Seeing that Professor Dumbledore's complexion had improved, Loren finally stated his purpose. "I don't suppose you could prepare a borrowing pass for the Restricted Section for me? The books available in the library aren't very helpful to me anymore."
Faced with Loren's sudden request, Professor Dumbledore pondered for a while before speaking. "Most of the books in the Restricted Section are advanced and dangerous. You're still too young to study that kind of magic on your own. How about this: each week I'll select something suitable for you from my private collection and have the house-elves bring it to you. If you have any questions about the magic, come find me when I'm free. I think you know when I'm in my office."
He even winked as he finished. Loren understood the subtext. When he obtained part of Godric Gryffindor's authority, he had already noticed the traces left behind when he researched the "hotspots" of the castle. In the eyes of someone with authority, those traces shone like a lightbulb—impossible to miss.
Perhaps the reason George and Fred had repeatedly seen Dumbledore pacing in his office was because Dumbledore let them see it on purpose. After all, with Loren's current permissions, he could also manage such things within limits.
Loren was quite satisfied with Dumbledore's arrangement. It seemed Mr. Chaoxun's "Open-Window Method" worked well on those aligned with Order. He was indeed coveting Dumbledore's private collection; if he asked for it directly, he'd likely be refused. But by first requesting a pass to the Restricted Section, Dumbledore—out of safety concerns—wouldn't want Loren touching overly dangerous knowledge too soon, and would instead choose books from his own shelves and control Loren's learning pace.
Thus Loren's goal was achieved. As for the Restricted Section, even without a future Defence Against the Dark Arts professor who's "easy to deal with," Loren's current permissions alone would let him slip in and out and copy its knowledge without anyone noticing.
Loren was very satisfied with Dumbledore's plan. "Professor, how do you intend to deal with Professor Quirrell? If it's inconvenient for you to act, you can hand him over to—"
Before he could finish, Dumbledore cut him off. "I won't need your help for the time being. This is a trial I'm leaving to Harry. You may offer Harry some help, but the trial must be completed by him personally."
"All right, Professor." Loren shrugged. "I'll follow your arrangements and keep clear of the third-floor corridor. But that big dog is quite nice—could you give it to me when this is over? I can pay."
Dumbledore was startled, then immediately understood. Loren simply possessed great magical power and didn't care much for others' opinions, which could make him seem a bit blunt. But taking him for a fool would be the real mistake.
"That won't do. That dog belongs to Hagrid. I think you can talk to Hagrid about it." Dumbledore didn't refuse Loren's request outright, but pushed the matter back to him, letting him negotiate with Hagrid himself.
Loren nodded to Dumbledore. "I'll talk to Hagrid when this business is over. Given our relationship, he should agree." He had known from the start that the dog was Hagrid's. What mattered was the first half of what he said—telling Dumbledore he would support the plan.
Hearing Loren's answer, Dumbledore was about to end the conversation so he could think carefully about how to face a talent as outrageous as Loren's when he found himself asking, almost against his better judgment, "What happened in the office before I came in? How did Fawkes suddenly grow so old?"
"He was startled by the Sorting Hat's scream," Loren answered straightforwardly. He saw no reason to hide it.
"Startled by the Sorting Hat?" Dumbledore looked genuinely surprised, and when he glanced at the Sorting Hat—still looking oddly blissful—he was even more at a loss.
"I'll just show you." The blissful Sorting Hat was caught off guard by Loren's sudden move; a tremendous emptiness swept over it, and it let out an even louder shriek than before. In that cry, Fawkes shed his last feathers and began his phoenix rebirth.
As soon as the Sorting Hat screamed, Loren slid the Sword of Gryffindor back where it belonged, then set the utterly content Sorting Hat back on the desk. Watching Loren's smooth, practiced motions—and Fawkes now in the middle of rebirth as a downy chick—Dumbledore removed his spectacles and pinched the bridge of his nose. At last he only waved his hand to indicate Loren should leave first. What had just happened left his thoughts in disarray; he needed to sort them out.
