A group of Hogwarts professors, Ministry officials, housewives, and wandering werewolves—most of them around forty or fifty years old and long out of student life—imdiately froze in place, awkwardness thick in the air.
Molly Weasley was the first to break the silence by clapping, elbowing her husband Arthur in the ribs. "Welco, Professor Edward!"
"Uh, welco," Arthur echoed.
The others soon followed her lead.
"…There's really no need, ladies and gentlen."
Edward was just as uncomfortable. In fact, he suddenly began to suspect that Professor McGonagall had asked him to cover her classes specifically to set him up for this mont.
Snape, seated at the furthest point from Lupin, curled his lips into a cold smile. "Welco… Professor Edward…and Professor Audrey."
Audrey: "…"
Dumbledore smiled and blinked as he said, "Edward, from this mont on, you are their professor. Regardless of their previous titles or positions, they are now your students." He paused, then added with a twinkle in his eye, "Which also ans you have the authority to deduct house points—should any of them displease you."
Arthur Weasley couldn't help but laugh. "Oh, imagine that! I graduated from Gryffindor more than twenty years ago, and now I might actually get points taken off! That's…quite the novelty."
Molly, on the other hand, looked worried. "But doesn't that an Gryffindor, having the most students here, will lose the most points?"
Lupin scratched his head sheepishly at that.
Professor McGonagall imdiately objected. "Molly, you could also try to earn points for Gryffindor."
"Well, that's true."
Professor Sprout chuckled. "Professor Edward, I trust you'll be inclined to award a few more points to your own house, won't you?"
Professor Flitwick shot back in mock indignation, "Hey now, Pomona! We should all earn points based on our rit!"
Edward could only rub his forehead in exasperation.
At that mont, Dumbledore gave a light clap of his hands. "Alright, everyone. Let's begin."
Audrey gave Edward a fist pump of encouragent. "Good luck, Professor Edward." Then she took Lilith and Susie with her to sit in the back row.
Edward walked to the podium, cleared his throat, and asked, "Professor Dumbledore, how much have you told them about Potions so far?"
"Hmm, aside from telling them they'd be learning a completely new form of magic tonight—nothing at all."
Edward imdiately realised this had been Dumbledore's intention from the start—to give him the opportunity to teach everything from the ground up.
"I see."
"Well then, before introducing you all to this so-called 'magic,' I think it would be best to demonstrate it. As the saying goes: no amount of talk can compare to seeing results."
With that, he beckoned, "Lilith, co here."
Lilith ran over curiously and was lifted up by Edward, who placed her on the podium.
"Professor McGonagall, I believe you're the most familiar with Lilith, correct?"
"…"
McGonagall's expression turned montarily stiff, but she quickly composed herself. "Yes, that's right."
"Then you can confirm for us—Lilith is just a regular cat, yes?"
"Yes, she is."
"Lilith, say hello to everyone."
Lilith gave a chirpy "Oh!" then lifted a paw. "Hello, everyone!"
In that instant, everyone present froze— even Snape, who had been scowling, looked montarily dumbfounded.
Half a minute later, Professor Sprout murmured, "The cat…spoke?"
"Incredible."
"Is she so newly discovered species of magical creature?"
McGonagall was stunned. "The sa cat who jumps all over every day playing hide and seek…can talk?"
In the world of Harry Potter, magical creatures ca in many strange and marvellous forms. But fundantally, they were still beasts—sowhat more intelligent than ordinary animals, but rarely capable of human speech.
With the exception of very few sentient species like centaurs (who despised being classified as "magical creatures"), it was nearly unheard of for magical beasts to talk. Of course, Hagrid's giant eight-eyed spider Aragog had been an exception.
"Professor McGonagall can attest that Lilith is not a magical creature. She's just an ordinary cat. But now, not only can she speak and reason, she even possesses magical abilities."
Lilith imdiately huffed. "Miss Lilith is the smartest kitty there is!"
Edward patted her head. "Yes, yes, of course you are."
Snape finally spoke. "So, this new form of magic…it can grant sentience to animals, even endow them with magical abilities?"
"That's right."
"So are you suggesting each of us raise a magical pet to help us fight?"
"Of course not."
Edward shook his head and placed Lilith on his shoulder. "Lilith was simply the quickest way for you to get a basic idea of this new 'magic.'"
"Next, I'll demonstrate a more direct ability."
"For example—"
Edward spoke in Hers: "Magic is prohibited in this place."
Bang!
Snape suddenly shot up, slamming the table with a loud crash. "What did you just do?!"
The others quickly reacted as well—and were shocked to find…they had lost their magic. They couldn't cast any spells.
