A Bedroom with a Roof, Wonderful

"If I'd possessed extraordinary power capable of changing the world at your age, even if no one knew about it, I would have done my best to share it and publicize it, without ever considering whether that might be inappropriate or have any negative impact on the world."

"All I would have needed was some meaningless admiration. But you've realized that carelessly wielding your power might not be good for this world."

Kane watched as Dumbledore suddenly began sighing with emotion, then glanced at Hagrid curiously. "Does he do this often?"

"Mm, perhaps this is how Dumbledore thinks things through," Hagrid said carefully.

"Fine." Kane knew that question was unlikely to have an answer.

Soon, evening arrived. Kane finished dinner early and sat on a small stone by the Black Lake, quietly watching the water. His long-stretched shadow reached out in all directions with claws and fangs, dragging whatever little creatures it could hook into the darkness.

"What do you think of that child?" In the headmaster's office, Dumbledore looked at Snape, who stood beside him watching Kane's shadow.

"Dark magic has soaked through his soul, to the point that it affects his shadow?" Snape commented, then shot Dumbledore a sidelong glance. "So you still enjoy collecting dangerous people. If a few young wizards die at Hogwarts this year, I won't be surprised in the least."

"You can only verbally bully an old man who speaks slowly. Though, all right, you verbally bully young people too. What I want to ask is, do you know why he's sitting there doing nothing?" Dumbledore said gloomily.

"Isn't that a good thing? I'd wager that the instant he gets his wand tomorrow, he'll open a Chamber of Secrets somewhere in Hogwarts and start brewing up some dark magic experiments. So I think we ought to... be grateful that the child is so quiet right now."

"What I mean is, doesn't Kane look as though he's fishing? And he's the bait?" Dumbledore finally chose to spell it out.

"You mean..." Snape frowned, but before he could finish, he saw the shadow of a dead tree beside Kane suddenly come alive.

The shadow transformed into an abstract, rough shadow monster, like something from a child's stick-figure drawing, and lunged at Kane with claws flailing.

But in that instant, Kane's long-stretched shadow twisted into an elongated, unidentifiable shape. Like a python, it directly constricted the shadow monster until it burst, leaving only specks of black smoke dispersing in the air.

Oh, and of course, there was Nightmare Fuel. Kane picked it up from the ground and stuffed it straight into his pocket.

"What was that?" Snape frowned. "The thing he put in his pocket?"

"Must you be so curious about other people's privacy?"

Snape instinctively wanted to say something nasty, but in the end, he changed it into a sarcastic jab. "Someone who spies through crystal balls certainly talks tough."

"Thank you for the compliment."

Snape soon left the office. On Kane's way back from the Black Lake to Dumbledore's office, he killed several more Shadow Monsters, picked up some more Nightmare Fuel, and even stopped by Hagrid's yard to pry up the bonfire along with the entire patch of ground beneath it.

"You're..." Dumbledore had thought his heart was quite strong, but he had never expected Kane to pull something like this.

"I'm afraid of the dark." As Kane spoke, he began looking around Dumbledore's bedroom for a suitable spot, trying to make sure the bonfire's light could reach the top bunk.

At that moment, Dumbledore suddenly no longer had the aches and frailty of an old man. He nimbly climbed onto the top bunk, moving even faster than Kane.

"Let's hope neither of us gets poisoned. We should open the window." With a casual wave of his hand, Dumbledore gently opened the bedroom window.

Meanwhile, Kane on the lower bunk had already started the fire.

As the fire began crackling, he could finally get a good night's sleep.

A good young wizard who went to bed early and rose early would not encounter Charlie's sister.

"Kane." Dumbledore, lying on the top bunk, felt that the time was right. What young man could refuse to chat with his roommate at night?

Unfortunately, Kane could. Perhaps he had been too tired today; he fell asleep astonishingly quickly.

Dumbledore had wanted to ask Kane about that strange Shadow Monster, the dark magic fluctuations that had continued through the entire night, and some even more remarkable things, such as the tree guardians, living wood, and Kane's peculiar shadow.

But all those questions had to remain bottled up inside him.

The next day...

Dumbledore woke early. The sky at the horizon had begun to brighten. Merlin be praised, and thanks to the window he had opened last night, neither occupant of the bedroom had been carried off by carbon monoxide.

He carefully climbed down from the top bunk. The bonfire beside the bed still burned with a faint flame, casting Kane's shadow onto the wall. Though it was still restless, it was much better behaved than it had been by the Black Lake yesterday evening.

At the Black Lake, Kane's shadow had truly been a wild dance of demons. Yet for some reason, after a night's sleep, it had settled down somewhat.

If Kane could have heard his questions, he would likely have been happy to answer them.

A comfortable, soft bedroom with a roof could restore a young wizard's pitiful sanity. Not much, but enough to help.

At worst, after waking up, he could pick some flowers around Hogwarts and make himself a flower crown to wear...

As for whether the petals would turn into demon petals under the influence of the shadows, like ghosts haunting them, probably not. Shadows were shadows, ghosts were ghosts; the two could not be confused.

Before long, Kane slowly woke up. Seeing that the bonfire beside him still gave off some light, he sighed in relief. And he had slept exceptionally well that night.

"Time for breakfast, Kane. Wash up and come out," Dumbledore called from outside.

"Coming."

There were more people eating breakfast at Hogwarts that morning. Counting everyone, there were exactly six humans.

As Kane ate, he listened to Hagrid's preview of Diagon Alley: magical ice cream, a bank run by goblins, a magical brick wall, and Knockturn Alley, separated from Diagon Alley by only one wall, and so on and so forth.

But to Kane, none of that was as appealing as the honey-covered toast in front of him.

On the other side, Professor McGonagall quietly drank her porridge. Thinking of Harry, who had sworn to knock Kane's teeth out, she found herself wondering whether his teeth would still be in his mouth after Kane and Hagrid returned that afternoon.

Should she give him a warning?

Of course not.

Breakfast soon ended. Kane sat beside a tree stump outside Hagrid's hut, waiting for Hagrid to finish getting ready inside. Before long, he came out.

"Professor McGonagall told me the Weasley family will be going to Diagon Alley today too. You'll like them, they're all wonderful people. And there'll be a young wizard your age starting at Hogwarts this year as well. You two should get along."

"I hope so." Kane nodded and left Hogwarts with Hagrid using a Portkey.