Chapter 23: 23 Two Is Better Than One

Harry woke up and looked at the pretty dark skinned girl beside him. He wasn't surprised that he didn't have any inkling towards trying to feel her up or anything, even after absorbing two sets of old men's knowledge. He couldn't decide if it was because he had ignored or deleted the personal memories or if it was because both men hadn't had a significant other in their lives for decades.

In any case, Harry was still his own person and it was his own knowledge and his own feelings that drove him and not those of the extra knowledge he had gained, and in most cases stolen. Not that anyone would really blame him for it. It wasn't like there was anyone around that would ever know, or guess, what he had done to Headmaster Dumbledore... except for one person. Severus Snape.

Harry was sure that the man would be consulted by Madam Pomfrey about Dumbledore's health, assuming the man had woken up after taking two stunners to the chest. He almost laughed at how different the old man should act without any knowledge of magic in his head.

With that happy thought in his own head, Harry cast a time spell on Padma and saw she would be recharging her HP and MP for most of the day and wouldn't wake until suppertime. He decided to hide her again and made her invisible and silent, just so no one would freak out about her staying asleep all day and not being able to wake her up.

Harry hopped out of bed and secured his curtains before going to the bathroom and getting cleaned and freshened up for the day. He quickly dressed in jeans and a shirt before he left the dorm room, even though it was fairly early. He couldn't pop over to talk to Amelia this soon, so he went to the owlery and had a school owl send her a note and asked for a time to talk.

The Great Hall only had a few students in it and Harry sat down and ate a full breakfast. When he saw Professor Flitwick enter to eat his own breakfast, Harry debated approaching him about opening the market stall. That wasn't something to annoy the short man with so early in the morning, so Harry decided to wait until later.

The next thing on Harry's mind was popping over to either Malfoy Manor or to the Ministry of Magic. He needed to confirm the location of Azkaban Prison and the safeguards around it. He was sure they had changed them from the last time Voldemort had been near there over ten years ago and he didn't want to try just popping in blind and hoping for the best.

The last thing Harry needed was to bounce off of a strategically placed redirect ward and land in the ocean. He was sure his gamer abilities could counter whatever had been added to stop someone from appearing there. The problem would be if they set different things up for capture and incapacitation. Those he could not know about.

Maybe I could ask Amelia about both things? Harry thought. Would she give me an update on Professor Quirrell and an update on Azkaban prison? Both might be considered Ministry secrets and she might not be allowed to tell me anything.

Harry sighed and sat there as he waited for the return owl from Amelia. If he was lucky, she would want to see him right away and then he could decide what he was going to do for the rest of the day. He was a bit desperate to get the rest of the horcruxes and to finish the prophecy as soon as possible. He did not want that hanging over his head for the rest of his life.

Of course, Harry also didn't want to constantly be on the lookout for other people that Voldemort might possess. Keeping his Identify skill on all the time would have his head splitting from all of the extra information. He might not even notice him if he had to read through another sea of names and statuses to find him, since he hadn't noticed Quirrell until they were practically alone.

The Great Hall had a bunch of students from various houses enter it and Harry looked over them. As a test, he turned on his Identify skill. He felt a sharp pain behind his right eye at the sea of blue boxes and he tried to read and dismiss as many of them as he could. It was an exercise he thought would be useful, if he could do it fast enough.

Harry had a pain behind both eyes by the time the stream of students slowed down and he let out a relieved sigh as the last one appeared by the door. He mentally reached to dismiss it and paused at what it said.

Hermione Granger, Age 12, Griffindor Outcast

That can't be right. Harry thought with a blank face, because he didn't want to frown at the description. He watched the bushy-haired girl as she went to the Griffindor table and went right to the far end. As soon as she sat down as far as she could from the other students, Harry concentrated on her. Show Status.

Harry read the thing and he was surprised. She was actually smarter than him, in both Intelligence and Wisdom. That was a surprise, because he had worked really hard to level himself up to his current 99 points in both. Now that he had seen someone that had taken that last step and broke the 100 mark, he wanted to do it as well.

System? Assign one free Stat point to my Intelligence, please. Harry thought.

One stat point has been allocated to Intelligence.

Congratulations! Your Intelligence is now 100 and you have reached the first pinnacle of the mind! You learn extremely quickly and often gain seemingly irrelevant proficiencies while you train in other things.

