That man was back! The king of the kitchen!

At nine in the morning, bells rolled through London's thin mist.

Douglas fastened the last trunk, stood up, and dusted off his hands.

He walked over to the fireplace, the temporary passage Hogwarts had specially authorized for him.

Grabbing a handful of bright green powder, he scattered it into the cold hearth without hesitation.

Flames roared up, licking the cold brickwork without giving off a trace of heat.

Douglas stepped into the swirling green flames.

"Hogwarts, Deputy Headmistress's Office!"

The dizzying sensation ended as his feet landed firmly on the floor.

Douglas brushed the ash off himself, every movement practiced.

Professor McGonagall's office was just as it had always been, but a rare hint of a smile graced her face.

"Welcome back, Professor Holmes."

There was a certain restrained anticipation in her voice.

"I'll take you to the Dark Magic Defense Class office first. The staff are having lunch together at noon to welcome you."

She paused, her eyes gleaming mischievously behind her spectacles.

"Pomona was quite unhappy that she didn't get to see you last time!"

Douglas caught that teasing look.

He could almost hear the clear clink of a Galleon passing between the two Heads of House.

A wager, evidently involving him.

He decided to step willingly into this little trap.

"Rest assured, Professor," Douglas ventured, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. "I'll take care of the main course for this gathering."

Mission accomplished.

Professor McGonagall's eyebrows rose in delight.

"Excellent. That private kitchen of yours has been kept for you all this time."

Well, then.

Douglas sighed inwardly. So this really was what she had been waiting for.

Judging by Professor McGonagall's expression, Professor Sprout had most likely lost.

Back then, who knew how many people at Hogwarts had envied him for having his own private kitchen?

But they had not known that the kitchen's true purpose was detention.

A sweet sort of detention, dedicated to cooking for the entire school staff.

A room on the third floor served as the Dark Magic Defense Class office.

It was a spacious stone chamber, cold and sturdy, with the stale smell unique to castles of the Middle Ages.

Oh, sorry. This was a castle from the Middle Ages.

"Mr. Filch has already cleaned it," Professor McGonagall explained. "The rooms inside are your living quarters."

She pointed toward an inconspicuous side door in the corner.

"There's a spiral staircase there that leads straight to the classroom on the second floor."

"As for furnishing the office and classroom, that's entirely up to you. The school won't interfere."

A stack of parchment lay on the desk: the student lists for six year groups.

"The sixth-year students were selected based on an 'Exceeds Expectations' grade in their O.W.L.s."

At this point, Professor McGonagall's expression faltered subtly.

"If you require more outstanding students..."

Douglas immediately understood what she meant.

Last year's Dark Magic Defense Class had been an absolute disaster.

If he insisted on "Outstanding" as the standard, the advanced class would probably have no students at all.

"All right, I understand, Professor." Douglas nodded. "I'll sort through these myself later."

"The staff lunch is at one this afternoon, in the staffroom. Don't forget."

With that final reminder, Professor McGonagall turned and left.

She was clearly not heading toward her own office.

Douglas watched her leave, then reached back and locked the door.

He put away the documents on the desk, drew his wand, and pointed it at all the old furniture in the room.

"Reducio!"

A soft light burst from his wand tip.

The tables, chairs, and bookcases-all those cumbersome objects-rapidly collapsed and changed shape as though their bones had been pulled out.

Before his eyes, they turned into little models fit for toddlers' toys.

Douglas carefully picked the models up off the floor and placed them in an empty box he had prepared.

He could hand them over to the house-elves for disposal later.

He then opened his trunk and took out another box.

Inside was an entirely different set of furniture, giving off the fresh fragrance of sandalwood.

He had specially commissioned an old master craftsman in Hong Kong to make it using traditional techniques.

He flicked his wand lightly.

The components flew through the air by themselves, fitted together, and settled into place.

Soon, within this ancient castle from the Middle Ages in the Scottish Highlands, a space in an even older Eastern style quietly came into being.

Douglas looked at the fireplace in the corner and muttered helplessly.

"What a shame. I can't get rid of the fireplace. It ruins the overall effect."

But he soon worked with what was available, conjuring a small tea table beside the fireplace.

He also used a solid wood lattice partition to separate the tea area from the office area.

