"Witchcraft and wizardry," I muttered under my breath as I stared at the strangely dressed man that stood in front of me. It was probably rude, but I couldn't help myself; I started laughing. It wasn't minor laughter, a little giggle or chuckle, no. It was full on, gut wrenching laughter that caused my body to shake and my abdominals cramp with the effort. "Witchcraft and wizardry," I repeated once I had gotten myself under control. The headmaster only stared on, a strange twinkle in his eyes. "You've got to be kidding me. That stuff only exists in fairy tales," I said. Still, the headmaster said nothing. My eyes widened as I looked at the old man. "You're being serious aren't you," I said. The man only smiled.
"Follow me, Edward, and I will explain what your job will be," he said as he turned and walked away.
"What the hell, old man!" I called as I scrambled after him. For an old dude, he could definitely move. "You can't possibly be telling me the truth. Magic doesn't follow the laws of equivalent exchange," I reasoned. "T-this can't be possible," I called at the man. My thoughts were racing at the thought of magic. It couldn't be possible, but here this old man was, telling me it was the truth, telling me that magic was real. I stopped in my tracks, too confused to continue. I couldn't get my thoughts straightened out.
The old man stopped on the path in front of me. Only then did I realize that we were traveling a worn beaten path. Ahead, on the skyline, I could see a huge castle rising on the horizon. I stood and gapped like a fish as I stared at the huge structure. To think I couldn't even see all of it from my position.
"Edward, I am aware you come from a world ruled by the laws of alchemy and equivalent exchange, but I must remind you that you are not in your own world; you are in a completely different world," the headmaster said slowly, giving me time to process the words. "Our world is governed by magic. Here, you would be considered a muggle, a non-magical person. Our wizarding world is hidden from sight from the rest of the world; it is too dangerous for the rest of the world to try and get its hands on," the old man explained patiently.
"How is this possible?" I asked, looking at the man for explanation. My head felt like it was going to burst with the amount of information being packed in all at once. It was like I was going soaring back through the gate all those nights ago, only slightly less intense.
"You did meet with Truth, didn't you?" Dumbledore asked, a frown on his lips.
"Yes, I met with Truth, on multiple occasions actually," I admitted.
"That is your answer enough, young alchemist. There is a portal between the worlds with Truth at its center," he explained. I grabbed my head in a gloved hand, trying to wrap my head around the idea of multiple words, multiple dimensions. I couldn't say that it had necessarily been disproven, but it was something that I hadn't given a lot of thought to before.
"How did you come to meet Truth?" I asked, genuinely curious as Dumbledore started walking. I fell into step beside him, looking up at the older man for information. "Back home, you only see if you open the gate," I explained, but not going any further.
"Yes, it is the same here. All wizards, just like Alchemists, contain a gate; a portal of truth. Our world is not governed by the laws of equivalent exchange, thus there is no payment. Though, I must say, only very powerful wizards and witches can contact the gate. It takes years to look deep enough inside yourself, to clear your mind, to see the Truth; not many have seen it," he explained. I nodded, that idea making sense, but I still couldn't get behind the idea of magic. I had grown up as a scientist, only looking for concrete evidence as proof.
"You're still having a hard time believing in magic," Dumbledore guessed, and I nodded. "Well, I guess it would be best if you just saw it for yourself," the old wizard admitted. He didn't stop and do some wand waving like I thought he would. Instead, he kept walking. We walked in comfortable silence for a few minutes, my mind still trying to wrap itself around the idea of magic and other worlds. All I did was give myself a headache.
I stopped in time with Dumbledore at the crest of the hill. From here, I could see the entirety of the castle and its grounds. The castle was crafted with excellent architecture, towers, gargoyles and all. There was a small hut on the end of an expanse of dark words, and looking to the left, I saw a massive tree. I glanced at the other end of the castle grounds and saw a large lake leading to what I assumed was the front entrance of the castle. I turned my attention back to Dumbledore as he began speaking once more.
"As you have seen the Truth, you will be able to see all of our magic, but the barriers will still try to keep you off the grounds of Hogwarts. That being said, I will grant you access to the grounds and castle," he explained as he removed a long stick from his robes. He turned to me, waved his wand, and muttered a few words under his breath. I flinched and closed my eyes, waiting for something to hurt, but the blow never came. Instead, there was a tingling sensation all throughout my body which quickly dissipated.
"There, now you will be able to enter the castle and grounds," he said happily as he tucked the wand back into his robes. "Normally, the barriers will keep any muggle technologies from working, so hopefully this spell will keep that leg working." I only stared at him, not sure how he could have already figured it out. There was only a small smile on his face and a glimmer in his eyes. "Let Madam Poppy Pomfrey, the school nurse, if you have any issues with it," he directed before we started our walk once more.
During the walk down the hill to the castle, I could only stare at the beautiful architecture of the castle. "Quite beautiful, isn't it?" Dumbledore said from slightly ahead of me. "It has been standing for over 1000 years," he informed me. I let out a whistle, deeply impressed.
"Say, you never told me what this job was," I said as we entered the castle, too busy looking at the stone work to pay attention to where we were going.
"Oh! I suppose you are correct," Dumbledore admitted, never pausing in his stride. "As I said before, this is Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and we are adding a new curriculum to the schedule this year; alchemy!" he said as he pushed open a grand set of doors. I stopped in my tracks, staring at the man in front of me.
