July 21, 10 am.
Felix, in an formal dress wear, stands in front of the fireplace, as he sprinkles a handful of Floo powder and said "Hogwarts Deputy Headmistress's Office".
Professor McGonagall had a stern look on her face as she sorted through the school's files in the Deputy Headmistress's office.
The Professor of Transfiguration, who is known for her stern face, is in a good mood at this moment. Gryffindor House had won the long-awaited House Cup in the previous academic year, which kept the happy mood of the Head of Gryffindor House alive.
"Puff!"
A pale green flame flashed from the fireplace and a handsome, refined young man walked out of it.
Felix looked around him and saw that nothing has changed, it's been a long time!. He smiled gently at McGonagall, "Hello Professor McGonagall, it's been a long time."
Professor McGonagall pursed her lips, which meant that her mood was rapidly changing for the worse, or to the work mode, "Long time no see, Felix."
Professor McGonagall also taught him once, being one of his professors. She had mixed feelings about this great student, certainly not the kind of mixed feelings Professor Snape has.
Before their long-awaited House Cup, Gryffindor lost seven times in a row, and that history had much to do with Felix.
Apart from the first three years, when Felix had to fight back because of the poor learning environment, he had been exposed to, and therefore lost a lot of points, after that he finally seemed to realize that he himself in fact a Slytherin student and should be fighting for the honour of the house. Following years in which he managed to mingle with the young snakes effectively.
The next few years can be described as, "Glory to Slytherin".
...
Felix stepped forward and glanced at his pocket watch, "I hope I didn't miss the interview."
Professor McGonagall, whose flashback was interrupted, stood up and led him to the Headmaster's office, "Chocolate frog." She recited the password and escorted Felix in. Before she left, she remarked, "Your books are very good, you seem to have spent the last three years very well."
"Thank you, Professor McGonagall." He froze for a moment, smiled, and then walked up the steps.
All his three years after graduation hadn't been for anything. Especially after his first unsuccessful job application, he pondered over it, suspecting that he had been too raw as a student, and followed Headmaster Dumbledore's advice to "travel more and see more."
He spent a year travelling around the Wizarding World and the remaining two years working, um, studying Muggles.
The results are remarkable, Three books in three years, two on muggle studies and one on ancient magic runes.
He also amassed a considerable fortune.
After walking up the lengthy staircase, Felix entered the Headmaster's office, which was filled with books, artefacts, and portraits of successive Hogwarts Headmasters on the wall.
On the side of the Headmaster's desk, a phoenix rests with its eyes closed.
Dumbledore is studying something and the office is quiet.
"Good morning, Headmaster Dumbledore." Felix greeted out loud. With his words, the room came to life.
The portraits of the headmasters opened their eyes and looked at Felix, pointing and whispering.
One of the portraits exaggerated, "Ha! The best Slytherin is here!"
The man in that portrait, with his goatee and slender eyebrows and wearing the robes of Slytherin, is Phineas Black, voted as the least popular Headmaster of Hogwarts by the students, also from Slytherin.
Felix gave a very graceful bow.
At this point, Headmaster Dumbledore finally looked up, his appearance very different from the norm, with a silvery-white beard that trailed down to his chest, unkempt robes, and with a pair of crescent-shaped eyes.
But his eyes were very bright, his blue pupils gleaming with light.
Felix stood lost in thought, time had not left many traces on this old man, and yet it seemed to have left too many.
"Ah, ah! It's Felix," Dumbledore rose to his feet and came striding forward, his movements measured, "I've been waiting for your arrival."
Felix shook the Headmaster's hand with a certain amount of formality, after all, he had come to the door to ask for a job and had been turned down three times so far.
The two sat down in their seats, Dumbledore gazing at him through the thin glass while waving his wand, "What can I get you? Pumpkin juice? Tea?" Then with a wink, "I also have some fresh butterbeer here."
"A cup of tea, please."
Dumbledore waved his wand and a cup of steaming tea floated to him, Felix took a sip. A bitter taste washed over him, it is an antique tea. The headmaster seemed to be not drinking much tea in general.
"Sibyl gave me this tea. I can't taste it personally, but she said it came from the far east."
Liar!
Felix swore, at least one of you two is a liar.
After a cup of tea, the conversation got down to business.
