While Charles was sighing to himself about how wise, powerful, kind, and generous Minister Fudge was, Dumbledore looked at Charles’s seemingly bottomless appetite.
After being completely dumbfounded for a moment, he also couldn’t help smiling in amusement.
“Normally, when Hogwarts determines which house is most suitable for a child, we take many different factors into consideration.”
“Sometimes, the final result can be quite unexpected.”
“But after seeing you, Charles, I can say with certainty that no house is more suitable for you than Hufflepuff.”
“I imagine our dear Minister Fudge is probably bleeding internally right now.”
As he spoke, Dumbledore took out a thick envelope and handed it to Charles.
The envelope bore the crests of a lion, an eagle, a snake, and a badger.
It was the Hogwarts acceptance letter that countless children who had read Harry Potter in Charles’s previous life had dreamed about.
“Although it’s a little late, and this isn’t exactly the most appropriate place for it, you should still open it and have a look.”
Dumbledore blinked.
Charles opened the envelope as well.
Inside was the classic passage that he could practically recite from memory, along with a long list of items he would need to purchase.
Charles began reading it carefully.
Dumbledore patiently waited beside him, a delighted smile on his face at the thought of a new student about to enter Hogwarts.
What Dumbledore could never have imagined, however, was what Charles was thinking about at that moment.
“It’s 1991.”
“I remember that Harry Potter enters Hogwarts this year in the original story.”
“In other words, Harry Potter and I will be in the same year.”
“Heh.”
“This is going to be fun.”
Charles had no particular interest in getting involved with the original plot or personally experiencing Dumbledore’s little games of playing house.
But he certainly had plenty of interest in some of the things that would appear throughout the story.
For example, the Philosopher’s Stone that would appear at Hogwarts this year.
It was a legendary alchemical object in the magical world, and the magical power contained within it was enough to create the Elixir of Life.
If he could eat the Philosopher’s Stone…
How many Deduction Points would that be worth?
And before reaching the stage where the Philosopher’s Stone was hidden, there were plenty of appetizers as well.
The three-headed dog.
That was an extremely rare magical creature.
Three rolls in the pot and even an immortal would fall over from the aroma.
It should taste pretty good, right?
Then there was Devil’s Snare.
When Charles had watched the original movie, he had always felt that the thing looked a little like spicy strips.
It would probably be pretty good dipped in some chili powder.
There were also the potions painstakingly prepared by Snape, a master of potion-making.
They would surely provide a considerable number of Deduction Points.
And in the following years, there would be Dementors, dragons, and all sorts of other things.
There were also so many Acromantulas in the Forbidden Forest.
If he raised them properly, there would be more than he could ever finish eating.
And that wasn’t even mentioning the thousand-year-old Basilisk hidden in the Chamber of Secrets…
Just thinking about all of it nearly made Charles drool.
Although his total Deduction Points had already climbed back to one hundred thousand, Charles still considered that nothing more than a drop in the ocean.
It was nowhere near enough.
There were countless spells in the magical world.
If he wanted to become reasonably versatile, he would need to master at least seven or eight spells, right?
Even if they were all low-level spells like Lumos, developing them to a level where they possessed truly terrifying power would require at least a million Deduction Points.
And the more advanced the spell, the more dramatically the required Deduction Points increased.
It was practically a bottomless pit.
No matter how many points he had, it would never feel like enough.
Charles was already impatient to get to Hogwarts and feast to his heart’s content!
But before he could feast…
Charles felt that the most important thing was to guarantee his own safety.
Otherwise, he might not even get the chance to eat anyone else before someone turned him into a spicy strip and sucked him dry.
For that reason, he needed greater strength!
And for Charles, the simplest way to become stronger was to obtain another spell and have Deep Blue deduce it.
Speaking of spells…
Was there any wizard in front of him who knew more spells than Dumbledore?
Thoughts flashed through Charles’s mind.
He put down his acceptance letter and sighed.
“Headmaster Dumbledore, according to what you said, this letter should have been delivered on my eleventh birthday.”
“It was probably brought by an owl, right?”
“What a pity that I never got to see it.”
“I suppose owls can’t deliver mail into Dark’s underground chamber.”
Charles shook his head, his expression filled with regret.
Dumbledore’s heart tightened.
Guilt immediately appeared in his eyes.
He had almost forgotten.
The eleventh birthday of the child standing before him had been spent in a dark underground chamber, under the abuse and terror inflicted by an utterly vicious Dark Wizard.
What kind of shadow must that have left behind?
Dumbledore looked at Charles with affection and spoke softly.
“I’m terribly sorry, Charles.”
“You missed such an important moment.”
“But perhaps I can make up for your birthday.”
“I can give you a gift.”
“Is there anything you would like?”
“I swear in the name of Albus Dumbledore that as long as it is within my power, I will find it for you.”
Charles, however, spoke with a determined expression.
“Headmaster, then I want you to teach me a spell.”
“A spell that can drive away darkness and protect myself and the people around me.”
“I don’t want something like this to happen again.”
“If I ever face something like this in the future, I want to have the ability to stop it.”
Hearing Charles’s words, Dumbledore’s eyes lit up with admiration.
He had originally thought Charles might ask him for some strange or unusual object.
Instead, Charles wanted a spell.
This made Dumbledore feel that perhaps his earlier judgment of Charles had been a little too hasty.
This child possessed the qualities of a Hufflepuff.
But he also had a Gryffindor side.
After his initial surprise, Dumbledore smiled.
“A spell that can drive away darkness and protect yourself and others?”
“Of course.”
“To boast a little, I might be one of the wizards in the world most skilled in that particular field.”
“There is a spell called the Patronus Charm that would be very suitable for your request.”
“But the Patronus Charm is still far too advanced for a child who hasn’t even entered Hogwarts.”
“So how about this?”
“I’ll first teach you another spell that is extremely effective against Dark creatures and Dark Wizards.”
“Once you’ve mastered it, I’ll teach you the Patronus Charm.”
“It will be somewhat difficult at first, but don’t become discouraged.”
“Keep practicing.”
“Given about a school term, I believe that with your famous intellect, you’ll certainly be able to learn it.”
With that, Dumbledore raised the Elder Wand.
Charles immediately felt something like an invisible domain spreading outward from Dumbledore’s body.
It carried a warm and sacred sensation.
Within this domain, it seemed as though all evil was incapable of approaching.
It would simply be driven away.
Dumbledore explained,
“This spell is called the Banishing Charm.”
“It was originally developed to counter the evil magic possessed by Dark creatures and Dark Wizards.”
“Later, some wizards developed the Muggle-Repelling Charm based on it.”
“After the creation of the Patronus Charm, the Banishing Charm gradually saw less use.”
“But regardless, it remains an extremely effective spell against Dark creatures and Dark Wizards.”
“And the threshold for mastering it is considerably lower.”
Dumbledore then carefully explained how to correctly pronounce the incantation for the Banishing Charm and demonstrated the proper wand movement.
After a while, Dumbledore looked at Charles, who was still deep in thought, and smiled.
“All right, Charles.”
“This isn’t a spell that a first-year wizard can learn in a short amount of time.”
“Come along.”
“I’ll take you to Diagon Alley to purchase some of the things you’ll need…”
As Dumbledore stood up and prepared to leave, a strange expression appeared on Charles’s face.
Difficult to learn in a short amount of time?
It would take an entire school term?
Headmaster Dumbledore…
That could only mean that you didn’t understand what a cheat was.
The next moment, Charles silently spoke inside his mind.
“Deep Blue, deduce the Banishing Charm.”
(End of Chapter)