Chapter 16: Introduction (1) |
All the professors noticed that the students had weird looks on their faces. To be precise, it was a look of shock and confusion. They instantly knew that something was wrong, so they looked around to figure out what happened.
It turned out that Professor Babbling had secretly used the Amplifying Charm (Sonorus) during their conversation, so all the students overheard them. All the professors gave her a reprieving gaze, but she did not seem to mind.
The reactions of many students were different. The Weasley Twins just looked at each other before starting laughing. They agreed with how Edward described their father. Ron was mortified, so he lowered his head. As for Percy, he took out a quill and parchment and decided to write a letter to his mother and father talking about today's incident.
Draco Malfoy was sneering after hearing the conversation. Although he did not like the idea of Potter's mudblood mother being the savior of the Wizarding World, he was as happy that someone finally saw Harry Potter for who is: just an ordinary wizard, just like everybody else. He was no savior.
As for Harry Potter himself, he was quiet; not because someone said that he did not deserve to be the savior. No, Harry never believed for a second that he was special.
The reason that he became quiet was that he finally learned what happened to his parents the night he received the scar on his forehead. It turns out that his mother sacrificed her life to protect him.
'Maybe this professor is right. My mother is the one who deserves to be the Savior, not me,' he thought to himself.
One of the people most affected by this conversation was the little witch Hermione Granger. As a clever person, she realized that the Wizarding World is not just a mysterious and magical place full of wonder. It is a normal place, a normal civilized society--and one full of discrimination at that.
And in the future, she will have to struggle very hard to make a place for herself. She will have to work 3 times to 4 times harder to achieve the same result as a wizard from a pure-blood or half-blood family.
Before today, they convinced themselves that these things only happened at Hogwarts. And that, after graduation, when they go to the real world, things will be different; that their achievements will be based on their merits, not their background.
However, after hearing the conversation between the Professors, they realized that these problems are even more prominent in the Wizarding World.
After Dumbledore walked to the speaking podium in the shape of an owl, he started speaking to the students:
"Students, you do not need to worry about things that do not concern you. The world is not as negative as one would like to believe as many great people in it work tirelessly every day to make it a better place. Furthermore, every one of you can also make the Wizarding World a better place; it all depends on the choices you make in the future.
"Now, a few announcements before we can start eating, I'm sure that each one of you is starving…"
Then, he went on to warn them about the Room on the Third Floor, and that they were forbidden to use magic in the hallways or enter the Dark Forest. Then, he introduced Edward.
"Well, I would like to introduce your new Alchemy Teacher, Professor Edward Bones. Let him say a few words."
---Scene Break--
After Dumbledore introduced Edward, Hermione suddenly exclaimed: "That's Edward Bones?"
"You know him?" asked Harry.
"Yes, he is a very famous wizard, maybe as famous as you. When he was young, he was Head Boy, Prefect, Winner of the Barnabus Finkley Prize for Exceptional Spell-Casting, British Youth Representative to the Wizengamot, Gold Medal-Winner for Ground-Breaking Contribution to the International Alchemical Conference in Cairo, Wizarding Schools Potions Championship, and he is the youngest person to receive the title of Grand Sorcerer and Alchemist Grandmaster. He is one of my idols"
{AN: All of these titles and rewards are real, except for the Alchemist Grandmaster one--which I made up. Additionally, according to my research, Alchemy is the study of the four elements and the process of transforming metals into gold, and the search for a panacea, a remedy that would cure all maladies. For the sake of this fanfiction, let's decide that Alchemy is all those things mentioned above and the study of how to make magical items like the joke items that the Weasley sold in their Joke Shop.)
"Hermione, how do you know all these things?" asked Harry Potter.
"That's because I have read a book about the most celebrated wizards of the 20th century. Both Dumbledore and Edward Bones were in it.
Harry nodded his head, however, Ron Weasley--who had his head lowered suddenly said; "You should probably stay away from Edwards Bones."
"Oh, why is that?" asked Hermione, obviously displeased.
"I heard from my father that the Bones family advocates the use of black magic. They believe that dark magic is not something that should be feared, but studied it thoroughly to better understand how to defend against it. And many people in the Ministry agree with them. Of course, Minister Fudge and Dumbledore strongly disagreed with them."
"What's wrong with Professor Edward's ideas?" asked Harry Potter.
"Don't you know? Replied Ron. "Dark magic can turn a person crazy and evil. My father even said that the Bones family wanted to unite many wizards together to study the Three Unforgivable Curses and create a Counter-Curse for them."
"What are the Three Unforgivable Curses?" asked Harry back.
This time, however, it was Hermione who answered:
"The Three Unforgivable Curses are the three most cruel and sinister dark magic in the world. You-Know-Who used them a lot during the Wizarding War, killing and torturing many people. According to what I know, the scar on your head is due to one of the Unforgivable Curses, and Harry, you are the only person in history to have ever survived from the Unforgivable Curse."
"Now you understand how dangerous it is to study this kind of dark magic," said Ron.
"You should not talk bad about Mister Bones, he is a good person," suddenly said Neville Longbottom.
The Trio looked at him while wondering while he was defending the new professor. However, they did not ask as Edward had started to introduce himself.
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