Having escaped famine, I was accepted into Hogwarts

Kane, who failed to recover his health by eating chocolate, slowly put on the Pain Mask. Fortunately, he didn't only have food to recover his health. The Rebirth Amulet that he threw into the Shadow Codex was also tirelessly begging Kane not to die.

Every five seconds he was a little further away from death than he had been five seconds earlier. Just as he decided not to argue with Dumbledore this time, Dumbledore spoke first.

"If we let Snape see the basilisk in its current wretched state, he'll be furious and curse us for wasting its life with his mouth, which is more venomous than the basilisk's eyes."

He looked back at the basilisk's somewhat grotesque and miserable state, and sighed helplessly.

“So we can sell this thing secretly without Snape… Professor knowing. Basilisk should be worth a lot of money.” Kane said, manipulating shadows to evenly envelop the basilisk’s entire body, then lifting it up without wasting a single drop of blood.

“That’s unlikely. There aren’t many Potions Masters in all of Europe who can rival Severus. Besides, if he finds out that someone has this material, no matter what means he uses, it will eventually end up in his pocket. Let’s not bother.” Dumbledore waved his hand and then looked at Kane.

“Excellent, much better than I expected.”

Kane frowned: "Your prediction?"

"Yes, my prediction before I came was that you would ultimately be defeated by the Basilisk, and then I would have Fawkes the Phoenix deliver the Gryffindor sword to you..."

As Dumbledore was saying this, he suddenly saw Kane waving his hands rapidly: "Wait, wait, wait! What do you mean by having Fawkes deliver the Gryffindor sword? And you? What are you doing here? Your prediction before you came here, does that mean you never intended to take action from the beginning?"

"Of course not. I just wanted to see your problem-solving skills, and it seems you haven't disappointed me. Besides, I also had a backup plan."

As he spoke, Dumbledore pulled out the droplet containing the Mandela Antidote from his beard: "Well, theoretically, if my beard turned to stone, it could pierce this droplet, but unfortunately..."

Kane nodded. Very good. Dumbledore's contingency plan proved that he hadn't gone completely insane, but Dumbledore's inhumanity once again refreshed his understanding.

But why? Dumbledore is always so...human when he interacts with others, so why is the Dumbledore I meet so...

Just as Kane was pondering this question, Dumbledore continued, "By the way, Kane, do you still have that chocolate?"

"Yes, yes, I'll find it in the hat for you right now." Kane suddenly had an immoral idea. He reached into the hat and felt around, not for the chocolate, but for the giant basilisk eyeball.

After touching them, he didn't forget to remind Dumbledore: "Seriously, I really think your sunglasses are incredibly cool, you'd better never take them off."

"Haha, thank you Kane, but unfortunately that's impossible. However, since it's your request, perhaps I can leave it on today."

As soon as Dumbledore finished speaking, Kane pulled the basilisk's eyeball out of his hat and pointed it at Dumbledore's sunglasses-wearing face, while also explaining to Dumbledore why he was doing this.

“Although I know it’s wrong to do this, I feel that your behavior of deceiving the innocent feelings of young wizards is very much in need of punishment. So I’ve decided to give Professor McGonagall the choice of whether to use the antidote to restore you immediately or to let you and Felch wake up in the greenhouse together after the mandrake matures.”

Kane spoke very quickly, as if afraid that Dumbledore wouldn't hear him if he spoke too late.

After doing all this, he looked down into the basilisk's eyes. As the last trace of magic from the basilisk itself seemed to disappear, although it was still that big, yellow-orange eye, it had no power left.

Kane pulled the other eyeball out of the hat. Hmm, the dangerous feeling had disappeared. It seemed to have nothing to do with using it; it was just that the magic dissipated automatically when the time was up.

After stuffing both eyeballs into the magician's top hat, he ignored Dumbledore's statue and walked straight to the basilisk corpse shrouded in shadow not far away.

Well, Dumbledore said that even if he sold the body, it would eventually end up back in Snape's hands, so there was no need to bother.

But is all I really want is to go through the trouble? What I really want is to make money. How many Galleons can I sell this huge pile of basilisk corpses for!

As for giving it to Snape for free, tsk tsk tsk, he probably wouldn't even get a kind look or a word of thanks. What's the point of giving it to him? So the best way is to let the basilisk enter the market. As for how Professor Snape buys it and how much he spends, that's not Kane's problem to worry about.

