, Hermione had an idea.

If I become Minister of Magic in the future, I'll make sure nothing like this ever happens!

Meanwhile, Charle, who had entered Diagon Alley, had no idea Hermione was having such thoughts.

After shaking off Hermione's family, Charle let out a soft breath.

"Good thing I left quickly. Otherwise, she'd definitely have latched onto me. Then I'd be all tied up, and it would be inconvenient to do anything."

As for Hermione, Charle had quite liked her character when he watched the films in his previous life.

But come on, did anyone really bring their affection for a fictional character into reality?

An eleven-year-old brat, dating? Dating his ass!

Kids that age had a mountain of annoying problems. Charle found them irritating enough as friends. What normal adult liked babysitting children?

Dumbledore was old enough to know better, yet he still liked playing house with children and even took great interest in arranging all sorts of games. Charle had no interest in that.

Walking briskly through Diagon Alley, Charle soon arrived at the destination of his trip—Flourish and Blotts.

Since it could supply Hogwarts textbooks, it was practically the equivalent of Xinhua Bookstore in the Muggle World. It had a comprehensive selection of books, making it easy to find whatever he needed.

As it happened, when Charle used Deep Blue for deductions, having existing reference materials could greatly reduce the consumption of Deduction Points.

That was why he had come here first.

With Professor McGonagall beside him earlier, Charle had been unable to openly buy the advanced books he needed. Now, he could finally let loose.

After entering Flourish and Blotts, Charle quickly found the books he needed.

"Alchemy: From Introduction to Interment," "Potions: From Introduction to Interment," "Transfiguration: From Introduction to Interment"...

Besides those, there were also papers published by famous wizards.

For example, Dumbledore's "The Twelve Uses of Dragon's Blood," and "The Principles of a Potion for Suppressing Werewolf Impulses—Wolfsbane Potion," which had earned Severus Snape a Second Class Order of Merlin. The recent high-end achievements of the Wizarding World were all published at Flourish and Blotts.

However, this area was practically deserted. Many of the papers on the shelves had clearly not been touched in years.

A trace of unease appeared in Charle's eyes.

He was not sure whether these books and papers could truly serve as materials for Deep Blue.

If they could, the shortage of Deduction Points would be greatly eased!

After taking a deep breath, Charle carefully removed a copy of "The Twelve Uses of Dragon's Blood."

After flipping through it casually, Dumbledore's detailed explanation of the magic in Dragon Blood came into view.

Deep Blue immediately sounded notification after notification.

"Dragon Blood magic-related material acquired. When the host deduces knowledge related to dragons in the future, the required Deduction Points will be significantly reduced."

"Obtaining Dragon Blood samples or even live dragons for verification can further reduce the required Deduction Points."