Chapter 54: First Class
Harry was a little surprised by the number of people who had arrived at his class on the day it started. He didn't think sixth- and seventh-year students chose to attend for homework in those years; they needed plenty of time to study and get good grades. But it wasn't as if everyone was there; there were twenty sixth-year students and twelve seventh-year students.
The rest were first, second, and third years, from all houses, and all the students in those years. Then there were about twenty fourth- and fifth-year students in total. In the end, the Great Hall had to be adapted so Harry could teach his first class. He wasn't satisfied, but he grimaced slightly at all the questions that might arise.
So, when the class started, Harry explained some important things.
"First of all, I have to warn you," Harry said seriously, "This class is called magical theory, so many things will be just that, theories. However, many of them are still true. For example, the time and place where magic originated. Being so ancient, many things can't be proven, but that doesn't mean it's a total lie; after all, magic follows humanity closely."
He looked around the Great Hall and nodded as he saw everyone listening attentively, a little impressive considering there were several Slytherins in the room.
"Good..." Harry nodded once more before pointing his wand at the large blackboard behind him. This was his; he bought one so he wouldn't have to erase it too often.
When his wand moved, he wrote two or three words: Homo Sapiens Sapiens, surprising some Muggle-borns and a few half-bloods.
"The name Homo sapiens sapiens is the scientific name given to anatomically modern humans." Harry waved his wand once more, revealing two figures, female and male.
"Homo sapiens sapiens is said to have evolved from an earlier species and originated in sub-Saharan Africa. This dates back to roughly 200,000 to 100,000 years ago. Now... perhaps you're wondering why I started this?" Harry smiled slightly as a few people nodded.
"The reason is that magic didn't originate in Europe, Asia, or even the Americas or Latin America. Magic originated, like anatomically modern humans, in Africa. At that time, it was impossible to have wands or scrolls; humans barely knew how to write. But despite this, they had their ways of communicating."
The things on the board remained, and Harry moved to the side, magically drawing another word: Rituals.
"The ancient magic of that time could only consist of rituals, and they couldn't even be called powerful. The only way those ancient humans could perform magic was by using positions, numbers, artifacts of various kinds, or even their own blood."
Harry stopped when he saw a raised hand. When he saw whose hand it belonged to, he laughed.
"Shall we start, Hermione?" The poor girl blushed as everyone looked at her and laughed softly.
"Well, go ahead and ask."
"Since the first magic might have been rituals, why are they mostly banned now? I mean, even if some might be a little dangerous, wouldn't the necessary permits and oversight be enough?"
Some purebloods frowned, not out of contempt or anything like that, but because, surprisingly, they agreed with Hermione.
"You're missing something important, Hermione," Harry said seriously. "Ancient humanity didn't know it was dangerous, especially when it came to magic. After all, they were the first humans to discover magic and use it. Today, we have an established society full of rules. And even if some of those rules could be broken without causing innocent harm, like everywhere, there are good and bad people. If rituals aren't prohibited, then they could cause disasters, injuries, even death. That's the reason behind their prohibition."
"Many say magic is a wonderful thing, and it is, but it's also a double-edged sword. You, those of you who have a wand, not only have an object that can heal and cause wonderful effects, you are also weapons that can harm others."
"If those kinds of prohibitive laws didn't exist, then the world would be much more dangerous and chaotic."
"Now..." Harry laughed a little to lighten the mood. "Even though I've researched everything I can, finding information about magic from those times is complicated, if not difficult. Therefore, we'll skip directly to the most developed times right now."
"I've already explained where and when anatomically modern humans began to exist, and magic as well. Now, let's skip to when spells, more complicated rituals, and magic wands already existed."
"All of that begins in one place, and where the important advances were made: Mesopotamia."
"Uruk was the birthplace of calculus and pictographic writing, used on tablets."
"Friends, do you think Merlin was powerful? Then you're underestimating the wizards before him, especially when you think the most famous Merlin is the one from Hogwarts. No, no, that Merlin is actually a Merlin, but not the one who fought Morgana and was King Athur Pendragon's advisor. The time doesn't match the creation of Merlin." Hogwarts, which was five centuries later."
