Chapter 109: Animagi and the Return (Additional Chapter for First Place)

Kahn and Dumbledore reached a consensus, after which both men shared a smile reminiscent of cunning merchants. Kahn would provide evidence of the Basilisk’s innocence to exonerate Hagrid, while Dumbledore would use magic to protect the creature from the Ministry of Magic. In return, Hagrid would sell his future harvests from the Forbidden Forest to Kahn’s potion ingredient shop.

The Forbidden Forest was full of treasures; Hagrid sometimes even traded with the centaurs, acquiring items that were useless to them but incredibly valuable to humans.

The Chamber of Secrets incident was successfully resolved, save for poor Tom. Kahn had originally planned to take the diary to the ninja world to trade with Orochimaru. The most severely affected student was Percy in her fifth year; she had lost an entire afternoon of study time, though she hadn't been too badly frightened. The news did not even spread beyond Hogwarts, as Dumbledore and the other heads of houses conspired to keep it under wraps.

When Kahn returned to his office, Hermione, who had been waiting like a startled rabbit, jumped off her high stool the moment she heard the door open.

"Why didn't you brew yourself a Draught of Peace? I recall you know how to brew that potion."

Seeing Hermione’s dejected spirits upon entering, Kahn realized she had likely been feeling guilty ever since leaving the girls' lavatory, so much so that she had forgotten she was a potions expert herself.

"Luckily, I took a detour to Professor Snape’s office to get some. He’s quite the extortionist; he charged me at least five sets of potion ingredients."

Hearing this, Hermione imagined the look on Kahn’s face while being blackmailed and couldn't help but chuckle. She then drank the potion, and before long, her mood settled significantly.

"Godfather, about what happened..."

"Forget it, it’s all in the past. Just be more careful next time," Kahn interrupted, adding, "However, you still need to learn Occlumency and memory magic. I will write a letter to Lupin later and ask him to find a suitable wizard to teach you. Also, since we’re out of honey for your milk, let that be a lesson for this incident."

At these words, Hermione’s expressive brown eyes widened. She had to drink that milk again?

In the eyes of others, this wasn't really a punishment, but Hermione was his own, and Percy hadn't been hurt. This time, he had been a bit careless, never expecting that Tom, after being burned by Fiendfyre for a month, would still have the ability to bewitch others through a drawer protected by an Anti-Alohomora charm.

It was a pity Tom died so early; otherwise, Kahn felt he could have squeezed a bit more Dark Magic knowledge out of him. Seventeen-year-old Tom had nearly scoured the Restricted Section, surpassing Kahn in that regard.

Hermione stayed with Kahn for a while longer, and as it neared curfew, she rose to head back to the Gryffindor common room. The moment she left the office, she exhaled in relief, patting her chest. It was fortunate her godfather hadn't pressed her on what she had discussed with the diary; she wouldn't have known how to answer.

...

The Chamber of Secrets incident didn't stir any waves, though Lucius did manage to hear about Percy’s situation from his son. However, he was currently powerless to rally the Board of Governors against Dumbledore, as Kahn’s presence had significantly reduced Dumbledore’s reliance on the board. Furthermore, the Malfoy family was mired in their own troubles. Lucius had considered attacking Dumbledore, but knowing Kahn was still at Hogwarts, he angrily dismissed the thought. The Malfoy family business, which dealt in dragon-related goods, had been dealt a crippling blow; Lucius hardly had the energy to worry about Hogwarts.

Kahn continued his routine at Hogwarts: practicing magic, visiting the Restricted Section, and teaching. He grew increasingly lazy with teaching, however; he had already taught most of what he felt was necessary, and his own reserve of academic knowledge was limited. In truth, Kahn would have preferred to teach the students how to control ten Gatling heavy machine guns with a Levitation Charm—it was the best way to deal with dark wizards and dangerous creatures. Currently, in the wizarding world, only four-star magical creatures could ignore such modern heavy firepower.

Unable to teach that, he prepared to invite Lupin to serve as an assistant for Defense Against the Dark Arts. Hermione could help brew the Wolfsbane Potion; given her current level of skill, the only way Snape could dock her points would be to attack her attitude.

One thing that delighted Kahn was that the rumors about him liking garlic and onions were finally cleared up, and the price Miss Granger paid for that was having to drink a glass of fresh milk every morning.

...

As the end of the second school year approached, Kahn finally met all the requirements for his Animagus transformation. He had been holding a Mandrake leaf in his mouth for months; once finished, it would take some time to cleanse the taste away.

"Godfather, can I come and watch?"

Hermione’s eyes were filled with curiosity and pleading. Before Kahn could refuse, she added a reason: "I will learn to be an Animagus in the future, and watching you transform now will give me more experience, which might lower the failure rate later..."

Seeing she was ready to come up with more excuses, Kahn waved his hand. "Midnight, on the lawn south of the Great Lake near the Forbidden Forest. That’s where I usually practice spells—provided you can sneak past Filch."

