Chapter 5: Life at Hogwarts Begins with Chopping Down Trees
Chapter 5: Life at Hogwarts Begins with Chopping Down Trees
"I've never seen such fan loyalty before. If I could, I'd call the police and have you all arrested." Kane said with a helpless smile, uttering a statement that wasn't quite harsh.
Kingsley touched his nose somewhat awkwardly, realizing he was an Auror.
"In short, please believe us, we have no ill intentions towards you. It's just that you, as a young wizard, need to be educated because of your special status," Dumbledore said gently.
"They might be sent to Azkaban." Kingsley's professional habit kicked in; to keep Kane in line, he subconsciously used the black-and-white cop routine from the interrogation room, naturally playing the villain.
Dumbledore glanced back with a hint of helplessness, and Kingsley felt his mouth agape. He then turned back to Kane and said, "Please ignore him. In short, I come from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, a place that teaches magic to young wizards, and I am the headmaster. You can call me Professor Dumbledore."
"Alright, no ill intent... I can see that now. So this is just a home visit? You should have sent the letter beforehand." Kane readily believed Dumbledore's words, since there was no point in disbelieving him anyway; given the current situation, he probably couldn't escape.
"The messenger owl is probably stuck in the air. Don't worry about it. Hmm... where are your parents?" Dumbledore asked.
"no."
"I'm sorry, but would you mind telling me how you mastered such amazing magic?" Dumbledore gave an apologetic look and began to change the subject.
"Is this also part of the home visit?"
"Of course," Dumbledore nodded.
"Hmm... not a pleasant adventure," Kane said ambiguously, and Dumbledore, being tactful, changed the subject when he sensed Kane's reluctance to discuss it.
"Now that you know you're a wizard, you should also know the rules of the magical world. Kingsley, you're an expert in that area."
Dumbledore spoke subtly, allowing Kingsley to speak again.
As Dumbledore finished speaking, Kane was forced to listen to Kingsley's long-winded explanation, the gist of which was that if magic were exposed, it would be a catastrophe for both the Muggle and wizarding communities. Kane was told never to use magic in front of Muggles again, especially since Kane's magic was pure dark magic, which was absolutely forbidden.
"But I still have to eat," Kane said helplessly, leaning against the wall and asking this seemingly simple yet profound question.
Dumbledore and Kingsley were both stunned. Kane was currently earning a living by performing magic tricks on the street. If Kane wasn't allowed to use magic, were they going to let him starve to death?
Unless the Ministry of Magic or Hogwarts provides Kane with all his food, clothing, and lodging, he can't say such things openly.
"Perhaps you can... arrive at Hogwarts ahead of time." In the end, Dumbledore took on this responsibility.
After all, given the style of those scoundrels at the Ministry of Magic, if Kane stayed there for a month, he'd be guaranteed to become another Voldemort after graduating from Hogwarts.
The people at the Ministry of Magic have a real talent for making their own people uncomfortable.
Kane glanced at Dumbledore, whose face was full of sincerity, and then looked at the enormous Hogwarts Castle in front of him. He no longer regretted following Dumbledore back here.
Dumbledore first led Kane to his office: "Since you haven't had your Sorting Ceremony yet, you can't go to the student dormitories. But fortunately, you have two options: A, you can choose to live with me."
"I choose the second one," Kane said quietly. He wasn't used to sleeping with other people, and he was a restless sleeper. Harry had almost been kicked out of the stairwell by him before. What if he kicked Dumbledore's old arms and legs to pieces?
Dumbledore smiled slightly: "Congratulations, you'll like your new roommate. I'll call Severus over right now. He's the Potions Professor at Hogwarts. He's having his house renovated in Spider's End this year, so he's staying at Hogwarts for the holidays. Anyway, I think you'll like your new roommate."
As Dumbledore spoke, he summoned a silvery-white phantom bird that flew out of the office. The bird returned quickly, carrying a message from the professor named Severus: if Kane dared to live there, he would shove Kane into the cauldron.
"Hmm... couldn't you just find me an empty classroom to fill out for a while?" Kane asked, staring at Dumbledore.
Dumbledore's answer to this was always to shake his head. How could he conduct his low-intensity dark magic experiments, which had been going on since midnight, if he didn't live under the same roof as Kane?
These are all techniques.
"Lunch and dinner are at 12 noon and 7 pm respectively, in the Great Hall. There is a curfew at 10 pm, so remember to come back. You are free to explore Hogwarts at any other time."
Dumbledore made Kane, who was not yet a Hogwarts student, feel absolutely no discomfort whatsoever; he was completely free.
"By the way, you should have a second bed in your office, right?" Kane asked suddenly as he was leaving.
"Well... you have to forgive me, my old arms and legs can't climb to the top bunk anymore," Dumbledore said apologetically.
"Bunk beds are wonderful," Kane said, and walked straight out of Dumbledore's office.
"This castle is really nice, isn't it? There's no place in the Eternal Realm where you can study magic in peace. You shouldn't have left so decisively just now. You should have let that old wizard teach you a few tricks beforehand, otherwise what if you died tonight?" Maxwell suddenly appeared beside Kane and said quietly.
"I don't need your reminder. I'm already making progress. Once I integrate the shadows into the matter of the real world, I might be able to... create a small campfire," Kane replied.
"And then what? You're not planning to build a scientific machine, are you?" Maxwell asked.
"I'll figure out how to get some gold. My current plan is to get some firewood first." Kane said, sitting on the stair railing and sliding down from the eighth floor to the sixth floor in one go, before looking for the next stairwell.
He quickly left the castle and headed towards the Forbidden Forest. He first broke off a few branches, picked up some stones and grass, then sat down on the ground and swiftly made an axe for the beta version of Earth Online.
Just as he was carrying his axe into the forbidden forest, he suddenly recalled some not-so-pleasant memories.
"There shouldn't be any tree spirits in the woods near the magic school, right?"
.........
Never mind, chopping some small pieces of wood from the outside will be enough.
After an unknown amount of time, Hagrid emerged from the depths of the Forbidden Forest, leading Tooth. They saw Kane, carrying a bundle of firewood and with his pockets full of grass, staggering towards Hogwarts.
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dmims