"Well, I'm getting a little ahead of myself..." Harry smiled as he continued his class, explaining the history of ancient civilizations, their mythology, and how they could perform magic, their rituals, and more. Many let their quills write thanks to a Dictation Charm and listened attentively. He went from Uruk to the Egyptians and their rituals and the cursed magic they left behind in their tombs and treasures, things curse breakers are associated with today. He then moved on to India with its creation of the snake-summoning spell, a bit of its history, and the creation of flying carpets. He continued with Europe and the creation of the wand before Christ.
The final part of his class was related to dark magic and the place where it was most used at that time: Greece. Following this, he named Herpo the Foul, famous for pioneering a multitude of forbidden arts and being the creator of the first Basilisk.
As the class was about to end, Harry paused for questions. Surprisingly, the first was a sixth-year Slytherin.
"I realized how widely used Dark Magic was in ancient times; however, also how dangerous a simple Levitation Spell can be. I mean, that could also kill someone. So what makes one forbidden and the other not?"
"Good, important question, actually," Harry nodded seriously.
"First, this also relates to my previous answer to Hermione. We all live in an established society. There are people with similar opinions, but also those who think differently. For example, Hogwarts teaches magic for everyday life and your future jobs; the teachers serve so that you have the judgment necessary to avoid harming innocent people or putting yourself in dangerous situations that would lead you to break the laws of wizarding society."
"Now, Hogwarts also teaches some dark spells in Defense Against the Dark Arts; this is for defense, as the name of the class implies. But, it also theoretically teaches you about more dangerous things so you can defend yourself against them. After all, if you don't know about them, then it would be difficult to defend yourself if you ended up in a complicated situation related to dark magic."
"And to be even more precise with my answer, there's actually a reason why one is forbidden and the other isn't: magic, although it works through reasoning, also works through will and desire."
"Many spells of Dark magic requires you to want to cause harm. For example, the three unforgivables are a perfect example. Those three spells aren't actually prohibited and punishable by law just because of their effects, but because of how they're cast.
"Many people think, 'Ahh... the Dark Lord is an expert in Dark Magic for using the Three Unforgivables. And indeed, he is, but these three Unforgivable spells, beyond mastery, require a superior desire and will."
"You... would you see yourself killing or torturing someone?" Harry asked, and the boy paled before shaking his head. He might be a Slytherin, even a bit of a pureblood, but he wasn't a murderer.
"That's good. To use Avada Kedavra, you need the desire and the will to kill without fear; to use Crucio, you need the desire to torture your target. And to use Imperius, you need the will and desire to control and dominate your target."
"So, at the same time, a lot of dark magic works that way. You need to want it, to really desire the results of those spells. In the end, when you start using said magic, you'll end up unraveling your darkest desires and becoming more and more attached to dark magic. It's not that this magic controls you, but you'll start to feel more attached to it because it fulfills your desires. That's the reason it's forbidden and why many say dark magic controls you and drives you mad."
Harry gave a wry smile to the boy who asked, "Wingradium Leviosa won't do that; it simply allows you to levitate something, and even if you levitate someone and let them fall, that person could survive. They could even use magic themselves, afraid of heights, and save themselves. The risk of death is much lower, almost nonexistent."
"Are you satisfied with the answer?"
"Yes... thank you," the Slytherin boy nodded.
After he answered, other people asked their questions; Harry responded without difficulty, but when the class finally ended, he became a little lost in thought. At first, he hadn't thought his class would be so popular. Even the Slytherins attended, behaved respectfully, and were curious to learn more!
It was at that moment that Harry realized that young people like him truly had a thirst for knowledge. But they might currently feel uncomfortable around Voldemort, or be misunderstood for researching or studying something someone else didn't like.
"It seems I'll have to change my plans a bit," came the whisper in the now-empty Great Hall. Harry didn't really plan on spending much longer in this world. He was just waiting for Voldemort's death, which would actually be in two days; no one besides himself, the Ministry of Magic, Dumbledore, and Snape knew this. The Potions professor surrendered himself to Voldemort, asking only for leniency with his judgment and the chance to mend his ways—that was all he wanted.
His real plan was to travel to Rias's world and live there, but it seemed this world still held opportunities and things he could improve.
With those thoughts, he left the Great Hall, but ran into three people.