(Memory Perk - Gamer Mind Only): You have a perfect memory with instant recall, unlimited storage, tamper-proofing, perfect indexing, and protection from any form of harmful memory. This perfect memory is fully retroactive.
You can choose to erase memories, leaving the knowledge that something was erased and a basic description of what that memory was, and can restore that erased memory later. Nothing can detect these erased memories or force you to restore them. Your memories can only be read by an outside force with your permission.

Holy crap! Harry thought as his mind seemed to flutter for a moment, then it settled. It was the best feeling in the world to have his mind completely cemented like that. System! Assign one free Stat point to my Wisdom, please!

One stat point has been allocated to Wisdom.

Congratulations! Your Wisdom is now 100 and you have reached the first pinnacle of understanding! You are a preeminent puzzler, have a naturally quick wit, and can grasp theoretical principles with the best of them.

(Mind Perk - Gamer Mind Only): Understanding where to begin your studies on a topic will always be instinctual for you, and the proper learning materials will always make themselves known to you, if it's possible for a thing to be learned.
You are far more wise than you were before. If you were previously less wise than a genius, you are now a Genius. Your ability to link concepts together is now far faster, and as a result you are able to use magic in more creative and efficient ways.

Harry couldn't stop his shiver of realization. His eyes caught Hermione's and they stared at each other. Harry knew at that moment that she also knew he was an intellectual colleague and was within her own capabilities.

The thing was, Harry wanted to know if she benefited as much as he did with both pinnacles reached. The notation of Gamer Mind Only for his perks possibly told him that Hermione wasn't getting the same benefits that he was. If she wasn't, he had the sudden desire to help her get them. He didn't know why he felt that way, until he looked at her main blue box with her description.

Harry hid his anger over her being an outcast in the House that was supposed to be like her family. He tried to not associate his own family's experiences with her own and hoped she had a good home life. With that reassuring thought, he stood and walked down the short end of the Ravenclaw table and walked by the Hufflepuff table to the Griffindor one.

Hermione had watched him as he approached and she wasn't sure what to make of the handsome and popular boy. The stories of his antics were all over the school and she was sure that he was as pompous and arrogant as the other stuck-up people around her that bullied her for being so smart.

She couldn't help but admire his long blonde hair that was so unlike her own bushy mane. His was wavy today and not in its usual ponytail, which gave her the sudden urge to run her fingers through it to see how soft it was. That was a startling thought to have pass through her brain. She immediately squashed it and threw it aside to prepare for the oncoming battle of wits that she was determined to win.

“Miss Granger, I apologize for bothering you so early in the morning.” Harry said and gave her a slight bow, thanks to his 'Respected Colleague' choice from his Supreme Actor drop down menu. “Can I talk to you for a few minutes while you eat?”

Hermione's eyes widened, because he knew her name and had also bowed to her. No one had ever done that before and she found herself nodding before she could stop herself.

“Thank you.” Harry said and smiled warmly at her. “May I sit?” He asked and waved at the bench across from her.

Hermione nodded again and Harry sat down.

“I can wait for you to eat some before starting the conversation.” Harry said and motioned to the food on the platters between them.

“What about you?” Hermione asked and put some choice cuts of grilled ham and bacon on her plate and added two sunny-side-up eggs.

“I'm tempted to steal some of your bacon in a poor attempt to make you laugh.” Harry said and smirked at her.

Hermione huffed. “Yes, that would be a poor choice.”

“I assumed so.” Harry said and took some of the bacon from the platter instead of her plate and put them onto a piece of toast, added some scrambled eggs, and dosed it with pepper and salt before adding another piece of toast. He didn't need to eat, since his HP and MP were both full and he wouldn't gain any bonuses for it. He ate anyway.

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Hermione stared at him as Harry bit into his improvised sandwich.

“It's a quick way to eat a hearty breakfast without dirtying extra dishes or silverware.” Harry explained, even though he hadn't really intended to do such a thing. It was then he realized his Wisdom perk had helped him already and given him a perfect improvisation to open the conversation with.

Hermione looked down at her plate and saw that they would easily fit onto a piece of toast, nodded, and made her own sandwich. The two of them ate quietly and drank some orange juice to wash their food down.

Before Hermione could comment at her crumb-covered hands, Harry took out his wand and swiped it at her hands to clean them. She looked at him with raised eyebrows and he waved with his already cleaned hands.

“Was that Scourgify or Tergeo?” Hermione asked.

