Chapter 103: Professor Pent at Hogwarts (Additional Chapter in Gratitude for the Support of "From Heaven to Hell, I Passed Through the Mortal World")

“Do pureblood families always address each other by their full names? Mr. Lucius Malfoy,” Carn imitated Lucius, pronouncing his full name before patting Hermione’s fluffy hair and continuing, “It seems dragon blood pastries aren’t selling well lately. My goddaughter used to be quite fond of them, but sadly, they’re nowhere to be found now. Mr. Malfoy, do you happen to know what’s going on?”

Hermione paused for a moment but cleverly played along with Carn, turning to Lucius and saying, “Yes, Mr. Malfoy, I really like dragon blood pastries...” As she spoke, she recalled what those pastries were—Phil had once given her some, but not only did she spit them out, she also saw her godfather wince after eating them. Only freaks liked that stuff.

Lucius let out a deep sigh. A significant portion of the Malfoy family business was tied to fire dragon materials, but because of Carn’s tactics, their trade was disrupted, causing a substantial drop in family income. His harsh criticisms of Carn in the Daily Prophet largely stemmed from this issue. Lucius had even tried lobbying the Ministry of Magic, and many potion-making families across Europe were doing the same. However, the Romanian dragon sanctuary had a binding contract with Carn and would not terminate it lightly.

“Pureblood families do not fall so easily, Mr. Pente,” Lucius said before calling for Draco and pushing through the crowd to leave.

Carn shook his head. If pureblood families were not so obsessed with bloodlines, cooperation between them would have been possible. Pooling the resources of three or four pureblood families to monopolize certain magical goods would be effortless for them. Interests drive people most powerfully; with sufficient incentive, three hundred wizards could band together to cast Avada Kedavra on Voldemort.

“Hello, Mr. Pente, I’m Arthur Weasley,” Arthur approached after Lucius left, greeting Carn before whispering, “Thank you for the binding curse earlier, Professor Pente.”

Carn chuckled lightly. “No problem. I don’t like that guy either.”

While Carn and Arthur chatted, Hermione found her friends and asked, “Harry, Ron, were you alright earlier?”

“Yeah, Hermione. Is that your godfather?” Harry Potter asked, thinking for a moment. “He must be our new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, right? I saw some news about him in the Daily Prophet.”

At the Weasley residence, Harry had been curious about recent happenings in the wizarding world and had read previous issues of the Prophet.

“Of course! My godfather is incredible, Harry. When school starts, you should study under him. Besides Dumbledore, I’ve never met a wizard as powerful as him...” Hermione’s excitement was almost evangelical, in every sense.

Before Carn mastered magic, Hermione’s feelings for him were merely respect and reliance. But after witnessing his spellcasting prowess and how effortlessly he learned, her feelings grew into deep admiration. Moreover, her godfather treated her very well. When Hermione shared her living conditions with the other girls from wizarding families, they couldn’t believe it and thought she was exaggerating. Such a lifestyle was rare even among purebloods, let alone someone from a Muggle family like Hermione.

Ron looked skeptical, making a peculiar face as he said, “Is he really that amazing? He looks pretty young to me...”

“Ron, you haven’t seen the extent of Professor Pente’s skill yet, but you’ll have plenty of chances at Hogwarts,” Hermione replied, lifting her chin slightly. Though she disliked others doubting Carn, much like the criticisms in the Prophet, she believed Ron was influenced by such voices. Spending time with her godfather would reveal his true strength.

“Are you done chatting, Hermione?” On the other side, Carn had finished talking with Arthur. There wasn’t much to say, as Arthur liked Muggle things, and Carn didn’t want to discuss what ordinary people would consider common knowledge.

“Yes, I’ve said all I needed to, Godfather. The rest can wait until we’re back at Hogwarts.” Hermione hurried over to Carn; she still had some shopping to finish.

Seeing Arthur reminded Carn of a crucial magical craft in their world—magical item modification. Arthur’s work on cars was common alchemy, but Carn valued the alchemical craftsmanship of the goblins more. To this day, many alchemical products were made by goblins, which wizards could not reverse engineer. The basilisk at Hogwarts was also very valuable. After leaving, Carn realized he had forgotten to take Ginny’s notebook.

Once at Hogwarts, Carn planned to acquire the Vanishing Cabinet in the Room of Requirement, giving him easy access between the castle and Diagon Alley. His business was just starting, after all.

