Chapter 138: The Arrogant Court Flower

After all the students arrived at Hogwarts aboard the Hogwarts Express, they took their seats early in the Great Hall.

The sorting of this year's new students was completed early. Kahn did not pay much attention to the newcomers, but he was quite interested in the Sorting Hat. According to Nicholas Flamel's alchemy notes, incorporating human thought into alchemical products represented extremely advanced alchemical knowledge.

Kahn was not yet capable of this. His memory magic was still insufficient. Only when he could perfectly replicate personality, emotions, habits, and other traits using memory magic could he attempt such advanced alchemy.

Strictly speaking, something like the Sorting Hat was already equivalent to a sentient artifact clone, except that it possessed the thoughts of the four founders.

After the sorting ceremony concluded, Dumbledore began to announce several matters, noting that this year would be an extraordinarily special one for Hogwarts.

Standing at the front of the hall, Dumbledore said in a clear voice: "First of all, let us warmly welcome Professor Pent, whom those above third year are quite familiar with. He will continue to instruct you in Defense Against the Dark Arts this year."

As soon as Dumbledore finished speaking, many students below broke into applause. They were quite fond of Kahn Pent. His teaching style was entirely different from anyone else's—free, novel, and innovative. Moreover, Kahn's generous gifts had made a lasting impression on many; Hermione's Firebolt had practically become the exclusive broomstick of the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

With the exception of Slytherin, most Slytherin students were not very pleased with this news, because during the Quidditch World Cup, Kahn had sent twenty-one pure-blood wizards to the Ministry of Magic.

A few days prior, the trial of those twenty-one wizards from pure-blood families had officially concluded, and they should have already been transferred to Azkaban.

After Dumbledore gave the usual traditional warnings to the new students about the dangerous areas around Hogwarts, the caretaker, Mr. Filch, hurried in through the front doors and whispered something into Dumbledore's ear.

Just as Filch tiptoed quickly back toward the doors of the Great Hall, Dumbledore made another loud announcement: "Because Hogwarts has been chosen to host a legendary competition, our school is about to welcome some very special guests..."

While Dumbledore was making the announcement at the front, Professor McGonagall was preparing to retrieve the Sorting Hat, intending to take it back to the Headmaster's office after the banquet.

Seeing Professor McGonagall's action, Kahn's eyes lit up instantly, and he said, "Professor McGonagall, leave the Sorting Hat with me."

Professor McGonagall looked puzzled. "Leave it with you? Professor Pent, the Sorting Hat must be returned to the Headmaster's office after the banquet..."

Kahn replied, "Leave this to me. I have a few questions I'd like to discuss with the Sorting Hat."

Discuss? But it was just a hat.

Professor McGonagall longed to ask why, but she held her tongue and simply placed the hat next to Kahn. It was a minor matter; the Sorting Hat wouldn't be lost or damaged, though it was a bit dusty.

At the front, Dumbledore had already begun welcoming the students from Beauxbatons, while Kahn only wanted to use this time to study the Sorting Hat. Perhaps he could ask Dumbledore later if the hat could be kept permanently in the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor's office.

"What are you planning to do? I possess the discernment and judgmental wisdom of the four founders. Your gaze reveals dangerous thoughts that remind me of the 'Witch-Hunting Prison'—perhaps you belong there!"

As soon as the hat was placed beside him, the Sorting Hat suddenly said to him in a somewhat panicked tone. This only heightened Kahn's curiosity. He clicked his tongue in wonder and immediately cast a detection spell from alchemy on the Sorting Hat to analyze its composition.

Ancient Runes—extremely complex Ancient Runes. Kahn even spotted runes within it that differed slightly from standard Ancient Runes yet bore a striking similarity. He could not tell whether they were goblin-crafted runes or something else, but he felt this hat was well worth studying.

The look of interest on Kahn's face deepened. Suddenly, he felt many people staring at him. Hagrid beside him and Hermione and the others down below had all fixed their gazes upon him.

Among them, one person's gaze caught Kahn's attention. It seemed to be a Beauxbatons student with a cascade of silver hair and sapphire-blue eyes filled with complex emotions. However, one thing Kahn was certain of was the presence of hatred—an emotion he had seen many times in Lucius's eyes.

If Kahn remembered correctly, she must be Fleur Delacour of Beauxbatons. It was likely on account of her family, but that had nothing to do with him. If one chose to take risks, one had to bear the consequences; this was not children playing house.

He restrained his probing behavior toward the Sorting Hat for the moment, deciding to study it properly after Dumbledore finished explaining the Triwizard Tournament.

By this time, the Beauxbatons students and their headmistress had taken their seats, and Dumbledore was welcoming the delegation from Durmstrang Institute. Once they arrived at the Great Hall and seated themselves, Dumbledore finally announced the start of the banquet.

