Obtaining a New Cube

"I've heard so much about you."

"...Hmm? You know me?" Kayson was a bit surprised.

"As a School Governor of Hogwarts, it's naturally necessary to know every professor at Hogwarts—for instance, the new Professor of Alchemy, Mr. Kayson Heath." Lucius said with restraint.

"Oh, heard so much about you, heard so much about you." Kayson still replied politely.

"Here's my card. It has the address of Malfoy Manor. Malfoy Manor welcomes you as a guest." Lucius pulled out an emerald-green card and handed it over.

"I'll be sure to."

The two exchanged pleasantries for a while longer before Kayson left Flourish and Blotts, while the Malfoy father and son remained in the shop browsing books.

As Draco browsed, he suddenly spoke up: "Father, I've never heard of the Heath Family before?"

"You're asking why I extended goodwill to him even though he might be Muggle-born?" Lucius replied.

"Yes."

"Dumbledore said this Kayson Heath belongs to the old-school apprenticeship system of wizards. Whether he's Muggle-born remains to be investigated, because from the information I've gathered, Kayson Heath is an orphan—not necessarily Muggle-born."

"Besides, his alchemical skill is genuinely formidable. That's enough for me to overlook his bloodline. And as for so-called pure blood, it's valuable because pure blood brings us tangible benefits. If the name of pure blood can't bring us benefits, and might even bring us disaster..."

Lucius paused there, clearly waiting for Draco to fill in the blank. Unfortunately...

"..."

"If this name can't bring us benefits and reputation, we make that name fade into near-invisibility. If this name brings us danger, we abandon that name."

"What's precious has never been so-called pure blood, but tangible benefits. Understand?" Lucius had to lay out all the answers himself.

Draco was silent for a moment, then nodded. Whether he truly took it to heart remained to be seen.

Meanwhile, at Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, Kayson arrived late and found Harry waiting on a small sofa.

"Sorry, been waiting long?"

"It's fine. Where's Hagrid?" Harry stood up with a smile.

"Haven't seen him. He said he was going to some Knockturn Alley." Kayson shook his head.

"Let's go find him. I remember seeing a sign for Knockturn Alley earlier."

"Mhm, I've no objections. Let's go."

The two found the small path leading to Knockturn Alley. There weren't many people along the way—only a few dejected wizards huddled in corners.

Soon, the path ended, and Knockturn Alley appeared before them. Its general layout wasn't too different from Diagon Alley, but it was sparsely populated, and the atmosphere carried a sense of deathly stillness and menace.

"Doesn't look very reputable. What's Hagrid doing here?" Kayson pursed his lips. He didn't like places with so little life, especially ones that were clearly no good.

"Isn't that Hagrid?" Harry suddenly pointed in a direction. Kayson looked over as well—Hagrid's size really made him stand out at a glance.

But it looked like he'd run into... a bit of trouble. Three black-robed Dark Wizards had surrounded Hagrid, as if threatening him.

"Stay behind me. Don't wander off." Kayson said to Harry, then, still uneasy, summoned an Ender Pearl and handed it to him.

"If you're in danger, smash it."

With that, he led Harry toward Hagrid.

"Hagrid, what's the problem?" Kayson called out from a distance.

"What are you two doing here? Honestly, I could handle this myself." Hagrid turned back to see Kayson and Harry approaching, looking a bit embarrassed.

"This doesn't concern you. Trust me, pretty boy, you don't want to take a Dark Magic spell." One of the black-robed Dark Wizards threatened in a raspy voice.

"I'll say the same. Seriously, if you get lost right now, you won't get hurt either." Kayson shrugged, not slowing his pace.

"Looking for death, boy! Cruciatus Curse!"

A sickly green curse shot toward Kayson at speed, only to be cleanly blocked by a suddenly appearing block of Obsidian.

"Hey! Stay away from my friends! Come at me!" Hagrid, surrounded, immediately pulled out his wand, but was a step too slow—a Disarming Charm knocked his little pink umbrella away.

With his wand gone, Hagrid resorted to his fists, but... to be honest, Dark Wizards weren't Hogwarts students. Fists were far less lethal than curses.

"All three of you are going down today! We said so!" The Dark Wizard who'd cast at Kayson crowed arrogantly.

"It's just Dark Magic, isn't it? Who doesn't know it?" Kayson frowned. A Wither Skeleton Skull appeared in his hand, and the next moment, it shot forward with ominous black smoke straight at the Dark Wizard.

The Dark Wizard, seeing a silent, wandless Dark Magic spell cast in an instant, was momentarily stunned.

Dark Magic? Wandless? Silent?

A tough nut?

Oh... he got it. No life.

The next second, the Wither Skeleton Skull exploded with a bang against his chest. Last time the skull had exploded, it had been on Kayson himself, but at least it recognized its owner—it hadn't sent Kayson straight to meet Notch. This Dark Wizard had no such luck.

The explosion, combined with the withering effect, directly claimed his life.

The other two Dark Wizards still attacking Hagrid realized Kayson was a tough nut and bolted.

Just as they were about to Apparate, one Wither Skeleton Skull blew up the Dark Wizard farther from Hagrid. The one closer to Hagrid was struck by a dark green beam of light.

As the beam shattered, Kayson appeared directly in front of him. A pale purple longsword pierced through the Dark Wizard's chest at point-blank range.

"Is Hagrid alright?" Kayson drew his longsword, and as the corpse fell by the roadside, the blade in his hand vanished just as swiftly.

"I'm... I'm fine. I really didn't know you were this strong before—thought you only knew alchemy, hahahaha!" Hagrid picked up the little red umbrella wand from the ground and scratched his head as he spoke.

At the same time, trust from both Hagrid and Harry surged into Kayson like flowing water.

[Trust from Hagrid +10]

[Trust from Hagrid +10]

[Trust from Hagrid +10]

[Trust from Harry +10]

[Trust from Harry +10]

[Trust from Harry +10]

[MC Blocks upgraded, new block acquired: TNT in explosion]