In the European wizarding community, the demand for fire dragon materials and magical components was highest. Carn could dominate the entire European market through exclusive sales of fire dragon materials. In fact, he was already doing so; the difference between his buying and selling prices was 1.5 times, and just by turning over stock, he earned more galleons than those laboriously cultivating herbs.

After finishing his purchases, Carn asked Hermione what she wanted to do next. Since it was rare to go out, he wanted to accompany his goddaughter for a proper stroll.

When the term began, Carn did not take the Hogwarts Express with Hermione but arrived early at the school to familiarize himself with the surroundings. It would be embarrassing to get lost in the castle on the first day of class.

“Professor Pente, welcome to Hogwarts,” Dumbledore greeted him personally upon arrival, accompanied by Professor McGonagall—whom Carn had met before—and the slick-haired Professor Snape.

“Professor Dumbledore, I’m delighted to teach at Hogwarts. I’ve prepared extensively to be an excellent Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher,” Carn replied with a smile. Thanks to Dumbledore’s introduction, Carn met all the Hogwarts professors.

But when Dumbledore introduced Snape, Carn regretted not having learned the Reanimation Charm yet. Otherwise, he might have struck a business deal with Snape.

There was still a day before the new students arrived, so with Filch’s guidance, Carn toured the castle thoroughly and set up his office. He found garlic left behind by Professor Quirrell and used magic to clean every corner.

The Restricted Section, the Room of Requirement, and the Forbidden Forest all piqued Carn’s interest. He felt like a new student, curious about every corner.

Defense Against the Dark Arts professors had their own bedrooms or could sleep in their offices, with adjacent rest areas they could furnish. Carn couldn’t resist and went to the library that very night. Although curious about the Restricted Section’s dark magic, he knew his magical knowledge was too limited, so he wanted to study more general magic books first.

With a word to Madam Pince, Carn was allowed to stay in the library all night—an exclusive privilege for professors, as students would be kicked out.

To maximize efficiency, Carn used shadow clones to read. His memory could handle information from four clones simultaneously, and he focused solely on magic-related texts. This combination allowed him to read and memorize over a dozen magical tomes in one night, something unimaginable for ordinary wizards.

Just before dawn, Carn finally closed his last book, tidied up, and dispelled his clones. Instantly, a flood of memories and chakra returned to his body, and his eyes glowed fiery red for a few seconds before returning to normal.

“Phew, that was a headache. Looks like I need to organize my thoughts...” Carn rubbed his temples. He had remembered everything but needed to sort through it to fully understand.

“Magic really is a wondrous force, almost like manipulating particles with magical energy—disrupting, reassembling, transforming... If all this is possible, then why does the Gamp’s Law of Elemental Transfiguration still exist?” Carn pondered. He was versed not only in magic but also chakra. Magical energy seemed bound by an exchange principle; while useful, it couldn’t create and retain objects out of nothing. Chakra, however, was different—there was a profound difference between the two.

After some thought, he shook his head and decided not to dwell on it. “For now, I’ll focus on mastering powerful spells. Understanding the principles of magic can wait.”

As his strength grew, so did his ability to observe the world.

During the day, Carn did not enter the Restricted Section but wandered through the castle and retrieved the Vanishing Cabinet from the Room of Requirement. As both a school governor and Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, he felt having a secret exit home was justified.

As evening fell, the time for new student arrivals drew near.

When Carn entered the Great Hall, Dumbledore and the other professors were already seated. Dumbledore gestured to the seat beside him, indicating it was Carn’s place.

Shortly after Carn sat down, students began filing in and taking their seats. He spotted Hermione, who smiled and waved at him before sitting with Ron and Harry Potter.

Carn was somewhat surprised to see those two beside Hermione. He recalled they had been stopped from coming to Hogwarts by the Malfoy family’s house-elf and had arrived in Arthur’s modified car, so why had that changed?

The Sorting Ceremony concluded swiftly. Once all the young witches and wizards were seated, Dumbledore stood and prepared to make announcements before dinner.

“Quiet, please.”

When the hall fell silent, Dumbledore continued, “After consulting with Professor McGonagall, the school plans to replace some of the brooms. Some of the older models have considerable historical value but pose risks to our Quidditch trainers.”

“The greenhouses will also be expanded, overseen by Professor Sprout. This will require swapping her Herbology classes with other professors until the expansion is complete.”

“Mr. Filch has submitted a list of seventy-three contraband items, all of which I have approved. The list will be announced by Mr. Filch.”

“Finally, we welcome a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Pente.”