Not long after, Sindel appeared in a picture frame next to the gargoyle and said, "Headmaster Dumbledore has permitted you to go up. The password is Chocolate Frog!"
"Alright, thank you," Howl said with a smile, though he was still a bit puzzled.
He then recited the password, and the gargoyle slowly opened, revealing the spiral staircase within.
The spiral staircase to the Principal's office was actually like an escalator; one only needed to step on it, and it would automatically spiral upwards, taking them to the Principal's office on the eighth floor.
And intertwined with it was another descending spiral staircase.
Howl also saw someone here.
He was thin, with straight, shoulder-length, somewhat greasy hair, and a sallow complexion, his robes trailing behind him like a cape.
Like an old bat.
And the kind that doesn't wash its hair.
While Howl was observing him, Snape was also observing Howl, and then he saw Howl's cat head nod slightly as a greeting.
Snape said nothing as the spiral staircase moved the two figures past each other.
After leaving the staircase passage, Snape walked quickly down the corridor, his robes flying behind him.
"Another cat…" he grumbled uncomfortably.
Eighth floor, Principal's office. Howl walked past the curtain and quickly saw Dumbledore behind the desk.
"Howl, welcome! How do you like it here? Have you encountered any problems?" Dumbledore asked.
Howl looked curiously at the entire layout of the Principal's office while also stating his question.
A moment later, Dumbledore, after hearing Howl's question, pondered for a moment, then shook his head: "Howl, that might not be possible."
He then explained, "It's not difficult to open a passage in the Castle. After all, Hogwarts has several passages connecting to Hogsmeade, and they are not restricted by floor.
But the problem is, your house also has very strong magic. This would cause the entire Hogwarts Castle to reject it. It's like the rejection reaction in organ transplantation; the two are incompatible."
After hearing Dumbledore's explanation, Howl could only nod helplessly: "Then it seems I can only set up the house passage in Hogsmeade.
By the way, does the land outside Hogsmeade cost money? I shouldn't be charged street management fees for building my own house, right…"
"Speaking of that…" Dumbledore stood up, walked to the window, and pondered, "Hogwarts does have a house over there.
If you just need a conceptual house as a carrier, perhaps that place is quite suitable."
Howl followed him to the window, and Dumbledore raised his hand, pointing towards the village, where an old shack stood alone on a small slope far from the large cluster of houses in the village.
"That's the Shrieking Shack. It was built about twenty years ago for a Werewolf child. Aside from some bad rumors, everything else is fine."
After speaking, Dumbledore pointed towards the bottom of the Castle: "That's the Whomping Willow. There's a passage beneath it that leads to the Shrieking Shack; you just need to conceal the passage."
Howl looked in that direction and quickly saw the Whomping Willow. He nodded.
Then, he also noticed Hagrid by the Black Lake, where a large squid kept pushing wooden boats, preserved in the lake, out, and Hagrid caught them on the shore.
"School is about to start!" Howl exclaimed.
"Soon, the quiet school will become lively again," Dumbledore also sighed, a smile on his face.
Although this old fellow sometimes had many petty schemes, he genuinely loved teaching and the children.
Werewolf children, half-Giant, and so on, he could admit them despite immense controversy.
"That house is yours then. It has been abandoned for so many years," Dumbledore said.
Howl nodded: "Then thank you very much."
"It's just an old house. Oh, and as for the office layout, you can decide for yourself. If you feel there isn't enough space, you can also find a House-elf; they have the authority to expand it."
"It can be expanded at will?" Howl was a little surprised.
After his previous operations, he had a greater understanding of Hogwarts Castle.
This Castle was like a living being; overly casual modifications, especially those involving space, should be difficult and violate the operational logic.
Hogwarts and Moonlight Fortress were not the same. The core of Moonlight Fortress was Lucifer, and Lucifer also controlled its movement, so it wasn't a truly living Castle.
The fundamental logic was different.
Dumbledore had a hint of pride on his face, clearly satisfied with Howl's astonished expression.
"Of course, our previous Potion Class teacher set up a Slug Club in his office.
And the current Potion Class teacher created a private Potion room for himself."
Howl was a little taken aback: "It seems the benefits at this school are better than I thought."
After chatting for a couple more sentences, he planned to go to the Shrieking Shack to connect the passage.
As he was leaving, he looked at the fiery red bird perched on the golden branch.
"By the way, is that a Phoenix?"
"Yes, her name is Fawkes," Dumbledore said. At the same time, Fawkes also nodded slightly, letting out a clear chirp.
Howl looked at the Phoenix, "Once I've set up the passage, come visit when you have time; my friend would definitely be very happy to see you."
"Is your friend also a Phoenix?" Dumbledore was surprised instead.
Could it be that your mother's ancestors were Dumbledore?
Howl looked at Dumbledore: "Don't think too much; he's… how do I explain it? He's a Star Child who likes to call himself a demon."
With that, Howl waved goodbye to the Phoenix, and space twisted, teleporting him away.
Dumbledore suddenly froze. The spatial fluctuations caused by Howl's teleportation just now were completely different from any Apparition he had known before.
And the so-called "Star Child," something he had never heard of…
The former Principals in the portraits also began to converse with serious expressions. "What is a Star Child?", "Why does he have a cat's face?", "Teleportation magic completely unaffected by anti-Apparition?!"
Finally, these old Principals could only comfort Dumbledore: "No matter what, I believe Minerva will like this colleague."
Dumbledore sighed, then smiled: "You're right…"
…
…
September 1st, London had a rare good weather today. The sun hung high in the sky, but it wasn't piercing, and the River Thames breeze carried away the little remaining dryness.
Aside from the smell being a bit foul, there were basically no problems…
The pollution of the River Thames was a big problem, both now and in the future.
King's Cross Station, Harry and Hermione and their group held their tickets, searching for the so-called Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.
Although Howl had already opened a passage at Hogwarts, Harry had not yet gone to see it.
"The book says that to give all Little Wizards a perfect first impression of Hogwarts, the school will let first-year Little Wizards ride small boats under the night sky and starlight, to see the most perfect Castle.
So I thought I'd see Hogwarts then.
And… honestly, it's really too attractive. If I saw Hogwarts, what would I do if I kept thinking about going to school? I haven't finished my homework yet."
These were Harry's original words.
He hadn't expected this kid to not only have some sense of ritual now but also to remember his homework.
Howl was quite satisfied.