The details of the Triwizard Tournament would at least wait until after the meal; otherwise, some students certainly wouldn't have the patience to listen to Dumbledore and Barty Crouch discuss the tournament on empty stomachs.

Tonight's dinner featured far more varieties than traditional British cuisine, likely at Dumbledore's special instruction to accommodate the guests from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang.

After everyone had eaten their fill, Dumbledore gave a wave of his hand, clearing away all the food from the tables, and revealed the magical artifact known as the Goblet of Fire.

As Barty Crouch explained the rules of the Triwizard Tournament, Mad-Eye Moody also limped in through a side door of the Great Hall. He was the one Dumbledore had invited to prevent any accidents during the tournament.

Kahn did not know whether this Mad-Eye Moody was real or fake. On the day of the Quidditch World Cup, he hadn't been entirely sure if he had killed Barty Crouch Jr. However, he could find an opportunity to test this Mad-Eye.

Dumbledore already knew the whereabouts of the Horcruxes, so Voldemort's resurrection was entirely meaningless. The Death Eaters' strength had been severely depleted, and Peter Pettigrew had been sent to Azkaban. Voldemort's chances of resurrection had now been elevated to Hell-mode difficulty, meaning this scheme might not even be a fake.

***

After the banquet, Kahn asked Dumbledore for permission to borrow the Sorting Hat. Dumbledore agreed without hesitation, merely offering a brief reminder to "return it to the Headmaster's office when you are finished."

Kahn then packed away the Sorting Hat, ignoring its meaningless protests. Alchemical items with independent thought were truly miraculous, albeit rather noisy.

Before returning to his office, Kahn made a quick trip to the library and the Restricted Section. Taking advantage of the brief window before Madam Pince departed, he checked out every single book concerning Ancient Runes.

There were many unfamiliar runes in the composition of the Sorting Hat. Kahn estimated he would be spending the entire night searching through reference materials and studying them.

However, right outside the doorway of the Defense Against the Dark Arts office, he encountered an unfamiliar black cat.

"Whose pet is this?"

Kahn levitated his magic books in mid-air and walked over to observe the black cat. To his surprise, the creature was not afraid of people. Seeing him approach, it let out a sweet meow—a delicate, pleasant sound.

"Such a dainty meow, must be a tomcat... Oh, guess wrong."

Kahn picked the black cat up to inspect it, but this movement caused the cat to squirm in protest, perhaps dislikes of being held up high.

Many students at Hogwarts brought pets. While the majority kept owls, some brought other animals; for instance, Hermione's pet was a highly intelligent cat with Kneazle ancestry.

Setting the cat back down, Kahn paid it no further mind, figuring the black cat would return to its owner by tomorrow. However, the moment Kahn unlocked and opened his door, the black cat darted inside faster than he did, hopped onto a chair, leaped onto his desk, and squatted down obediently.

Those expressive eyes gazed up at Kahn, instantly dispelling any notion he might have had of banishing the cat with magic.

Aesthetics mattered after all. If a rat had been squatting at his office door, it would have been reduced to dust by now.

"You can stay here, but you must behave. No howling, and no relieving yourself indiscriminately."

With that, Kahn waved his hand, using Transfiguration to create a soft cushion and a litter box for the black cat, and then brought out some fish to coax it. However, the cat seemed already full; upon seeing the fish, it turned its head away, giving Kahn a bored profile view.

"Quite arrogant, aren't you..."

Still, its fur was sleek and smooth, very pleasant to stroke. The cat also seemed to enjoy Kahn's scratching technique, and before long, it curled up on the soft cushion, ready to sleep.

Seeing that the cat was settling down, Kahn stopped petting it. He pulled out his books on Ancient Runes to read, while simultaneously using detection spells to record all the special runes that made up the Sorting Hat using a shorthand quill.

Thus, the only sound in the room at night was the scratching scrape of the quill. The black cat resting on the cushion would occasionally open its eyes, watch Kahn studying Ancient Runes with intense focus for a while, and then, overcome by sleepiness, let out an involuntary yawn and drift back off to sleep.

The plush cushion was very comfortable, and with the fireplace burning in the room, it wouldn't catch a cold even sleeping like this all night.

***

The black cat, currently in the middle of a pleasant dream, was suddenly tapped twice on the head. Having her sweet dream interrupted, she let out an angry meow, but upon opening her sleepy eyes, she found that Kahn was picking her up.

"I'm heading out to teach class. To avoid getting locked inside the office, you'd better go back and find your owner."

Teach class?

Hearing these words, the black cat's pupils shrank into vertical slits. How long had she actually slept?

