Edward turned his head to see all the professors looking at him; then he gave Professor Babbling a speechless look. The two of them were very close; however, Professor Babbling is what some people in his past life referred to as a "messy bitch". She just loves to create drama.
However, Edward was used to this by now, so he just answered her:
"I have always found the idea that Harry Potter is the savior of the Wizarding World very odd or off-putting!"
"What is so odd about it? If it was not due to Mr. Potter, You-Know-Who would never be killed, thus ending the war," replied Professor Babbling with a frown on her face.
"Well, let me put it this way. When Potter supposedly killed Voldemort, he was nothing but a one-year-old infant that probably had not even had his magic riot yet. So, there is no way that he was powerful enough to accomplish such a thing."
"Everyone knows that it was his mother who sacrificed herself, thus casting a powerful magic protection spell that protected Harry. Then, when You-Know-Who cast the Killing Curse on him, it backfired, killing him in the process," replied Hagrid, who was sitting not too far.
"Yes, you are correct," nodded Edward. "But here lies the problem, why is it that Lily Potter is not considered the Savior of the Wizarding World? But instead, it is her son--who probably could not even use a proper Levitation Curse yet--is considered the Savior?"
The High Table of all the Professors instantly became quiet. However, Edward was not finished talking:
"I have always been curious about what happened that night and have investigated it quite clearly. The only reason that Mr. Potter survived that night was that his mother used very ancient magic to protect him: the magic of love.
"You know, ancient magic is a truly wonderful thing; it is an intrinsic form of magic that is part of the universe, a fundamental part of reality. A dragon or troll's magic-resistant skin or scale is considered ancient magic as they are innate, and love is also a form of ancient magic.
"According to my research, no wizard can actively control ancient magic. Only by doing an act of pure selflessness, a pure act of sacrifice can some wizards use ancient magic. In the past few hundred years, only Lily Potter has managed to use this form of magic. Even the Unspeakables in the Department of Mystery--who has been studying the magic of love even before the Ministry of Magic was created--could not use ancient magic.
"Yet, Lily Potter could. So, shouldn't such a witch be lauded and praised as the Savior of the Wizarding World? Shouldn't she be written in our history as her noble sacrifice was the true reason that peace was brought to the wizarding world?"
(AN: the thing about ancient magic is real as I discovered it on a website called Harry Potter Lexicon. Google it if you want to learn more)
After a brief moment of silence, Professor Flitwick then asked: "Then, why do you think that she was not chosen as the Savior of the Wizarding World?"
Edward looked at him. "Isn't it obvious? No matter how amazing she was, it does not change the fact that she is Lily Evans, the muggle-born witch."
The table once again became quiet. Meanwhile, Snape--who was sitting at the end of the table--secretly clutched his hand under his black robe.
"Nonsense, Professor Bones," suddenly said Professor McGonagall who had just finished with the Sorting Hat Ceremony and who was secretly listening.
"The reason that Harry Potter became the Savior was both because he is alive and because of the Prophecy that foretold the downfall of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Name by his hand," continued Professor McGonagall after taking her seat.
"Professor, in my experience, it is often easier to make the dead into martyrs. After all, they could not ask anything of the living. As for your arguments of the Prophecy, how many people were truly aware of such a prophecy? Let alone believe it?
"And even if what you say is correct, this should not stop Lily Evans from truly getting the recognition that she deserves? Frankly speaking, I do not think that one mere memorial statue of her in Godric's Hollow is enough to commemorate what she has done for the Wizarding World."
The table returned to a momentarily silence once again, however, this time, Dumbledore finally said something:
"Edward, I've always told you that the Wizarding World is not as bad as you think. Lily was a very loved witch, and by many people too. As for the reason that she did not receive the recognition that she deserved, it has nothing to do with her origin from non-magical parents.
"After the war, most wizards just wanted some sort of spiritual substance, and thought that they could repay her sacrifice by elevating her son to the status of a hero, a savior to be praised and looked up to."
Edward took a sip of his drink before answering calmly:
"One of the things that most wizards felt to understand is that there are different types of discrimination. One does not need to openly say that they hate or despise muggle-born wizards to be counted as discrimination.
"Some forms of discrimination are more subtle, systematic, and sometimes, a person might not even be aware that their actions might be perceived as such. A perfect example of that is Arthur Weasley.
"He loves muggles and has no problem with them. On the contrary, he loves them and finds their ways of life, technology, and cultures fascinating. And he would jump at the chance to ask them all sorts of questions given the opportunity.
"However, do you think that Arthur has even thought of the possibility that his actions were demeaning to muggles? That his over-enthusiasm might be perceived as an insult? That his actions might make muggles feel like they are a rare piece of objects that is being studied?"
All the teachers had a pensive look on their faces. Most of them knew Arthur Weasley and knew that he would act exactly the way that Edward described him.
"The truth of the matter is the fact that all the wizards in the Wizarding World accepted the fact that a Potter--which is a very ancient and renowned magical family--as the Savior instead of the Muggle-born, first-generation magical family of Evans is itself a problem.
"Not to mention that none of you sitting here actually questioned the oddity of the situation until I brought it. Don't you think that this is a problem itself? This mode of thinking?"
All the professors were a little ashamed after hearing these words as Edward was right. They never had such thoughts, and just accepted Harry Potter as the Savior.
After noticing the embarrassments of the professors, Edward added:
"No need to be embarrassed as I am not any better than any of you. Although I am aware of the situation, I never tried to do anything about it."
This sentence did make them feel better, so Professor Flitwick asked; "So, why did you not do anything about it?"
Edward then answered with a calm face: "Because I and the Bones family can greatly benefit from the rotten system of the Wizarding World."
Many people almost choked after hearing this, while the rest just sighed helplessly. Then, Headmaster Dumbledore stood up from his chair to say a few words to the students--who were staring at the High Table, confused about why they had to wait for so long.
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.
It was not just Hermione who came to this realization. Many of the muggle-born wizards in the Great Hall came to this realization. Many of them have been in the wizarding world for quite some time now and they have noticed some things.
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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GOT IT