Phineas said, "Magical sigils are far too ancient. I don't know whether Hogwarts has any sigil inheritance at all.
Because even in my era, and even if you go back several decades further, there were no people who truly mastered sigils.
You are the first person I have ever seen who is actually studying magical sigils."
Karmit asked, "Those sigil inheritances in the Black family are extremely old. Didn't anyone ever try to learn them?"
Phineas replied, "Of course they did. Every generation's head of the Black family tried.
Sigils are incredibly complex, but at the same time, they have astonishing applications. Used properly, their power can even surpass spells.
But no one ever succeeded."
"Of course, with a family as old as the Blacks, there were always one or two people as gifted as you.
They could memorize all the sigil knowledge.
Yet when it came time to actually inscribe a sigil, they always failed at the moment it was about to form."
"I don't know the exact reason.
According to a rumor passed down through generations of the Black family, sigils involve something extremely special. That's also why they were lost.
As for the truth, I don't know. If anyone can uncover it, it would have to be you, someone who is truly learning sigils."
Karmit nodded. "Then it seems you don't have much value to me anymore."
Phineas fell silent, then gave a bitter smile.
That did seem to be the case. In front of his descendant, he found that he could no longer offer anything useful.
Karmit said, "For the sake of the Black surname I'm using, when I return to the ancestral manor, I'll arrange a portrait frame for you."
Phineas's eyes lit up.
He really did want to see the Black ancestral home again.
Karmit didn't say anything further. He placed Vannie beside the pillow and lay down.
"I don't have the habit of sleeping while being watched. Even if, strictly speaking, you're no longer human."
Phineas understood the hint.
He smiled bitterly, shook his head, and vanished from the portrait.
Karmit adjusted his pillow.
'Phineas… interesting.
Perhaps he still had some remaining value. After all, a mature Slytherin never did anything meaningless.'
...
The next morning, while Karmit was washing up, he heard the common room downstairs erupting into noise.
After finishing, he went downstairs.
Draco immediately ran over. "Cousin, cousin! We've got Flying class!"
Only then did Karmit remember.
The first class today was Flying.
Karmit instinctively glanced at Harry.
In the canon, Harry was provoked by Draco, took to the air, caught McGonagall's attention, and became Gryffindor's Seeker.
But now, Harry was in Slytherin.
That plot was absolutely impossible to repeat. There was no way a Slytherin would go play Seeker for Gryffindor.
That would be outright rigging the game.
As Karmit walked toward the flying field, he thought about something else. It was already the second day of school, yet Dumbledore still hadn't reacted much.
Harry being sorted into Slytherin should have disrupted many of Dumbledore's plans.
He shouldn't be this calm.
From the moment Dumbledore used underhanded methods during the Sorting Ceremony, Karmit was certain of one thing.
Dumbledore's calculations involving Harry were extensive.
Even Harry becoming a Seeker might have been part of Dumbledore's arrangement.
In the canon, making Harry a Seeker was a perfect way to build his reputation.
The youngest Seeker in history.
There had been no precedent.
Even if Gryffindor desperately needed one, breaking school rules made no sense.
Without Dumbledore's involvement, Karmit simply didn't believe it. After all, no matter how talented Harry was, he was still a first-year.
Plenty of older students flew better than him. So Karmit suspected it had all been planned.
The goal was to steadily build Harry's prestige. Even the hardships Harry suffered were likely arranged, all to push his reputation to its peak.
So that he could eventually lead the students in the Battle of Hogwarts.
If Karmit's speculation was correct, then that old bee's schemes were truly terrifying.
But now, Harry was in Slytherin.
How Dumbledore would adjust his plans was something Karmit couldn't see through at all.
That was the downside of changing the plot.
The story was slipping out of his control.
Karmit didn't care much about the plot itself. What truly interested him was what benefits he could gain as events unfolded.
And there was one more thing he worried about.
That Dumbledore might include him in his calculations.
To be honest, everything about Dumbledore's schemes was still just speculation on Karmit's part.
He wasn't sure if he was overthinking things, or if it was really all that coincidental.
If it truly was that coincidental, then Karmit felt this world itself had a problem.
They arrived at the flying field.
On the ground lay a neat row of broomsticks.
What surprised Karmit was that this first Flying lesson wasn't shared with Gryffindor.
Had his butterfly wings really caused such a huge change?
Looking at the Ravenclaw students already waiting on the field, Draco said excitedly, "That's great. Finally, we don't have to take class with those stupid lions."
Karmit didn't respond.
He was thinking about House scheduling.
For now, it was just a thought. Whether it matched reality would depend on future classes.
Hermione spotted the three of them from afar and hurried over.
"Morning. How were things yesterday?"
Harry and Draco nodded.
Harry asked, "How about you? Enjoying Ravenclaw?"
At the mention of Ravenclaw, Hermione couldn't stop talking. "Oh, you wouldn't believe it. It's practically heaven."
"The common room actually has a library. It's a shame we have to sleep at night. Otherwise, I'd stay there all night long."
Hearing that, even Karmit found her a bit extreme.
Just how much did this girl love studying?
If he had been half as diligent before transmigrating, getting into top universities would have been effortless.
And this was Britain.
If Hermione were placed in a country obsessed with competition and academic pressure, she'd truly be in paradise.
People like her were born for that kind of environment.
__________
Upto 20 chapters ahead on patreon :-
patreon.com/Xorath