Another class had just ended, and Charles Gold's schedule for the day was finally over.
He only had two classes on Wednesdays and Thursdays; the rest of the week required just one lesson per day—and weekends were completely free. There was no denying it—being a teacher really was a great deal!Even better, he had the easiest template of them all: the equivalent of a P.E. instructor.
Most of his free time was spent either bothering teachers from other subjects or hanging around in the library and the Room of Requirement. After all, he had no intention of staying cooped up in Hogwarts all weekend. The Muggle world still had plenty of fun waiting for him.
In truth, Charles wasn't just going there to play. He was curious whether Pokémon as a game existed in this world. But after thinking about it, he realized—why wait for someone else to create it? He could just do it himself.
So, he decided that this weekend, he would establish a company and register the Pokémon trademark ahead of time.
On Friday, Charles carried a box full of Pokémon materials he had collected and made his way to see Snape. Over the past few days, he had gathered various toxins, fangs, scales, and fur from Pokémon, as well as small samples of blood.
He had carefully stored each type in separate containers inside the box, intending to ask Snape whether any of them might be useful for potion-making.
Of course, most Pokémon weren't exactly thrilled about having their blood drawn. Charles had gone through quite a bit of trouble to obtain these samples during his expeditions in the Nature Reserve.
Then again… when it came to magical substances, did oxidation even matter?Actually, now that he thought about it, wizards had probably never even seen unoxidized blood used as a potion ingredient before.
He was still mulling over these thoughts when Harry came barreling straight into him.
"Ah!"
Harry had just stormed out of Potions class, brimming with frustration and complaints. He wasn't watching where he was going and crashed right into Charles's chest. It felt like he'd run into a wall of iron—he fell backward and landed hard on his backside.
Charles didn't even budge.
"Good morning, Harry. And Ron. What's wrong?" Charles reached down and helped Harry to his feet, greeting them both with an easy smile.
"Good morning, Professor Gold," Ron said, surprised that this professor actually addressed them so casually by name. His impression of Charles instantly shot up.
"Sorry, Professor. I didn't see you there," Harry said apologetically.
"No harm done. But you two seem to be in a hurry—try to be more careful in the halls."
"Uh… we were going to see Hagrid," Harry replied after a pause. He decided not to mention the miserable experience he'd just had in Potions class.
Charles nodded and didn't pry further, parting ways with them soon after.
"Looks like Professor Gold's going to see Snape," Ron said as soon as the man walked away, immediately slipping into gossip mode. "Hey, what do you think their relationship is? Fred said Professor Gold used to be a Slytherin. But I think he's different from the rest of them, don't you?"
"Maybe because he left Slytherin before graduating?" Harry guessed. In just a few days, there had already been dozens of rumors about Charles Gold spreading through the castle.
After this morning's Potions class, Harry's favorite version of the story was "Professor Gold fought Snape and beat him into the ground."
"Yeah, leaving early probably kept him from turning out like the other Slytherins," Ron agreed enthusiastically. "Still, Malfoy's only in first year and already unbearable enough."
Harry and Ron headed toward Hagrid's hut. Although Hagrid had only invited Harry, Ron had practically become his shadow lately. Going alone would've felt wrong.
Hagrid, of course, was happy to have Ron along. He knew the Weasleys well—though, truth be told, Fred and George had given him plenty of headaches. Hopefully this younger brother wouldn't sneak into the Forbidden Forest as often.
He brought out a massive tray of Rock Cakes to treat the boys. They nearly broke their teeth biting into them but pretended to enjoy them nonetheless.
"Good, eh? Even Professor Gold liked them," Hagrid said proudly. "Last time he came, he ate quite a few!"
"He must have really strong teeth…" Ron muttered awkwardly, though his admiration for Charles's jaw strength was genuine.
"So, Harry, how's your first week been?"
"Pretty good! Professor Gold's Pokémon Mastery class is amazing. I even got to pet a fire-breathing lion! It's just a shame we only get one class a week."
"He brought those little critters to class, did he?" Hagrid chuckled. "Well, I'll tell you something—not many people know this—but Professor Gold keeps loads of Pokémon in his office. Probably more than the magical creatures in the Forest!"
"But… how's that possible?" Harry asked, puzzled. "I mean, one office can't fit that many Pokémon."
"Undetectable Extension Charm, Harry. A very advanced bit o' magic," Hagrid explained with a grin. "If you ever get the chance, you really should take a look. If I were still a student, I'd find a way to get detention there, just for the visit! If I'd had that spell back in my day, Aragog might never've been discovered."
"Aragog?" Harry tilted his head in confusion.
Hagrid froze, realizing he'd said too much. "Nothin', Harry! Let's… er, talk about you instead. How're your other classes?"
"Uh—I think the Potions professor doesn't like me very much," Harry admitted.
He told Hagrid what had happened during Snape's class.
"Don't worry about that. Snape's never liked any student," Hagrid said reassuringly.
"But it feels like he actually hates me."
"Rubbish! Why would he hate you?" Hagrid said quickly.
Having served as Keeper of Keys and Grounds for fifty years, Hagrid knew plenty about Hogwarts's past. While he didn't know about Snape's feelings for Lily, he did remember the long-standing feud between James Potter and Snape.
That made his denial sound a little less convincing—and he hastily changed the subject, steering the conversation toward Charlie Weasley instead.
While they talked, Harry's eyes wandered across the table and caught sight of an old newspaper from a month ago. The front page headline read:
Pure-Blood Family Attacked! Minister for Magic and Aurors Rescue Over Twenty Lives
When he flipped to the next page, another article caught his eye:
Ministry's Heroic Operation—Truth or Lie?By Rita Skeeter
The piece questioned the Ministry's official story and sharply pointed out several inconsistencies—if the Aurors truly defeated the dark wizard responsible for the attack, why had no one been sent to Azkaban?It even claimed that the attacker remained free—and was now working at Hogwarts as a professor.
Harry stared at the article, thinking it matched several of the rumors he'd heard lately. He even started to think Rita Skeeter might be a journalist who actually told the truth.
"Haha! You've seen that report too, eh?" Hagrid said, happy for something to distract Harry.
"So… it's true? Professor Gold really did that?" Harry asked eagerly.
"There's truth to it, aye," Hagrid admitted. "But the bit about the Ministry rescuin' twenty people is nonsense. It was Dumbledore who stepped in. Honestly, if Dumbledore hadn't sent Gold on an errand to deliver somethin' important, they might never have crossed paths at all."
"Something important?"
"Er—nothing you should be worryin' about," Hagrid said quickly, clamping his mouth shut.
But his big mouth had already left Harry and Ron full of questions and suspicion.
(End of Chapter)