Just as he was pondering how to stuff the basilisk corpse, capable of strangling an elephant, into the magician's top hat, an untimely noise suddenly came from behind him.

With a crackling sound, Dumbledore's statue seemed to weather away, shedding a layer of even stone skin. Dumbledore, however, shrugged nonchalantly: "Hmm, this is the freshness I've always wanted."

Kane, watching this scene, looked at Dumbledore, who had suddenly recovered, with a bewildered and confused expression.

The basilisk's face-to-face petrification is instantly broken? Dumbledore, you still say you didn't activate it?

Chapter 153 Awards will be given out next week, don't bring your magic wand.

Dumbledore shrugged casually at Kane's bewildered expression: "After all, the Basilisk is dead. Using his eyes might not be as useful as the Medusa's Eye."

After Dumbledore finished speaking, he looked at the basilisk corpse that Kane was about to put into the top hat.

"If you're really short of money, you might as well just sell this snake to Professor Snape. Although what he said wasn't very nice, he wouldn't go so far as to rob a young wizard of his spoils... Besides, you might have to pay taxes if you sell it outside."

Kane raised an eyebrow: "Your suggestion... isn't entirely out of the question."

Soon, as Snape was led into the Chamber of Secrets by Dumbledore with a bewildered and surprised look on his face, to be honest, this was the first time Kane had ever seen a third expression on Snape's face besides disdain and sarcasm.

But the shock he felt upon seeing the basilisk's mangled corpse shifted his expression more than once: there was relief that the basilisk had been eliminated, a sense of relief that Dumbledore had arranged everything all along, and then disgust—after all, the basilisk's corpse was truly gruesome.

"I guess Mr. Heath, you made this?"

"Hmm." Kane raised an eyebrow and responded in agreement.

Snape didn't spout trash talk as Kane had expected, but he still said with a hint of sympathy, "His skills are terrible, but he's very lucky."

After saying that, he didn't know what else to say. Then Dumbledore coughed twice before he realized what he meant: "Gryffindor +10...+50 points."

After saying that, he waved his wand to take the basilisk corpse away, but Kane naturally could not allow such a freebie-getting-points-free-riding behavior. The basilisk, shrouded in shadow, quickly dodged to the side.

“Severus, you have to pay,” Dumbledore reminded him.

"........."

Clearly, Professor Snape, who had developed a habit of getting things for free over the years, had forgotten some basic principles.

For example, equivalent exchange.

After staring at Kane for a second, Snape still felt it was better to pay. It wasn't that his noble professorial sentiments made him give up getting something for free, but mainly because the other party was an abstract person like Kane. What if the other party developed some strange mentality and did something terrible to him in a fit of anger?

And so, Snape left behind two thousand Galleons, took the basilisk's corpse, and left. As for the Chamber of Secrets in Slytherin, well, although Snape was also from Slytherin, he was now far more interested in the basilisk's corpse than in the Chamber itself.

So it's quite obvious that once again only Kane, Dumbledore, and, well, Tom, remain in the Chamber of Secrets.

"Alright, Tom, do you have anything else to say? Let me remind you, you should think carefully about how you're going to continue living now that you're no longer of any use to me," Kane asked, picking up Tom's book.

This time he didn't write it down, but said it directly. After all, Tom had also said that he had a slight amplification in the Chamber of Secrets in Slytherin and could sense the outside world.

Tom, on the other hand, was surprisingly stubborn, as if he was convinced that Kane and his group couldn't possibly harm him. He left a message in the book in a very domineering manner.

There's nothing more to say; please act quickly.

"Wow, he's amazing." Kane raised an eyebrow and handed the book to Dumbledore. After all, professional matters should be left to professionals, and he certainly wouldn't want to damage Tom's spirit.

But to be honest, Tom's body is really hard.

Dumbledore ignored all that and placed the Book of Tom in mid-air, immediately unleashing Fiendfire.

Tom, who was burned to ashes, had only one thought in his last moments.

When did someone get into this secret room? How come I didn't notice...?

Well, it's best if such an evil thing doesn't stay in this world.

Dumbledore sighed, then waved his hand, scattering the ashes. The two of them then looked toward the open mouth of the Slytherin statue.