Carried outside the door by Kahn, the black cat immediately broke free from his arms and scampered off at top speed. Seeing this, Kahn couldn't help shaking his head and muttered, "So ungrateful, not even a trace of reluctance."

Teaching classes felt more like a chore to Kahn. He now had something that interested him far more—alchemy. Therefore, he had dispatched his Shadow Clone to instruct the students, dismissing the clone the moment the class ended, or instantly dispelling it if any emergency arose during the lesson.

Kahn now possessed a profound understanding of Dark Arts; at the very least, he had read every single book on the subject available at Hogwarts.

Voldemort had been researching Horcruxes by the age of sixteen, and the Dark Magic Kahn had extracted from Tom Riddle's memories was more than enough to teach fourth, fifth, and sixth-year students how to defend themselves.

As for the students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, they occasionally attended his lectures. Most of the visitors from those two schools were seventh-years, with only a small minority needing to share classes with Hogwarts students.

Yet for the past few nights, a black cat had been staking out Kahn's office, treating his quarters like an inn.

"Fascinating, truly a marvelous piece of craftsmanship. The construction method has some relation to high-level sealing techniques; perhaps I can borrow the principles of sealing... As long as I can 'stabilize' this many runes, I should be able to create an identical hat, provided I can supply 'emotion,' 'thought,' and 'judgment.'"

Kahn looked at the fully transcribed runes before him—over seventeen hundred in total. Of these, Elder Runes accounted for only a quarter, while the rest were quite unfamiliar to him. However, judging roughly from the records of the runes, two of the types likely originated from magical creatures, while the final type yielded no reference materials whatsoever.

"Perhaps I should look into the notes and materials left behind by Nicholas Flamel."

Remembering that he still possessed the knowledge left by the legendary alchemist, Kahn decided to split off two Shadow Clones every day henceforth, simply to read through all of Nicholas Flamel's alchemical texts first.

"Before that, I can forge some other—hm? Fleur Delacour?"

Kahn had just been about to craft some magical items when he suddenly received the memories transmitted back by his Shadow Clone. Everything else was normal, except that Fleur Delacour had approached him after class, wanting to speak with him tonight after the champions were selected.

Without guessing, he knew Fleur was coming on behalf of the Delacour family's predicament, but Kahn had no intention of bailing out the arrogant courtly flower. The Delacours had been greedy first; if he let the matter slide easily, where would his prestige go? Would the Delacour family eventually climb all over his head?

However, Fleur Delacour's words served as a reminder that tonight was the night the champions would be chosen—he had almost forgotten about it. Had Fleur not approached him, Kahn would have stayed in his office crafting alchemical artifacts.

Kahn had little direct contact with the Goblet of Fire, but it bore a powerful magical contract. Once established, even Dumbledore could neither alter nor terminate it.

Kahn arrived somewhat late. By the time he reached the Great Hall, Dumbledore had just announced the Beauxbatons champion: Fleur Delacour.

"Professor, over here."

Hermione waved to Kahn from behind the crowd. With the Goblet of Fire about to spit out its second name, Kahn didn't want to make a conspicuous scene pushing through to the staff table, so he simply stood beside Hermione.

"Professor, Harry has run into some trouble lately. After the champion selection ends, can I bring him to see you?"

Hermione leaned close to Kahn's ear and asked in a low voice. Harry, noticing Kahn looking at him, nodded quickly, indicating the two of them had already discussed it.

Kahn nodded. "Of course. Come straight to my office afterward."

While the two were speaking, all three champions of the Triwizard Tournament had been selected: Fleur Delacour, Viktor Krum, and Cedric Diggory.

However, before Dumbledore could say anything further, the Goblet of Fire underwent another shift. A fourth slip of paper flew out from within. Dumbledore caught it and took a look, his wrinkles bunching up together in a deep frown.

Then, he called out in a loud voice: "Harry Potter!"

Hermione said in astonishment: "A fourth champion? And the fourth champion is Harry? Why would there be four champions in the Triwizard Tournament... Professor Pent, why do I suddenly feel like this makes some sense..."

"You've been affected by a spell, Hermione."

Kahn closely scrutinized Mad-Eye Moody, noting the look of shock on his face. If the man was an imposter, one had to admit his acting was superb; yet in the original timeline, Barty Crouch Jr.'s acting had indeed fooled many people.

Harry Potter gaining champion status left many feeling resentful. At only fourteen, bearing nothing more than the reputation of the Boy Who Lived without having his competence acknowledged by the public, why had he been chosen?

Cheating!

That was the sole thought born of jealousy in many minds, and even Harry's good friend Ron harbored some doubts. Only Hermione believed it was an accident, knowing full well that Harry lacked the capability to bypass the magical boundary Dumbledore had set—if he were truly that talented, he wouldn't need to copy her homework.

