Sirius Black glanced at Lucius Malfoy and smirked."Cousin-in-law? Yes, that's correct. And that's precisely the thing I've always regretted."
At that moment, Harriet Potter lifted her chin arrogantly and said to the slick-haired Draco Malfoy,"Hey, Malfoy, what did you put on your hair? Feels like even flies would slip right off it."
The little girl's remark carried a clever double meaning.
Sirius grinned with satisfaction. Lucius Malfoy merely glanced at them coolly, standing unmoved.
Draco, on the other hand, clutched his hair and glared at Harriet in fury, clearly seething but not daring to say anything.
After all, the two families were technically relatives. Even if they didn't get along, they couldn't very well start a fight in the middle of the street.
Besides, the elegant lady beside Sirius had been holding onto his arm the entire time. She also gently patted Harriet on the shoulder, signaling that she shouldn't be too sharp-tongued with someone her own age.
With such a lady standing between them—and Lucius realizing that neither he nor his son could win the verbal battle—the Malfoys soon made their exit after exchanging only a few more words.
Once both groups had left, Ted Epiphany walked into the broom shop and casually asked the clerk about Mr. Black.
By now Ted was a familiar face in Diagon Alley. Who didn't recognize the boy who wandered through every shop daily, chatting, helping out, and generally behaving like a friendly little street drifter?
The clerk said, "You mean Mr. Black? He's Sirius Black, heir to the ancient pure-blood Black family. Lady Olivia Black is his wife, and little Harriet is their adopted daughter."
The broom shop clerk was quite the gossip. He knew a surprising amount about the Black family and happily shared several bits of "insider information" with Ted.
Back at the Leaky Cauldron, Ted sat down and muttered to himself:
"Let me sort this out…"
First, there were the two Celestial Convergences—but that was already established.
Because Harry had become a girl—Harriet, Voldemort, after learning of the prophecy, had chosen Neville Longbottom, who also fit the conditions, as his destined enemy.
The result was the same.
He killed himself in the process… and created the Boy Who Lived.
The difference was that James Potter and Lily Potter, Harriet's parents, hadn't escaped tragedy either.
Not long after Voldemort's fall, they were ambushed and murdered by a group of elite Death Eaters.
According to the broom shop clerk, it happened because a close friend of the Potters betrayed them.
Ted didn't need to think hard about that.
It had to be Peter Pettigrew.
Fine.
Ted had already accepted Neville as the Chosen One. So what if Harry had become Harriet?
He laughed bitterly.
"Haha… hahaha… Come on then. Let the storm come even harder!"
When Ted had first realized he'd transmigrated into the world of Harry Potter, his thoughts had been:
I'm definitely going to reach the peak of life!
After discovering that Neville was the savior and Harry had become Harriet, his thoughts had changed to:
Just kidding. Surviving is good enough.
The last time his mindset had shifted this drastically was a few years after graduating from university and struggling through real life.
But now he could finally accept that this world was not the one he had imagined.
Ted noticed that ever since awakening his psionic powers, he had gained far better control over his emotions.
Even if Mount Tai collapsed before him, his expression would not change.
Even if a deer leapt beside him, his eyes would not blink.
Thunder might rage in his heart, yet his face would remain calm as a still lake.
A man like that could command armies.
In truth, psions generally followed two broad paths.
One focused on mastering and refining the mind itself.
The other embraced extreme emotions and stimulation, seeking greater psionic power through emotional intensity.
Ted was clearly walking the first path.
August finally arrived.
The moment Ted opened his eyes that morning, he sensed a notification from the system.
"Ding! Talent [Otherworld Knowledge (Gold)] has activated. Knowledge obtained: [Chakra Extraction Technique (Green)]."
[Chakra Extraction Technique (Green)]:A method used by Konoha ninja to mix physical and spiritual energy in order to produce chakra.Exchange cost: 250 experience points.
A green-bordered card appeared before Ted.
The image showed a person sitting cross-legged, forming a hand seal while blue energy flowed through channels resembling meridians inside the body.
Ted scratched his chin.
"This…"
This time, the Otherworld Knowledge didn't seem very impressive.
Becoming a ninja in the world of Harry Potter—no, the world of Neville Longbottom…
Wasn't something a bit off about that?
Compared to chakra, magic clearly had more potential here.
And he didn't have Ōtsutsuki blood anyway.
On top of that, this single technique cost 250 experience points.
What a robbery.
"I'd say that's worth about two hundred and fifty stupidity points instead," Ted muttered.
Wasn't this the thing five- or six-year-old ninja academy students in Konoha learned?
And without any ninjutsu to go with it, what use was it?
Apparently, not every piece of Otherworld Knowledge was valuable.
In fact, some of it might even be harmful.
He would need to be careful in the future and choose wisely.
This time, the knowledge would have to be abandoned. Spending 250 experience points on something useless was simply irrational.
Ted sighed.
He had waited eagerly for half a month, only to get something disappointing.
