Academy of the Aberrant Chapter 3

I do not own Harry Potter/Highschool DXD or any other referenced franchise, only my own OCs.

…

…

[The Next Day…]

My eyes flutter open with alarm as I get up, looking around warily while my hand instinctively reaches for anything nearby.

My hand lands on a long stick, something I eventually recognize to be my wand after a few deep breaths. I tensely stand up, looking around the room with a sense of calm now that I remember where I am.

… Hogwarts.

I’d say a cheesy line like ‘So it wasn’t just a dream?’ but I have no recollection of having dreams, not that I have much beyond yesterday’s events and whatever random nonsense was put into my brain.

I stare at my wand, having learned its properties thanks to Le Fay yesterday while we were chatting.

Cedar Wood, Horned Serpent Horn Core, 10 inches and flexible. Those were the materials of my wand. The only odd part about it was the Horned Serpent Horn Core, but it wasn’t much beyond being an uncommon choice for cores.

It’s supposedly quite powerful, even emitting a low musical tone to warn its owner of danger at times. My type of wand, I’d say.

It’s also sensitive to Parseltongue. So… that’s cool. (Not)

Placing the wand down and turning away, I take a few more deep breaths to ease my nerves. Once that’s done, I finally start preparing for my first real day at Hogwarts.

It’s pretty early right now. Like… really really early. I didn’t even plan to wake up for another three hours. The sun is barely out and I don’t even hear any birds chirping.

… Are there birds chirping in Hogwarts? Probably.

Despite my early awakening, I feel myself overflowing with a ton of energy. It’s like I had slept for an entire day… Even though I should’ve only been asleep for a few hours at most.

… Interesting.

An effect of Hogwarts? Or… Me?

I shake my head, dismissing my thoughts for now as I head to the bathroom to change into my school robes and prepare for the day. I carefully place my wand in its holster, arrange my school supplies, and then slump down on my bed with confusion.

… I feel anxiety gnawing at my stomach, but I don’t actually know what to do. Should I practice some spells? My classes today, in order, are Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, and lastly, Physical Conditioning.

The last one took me by slight surprise when I first read my schedule, but it makes sense now why it’s here. Wizards aren’t gonna be able to match the monsters of this world by simply waving their wands around and yelling Latin words. They’re going to need a lot more than that.

Oh god… Swoledemort, Dumbbelldore, Holly Squatter (The girl-who-lifted), and others are all going to be a reality thanks to this new curriculum. The day Voldemort pulls up to Hogwarts with a six-pack is when I’ll have had enough of this world.

I hold my wand in my hand, slowly fiddling with it while tilting my head at the walls of my dorm. I begin casting a few spells using the memories I had gained from absorbing the Charms textbook, feeling myself grow fascinated as my hands and mouth perfectly follow the instructions and cast the spells almost flawlessly.

“Flipendo.” I quietly intone as light green energy shoots out from my wand, the pillow I had set up flying away at high speeds once impacted by the energy and bouncing off the wall harmlessly. “Accio.” I recall the pillow to myself, placing it on the bed again and narrowing my eyes.

“Flipendo Maxima.” I attempt to cast the most powerful variation of the knockback jinx, my magic resisting my inexperienced pull immediately and failing to even light the tip of my wand with anything.

How interesting… I did not have that spell in my acquired memories, but it was briefly mentioned in the Charms book under the normal Flipendo section. It seems I won’t be able to cast spells all willy-nilly just by using the little knowledge I have of them.

I try a few other spells that I find useful, getting distracted with the bouncy floor once I Spongify it and jump on it like a child for a few minutes. I eventually remember that I still needed to practice other stuff before it was time for the tour, sitting back down and extending my palm out.

… Can I dragon ball this stuff? Go, KI blast!

I try to summon my magical energy into my hand, feeling the energy move to the edge of my palms but not out. I keep trying for a few minutes, doing my best to expel the energy out of my hands and form any reaction. Sadly, nothing is ever released and I’m left disappointed as I sigh and place my hand on my bed.

*BOOM*

I’m violently knocked off the bed as my hand releases a shockwave upon touching the bedsheets, sending me into the wall harshly. I let out a groan and quickly widened my eyes in horror, looking at the raw flesh on my hand after the explosion as blood began to pour out.

Before I could panic further, the flesh begins slowly (but noticeably to the human eye) mending together. I let out a gasp of awe and slight pain, staring with amazement as my hand takes only a single minute to fully heal back until there’s not even a scar left.