The basilisk crawled out from there, so it's normal that they mistook the area behind Slytherin's mouth for the real Chamber of Secrets.

Unfortunately, when they actually climbed up to their lips and looked behind their mouths, they shook their heads in disappointment.

Clearly, what's behind Slytherin's mouth isn't his throat, but a sewer.

"He's got the same mindset as Snape, no wonder he's a Slytherin," Kane remarked.

"Hmm?" Dumbledore looked at Kane curiously, who shrugged: "Your mouth stinks just as much."

“You can’t say that. I have many good friends, and they are all Slytherins.” Dumbledore clapped his hands lightly, and Fawkes the Phoenix appeared above his head. A surge of fire enveloped the two of them, and the next moment they were in the Headmaster’s office.

Back in his office, Dumbledore first made sure Kane didn't have a certain yellow-orange eyeball in his hand, and was about to take off his glasses, but then he seemed to suddenly remember his promise to Kane, and after thinking about it, he put his hand down.

With everything settled, Kane naturally had no reason to stay in Dumbledore's office any longer. Instead, he returned to the Gryffindor Tower, looked at Hermione who was still there studying the family tree and trying to find the Slytherin heir, and pursed his lips.

Being busy is good, so let Hermione continue being busy. The happy school life passed by slowly until a week later, Dumbledore finally finished preparing the manuscript about the basilisk being flattened into a pancake after a long delay, and announced the good news on an ordinary night.

So much so that the young wizards finally got rid of their sunglasses, marking the end of the era when Hogwarts was full of villains.

However, just when Kane thought that this ordinary dinner was only about eating, Dumbledore spoke up again.

Moreover, this voice was specifically opened for Kane.

In short, he boasted to everyone about Kane's contributions in the fight against the Basilisk, and then, using Snape's money, awarded Kane two thousand Galleons in his own name.

Of course, the Galleons were actually the money Snape used to buy the Basilisk's corpse.

A terrifying burst of applause erupted from the entire Gryffindor table.

Kane had a bad feeling about this.

It seems that without realizing it, she has once again incurred Tom's wrath.

However, he only thought about it for a moment before he put it in the dustbin of his memory. Tom was an enemy, and not just an enemy with a grudge from later on, but one that became blood enemies because Tom unilaterally hated Muggles.

They're enemies to begin with, so what's there to be afraid of offending?

However, before Kane could even breathe a sigh of relief, Dumbledore's next words made him look up again, staring blankly at the white-bearded old man standing behind the owl-shaped podium.

What do you mean by going to collect the Order of Merlin next week?

Do I need to bring a wand?

Chapter 154 End of the Semester [4K Two-in-One Chapter]

Kane stared blankly at the elegant, ornate envelope that slowly descended from the ceiling; inside was the ticket to the Sir Merlin Order.

The problem is, all I did was kill a basilisk, so why was I given such a prestigious honor?

Kane explained the problem to his friends, and Hermione shrugged: "It probably doesn't carry that much weight, after all, Professor Lockhart is also a member of the Order of Merlin, and he has a third-class badge, right?"

Kane knew the answer was bad, but...

He suddenly realized that the Sir Merlin's Order wasn't all that prestigious after all...

After all, Lockhart himself was able to get in, which shows how high the bar was.

I estimate that changing the name of the Merlin Jazz Orchestra to the Geoduck Jazz Orchestra would not feel out of place at all.

After all, they're all watery when you squeeze them.

"By the way, Kane, you should open the envelope and see what level of medal it is. A third-class medal is something anyone can get if they're willing to work hard. A second-class medal is for making some significant contributions to the magical world."

Kane nodded. "I see. What about a First Class medal?"

"...Level 1, actually it's also divided into..." Ron was just about to say that the Level 1 medal is highly polarized, with some requiring great contributions and others only requiring willingness to spend money or finding the right path. Just as he was about to give everyone a very objective answer, Kane had already taken out his Level 1 medal envelope.

After a moment of silence, Ron's emotional intelligence kicked in: "God!"

Hermione slowly waved to an upperclassman and eventually received a bottle of alcoholic beverage with an alcohol content of no more than two digits.

With the end of an unnecessary little incident in the auditorium, the auditorium finally returned to normal.