The Friendly Pierce

"Aren't you going to try it on?" Yvonne asked Hermione with a smile.

"Of course!" The little witch was very excited as she picked up an alchemy book and perused it.

As she relived the memory, the previously obscure words instantly became clear in her eyes, and her learning efficiency increased several times. When she re-read some words, she gained many new understandings…

The key to alchemy is the conversion of magic, and once you understand this, the complex alchemical formulae become coherent…Hermione flipped through the pages until she came across the book's conjectures about alchemical formations.

Hermione soon became so absorbed in her newfound knowledge that she became absorbed in her studies and forgot about Ivan…

Ivan shook his head in amusement, not wanting to interrupt the witch's fun. After a short break, he returned to his work on the wand.

Soon, the only sounds in the room were the flipping of pages and the scratching of a carving knife on wood.

… .

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye. With the addition of three residents, the deserted manor gradually became more lively.

During this time, Ivan did not waste a single day. In the morning, he studied the wand enthusiastically, and in the afternoon, he continued to improve and mine the power of blood magic.

Ravenclaw's diadem, while capable of increasing one's wisdom and greatly improving one's learning efficiency, also had its limits, and certain esoteric alchemical knowledge could not be learned on its own, no matter how clever one was.

Hermione's learning progress was far beyond his expectations. In just two weeks, she had mastered the rudiments of alchemy, and two days earlier, she had created her first magical object.

[Magical Item: Automatic Quill

Magic: Weak

Explanation: This is a Novice Alchemist's experimental work. It can sense the owner's thoughts after inputting magic, and automatically takes notes in a book.]

"Very good, Hermione. It seems you have a gift. Congratulations on creating a true alchemical object. At this rate of learning, it won't be long before you're qualified as an alchemist." Ivan glanced at the comments in the system column, then back at the little witch.

It was considered crude by his standards, but considering that it was the work of a novice, it was impressive to have achieved such a feat.

Her face lit up at Ivan's praise, and she seemed pleased that her days of hard work had not been in vain.

Perhaps because she was competitive, or simply curious, Hermione put the quill away and asked, "By the way, Ivan, how long did it take you to learn alchemy?"

About a week?! Yvonne thought hesitantly, but that was after spending thousands of GPA points on a Academic Genius Experience Card, which was several times more effective than the Ravenclaw Corona.

Not wanting to dampen the young witch's enthusiasm, he said modestly, "It must have taken me a month at the time. You're much faster."

"How can that be compared? I cheated to get here so fast…" Hermione touched the diadem on her head and shook her head helplessly.

Judging from her recent experiences, Ravenclaw's diadem had tripled her learning efficiency, meaning that it would normally take her a month and a half to get started, and that was only after Ivan, a Master Alchemist, had set aside two or three hours a day to explain the steps to her.

You're not the only one who cheated… Ivan touched his nose and felt a little guilty. However, could learning be considered cheating?

Oblivious to Ivan's thoughts, Hermione saw the gap between them and decided she had to work harder.

This was not, of course, in an attempt to one day surpass Ivan, but as an assistant these days, Hermione had come to realise her lack of knowledge, so much so that she could only do the simple task of passing on material, which was of no real use…

With this in mind, Hermione picked up the book again and began to read.

"Take a break, Hermione. You've been reading all morning. Exhausting yourself will only delay your studies." Ivan removed the diadem from the witch's head with a sigh.

He believed himself to be a keen learner, but he was still a far cry from Hermione, and suspected that if he had not interfered, she would have stayed in her room for the whole summer reading.

"Why don't we go for a walk?" Ivan suggested.

Hermione put the book down and nodded hesitantly, but just as she was about to go back to her room to change, she saw Ivan turn his head towards the window.

"What is it?" Hermione asked, surprised.

"Someone's coming," Ivan said, rubbing his chin. "Someone I know… or Dobby wouldn't have let them in."

At the same time, in the spacious reception room on the first floor of the manor, Will Granger heard a knock on the door and instinctively got up to open it.

Outside the door, a slightly plump man in a top hat appeared with a pleasant smile on his face.

"And you are?" Will Granger asked hesitantly.

"You can call me Pierce! I'm a friend of Mr. Harls…" Pierce said with a smile. With his intelligence network, he naturally knew the identity of the Muggle in front of him and did not dare to slight him.

"Ah… I see." Will Granger stood in the doorway, unsure whether to let her in or not. This was not his home, and the wizarding world did not seem peaceful.

Luckily, Will didn't have to think about it for too long, because a few seconds later there was the sound of footsteps on the stairs.

"Minister…Pierce?" Hermione called out in surprise when she saw him outside the door.

"Oh, hello, Miss Granger," Pierce replied politely.

Hermione smiled at Pierce and addressed her bewildered parents. "This is Mr. Minister for Magic! Well, the Muggle equivalent of the President…"

The President of the Wizarding World? Will and his wife looked at Pierce with surprise and fear. This was the first time they had come into contact with such a big shot!

However, the Minister was far too approachable and did not put on any airs.