My eyes darted around the room with slight alarm, staring at the now ruined bed sheets and mattress as well as the blood and flesh scattered around the room tensely. My hands reach for my wand again, raising it into the air shakily.

“Scourgify, Reparo.” I cast in quick succession, watching the bed sheets and mattress slowly mend together while returning to their shiny white appearance. After a few more careful casts of those two spells on my clothes and the rest of the room, I slowly sit back down on my bed with a disturbed expression.

… What the hell was that? I didn’t register everything at first since I wanted to fix the mess I made, but why did my hand suddenly explode like that? Did my magic…

I also healed again really quickly. The first time was on the train after the note burned up and my thumb was burned, the burn disappeared in seconds back then… Is this a wizard ability in this new world?

I furrow my brows in confusion, channeling the littlest amount of energy into my palm and slowly place it on the bed sheets. My hand harmlessly touches the soft fabric, not causing any explosive reactions much to my astonishment.

I slowly increase the energy output, carefully moving my hand back every few seconds in case it decides to explode. I eventually bring my hand up while channeling a sizable amount of energy into it and my eyes widen as the bedsheets stick to my hand, rising into the air while glued to my palm.

I quickly stop channeling energy into my palm, the bedsheets gently falling to the bed immediately after. I blink in surprise while moving my hand to the bed, channeling the same amount of energy while watching in fascination as the bedsheets stick to my hand again.

I channel a little more energy with a curious look, blinking in surprise as my hand is flung a few inches away from the bedsheets. I place it back down and channel a little more energy, my hand immediately being knocked back.

… I am not hurt though.

I smile and chuckle, taking my wand out and aiming it at the walls.

“Spongify. Spongify. Spongify. Spongify. Spongify. Spongify.” I cast Spongify on every surface in the room, wobbling on the rubbery floor once I stand up before grinning as my feet stick to the ground easily once I channel some energy into them. I raise the output being released into my feet as I’m suddenly launched into the air, my head impacting the roof and bouncing against it harmlessly.

I land on the floor, bouncing on it like a trampoline for a few seconds before standing back up while laughing.

… So, I think I figured out something fun. Who knew Wizards could do so many fun things?

A lot of people, probably.

I dismissed the Spongify effect using “Finite Incantatem.”, casting the counterspell on all of the surfaces I had softened. I feel the floor slowly harden back to its original form, allowing me to stand easily without needing to stick to it.

I check my clothes for any sign of wrinkling or dirt, making sure no blood from earlier still remains on them. I’d rather not have to deal with whatever drama would happen if someone saw blood on my clothes on the first day.

Let me do one last check-up on everything, no reason to mess up on my first day out of carelessness.

…

…

“How was your sleep Ritchie?” Ravel questions with a bright smile while we walk, making our way to the location we were instructed to gather at for the tour. There wasn’t anyone else with us at the moment.

I was about to leave when I heard the door knocking and found her outside waiting for me, apparently having decided to accompany me to the area we were going to meet up at anyway. I didn’t exactly mind, so I simply allowed her to follow me around as I got my stuff and left.

“It was quite good, thank you. Did you sleep well yourself?” I politely answered back with a small smile, returning the question as she nodded her head.

“Quite. I was able to ship my bed from my home to the dorm, so it was just like home,” … Rich people stuff. Who the hell ships their bed to their dorm? At least she didn’t buy a new one... “I knew I would need to bring my own bed after the dozen other ones my parents bought didn’t feel right.”

…

Ravel giggled at the exasperated look on my face, hiding her mouth with her sleeve as I shook my head with a sigh.

“If it makes you feel better, the other twelve beds are being used for the other rooms in my dorm. I just didn’t like them enough to put them in my room.” She elaborates with a smirk, making me simply sigh exasperatedly again.

“Is that so?” I responded simply, deciding that I didn’t want to stress about rich people anymore.

She nods with amusement and we walk for a few minutes with her chatting with me about different things, with me mostly responding with as few words as possible without being impolite or seeming uninterested.

We eventually enter the Ravenclaw common room, and a familiar brunette spots us immediately and begins to walk toward us without hesitation. Hermione waves slightly at the both of us, a small smile on her face that only seemed slightly nervous.

I don’t blame her at all. It’s the first day of Hogwarts, even I have the jitters.

