Swamp

What the Spirit Particle Disintegrator had made for Kane were not physical Shadow Blade and Shadow Armor, but... blueprints for those two pieces of equipment?

"Have some common sense, will you? Don't go around saying you came from the Eternal Realm in the future. You used the Spirit Particle Disintegrator to make Shadow Blade and Shadow Armor?" Maxwell appeared behind Kane and said bluntly.

"???"

The forgetful patient holding the two blueprints fell silent for a moment, then wished he could stuff himself into the large hat in front of him and disappear.

"So the Spirit Particle Disintegrator can't make things like Shadow Blade and Shadow Armor? This piece of junk couldn't give me even a hint? Then it made two blueprints for me?"

After being utterly defeated by his own stupidity, Kane instinctively wanted to kick the Spirit Particle Disintegrator hard. But he could not quite bear to do it. He lowered his foot and looked helplessly at Maxwell. "You could've reminded me."

"Those materials were worthless anyway. I thought I'd let you be happy for a few days. Besides, would reminding you have helped? Could you find a purple gemstone here? Could you make a Shadow Manipulator?"

Maxwell's string of remarks successfully made Kane burrow into his blankets. After a long while, he crawled back out and began examining the two blueprints in his hands.

He did not have a Shadow Manipulator, but he had blueprints, did he not? Maybe there was some clever method, like making a Shadow Blade by hand according to the blueprint?

But after studying the two blueprints for a long time, he ultimately realized they were like recipes. Aside from theory, they were useless. He had the recipe and the ingredients, but no pot.

"Mm..." Kane stared silently at the two blueprints, then finally tossed them into a drawer beside him, out of sight and out of mind. Once he made a Shadow Manipulator, he could save on some materials...

Meanwhile, Harry and Ron, who were still flying around in the air in the dormitory, watched Kane's series of baffling actions while smacking their lips and shaking their heads.

Poor Kane was being tormented half to death by his mental illness.

And so time passed until afternoon. Harry went off to train with the Quidditch team, while Kane made his way to the library with practiced ease.

He planned to look through some books and figure out how to obtain a purple gemstone as quickly as possible, or where he could buy one as large as a fist.

Not long after he found a corner and sat down to read quietly, another young wizard sat beside him. He glanced up at her.

"Hmm? Aren't you sitting with your roommates?" Kane looked at Hermione, then at the few young witches who usually walked around with her, and asked without thinking.

"Because they misunderstood and thought I was the one who betrayed you all. They're too embarrassed to apologize to me, so we've been giving each other the cold shoulder for a week. Haven't you noticed that I've been sitting with you or Neville in class lately? If they saw me sitting alone, who knew what rumors might start again? And besides, sitting all by myself is really awkward."

Hermione stared fixedly at the book before her as she spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear.

"Then I suggest you find some new friends, or try to repair that not-so-solid friendship. Halloween is coming up soon, isn't it? Spending a holiday alone can be pretty lonely."

After saying that, Kane put down How to Get a Beautiful Senior to Buy Anything You Need Without Selling Your Looks and picked up another magic book about Swamp Magic. Defense Against the Dark Arts was coming up soon. If he could not finish reading it, he could bring it to class. Professor Quirrell's lectures were like chewing gum—sticky and cloying.

Also, he had wanted to ask Dumbledore what exactly was going on with Professor Quirrell last time, but there had been too many things to do and he had forgotten. He really had to go later. He could ask while requesting Mandrake.

Although Old Maxwell could be rather lousy when it came to handling things, he was pretty accurate at judging people... right?

Forget it. He should keep studying Swamp Magic. Combined with his own traits, this spell could create a swamp full of spiked tentacles. Any enemy who dared enter it would get whipped first. Even shouting a safeword would not help.

Unlike Kane's constantly skipping thoughts, Hermione's little mind held a whiteboard that read: Hermione Friendship Consolidation Plan. At that moment, she crossed Kane's name off it.

After all, Kane had just told her to hurry up and find a friend, without mentioning in the slightest that she and he had already been friends for a long time...

Sigh... just as expected. She had thought they were friends, but he had not even remembered such a thing. It had all been her own wishful thinking. The sincere friendship she saw was merely empty politeness in someone else's eyes...

Inside, Hermione pitifully began shedding little pearls of tears, but outwardly, she acted as though nothing had happened. She picked up the book in front of her and left.

The next time Kane saw Hermione was during Defense Against the Dark Arts that afternoon. The three of them huddled in a small corner of the classroom, allowing them to stay a little farther from the smell Professor Quirrell gave off.

Hermione sat alone relatively close to the front, because there were truly no empty seats left in the back.

"Hiss..." Ron looked at Hermione's lonely back and felt that he should say something.

At last, he opened his mouth. "She looks kind of—"

Kane and Harry hurriedly covered Ron's mouth. They already knew what sort of nonsense Ron was about to say.

After that little interruption, Professor Quirrell finally entered the classroom. He still remembered Voldemort's instructions after returning from the Forbidden Forest last time: show some real skill in this lesson, then find a way to draw Kane into seeking him out alone for guidance.

Although he did not know why, he was already his master's dog. What was there to ask? He only needed to obey.

Just as he was considering what useful material to teach, he suddenly saw Kane sitting extremely far away, with a book on Swamp Magic lying on his desk. Very well. He would display his true depth of knowledge.

It was just a pity that the only adorable and studious young wizard was sitting so far away from him... well, understandable.

Kane was still reading when a voice that was just as sticky and cloying as ever, yet surprisingly informative, suddenly entered his head.

He looked up in confusion and found that the other young wizards wore the same expressions, staring at Professor Quirrell as though they had seen a ghost.

The halting voice was exhausting to listen to, but he was genuinely teaching useful material!

Professor Quirrell went on without stopping for a full forty minutes before finally pausing for the last twenty minutes.

"O-okay, young wizards. Now, who... who can come up and... and demonstrate Swamp Magic for everyone?" Professor Quirrell waved his wand, sending the lectern sliding aside. Then he stepped down and gave up the platform.

Hermione was the first to raise her hand, and the applause accompanying her was the most sparse.

It was not exactly sparse, though. There were only so many people in the classroom, so the absence of two or three people clapping was quite obvious.

As Hermione cast the spell on the platform, it quickly became soft and changed color somewhat. The young wizards below fell silent, and even Hermione flushed red with embarrassment.

In the end, Professor Quirrell's kind personality took over and began clapping first. "A-applause for Miss Granger. Swamp Magic is something most... most students can only cast in their fourth year. For Miss Granger to do this much is already... already very impressive."

After saying that, he generously gave Gryffindor... one point, then began looking for his next target.

"Mr. Kane Hiss, p-please come up and demonstrate this spell!"