A sword was thrown toward the black cat. Startled, the black cat jumped backward, but its tail naturally curled around the hilt.
"Looks like you like this sword."
Gryffindor said carelessly.
"Take it."
The black cat's breathing slowed. It realized it was having a little trouble keeping up with Gryffindor's way of thinking.
"No? Ravenclaw's cat liked playing with my sword when it was alive—"
Gryffindor's confusion was written all over his face.
"If you don't want it, I'll take it back."
The black cat's tail had already answered for it. The tail quietly moved the sword behind its back.
"You really were carved from the same mold as Ravenclaw."
Gryffindor sighed as he watched the black cat's sneaky tail.
"Gryffindor—"
The black cat tried to change the subject.
It really did want to study this sword, but when the words reached its mouth, it suddenly didn't know how to address Gryffindor.
It looked into those bright amber eyes and wondered what it should say.
Teacher?
Its teacher was Ravenclaw.
"Call me Teacher Gryffindor. Your duel suited my taste. Teaching a wizard like you won't be bad either,"
Gryffindor said indifferently.
"Either way, it's all just fixing people up."
The black cat froze, startled to find that there was actually a trace of logic in that.
"Do you teach all your students like this?"
The black cat rarely asked a question on its own initiative.
"What? You think my lessons are pretty good too?"
Gryffindor laughed heartily.
"My old friends were always criticizing how I taught. I really ought to show them you."
While Gryffindor wasn't paying attention, the black cat shook its head, making it clear that it did not agree with Gryffindor's teaching methods at all.
If charging in with a sword to cut down a cat counted as teaching, then every Dark wizard alive would be a first-rate professor.
"The lesson's over. I should go."
Gryffindor turned around and left as soon as he said it.
"Your sword—"
the black cat said in surprise.
"Keep it."
Gryffindor waved a hand.
"But—"
Gryffindor came and went like a storm, but the black cat still had many questions in its head.
This sword was clearly different from the Sword of Gryffindor, yet it still possessed powerful effects. Where did that power come from?
More importantly, its Void Talisman had cracked. Why?
If the Void Talisman shattered, would it no longer be able to enter and leave the Borderland?
Thinking of that, the black cat felt a trace of panic.
Its tail kept swaying, so it quickly pressed it down.
"My Void Talisman cracked, Teacher Gryffindor."
The black cat hopped over to Gryffindor's side in a few quick steps.
It believed Gryffindor would know.
"That's something you should ask Ravenclaw."
Gryffindor leaned freely against the stone giant's toe and looked back at the black cat that had run over.
"Sorry for troubling you."
The black cat thought Gryffindor's words were not unreasonable.
But in that case, it would not be able to search for Ariana today.
It only hoped it could stay in the Borderland longer. That way, perhaps it would have some extra time left.
Thinking of the timid witch wandering through the boundless Borderland, the black cat frowned.
"You're troubled?"
Gryffindor sat down beside the black cat without a shred of ceremony.
"Yes, Teacher Gryffindor."
The black cat was, as always, honest.
"That witch named Ariana?"
Gryffindor raised an eyebrow.
"She has the makings of someone with courage. She ought to have been sorted into my House."
The black cat had not expected Gryffindor to evaluate Ariana like that.
Although its expression did not change, its tail swayed in slight surprise.
Gryffindor grinned, feeling that the black cat's thoughts were somewhat too easy to guess.
"You're still too young—"
Gryffindor spoke with hidden meaning.
"You still don't understand how contradictory a person's nature can be. You don't yet know that hypocrisy may lie buried beneath a sincere face, that baseness may hide behind noble conduct, or that a scoundrel's heart may still retain a trace of goodness. And of course, a coward may possess the deepest courage.
"I've watched her here for a very long time. Over the past century, I've also casually dealt with a few ill-intentioned fellows. If you ask me, I haven't accomplished nothing in all that time. At least I found three wizards who meet the code of chivalry. That is my greatest gain."
The black cat still had no expression, but its tail swayed again.
"The first one—"
As soon as Gryffindor began explaining, the black cat's tail stopped swaying, which made his smile widen.
"—was that fellow from King Arthur's Round Table. He was a rather improper knight. Perhaps you've met him, in a portrait at Hogwarts.
"As for the second one—what do you think a knight is?"
The black cat shook its head slightly.
Gryffindor's expression suddenly grew solemn. He gestured for the black cat to raise the sword, then spoke in a grave voice:
"Wizard Sean Green. I vouch for you with the honor of Gryffindor. Thus, in the name of the warrior, I command you to be brave;
"in the name of the Heavenly Father, I command you to be just;
"in the name of the Holy Mother, I command you to protect the young and the innocent."
The black cat did not understand. Its tail froze completely.
"There. Now you know. You're a knight."
Gryffindor grinned.
"What?"
The black cat was utterly stunned.
"You have gained honor."
The mist began to surge.
The black cat saw it boiling and rising, covering Gryffindor's rugged face.
"I am about to tell an ancient joke. The world kills the kindest, the gentlest, and the bravest, without bias, treating them all alike. The Borderland, then, welcomes those three kinds of people most of all."
Gryffindor laughed wildly.
"The finest example of those three kinds of people is a knight of the Borderland."
The mist boiled completely.
The black cat saw it spiral above its head like an eternal storm.
The entire Borderland was boiling. Mist spread and scattered until every wizard raised their head to look at it.
Finally, the mist drifted lightly down onto the black cat's head, like a crown.
"My task is complete."
Gryffindor stood up with his usual careless manner.
"As for your Void Talisman? It cracked? It was always going to crack. No need to worry, because the Borderland obeys your will, not that stone's will.
"Rather than saying you found a stone, it would be better to say the stone found you."
The black cat still couldn't fully process it.
What exactly had just happened?
"You need to learn how to say no to the Borderland. That is what a wizard should do. Sometimes, don't learn from me. And don't not learn from me either. Don't be too reckless, and don't be unreckless. Decide for yourself—I've never liked obedient students very much."
Gryffindor's figure had already vanished into the mist.
A chance meeting, as if it were a scene destined by the Borderland itself.
The black cat did not know when it would see Teacher Gryffindor again.
So it lowered its head deeply.
No matter what, Gryffindor had taught it many things.
For example, a wizard's blind confidence. It had let the black cat know that its own magic could actually reach such vast heights.
The mountain-like stone giant still stood beside it, bearing witness to the might of a wizard.
And for another example, Gryffindor had taught the black cat the rules of the Borderland. No wonder Headmaster Dumbledore had frankly said that a pure heart could have a tremendous influence in the Borderland.
Because the Borderland obeyed the will of such wizards. And among such wizards, the most special were those Gryffindor called "knights."
Had it just become a "knight" like that?
Although according to the rules in history books, a knight could indeed be dubbed by another knight, the black cat still had the absurd illusion that it had wandered into medieval Europe.
Finally, Gryffindor had also left his sword to it—
The black cat's tail curled around the sword, and with it, it stepped into the depths of the mist.