"You want to know?" Kane asked as he unclasped the Life Giving Amulet from beneath his collar and held it out to Dumbledore. "I don't know if you can even use it, but if you can, you'll understand the mont you put it on."
Dumbledore didn't even touch it. With a casual flick of his wand, the amulet flew back and settled itself around Kane's neck.
"Don't do that, Kane. You'll frighten ."
"You? Frightened?" Kane frowned, not quite grasping the Headmaster's aning.
"If this item truly works for , it ans it might work for others," Dumbledore said with a bittersweet smile. "A wizard as powerful and clever as I am doesn't always have a smooth life. Perhaps there are people I, too, wish to bring back.
To avoid doing sothing I might regret, it's best to stop the temptation at the source—for instance, by refusing to touch your necklace."
"You really are... sothing else." Kane raised an eyebrow. To him, Dumbledore was the most clear-headed person he had ever t, without exception.
Dumbledore nodded. "So, please, keep that thing that draws the gaze of Death out of my sight. Consider it a personal favor. Now, is there anything else?"
"I'm planning to visit that 'stage' you built for Harry. I need to do so prep work. I've never been fond of leaving my life in soone else's storage, so I'm just here to give you a heads-up," Kane said.
"As you should."
As Kane left the office, a portrait behind Dumbledore let out a long, mocking tsk.
"Poor Dumbledore. Perhaps you should negotiate with the boy. The Philosopher's Stone only extends life, but it can't draw the gaze of Death as that necklace can.
You could be a little selfish for once; it's nothing compared to the contributions you've made."
"I am not like you, Phineas," Dumbledore replied. Before he could say more, another forr Headmaster on the wall acted as his mouthpiece.
"Indeed, Dumbledore isn't as shaless and unscrupulous as you, Phineas!"
"Hmph!"
Leaving the office, Kane checked his schedule. History of Magic...
Skipped! Professor Binns never took attendance anyway. Skipping one class shouldn't be a problem.
Soon, he arrived at the fourth-floor corridor. He put the three-headed dog to sleep and manipulated the tentacles into a staircase, beginning his journey through the trials.
While the defenses designed by Dumbledore (or whoever else) weren't exactly high-difficulty for him, they were rigorous.
Kane looked for a "skip" button but found none; still, as long as he was careful, getting to the end was simple enough.
In the final chamber, he saw the Mirror of Erised once more. The eyeball within the colorful portal stared back at him with curiosity.
"What's the plan?" Maxwell appeared behind Kane, both of them gazing into the mirror.
"Old Max, what do you see in there?" Kane asked instead of answering.
"Erm... the days I spent performing magic with Charlie." Maxwell let out a weary sigh.
"Do you know how to build a Maxwell's Door? Since Mr. Tom wants my magic so badly, I figured I'd send him to the Constant for a little post-graduate study."
Maxwell sat on a nearby table. "Maxwell's Door can't pull a soul into the Constant." Seeing Kane's questioning look, he added, "Abigail was a special case; she was tethered to her sister's flower. That's how she was brought in."
"Then Mr. Tom should be fine. His soul is currently tethered to Quirrell. How else could they switch personalities so smoothly? I can't even feel a shift in magical frequency." Kane looked at Maxwell. "Give the blueprints."
"Fine. I'll help you hide the door on the other side. You wouldn't want Charlie to find it."
"Ah, speaking of Charlie, how is she? Are you two still at a stalemate, clutching your respective powers and refusing to let go?"
"It's not that we won't let go," Maxwell said as he began to fade. "It's that we dare not."
Suddenly, a massive amount of absurd knowledge flooded Kane's brain. He rubbed his temples. "Not a bad way to teach. I should thank you. You're becoming much more human lately."
He paused, sifting through the data. "But this... knowledge about attaching a buttered piece of toast to a cat to create a perpetual motion machine? Good grief, the Constant is even crazier than I thought."
anwhile, in the History of Magic Classroom
Because of the faculty's peer-review requirents, every professor had to sit in on another's class once a term. For convenience, most chose the end-of-term History of Magic sessions.
Today, it was Professor McGonagall's turn.
"Well, Mr. Weasley, that was a very detailed explanation," McGonagall said from the back of the room. Like the students, she was ignoring Professor Binns.
She leaned in toward Ron. "Perhaps when I see Mr. Heiss, I should take him to St. Mungo's. According to your account, he has been in the bathroom for fifty-five minutes."
"Ah... maybe he just fainted in so hidden corner from low blood sugar?" Harry added, his face a mask of awkwardness. "No need to trouble yourself, Professor."
"Do the two of you plan on accompanying him to St. Mungo's as well?"
"..." "..."
Late at night, having unknowingly ditched more than one class, Kane finished scavenging various "junk" from around Hogwarts.
He had successfully assembled the Maxwell's Door like a piece of complex Lego. He returned to the dorm feeling utterly drained.
His only thought was sleep. Assembling that door was more taxing on his Sanity than being watched by Death all day.
As he stepped into the Gryffindor common room, he felt a dozen pairs of eyes lock onto him. He knew this feeling well—Hermione used to get this treatnt, and she'd end up in tears every other day because of it.
Was it my turn now? Just because I dress a bit 'eclectic'? Is it that big a deal?
Despite his internal grumbling, Kane's hand was already hovering near his belt. The Gryffindors, who had initially just wanted to watch the drama, saw Kane gripping his wand and quickly backed off.
These "star" students were getting more intense and unpredictable by the day; soone might actually get hurt over a "What are you looking at?" glance.
The room cleared out by half in an instant. Only a few of Kane's friends and so very confident upper-year students remained.
"Alright... yawn... tell what's going on."
Harry pursed his lips and chose his words carefully. "Basically, Professor McGonagall found out you skipped two History of Magic classes and a Flying lesson. She wants you in her office right now for detention... just for the rest of the day."
Having spent the entire day scavenging scraps and building a trans-dinsional portal, the young wizard, who just wanted to sleep, felt his soul gently shatter.
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