"You expect me to teach?" I squeaked.
"This is correct, my dear Edward," Dumbledore said, continuing to walk forward. I had to scramble to catch up to the taller me.
"This was not part of the deal," I hissed as we passed by four neatly placed tables that lead to a raised platform which held another table. There were thirteen other adults, presumably other witches and wizards, sitting at the table. "I agreed to help protect a young boy," I argued.
"Yes," Dumbledore agreed, "but we need an alibi. It would be quite strange if there was a muggle following a student around. I also thought alchemy would be a great addition for the curriculum this year. This allows you to teach while also being on call in case anything were to happen to this student." I nodded, still not liking the arrangement, but there was no going back now.
"Who am I going to be protecting anyway?" I asked as we headed toward what I guessed was the staff table.
"A boy named Harry Potter."
Snape's POV
The room was chattering with the conversations of the twelve other teachers at the staff table in the Great Hall. Unlike the others, I was not overjoyed to be back in the school. Yes, I loved potions and I excelled at the subject, but it wasn't what I wanted, what I desired. Once again, I was passed up for the spot of Defense Against the Dark Arts post, and I was stuck in the dungeons teaching potions.
Other than a new teacher for Defense Against the Dark Arts, there was supposedly another class being added to the curriculum this year; alchemy. I didn't see why this class would be any benefit to our students, but I decided against arguing with the headmaster; he proved to know best or be right in most situations.
My thoughts drifted, listening to the conversations from the other teachers at the table. I heard Pomona talk back and forth with Septima about the new teacher.
"What do you think the new professor will be like, Septima?" Pomona asked the other woman sitting next to her.
"I have no idea, Pomona!" Septima admitted. "Albus hasn't said much about the teacher; he hasn't even given a gender! We don't know a name, age, where they come from, nothing!" the arithmancy professor reminded the other woman.
What Septima said was correct. We had no idea where this professor was coming from, what their name was, what kind of educational background, but Dumbledore promised that they were equipped to teach the subject.
"I've heard we'll be finding out this evening," Aurora supplied, leaning into the conversation. "Apparently the headmaster has gone to retrieve the alchemy professor," she added. Septima opened her mouth to respond, but she was cut off when the doors to the Great Hall opened inward.
This action revealed the headmaster in his normal perfect posture and light blue robes. By his side was a young man, not looking older than some of our own students. The young man had a worn suitcase over his shoulder and was wearing an obnoxious red trench coat with black pants, black boots on his feet. Under his coat, he was wearing a dress shirt and a black vest, but wasn't what had caught my attention. The most striking feature about this boy was in golden blonde hair and his matching golden eyes.
My eyes widened slightly. There was no possible way Dumbledore had brought another werewolf unto the castle to teach. I would have thought he would have learned his lesson from last year. Maybe he really was going senile with old age.
"Ah, attention please," Dumbledore called. If he hadn't caught everyone's attention with his entrance, he definitely had it now. "I would like to introduce you all to one of the new professors for this year, Edward Elric; he will be our alchemy professor," he said, gesturing to the boy beside him. My eyes widened as Edward stuck his hand up in the air in greeting after setting his suitcase at his feet.
"Albus, he's but a child!" Poppy said as she stood up. The same thought had been at the forefront of my mind, begging to be answered.
"I'm not a child!" Elric yelled, crossing his hands over his chest, his face red with anger. "I'm seventeen!" he added for emphasis, but it only made Poppy's reaction worse.
"Dumbledore, you can't be serious! He'll be teaching students the same age as him," Poppy pointed out, and I couldn't help but agree with her. While the headmaster had pulled some crazy stunts in the past, including last year, this was probably the worst one yet. The boy was barely of age, and he still had the temper of a five year old.
Instead of being angry, the boy just scoffed, rolling his golden eyes in disdain. "Yeah right. People my age are much too old to be learning alchemy. My brother and I learned when we were just four and five," he said, sounding unimpressed. "The younger you start them the better," he added. He then turned to the headmaster. "How old are the first years?" he asked.
"They are eleven," Dumbledore said, looking down at the boy. Edward looked thoughtful for a moment; I could see the gears turning in his head.
"Little too old for my liking, but it'll have to do," he said. I only stared at the boy in confusion. He was so brash and arrogant. If he thought he was going to be able to talk to the headmaster of the school like that, he would never survive the year. And with the planned events for the year, he could really make the entire school bad. "I won't be able to teach the six or seventh years; they're too old. The younger they are, the more open their minds are. It will be much easier for the younger students," he informed the headmaster.
"Alright, Edward. You know the subject better than I do, so you do what you think is right," he said. Elric looked thoughtful once more. "Anything within reason, of course," he added, seeing the look on the child's face.
"I'll have to let you know. There might be a few things," he said. Dumbledore nodded but didn't ask any further questions.
"Alright, with that said, lets get some dinner, and then you should probably be off to bed; the time difference between England and your homeland is quite great," Albus said. He then turned back to the rest of the teachers, addressing them. "Though Edward may be young," the boy scowled at that, "he is very accomplished in his field, and there is no one else I would rather have teaching the course." That statement was enough to silence the other teachers. Albus then led Edward up the platform, showing him to a seat beside Hagrid at the end of the table.
This was definitely going to be an interesting year indeed.