"Felix, you've done an excellent job over the last year. I've been reading your books and I have to say, you've been very innovative and have a very in-depth ... view of muggle studies, which has given this old man a lot of ideas."
Felix smiled, "Thanks to your advice, the world of muggles is a wonderful place, especially in the last few decades, they have developed very quickly. As for the writings ... perhaps it is because I was raised as a muggle myself and have a deep understanding of them further."
Dumbledore shook his head, "Birth doesn't take away your efforts, there are many people in the wizarding world who are muggle-born, but they are not exactly experts in muggle studies, at best they have a better knowledge of some common sense, but that is far from knowing them."
Of course, because I was a pure Muggle in my past life.
Dumbledore waved his wand and out of his desk flew a book entitled The History of the Muggle Wars: From a Million Years Ago, one of Felix's books. Speaking about the Muggles raise through the Ages, written by Felix, and it dawned to him that Dumbledore had just been reading his book.
"It's very inspiring to me, I've read it more than once, especially when you look at the history of technology - that's a term, isn't it? The history of technology, how the Muggles have gone from being a beast to what they are now, over millions of years. A marvel, I must say."
"You also pointed out the rapid leaps in technology that the Muggles have made at intervals, with shorter and shorter intervals, and even predicted that the next leap was not far away - very enlightening!" Dumbledore was full of praise for this book.
Felix said modestly, " This idea wasn't pioneered by me, in fact, many sociologists from the Muggle world, oh, that is, scholars of Muggles who study about Muggles, have given me a lot of help with their writings."
Dumbledore said calmly, "Many Muggles are equally intelligent, but few in the wizarding world acknowledge that."
"I agree with you on that, Professor Dumbledore."
Dumbledore then blinked, seemingly skipping over the subject, and said amusingly, "So you must have read a lot of Muggle books? Frankly, a lot of my Christmas presents are books, and they seem to think that I prefer them. In fact, I've read most of them, and I prefer a pair of wool socks over them."
"Of course, if it's a book from the muggle world, I don't think I'd turn it down."
A clear hint ...
At least he knows what to get as Christmas presents ...
"Yes, although they don't have magic, some of them are willing to spend more than a decade to complete a book that is devoted to a certain problem, or a theory." Felix softly said, "It's very difficult. And for that reason, it's very precious."
Dumbledore got somewhat relieved, "It seems you have really gained a lot in these past few years." Then a question came out of nowhere, "So why do you still insist on teaching at Hogwarts?"
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Felix seemed to be slightly puzzled and asked, " What do you mean? I don't get it, Headmaster?"
Dumbledore placed his hands in front of him with a questioning gaze, "I mean, you have a great future ahead of you, but you keep on insisting on returning to Hogwarts! I want to know why."
The Headmaster's implication was clear, you've already made a name for yourself, and in the three years since you graduated, you've written three books, each of them quite brilliant. The two Muggle Studies books didn't sell much - at least compared to the other professor he was interviewing with, who is also an author the sales are low, as the two books didn't sell much better.
But there is no denying that the influence of these two books is so widespread that a book: The History of the Muggle Wars: From a Million Years Ago, and the other one, How Muggles Think, has become the guiding books for most of the world's wizarding departments dealing with Muggles issues.
At least Dumbledore had discussed some contents of the books with two of his friends, both among one who works as head of the Division for the Prohibition of Muggle Abuse and the other one is a member of the Wizengamot, both were equally enthusiastic about the two books.
Felix thought for a moment and said, "Headmaster Dumbledore, I am very attached to Hogwarts, it is my home, and it makes me feel close to it! Besides, I'd love to teach students, it's a very fulfilling thing to do ..."
Dumbledore interrupted, his azure eyes full of brilliance that it's impossible to tell this is the gaze of a hundred-year-old man. "We both know that's not true, I want to know what you really think, it's important, it's about whether you'll get the teaching job or not."
Felix felt slightly embarrassed. He subconsciously used the Occlumency, but stopped it Halfway.
This is not a wise decision. Occlumency isn't foolproof, especially when you were the one at the lower level, let alone against one of the greatest wizard of the century.
It's a good thing he'd planned ahead and made some small preparations for this in advance.
For example, a few drops of elixir.
