Hermione's Gift

"Edmund, I am here!"

Hermione's voice came from the front door. Edmund extended a hand, and the door opened.

Hermione walked in wearing a neat sailor-style dress. White socks hugged her slender calves, giving her a bright, summery look.

After changing out of her Hogwarts uniform, Hermione had gained a livelier air.

Together with the hair she had clearly taken time to arrange, she looked as lovely as a little princess.

"Come here, Hermione. It is hot outside. Have some chilled orange juice."

Edmund was seated comfortably in the sitting room, wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses and holding a book.

The glasses gave him an extra touch of refined elegance.

Seeing Edmund like that made Hermione's face flush again.

Edmund looked handsome in glasses too.

"What book do you want to read today? A Guide to Defensive Magical Beasts, or Alternative Applications of Transfiguration?"

During this period, after Hermione discovered Edmund had bought a large number of books, she often came to his house to read.

After all, the amount of pounds her family could exchange for Galleons each year was limited. She could not buy every book she wanted.

So Edmund's home had become Hermione's paradise. Whenever she had free time, she came here to read.

"Alternative Applications of Transfiguration."

Hermione glanced at the book in Edmund's hand. She did not even recognize the script on the cover. She only knew it was an ancient language.

"All right. Once you finish reading, I have a gift for you."

Hermione looked at Edmund curiously, but she was not in a hurry. She accepted the book he handed over and began reading.

Soon, noon arrived. The two went out casually for lunch and then returned home.

Although Edmund had lived alone for a long time, he did not know how to cook at all. Hermione was no better at domestic work.

Every time, the two of them could only eat out.

After returning home, Edmund brought Hermione to a study on the second floor.

The room was filled with cauldrons, beakers, and two cabinets. One cabinet was packed with potion ingredients, while the other held metals and various materials.

It was Hermione's first time entering this room, and she looked around curiously.

She had not yet come into contact with alchemy, so she did not recognize many of the materials. She could barely identify a few potion ingredients.

Edmund placed a chair on one side of the workbench, then sat opposite her.

He gestured for Hermione to sit down while he began working with a cauldron. The substance inside looked like flowing silver.

"What are you making?"

Hermione asked curiously.

"You already have a protective necklace, but your offensive options are still lacking. Today, I am going to fix that weakness for you."

Edmund stirred the cauldron, then extended his wand to sense the mixture. Satisfied, he nodded.

He took out the sort of magnifying lens Muggle watchmakers wore on their heads and picked up a quill.

"Give me your hand."

"Oh."

Hermione nodded and stretched out her small, elegant hand.

This was the first time Edmund had looked at Hermione's hand so carefully. Her skin was far softer than he expected, fine and smooth beneath his fingers.

Being watched like that while Edmund held her hand made Hermione shy. She unconsciously tightened her fingers.

"Do not move in a moment."

Seeing her reaction, Edmund reminded her gently.

He spread Hermione's hand open, palm facing down, and dipped the quill into the alchemical substance inside the cauldron.

Then he began drawing something across Hermione's fingernails.

A faint tingling sensation traveled through Hermione's body, making her feel strange.

Hermione was curious, but Edmund looked so focused that she held back her questions. She could only endure the slight itch around her nails.

Ten minutes later, Edmund let out a long breath.

The magical inscription on the first fingernail was finally complete.

After that, his technique gradually became smoother.

More than an hour later, the inscriptions on all ten fingers were complete.

"Whew."

Edmund removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes, easing the fatigue brought on by long concentration.

Hermione finally could not hold back her curiosity.

"Edmund, what exactly is this?"

Edmund smiled proudly.

This was the result of his work in alchemy and runic inscription over the past term.

"If you encounter danger in the future, gather magic into the fingers of your right hand. That will activate the spells inscribed there. After activation, each spell will automatically replenish its magic, but it needs a twelve-hour cooldown."

"The five fingers of your right hand are all inscribed with the Disarming Charm. They can be activated together in an instant, releasing five spells at once. I call it the Fivefold Disarming Array."

Hermione's mouth fell open.

She had not expected Edmund to be capable of something like this.

Imagine Hermione dueling someone. The enemy disarmed her, sent her wand flying, and grew smug, preparing to finish her off.

Then Hermione raised her right hand and instantly released five Disarming Charms.

Perhaps the first could be blocked with a Shield Charm.

But what about the rest?

Thinking of that, Hermione shivered and silently mourned for her future enemies.

"Then what is on my left hand?"

"That is the Summoning Charm. It can instantly call your wand back to you. If an enemy knocks your wand away, you can retrieve it with Accio."

Hermione immediately understood Edmund's thinking.

Looking at the way her boyfriend had prepared such careful self-defense measures for her, Hermione smiled brilliantly and rewarded him with a sweet kiss.

Edmund accepted it calmly.

Over this period, his relationship with the young witch had grown increasingly close. A sweet kiss from Hermione was no longer enough to shake his composure.

"This method is amazing. Can I learn it?"

As a top student, Hermione once again revealed her intense desire for knowledge.

"Probably not recently. You would need to learn Ancient Runes first, then runic inscription and a portion of alchemy."

Hearing that, Hermione looked a little disappointed.

In the next instant, however, her fighting spirit returned.

She decided that once she returned to school next year, she would begin studying Ancient Runes in the library.

Seeing Hermione's expression, Edmund shook his head.

He naturally knew what she was thinking, but this was not something that could be mastered quickly.

Edmund was confident that in the entire magical world, fewer than ten wizards alive could achieve such precise work.

It required not only a deep understanding of magical inscriptions but also the ability to simplify them. Otherwise, there was no way to fit complex patterns onto fingernails.

That alone would stop most wizards.

In the current magical world, fewer and fewer people were willing to study ancient magic. For most wizards, knowing a few commonly used spells was already enough.

The special metal Edmund had refined was also extremely difficult to produce. The liquid metal required powerful magical conductivity and had to remain attached to the nails for a long time without peeling off.

If Hermione wanted to reach this level, three to five years of hard study would be the minimum.

Still, Edmund would not stop her.

Studying these subjects would be very helpful for improving the young witch's strength.

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