Kane looked at Neville with mild surprise and spoke slowly. "You're a good guy."
Neville's face flushed red as he nodded.
"My grandmother says the same thing, though she usually follows it up with 'weak-willed.'
But I figured you might want someone to wear flower crowns with you, so you don't stand out quite so much? Consider it my thanks for helping me out yesterday."
Kane studied Neville. Yeah, this kid was someone worth knowing, a genuinely good person.
Still, it really wasn't necessary. He'd only done it because Harry and Ron's schadenfreude had annoyed him. He wasn't about to have a meltdown just because someone saw him wearing a flower crown.
"But Neville, if you really want to thank me, how about lending me Trevor? Let me take care of him for a couple days?"
Harry gave Kane a long-suffering look.
He was already the one taking care of Huginn, who now spent every day eating and sleeping with Hedwig. If it weren't for the biological barriers between ravens and snowy owls, Harry half-expected to find an egg one of these days.
And now Kane wanted to borrow someone else's pet? A toad, no less—the one creature Harry liked least of all?
Something was off. Knowing Kane the way he did, Harry was certain the guy was up to something. Probably nothing good.
Neville hesitated. "You have to promise you'll keep Trevor safe."
"I absolutely won't hurt him. I'll make sure he's lively, bouncing around, and very much alive when I return him to you." Kane said it with perfect sincerity.
Neville didn't waste time. He stuck his hand into his pocket, pulled out his slimy, pudgy Trevor, and held him out to Kane.
"Uh..." After a moment's hesitation, Kane forced himself to take the toad. He'd eaten frog legs and frog leg sandwiches—dishes most people wouldn't even look at. Holding a toad was nothing. No big deal.
Soon enough, breakfast ended, and the first-year students headed off to their very first lesson at Hogwarts.
The Charms professor was a wizard with some goblin ancestry named Professor Flitwick. He was quite short and stood on a stack of books to reach the lectern.
As a professor teaching Charms—one of the foundational subjects of magic—using a more dignified height-boosting method, or even levitating himself, shouldn't have been difficult at all. Yet he still chose to stand on a pile of books.
It was a fitting embodiment of the saying: books are the ladder of human progress.
"The charm we're learning today is very basic and very simple," Flitwick said. "If you pay attention to my instructions, you shouldn't have any trouble with it."
"After all, the main purpose of using this charm as your first lesson is to teach you how to control your own magic, and to understand the importance of wand movements and incantations."
"The spell itself is quite straightforward. I'm sure some of you have already mastered it before arriving at school. Now, would anyone like to demonstrate for us?"
As soon as Professor Flitwick finished speaking, a handful of confident young witches and wizards raised their hands.
Hermione's shot up the highest, and unsurprisingly, she was the one called to the front. She stood at the lectern, facing the feather before her.
"Wingardium Leviosa!"
As soon as the words left Hermione's mouth, the feather slowly rose into the air.
"Five points to Gryffindor! Let's give Miss Granger a round of applause."
The classroom erupted in applause. Ron clapped so hard his palms turned red, while Kane leaned over curiously. "What's the point of those house points, anyway? Do they count toward your final grade?"
"Not exactly," Harry explained.
"I heard if you get enough points, your house wins the House Cup at the end of the year."
Even though Kane had arrived at Hogwarts before Harry, he somehow knew less about how things worked here. He pressed further. "And what's the prize for winning the House Cup?"
"Um, the Great Hall gets decorated with that house's banners," Harry said after a moment's thought.
"So... that's it?"
"Yep."
Kane's enthusiastic clapping gradually slowed. Evil adults, using completely useless glory to pit students against each other in competition. Well, I'll just...
"Kane, why don't you come up and demonstrate as well? I understand you've also been practicing magic before the start of term," Professor Flitwick said suddenly, looking directly at Kane.
"Professor, since Gryffindor already earned five points, maybe you should give another house a chance?" Even as Kane said this, he didn't hesitate. He stood and walked straight to the front.
He pulled out his wand, gave it a wave, and recited, "Wingardium Leviosa."
(wing-GAR-dee-um leh-vee-OH-sa)
As his wand moved, its shadow seemed to twist strangely for a split second before falling across the feather in front of him. The feather slowly rose into the air.
"Another five points to Gryffindor! The next two demonstrations will be from Slytherin. Slytherin students, get ready!"
Kane returned to his seat, idly twirling his wand as he practiced the Levitation Charm a few more times. The spell wasn't difficult—it had a low barrier to entry, but it also had a high ceiling.
A Levitation Charm that could lift an enemy into the air? That was a legitimately good control technique. Just because a spell was simple didn't mean it should be underestimated.
The hour-long Charms class flew by. The young students filed out of the classroom one by one, and Professor Flitwick began packing up his things to leave.
Kane tapped Harry and Ron on the shoulders. "Wait for me outside."
Then he jogged over to the lectern and called out to Professor Flitwick. "Professor, I have some questions I'd like to ask you."
Flitwick looked quite pleased to see Kane. After all, when a young wizard who didn't even need a password to meet with Dumbledore chose to come to him with a problem instead of going straight to the Headmaster, it said something meaningful!
"Of course! What would you like to know?" Professor Flitwick asked cheerfully.
Kane didn't answer right away. Instead, he reached into his pocket, pulled out the toad Trevor, and set him on the lectern.
"Professor, I think you should probably have your wand ready," Kane warned.
"Thank you for the heads-up." Professor Flitwick obligingly drew his wand.
Seeing this, Kane didn't waste time. He immediately sent his shadow drilling into Trevor's body. In an instant, Trevor transformed again into that disgusting creature—eyes glowing, entire body covered in oozing boils.
The toad stared at Professor Flitwick and shot its tongue out at lightning speed, attempting to attack. However, the tongue crashed into a purple shield of light instead.
"This is the Shield Charm, a very practical spell. You'll learn it when you're older," Flitwick explained, glancing at Kane, who was studying the purple barrier with interest.
Then he continued, "Dumbledore did mention your... shadow magic and the remarkable things it can do. How can I help you?"
"If you hadn't used the Shield Charm just now, Professor, you wouldn't just have been hit by the toad's tongue. Due to some unclear mechanism, it would also have taken an item from you," Kane explained.
Professor Flitwick's eyes widened halfway through Kane's explanation.
"Pardon?"
Kane nodded. "Would you like to try it?"
Professor Flitwick dropped his Shield Charm. "Certainly. Go ahead."
The toad seized the opportunity and shot its tongue out again.
Along with Professor Flitwick's sharp, pained hiss, there was a loud clatter. The keyring hanging from his belt suddenly fell to the floor.