Turmoil in the Great Hall

Kayson had not hesitated to use an Ender Pearl in the corridor. Within just a few breaths, he had arrived at the corridor outside his office.

The four youngsters sat beside his office, chattering away about something.

"What are you doing here?" Kayson called out to them.

"Ah, uh... Professor Kayson, we came to... uh..."

"Never mind. To be honest, I welcome you coming here. Go on in."

Kayson waved his hand, opening the office door and letting them all enter.

He took out some snacks and drinks from the cabinet and set them on the coffee table.

He had not forgotten Dumbledore's reminder.

"Please wait a moment while I finish this. Of course, you can come over and have a look. Once you reach third year, you'll start choosing electives. You might want to try something like alchemy."

Kayson pretended to pull a massive Redstone lamp block from beneath his desk. After violently tearing off its casing, he began fiddling with the various Redstone circuits inside.

Just as he had expected, the four of them curiously crowded around.

"Why doesn't this kind of alchemy rely on magical runes?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Have you heard of the Enchanting Table? I prefer to let its enchanting effects replace the work of magical runes. It's more stable and more durable," Kayson explained as he dismantled the Redstone lamp.

"Then what are those red threads?"

Hermione asked again.

Kayson was quite pleased with Hermione's role as his perfect straight woman. A piece of Redstone appeared in his hand.

"This is an alchemical substance I refined myself. I call it Redstone. It's a crystallized magical energy source that can replace the function of magical circuits to a certain extent."

"And the problem with this Redstone lamp is simple: a Redstone circuit has broken. That's one way Redstone circuits are more advanced than ordinary magical circuits. If this had been a magic lamp, it would have exploded long ago," Kayson said with a laugh.

"Can this lamp still be fixed?" Ron asked, leaning his head closer.

"Mm-hmm, it's very simple. Just find the break and reconnect it."

"As long as Redstone touches a Redstone circuit, the circuit lights up. Sometimes, when the circuits in a large Redstone contraption I made are faulty—say, the switches are too complicated and I'm too lazy to turn them on in order—I just take off the casing."

"And then, like this." Kayson pressed a small piece of Redstone onto a Redstone circuit closest to the Redstone torch.

"Wouldn't this kind of Redstone alchemy be very easy to destroy?" Hermione asked.

"With a casing."

"Oh... right." Hermione replied somewhat embarrassedly.

"Mm-hmm." Kayson quickly repaired the Redstone lamp he had just damaged, then looked at them.

"I'm guessing you have some good news to tell me?"

At that, Neville immediately became excited.

"During Flying class today, Malfoy still hadn't learned his lesson and tried to cause trouble for me again. I taught him a hard lesson! Didn't he put my Remembrall in a tree? I put him in a tree too!"

As Neville spoke, his little face turned bright red with excitement, like a hero who had slain a great dragon.

"That's wonderful. And I can see that you've regained your confidence. Believe me, when you go home for the holidays, your grandmother will be amazed by how much you've changed," Kayson said with a smile.

"Will she?" Neville asked, his eyes shining.

"She will." Kayson answered without hesitation, silently deciding that he needed to write a letter to Neville's grandmother.

"And Harry successfully joined the Quidditch team! He's the youngest player since the school was founded, and Professor McGonagall personally approved it!"

Neville went on sharing with Kayson, looking as though he could keep talking for another ten days or half a month.

It was not until the sun had begun to turn golden that the four of them realized they had been there for quite a while. It was time to leave.

"Oh, right. Here are some little gifts for you. I hope you don't mind them. Maybe you can use them to make some interesting little things." Kayson waved his hand, and four fist-sized Redstone cubes appeared on the coffee table before them.

"Thank you, Professor!" ×4

"Off you go. It sounds a little cheesy, but study hard."

Kayson stretched his stiff muscles and left his office as well, heading for the Great Hall.

He had heard that dinner included lamb chops today. He had to give them a proper taste.

Not every professor attended breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day. Most of the time, all the professors only showed up for occasions like the opening feast and the Halloween feast.

Yet Kayson rarely saw Professor Snape at the High Table on ordinary days, where he usually seemed almost invisible.

"Good evening, Snape... Though perhaps that greeting sounds a little strange."

Snape shook his head. "I've heard stranger greetings..."

As he spoke, he glanced up at the High Table, making sure no one was paying attention to them. He also looked at Quirrell's empty seat. After thinking for a moment, he finally asked, "Dumbledore told you about Quirrell?"

"Mm... not exactly. I discovered it myself," Kayson replied.

Snape nodded. "Very perceptive. That day, I went to Hogsmeade village to purchase a potion ingredient. I saw you and Hagrid drunk out of your minds at The Hog's Head. There was also a man in black, who seemed to be trying to get information out of you. Who was that man?"

"I couldn't see his face, but I think it was Quirrell. He came to ask Hagrid how to get past the three-headed dog, and how to get through my piston door... Did he ask you?"

"No. If he still needed to come ask me about that kind of logic puzzle, then he really ought to go to St Mungo's and have his brain checked." Snape made no effort to hide his contempt for Quirrell.

"Yeah, uh..." Kayson trailed off in agreement.

"Dumbledore trusts me, and he told me that if necessary, I should give Quirrell a push—that is, tell him the correct choice." Snape noticed Kayson's hesitation and offered an explanation.

"I don't really have any opinion about Quirrell, or rather Voldemort. He's nothing more than a powerful and evil Dark Wizard. It's just that Dumbledore keeps putting so much faith in that prophecy. I just got here, I'm still a newcomer. Seriously, does he really want to rely on a child like Harry to defeat Voldemort?"

"Prophecies... sometimes they do deserve reverence."

"Uh..." Kayson did not know how to continue the conversation, so he could only say dryly, "I always thought potions were a materialist discipline."

"Actually, that isn't the case." Snape had just begun to explain when a commotion from the students' tables below interrupted him.