After undoing the spell Dobby had placed on the wall leading to Platform 9¾, Dumbledore grabbed Horatio by the back of the neck and kicked him straight through the wall.
Horatio rubbed his backside, got up from the ground, and shoved over the trolley Dumbledore had thrown in after him. "Aaaah!!! Old Deng, you bastard! You actually kicked my ass! You're finished!!!"
Up ahead, Harry forcibly held back his laughter and dragged the still shell-shocked Ron onto the train.
On the train, none of the young wizards dared approach Horatio's compartment.
Inside the compartment, Horatio radiated a terrifying aura as he read a book, occasionally letting out nearly crazed laughter.
In the next compartment, Hermione asked Harry, "What's wrong with Horatio? Who provoked him?"
Harry answered, "I think Professor Dumbledore kicked Horatio at the station just now."
"Hahahaha!!! This one's good, this is the one! Old Deng, get ready to say goodbye to your Hogwarts!" Horatio's voice came from the neighboring compartment.
Harry trembled in fright and said to Hermione, "How about you go comfort Horatio? If Hogwarts is gone, we won't be able to learn magic anymore."
Hermione rolled her eyes at Harry. "Do you think I can stop him? And why aren't you going?"
Harry pointed at Ron beside him, who was staring blankly out the window as though life had lost all meaning. "You saw what happened to Ron after he offended Horatio. If I go, I'll probably die horribly. If you go, at least Horatio won't make things difficult for you."
Hermione thought about it. If Hogwarts was gone, she would not be able to learn more knowledge either. So she nodded, put down the book in her hands, and went to Horatio's compartment next door.
Hermione pushed open the compartment door and saw Horatio holding Hathor while pointing at the book on the table. "Hathor, do you think we should make this one first? Or this one?"
"Meow!!" Hathor slapped one of the pages with its little paw.
"This one first? All right, we'll make this one first." Horatio buried his face in Hathor's belly. "You're still the best to me."
"Horatio, are you all right?" Hermione entered the compartment. "Don't be angry with Professor Dumbledore. He did that because..."
"I'm not angry." Horatio raised his face and looked at Hermione. "I feel fantastic right now."
Horatio closed the book on the table and suddenly asked Hermione, "Hermione, do you believe in light?"
"Light? Do you mean lamplight, or some other kind of light?"
"Looks like you don't. Never mind, then." Horatio put away the book on the table, then took out a pile of snacks from his cloth bag and arranged them on the table. "Want some?"
Hermione nodded. "Sure. As long as you're fine." She then sat beside Horatio, patted Hathor's little cat head, and enjoyed the snacks with Horatio.
What Hermione did not notice was that the book Horatio had just put away was clearly titled Monster Creation Handbook.
In the headmaster's office, Dumbledore suddenly felt as though disaster was about to strike. He shuddered.
"I think I did something wrong." Dumbledore said to Professor McGonagall, who was holding documents and waiting for his signature. "I was furious at the time, so I kicked Horatio. With his personality, he must be thinking of some huge stunt to get back at me. I just hope things remain under control."
Professor McGonagall said worriedly, "I truly have no idea what to do with that child anymore, Headmaster Dumbledore. Although I do not agree with punishing a child, I think this child really ought to suffer a little."
Dumbledore shook his head. "Isn't it good that he's happy every day? Do you know what worries me most? It isn't that he causes trouble. It's that one day, he stops causing trouble."
Dumbledore recalled the memory Harry had shown him last term. Looking at that familiar girl, Dumbledore formed a rough guess about the truth.
The train stopped at Hogsmeade Station. Horatio and Hermione changed into their school uniforms and got off. Horatio released Nut from the pet carrier and let her return to her original form.
A beautiful white hippogriff appeared before the young wizards. The newly enrolled students gathered around Nut in amazement, while the older students were already used to it.
Hagrid held up his lantern and shouted, "First-years, stop crowding around Nut! You'll see her often in the future. Gather around me now!"
Horatio led Nut toward Hagrid, but Hermione grabbed him. "What are you doing? Second-years don't go that way."
"Hehe, I forgot to tell you. Professor McGonagall informed us that we're repeating the year, so I'm still a first-year." Horatio held out his hand. "Please take care of me from now on, Senior."