“Good morning you two! Are you guys ready for our first day?” Hermione asked with a slight tone of excitement, obscuring her nervousness unintentionally.

“Good morning Hermione. I believe I’ve prepared as best as I can for today, so I won’t bother stressing myself about it more than I need to. How are you holding up?” Ravel answers first, smiling brightly at Hermione as the brunette brightens up at the question.

“I’m doing fantastic! After all of us split up yesterday I took a little peek at the books of today’s classes and it was really interesting. Just a peek though…” She exclaimed excitedly while smiling, her smile straining slightly at the last part as if worried we’d care about her getting too far ahead in her books.

We didn’t.

“I’ve also taken some time to read my books. Transfiguration is quite the subject.” I finally contributed to the conversation as I’d been silently standing there this entire time until now.

“Oh! I agree! The subject was definitely one of the more interesting ones I read about. What about you, Ravel?” Hermione nods to me with a slight bit of enthusiasm and then turns to Ravel to ask for her input.

“Ah. I’m a devil, not a witch. I don’t really take the same subjects that you do. My classes mostly just include Advanced Magical Studies and Demonic Energy Control with Professor Mephisto Pheles, not including the customary physical classes everyone has to go to. I can choose to enter Botany and Runecraft if I want, but they’re only an obligation for other races.” Ravel admits with a regretful smile, taking both Hermione and me by surprise.

Mephisto…?

“Did you say Mephisto Pheles?” I ask with furrowed brows and a puzzled expression as she tilts her head and nods slowly. “Isn’t he an extremely old devil from the original Lucifer’s time?”

It’s a bit of a risk speaking about the ‘original Lucifer’ when I don’t know what changes happened in this world, but I’m certain that stuff couldn’t have changed since it was before Hogwarts was founded (I think).

“Yes… I’m slightly surprised you know of him, but it does make sense considering how he’s the chairman of Grauzauberer. Professor Pheles teaches Demonic Energy Control to devils and Advanced Magical Studies to all students that aren’t wizards, mostly because wizards already have their own classes for magical studies and it would be rather counter-productive adding another…” Ravel elaborates further with a tilted head, her tone holding a slight bit of respect. Hermione seemed to be quite interested but was quickly disappointed once she realized she couldn’t go to either of the two classes the ancient devil taught.

… I guess it makes sense that Mephisto teaches here. At least when it comes to Demonic Energy. A hoarder of knowledge and one of the oldest devils alive… I wonder…

“Why would he choose to teach here though, if you don’t mind me asking?” I ask Ravel curiously, frowning in thought as she tilts her head at the odd question.

“I’m not sure. You’d have to ask him if you wished to know, but I only know he’s been teaching here for at least a century or two.” She shrugged with an apologetic smile which I responded to with a nod of acceptance.

“Where’s Holly and Le Fay?” Hermione asks the both of us once we move past that subject, glancing around to see if she missed them while standing around.

All five of us hung out for a bit yesterday once Holly escaped her fans. It wasn’t anything noteworthy, we just all chatted for a bit about different things before splitting for the night. That’s how Hermione knows Le Fay.

“Probably getting here. Le Fay said she was going to come to the tour, but Holly might abstain. I think it’s quite obvious why.” I gesture to the few dozen kids standing around, not needing to explain why she would want to abstain from coming to the tour.

“Ah. Yes, that makes sense.” Ravel’s eyes widen in understanding and she quickly nods in agreement, looking slightly disappointed.

Hermione laughed awkwardly while staring at the kids around. She has already seen the Holly experience yesterday when Holly was crowded by the Ravenclaws, or whatever it was that happened. “I suppose we’ll just have to wait for Le Fay and see if Holly will come or not…”

Speaking of the excitable blonde.

“Hey guys! Are you guys ready for our first day??” Le Fay suddenly pops up, moving down the stairs from the girl dorms and speeding our way cheerfully.

“Ah, Le Fay! How was your sleep yesterday? I think I’ve sufficiently prepared for today, but I am still kind of nervous…” Hermione greets the excitable girl with the same amount of cheer, matching the bright smile Le Fay has.

Ravel and I greet the girl as well and we begin chatting for a few minutes while waiting for the tour to begin.

Holly slips into the group at some point, grumbling something with annoyance while looking quite groggy. We all just have a small laugh about it before moving on to not irritate her further.

