Inside the Headmaster's Office.
Dumbledore listened to Lucien's assessment, nodding slightly, a faint trace of regret flickering in his eyes.
"Quirinus's theoretical research is excellent. He was also an outstanding graduate of Ravenclaw, so he's your senior."
"It's just that his temperament isn't very suitable for teaching students."
Lucien didn't add any further comments, nor did he mention the unexpected incident during his final dueling practice with Quirrell.
After all, what could he say? That he, a young wizard, had made a professor kneel before him?
And to be precise, it wasn't even him—it was his wand!
"Oh, right, Headmaster, are there any classrooms in the school that are usually unoccupied?"
"When I study Potions with my classmates or practice Alchemy, we always have to do it at Hagrid's hut. It's inconvenient and not ideal, so…"
In truth, Lucien thought it was fine for now since he was only teaching Harry Potions.
But later, if Ron started learning Alchemical machinery as well, there would be even more people. He might even end up expanding his own little 'Lucien Tutoring Class' in the future.
Hmm… he wondered if Ron's family had replied yet, or if he could borrow some of their magic books…
Either way, once there were more people, they couldn't all keep running to Hagrid's hut, could they?
Although he could try finding a quiet corner and using an Undetectable Extension Charm to create a private classroom, Lucien had actually thought of an existing place within Hogwarts Castle...
"Heh, a free classroom, is it? Well, there's a rather magical place in the school," Dumbledore said with a smile. "It can perfectly manifest whatever arrangement the visitor desires."
Lucien looked at him knowingly. He understood what Dumbledore meant—he wanted a private, undisturbed space, not only for tutoring Harry but also for practicing magic and Alchemy himself.
As he listened to Dumbledore's explanation, Lucien thought, As expected.
The Room of Requirement!
A room that changed according to the needs of those who entered, capable of fulfilling almost any request.
For example, if someone urgently needed to use the restroom and happened to walk past, they'd likely find the room filled with all kinds of toilets.
"Headmaster, may I visit that place?"
"Of course. The school exists to help students learn. Come along—I have nothing pressing at the moment, so I'll take you to see it myself."
With that, the tall old man stood up and gestured for Lucien to follow.
Lucien was a little surprised. He hadn't expected Dumbledore to be so free. He had assumed the Headmaster would ask Professor McGonagall or Flitwick to take him, or perhaps send a house-elf as a guide.
He stood up and followed Dumbledore, but just as they reached the center of the room, a voice suddenly called out to him.
"Hey, good afternoon, Lucien."
Lucien turned toward the sound—it was the Sorting Hat inside the glass display case.
"Good afternoon," he replied politely.
"Could I ask you for a favor?"
A favor? What kind of favor could the Sorting Hat possibly need?
Lucien looked confused and glanced at Dumbledore, but the old man merely spread his hands.
"I told you, the Sorting Hat has been getting more and more talkative lately. It occasionally makes some rather odd requests."
"Hey, hey, Albus, what do you mean by odd requests? I've served this school for over a thousand years!" the Hat protested indignantly. "Can't I have a bit of fun?"
Faced with the Hat's outburst, Dumbledore could only smile helplessly—he was clearly used to this kind of thing.
"Lucien," the Hat called again, "could you put me on?"
"It feels like after you wore me at the start of the term, I've somehow become… smarter!"
Lucien was stunned. Wasn't this hat created by the four founders of Hogwarts long ago? It was a remarkable piece of magical Alchemy, imbued with fragments of their consciousness so it could communicate with people.
But could a hat really become smarter?
Was it because sorting him at the beginning of the term had been too challenging, forcing it to "upgrade" its thinking capacity?
No… where would a magic hat even get processing power from?
Lucien glanced at Dumbledore again, who was smiling knowingly.
"What did I tell you?" the old man said lightly.
With a wave of his hand, the glass cover disappeared.
