"I know quite a few things, like construction and renovation. Seriously, if your little shack needs rebuilding, feel free to come to me. Really, trust my skills," Jason said, patting the dust off Hagrid's coat.
"I will, I will," Hagrid said, re-buttoning his coat. Jason didn't ask about Hagrid's presence in Knockturn Alley, a clearly unsavory place.
The world isn't black and white; just because someone comes to a place like this doesn't make them a bad person. Besides, Jason wasn't that curious.
More importantly, he believed Hagrid was a good person, incapable of heinous acts.
"Now, back to Hogwarts?" Jason asked Hagrid.
"Our business is done, but there's still Harry's."
The three of them talked as they made their way to the Leaky Cauldron. Hagrid booked a room there for Harry until September 1st, the start of term.
"I don't think you'd want to go back to your so-called aunt's house, so please stay here. When the time comes, just come to this address, board the Hogwarts Express, and you'll arrive at Hogwarts, okay?" Hagrid said, organizing the map and Hogwarts Express ticket for Harry.
"I will, don't worry, don't worry about me."
Harry nodded.
"Um, you can get three meals a day from Old Tom here, he's a good cook. Diagon Alley is also an option, as long as you stay out of Knockturn Alley. And one more thing, I left a surprise for you with Old Tom, go check it out," Hagrid added.
"Got it."
"Lastly..." Hagrid looked around to make sure no one was paying attention before whispering, "The wall in the courtyard has been repaired. Now, I'm going to tell you how to properly enter Diagon Alley. In the corner of the courtyard, there's a trash can. Count three bricks up and two bricks in towards the middle, tap them three times with your wand, and you're in. Got it?"
Hagrid emphasized, looking at Jason.
"Okay, okay," Jason said, shrugging.
"Um, are you leaving now?" Harry asked.
"I'm sorry, there's work to be done at Hogwarts."
"Alright, see you at school."
"Um, see you at school."
After saying goodbye to Harry, the two threw two silver Sickles to Old Tom, each grabbed a handful of Floo Powder. Jason remembered how to use it from a book.
He threw it into the fireplace, and as the flames turned green, Jason said, "Hogwarts, Alchemy Professor's Office."
Whoosh!
The first thing he did upon returning to his office was to change into dry pajamas. The clothes he took off were placed in the laundry basket in the corner; the house-elves would quietly take them, wash them, and return them.
"One night and one day, so tiring." He lay directly on the bed and closed his eyes.
The house-elf quietly placed a sleep-aid aromatherapy diffuser on his bedside table and took away the dirty clothes.
Jason woke up the next morning, took a quick shower, dressed, and comfortably opened his office door, only to run into Dumbledore taking a stroll.
"Oh, Jason, how was yesterday's adventure?" Dumbledore asked curiously.
"You call that an adventure?"
"Why not? Life is about constantly doing things you've never done before; we can call that process an adventure," Dumbledore explained.
"Perhaps. It was nice, but also not so nice. I killed three people," Jason said, shrugging.
[Satisfaction from Dumbledore +10]
[Affection from Dumbledore +10]
[Trust from Dumbledore +10]
"Three dark wizards, I know. I wanted to ask you and Hagrid about it yesterday, but you were asleep, so I didn't wake you," Dumbledore nodded.
"Um... I thought you'd be angry."
"Good people shouldn't be harmed for being good. Do I seem that pedantic?"
Jason looked Dumbledore up and down.
"At least you look old."
"Well, of course. Anyway, I don't blame you. They chose to use dark magic for evil, so they should have expected this day would come," Dumbledore said with a smile.
"Seriously, you're a really good headmaster. I thought you'd be the kind of... non-killing type."
"That would be too stupid... Did you see the child? Harry Potter?"
Jason nodded: "A rather pitiful child. Hagrid said his family vault is quite substantial, and you were managing it before. Why didn't you think of giving his aunt and uncle some support money? That would have made his life much better."
"I'm sorry, an old man may live long enough, but he's not a perfect person. That was my oversight," Dumbledore said with a smile.
"Alright... I'll settle the support money for you."
"Thank you, you can submit a report to the school board, and they will reimburse you."
"Uh, that's not necessary."
The two chatted as they walked to Dumbledore's office door.
"I wanted to say this earlier, but you're so old, and you still climb these high stairs every day. Won't there be a problem?" Jason followed Dumbledore up the stairs, not forgetting to complain.
"That's the secret to my good health."
"Alright." Jason shrugged. The two entered the office, Dumbledore sat in his office chair, reached into his pocket, pulled out a small cloth bag, and placed it on the desk.
Jason, sitting opposite him, curiously picked it up and took out an irregular red stone.
"This is the Philosopher's Stone, made by my old friend Nicolas Flamel, the pinnacle of alchemy," Dumbledore explained.
"Unfortunately, telling me this is like talking to a cow," Jason said, pouting.
"Because you can do much more powerful things than this Philosopher's Stone. In short, Nicolas Flamel and his lover are ready to embrace death, so they gave me this stone. Of course, it's also because a rat lurking in the shadows has been eyeing this thing, so he also asked me to keep it for him."
"So what do you plan to do?" Jason asked.
"Can you help me make a replica? A genuine magical substance with similar magical fluctuations? I want to use it as bait. I don't want the fish to actually eat the bait, so I'm asking for your help."
Jason looked at the blood-red Philosopher's Stone and clicked his tongue...
"Not difficult."