Eventually, the same Prefect from yesterday (Penelope something) gathers us around and clears her throat, beginning to lay down some ground rules about the tour.

“-and I will take no responsibility if you stray too far from the group and get lost. It’s not my duty to babysit you, I’m here to show you around. Now,-” I thoughtlessly nod my head at her as she speaks, my mind drifting elsewhere as I ignore the explanation in favor of looking around.

I should probably make some friends. I doubt sticking to my current friend group (consisting of only girls, and rather influential girls as well) will do me any good if I’m not seen with others as well.

I noticed that once we began moving behind Penelope that the girls slowly split off to speak to other girls, and I decided that I should probably do the same. I looked to the edges of the group and found a lone boy with blonde hair, silently staring at everything around him while following the group.

Further inspection showed that, while he was unnaturally short for his age, he was extremely jacked. Not like the bulging muscles of a bodybuilder or anything, but his biceps stretched the sleeves of the robe he wore. I could still see that he was a wizard, so this wasn’t someone from a different race.

I decided to approach him after a few moments, finding myself quite intrigued about who this could be. He noticed my approach and slowly turned to me, not speaking anything.

“Hello, my name is Richard Lee. I noticed you were standing by yourself, so I hope you don’t mind if I walk with you.” I offer him a small smile as I slow my pace to match his, watching him blink slowly at my words before nodding.

“... I don’t mind. I’m Neville Longbottom, it’s nice to meet you, Richard.” He introduces himself with a low tone and a small nod, not noticing the surprise I feel once he does.

Neville? In Ravenclaw? How interesting… He looks and acts extremely different too.

Wait, I didn’t notice since I was distracted at the time… I remember seeing and hearing Neville’s orb count. He had a Ravenclaw, a Hufflepuff, and a Superior Gryffindor thanks to his blood purity. I thought he had chosen Gryffindor…

“It’s nice to meet you as well Neville. You’re a wizard like me, right?” I wait for him to nod before continuing. “I noticed that you seem very built physically, do you train a lot if you don’t mind me asking?” He blinks again in surprise, silently nodding again as his face seems to drift elsewhere in thought.

“... Yes. I used to believe that I was a squib because of my lack of magic when I was younger,” His face hardened slightly, clearly reminiscing something. “so I decided to train my body instead since I thought my magic wasn’t going to manifest. Thankfully, I was just a late bloomer in the end…” He explains a slight bit about why he was so muscled, trailing off a little at the end as I release a sound of understanding.

So he’s Mashle. Wait, he’s short… Asta.

I don’t see a sword on him though. Unfortunate.

“I see… That’s quite admirable of you, Neville. I’m not very aware of the supernatural, but I think that it takes quite a bit of tenacity to do what you did.” I notice his eyes widen slightly at my words, a small smile reaching his face as he nods.

“... Thank you. Your words are kind.” He speaks quietly with a tone of gratitude as we finally exit Hogwarts, most of the Ravenclaws staring at the outside with awe and wonder.

I spot several smaller buildings strewn across the fields of the castle, some looking familiar while others… well I have no fucking idea what they are. I spotted the Greenhouse, Quidditch stadium, and even Hagrid’s hut in the distance. But there were many, many other unknown buildings all around.

“If you don’t mind me asking, Richard, you are the one who had all four Superior Spheres yesterday… correct?" Neville asks me once we begin following after Penelope again, heading towards the greenhouse.

I let out a few dry laughs while nodding my head. “Yeah, that was me. Before you ask, I have no idea why I have any of them.” I offer a small helpless shrug to him, nipping any questions about the superior spheres in the bud.

“Ah. I see.” He doesn’t sound too disappointed at the answer, merely blinking and nodding his head in understanding before looking around the greenhouse with interest.

Neville was quite good at Herbology in Canon, no? I wonder if that’s the same here despite his, well, differences from his counterpart.

“Hey you two, do you mind if we join you?” Some guys suddenly approached Neville and me and quickly enlisted us into their group. Neville seemed quite surprised but I simply went with the flow and smiled amiably at the boys while nodding.

“Sure thing. I’m Richard Lee and this is Neville Longbottom, nice to meet you.” I greet the friendly group as they all nod and smile at both Neville and I.

“I’m Anthony Goldstein! My friends here are Terry Boot and Michael Corner.” He gestures to each one as they greet us and we begin chatting about different things (like my superior spheres again) for the rest of the tour.

