AN: Story is now a week old, so yay for that. Chapter on the Mysteries of Magic brought to you by the Big Man himself. Also, should the next poll be about my next template, or about a plot choice. Also Burnout? Never heard of it.

What the ever-living fuck is happening right now. When did Dumbledore teach a class at Hogwarts? I can tell that I'm not the only one thrown by this as nearly every other face matched my expression of shock, and in some cases awe. Dumbledore for his part only offers a chuckle at our dumbfound expressions, seeming to enjoy the surprise he caused.

Eventually we manage to pull ourselves together and the headmaster begins his lecture.

"Now, I'm sure that many of you here are curious about the purpose of this class, and why it is even necessary considering that you will be doing theory in all your other classes, correct?" he asks, taking a moment to gaze at each of us, making sure we were fully invested.

"Well, the answer to that, my dear students, is that magic is not simply limited to merely brewing potions and casting spells from a wand, though they may be a large part of it. No, magic is a gift of near limitless potential with new uses and discoveries being made every day. What I will be teaching you is not how to cast spells, or brew potions. Not to enchant objects or to even change one thing into another. Neither am I telling you all how to divine the future or understand the Ancient Runes of old. No, children, what I teach is something more profound than any of those things. I will be teaching you the secret of how to discover all of that yourself, how to understand and use the gift that is magic at its most fundamental level. To understand every nuance and every quirk that it may have, so that, when the time comes for you to discover what you excel at, you have the tools and knowledge to fully utilize every bit of it."

You could feel the excitement in the air as every student was giving the living legend in front of us the respect he deserves. Just by listening to him speak I can feel [Communication Talent] soaking up every word, taking in the skill of one of the greatest orators of this age.

"This class is, much like flying, meant only for First Year students, as a means to help lay the groundwork to connect every other class you have, and be further built upon in the coming years. What you learn here today and in the coming weeks will allow you to reach the peak of your ability if you would only lend an eager ear and a steady hand. For this first class I will not ask you to pull out your Textbook, which will be used in future classes so i suggest reading up on it before then. Instead, we will simply discuss what you know and understand of magic, what is it truly, where does it comes from, and how it can be used."

I can understand now why so many followed this wizard, listened to his advice, and gave heed to his wisdom. There is a presence to man, if he can even be called as such, that all but demands reverence. The sheer charisma he wields mixed with his raw knowledge and strength that even now, simply because I am aware of it, is pressing down upon me, makes me fully believe that yes, this man can effectively run a school, be this countries Chief Warlock, and run an organization that spreads across the planet as the Chief Mugwump. And I will be pitting myself against such a man in the coming years. If not for the fact that I have to personally kill Voldemort and destroy all his Horcruxes, I would have been more than happy to direct him to the cursed ring and have him kill himself. If it weren't for [Stress Defense] I would be panicking right now.

"Let us begin today's lesson on where exactly magic comes from, or rather, where we Wizards believe it comes from. The most commonly believed theory is that the world itself is responsible for our magic, channeling it from the core of the planet to the surface through the use of Ley lines, or paths of intense magical concentration under the earth. Hogwarts itself is situated over seven intersecting Ley lines, making it one of the most magically charged places in the world. Others though believe magic is a gift from the Old Gods, such as Hekate, Circe, Brigit, and Abonde, and worship these figures as a way of thanks for the gift they wield. The last major belief is that Magic itself is a sentient force, seen as a matriarchal figure to all magical beings. You should note students that none of these theories have been proven either true or false, with each having evidence to support their claims. There are many who to this day research hoping to discover the true root of all magic, but until such a time comes, we will only be left with speculation and belief."

That was informative and comparing it to the knowledge I got from Tom wildly different from what he understood of magic. Then again, he might not have ever bothered to study the whys of magic, more concerned with the how.

"As for the wizards and witches who utilize such a powerful force, how is it that we control it, and is there a way to improve even further? These are frequent questions, and many have put their own ideas over the centuries on how it is possible. In the early days it was common belief that we wizards and witches had cores inside us, organs capable of generating magical energy that we use to cast spells. It has, in recent years, been debunked as false and instead modern research suggest that we are instead conduits for the magic of the world at large. To put it more simply, think of us as something similar to a faucet," he said, waving a wand that I swear wasn't in his hand a second ago, and conjuring a sink with different sized faucets, "One that takes in water from one source and deposits a set amount elsewhere. Some may only be capable of using a mere trickle of magic while others are more like a hose, capable of channeling great magnitudes of energy at once. This is the reason that some wizards are capable of casting some spells near indefinitely while others would tire out after a few simple casts, because the considerable amount of magic used strains the body requiring rest before it can recover. Not all are born equal in this regard, as while some, like myself, were born capable of utilizing vast amounts of magic from an early age, more likely you are to be born capable of a much lesser amount." He had been using the sink as an example, showing how the water flowed from different faucets at different rates.

"Do not despair though, students, as if you are only capable of channeling a small amount it is only a matter of time and dedication to improving your situation. As I mentioned before, when you use a powerful spell above your limit you strain your body into increasing the amount you can channel at any given time, slowly increasing the amount of energy you may use. Be warned though, if taken too far this can lead to serious health issues and in extreme cases, death, just as a faucet with too much pressure you can," he waved his wand and one of the smaller faucets suddenly started to pour a much larger amount, shaking and cracking before the whole thing suddenly exploded and Dumbledore canceled his spell.

"Burst. If you seek to do this then I recommend approaching either myself, or another member of the staff and having them monitor you to minimize the risks involved in such a process. This is not an excuse to exhaust and injure yourself to get out of class though, so any attempt to do exactly that will be met with harsh punishment by the staff."

I slowly wiped my face with my robes, having been sitting in the splash zone for the headmaster's little display. Several other students, some suddenly pale, were doing the same. Any fear I had at the man in this moment was gone, replaced by annoyance as a silent vow of vengeance. He, dry despite the water covering the room, simply gave us all a grandfatherly smile.

"Any questions?"