Only a fool would agree to a request in exchange for food.
Except for Albus Dumbledore.
The old bee nodded eagerly.
"Okay, I agree."
He reached out to take the breakfast from Garfield's foraging area.
A furry orange paw pressed down on the old bee's restless hand.
"Wait. This is mine."
With a snap of his fingers, a brand new Eastern breakfast appeared before Dumbledore.
It was smaller than Garfield's portion but definitely a complete set.
Dumbledore felt cheated.
He stared at Garfield expectantly.
"So there is more in the kitchen?"
"Of course. What did you expect?"
"I thought you brought it from home."
Garfield could not help but roll his eyes.
"Magic is not something you can just throw around. Why would I bother opening a portal across half the globe just to bring home a breakfast?"
Dumbledore nodded.
"You are pretty free, are you not?"
Thinking about it, there was nothing wrong with that.
Garfield could only nod.
"Yeah, right."
Dumbledore, slurping away, finished his breakfast with Garfield.
He looked incredibly satisfied.
"It is so delicious. I never knew Eastern breakfast was so good. I will have the house elves make it for me every day."
Garfield, still stuffing a bun into his mouth, swallowed it and looked at Dumbledore with disdain.
"There are so many different kinds of Eastern breakfast. So many delicious ones. We did not have enough ingredients to make them properly right now. You will have to try them yourself when you have the chance."
Dumbledore said, "Maybe. They say you are obligated to help someone who feeds you, right? What do you need me to do?"
Garfield pointed to the group of Hogwarts students sitting below.
"Just help me keep the class running. You know, I have only ever taught Grindelwald. The process was not really suitable for these kids."
Knowing Grindelwald as he was, Dumbledore could easily guess how unsuitable the situation was for children.
Dumbledore said, "I understand. Actually, even if you had not said anything, all the teachers would have come to audit the class that day."
Garfield looked down at Dumbledore's plate, feeling like he had lost out in the end.
✦••┈┈••✦••┈┈••✦
For the next two days, with nothing to do, Garfield would run to the top of the Hogwarts tower every day after sunrise.
He took out a soft cushion, lay on it, and sunbathed.
Occasionally he opened his eyes to gaze at the Forbidden Forest and the lake in the distance.
On the Quidditch pitch, students from all four houses flew around on their tattered broomsticks, training.
Because flying was prohibited above the castle, most students, except for the Gryffindors, had never seen Garfield atop the tower.
Like the Weasley twins, there were always two mischievous ones in each year.
This year, Gryffindor had two.
Riding their broomsticks around the castle, they naturally spotted Garfield sunbathing on the tower.
The Gryffindors greeted Garfield warmly, and he waved his paw in return.
Being Gryffindors, they had no concept of caution.
Soon the entire school knew how to find Garfield and greet him at Hogwarts.
In the days that followed, searching for the sleeping Garfield on the tower and engaging him in a friendly exchange became like a quest for Hogwarts students to complete an achievement.
To avoid being disturbed, Garfield had to frequently change his sleeping spot.
This only made the students more interested.
Finding Garfield became a daily challenge.
Garfield acted like a wandering NPC cat tasked with completing a mission.
A single orange cat could not escape a group of mischievous kids, especially since these kids possessed magic.
No matter where Garfield sunbathed, they always found him in the shortest amount of time.
Flying was not a course for first year students.
Tom Riddle, though eager to join the upperclassmen at the top of the tower for some missions, had no effective way to do so.
Having decided his goal was to rejoin Garfield's school, Tom Riddle was not about to give up easily.
He started looking for an upperclassman to carry him up.
Plans and changes are always contradictory.
Tom Riddle painstakingly managed to persuade a careless Gryffindor to agree to take him on a broomstick ride to hunt for Garfield.
Just as he succeeded, he received a new notice from the school that infuriated him.
✦••┈┈••✦••┈┈••✦
The notice read as follows.
For the safety of the students, flying over the castle and disturbing His Majesty King Pendragon's rest is prohibited from today.
The moral education class is scheduled for next Wednesday at 2.30 PM in the Great Hall.
All students are requested to attend on time.
The Hogwarts students, seeing this notice at the entrance to the dining hall, began to complain.
"Oh no, I have not even had a chance to fly up and see it yet."
"Oh my god, I traded my collection for a chance to be carried by an upperclassman."
"Oh my god, my first kiss."
"Oh no, I can no longer bask in the warm sunshine with the lovely King."
It seemed some students had sacrificed their most prized toys and other valuable possessions, hoping to achieve something significant.
But the result was far from ideal.
The school's notice was a complete disaster for them.
However, after the initial disaster came some good news.
At least their long awaited class was finally about to begin.
Although it was in the afternoon, Hogwarts had very few classes scheduled in the afternoon.
Most of the time was free time.
✦••┈┈••✦••┈┈••✦
As the days drew closer, the students' discussions about the course intensified.
Some girls, particularly those who loved liquid creatures like cats, even prepared small gifts for Garfield.
These included cat toys, bows, and dog chews.
One morning at breakfast, Dumbledore told him with a smile about finding some inside information.
Garfield rolled his eyes.
Students were so innocent and adorable.
As for the so called cat toys, bows, and dog chews, Garfield decided to accept them.
He could not interrupt the children's dreams.
Of course, he would not use them himself anyway.
He would leave them for the ninja cats and dogs.
Time flowed slowly like water, and the appointed time arrived quickly.
The seating in the Great Hall had been rearranged.
It changed from vertical strips to horizontal rows.
To ensure a better view for the students at the back, Dumbledore and his team used magic to enhance the height of the back seats.
This created a conference hall like elevation difference.
The podium naturally became the teacher's usual seat.
Students arrived one after another within the allotted time.