With Dumbledore's gesture, Loren bowed to him, turned, and left the Headmaster's office, heading toward the Gryffindor common room.
Watching Loren's departing back, Dumbledore's thoughts would not settle for a long time. As Headmaster he had only recently learned from the Sorting Hat that Gryffindor's sword was hidden within it—and he himself could not draw it. Yet Loren had pulled it out with ease. That meant Loren's character had been acknowledged by Godric Gryffindor. Many of Dumbledore's previous conjectures about Loren now had to be discarded, though he could be sure of one thing: Loren would not do anything to endanger Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Seeing Dumbledore lost in thought, the headmasters' portraits on the walls began to pepper him with questions about Loren. To preserve the dignity of the current Headmaster, they usually remained silent when outsiders were present; now that Loren had gone, they spoke up.
"Who is that youngster?"
"A fine lad—pity he isn't Slytherin."
"I think he has the makings of a headmaster, Dumbledore. You should cultivate him."
Listening to the clamor in his ears, Dumbledore felt a headache coming on. Perhaps he really was getting old; it might be time to consider Minerva as his successor.
On the other side, after leaving the Headmaster's office, Loren began experimenting with his permissions. In the midst of these attempts, he finally understood a saying from his previous life: everyone curses those with authority, but everyone wants to be the one with authority—it's truly intoxicating.
With his current permissions, Loren could do many things within the Hogwarts castle. He could even Apparate within certain bounds—only a few places were hard-locked by special wards and could not be entered or exited directly by Apparition; everywhere else was accessible.
More importantly, the Restricted Section was already open to him. He could use his permissions to copy its knowledge without being blocked by the safeguards. Of course, he couldn't swagger in during the day when the librarian was present—he'd have to move at night.
The most useless ability, in Loren's view, was that—like Dumbledore—he could award or deduct points for any House without restriction. At first he'd been rather pleased, but on reflection it was a complete chicken-rib ability. The rules for the House Cup were already transparent: every addition or deduction of points was announced publicly to the students, leaving little room to maneuver. Gryffindor's score was already nearing seven hundred, almost a hundred ahead of second-place Slytherin, and with Harry around, as long as nothing went wrong like in the original timeline, the House Cup was basically a sure thing.
His permissions also came with other perks. Even though the company had been greatly expanded by professional managers, the founding shares hadn't been diluted; at least nominally, one fifth of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry now belonged to him. With that fifth alone, the house-elves would treat him as a true master, rather than a junior master as before.
He had also obtained partial ownership of the Black Lake and the Forbidden Forest. The only practical benefit was that the map in his mind could now extend into those areas, instead of being limited to the vicinity of the castle.
If all went as planned, he could use Peter Pettigrew's Animagus form to help Sirius Black clear his name, then use Harry to gain entry to the old Black residence and angle for the inheritance of those big names.
As for Hufflepuff's Cup—if you dare break into Gringotts, Tom, then so can I. When the time comes, he'd just pack up the entire vault and take it away.
With enough control of the castle's permissions, he could study Hogwarts' operating rules in greater depth. Then, in a new, self-created "little world," he could found a new school of magic of his own—and even open branches in other worlds.
By the time his thoughts reached that point, Loren's eyes were already shining as he pondered how he would recruit students in that new world.
Lost in thought, he returned to the common room without realizing it. The room was quiet; Professor McGonagall had already chased the other students back to their dormitories. Loren headed straight for the dorm, and, still thinking, failed to notice Professor McGonagall waiting for him.
Seeing Loren about to pass by and return to the dormitory, Professor McGonagall had to give a soft cough to draw his attention. In the silence of the common room, that cough sounded especially loud and pulled Loren from his thoughts; only then did he notice McGonagall seated in the chair.
Recognizing her intent, Loren immediately changed direction and sat down in the chair opposite Professor McGonagall.
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