It seems it's almost time for my first class…

…

…

I had split off from the tour group once we had finished the tour to wander around for a bit before classes, mostly just reaffirming the places I can remember in Hogwarts while taking some time to make myself familiar with the new areas.

I did not visit the (possibly nonexistent) Room of Requirement yet as many students were still out and about and could possibly see me entering it. I wandered around the floor though and, well, the painting of the dude teaching trolls how to dance is there. I forgot its name though.

Anyways, I’m on my way to Transfiguration now since it’s my first class. I skipped breakfast to try and explore more, but I don’t feel too hungry anyway so I should be fine until lunch.

Reaching the door a few minutes before the bell, I entered it and started looking around at everything with a look of curiosity on my face. I noticed Holly, Hermione, and Le Fay sitting at the back quietly with the latter two girls chatting without noticing me. Holly notices me immediately though and waves me over.

I nod to her and continue looking around for a second, spotting Neville with the earlier boys we were talking with. We nod at each other and I look to the teacher’s desk, finding a cat standing on top of the desk that I guess is Professor McGonagall’s animagus form.

Well, hello there…

…

[Professor McGonagall POV]

Staring at the boy enigma of this generation, I’m once again forced to wonder what exactly he is.

Albus had instructed all teachers and staff to treat him and the other ‘stars’ of this generation fairly, but also not to give them any special treatment (unless the situation called for such) to remain equitable. I would not normally be against such a thing, but his insistence on not discerning the boy’s origins is quite… odd.

His records do not show anything that would grant him even a single superior sphere in any house, yet he has managed to get all four. Not to mention the magic control which he had displayed several times during the Sorting. One young first-year student managed to sense several scrying techniques from some of the most powerful beings in Hogwarts.

I will admit that I could tell that they were not attempting to be particularly discreet, but it does not change the fact that the boy sensed their scrying despite being a mere first year.

Albus did not seem bothered at all by the boy’s existence once I expressed my concerns, reassuring me that he had spoken to the boy and that he was sure the boy was not going to cause any trouble.

I knew better though. Young boys like him could easily taint if exposed to the bad, rotted apples around. He will need many guiding hands to ensure that he does not become a troublemaker like the Weasley twins… or the Gremory heiress.

It’s always the redheads. Truly, I would’ve clawed at my hair if young Richard was a redhead as well.

I clear my thoughts for now and continue staring blankly at the boy in my Animagus form, watching him approach my desk with a curious expression on his face alongside a small smile.

“Hello, Professor.” He greets me with a slightly wider smile as he begins rubbing my head, confusing me immensely as I almost stare at him incredulously in my cat form.

Is he aware that I am his teacher? If so, why is he still petting me as if I was a normal cat? If he is not aware, he will surely be extremely embarrassed once I reveal myself… How amusing.

“Mreow.” I swat his hands away and narrow my cat eyes at him, gesturing for him to take a seat with my tail. I notice the lack of surprise on his face as he simply blinks and nods slowly, moving to take a seat as I telepathically close the door and jump into the air.

The entire class gasps in surprise as I exit out of my Animagus form, their shock and awe making my lips twitch upwards despite the many times I’ve heard them before from my previous first years. Although, the boy himself did not seem shocked, only amused and slightly awed.

… Yet another confusing thing about the boy. How is he aware of my Animagus form? Not to mention how he does not seem to conceal himself at all. I do not know if I should be concerned or impressed.

“Welcome to your first year of Transfiguration. I am Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall, but you may refer to me as Professor McGonagall during your time in Hogwarts. I will be teaching you Transfiguration for the next few years, one of the most complex and dangerous magic you will ever learn at Hogwarts.” I sternly stare at the awestruck students with a light glare as I speak. “Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned.”

I suppose I will simply have to wait and see for now. I hope you live up to your potential, Richard Lee.

…

[Main POV]

Transfiguration was quite an easy class so far, mostly because I had the entire curriculum memorized perfectly to the point where everything I was instructed to do succeeded on the first try.

I managed to get our house 15 house points; 5 by answering a few of Minerva’s questions, and 10 by successfully changing the toothpick’s color and shape on the first try.

Despite what my expectations were at first, Le Fay was the one who took second place after me. It wasn’t even because she failed on her first try, I was simply given my toothpick first which is why I had first place. She easily transfigured the toothpick on her first try once it was given to her and earned some house points herself without even a hint of struggle on her smiling face.

