Days passed, and Harry studied with Vinson almost every day.
The Tree of Wisdom's growth progress bar also steadily rose, eventually stabilizing at fifty percent. Although Vinson still didn't understand why the Tree of Wisdom's growth increased simply by being in the same space as Harry, he believed he would discover the answer once the tree continued evolving.
Soon, it was June of 1991.
The weather began to warm, and Vinson changed into his summer robes. On this particular day, Vinson gave Harry a day off for the first time in a long while, as he needed to go to Diagon Alley.
Before leaving, he brought along Devil's Snare to handle any special situations that might arise.
Vinson's house had a fireplace connected to the Floo Network, but it had been unused for so long that it was covered in dust. When he stepped through the fireplace and emerged inside the Leaky Cauldron, he raised his hand to brush off his robes.
Unfortunately, this only kicked up a thick cloud of dust.
A witch standing nearby frowned in irritation and quietly stepped a few paces away from him.
Vinson sighed inwardly, deciding that he would have Harry clean the fireplace next time he needed to use it.
"Vinson?" a slightly hoarse voice called from behind the bar.
Vinson looked up and saw Tom, the owner of the Leaky Cauldron, staring at him.
"Good afternoon, Tom," Vinson said politely.
He walked over and tapped the bar lightly. Tom immediately placed a glass of mead in front of him. As the owner of the Leaky Cauldron, Tom had an incredible memory and could recall the names of almost every regular customer, even if they hadn't visited for several months.
Just as Vinson was about to take a sip, Tom leaned closer and lowered his voice.
"Oh, Professor Kettleburn is waiting for you. Third table to your left."
Following Tom's gaze, Vinson saw an elderly wizard with white hair sitting quietly in the corner, his arm wrapped in thick bandages.
Silvanus Kettleburn was currently the Professor of Care of Magical Creatures at Hogwarts. He was also the professor with the closest relationship to Vinson during his years at school.
Because Vinson was deeply interested in magical creatures, the two of them had always gotten along extremely well. After Vinson graduated, he had even gone on an expedition with Professor Kettleburn to a dragon habitat in Norway.
When Vinson looked in his direction, Professor Kettleburn also noticed him.
"Oh!"
He roughly shoved his stool backward, quickly stood up, and hobbled toward Vinson. Though his movements looked awkward and comical, he was surprisingly fast.
Professor Kettleburn opened his arms wide and gave Vinson a fierce hug.
Despite his age and numerous injuries, he was still incredibly strong, almost causing Vinson to stumble backward under the force of the embrace.
"Haha!" Professor Kettleburn laughed loudly, patting Vinson's back. "Long time no see, Little Ed!"
Vinson was hugged helplessly. "It really has been a while, Professor."
Professor Kettleburn laughed again and gestured for Vinson to follow him back to the corner table.
"Sit down. Have a drink first. Warm your throat."
Vinson pulled out a chair and sat down across from him, studying the older man quietly.
Professor Kettleburn picked up his own glass, took a sip, and asked, "Still messing around with those strange plants of yours, kid?"
Vinson chuckled softly as he casually stirred the mead in his glass.
"Of course, Professor. You know I like that kind of thing."
Hearing this, Professor Kettleburn frowned immediately.
"You should be putting more of your energy into magical creatures. You had already achieved so much in that field not long after graduating. If you kept focusing, you'd go even further."
"I know, I know," Vinson said helplessly, shaking his head. "But both magical creatures and magical plants are irresistible to me. I've never stopped studying magical creatures either."
What Professor Kettleburn was referring to was one of Vinson's most famous early achievements: developing a method for the artificial breeding of Thunderbirds.
Thunderbirds were famously sensitive to danger and naturally extremely vigilant toward humans, which made artificial breeding nearly impossible. Vinson's method had solved this long-standing problem and caused quite a stir in the magical research community at the time.
After hearing Vinson's response, Professor Kettleburn nodded slowly.
Then Vinson tilted his head slightly and asked, "But Professor, you didn't call me here just to talk about this, did you?"
Professor Kettleburn grinned, showing a slightly crooked and messy set of teeth. He set his glass on the table.
"Of course not, Little Ed. I've got a troublesome situation, and you just happen to be the most suitable person to help."
Vinson's curiosity was immediately piqued.
"What is it?"
"I'm leaving Hogwarts," Professor Kettleburn said calmly.
"What?" Vinson was startled, then frowned thoughtfully. "Have you finally been fired, Professor?"
Professor Kettleburn shot him an annoyed glare.
"I chose to retire!"
"Oh," Vinson muttered quietly.
He had genuinely thought that Professor Kettleburn had finally been caught secretly raising dragons and had been dismissed.
Professor Kettleburn sighed and tapped his wooden arm and leg.
"You know, I'm getting old. With these clumsy legs and arms, I keep getting hurt every other week."
Vinson raised his eyebrow slightly and listened without interrupting.
A long time ago, Professor Kettleburn had suffered a terrible accident, leaving him with only one natural arm and half a natural leg. Although magical prosthetics allowed him to function almost normally, they were still very different from real limbs.
He shook his head, his tone carrying a trace of helplessness.
"I still like teaching, but honestly, I'd rather spend the rest of my time with magical creatures than lecturing a bunch of young wizards about how to safely approach Fire Salamanders."
"That sounds like a very wise decision," Vinson replied sincerely.
He understood Professor Kettleburn's obsession with magical creatures better than anyone and naturally supported his decision.
"Of course!" Professor Kettleburn said proudly. "And Headmaster Dumbledore has already approved my retirement. A new Care of Magical Creatures professor will start next school year."
"Who's replacing you?" Vinson asked, genuinely curious.
Professor Kettleburn smiled mysteriously and pointed directly at him.
"You."
Vinson froze.
"…Me?"
Seeing the reaction he expected, Professor Kettleburn burst out laughing.
Vinson frowned, and before he could speak, the old man continued.
"Don't look so shocked, Little Ed. I already recommended you to Dumbledore. Whether you actually get the job depends on you."
Vinson rubbed his temples in frustration and looked back at him.
"Professor, are you serious? I never once thought about becoming a professor."
Professor Kettleburn waved his hand dismissively.
"I remember very clearly that you told me about a year ago that if you ever had the chance, you'd like to be a professor at Hogwarts."
He spread his hands.
"Well, now the opportunity's here."
Vinson thought quietly for a moment. It seemed that he really had said something like that back then.
He didn't actually dislike the idea of teaching.
"What did the Headmaster say?" Vinson asked.
"Dumbledore said he's willing to interview you," Professor Kettleburn replied. "But even if you pass, you'll have a trial period. You're young, and he's worried you won't be able to adapt."
He snorted.
"Old man's just being cautious."
Vinson nodded. Those conditions were perfectly reasonable. If he were in Dumbledore's position, he wouldn't feel completely at ease handing students over to a twenty-five-year-old either.
"If I agree," Vinson asked, "when do you officially retire?"
"A few days ago," Professor Kettleburn shrugged. "I already got my last month's salary."
The conversation fell silent for a while.
Ten seconds passed.
Vinson lifted his glass and took a small sip of his mead.
"…Let me think about it, Professor."