He would make sure to inform Filch that a young wizard might be out wandering at night.

...

At midnight, Kahn looked with a strange expression at the three young wizards appearing before him. "You three actually came. Can that Invisibility Cloak even fit three people?"

"We caused a commotion in the library to lure Filch away before sneaking out."

"It was Hermione’s idea!"

Ron and Harry didn't hesitate to sell Hermione out. Hermione glared at them from behind, then acted as if nothing had happened, waiting for Kahn to begin.

Kahn shook his head and told the three to stand back. He took out the potion he had prepared long in advance; he had spent too much time on this to delay it any further. Casting a spell on himself, he downed the potion in one gulp.

As he did so, the image of a bird appeared in his mind. At first, he thought it was an eagle or a sparrow, but as the image became clearer, he realized it was a phoenix.

However, a complication occurred during the transformation. Kahn’s blood vessels seemed to glow red—the Extremis virus was activating, attempting to "repair" what it perceived as a mutation.

"Damn it, not now..."

Kahn tried to use his magic and chakra to signal the virus to continue the transformation. After a while, he managed to use the two different energies to force the virus to temporarily cease its "body repair."

Kahn began his Animagus transformation. His clothes merged into his skin, silver feathers sprouted, and his frame gradually grew larger.

"Good heavens, is that the godfather’s Animagus form??"

Hermione was so surprised she became incoherent. Harry reminded her, "Hermione, this is Hogwarts, you should say Merlin."

"I know I should say Merlin, but do you know what creature he’s become? I’ve never seen a bird like this—silver-white feathers, over two meters tall, and..."

Harry interjected, "It looks a bit like Professor Dumbledore’s Fawkes, Hermione."

"Fawkes?"

"Yes, that’s a phoenix. I saw Fawkes when I went to the Headmaster’s office, but it has red feathers. Professor Pent’s form is white," Harry noted. He felt more and more that the bird resembled a phoenix, though it was unusually large, seemingly exceeding two meters.

"Impossible, phoenixes are magical creatures. An Animagus absolutely cannot transform into a magical creature..."

Hermione, being bold, ran forward once Kahn’s transformation stopped. This was her godfather; he wouldn't hurt her.

"Godfather?"

Hermione, less than a meter and a half tall, was dwarfed by the two-meter-plus phoenix. She had to tilt her head back to see its face.

After Hermione greeted him, the silver-white phoenix gently took her collar in its beak and tossed her onto its back. Hermione nearly fell as she climbed on, grabbing onto the feathers to steady herself.

"Wow! Harry, look, Hermione is riding a phoenix!"

"I see it, Ron. Too bad it’s Hermione’s godfather, not ours!" Harry sighed, adjusting his glasses with envy. He really wished he had a godfather who could turn into an Animagus for him to ride.

"I’ve heard phoenix feathers are worth a lot, used for wands..."

Hearing this bold thought, Harry quickly shook Ron to warn him. "Ron, Ron, take that back! That’s the Professor’s Animagus, not a phoenix!"

Kahn flapped his wings. Spanning nearly four or five meters, a single gentle flap kicked up a gale that blew Harry and Ron over. Kahn took flight, grabbing the two boys in his talons and soaring toward the castle.

In his Animagus form, Kahn seemed to have gained the flight speed and talons of a phoenix. He took the three on a circuit around Hogwarts, letting them experience the thrill of flight. However, the experience was vastly different for Hermione compared to Harry and Ron—it was like the difference between a sleeper carriage and a standing ticket, and a standing ticket on the outside of the train at that!

After dropping the three off at the Gryffindor tower, Kahn reverted to his human form.

Hermione was still buzzing with excitement. "Godfather, that was incredible, wasn't it, Ron, Harry?"

"Yeah, yeah, just... a bit much," Harry said weakly, having nearly lost his lunch in the air.

"Alright, you have class tomorrow, go get some rest."

Having mastered the Animagus transformation, Kahn was in a much better mood. After sending them off, he used a Levitation Charm to return to his office. While the charm was more convenient than flying as a phoenix, it lacked the flair—the "showing off in front of others."

...

Having witnessed the transformation, Hermione was desperate to learn the magic herself, though she remained puzzled. Kahn brushed it off by insisting it wasn't actually a phoenix. After all, they had checked on Fawkes later; while similar, there were clear differences. Given Kahn's word, Hermione concluded it must be a rare bird that merely resembled a phoenix. She would likely spend her holiday scouring bird encyclopedias.

Kahn had gained much this semester. Beyond learning new magic, he had secured a Basilisk and other magical crafts. By the end of Hermione’s second year, Kahn had helped Kettleburn seal several business deals; Kahn’s Potion Ingredient Shop could now slowly expand into other European countries.

"It’s about time to go back and check on things..."

Kahn thought of the Marvel world and the ninja world. He had established a solid foundation in the wizarding world; with those binding magical contracts in place, his shop would be difficult to topple. However, before he left, he had to ensure everything here was properly arranged.