Hermione, Daphne Greengrass, and her sister, Astoria Greengrass.
"P—Professor Potter?" Daphne was a little unsure of what to call him.
"Yes?" Harry looked at her curiously.
"My parents want to talk to you. They want to know about... well, you know."
"Ah..." Harry remembered when he looked at Astoria. Honestly, he had completely forgotten about that. But since he already knew what caused her curse and how to cure it with his holy magic: Curse Removal, he could deliver the elixir to them in no time.
"Yes... In fact, I'm done. You can tell your parents I'll wait for them at the same place in Hogsmeade."
"Well," Daphne nodded, a cheerful twinkle in her eyes. Astoria was a little surprised that she could be cured of her curse. She bowed to Harry, thanking him, before leaving with her sister.
"What was that?" Hermione asked curiously.
"I'm sorry, Hermione. But that's a personal matter for the Greengrass family. I can't talk without your permission. And I'm sorry, it looks like we'll have to chat later."
Hermione just nodded slowly before leaving, sighing a little.
. . .
Inside a private room, Gareth and Cynthia Greengrass were excited to see Harry Potter's entrance—well, more so Cynthia than her husband.
"Mr. Potter, thank you for coming. My daughters told me you might have discovered something," Gareth greeted, offering Harry a seat.
Harry simply sat down and shrugged. "If it weren't a curse and just an illness, she could have easily been treated in a Muggle hospital. Unfortunately, her illness is caused by a magical curse."
Harry shook his head slightly as the family listened attentively. "What the curse causes in Astoria's body is called venous thrombosis. The curse works with her magic, and it damages her body. What happens in her veins is that the curse causes her blood to go from a liquid to a solid, forming what are called blood clots."
"By the way, a clot that forms inside a vein or artery is called a thrombus, hence the name of the disease." Harry took something out of a pocket inside his coat and enlarged it with a charm: it was a purple potion.
"There it is, you can take it and the curse will disappear. However, that doesn't mean the symptoms will disappear. The potion will remove the curse, but not the blood clots already formed. She needs to take care of herself and stay healthy."
The Greengrass parents stared in amazement at the potion that could remove a blood curse.
"Astoria, drink the potion quickly!" Cynthia said happily, urging her daughter to drink it. Astoria hesitated a little, but walked over and uncapped the bottle before drinking it all and being surprised.
"Tastes like grapes..." she murmured, staring at the empty bottle. But suddenly, her hands, arms, and legs began to release a dark mist that slowly rose toward the ceiling before disappearing.
"And... there it is... curse removed," Harry commented.
"Thank you very much, Mr. Potter," Gareth immediately thanked her. But even with his stoic expression, Harry could see sincerity in the man's eyes, as well as relief and joy.
"All right, that was the deal after all. Oh... by the way, about this, I'm going to make a move a little while later that might be troubling to some people."
"What are you planning to do?" Gareth frowned immediately.
"What?... Nothing too important, man. I'll just create an eternity for future generations," Harry smiled mysteriously, annoying Gareth a little. Harry simply waved goodbye as he left the place, but as he left, he walked through the snow with a serious expression.
He took out his phone and looked at the quest just for himself.
[New Event Available!: Magical Pioneer]
[The magical world is wasting all its potential out of fear or arrogance toward non-magical people!]
[Create a magical study and research organization. Grow the magical world and introduce them to a new era of magic]
–Rewards–
[50,000 CP]
[Eyes of the Wizard King]
–Secondary Objective–
[Prove the existence of the magical world to the rest of the non-magical world. At the same time, present a way for those people to use magic.
–Secondary Reward–
[World Tree]
"This mission... isn't really difficult if we take the primary objective into account. But the level changes to extreme when it comes to the secondary objective. A way for non-magical people to use magic? That's simply too extreme to ask. In the first place, we can use magic because of our gene that allows us to do so."
"However, even non-magical people have spiritual energy. And magical particles are similarly everywhere in the world, not just in magical places," Harry sighed, unsure of what to do. He could easily complete the first mission, but looking at the secondary objective, he felt sick. With effort, he could accomplish this, but the repercussions would simply be enormous.
"How complicated..." Harry groaned, clutching his temples.
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