Magic Class

"Not bad, Kano. Not only had you not regressed, you'd even improved a little."

The wounds on Owen's body vanished as if they had been illusions, while Kano's injuries healed at an astonishing speed, making him grimace in pain.

"Couldn't you go a little easier? I'm made of flesh and blood now. If you keep doing this every day, I'm afraid I'll die young."

Owen snorted. "You call yourself flesh and blood? You're one who has been reborn, and you were nurtured inside an oak tree for twelve years. No one in this world has stronger immortality than you."

"I honestly suspect that if we chopped you into a human stick, buried you in the ground, and poured a little water over you, you'd be alive and kicking again in two days."

Disgusted by how revolting that sounded, Kano directly threw the oak sword in his hand at him.

The sword passed through Owen's body, stirring only a wisp of mist.

In Celtic culture, the waterside—preferably beside flowing water—was a place where rituals could be performed to enter Fairyland.

Kano had no desire to return to Fairyland, but the environment here was perfectly suitable for finding sparring partners.

An ordinary Druid might have needed to sacrifice a white bull or something, but Kano's status simplified those procedures.

After all, before he left, Gawain had said, "As long as you call for us in the mortal world, I'll send someone over."

In a sense, it was like an on-demand thugs-for-hire service.

"Alright, alright, little brother, don't be angry." Owen waved both hands repeatedly. "More than a hundred of us Knights of the Round Table are standing by over there. Once you defeat one of us, we'll send someone stronger to spar with you."

"Keep it up."

As the mist dispersed, Owen's figure gradually faded away as well.

Kano felt that something was off. Thinking it over carefully, Morgan was Owen's biological mother, and Morgan had told him to call her big sister. That meant he should technically be Owen's uncle.

Did I just get taken advantage of?

Kano shook his head helplessly and let the oak robe on his body absorb the blood that had spilled all over the ground. The wounds that had been torn open moments ago were now nothing more than faint white scars.

Kano ran a few more laps, then returned to the dormitory and took a shower. Only then did the young wizards begin to crawl out of bed with groans, apparently still savoring the delicious food they had eaten the previous night.

"Kano, did you go out?"

Still not fully awake, Harry looked at Kano, who was holding a textbook and previewing the material.

Kano nodded. "I went out for morning training. You shouldn't slack off for too long either, or Hogwarts's food will turn you into a little fatty in just a few months."

Harry instinctively thought of his cousin Dudley's pancake-like face and shuddered.

He made up his mind that from now on, he would go to bed early, rise early, and maintain a good figure.

Hogwarts first-years had to take Herbology, History of Magic, Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, Astronomy, Defence Against the Dark Arts, and basic Flying lessons.

It sounded like a lot, but in reality, these children had it easier than most college students.

Except for Harry and Kano.

Kano encountered the trouble he had expected: the things he had learned from Merlin clashed heavily with what the Hogwarts professors taught.

For example, during Herbology, Kano discovered that he could not find several herbs commonly used in rituals anywhere in the textbook. Only after asking Professor Sprout, the Herbology teacher, did he learn that those herbs had been renamed long ago.

"My dear," said Professor Sprout, who smelled of earth and herbs, "I don't know where you learned this knowledge, but I think this book may help you."

Following her instructions, Kano found a copy of Classical Herbal Name Reference in the library. This richly illustrated tome was Professor Sprout's own work.

Professor McGonagall showed off during Transfiguration by turning the lectern into a huge fat pig. The students were all astonished, but Kano did not find it particularly remarkable.

That was because ancient Druids could also break the boundary between life and non-life. They could even turn flowers into humans and marry them off to heroes as wives.

They were equally skilled at breaking the boundary between one living thing and another, often transforming humans into dogs, wolves, boars, or eagles.

Kano could now transform into a snow-white hound himself, though it had no real combat ability for the time being.

But the transformations between different forms of matter that McGonagall demonstrated afterward made Kano sit up straight. He truly had never learned that.

Charms was almost entirely new knowledge to Kano. The diminutive Professor Flitwick was the head of Ravenclaw. He possessed a vast store of knowledge and was also a champion wizard duelist.

Astronomy posed no difficulty for him at all, while History of Magic was his favorite class.

Professor Binns was a ghost. One morning, before class, he had taken a nap beside the fireplace. When he woke up and finished teaching a lesson, he discovered that he had become a ghost.

His body had simply been left behind beside the fireplace.

From then on, History of Magic never needed another outside teacher. Professor Binns, who required no salary, devoted himself wholeheartedly to his work, day after day bringing generations of students wonderful sleep with his hollow, monotonous voice.

When Harry and Ron jolted awake, they once again discovered in despair that the morning History of Magic lesson was nearly over.

Hermione scribbled notes like a fully automatic typewriter, while Kano nodded animatedly along with Professor Binns's lecture.

"Merlin's beard, Kano, how do you manage not to fall asleep in Professor Binns's class?"

At lunch, Ron asked Kano through a mouthful of chicken leg.

Kano smiled mysteriously without answering.

Merlin had once told him many historical stories about the wizarding world, but Merlin, as an observer and even a participant, could never have offered a complete and objective account.

After all, no one could step outside their own era and make an all-encompassing judgment.

The lessons taught by Professor Binns were often the crystallized thoughts of generations of historical scholars. Comparing them with Merlin's personal views gave Kano a great deal of indescribable enjoyment.

Harry had also been very happy lately. He had discovered that even classmates from wizarding families were not much more capable than he was.

He had been worried that he would fall behind in his coursework and be expelled. Now, he could finally put his mind at ease.

Unfortunately, his good mood was about to come to an end. The whole class had been looking forward to Defense Against the Dark Arts, but their professor, Quirrell—a man with a purple turban wrapped around his head and a strong smell of garlic clinging to him—was simply dreadful.

He claimed to be a powerful wizard who had once helped an African prince drive away Inferi. This purple turban was supposedly a gift from the prince in gratitude.

As for the garlic smell, it was meant to ward off vampires.

But whenever asked for details, he hemmed and hawed, unable to explain anything clearly. Even while teaching, he acted timid and cowardly.

In short, Harry did not like this teacher.

Kano's behavior in Defense Against the Dark Arts was also rather unnatural. Harry felt that in other classes, Kano could always follow the teacher's train of thought, looking relaxed and at ease.

However, in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Harry always felt that Kano was frowning, as if he were uncomfortable.

In truth, Kano could clearly sense that Quirrell could no longer be considered a complete living being. He was like a leaking pot, his life force continuously flowing out through the back of his head.

And on the back of his head, that twisted life was Voldemort.

Simply being in the same room with him made Kano feel uncontrollably nauseated.

Fortunately, Quirrell pretended to be afraid of the students, so he would not call on anyone to answer questions. Otherwise, Kano truly feared he might throw up.

Finally, Gryffindor's little lions arrived at the Potions classroom in the dungeon.

Snape, dressed in black robes with greasy hair, stared coldly at them.