“There was no visible soap suds, so it was Tergeo.” Harry said and she nodded. “We still have to wash our hands properly if we plan to handle anything like parchment or books.”

“Oh? What makes you think I'll be doing that?” Hermione asked.

“Because I'll be doing it. Since you are almost as smart as I am...” Harry paused and grinned at her.

Hermione huffed. “Almost? Really?”

“It's my best bid to get you to talk to me as if I'm not an idiot.” Harry admitted.

Hermione's eyebrows rose again and she didn't comment.

“I was staying here in the Great Hall as I waited for an owl; but, we can go somewhere else to talk and I can get my mail later.”

Hermione opened her mouth to say it was okay, then a boisterous noise came from the Entrance Hall. Both she and Harry turned their heads to look and saw a large group of Griffindors enter the Great Hall.

“I believe this calls for a strategic retreat.” Harry said and stood.

Hermione sighed and her emotions played across her face. She should have expected him to run as soon as anyone else from her own House appeared. That was what everyone else did.

Harry saw the disappointed look on her face and held in his laugh, because he was going to destroy her expectations. He walked around the table to pick up the very heavy backpack that was stuffed full with books. He now knew why her strength was greater than his and he cast a featherlight charm on the bag before he put it over his own shoulder.

“Shall we head to the library and continue our talk, Miss Granger? I have a book or two to return to Madam Pince.” Harry said and held a hand out to her.

Hermione's mouth hung open and she stared at him, completely unable to accept verbally. Harry chuckled and took her hand, helped her to stand, and led her around the table. The loud Griffindors grew quiet and they came to a stop at various spots along their House table as Harry led Hermione by the hand around them and out of the hall.

Harry kept hold of Hermione's hand all the way to the closest bathroom and they took turns washing their hands. Hermione was shocked when Harry took her hand again and led her to the Library and over to Madam Pince's desk.

“Good morning, Irma.” Harry said with a lot of warmth in his voice.

“Harry, it's so nice to see you.” Irma said with a smile. She couldn't maintain her stern face with her favorite student in front of her. She also noticed the stunned girl next to him. “Hello, Miss Granger.”

“M-M-Madam P-Pince.” Hermione stuttered.

Harry chuckled. “Don't worry about her, Irma. We were talking during breakfast and she thought I would run away when the other Griffindors showed up.”

“Ah, that would explain her reaction.” Irma said and looked at Harry. “What can I do for you today?”

“I wanted to return a few books that are long overdue.” Harry said and took off Hermione's backpack and handed it to the still stunned girl. The squeak of surprise she let out at the light backpack was ignored by both Harry and Irma.

“Do I need to somehow find their entries in a new card catalogue?” Irma asked with a knowing smile.

“No, it's much better than that.” Harry said and pulled out a fake backpack from the front pocket of his jeans.

Irma quirked an eyebrow at him and Hermione gasped.

“I came across these when I recovered a stolen family heirloom.” Harry said and opened the backpack.

Both Hermione and Irma leaned in close to look as Harry pulled out a thick tome. Both of them caught their breath at the thing, both from amazement and their love of books. Their breathing became laboured as Harry added another book, then another and another. He stopped when he had three stacks of six books each.

“Those six books have to be returned to the Restricted section, assuming you want to do so and don't leave them in your private archive. It's up to you if you want them available to approved students.” Harry said and pointed at the other twelve books. “Those are from the general section and specialty section at the back of the library. Again, I'm no judge for things like that, so it's at your own discretion if you want to put them back out for normal student use or to upgrade them to Restricted status.”

Irma looked at the books and her hand caressed their spines. She knew exactly where these books had come from and why they had been removed from her library. She waved a wand at a nearby book cart and quickly loaded the books onto it, nodded to Harry, and rolled the thing away and through an always locked and spelled door.

“Oh, no.” Hermione whispered as the books she hadn't known existed disappeared from sight. She almost felt like her heart was breaking at being denied knowledge, even if she didn't know what that knowledge was.

“Hey, it's okay.” Harry whispered. “I made copies.”

Hermione's head snapped around and she stared at him. Her eyes almost burned with intensity and he smiled at her.

“Why don't we find a table in the back and you can tell me all about why you weren't sorted into the House of Ravenclaw?” Harry asked and held a hand out to her.

Hermione's hand slapped into his and she gripped it tightly.

“I'll take that as an agreement.” Harry said with a chuckle and led his new bushy-haired friend to a good hiding spot to erect some privacy spells and to continue their conversation.

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