Harry Potter: I Get Stronger by Taking Loans - 189

Chapter 189: Leonardo, Do You Have Dress Robes for Awards? Start Looking for a New Professor

Harry rubbed his messy black hair, leaving the hospital wing after visiting the injured teammates, and wandered down the corridor by himself.

A perfectly ordinary Quidditch practice had somehow turned into a wizard “battle”.

As for punishment, Professor McGonagall had been furious. Such a group brawl had not happened at Hogwarts for years. But when she learned the reason for the fight, she grew even angrier. After a brief lecture, she stormed out of her office, saying she would go straight to Snape and demand an explanation. How could such vicious discrimination be allowed at school?

She had only confiscated Ron’s Air Gun and sentenced him and Hagrid to a half-day patrol of the Forbidden Forest. She did not mention anything about Flint’s injuries or the cost of the broken broom.

Given Ron’s friendship with Hagrid, it was less of a punishment and more of a walk in the woods during daylight. Ron was already excitedly heading to Hagrid’s hut, muttering about finding materials in the Forbidden Forest to build a new Air Gun and upgrade it with extra features.

Harry wasn’t sure whether he should warn Ron. He just felt Ron was becoming more and more like Mr Weasley, and no wonder—they both loved tinkering with odd inventions.

And then there was Hermione…

Thinking of her made Harry’s head ache. Afterwards, her eyes were still a bit red, and she found Harry to say a few things.

Harry had assumed she was upset about Flint’s use of the word “Mudblood”. He had not known what it meant at first, but Ron explained, and Harry understood just how vicious it was. He knew how awful that brutish Slytherin captain had been.

He was struggling to find the right words to comfort her when she asked a strange question: would he help her find a potion that could change teeth?

Harry was confused at first, but then he realised she might have been deeply hurt by the insult to her teeth. As her friend, Harry promised to look through books for relevant potions.

Hermione thanked him, then added that he did not need to avenge her against Flint. She had already thrown a barrage of spells at that idiot, and if he ever dared to provoke her again, she would use Leonardo’s method to show that arrogant fool the true power of knowledge.

Harry believed her without a doubt. He had seen how fast she could cast spells, and he knew Leonardo’s saying—“knowledge equals power”—was absolutely true in the wizarding world.

He also remembered he had not yet asked Leonardo why he was carrying a broom back from the pitch that morning. He wondered where Leonardo was now.

…

The Headmaster’s office.

Even though the first-year incident with Quirrell was long past, Leonardo and Dumbledore still kept their tradition of afternoon tea every week.

“Headmaster, these are some candies I made. Would you like to try them?”

Leonardo pushed several differently packaged candies towards Dumbledore, whose eyes immediately sparkled with interest. He picked up a packet and examined it closely.

“Hmm, they look delicious. But I suppose eating them might bring about some interesting little changes?” Dumbledore said, picking up the packet of hair-colour-changing candies.

Leonardo was a bit disappointed. He had hoped to see the Headmaster with dyed hair, but Dumbledore saw straight through the candies’ special nature—exactly what Leonardo expected. After all, the greatest wizard of the age was no stranger to potions.

“I’d still like to try them,” Dumbledore said.

He popped a yellow disc-shaped candy into his mouth and crunched it up.

“Oh, lemon flavour. Very nice,” he said.

The next second, Dumbledore’s hair and beard turned yellow, matching his robes perfectly.

Noticing the change, Dumbledore only chuckled and stroked his beard, clearly amused. He picked up a purple candy and ate it, and his hair and beard turned purple.

Soon, Dumbledore had finished the whole packet and asked Leonardo what they were.

“Headmaster, those are Rainbow Candies. The colours correspond to different flavours, but they’re mainly hair-colour-changing potions. You’ve seen the effects.”

Dumbledore picked up the next packet of sweets.

“And this one? It looks rather springy.”

