News that Kevin and his companions had defeated Voldemort and escaped unharmed spread through Hogwarts like wildfire.
By the next day, the entire school was buzzing with stories about the four of them—though, perhaps thanks to a little nudging from Dumbledore, most of the talk centered on Harry's role as the "Savior."
The four friends were admitted to the hospital wing together, though for most of them, the injuries were more mental than physical.
As for the fate of the Philosopher's Stone, Dumbledore didn't reveal whether it had been destroyed or hidden away.
However, he did privately tell Harry about the protective magic born from his mother's love—the reason Voldemort was burned when he touched him.
When Kevin was asked how he had known this, he simply shrugged and claimed he'd guessed from the story Harry had told him earlier.
When Dumbledore visited them, he studied Kevin for a long moment, as if deciding whether to use Legilimency on him.
In the end, he refrained, simply praising Kevin for his courage. Dumbledore chose to trust his student.
Of course, he had already heard plenty about Kevin from Snape. According to the Potions Master, Kevin was arrogant, self-absorbed, and greedy… but also diligent, brilliant, and extraordinarily talented.
A dangerous combination, if left unchecked. It was the same kind of description that could have applied to Tom Riddle in his youth.
But just as Kevin trusted Snape to be a good man despite his reputation, Snape trusted that Kevin would never become another Voldemort. His temperament alone made such a future unlikely.
Kevin: ?
Dumbledore: Still unlikely.
Kevin: ??
Although Harry, Ron, and Hermione hadn't faced Voldemort directly this time, they had each proven themselves during the earlier trials:
Hermione's encyclopedic knowledge, Ron's mastery of wizard chess, and Harry's exceptional flying skills. All four of them had grown—both in ability and in spirit.
Classes soon returned to normal, though Kevin noticed that Draco was visiting Hagrid's hut even more often than they did.
Malfoy asked endless questions about dragons, sometimes even helping Hagrid tidy up. Hagrid's fondness for him was starting to rival his affection for Harry and the others.
By now, Snape had little left to teach Kevin in Potions.
Not because Kevin had surpassed him, but because the next steps required independent research and experimentation. Still, Kevin often came to Snape for advice.
Defeating Voldemort had also given Kevin an unexpected boost—his stamina and magical power had each increased significantly.
In his mind, if they fought again, Voldemort wouldn't last long enough to raise a Shield Charm.
His magical strength was now beyond that of most Hogwarts students, so he began studying advanced Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts under Snape, determined to find a way to counter the Killing Curse.
One afternoon, after a spirited dueling session with Snape, Hermione approached Kevin.
"Hagrid says Norbert's getting too big for the hut," she told him.
Kevin raised an eyebrow. "Have you thought about releasing him into the Forbidden Forest?"
"Hagrid has," Hermione admitted, "but he's afraid Norbert would set half the forest on fire, and then the centaurs would kill him."
Kevin considered it. "Why not have Harry talk to Dumbledore? A simple Shrinking Charm could keep Norbert here."
Hermione frowned. "Why Harry? And do you really think Dumbledore would allow a dragon to stay?"
"It's worth trying," Kevin said. "Dumbledore sees Harry as the school's hero—he might grant the request."
Hermione didn't like the way Kevin's role had been overshadowed in the official story, but Kevin only laughed.
"It's fine. At least no one stares at me everywhere I go."
Kevin kept one day a week free for Hermione, a deal she insisted on to make sure he didn't spend all his time training with Snape.
Snape grumbled that she was distracting his most promising student, but Hermione wasn't intimidated—she stood her ground and even scolded him in front of Kevin until Dumbledore intervened and told Snape to ease up.
Snape also noticed that his fearsome reputation among the students seemed to be slipping. More of them dared to talk back—or at least not cower—after seeing Kevin and Hermione stand up to him.
One Saturday, Harry and Ron showed up while Kevin was preparing to teach Hermione some spells.
"This is supposed to be one-on-one," Hermione protested, clearly annoyed.
Harry grinned sheepishly. "We just want to watch… maybe learn something."
In the end, Hermione relented, and Kevin agreed—though with a warning. "My teaching style is… unconventional. Don't expect formal lessons."
The three of them nodded, eager to start. Kevin suggested they try dueling him directly.
"Attack me with whatever you've got," he said confidently.
Harry hesitated. "What if you get hurt?"
Kevin smirked. "Then you'd better hit me first."
They agreed on a strategy: take turns casting spells to wear him down before launching a combined attack.
"Stupefy!"
"Expelliarmus!"
"Petrificus Totalus!"
Kevin blocked two spells with a flick of his wand and deflected the third with a rock from the ground.
The three stared in disbelief.
"My turn," Kevin said.
"Wait—!" Hermione started, but Kevin had already cast his move.
"Ultimate Flash!"
A blinding light filled the room, making them all cry out and cover their eyes. Before they could recover, Kevin tapped each of them on the head with a wooden stick.
"Ow!" Ron yelped, rubbing his scalp. Hermione looked betrayed until Kevin gently rubbed the spot for her.
"That wasn't Lumos," Harry said, blinking away the afterimage.
"No. Lumos produces a steady light, but the brightness depends on magical output. My Ultimate Flash compresses that into a single, intense burst—like condensing an hour of light into a second."
They were fascinated, though much of his explanation went over their heads.
Kevin warned them that mastering spells like this required exceptional magical control—something all three still needed to work on.
And so, the lesson continued, the trio firing spells at Kevin while he lectured on theory. Whether they understood it or not was another matter entirely.