Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Seventh Floor of the castle's main tower.
"Raspberry jam."
After calling out the password, Dumbledore glanced at Lorne, seemingly showing off the password he had so carefully devised.
The fierce-looking stone beast on the door immediately woke up and leaped aside with a dull grinding sound.
Then, with a soft bang, the stone beast rose from the ground like a sword drawn from its sheath, except what emerged was a spiral of stone steps.
Lorne followed Dumbledore onto the stone staircase. The rumbling still echoed around them, and without his needing to take a single step, the stone beast had already delivered him into the room.
The perfect elevator.
Lorne could not help marveling that magic really was more convenient than steam or electricity.
The Headmaster's Office was practically a small reception hall. Lorne looked around. The ceiling had to be at least five or six meters high, curved bookshelves were filled with books of every color, and the room smelled of parchment and ink. A dusty gray hat sat atop one of the bookshelves, presumably the Sorting Hat.
And the room actually had a second level. Was the Headmaster's Office a loft, too?
Dumbledore plopped into a chair, and only then did Lorne notice the portraits of former headmasters above his head.
The portraits seemed to have been awakened by the noise Dumbledore had made, slowly appearing in their frames.
"Albus, where did you find this young man?"
"He looks like a lost Muggle salesman."
Lorne scanned the portraits one by one until his eyes met those of the old man in dark blue robes at the very end.
"What a filthy look in his eyes. I would never have let him set foot in the Headmaster's Office during my tenure."
"Oh, Phineas, mind your language."
Lorne rubbed his nose. He had indeed just entertained the idea of taking the portrait down and hanging it in a restaurant restroom. That would certainly give people a fright.
He also glanced at his quest progress bar. It had not moved at all. He did not know whether those in the frames did not count as his own kind, or whether they had produced no emotional fluctuations.
"Hold on, my predecessors. We can talk later."
Dumbledore gestured for Lorne to sit down, and a knock came at the door just then.
"Come in, Minerva."
She was a stern-looking witch in dark green robes. She wore square-framed glasses, her hair was pinned tightly at the back of her head, and her lips were pressed into an extremely thin line.
When her gaze swept over the sweets in Dumbledore's hand, she immediately frowned, before finally settling her eyes on Lorne, who was sitting upright.
"Albus, term hasn't started yet. Why have you brought him here?" Professor McGonagall's voice carried disbelief. "I'm sorry, Mr. Myles. Please allow Hogwarts to compensate you. You may also choose to study at Hogwarts or return to the Muggle world."
"Minerva, Lorne has already agreed to take a position at the school." Dumbledore winked cheerfully, then introduced them. "This is Professor Minerva McGonagall, Hogwarts' deputy headmistress and Transfiguration professor. This is Mr. Lorne Miles, our new director of the General Affairs Office."
At this unfamiliar title, Professor McGonagall's frown deepened. "General Affairs Office? Director? Albus, since when has Hogwarts had such a department? Besides, Mr. Myles has very little magic. I don't believe he can skip being a student and take up a professorship at Hogwarts."
"This is an innovative management concept proposed by Mr. Myles, aimed at optimizing the school's administrative efficiency," Dumbledore explained with a perfectly straight face, even helpfully adding on Lorne's behalf, "Although the name sounds somewhat Muggle-like, I find it very constructive."
"Besides, this doesn't mean Mr. Myles has turned down an education at Hogwarts, does it?"
Professor McGonagall looked Lorne up and down as though inspecting one of the Weasley Twins' prank products. "Mr. Myles, whatever your title may be, Hogwarts is first and foremost a school. If you are to work here, you must abide by its rules and regulations."
"Of course, Professor." Lorne rose and inclined his body in a proper gentleman's bow, his manner so humble that there was not a single fault to find.
Professor McGonagall's expression softened slightly, but her face remained stern as she said, "Since the headmaster has made his decision, I won't object. However, as deputy headmistress, I must remind you that Hogwarts' students are adolescents, full of energy and lacking in judgment. Any impractical 'new ideas' could cause chaos."
At that, she took a sheet of parchment from her robe pocket and handed it to Lorne. "These are the instructions for this term's new students and the basic class timetable. If you're going to serve as this so-called 'director,' you must start with the most basic Magical Theory."
"On that note, there are still plenty of empty rooms in the castle. I suggest you move in as soon as possible. After all, the director of the General Affairs Office can hardly work out in the wilds of the Scottish Highlands."
"I was just about to mention that, Minerva." Dumbledore smiled and nodded.
Lorne's room was on the second floor, and its generous space was enough for him to separate it into an office and living quarters.
Whatever else might be said, Lorne had managed to live alone in this world for ten years, so he was quite capable with his hands. In just one day, he had sorted out all his belongings, though the office area had only a single desk and looked rather bare.
Once everything had settled, Lorne lay on his bed, unable to collect himself for a long time.
This had to be the most eventful day of his life. The system that had lain dormant for ten years had finally awakened and stirred, and he had somehow followed Dumbledore to Hogwarts and become its so-called director of the General Affairs Office. Now he had even moved all his worldly possessions in.
From now on, he would be a proper Hogwarts man.
Meanwhile, his mind kept searching through his memories of the Harry Potter franchise. He had never read the original books, but he had watched the films and read plenty of fanfiction. His memories of the first few films were especially vivid. After all, such a novel world was hard to forget.
1991. This should be the year Harry starts school, right?
That corresponded to the first film, the Philosopher's Stone. The boss behind the scenes was Quirrell, who was controlled by Voldemort, but none of that had anything to do with him for now. At best, he was only at the half-step Neville realm. Never mind giving Lord Voldemort a satisfying fight; he would probably be treated as a snap pop, good for a single bang, if he went over there.
I still have to rely on the system.
Lorne checked his progress bar again.
[Progress: 2/10]
Sure enough, it had gone up by another point. Professor McGonagall must have produced it, bringing him one step closer to his newbie gift pack.
Perhaps he could wander around Hogwarts tomorrow. He would probably run into quite a few members of staff.
But just thinking about Hogwarts' crisscrossing staircases, which shifted with time, gave him a headache.
He really would get lost.