"Mr. Makiya, would you be willing to become the... assistant to the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts?"
Dumbledore's proposal left Makiya stunned. However, as his eyes met Dumbledore's gaze, Makiya realized the Headmaster wasn't joking; he was entirely serious.
"Headmaster, as far as I know, Hogwarts doesn't exactly have a position for a teaching assistant," Makiya said with some uncertainty, unsure of what Dumbledore was playing at.
"We didn't before," Dumbledore said, his blue eyes fixed on Makiya. "But starting next year, we will. To be honest, I've always felt that making you attend classes with wizards your own age is a waste of your talent. I've discussed this with Minerva more than once. She believes what you need most is friendship and a happy school life rather than an endless pursuit of knowledge, but you don't see it that way, do you?"
"Just as you say, Headmaster," Makiya replied, choosing his words carefully. "I've already self-studied most of the required textbooks. Attending lectures really is a waste of time for me. As for friendship and a happy life... I'm friends with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and I get along well enough with the others in Ravenclaw. Socializing can happen after class. It would be wonderful if I could manage my own schedule."
"That was exactly my motivation for inviting you to take on this assistant role." Dumbledore reached out and pushed a bowl of Cockroach Clusters toward Makiya.
This was a magical confection sold at Honeydukes. They looked exactly like cockroaches and were made of cream and chocolate. When your teeth crunched down on the chocolate shell, the cockroach-shaped candy would wave its legs and antennae in a desperate struggle.
Aside from the taste, they were indistinguishable from real cockroaches.
Makiya would never touch the things. He absolutely loathed cockroaches. Back in his previous life during graduate school, he'd woken up in the middle of the night several times because one had crawled across his face.
The memory of once crushing one in his hand—the wet, wriggling sensation of its struggle—remained etched in his mind.
He waved them off with a look of disgust. Dumbledore, unbothered, picked one up. Ignoring the candy's frantic writhing, he bit it in half.
Because it had been struggling so violently, the bottom half of the cockroach fell onto the desk, its single remaining leg still twitching.
Seeing Makiya's grim expression, Dumbledore assumed he was weighing the pros and cons. He continued with his pitch: "The assistant position comes with a handsome salary. I know you aren't short on gold, but these are Galleons you've earned yourself. The meaning is different. Moreover..."
Dumbledore paused for effect, tossing the rest of the cockroach into his mouth. He chewed slowly and swallowed before finishing at a leisurely pace. "If you become an assistant, you'll be considered staff. Teachers have unrestricted access to the library's Restricted Section."
"Fine, it's a deal," Makiya agreed instantly.
"Uh..." Makiya's decisiveness caught Dumbledore off guard. The rest of his prepared arguments died in his throat. Still, it was for the best. Makiya was a true Ravenclaw; his thirst for knowledge outweighed everything else. The Sorting Hat had made the right call.
"Since you've agreed, let's discuss the responsibilities of an assistant."
An hour later, Makiya stepped out of Dumbledore's office, marveling at what an open-minded old man he was.
As an assistant, not only could he browse the Restricted Section at will, but he could even host his shooting competitions legitimately. After a simple application, Makiya could establish his own club and hold matches in its name. Everything would be perfectly within Hogwarts' rules.
If Dumbledore was willing to be flexible, Makiya was happy to follow the school's regulations.
Time flew by. Dumbledore didn't go public with the details of Quirrell's death. Instead, he simply announced at a banquet that Professor Quirinus Quirrell had to leave for an extended period due to an urgent family matter and would no longer be teaching.
This explanation satisfied no one. There was no such thing as a secret in the castle. It was unclear which of the three had leaked it—or perhaps the loose-lipped Hagrid had let it slip while drunk—but rumors of Makiya summoning a fire phoenix to fight a black-robed man spread like wildfire among the students.
Many students guessed the black-robed figure was Professor Quirrell and that Makiya had used some strange alchemical items to defeat him.
For a time, Makiya's shop was packed. Wizards flocked there to ask about alchemical items, driving him so crazy that he temporarily closed the shop to find some peace.
As time passed, the hype gradually died down. The students had something more important to deal with: final exams!
As the end of the term approached, exams came one after another. A tense, serious atmosphere permeated all of Hogwarts.