Leonardo explained, “These are Elastic Chews. After eating them…”

But before he could finish, Dumbledore had already begun “testing” them. After swallowing one, he seemed to turn into a rubber man, his fingers stretching like elastic when he tugged at them.

Unlike the Rainbow Candies, the Elastic Chews had the same effect regardless of colour or flavour. Dumbledore still ate one after another until the entire packet was gone.

Of course. The old man clearly just couldn’t resist sweets.

Dumbledore’s emotions were truly vibrant, no less than those of a child or teenager. Leonardo glanced at the multicoloured crystal ball in his pocket, quietly collecting emotions as material for the Philosopher’s Stone. He could see vivid, rich emotional ribbons drifting from Dumbledore himself.

“Delicious and entertaining. This old man enjoys them, so the children will too.”

Dumbledore picked up another packet and started opening it.

“By the way, Leonardo, you’ve invented quite a few alchemical items and potions this term, and you’ve even had the Weasley twins help you sell them.”

“It seems you’ve learned a great deal from Nicolas.”

Leonardo nodded and refilled Dumbledore’s empty teacup with honey water.

“My teacher’s guidance has been invaluable.”

Dumbledore smiled, then sighed.

“When Nicolas wrote to me, saying you would be his last student, I was truly surprised. I thought that after he set his gaze on the heavens, he would no longer concern himself with the mundane world.”

Dumbledore had known of Nicolas’s regret—his unmatched alchemical knowledge had never found a proper heir. But from Nicolas’s attitude in his letters, Dumbledore understood that he saw Leonardo as a true successor, a student worthy of his legacy.

Dumbledore was happy for his old friend and for Leonardo. He knew Leonardo was passionate about learning and chasing knowledge. In the field of alchemy, there was no one more knowledgeable than Nicolas Flamel.

“Oh, Leonardo, your two Transfiguration essays from the summer holidays are nearly through review at Transfiguration Today.”

“Ha. At your age, publishing in an authoritative magical academic journal is unprecedented.”

Dumbledore remembered something else, something that required his attention as Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot.

“Leonardo, you do have formal dress robes, don’t you? The kind you wear for award ceremonies?”

…

The Headmaster’s office.

Hearing Dumbledore mention dress robes, Leonardo was a bit surprised. Dress robes? Award ceremonies?

If it were for an award…

Considering what Dumbledore had just said about his Transfiguration essays, it was probably related to that.

Leonardo thought for a moment. For Transfiguration awards, it was likely the prize given by the Society of Transfiguration, the most authoritative association in the wizarding world.

Publishing or winning an award would greatly boost his reputation in the magical world, and that would help sell his alchemical and potion products.

He remembered reading about this award in a book. It came with an actual medal, called the Ring of All Forms. It was described as a magical item with some interesting abilities. He really wanted to study it.

“Headmaster, I do have dress robes. I had them custom-made at Twofold Tailors in Diagon Alley. Are you referring to the Ring of All Forms awarded by the Society of Transfiguration?”

Dumbledore nodded. There was indeed an award from the Society of Transfiguration, but there was another one…

Dumbledore decided to keep it a surprise, probably something for Halloween or Christmas.

“You’ve been taking classes for a while now, Leonardo. What do you think of our new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor?”

What did he think of Lockhart?

Did Dumbledore really need to ask?

Leonardo answered directly, “Headmaster, you know Lockhart hasn’t actually taught any real magic, right? Not just for our year, but from what I’ve heard, he does the same with the older students—just talks about his own books, and even makes students act out scenes.”

“This… isn’t really what a teacher, or a Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, should be doing, is it?”

Dumbledore folded his hands, his tone calm.

“Every teacher has their own style. Professor Lockhart has a wealth of experience, having faced many dark creatures. Those valuable experiences are worth learning for students.”

Leonardo met Dumbledore’s bright blue eyes and sighed.

“Headmaster, you—the greatest wizard of the age—can’t possibly miss the, uh, ‘peculiar’ nature of those experiences?”

