Tom excitedly stumbled out from behind the bar and helped Charles carry his various bags and packages, personally leading him all the way to the best room.
If the wizarding world had anything like kneeling service, Tom would absolutely have arranged it for Charles.
Seriously, the customers who came to his pub for drinks were lucky if they ordered a plate of snacks to go with their alcohol.
Some customers even brought their own food.
Who would actually order an expensive luxury meal package?
If it weren’t for parents bringing their children during the back-to-school season to try out the place, Tom might not even sell a single luxury package in an entire day.
But Charles was staying here and would require eighty servings every day.
That alone was enough to multiply the Leaky Cauldron’s profits several times over.
What was the big deal about giving him a good room and the best service?
Tom even considered introducing his granddaughter, Hannah Abbott, to Charles and playing matchmaker.
The two children were the same age, after all.
Their relationship should be cultivated from childhood!
After bringing Charles into the room, Old Tom said,
“Mr. Charles, I’ll start preparing those luxury meal packages right away.”
“But that’s quite a large quantity, so I probably won’t be able to bring everything up immediately.”
“How about I bring you some snacks first to tide you over?”
Charles waved his hand.
“No need.”
“I brought my own.”
“Do you have seasonings like salt and pepper or ketchup?”
“Just bring me a few portions of those.”
Tom could only think that for a customer this generous, what did a few seasonings matter?
Any seasoning available on the market that he failed to provide would count as terrible service!
And so, Tom waved his wand.
The customers in the Leaky Cauldron immediately witnessed a bizarre sight.
One strange seasoning jar after another lined up in formation.
They danced their way upstairs like tiny tap dancers, heading toward a room on the second floor.
Salt and pepper.
Black pepper.
White pepper.
Ketchup…
The common seasonings were obvious enough.
Even seasonings containing magical ingredients were sent upstairs.
Tom even somehow pulled out a bottle of thick fermented bean sauce and sent that up as well!
After Tom delivered all the seasonings, Charles locked the door.
A blazing look appeared in his eyes.
“After working so hard for so long…”
“The moment of harvest has finally arrived.”
He pulled a broken wand from the bag.
Beech wood with a phoenix feather core.
“Hmm.”
“Phoenix feather.”
“Rebirth from the flames.”
“I need something with a little kick.”
Charles then dipped the wand into the chili powder Tom had provided and put it into his mouth.
Hiss!
Together, they created the sensation of eating an extremely spicy hotpot.
Refreshing!
Charles sucked on it several times before suddenly biting down hard.
Crack!
Crunchy and crispy.
It was almost like eating a French fry!
Immediately afterward, Deep Blue’s notification sounded.
“Deduction Points +2,200!”
The blazing look in Charles’s eyes became even more intense.
“One phoenix feather…”
“Something that was probably plucked God-knows-how-long ago and turned into a wand…”
“And it provides this many Deduction Points.”
“If I roasted an entire phoenix and ate it…”
“How many points would that give me?”
“Hundreds of thousands at minimum, right?”
“Dumbledore seems to have a phoenix named Fawkes.”
“From the original story, he always seemed a little dumb.”
“He should be pretty easy to trick…”
…
At the same time, inside the Headmaster’s office at Hogwarts.
Dumbledore was sitting with his eyes half closed, seemingly deep in thought.
The phoenix Fawkes was pacing back and forth on his desk.
Suddenly, Fawkes shuddered.
It seemed to have sensed some inexplicable chill.
Dumbledore felt something as well.
He opened his eyes, a solemn expression appearing on his face.
“Darkness is beginning to stir again.”
“Voldemort’s power is returning.”
“In the not-too-distant future, the wizarding world will once again fall into danger.”
“This bone-chilling feeling…”
“Fawkes, you sensed it too, didn’t you?”
Fawkes froze for a moment.
Then, with an extremely human-like expression of disdain, it turned around.
It pointed its phoenix backside directly at Dumbledore.
Clearly, it had no intention of entertaining him.
Dumbledore was stunned.
Then he could only smile bitterly.
He shifted his attention away from this little episode and returned to his plans.
“Harry Potter will soon enter the magical world.”
“He grew up among Muggles and seems to possess a mysterious connection with Voldemort.”
“What kind of person he truly is still needs to be tested.”
“There are signs that the Philosopher’s Stone is being watched.”
“Most likely by Voldemort and his servants.”
“It won’t be long before they make their move against Gringotts.”
“But I’ve already moved the real Philosopher’s Stone elsewhere.”
“This stone can serve as bait.”
“It will draw Voldemort toward Hogwarts.”
“That way, I can see what condition he is actually in now and determine how many more years it might take before he truly returns.”
“At the same time, this will also serve as a test for Harry Potter.” Find the original chapter at g.com.
“I hope the boy won’t disappoint me…”
Before Harry Potter had even entered the magical world, Dumbledore was already carefully considering everything.
He was even thinking about how to arrange the trials and obstacles that Harry and his future companions would face.
And when he thought about Harry Potter’s companions, Charles’s figure instinctively appeared in Dumbledore’s mind.
A young wizard with such outstanding talent.
And according to the feedback Professor McGonagall had just sent him, Charles’s magical nature appeared to be one of extreme holiness and light.
He was practically the complete opposite of darkness.
Having him become Harry Potter’s most important friend would undoubtedly play an important role in Harry’s future path as the Chosen One.
A satisfied expression appeared on Dumbledore’s face.
The more he thought about it, the more suitable the arrangement seemed.
As for how Charles would meet Harry Potter…
As the Headmaster of Hogwarts and the greatest white wizard of the century, Dumbledore had a hundred ways to arrange it.
He was confident that he could make Charles and Harry meet without either of them realizing that it had been deliberately arranged.
No matter how great Charles’s talent was or how impressive his future achievements might become, he was currently nothing more than an immature young wizard who had yet to grow.
Dumbledore was certain that Charles would never escape his control.
…
What Dumbledore didn’t know was that inside the luxurious room at the Leaky Cauldron, Charles had already discovered a new way to eat broken wands.
Charles picked up a wand.
He dipped it into the thick fermented bean sauce Old Tom had brought him.
Then he grabbed a strip of cucumber and put both into his mouth at the same time.
Crunch!
The crisp and sweet cucumber combined with the rich, savory sauce.
A look of pure enjoyment appeared in Charles’s eyes.
“Wands really need to be dipped in fermented bean sauce!”
“With cucumber on the side, this flavor is absolutely incredible.”
“Give me fifty of these and I still wouldn’t get tired of them!”
Slowly, Charles put the final wand into his mouth and ate it.
Inside Deep Blue, his Deduction Points had already surged by nearly forty thousand.
Combined with what he had saved previously, Charles now had more than eighty thousand Deduction Points.
A look of anticipation appeared in his eyes.
The initial deduction of Apparition had already given him an Apparition technique comparable to the goblin version, greatly increasing his ability to escape danger.
So what would the second deduction bring?
An image appeared in Charles’s mind.
He remembered a scene from the original films.
Dumbledore and Voldemort constantly shifted positions during their battle, their movements so fast and fluid that ordinary wizards could barely even keep up.
He also remembered scenes from various fantasy works where mages seemed to become ghosts, suddenly appearing somewhere else without warning.
This gave Charles an idea for the direction of his next deduction.
Perhaps I can develop Apparition toward short-range teleportation.
Something that can be directly used in combat!
The next moment, Charles spoke in his mind.
“Deep Blue.”
“Second deduction.”
“Deduce in the direction of short-range, high-speed, high-precision movement.”
“Turn Apparition into a displacement spell that can be used in combat!”
…
(End of Chapter)