A year of hard work was about to be put to the test. The difference between an O (Outstanding) and a D (Dreadful) was like heaven and earth. The former meant a pleasant summer vacation, while the latter guaranteed a sound thrashing from both parents.
Below a D grade was the T, which stood for Troll. This meant the student's performance was abysmal, far below passing. Ironically, if a student received this, parents were often less angry; it simply indicated the child had zero talent in that subject and couldn't be forced.
Amidst this tension, Harry, Ron, and Hermione didn't haunt the library like the others. Instead, they were acting suspicious, sneaking around all day.
They were tailing Snape.
Dumbledore had, of course, told Snape about Quirrell's death, including the fact that Voldemort had been possessing him. All signs pointed to the Dark Lord's return and his quest to restore his body.
The news of Voldemort's appearance made Snape restless. He immediately guessed the true intention behind Voldemort's infiltration: the Philosopher's Stone!
Although Quirrell had been eliminated by a freakishly powerful young wizard, Voldemort was still alive, hiding in the shadows and plotting for the Stone. If he could possess Quirrell, he could possess anyone—even a student. They had to be on guard.
Tailing Snape while he conducted his own investigation, the trio found his movements highly suspicious.
After finding information about Nicolas Flamel and the Stone, the trio concluded that Snape was the one after it. With Dumbledore away from the school, the greasy old bat was likely planning to steal it. They decided to take matters into their own hands.
Little did they know, Dumbledore was watching their performance with amusement. The Stone was protected by seven layers of defenses, each designed to test the students' abilities. The final two tests were meant to gauge the character and moral fiber of the trio. This was what Dumbledore wanted to see most.
As for the suspected Snape, Dumbledore felt no guilt for the man's predicament. Snape had brought the suspicion on himself. The greasy bat was notoriously biased toward his own house, and his sharp, biting tongue was legendary. since the trio had been frequently targeted and punished by him, who else would they suspect?
For safety's sake, before they set off, the trio sought out Makiya, hoping to recruit a high-level fighter to back up their adventure.
Makiya had no intention of getting involved. He refused them outright, knowing Dumbledore had everything under control. Their adventure was safe enough.
However, business was business. Faced with Harry's large bag of Galleons and shopping requests, Makiya wasn't about to turn down a profit. He even told Harry he could pay on credit and settle the debt later with magical books.
Sirius Black's family library had quite a collection, after all!
When the trio walked out of the shop carrying a pile of alchemical items, Makiya knew the plot was about to go off the rails. It wouldn't look anything like the original story.
As expected, Gryffindors didn't choose the path of wit. When brute force could solve the problem, the three of them chose to charge in blindly.
Level one: the giant three-headed dog guarding the trapdoor. Without a word, the three slapped in frost magazines. The poor little... big dog was instantly frozen into an ice sculpture. Though it soon broke free, the kids had already slipped through the door to the second level.
The Devil's Snare blocking the way was blown to smithereens by flashbangs. The third level with the flying keys was even worse. Under the impact of special proximity-fused alchemical rounds, the winged keys had nowhere to hide and fell like rain.
The three kids picked up the keys from the floor and tried them one by one. They didn't even notice the broomsticks standing in the corner.
Dumbledore: "...Something's not right. Let's keep watching."
After brute-forcing the door, they reached Professor McGonagall's giant wizard chess set. Facing the massive, clunky stone statues, the trio raised their firearms and shared a grin.
Bang! Bang! Boom! Crack!
Amidst a hail of bullets and the roar of grenades, the stone statues were shattered into countless pieces. The trio passed through easily.
The troll on the fifth floor was already dead. The sixth floor was Snape's potion riddle. Seeing this, Dumbledore subconsciously wondered how they would use their guns to solve this one. To his surprise, Hermione's brain suddenly kicked back in, and she solved the riddle to find the correct potion.
Dumbledore: "..."
Watching the young wizards bash their way through from start to finish, he'd almost forgotten that Hermione actually had a brain.
The final challenge was the Mirror of Erised, set by Dumbledore himself. Since there was no villain, Dumbledore had to use a few tricks, transfiguring the shattered stone statues into Voldemort's likeness to play out a battle of wits and courage with the three students.
Makiya didn't know what was happening in the castle. He was currently occupied with something very important: practicing his Animagus transformation.
The Animagus was a unique transformation that allowed a wizard to turn into an animal while retaining their magic.
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