"Your reputation precedes you."
"...Hm? You know me?" Kayson asked in surprise.
"As a School Governor of Hogwarts, it is only natural that I know every professor there, such as the newly appointed Alchemy professor, Mr. Kayson Heath," Lucius said reservedly.
"Oh, your reputation precedes you, your reputation precedes you," Kayson replied politely.
"This is my calling card. Malfoy Manor's address is on it. Malfoy Manor welcomes you as a guest." Lucius pulled out an emerald-green card and handed it over.
"I will."
After exchanging pleasantries for a while longer, Kayson finally left Flourish and Blotts. The Malfoy father and son remained in the bookstore, selecting books.
As Draco browsed, he suddenly asked, "Father, I have never heard of the Heath Family before?"
"Are you asking why I showed goodwill toward him when he is suspected of being Muggle-born?" Lucius replied.
"Yes."
"Dumbledore said that this Kayson Heath belongs to an old-fashioned apprentice-system wizard lineage. Whether he is Muggle-born remains to be determined. Based on the information I found, Kayson Heath is an orphan, so he may not necessarily be Muggle-born."
"Besides, his attainments in alchemy are truly formidable. That is enough for me to overlook his bloodline. So-called pure-blood status is valuable because it brings us tangible benefits. If the title of pure-blood cannot bring us benefits, or might even bring us disaster..."
Lucius paused there, clearly waiting for Draco to complete the thought. Unfortunately...
"..."
"If that title cannot bring us benefits or prestige, then we should make it as insignificant as possible. If that title brings us danger, then we should discard it."
"What is precious has never been so-called pure blood. It is tangible benefit. Do you understand?" Lucius could only lay out the entire answer himself.
Draco fell silent for a moment, then nodded. As for whether he had truly taken it to heart, that 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, have you been waiting long?"
"It is fine. Where is Hagrid?" Harry stood up with a smile.
"I did not see him. He said he was going to... Knockturn Alley, I think." Kayson shook his head.
"Let us go look for him. I remember seeing a sign pointing to Knockturn Alley earlier."
"Mm-hm, I have no objections. Let us go."
The two found the narrow path leading to Knockturn Alley. There were not many people along the way, and those who were there were merely dejected wizards huddled in corners.
Soon, the path came to an end, and Knockturn Alley appeared before them. Its general layout was not too different from Diagon Alley, but it was sparsely populated, and the atmosphere carried a sense of deathly silence and menace.
"This place does not look very respectable. What is Hagrid doing here?" Kayson curled his lip. He did not like places with no vitality, especially places that were obviously bad.
"Is that Hagrid?" Harry suddenly pointed in a direction. Kayson looked over as well. To be fair, Hagrid's size made him impossible to mistake.
It looked like he had run into... a little trouble. Three Dark Wizards in black robes had Hagrid surrounded, apparently threatening him.
"Stay behind me. Do not wander off." Still not entirely reassured after saying that to Harry, Kayson summoned an Ender Pearl and handed it to him.
"If you run into danger, smash it."
With that, he led Harry toward Hagrid.
"Hagrid, what is the problem?" Kayson called out to Hagrid from a distance.
"Why are you two here? Honestly, I could have handled it." Hagrid looked back at Kayson and Harry approaching him and said awkwardly.
"This has nothing to do with you. Trust me, pretty boy, you do not want to take a blast of Dark Magic." One of the black-robed Dark Wizards threatened in a hoarse voice.
"I will say the same thing. Really, if you hurry up and get lost now, you will not be hurt." Kayson shrugged, not slowing down in the slightest.
"You are courting death, brat! Cruciatus Curse!"
A sickly green spell shot toward Kayson, only to be cleanly blocked by a chunk of Obsidian that appeared out of nowhere.
"Hey, stay away from my friends! Come at me!" Seeing one of the Dark Wizards attack Kayson, Hagrid immediately pulled out his wand. However, he was a step too slow, and a Disarming Charm sent his little red umbrella flying.
After missing with his attack, Hagrid simply used his fists. But... honestly, Dark Wizards were not young Hogwarts students. Fists were truly not as lethal as curses.
"The three of you are all dying here today! That is what we say!" The Dark Wizard who had attacked Kayson shouted arrogantly.
"Dark Magic? Who says I cannot use it?" Kayson frowned as a Wither Skeleton Skull appeared in his hand. The next instant, it shot toward the Dark Wizard amid ominous black smoke.
The Dark Wizard was stunned for a moment when he saw the instantaneous Dark Magic cast without a wand or incantation.
Dark Magic? Wandless? Silent?
A tough opponent?
Oh... he got it. This was someone without a death wish!
The next instant, the Wither Skeleton Skull exploded against his chest. Although Kayson himself had been the target of the Wither Skeleton Skull's explosion last time, it at least recognized its master and had not sent Kayson to meet Notch directly. This Dark Wizard, however, had no such protection.
The explosion, combined with the Wither effect, directly took his life.
The other two Dark Wizards, who were still attacking Hagrid, also realized that Kayson was a tough opponent and immediately tried to flee.
Just as the two were about to Apparate, a Wither Skeleton Skull blew apart the Dark Wizard farther away from Hagrid. The other Dark Wizard, who was closer to Hagrid, was struck by a dark green beam.
As the beam shattered, Kayson appeared directly in front of him. A pale violet longsword pierced straight through the Dark Wizard's chest at point-blank range.
"Hagrid, are you all right?" Kayson pulled out the longsword. As the corpse collapsed by the roadside, the sword in his hand vanished at the same time.
"I-I am fine. I really did not know you were this powerful before. I thought you only knew alchemy, hahahaha!" Hagrid picked up his little red umbrella wand from the ground, scratched his head, and said.
At the same time, trust from Hagrid and Harry poured into Kayson like a rushing stream.
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: Explosive TNT
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