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Chapter 25: You Really Are a Little Genius
Chapter 25: You Really Are a Little Genius
"Jerry?"
About ten minutes after Jerry had closed his eyes to rest, a somewhat surprised voice suddenly came from nearby.
Slowly opening his eyes, he turned his head to look outside the compartment.
A girl with tousled hair, dressed in a simple knitted sweater and jeans, was struggling to drag a large leather suitcase down the aisle, her expression slightly surprised.
It was Hermione Granger, the young witch he had briefly met in Diagon Alley.
"Ms. Granger, we meet again!"
Jerry smiled and greeted Hermione, then quickly got up and took the suitcase from her:
"There's still a seat here, you can sit down!"
"Thank you!"
Hermione hurriedly thanked Jerry as he effortlessly placed the heavy suitcase on the overhead rack.
As a young witch from a Muggle family, leaving her parents to embark on her mysterious journey to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Hermione appeared very strong and often masked her insecurities with a slightly haughty tone. However, deep down, she couldn't help but feel a bit nervous and afraid.
After all, she was only eleven years old.
Even though she would be twelve in eighteen days, twelve was still a young age for a girl embarking on her first long journey alone.
At this moment, on the train to Hogwarts, encountering the only familiar young witch her age brought a sense of comfort to her anxious heart.
Hermione's strong and somewhat prickly personality, along with her outstanding academic performance, had left her with few friends, both at Hogwarts and in her Muggle primary school.
Jerry was currently the only person who didn't make her feel disliked during conversations, and he seemed like a suitable friend.
"Wow, what a beautiful cat! Is it your pet?"
When Hermione sat down, she saw Crookshanks, who was snoring softly on the seat, and her eyes instantly turned into hearts.
Her expression seemed to say:
"Isn't this my dream cat?"
"Beautiful?"
Jerry glanced at Crookshanks' squished, pancake-like face and winced slightly.
He had to admit, Crookshanks was an excellent cat. He was highly independent, rarely causing Jerry any trouble, and could even take care of his own meals most of the time, sometimes even bringing Jerry a little treat.
Moreover, he was incredibly smart and never soiled the room.
But to say he was beautiful, Jerry couldn't agree.
It was just that people's tastes in beauty varied. Just like how Dachshunds (those sausage dogs), Chihuahuas (those alien-like ones), and Cornish Rex cats (those that look like Lord Beerus) were considered quite ugly by many but still had their fans who found them incredibly cool.
So, you could say that everyone has their own preferences, and Hermione clearly had a soft spot for Crookshanks' looks, and there was nothing Jerry could do about that.
"Here, take it, Ms. Granger, didn't you buy a pet?"
Jerry picked up the sleeping Crookshanks and handed him to Hermione.
Hermione gently took him and cradled him in her arms.
Crookshanks, disturbed from his sleep, grumbled and twitched his whiskers, but upon sensing Hermione's warm and kind heart, he settled back into a peaceful slumber.
"Just call me Hermione. When I was at the bookstore, I bought many extra magic books besides the required textbooks, so I didn't have enough money left to buy a pet!"
Hermione stroked Crookshanks gently as she replied, a hint of regret in her voice.
"That’s a very Hermione answer!"
To become a super student, Hermione not only possessed a talent that most wizards could only dream of, but she also had a level of diligence and effort that most of her peers lacked.
"So, Hermione, you must have already gained a lot of knowledge about magic in advance?"
Jerry's tone carried a hint of praise.
Hermione immediately lifted her chin proudly.
"Of course, I’ve memorized all the first-year textbooks and even tried out a few spells at home. They all worked, and I also finished reading Modern Magical History, Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts, and Important Magical Events of the Twentieth Century."
"Wow, you’re a real prodigy!"
Jerry couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration. His words were genuine, coming from the heart.
Setting aside other things, just memorizing all the textbooks in a month showed a memory far beyond the norm.
Although Jerry had memorized the textbooks for four subjects, it was entirely thanks to the “Brain Booster” function of the Panel.
In his past life, even reviewing and memorizing the ancient poetry and classical texts from the previous semester over a two-month summer break was no easy task, let alone trying to memorize the next semester’s textbooks in advance.
Hermione’s face turned slightly red from Jerry’s consecutive praises, though she was inwardly very pleased.
After all, she was still young, and constant praise could make anyone a bit shy!
With Hermione’s arrival, Jerry stopped closing his eyes and began chatting with her happily.
Naturally, their conversation mainly revolved around the various magical knowledge from the textbooks.
While Jerry had used the “Mind Enhancer” function to memorize Theory of Magic, The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1), and several other books, and had learned all the first-year spells, he was far more proficient in their use than Hermione.
However, that didn’t mean he had fully grasped all the content in the textbooks.
It was like a modern person suddenly getting a book written entirely in ancient classical language. Even if they memorized all the content and understood the general story, many of the finer details would remain unclear without professional guidance.
Moreover, the same book and the same content could be interpreted differently by different people.
Journey to the West could be seen by some as an adventurous tale of Tang Sanzang and his four disciples braving countless dangers to fetch the scriptures from the West. Others might see it as a challenge to the feudal hierarchy. Some might perceive the hidden political machinations and the strategic calculations of the sages, using the world as a chessboard and all living things as pieces. And then there were those who simply saw it as a story about a monkey and the various beautiful demons and queens.
Thus, people need to exchange and learn from each other to broaden their horizons and make progress together.
Given Hermione’s talent, she had managed to self-study most of the spells and read a large number of magical books in just a month before school started. She would certainly have her own unique insights into magic, and Jerry would surely benefit from their exchange.
This was why Jerry had invited Hermione to sit in his compartment.
...
(End of Chapter)
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