Dobby... Is Free!

Unlike Lupin, who had started doubting his own magical ability, Kane had already taken out his Mantis Shrimp and begun maintaining it.

After waiting a few more minutes, Harry walked back into the Headmaster's Office carrying the Fire Ring.

"We need to hurry. I promised Ron and Hermione I'd leave with them on the train."

Lupin looked up again. "That doesn't sound right, does it? No matter how fast we fly, we can't get back before the Hogwarts Express leaves."

Dumbledore slowly grabbed a handful of nuts from a dish and tossed them into his mouth.

As for why he was not drinking water—

He was afraid that Lupin's howl later would make him spray it everywhere.

Soon, after Dumbledore opened the enormous window for them, Kane and Harry helped Lupin's broom undergo a few harmless local modifications.

There was nothing else to it. They were mainly afraid Lupin would not be able to keep up, so the two of them each took a chain and hooked Lupin's broom up between theirs.

To be fair, Lupin might have been stingy with himself, but he was not stingy with his broom. It was a Nine-Star Sweeper, Lightstream MAX edition. Its speed was already comparable to a Nimbus 2000.

The broom itself was not expensive, but it was a little too plain, and its comfort was not particularly good. It took a different approach, sacrificing some safety and comfort for pure acceleration.

It was basically buying a broom engine and getting a wooden stick for free. It was no surprise Lupin could afford it.

Watching Kane and Harry fasten chains onto his broom, Lupin joked to Dumbledore, "Gryffindor students at Hogwarts really have excellent safety awareness these days. When we were young, we would never have thought to tie an adult to