"I'm so sorry!"
"No, it's alright. You came over to visit and happened to fall asleep. There's nothing to be sorry about."
"Saying it like that just makes me feel more guilty!"
Having come to her senses, Hermione apologized, her face flushing.
The truth was, it was partly my fault for not properly managing a hat enchanted with a sleep spell, but like the model student she was, she seemed to think she had caused trouble by carelessly touching someone else's belongings.
After apologizing for some time, Hermione's face turned beet red as she asked, "While I was asleep, I didn't do anything… strange, did I?"
"Strange, like what?"
"Like sleep-talking, or… I don't know. Just, anything strange."
"…Nothing in particular. You don't need to worry."
She had been throwing punches instead of sleep-talking, but I didn't bother telling Hermione that.
I was tempted to tease her, but I held back, thinking her face might turn into a tomato if I pushed any further.
Anyway, since she had already worn the hat, I decided to ask her about it for the sake of gathering data. So far, only Harry and I had ever worn it.
"Do you remember what happened after you put on the hat?"
"Hmm… I think I had a dream about trolls, but I don't remember it very well."
It seemed that because I had woken her up forcefully instead of letting her wake up naturally, her memory wasn't as clear as Harry's.
In fact, sleep is a magically significant state. Dreaming, even more so.
A state of being neither conscious nor unconscious.
This very state was the reason I had chosen dreams as a training ground.
That's why one of the main things I focused on while creating the hat was how to handle the effects of a sudden external shock while the dream was being manipulated.
In any case, I mentally checked off the fact that the expected effect had occurred.
I nodded and asked Hermione, "If you don't remember anything, do you feel like you gained anything from it?"
"Gained something?"
"Yes. A lesson, a realization, anything."
Hermione thought hard for a while and then muttered, "Well… if I had to say, it's that my learning is insufficient?"
Then, as if convinced by her own answer, she nodded eagerly. "Yes. That's right! I think that's it. My knowledge was lacking."
I felt my eyebrow twitch slightly at her words.
From my perspective, knowledge was the last thing Hermione lacked. Still, I couldn't just tell a child who was happy with her own realization that she was wrong.
I asked Hermione, "If you don't remember well, do you want to try it on again later?"
Her face instantly went pale, and she gasped, shaking her head vigorously. "No. I don't remember it, but I don't want to. Why is that…? Just looking at that hat makes me feel a bit nauseous…"
"...."
Seriously, it's that bad?
My spirit felt a bit broken by the harsh reviews everyone was giving my Magic Training Hat, but it's fine. I'm sure someone will recognize this hat's true value someday!
***
"Oh, thank you for playing with our daughter today, dear."
"Mom…!"
"I had fun too. Oh, and thank you for the gift."
"Of course. Even wizards have to take care of their teeth, you know."
*If they ever found out that magic can make teeth grow back in an instant, I wonder if they'd fall into despair as dentists.*
I kept that thought to myself.
After a cheerful farewell (with the exception of Hermione) and seeing her off with the Grangers, I was on my way back.
Since I was already out, I figured I might as well go to Diagon Alley to buy the rest of my school supplies before returning.
The sun was already setting, and the dark sky was growing, but day and night weren't that important to wizards. Most of the shops in Diagon Alley would still be open.
Besides that, if I went home now, it would just be Deek and Ardeura.
Pushing aside a rare feeling of sentimentality, I prepared to Apparate.
The Elder Wand and my old, bent wand rested in my pocket.
Feeling the presence of both wands, I imagined my destination.
*'Diagon Alley.'*
*Whoosh!*
I felt the usual unpleasant sensation of Apparition, and then the cool, late-evening air greeted m—
*Thud!*
"Kugh…!"
What greeted me wasn't the cool evening air, but a collision with the cold ground.
I groaned and looked around. "Ugh, what the."
What I saw around me was not the familiar atmosphere of Diagon Alley.
It was darker.
The place, which felt sticky with malice, was Knockturn Alley.
A hotbed of all kinds of crime, the final destination for goods not traded in the light of day. In short, it was definitely not a place for a student to be.
No, that wasn't important right now.
My heart felt like it had dropped to my stomach, and I found myself stammering. "D-did I… just mess up an A-Apparition?"
A chilling sensation shot up from my fingertips, and my whole body trembled.
*Ha.*
I knew my magic could fluctuate because of my magical power's growth spurt, but this was the first time I had actually failed a spell, and the shock was immense.
To put it in perspective, it was probably like the fear of suddenly finding one of your legs unable to move.
Of course, I wasn't such a novice as to tremble in a situation like this, so I quickly shook my head and stood up, but I couldn't say it wasn't a shock.
I muttered to myself, an emptiness in my chest like a hole had been punched through it. "Me, miscasting a spell…"
Putting the shock aside for a moment, I decided to coolly investigate the cause, like a proper wizard.
I took the Elder Wand from my pocket, gave it a light wave, and the spell I cast activated without any problems.
That meant my magic was working fine for now.
