Hannah Abbott!

Ron would soon find out exactly how much money Professor Kayson had.

He followed the line of young wizards toward the Great Hall and looked in the direction Harry was pointing, at a tall, handsome professor and the dazzling brooch on his chest.

"Such a huge diamond!" Ron said in shock.

"I told you he was amazing!" Harry said proudly, clearly delighted by Ron's astonished look toward Kayson.

Kayson, seated at the High Table, also noticed the young wizard who had been staring at him and immediately raised a hand in a gentle wave.

Harry hurriedly waved back, completely missing Professor Snape's gaze from the other side, as though it had been welded to his face.

Soon, Professor McGonagall came out carrying a shabby old hat—the Sorting Hat—and began reciting the opening words she had sung countless times before.

Until now.

"The Sorting Ceremony now begins."

Professor McGonagall glanced at the parchment in her hand and cleared her throat.

"Hannah Abbott!"

"Hufflepuff!"

The entire Great Hall instantly erupted in thunderous applause, and Kayson clapped with great enthusiasm from the High Table.

He had been at Hogwarts for nearly two months now, and he had gained a preliminary understanding of all four Houses.

For example, Gryffindor's courage, Ravenclaw's wisdom, and Slytherin's cunning.

But the one he truly liked was the kind and gentle Hufflepuff. Ever since Hogwarts had been founded, Hufflepuff had always been the House filled with warmth and compassion.

At least in Kayson's eyes, the wisdom of Lady Hufflepuff was absolutely no less than that of Lady Ravenclaw.

As the little girl named Hannah Abbott went to the Hufflepuff table, Professor McGonagall began reading the next name.

Kayson watched each young wizard and offered them his blessings.

Until two familiar young wizards appeared. One was Harry Potter, sorted into Gryffindor, just as he had expected.

The other was Draco Malfoy, sorted into Slytherin, also just as he had expected.

Soon, the entire Sorting Ceremony came to an end, and only then did Dumbledore rise from the center of the High Table.

"All right, I know you have all had a long and tiring day of travel, so you probably have no interest in listening to this old bag of bones ramble on. But I still have two things to say."

"First, Hogwarts has a new forbidden area this year: the corridor on the fourth floor of the castle. If you misbehave, you may very well meet a miserable death there."

"Second, we have welcomed two new professors. Professor Quirinus Quirrell will teach you Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"Professor Kayson Heath will teach you Alchemy. Please believe in his skill as an alchemist. I don't know whether you noticed, but Hogwarts' Stone Golems have become Iron Golems. That was his work."

"That is all. Everyone, dig in!"

Kayson liked headmasters like this. Who would not like a headmaster who did not talk too much?

Just as he picked up his knife and fork, intending to eat something, Professor Quirrell beside him leaned over and held out a hand.

"N-nice... nice to meet you. I'm... you can, can call me Quirrell. I only just... just came back today."

Kayson quickly set down his knife and fork and shook Professor Quirrell's hand.

"Nice to meet you. Call me Kayson or Heath, whichever you prefer."

After shaking hands, Quirrell nodded and said haltingly, "Y-you're an alchemist?"

Kayson was surprised by Quirrell's talent for stating the obvious, but he still nodded. "I know a little about alchemy."

Quirrell nodded again, then sat back down and said nothing more. Kayson did not continue the conversation either. In his eyes, Quirrell was merely a somewhat strange wizard, perhaps even a little... timid.

That was all.

It was not until the next day, when Kayson woke up from his hangover—please forgive him, his drinking capacity was only so-so. He could not compare to Hagrid...

He could not even compare to Dumbledore.

"Ugh... my head. If I ever drink that much again, I'm a dog," he muttered groggily, knocking on his own head.

Knock, knock, knock...

"Coming."

Still half-asleep, he opened the door, only to find a letter abruptly appearing before him.

This is your timetable.

That was written on the front of the envelope.

Kayson sighed in relief. It was only a timetable... a timetable?

He hurriedly tore open the envelope. Thankfully, thankfully, he did not have many classes today—just one third-year class in the afternoon. It would serve nicely as a beginner's tutorial.

A third-year class meant they were all little newbies. It should not be too difficult.

He shut the door again, picked up his Alchemy textbook, and began cramming one last time.

That afternoon, in the Alchemy classroom.

Kayson stood behind the lectern. To his surprise, quite a few young wizards had chosen Alchemy.

There were more than twenty young wizards from all four Houses combined. At Hogwarts, that definitely counted as a lot. After all, some other elective classes had to combine two year groups just to hold a lesson.

"I am honored that you chose Alchemy, and I am also honored that you are willing to listen to a fellow newbie professor teach you." Kayson began with a brief bit of nonsense.

Yes, it really was nonsense. Once he had finished it, he finally got to the point, such as introducing himself.

"Kayson Heath! That is my name. You may call me Professor Kayson. I would be happy for you to address me directly as Professor Kayson. Of course, if you see me outside class, you can simply call me Kayson."

"Don't worry, I won't deduct points, as long as you do not make some serious mistake."

Kayson picked up a piece of chalk and wrote his name on the blackboard, then looked down at the quiet young wizards below the lectern.

Perhaps they were quiet. Though it was even more likely that undercurrents were stirring.

After finishing his introduction, he picked up the book on the lectern, flipped open to a random page, and showed it to the young wizards.

The young wizards hurriedly turned to the page Kayson had opened, only to see him immediately close the book.

"All right, children. You will have plenty of time to read this lousy book later. For now, put it in your pockets and let me show you the wonders of alchemy."

"Of course, the most important thing is that I am a newbie professor. I have never taught a class before. If, after this lesson, you never set foot in this classroom again, then honestly, I will be very sad." Kayson said with exaggerated expressions and dramatic intonation.

The young wizards all laughed along. Of course, it was not an act. They had discovered that the Alchemy professor before them seemed rather nice.

At the very least, he was much better than the Divination professor who kept cursing people to death and Snape, who wore a dead man's face at all times.

It was all thanks to the competition.

Kayson sighed inwardly, then said, "Next, I will show you the wonder of alchemy, as well as its foundation: the transformation of matter."

As he spoke, he pointed down at the lectern before him and tapped it. The solid wooden single-person lectern instantly began changing from where he had tapped it. In the end, a dazzling golden glow illuminated the faces of every young wizard in the classroom.