"Hurry up, hurry up! Think of it as helping your future juniors," the Sorting Hat urged eagerly. "Once I'm a bit smarter, I'll be able to sort them even better! Then I'll tell them about you and have them thank you personally!"
Lucien's expression twisted into something between amusement and disbelief—the Sorting Hat was acting less and less like an ancient and wise hat.
"Uh… that's really not necessary," he replied.
Lucien reached out and placed the Sorting Hat on his head.
After a few seconds, nothing unusual happened—no smoke this time.
"Although I can't see clearly," the Hat said thoughtfully, "it feels like you've learned quite a lot. As expected of a Ravenclaw."
"My sorting back then was absolutely correct!"
Lucien couldn't help but want to retort.
Wasn't he the one who had chosen Ravenclaw back then?
He took the Sorting Hat off and set it back in its case. The Hat was still shouting enthusiastically,
"Come play again next time!"
"…"
Dumbledore and Lucien left the Headmaster's Office together.
As they passed the gargoyle, Lucien suddenly remembered—he should probably ask Dumbledore for the password. He couldn't keep relying on Fawkes to bring him up every time, even though, judging by the phoenix's behavior, it seemed quite willing to help.
"Headmaster, about the gargoyle…"
"Oh, I forgot to tell you," Dumbledore said with a faint chuckle. "Please forgive an old man's memory."
"This week's password is Mead. Next week's… hmm, let's make it Lemon Drop."
Wow, typical Dumbledore—always using sweets as passwords.
"Alright, Headmaster, I've got it memorized."
"Hmm, speaking of which, would you like a Lemon Drop?"
Dumbledore pulled a candy from his pocket and offered it to Lucien.
Looking at the candy, and remembering the mountain of sweets he'd seen in the office earlier, Lucien couldn't help but think to himself, Good thing this world has magic—and Potions.
Otherwise, the greatest wizard of their time would've long succumbed to diabetes.
Taking the candy with a word of thanks, Lucien unwrapped it and popped the yellow, sugar-dusted lemon sweet into his mouth.
Hmm. Sweet, but not too much—pleasantly tart. A surprisingly normal candy.
Dumbledore also popped one into his mouth and crunched it loudly.
"Heh heh, it's nice talking with you young folks—you never turn down the sweets I offer."
Lucien glanced at the tall, thin old wizard beside him. It wasn't just that young people liked sweets—most probably just didn't dare refuse Dumbledore.
The two finally reached the 7th floor of the castle, stopping before a tapestry depicting Barnabas the Barmy attempting to teach Trolls how to dance.
"Lucien, focus your mind and picture the kind of space you need," Dumbledore instructed.
He then led Lucien back and forth three times in front of the blank stretch of wall.
As Lucien looked again, a smooth wooden door materialized before them.
The Room of Requirement.
When Dumbledore pushed open the door, he couldn't help but let out a soft exclamation at the sight that greeted them.
"Quite… unique?"
The entire room was spotless and well-organized. At the front stood a large sliding blackboard, and a black-and-white clock ticked quietly on the wall.
Neatly arranged rows of wooden desks and chairs—about thirty or forty in total—were spaced half a meter apart.
But what stood out most were the banners hanging along the walls, bearing motivational slogans like:
"Study hard, and Outstanding marks on your OWLs are within reach!"
"Life can start over, but NEWTs come only once!"
"Only magic and your wand will never let you down…"
Lucien gazed around the familiar yet dreamlike classroom, feeling an odd sense of nostalgia—as if he'd somehow returned to high school.
Hmm, there were a few too many desks and chairs, though.
Still, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Maybe one day the room would be full… perhaps even need expanding.
"A very interesting setup," Dumbledore remarked curiously, "but what are those banners and slogans for?"
Lucien looked up at the magically styled motivational signs, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.
"Perhaps studying feels a bit more… motivating in an environment like this," he said.
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11 Advance Chaps- P@treon/DarkDevil1