Such was life—nine times out of ten, things didn't go your way.
A bird in the hand was better than ten in the forest.
It was better to focus on magic and psionics.
Psionic power supposedly followed the principle: the greater the mind, the greater the power. Willpower was the core, and everything depended largely on the Spirit attribute.
Without existing psionic techniques to study or imitate, Ted could only develop his abilities step by step.
Magic, on the other hand, relied on using one's will to guide magical power and influence reality.
It also depended primarily on mental strength.
In that sense, the two systems actually complemented each other quite well.
Ted crafted two wooden balls and often held them in his hands, rolling them back and forth.
Using either psionic power or magic, he tried to make them float and spin.
He hoped this method would strengthen his psionic abilities while also improving his control over magical power.
Because of his work—and his diligent practice—Ted learned two new spells within just a couple of days.
From a clerk at the Magical Creatures Pet Shop, he learned the Packing Charm.
The incantation was: "Pack and tidy!"
The charm automatically folded clothes and neatly arranged items inside luggage.
It was truly a must-have spell for travel and daily life.
From Mr. Giggs, the apothecary owner, Ted learned the Bubble-Head Charm.
This spell appeared in the original series. It created a bubble-like helmet around the caster's head, filtering gases or keeping water away while providing breathable air underwater.
During the Triwizard Tournament, Fleur Delacour had used it for diving.
Aside from underwater use, the charm was extremely helpful when handling materials with strong or toxic odors.
For herbologists and potion-makers, it was practically an essential spell.
(Frankly, it could perfectly replace wearing a mask.)
The Bubble-Head Charm was normally taught in fourth-year Charms class, yet Ted managed to cast it successfully in just two days.
Mr. Giggs was astonished.
But then again, most wizards were merely average.
For many of them, their peak magical ability came when they graduated in seventh year.
The original stories even mentioned that many adult wizards—including employees of the Ministry of Magic—couldn't cast a proper Shield Charm.
And the Shield Charm was only a moderately difficult spell.
Of course, it was the same everywhere.
After graduating, most people eventually forgot everything they learned, unless they used it regularly.
Every day, Ted diligently farmed experience points while also pushing forward the progress of his quest.
Less than a month remained before Hogwarts started, and he hoped to finish the quest [Explore Diagon Alley (Green)] before then.
On August 8th, Ted finished lunch at the Magical Pet Shop and was about to leave when a clerk called out:
"Wait, Ted."
"What's up, John?"
"Well… you know we recently hatched a batch of Talking Raven eggs…"
"Yes, I know. I even helped take care of them. What happened?"
John spread his hands helplessly.
"Nothing too serious. Most of the chicks are fine. But there's one… not so much. It hatched too late and it's extremely weak. I'm afraid the shop won't keep it."
Not being kept meant only one thing.
It would be discarded.
"I was hoping… if you're willing… maybe you could adopt it?" John looked at Ted hopefully.
Anyone who had worked at a magical pet shop for years naturally cared deeply for the animals. John didn't want to see the chick's fate.
"Oh, of course," Ted said immediately. "I'd be happy to. I'll do my best to take care of it."
The chick had only just opened its eyes. Its feathers hadn't even grown in yet—only tiny stubble.
Compared to its siblings, who already had soft down feathers and could walk and chirp, it was clearly frail and underdeveloped.
It looked like it might die at any moment.
All Ted could do was hope it would survive.
From that day on, Ted carried a small wooden box with him at all times.
He had to feed the chick every two hours, and even at night he had to wake up every four hours to feed it again.
Which meant he would have to wake up at least once every night.
Perhaps it was Mr. Giggs's nourishing potion, or perhaps Ted's careful attention.
Whatever the reason, the little raven eventually pulled through the dangerous stage of its early life.
Soft down feathers grew over its body. It began to wobble around on its feet and could chirp with its small beak edged in pale yellow.
Ravens were, after all, the elites of the crow family.
They were the largest birds in the passerine order, their black feathers shining with a metallic blue-purple sheen—especially on their wings.
Their throat and chest feathers were long and spear-shaped, and they possessed remarkably high intelligence and complex social behavior.
Ravens held a special place in British folklore.
Legend said that if the ravens ever left the Tower of London, the British Empire would fall.
Because of that, the Tower had dedicated caretakers who raised ravens.
Some of the oldest ravens there were said to live more than forty years.
As a magical creature, a Talking Raven possessed extremely high intelligence.
Some of them could even learn to speak human language.
They could also serve as messengers, just like owls.
The little one Ted adopted seemed particularly clever.
It reacted to certain things Ted said, almost as if it understood him.
Ted gave it the name Ansu.
A name that revealed very high expectations.
(In World of Warcraft, the Raven God of Outland is also called Anzu—a very cool mount.)
"Please vote for poor little Ansu," Ted joked to himself, "so it can grow strong quickly."
"Once Ansu grows up, it'll absorb all the bad luck from every reader!"