Within two days, Old Tom found Kain a wizard named Guy Turl, who had just passed the N.E.W.T.s Potions exam.
Guy had graduated from Hufflepuff nearly three years ago but had yet to secure a suitable job.
Despite his aspirations to build a career in the wizarding world, his N.E.W.T.s Potions certification proved relatively useless within the Ministry of Magic.
Potion shops in the British wizarding world typically have established partners and apprentices, making it difficult for Guy to find a position that matched his skills.
If Old Tom hadn't contacted him, Guy Turl would have returned home to inherit his father's bakery, earning a living as a Muggle to support his family.
This scenario is not uncommon in the wizarding world. Although he could brew potions, no one would purchase them without the endorsement of a recognized potion shop; a harmless potion could easily become dangerously toxic without proper oversight.
Consequently, many individuals prefer to pay a little more for potions from established sources like St. Mungo's Hospital or Slug & Jiggers Apothecary rather than buy from unknown suppliers.
Guy accepted Kain's invitation primarily due to the high salary on offer. After all, Aurors typically earn between 1,500 and 3,000 Galleons a year, while Kain was offering 100 Galleons a week.
Although Guy would only work for a month, Kain revealed that if he performed well, he would hire him as a Potions apprentice once Kain opened his shop.
Kain's financial stability had already been demonstrated to Guy through the house-elves he had adopted; such servants have always been a symbol of considerable wealth in the wizarding world.
It is impossible to maintain house-elves without substantial family resources. The presence of two house-elves confirmed Kain's financial capacity.
After a moment of consideration, Guy accepted Kain's invitation. Along with the promise of becoming a Potions apprentice, he began preparing lesson plans to teach Hermione Granger, Kain's goddaughter.
In addition to recruiting Guy, Kain's most significant achievement was acquiring two house-elves, Phil and Isaac. After signing the contract with the Ministry of Magic, these two house-elves officially became Kain's property.
The Ministry also provided him with a book outlining the prohibited activities for house-elves. The first rule stated that house-elves are not permitted to touch wands, among many other restrictions.
However, these rules can be arbitrarily defined by the Ministry, and Kain had no intention of adhering to them.
The subservience of house-elves is deeply ingrained, particularly in Phil and Isaac. Knowing they would never betray him, Kain decided to empower the elves.
For instance, he allowed them to practice offensive magic and to use wands, as this would enable them to better protect him and Hermione.
He was confident that the elves would accept his commands without hesitation.
Moreover, monitoring house-elves is challenging for the Ministry of Magic. Even if they discovered that Kain was condoning house-elf training, he would likely face only a fine.
Ownership of the elves remains with Kain unless he passes away, so he felt secure in his decisions.
After Phil and Isaac moved into Kain's home, they quickly began cleaning. Phil was particularly skilled at cooking and maintaining a tidy environment, while Isaac was more reserved and did not dispute Phil's approach to their tasks.
Kain had issued several directives after they became his servants, including a crucial rule: the elves were forbidden from causing harm to themselves without his permission.
Kain believed that the best way for them to atone for mistakes was through reflection rather than self-harm.
This method would create greater value for him as their master, rather than incurring unnecessary medical expenses due to their injuries, which would be a loss for him.
Kain instilled this principle in Phil and Isaac, and they quickly accepted it as their guiding truth.
One night, after Phil and Isaac had cleaned the entire building, Kain called them in for a discussion. "Phil, Isaac, do you know any attack-type magic?" he asked.
Upon hearing this, their bulging green eyes widened with panic. Their hands fidgeted, unsure where to place themselves, as they responded nervously, "Master, we will never attack you."
"Phil, I need you to protect me. And when I'm not around, you also need to safeguard my goddaughter, Hermione Granger. Therefore, you must possess a certain level of strength, understand?" Kain interjected, emphasizing the importance of his safety.
Upon hearing Kain's words, Phil and Isaac immediately disregarded the rule that elves could not practice attack magic; their concern for Kain's safety outweighed any fear of reprimand.
"Master, our magic is somewhat different from that of wizards, but our attack magic is similar," they explained.
Listening to their response, Kain gained insight into the abilities of house-elves. Their magical prowess is fundamentally distinct from that of wizards, rooted in their different racial identities.
House-elves are born with innate magical abilities, often performing certain types of magic even better than pureblood wizards.
This superiority is partly due to the fact that house-elves do not use wands. According to Phil and Isaac, they had never used wands since birth, and there were no wandmakers who crafted wands specifically for house-elves.
Consequently, they lacked awareness of how wands might enhance their magical strength.
Kain then retrieved ten wands and asked Phil and Isaac to choose one to familiarize themselves with. If it proved useful, it would belong to them.
He also instructed them to erase any memories of the witnesses, as this was part of his request.
Meanwhile, Hermione was diligently learning from Guy Turl each day. In addition to Potions, Guy could also teach Hermione about spell knowledge from the first to fifth year, prompting Kain to increase Guy's salary by 50 Galleons per week due to the extension of his teaching hours.
Phil and Isaac moved into Kain's new residence in Diagon Alley, with Isaac residing there permanently while Phil accompanied Kain on his outings.
With their protection, Kain felt secure in both of his homes. Phil and Isaac even cast a basic protective spell around the house, ensuring that anyone with weaker magical abilities than theirs would be unable to breach the elves' enchantments.
"Dragon blood is incredibly hard to obtain. It seems that besides trading with powerful wizards, the only option is to try my luck in Knockturn Alley," Kain pondered aloud.
He had never ventured into Knockturn Alley due to fears of being cheated. Dark wizards can be more ruthless than capitalists; Kain's experiences with money-hungry individuals had taught him that while they would at most only want his Galleons, dark wizards could be capable of far worse, including violence.
However, acquiring necessary items through formal channels was exceedingly difficult, even for something as essential as dragon blood, let alone rarer substances like unicorn blood or phoenix tears.
Kain contemplated making a donation to Hogwarts, recalling that funding had always been a significant issue for the school.
Lucius Malfoy's influence as a school trustee likely stemmed from his generous donations.
After careful consideration, Kain decided he would venture into Knockturn Alley. At the very least, he hoped to gather blood and genetic samples from some magical creatures.
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