The day after Harry and Ron returned, more and more young wizards began lining up to challenge Charles.Fortunately, there were only about thirty wizards who actually owned Pokémon. Among them, some—like Hermione—had little interest in battling at all, so in practice, Charles's workload wasn't heavy.
Those who already had Pokémon were the ones who had passed the earlier selection tests—some of the best in their respective years.Because of that, Charles didn't strictly withhold the Creation Badges; as long as a challenger's performance was passable, he would grant the badge.
He had even spoken with Snape about it—by the end of term, he expected a fair number of trainers to have collected all eight badges in their Trainer Books.
In addition, he planned to give other Hogwarts students a chance as well. Out of nearly a thousand students, several dozen would be chosen through another selection process and granted the right to compete.
The selection would follow the same method as the club's trials: the candidates would borrow Pokémon Charles had prepared in advance to battle.But truth be told, winning with these rental Pokémon was nearly impossible.
After all, the club members had been training with their Pokémon for months—their experience and bond couldn't compare to someone handling a rental Pokémon for the first time.
Take Harry's Pikachu, for instance. Not wanting to disappoint Harry, Pikachu had pushed itself far beyond expectation in its match against Charles, lasting much longer than expected—and in the final moments, it even overcame its poisoned condition through sheer willpower.
Most other Pokémon could never have managed such a feat.
Harry's Pikachu was an ordinary one, but to Charles, it showed clear potential—perhaps even capable of evolving into a Partner Pikachu.
In the games, Partner Pokémon were fixed, identical in appearance to normal ones but fundamentally different in every other way—so much so that even items like the Light Ball had no effect on them.
But in reality, an ordinary Pokémon could become a Partner Pokémon.
The catalyst lay in the trainer's own power—the bond between human and Pokémon.
Theoretically, any Pokémon could undergo this transformation, but fully evolved Pokémon couldn't gain further strength through it.In fact, both Mega Evolution and Bond Phenomenon were probably manifestations of this same mysterious force.
Charles had also delivered the batch of Noctowl and Hoothoot that Hagrid requested. As for the culprit behind the unicorn killings—he didn't even have to think about it. It was obviously Quirrell.
On Friday, Charles was summoned to the Headmaster's office.There, he unexpectedly met Sirius Black, whom he had originally arranged to meet on Saturday—and Remus Lupin.
Sirius carried himself with effortless elegance; from his attire to his gestures, every movement radiated the poise of a noble.Remus Lupin, by contrast, looked far more weary and melancholy.
The werewolf professor appeared utterly exhausted and weathered by life. His clothes were old and patched—but spotlessly clean.That mattered—so much that it deserved to be said twice.
"You're Charles Gold!"
The moment Sirius saw him, he strode forward and grabbed his hand.
"You caught that traitor Peter! I can't thank you enough!"
He was visibly moved. Merlin only knew how furious he had been upon learning that Peter Pettigrew was still alive—that the wretch had lived free for ten whole years while he rotted in prison.
"No need for thanks, Mr. Black," Charles replied evenly.
"Thank you for taking care of Harry," said Lupin as he stood up, following behind Sirius. Compared to Sirius's extroverted energy, his manner was far more restrained."I'm Remus Lupin—also a friend of Harry's parents."
"Charles Gold," Charles introduced himself simply. "Harry is my student. I'm only doing my duty as a professor."
"I wish certain Potions professors who never wash their hair could be as responsible as you!" Sirius added sharply.
Too bad the person he was clearly referring to wasn't present to hear it.
"I invited Remus here because I'd like him to take the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor next term," Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eye.
Charles froze.
Lupin as the Defense professor—in Harry's second year? Then what about Lockhart?
He had already shared some of his foreknowledge with Dumbledore, but seeing the Headmaster actively change the course of fate still took him by surprise.
He'd expected Dumbledore to remain conservative, to let events play out naturally.
Yet here he was—taking initiative.
Still, Charles had no objection. Replacing the useless Lockhart with the capable and compassionate Lupin could only benefit Hogwarts's students.
"So you called me here for…?" Charles asked.
"For another case of injustice," Dumbledore said, raising a finger.
He had actually summoned Sirius and Charles specifically, though he hadn't expected Lupin to be with him—an unexpected advantage.Before Charles's arrival, Dumbledore had already discussed the teaching position with Lupin.
"Another case of injustice?" Sirius frowned, leaning forward. "What do you mean? Don't tell me you've finally realized that greasy bat isn't as noble as he seems?"
Given his own past, Sirius doubted this would be so simple—Dumbledore wouldn't have called him to Hogwarts over something trivial.
Charles, however, already knew what the Headmaster meant. In fact, he had been the one to tell Dumbledore about it in the first place.
"It's a bit complicated," Dumbledore said mysteriously. "And no, this has nothing to do with Severus."
He fell silent for a moment, weighing what he could safely reveal and what should remain secret.After a brief pause, he decided to keep the Horcrux matter confidential—but there was one thing he could clear up.
"It's about your brother—Regulus Black."
"Regulus? That kid?" Sirius blinked, clearly shocked to hear the name. Truth be told, he had never liked his younger brother.
From childhood, they had never gotten along. Regulus had been timid and weak, proud of his place in Slytherin, and a devout believer in pure-blood supremacy—eventually joining the Death Eaters, just as expected.
All these years later, Sirius had assumed he was long dead, who knew where or how.
Even so, the thought brought a faint pang of sorrow.For all his resentment, Regulus had still been his brother—though in truth, Sirius had always felt closer to James Potter, as if he were the real sibling.
(End of Chapter)