After announcing Harry Potter as the final champion, Dumbledore dismissed the students while he and Barty Crouch went off to the back to discuss the situation regarding Harry.

In the Great Hall, once most people had cleared out, Hermione asked, "Godfather, what should we do now?"
"Wait for Dumbledore to reach a decision. However, Harry has no choice but to compete; even Dumbledore cannot break the magical contract of the Goblet of Fire."

With that, Kahn instructed Hermione: "When Harry comes out, if he's still willing to see me today, bring him to my office."

Hermione nodded in assent. Kahn cared little to waste time; while waiting, he could simply return to design the appearance of the alchemical items he planned to forge next.

For now, he would stick primarily to metals and magical materials. Once he fully understood those runes, he intended to experiment with fabrics and garments.

***

Not long after he returned, a knock sounded at his office door.

With a flick of Kahn's hand, the door swung open, and Hermione walked in followed by an anxious-looking Harry and a gloomy Ron.

Hermione stepped closer to inspect the magical materials on the desk and said, "Godfather, we ran into a little unexpected trouble on the way here, which delayed us."

Kahn waved a hand, turned his chair around, and asked Harry, "Never mind that. So, Harry, what trouble are you facing?"

Harry asked unhappily, "Professor, my biggest trouble right now is that I've become a champion. Is there any way to fix this?"

"Of course there is a way—you just need to deal with the Goblet of Fire. In fact, I'd love to study the Goblet of Fire myself; since it's a magical object, a loophole must exist. However, I've only recently taken up alchemy, so it might take me a few months or half a year to figure it out," Kahn replied deadpan. He genuinely wanted to study the Goblet of Fire, though Dumbledore and Barty Crouch would certainly never agree.

"But I really didn't enter..."

"Of course you didn't. With your magical power, you could never pierce Dumbledore's charms; someone else entered it for you. In fact, I could have done it myself, though the deadline has passed, or I could have gotten all three of you in."

Kahn paused, then continued, "No one helps you build fame for no reason. The person who helped you become a champion either wants your money or your person—in any case, someone has their eye on you now. But you needn't worry; with so many professors in the school, your safety is guaranteed."

Hearing Kahn's words, the expression on Harry's face relaxed slightly. Having a professor vouch for the fact that he hadn't entered his own name into the Goblet of Fire was a relief, and Ron, standing nearby, felt a pang of guilt for having maliciously suspected earlier that Harry might have cheated his way into becoming a champion.

However, Kahn's subsequent words made Harry tense up again. Someone had their eye on him? Why did attending school always subject him to dangerous situations?

Harry thought with helpless resignation. But catching Hermione's eye reminded him of the purpose of their afternoon visit, so he hurried to say, "Professor, I keep having nightmares lately, dreaming... Voldemort is talking to some Death Eaters, and they seem to have come to Hogwarts!"

"Come to Hogwarts? Tell me your dream in detail."

Kahn's expression grew slightly grave as he listened to the recurring nightmare Harry kept experiencing.

'You must all infiltrate.' That phrase...

More than one Death Eater had gotten in?

Yet Kahn hadn't noticed anything amiss with what Moody was drinking. Still, just to be safe, he would test him with a spell tomorrow.

"Harry, you'd best learn Occlumency; that's my advice to you. As for who to learn it from... asking Sirius or Professor McGonagall would both work."

Kahn told Harry, "Occlumency is the only spell that can solve your nightmares."

Having addressed Harry's concerns, Kahn told them to hurry back to their dormitories to sleep. Between various delays, it was already very late.

***

"Hermione, Ron, how am I supposed to learn Occlumency from Sirius? He can't even get into Hogwarts... Oh right, there's that secret passage in the school, but where would he stay once he's inside?"

On their walk back, Harry asked with some frustration. With the misunderstanding cleared up, his relationship with Ron had returned to normal.

"I don't know..."

Before Ron could finish his sentence, he stared blankly, his eyes locking on a figure emerging from the corner ahead—cascade-like silver hair and a captivating face that made it impossible for him to look away, especially after the close-up glance he'd had earlier.

"She's really beautiful, isn't she?"

Harry nodded in agreement. "You're right, Ron."

"Is that Fleur Delacour? What is she doing here this late?" That direction should lead to the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor's office—where her godfather lived.

Hermione desperately wanted to know the answer to that question, but neither Harry nor Ron could provide it.

"You guys go on ahead, I need to visit the bathroom."

With that, Hermione hurried off in a rush.

Only after she left did Harry snap out of it and ask, "Ron, do the girls' dormitories not have bathrooms?"

"I don't know, maybe not, otherwise Hermione wouldn't be heading anywhere else."

Harry shook his head. "That's rough."