Hermione and Holly did not fall behind though, both of the girls quickly transfiguring their respective toothpicks after a few tries. Hermione seemed to rely on memorizing the instructions from her notes while Holly was just coasting off her talent with minimal help from the instructions given.

Once we were dismissed by Minerva, it was time for Charms class with our House Aid Flitwick. The short man had enthusiastically introduced himself to us, having been busy doing everything on behalf of Azazel- dealing with the start of term preparations yesterday and not being able to properly greet the new students personally.

His lesson was slightly laxer than Minerva’s, not immediately throwing us into our first lesson but actually introducing us to the subject instead and answering many of the curious questions the students had. By the end of the class, he had proposed that we all try a relatively simple spell (Lumos, obviously) which the girls and I quickly cast with ease.

We managed to gain 20 points overall by casting the spell on the first try, but that may have been favoritism since I noticed that a lot of students cast the spell in just a few tries themselves. Not that I’m complaining, of course.

Our next destination was Potions where Alan Rickman in all of his charismatic glory stood. There was a slight difference in appearance, of course, this Snape having less of that charisma Alan Rickman had that made movie Snape an actually likable character.

We shared this class with the Hufflepuffs thankfully, so we didn’t have to deal with the Slytherins like Harry did in the original. That didn’t stop Snape from hovering over the students menacingly, paying close attention to my group which consisted of Holly, Hermione, and Le Fay.

I wanted to stick with Neville since I knew he was not the best in Potions in the original series, but Holly insisted that I stick with them after I sat with him in Charms. I just hope he doesn’t have any accidents.

Once we were all seated in the gloomy Potions class that was surely breaking some Department of Education hygiene requirements, Snape began taking attendance while slowly calling out the names of every student.

“... Holly Potter.” He calls out with hardly any fluctuation in his voice, barely glancing up at her raised hand before moving on without any further fuss. I couldn’t help but raise my eyebrows at the sight, surprised at his utter lack of interest or aggression.

… What the heck? Shouldn’t you be like ‘Ah, our newest celebrity’ or whatever it was you said in the books?

Wait, Harry Potter was both a book and a movie? Hold on, I just realized I recognized what people looked like thanks to their movie counterparts. I even knew the name of Snape’s actor. Oh whatever, I won’t bother thinking about this too much.

Snape begins giving the same speech he had done in the original book, sounding just as quiet and disinterested as what was described. He eventually began his lesson, instructing the class about a potion of cure boils as the sound of notebooks and pens (Yes, we were not given the stupid quills and parchments) scribbling against each other echoed in the dim room.

Hermione raised her hand at some point in the lecture to ask a question with a very keen expression. I quickly grabbed her hand and pulled it down though, knowing Snape would either ignore her or berate her for ‘disrupting the class’.

“Mr. Lee, please tell me what would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood since you seem to be so engrossed in other people’s raised hands rather than the potion’s recipe.” Snape immediately zones in on me though, easily noticing what I had done and quickly calling me out to try and catch me lacking.

Too bad for him, I read the books! (I think)

“That would be a very powerful sleeping potion known as the Draught of Living Death, Professor.” I answered him with a ‘thoughtful’, innocent look on my face as his eyes narrowed slightly.

“... Correct. Then tell me, where would you look if I asked you to find a bezoar?” Oh you poor, poor soul. At least ask questions that aren’t the ones in the books.

“A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and could save you from most poisons, so I’d search there, Professor.” I make a show of furrowing my brows to think, acting like I was struggling a lot more than I actually was. His eyes narrow slightly more at my answer, clearly feeling some form of displeasure or at least an iota of surprise at my answer.

“... You are correct again, Mr. Lee. Tell me, what's the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?” … Okay, he doesn’t seem to be particularly enthused right now. He might actually begin asking me something outside of the Harry Potter first-book questions.

“... If I’m not wrong Professor, I believe that they are the same plant that also goes by the name of Aconite?” I act slightly hesitant while giving this answer, noticing a slightly smug smile that was barely noticeable appearing on Snape’s face.

“That is correct. Lastly, what are the ingredients of a Forgetfulness Potion, Mr. Lee?” He asks with an intense tone that would surely have pressured me if not for my quick thinking.

I placed my hand on my Potions book, absorbing its content at a record pace as I felt my head blank for a few seconds. I raise my hand to my chin thoughtfully, closing my eyes to cover up the information influx entering me while humming to show my thought.