In other words, they had beco Muggles!
Even knowing this was just a demonstration, panic began to spread.
Molly gasped, "Oh, dear! Without magic, how am I supposed to cook from now on?!"
Dumbledore looked briefly stunned. "Ah…no wonder you said you were confident about dealing with Voldemort when you returned this ti."
To soone who had been a wizard for over a century—who had mastered countless spells and prided himself on his overwhelming power—being reduced to a frail old man with a single phrase…it was a crushing blow.
It felt like the very abilities and dignity he had cherished and been proud of his entire life were being ground underfoot. It was even more despairing than the prophecy he and Grindelwald once made about the rise of Muggle technology.
Edward then lifted the magic prohibition.
"This is just one of the abilities I've mastered—but I believe everyone here has already felt its impact."
Snape slowly sat down, his knuckles white as he gripped the edge of the table. He murmured, "So…so…the Dark Lord…no, Voldemort, the Death Eaters, even the entire wizarding world…To soone like you, who wields this new kind of magic…they're nothing more than a joke?"
Edward quickly clarified, "Not quite. For example, when I just nullified your magical abilities, it consud sothing called Spirituality—you can think of it as a different kind of magical power. But unlike a wizard's seemingly boundless magic, spirituality is limited. The stronger the target or the more targets there are, the greater the consumption. And once used, maintaining the ability also requires ongoing expenditure of spirit."
"What if it's just Voldemort alone?"
Edward thought for a mont, then answered seriously, "Unless he ambushes and kills instantly, I likely wouldn't lose."
A collective gasp rippled through the room. There was a subtle yet unmistakable feeling in the air—the wizarding world is about to change.
Snape then asked solemnly, "Besides you, Audrey, and that cat…how many others have learned this new magic?"
From the corner of the room, Susie raised her hand. " too."
Everyone: "…"
Snape took a deep breath. "So if…you chose not to pass this new magic on, then in a sense—you'd be the most powerful individual in the wizarding world. Is that right?"
"Then, why are you choosing to teach it?"
Edward smiled.
"There are two reasons. One relates to how I learned this ability—which I'm not ready to reveal just yet. The other involves so of its chanics, which I'll be explaining shortly."
He placed both hands on the podium. "So—shall we officially begin class now?"
Excitent lit up in everyone's eyes. Like eager students, they responded in unison, "Yes!"
"Alright then."
Edward turned and wrote two large characters on the blackboard: Potions.
"First of all, this so-called magic…actually has nothing to do with traditional magic at all. It involves taking special potions that trigger an evolution in the body, granting a set of extraordinary abilities."
"We call these mystical abilities, and those who wield them are known as Beyonders."
"As of now, there are twenty-two types of potions—each one corresponding to a distinct set of abilities. You can think of them as different professions: blacksmiths, judges, soldiers, lawyers, and so on. We call them Pathways."
"Each Pathway has ten Sequences, numbered from 9 to 0. Each Sequence represents a promotion, akin to moving from first year to seventh year. The higher the Sequence, the more powers you gain—and the stronger you beco."
"The twenty-two Pathways correspond to twenty-two sets of abilities, such as Assassin, Seer, Mystery Pryer, Sailor…and Apprentice."
"The first Pathway: Assassin. It represents disease and disaster…Its most notable feature is that upon reaching Sequence 7, it can transform you into a woman."
"That's right. If Mr. Weasley takes the Assassin potion and advances to Sequence 7, then Mrs. Weasley will have herself a wife."
Molly imdiately shouted, "Oh no! Absolutely not!"
"The Seer Pathway, as the na implies, begins with divination abilities—but the higher you go, the stranger the powers beco…"
For over an hour, Edward described the traits and abilities of each Pathway. When he finished the final one, Dumbledore waved his wand and summoned a glass of water for him.
"Thank you."
Edward took small sips to moisten his throat, then asked, "That concludes all twenty-two Pathways. Any questions?"
Lupin murmured, "A werewolf…there's actually a Pathway that allows soone to beco a werewolf? And one that lets you control it? If I chose that one…what would happen to ?"
Snape spoke in a trembling voice, "The Corpse Collector Pathway…at Sequence 5, the Gatekeeper can summon spirits from the underworld?"
"…Does that an—I might have a chance to bring Lily back?"
Professor Sprout stroked her chin thoughtfully. "I think I'd definitely choose the Planter Pathway—it feels tailor-made for ."
Professor Flitwick chuckled. "I enjoy physical combat. Trading blows with fists sounds far more satisfying than using magic!"
—Though deep down, he was thinking: Oh my god, I might finally be able to grow taller. First goal—reach Hagrid's height!
———
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