Kai Adler's return to the castle caused no ripples.
Just like a drop of water falling into the vast Black Lake, it disappeared without a trace.
Even among the Gryffindor students, few noticed that he'd been missing for three days.
After all, at Hogwarts, wasn't vanishing for a few days just part of the charm?
The reopening of the Chamber of Secrets and the emergence of a monster failed to cause much genuine panic.
Instead, what truly intrigued the young witches and wizards was whether Harry Potter, the famed "Boy Who Lived," might really be the Heir of Slytherin.
In a quiet classroom where Gryffindor and Hufflepuff students were gathered doing homework, Ron let out a heartfelt groan.
"Professor McGonagall has gone mad! Twenty inches of parchment?! She must be joking!"
Hermione shot him an unimpressed glance, her quill already flying across the parchment with confident strokes.
"She explained the topic very clearly. If you'd listened instead of nodding off, you wouldn't be whining now."
Ron clutched his flaming red hair in dramatic agony.
"If I had the ability to stay awake in Transfiguration, I wouldn't be suffering like this!"
"Hmph," Hermione huffed, her tone turning sharp as she nodded toward the calm figure next to her. "Look at Kai. You're both boys—how can the difference be so enormous?"
Next to her, Kai Adler sat properly, posture straight, his own quill moving with practiced elegance as he wrote. At her words, he smiled faintly but didn't pause in his writing.
Ron scowled.
"Is there anything wrong with him in your eyes?"
He glanced over at Kai, then bent back to his own parchment and began writing with large, looping letters to fill the space faster.
Meanwhile, Harry sat beside him, shifting constantly like someone sitting on thorns.
Hermione noticed.
"Harry, what's wrong with you? Can't focus either?"
Harry forced a thin smile.
"Not really, no…"
No matter how hard he tried to concentrate, the sideways glances and half-muttered conversations from the Hufflepuff table were impossible to ignore. Suspicion was thick in the air.
"I think I'll go back to the common room," he said abruptly. "See you there."
He began packing up his things, anxious to escape the oppressive atmosphere.
"Wait."
Harry looked up and found himself staring into Kai Adler's eyes.
"You shouldn't be the one leaving," Kai said calmly.
He stood up, setting aside his parchment, and turned his gaze across the room toward the Hufflepuff students.
"If any of you have something to say about Harry Potter," he said coolly, "then have the courage to say it outright. Whispering behind someone's back isn't just cowardly—it's unworthy of a Hogwarts student."
A few Hufflepuffs dropped their gazes. Everyone knew who Kai Adler was. As the Defense Against the Dark Arts assistant—even as a second-year—he was a presence felt across all year groups. Compared to the hapless Professor Lockhart, Kai was practically a professional.
But not all were impressed. One boy stood up, squaring his shoulders and meeting Kai's gaze directly.
"Fine," he said. "Then I'll ask—why did Harry attack Justin from our house?"
"I didn't!" Harry protested, standing.
The Hufflepuff boy pressed on.
"Then explain this: Justin tells you he's Muggle-born, and the very next night he's found petrified. And you were seen nearby."
Harry opened his mouth, then faltered.
The boy's tone sharpened.
"You're a Parselmouth. That's a sign of Dark Magic. Everyone knows that."
He paused for effect, before adding, "And who else was a Parselmouth? Salazar Slytherin himself."
The implication was clear, and the gathered students murmured amongst themselves. It was the one point even Harry couldn't argue against.
"I didn't—I wouldn't—" he stammered.
He was starting to doubt himself. What if he had done something without realizing it?
Sleepwalking? Possession?
The boy's face brightened with smugness.
"Maybe Lord Voldemort tried to kill Harry not because he feared him, but because he saw a rival—another Parselmouth who might outshine him."
The room exploded into low gasps and whispers.
Kai tilted his head slightly, watching the shift in the room. Harry's expression had grown pale, uncertain.
Just then, a soft voice cut through the tension.
"I… I think Harry has always been kind…"
Everyone turned to see the speaker: a shy blonde girl at the Hufflepuff table, head slightly lowered.
"He's the one who made You-Know-Who disappear," she continued, voice trembling slightly. "That has to mean something, doesn't it?"
Some of the murmuring quieted, but others still looked doubtful. The name of Voldemort had stirred memories—especially for students like Neville, whose parents had been tortured into madness by Death Eaters.
The Hufflepuff boy scoffed.
"Or maybe that's why Voldemort wanted him dead. To eliminate the competition."
It was almost absurd—and yet, not implausible.
Before the room could spiral further, Kai's voice rang out, calm but cutting.
"Are you finished?"
The boy looked up sharply.
"You've spoken at length," Kai said. "Allow me a question."
He raised one hand, palm up, and a quill floated upward from his desk, hovering effortlessly in the air.
"Your evidence that Harry is the Heir of Slytherin is that he speaks Parseltongue. Do you have any actual proof? A witness? Physical evidence?"
The boy responded, still bold.
"He speaks Parseltongue. That's proof enough."
Kai's expression didn't change. The hovering quill suddenly shot forward—fast as a dart—stopping just inches from the boy's eye.
Gasps broke out across the room. Some students even screamed. The boy froze, cold sweat beading down his temple, face pale as parchment.
The quill hovered there, unmoving, poised to strike.
Kai's voice was quiet, almost gentle.
"By your logic, then everyone who shares a trait with Slytherin should be considered a suspect. Every Parselmouth, every Slytherin student, every pure-blood who values tradition."
He circled a finger, and the quill floated back to his hand.
"Do you see the problem now?"
The room fell silent. The boy sat down, face burning with humiliation.
Kai set the quill back down.
"Magic is not inherited like a title. And suspicion is not evidence. Until you can tell the difference, perhaps you should think twice before slandering your classmates."
Harry sat down slowly, stunned, but his eyes shone with gratitude.
The tension in the room finally broke, and the whispers ceased.
Kai returned to his seat and picked up his quill again as if nothing had happened. But across the classroom, everyone now looked at him with a new kind of respect.
Even Hermione.
Especially Hermione.