I Like This Bonfire

Kane did not notice Hagrid appearing behind him. He simply continued trudging toward the castle, inch by inch, clutching the firewood he had worked so hard to chop.

Suddenly, the weight in his hands vanished. Looking up, he saw a nearly three-meter-tall giant who looked remarkably honest and kind lifting the firewood with ease.

"Hogwarts hasn't started term yet. How did you get here?" Hagrid asked as he took the firewood from Kane's arms.

"Professor Dumbledore brought me back. He wouldn't let me use magic outside, but if I didn't use magic, I wouldn't survive, so I was brought here." Kane readily opened up.

Of the wizards he had met in this world—Dumbledore, Kingsley, and now this three-meter-tall giant—they all seemed rather kind.

They were nothing like his stereotypical impression of wizards. Had everything started looking like a beginner village after he escaped the Eternal Realm?

Hagrid thought for a moment. "You're... I mean, you don't have parents... no, I mean your guardian... Well, you just need to know I don't mean any harm. I'm just not very good with words. My name's Hagrid, and I'm the Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts."

"Kane Hiss. I am an orphan, and there's nothing to avoid talking about." Kane looked up at Hagrid, who had nearly talked himself breathless, and hurriedly reassured him.

After all, if such a huge fellow really passed out from lack of oxygen here, Kane and the shadows might not even be able to drag him back to the castle.

"Anyway, sorry, Kane... What are you chopping all this firewood for?" Hagrid changed the subject.

"To make a bonfire. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any suitable stones." Kane looked at Hagrid with his dull eyes and heavy dark circles. His instincts told him that the man before him definitely had a solution.

Sure enough, Hagrid patted his chest. "That's easy. I'll take you to the Black Lake in a bit. There are plenty of stones there. You can build the bonfire next to my house, too. When I was in school, I liked making bonfires and roasting a couple of potatoes or sausages."

As Hagrid spoke, he led Kane toward his hut. Though it was called a hut, it had to fit a three-meter-tall man like Hagrid, so it looked rather imposing at first glance. Its overall style, however, was like... a mountain village storage shed.

"Professor Dumbledore's employee benefits at Hogwarts are a little... stingy," Kane commented tactfully.

"Strictly speaking, Dumbledore rescued me from Azkaban and brought me back here. I'm already very satisfied to have a place like this. Besides, it's not really a hardship. If I straighten up even a little in an office room in the castle, I'll hit my head." Hagrid set the firewood down in the yard and made excuses for Dumbledore.

This was the second time Kane had heard the name Azkaban today.

"So what exactly is this place, Azkaban?"

Hagrid instantly turned serious. "It's the wizards' prison. Inside—"

"All right, no need to say more." Kane waved a hand. "Looks like we're about the same, then. Dumbledore rescued me from Azkaban too."

Whenever Kane thought of Kingsley, the one who had played the bad cop, he remembered the incredibly sinister way Kingsley had said the word Azkaban. Kane suspected it had only been meant to scare a little kid like him, but that did not stop him from using it to get closer to Hagrid.

Sure enough, Hagrid looked both shocked and angry. "Azkaban? How could someone as young as you be sent to Azkaban? Those vermin at the Ministry of Magic are getting more outrageous by the day!"

"Exactly. Um, Hagrid, are we still going to pick up stones?"

Hagrid gave an "oh," hurriedly stuffed Fang into the doghouse, and led Kane toward the nearby Black Lake.

Besides rocks suitable for making a bonfire, the shore of the Black Lake was filled with pebbles, agates, plant fossils, and even some jade. Kane had no use for any of that right now, though, so he only picked up a few rocks before returning to Hagrid's hut.

Of course, Hagrid helped as well, and he was incredibly... straightforward. He used his leather coat like a pouch to carry an enormous number of stones, enough to crush Kane to death. When he piled them outside Hagrid's yard, they looked like a small burial mound.

Kane soon began building the bonfire. If he infused the firewood with shadows beforehand, then ignited the wood to disperse the shadows, it would definitely feel much better than burning his own shadows.

If it worked, he would not only be able to get a good night's sleep, but perhaps kill a few Shadow Monsters to strengthen himself and get rid of those dark circles.

Watching Kane enthusiastically build the bonfire, Hagrid brought out a brand-new flint striker from the hut. He felt that lighting a fire with flint had more of a ritualistic feel than using magic.

However, the instant he took out the flint striker, he saw a mass of shadow appear in Kane's hand before attaching itself directly to the prepared bonfire.

In an instant, the once ordinary bonfire, which should have carried a trace of warmth, somehow became eerie and absurd in Hagrid's eyes, despite looking completely unchanged on the surface.

"Kane? You... what kind of magic was that?" Hagrid swallowed. He was not especially skilled at magic, but he could still tell that the strange shadow was definitely not something righteous.

"Shadows. I was born with them. That's why Hogwarts found me, and why I almost got thrown into Azkaban." Kane spoke casually, then gave a light wave of his hand. Flames immediately sprang to life in the bonfire.

A feeling even warmer than warmth enveloped him. This rare warm anchor from the Eternal Realm let his long-tense nerves relax slightly.

Hagrid had initially felt a little nervous about Kane being an inborn master of dark magic. But when he saw that Kane had merely used dark magic to make a special bonfire that was somewhat different from an ordinary one, then sat quietly beside it in a daze, Hagrid suddenly felt that his ability to judge people by magic had become even more impressive.

In short... he was a terrible person.

Hagrid slowly sat down as well. When he saw the flames in the bonfire weaken a little, he picked up a log and tossed it in. Strangely enough, the fire did not change in the slightest. It was as though he had tossed in not wood, but asbestos tile that could not be ignited at all.

"This is..." Hagrid looked in surprise at the piece of wood in the flames, which seemed as though it did not belong in this scene.

"It needs a little mysterious power." Kane let a shadow attach itself to the log, and the flames soon grew stronger.

Hagrid looked at Kane eagerly and pointed at the pile of firewood in the distance.

"Don't. Using too much of it makes you lose San," Kane immediately refused.

"Lose San?" Hagrid heard another unfamiliar term.

"You can think of it as your brain getting worn out. Some monsters might come and try to kill you," Kane explained casually.

Hagrid scratched his head. All right, young wizards' imaginations had always been that rich.

Kane could tell from Hagrid's awkward expression that he did not believe him, but Kane had no interest in explaining further.

Soon, the bells of Hogwarts Castle rang out. Hagrid stood and pulled Kane to his feet.

"Looks like it's lunchtime. Let's hurry over. Since you came to Hogwarts early, if you can get to know Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape in advance, I guarantee your first year will go wonderfully..."

After saying that, Hagrid's expression turned a little strange. "Actually, it's fine if you don't get to know Professor Snape."