So, was the problem that Apparition was a high-level spell?
No, that couldn't be it. The magic I had used to create the Magic Training Hat was far more intricate and complex. No matter how high-level Apparition was, it was like a driver's license that almost every wizard gets by their sixth year.
It couldn't compare to the magic the founders used to create the Sorting Hat.
By process of elimination, that left only one hypothesis.
I let out a hollow laugh. "Just for that…? Really?"
It seemed that the 'sentimental feeling' I had for a brief moment before Apparating—that trivial but impulsive emotion—had caused the magic to fluctuate.
Did that mean I had to suppress my magic as much as possible unless I was in a completely stable psychological state?
I sighed, feeling the frustrating sensation of being bound in a straitjacket. I never thought I'd be in this state at my age.
As if oblivious to my troubles, a man who looked like he was broadcasting 'I am a suspicious person' walked out from the dark alley.
A skinhead, and tattoos.
They weren't the Death Eater tattoos I'd seen before, but there was no way a person dressed like that, wandering around Knockturn Alley at this hour, was normal.
He spotted me and, with a wicked grin, approached. "Hey, kid. Didn't your parents tell you bad things happen when you come to a place like this at this hour?"
"See here. I'm not in a good mood right now. If you leave quietly, there will be no trouble."
I flinched at my own sharp tone. My old way of speaking had slipped out. One of the downsides of being in a young body was that my mind was sometimes swayed by my physical state, making me impulsive.
Already on edge after confirming my magic wasn't working properly, the hormones of a young body must have overlapped, making me snap without realizing it.
Of course, my opponent wasn't one to consider such things.
His face hardened at my words, and the skinhead growled at me. "You've got no manners for a little brat. Do you not grasp the situation you're in?"
Sighing, I raised my wand and aimed it at him.
No matter how emotionally unstable I was, taking care of one hooligan like him was no trouble at all.
A simple Stunning Spell should be enough for him to wake up the next morning and be on his way. Ah, if my magic fluctuated, he might be knocked out for life, but isn't that a risk everyone takes?
However, before I could even cast the spell, someone shouted from behind the skinhead.
"Expelliarmus!"
"Aaargh!"
Hit by the sudden Disarming Charm, the skinhead not only dropped his wand but also fell to his knees with a thud.
A man walked out from behind the skinhead.
Despite his skinny and frail appearance, he had an expression of firm resolve.
The man, who expertly summoned a rope and tied up the skinhead, asked me, "Hey, are you alright? What's a little kid like you doing here?"
"Pardon?… Ah."
Only then remembering my childlike appearance, I quickly fabricated a reason. "I was trying to get to Diagon Alley but took the Floo Powder wrong. This is Knockturn Alley, right?"
"Yes, that's right. It's very dangerous here, not a place for kids like you."
In truth, if he hadn't shown up, the one in danger would have been the skinhead, who was on the verge of being hit by a powered-up Stunning Spell and knocked out for life, but I didn't bother to say that.
Interpreting my silence in his own way, he gave me a playful smile. "By the way, seeing as you're in Diagon Alley at your age, you must be a Hogwarts student, right?"
"That's right. I'm a third-year this year."
The man clapped his hands in delight. "Aha, that's wonderful! As it happens, I've been appointed as a professor at Hogwarts this year. What luck! If you don't mind, why don't we head to Diagon Alley together?"
Of course, I had no reason to refuse his offer.
I'd been to Knockturn Alley once or twice, but I had little experience with the 20th-century version and didn't know the way very well.
Besides, I usually traveled by Apparition, so I never needed to know the detailed paths. I just never thought that would come back to bite me like this.
As we walked toward Diagon Alley, he rummaged through his pockets and pulled out a rather elegantly wrapped piece of chocolate, offering it to me with a proud expression. "Here, eat this. Eating something sweet is the best thing after an unfortunate incident like this."
It wasn't so much an unfortunate incident as it was a dangerous one… No, wait. The moment I failed a spell, it did become an unfortunate incident.
Slightly dejected by the thought resurfacing, I took the chocolate without a word and ate it.
Hmm. This was actually quite delicious. It clearly wasn't a cheap brand.
It was a bit awkward to say, but the chocolate was far too expensive for the quality of the coat he was wearing.
As if sensing my question, he let out a hearty laugh. "Haha, the chocolate's pretty fancy, isn't it? It was actually a gift from a friend."
"Oh, is it okay for you to give this to me?"
"That friend is so rich, he won't even notice. Well, it's not like he's in any position to say anything to me anyway. Haha, what a pointless thing to say."
*I have a rich friend too. Though he's more interested in my disciple than in me.*
Just then, remembering Sirius's words, I asked him on a hunch, "By any chance… are you the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor?"
"I am. Unfortunately, no subject has as many vacancies as that one, does it?"
The moment I heard that, I knew the identity of the man before me.
Well, it's a small world. His name was Remus Lupin. A close friend of James Potter and Sirius Black, and a werewolf.
***