Leonardo refused to believe Dumbledore could not see through Lockhart’s empty show. Not just because of his magical prowess, but with over a hundred years of life experience, his wisdom should have spotted the fraud at once.

A person needed substance, but Lockhart’s substance could not support his reputation.

The office fell silent.

After a while, Dumbledore picked up another candy and spoke slowly.

“Students can learn more than just magic. They can learn positive lessons, like virtue and responsibility, but also negative ones, like mistakes and lessons.”

“Leonardo, I understand your dissatisfaction. You want to learn truly meaningful knowledge, and Lockhart may not satisfy that. For Defence Against the Dark Arts, you can always ask me during our tea.”

After Dumbledore finished, Leonardo still stared into his eyes.

“Headmaster, I’m happy to learn from you, but what about the others?”

“I’ve always believed school is a place for learning. Students should learn the knowledge they need here, no matter who they are.”

“Are you really willing to sacrifice an entire school year, using a ‘fraud’ to teach students life lessons, like honesty?”

Leonardo put heavy emphasis on the word “fraud”.

“Not counting the other years, what about the fifth and seventh years? They’re preparing for important exams that affect their future. Defence Against the Dark Arts is a major subject.”

Hearing Leonardo’s words, Dumbledore could not help but smile bitterly.

“Ah, but you’ve probably heard about the curse on our school’s Defence Against the Dark Arts position. It’s real.”

“That’s why others are afraid of the job. It’s hard to find a teacher every year. This year…”

Dumbledore shook his head helplessly.

“This year, only one person applied. That was Lockhart.”

Only Lockhart?

That didn’t sound right. Given Snape’s obsession, Leonardo suspected he applied for the position every year.

Leonardo gave Dumbledore a suspicious look, thinking Dumbledore simply did not want Snape to fall victim to the curse. After all, Snape still had to play double agent for Voldemort.

Now it was clear Dumbledore would not voluntarily replace Lockhart.

Then Leonardo would have to use his own methods to help this professor retire early and bring in a proper teacher.

From what he had seen of Lockhart’s progress with the diary, things might be moving faster than in the original timeline.

Hmph. An adult, and still so easily fooled.

“Headmaster, if that’s the case, there’s nothing to be done. You have your reasons.”

Dumbledore comforted himself with a sip of honey water, thinking Leonardo was thoughtful and understanding. But Leonardo’s next sentence almost made him choke.

“So, Headmaster, you could start looking for a new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor now. After all, with the curse, Lockhart will probably only last a year. He might even retire early. We should be prepared, right?”

Why did Lockhart sound like he was doomed?

Seeing Dumbledore actually consider the idea, Leonardo felt he had administered the right preventative dose.

They chatted a while longer about the morning’s conflict between Gryffindor and Slytherin.

Again, it was about pure-blood discrimination against half-blood and Muggle-born witches and wizards. Leonardo mentioned the risk of pure-blood parents coming to school to cause trouble. Dumbledore said clearly that as long as he was there, Hogwarts would not be dominated by pure-blood interests.

Leonardo had no doubt about that. Even if pure-blood families were dissatisfied with Dumbledore, they would not dare to openly challenge him. Without rules to protect them, they could only gamble that Dumbledore would not kill them all before his magic ran out.

Leonardo said goodbye to Dumbledore and left the Headmaster’s office.

Wandering through the castle, he occasionally greeted people he knew.

As he walked, he saw Lockhart, still dressed in his flashy silver-blue robes, so bright it made others squint.

Lockhart’s chest was still covered in medals, with the Order of Merlin prominently displayed. It was only third class, but it was Lockhart’s most prestigious award.

Leonardo glanced at the golden star-shaped medal with a cross design.

The Order of Merlin.

Wait. The Order of Merlin?

A sudden thought flashed through Leonardo’s mind:

If he was making such achievements in Transfiguration, could he actually be in line for an Order of Merlin himself?