This made it convenient to get hot water from the fireplace while setting aside a place where he could drink tea and talk with students.

Behind the desk stood an exquisitely carved Chinese-style bookshelf.

On the walls, he hung the ink paintings and calligraphy he had collected during his travels over the past few years.

Here at Hogwarts, there was probably no one but him who could appreciate their Eastern charm.

The bedroom's furnishings were extremely simple.

Apart from a single bed, the room was more like a meditation chamber, empty of everything else.

Once everything was arranged, it was still early.

He pushed open the side door and followed the spiral staircase down to the second-floor Dark Magic Defense Class classroom.

Apart from the neatly arranged desks and chairs, nothing here remained of his student days.

He made no major changes.

Clean was good enough.

He merely added an enormous blackboard at the very back of the classroom with magic.

Having finished all this, Douglas did not retrace his steps but walked straight out through the classroom's main door.

He crossed the Entrance Hall and turned down the stairs leading underground.

Beyond a door lay a broad stone corridor, brightly lit by torches on the walls.

The walls were covered with cheerful paintings of food.

With his hands clasped behind his back, Douglas strolled leisurely along a route he could have followed with his eyes closed.

A short distance to his right was the place where he had once lived for seven years-the entrance to the Hufflepuff Common Room.

But his destination was the enormous still-life painting.

The painting depicted a platter piled with fruit.

Douglas stopped before it and smiled at the pear in the picture.

"Long time no see."

He was just reaching out to tickle the pear...

Creak-

The painting opened from the inside, just like a real door.

A shrill voice rang out with the opening of the door, full of excitement and unease.

"Mr. Holmes! Kian heard your voice, sir. Kian... Kian couldn't help it!"

A house-elf appeared in the doorway.

He stood less than two and a half feet tall, painfully thin, and wore a napkin bearing the Hogwarts crest wrapped around his body.

He had a pair of large, batlike ears and astonishingly large emerald eyes that took up almost two-thirds of his head.

Those eyes bulged straight out of their sockets like two fist-sized glass balls.

Douglas even felt that, if his large nose had not been supporting them, they might fall out at any moment.

The instant the house-elf saw Douglas, he squealed with excitement.

Then, as though remembering some terrible rule, his face filled with terror, and he turned to bang his head against the hard wall.

Douglas's gaze sharpened. His arm shot out like lightning, catching hold of him.

"Kian, look at me."

Next to the Hufflepuff Common Room, directly beneath Hogwarts' Great Hall.

A prime location, an enormous kitchen.

A haven for nighttime wanderers, a paradise for gourmands.

House-elves to make you feel distinguished.

Inside, at least a hundred house-elves were busy working, standing before four long tables identical to those in the Great Hall above.

The moment Douglas appeared, the entire kitchen fell silent.

All the elves stopped what they were doing and turned, their faces wreathed in smiles, to bow and curtsy respectfully to him.

Kian excitedly led the way, taking Douglas toward the "little kitchen" in one corner.

Several elves immediately hurried over, carrying an enormous silver tray.

On it sat a freshly brewed cup of hot tea and a plate of small, steaming treats.

These were all Chinese tea treats Douglas had taught them to make back then.

The elves held the tray high, gazing at him with immense anticipation.

Douglas picked up a piece of osmanthus cake and put it in his mouth.

The fragrance of osmanthus bloomed on his tongue.

Although it was not as authentic as what he had eaten in Hong Kong, it already tasted quite good.

Seeing the satisfied expression on Douglas's face, the house-elves were so happy they almost jumped on the spot, unable to hide their joy.

They carefully placed the treats and hot tea on a nearby table, bowed deeply, and only then withdrew, looking back repeatedly with every few steps.

P.S. A little pre-term quiz (answer in the next chapter).

Which of the following statements about using Kitchen Scourgify is correct? ( )

A. Cleaning iron pots requires an Anti-Scratch Charm as well (to avoid damaging the pot's magical coating).

B. Pumpkin Juice stains should be cleaned with a Dissolving Charm rather than a Wiping Charm as the first choice.

C. Silver cutlery must be cleaned with a Moonlight Purification Charm (ordinary Scourgify leaves watermarks).

D. Magic must not be used to clean wooden chopping boards (they must be wiped by hand to prevent warping).