"Stop messing around. If you want to ride Nut, hurry up and go. I never received any notice that you were repeating the year." Hagrid interrupted Horatio. "And Ron, you can leave your luggage on the train. The house-elves will deliver it to your dormitories later."
"Sorry, Hagrid. Ron's been a little out of his mind lately." Harry took Ron's luggage, set it down where they were, and pulled Ron toward the station exit.
Horatio pulled Hermione onto Nut's back, and they flew toward Hogwarts.
When they arrived at the empty Great Hall, Horatio looked at the Gryffindor table, which had turned back into wood. "Where's my noble, majestic Golden Table? Why has it turned back into wood? No, I need to dye it." With that, Horatio pulled out the Philosopher's Stone from his pocket.
Horatio struck the Philosopher's Stone against the table. Nothing happened. "???" Refusing to believe it, he struck it several more times, but the table remained unchanged.
"Damn it, Professor McGonagall put such a powerful protective spell on it just to protect her table?" After examining it for a while, Horatio reached this conclusion.
"You think a mere protective spell can stop me?" Horatio drew Kei and touched its tip to the table. "Come on, let's see if you can withstand the passage of time. Accelerate."
Time Magic truly deserved to be one of the strongest forms of magic in the world. Its mana consumption was absurdly high. As the magic in Horatio's body was rapidly drained away, the table quickly decayed and crumbled before finally vanishing into the air.
Hermione and the young wizards who gradually entered the Great Hall were stunned by Horatio's stunt. Professor McGonagall, who had been preparing to welcome the new students, rushed over after hearing the news. "Horatio!!! What did you do to my table?"
After calmly drinking a bottle of blue potion, Horatio said, "Professor McGonagall, your protective spell really was powerful, but it seems it couldn't withstand time."
Professor McGonagall's vision went dark, and she nearly fainted. He had mastered such powerful Time Magic just to pick a fight with a table.
With no other choice, Professor McGonagall could only bring out the original Golden Table and place it back where it had been.
"I'll settle this with you later." Professor McGonagall hurried out of the Great Hall to prepare for the arrival of the new students.
Not long afterward, the new students entered the Great Hall in a line and also noticed that Gryffindor's table was somewhat different from those of the other three houses.
"Which house is that? Why is it different from the others?" Random Student A asked, pointing at the Gryffindor table.
"I heard from my brother that some great Demon King named Horatio did it," Random Student B answered.
Professor McGonagall led the new students before the Sorting Hat and picked up a parchment. "Next, when I call your name, step forward in order."
Horatio winked at Ginny and revealed a meaningful smile.
The moment Ginny saw Horatio's smile, a sense of foreboding rose in her heart.
Skipping past the cannon fodder, random passersby A, B, and C, Professor McGonagall finally called out, "Ginny Weasley!!"
Ginny walked up and sat on the stool, silently repeating that she wanted to go to Gryffindor.
When the Sorting Hat was placed on her head, it opened its mouth and shouted, "Azkaban!!!"
Ginny froze, sitting helplessly on the stool as tears filled her eyes. A wave of shocked murmurs came from the students of every house below.
Horatio smugly took out his Death Note and crossed out the line: "Ginny Weasley offended Horatio in Diagon Alley on August 24, 1992."
Dumbledore stood up and appeared beside Ginny in a flash, comforting her briefly. He then grabbed the Sorting Hat and flashed over to Horatio, seized him by the back of his fated neck, and left the Great Hall.
When they returned to the Great Hall again, two huge bumps had appeared on Horatio's head.
After Dumbledore tossed him back at the Gryffindor table, he handed the Sorting Hat to Professor McGonagall, comforted Ginny once more, then shot Horatio a vicious glare.
Professor McGonagall also comforted Ginny, placed the Sorting Hat back on her head, and the restored Sorting Hat shouted, "Gryffindor!!"
Ginny wiped away her tears and ran miserably toward Harry, seeking comfort.
The twins had originally planned to avenge Ginny, but when they saw Horatio write another line in the notebook—"Albus Dumbledore struck Horatio twice on the head outside the Hogwarts Great Hall on September 1, 1992. This grudge shall never end."—they immediately abandoned the idea.
Before you continue