After a couple of seconds of contemplation, he decided to follow his instincts and "tell it like this".
Felix finally spoke up and said sincerely, "To delve deeper into the mysteries of magic."
Dumbledore bowed his head and looked like he is listening.
"Headmaster, you have been my headmaster from the time I was enrolled to the time I graduated, so you should have some idea of what I have been through. I spent a lot of time in the practical aspects of magic before my fifth year in order to deal with some trouble, and neglected some theoretical aspects." It's true, he was always very uptight in order not to get beaten up and bashed around a bit.
"At that time I was seeking power, the power of a single spell, but I was wrong, and it wasn't until my last two years at school when I finally had the time to indulge in the mysteries of magic, that I realized what I had missed." It was also true that while his golden fingers had helped him to become powerful quickly, it also led him in the wrong direction - a one-sided pursuit of magical prowess at the expense of the theory behind it.
Dumbledore nodded slightly, his tone becoming gentle again, but with a touch of curiosity, "So, you're researching ancient magic runes?"
It was not difficult to guess, after all, Felix's three books, apart from Muggle Studies, consisted of the Exploration of Ancient Magic Runes. Muggle Studies, on the other hand, could not be described as the study of magic.
"That's right! The more you delve into magic, the more you can't get away from ancient Magic Runes, especially when you need to trace the origins of the magic, so you need to research ancient magic. I only realized this in sixth & seventh year, but unfortunately, I only got an A in Ancient Rune on my OWLs, so I couldn't pursue it further and had to study on my own." This is even more true, and was a mistake made by Felix in his youthful ignorance.
Felix continued, under the influence of the Felix Felicis his instincts were acute, and his words became smoother, "I do have a personal interest, Hogwarts has the largest library in the world and there are many books on Ancient Magic Runes in it."
"But the books on the market-"
"I've read all the books on the market, and unfortunately they are mostly theory and not much practical - they seem to treat Ancient Runes as a mere language, used only to translate the manuscripts of their predecessors. And in the process of studying Muggles, I had the unexpected inspiration of trying to combine the two! As you know, ancient magic Runes are essential knowledge for alchemy as well."
Dumbledore was intrigued, "You mean - if I'm not mistaken - that you want to combine alchemy and the muggle stuff?"
Felix looked a little enthusiastic as he spoke eloquently, "Yes, but this is only an initial stage, which is to transform muggle items into magical products. An air Conditioner, for example, is a cooling device that keeps the room temperature at a comfortable range. Muggles need to be powered by electricity - that is, a form of energy - and the conversion to a magical artefact is much simpler, with a freezing charm at its core, plus a detection spell."
"Of course, there is the issue of stability to consider, and that requires the use of ancient magic runes."
"And what I'm working on now is a further step, combining the wisdom of the muggle with the Magic of the wizard. You know, Muggles always have a lot of strange ideas, and it's hard to turn some of their ideas into reality, but when you add magic to the mix, it's easy to do!"
Dumbledore nodded and commented, "The first step is to transform, the second step to creating a brilliant idea."
The two of them discussed the subject for a long time, and it was only after three hours that Dumbledore snapped out of it. He had indeed just been unconsciously immersed in a discussion with Felix, arguably one of the most remarkable students he had come across in the last few decades.
Especially after three years of study at his own suggestion, the student had burst into flames!
Even though he is a Slytherin.
Unfortunately, he is a Slytherin!
Dumbledore was silent, he wavered, and time seemed to have travelled back fifty years in an instant.
The resemblance, the resemblance seemed too great!
The same Muggle Orphans, the same Slytherin, the same good and gentle manners, the same obsession with power, how could he choose?
If only he hadn't forced that boy to admit his mistake for using Fiendfyre, if only he had cared more, or even if he had discovered his evil ambition earlier, perhaps there wouldn't have been such a horrible Dark Lord.
And what about now?
It seemed that he had the identical choice in front of him.
The old man is in a trance. He looked across the table at the young, handsome, outstanding student and seemed to see the shadow of another person.
Voldemort!
On the other side of the table, Felix looked puzzled. I am telling the truth, albeit selectively. I'm telling the truth, and we've just had a good conversation, why is Dumbledore acting all complicated and glum?
What did he say wrong?
Did it prick him?
What the hell is going on?
Felix got a headache!
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