After a few tense seconds where I did not answer, Snape spoke again with a slightly impatient tone.

“... Well, it seems you-” “Lethe river water, Mistletoe berries, and Valerian sprigs. I believe that should be correct, Professor?”

Snape’s eyes widened slightly at my interruption as I opened my eyes and answered confidently, taking my hand away from the Potions book and finally stopping the overflow of information that was entering my brain.

It took me a few seconds, but I was able to find it with some ‘skimming’, so to say.

“... That would be correct, Mr. Lee. Next time, try to not waste my time by taking so long to answer. That, or do not answer at all.” He slowly moved away from where he had stood in front of me, allowing me to release a slight sigh of relief.

“... One point to Ravenclaw.” My eyes widen and I look at his departing form with incredulity, unable to believe what I just heard. He did not look back at me, but I could tell from his quiet and disgruntled tone that he was not very happy giving that point.

“Why do you look so surprised? You were answering questions way past what our current curriculum is supposed to be. If he didn’t reward you with something, he’d surely be punished for his unfairness by the Headmaster. I’m quite surprised he only awarded you a single point, though…” Le Fay whispered to me once Snape was out of earshot, having noticed my surprise at the awarded point.

“Ah, I simply thought that he didn’t seem to be the type to distribute a lot of points.” I shrug at her with a slightly sheepish smile in response, understanding the situation a bit more now.

After that little situation was done and over, we split into groups of two to try and make a cure boils potion. I kept an eye out for Neville throughout the process and noticed that he didn’t seem to be struggling too hard, performing quite averagely if not slightly better than his peers thanks to his increased precision from his training.

Even Snape looked befuddled when Neville started chopping at the speed of light, almost stopping him if not for noticing that he wasn’t messing up at the last second and leaving him alone.

I teamed up with Le Fay after Hermione and Holly decided to stick together. It was… honestly an experience. I was unable to apply the theoretical aspect I learned from the book directly into my work as I did with spells, so I definitely wasn’t working perfectly even if I was doing leagues better than most other students around.

Le Fay on the other hand… She’s like a fish in water. She didn’t second guess herself even once and worked with a carefree smile like she had done this before a million times. It was quite humbling to see, but it’s not like I thought of myself as anything more than a cheater rather than a prodigy anyway. This was probably what a true prodigy was like.

Not that I particularly mind cheating. If you’re not cheating, you’re not winning. I’m using my talents, which automatically makes me talented whether I’m ‘cheating’ or not.

We are eventually dismissed from Potions without any further complications, heading outside of the castle for one of the random buildings that we had been shown on the tour. This building was made specifically with the Physical Conditioning teacher’s strength in mind, looking more fortified and sturdy than any of the other buildings.

This new teacher is Alastor Moody, of course. Imagine my surprise when I realized that the muscled giant of a man sitting at the teachers' table was the Greatest Auror in the flesh, looking quite grumpy and menacing.

Why is he here? Who knows. Maybe he decided to teach the new generation directly after his retirement, or Dumbledore asked him personally to come to teach at Hogwarts. Who really knows?

Ravel had finally joined our group as this class was not wizard-exclusive like the earlier three. She was currently catching up with Le Fay and Hermione about what they learned today with Holly simply watching over them quietly. I was walking with Neville and the boys at the front, walking through the giant gate that led into the even bigger building.

The first thing I noticed when I entered: It was big. No duh, yeah, but it was even bigger than it looked on the outside. It was like we went from something as big as a basketball court to an Olympic running track in a blink of an eye.

Space-Extension charms or whatever probably.

I don’t dwell on it for too long though, too busy grabbing Terry hastily while jumping to the side. I notice Neville grabbing Anthony and Michael before jumping to the other side as well, dodging the speeding figure crashing into the ground we were standing on a few seconds ago.

My face turns slightly shocked as the form of Alastor Moody himself rises from the dust, glaring at the students standing in front of him with an irritated expression on his face.

“What kind of maggots are you all?” He speaks loudly with a voice that echoes across the entire field. “Some of your housemates are attacked and your first instinct is to freeze up and stare in terror!? What a joke.”

I noticed from where I stood that Neville’s face was turning quite upset, clearly not very happy with the surprise attack that could have possibly hurt us gravely. He clenches his fists and steps forward, an action that Moody immediately notices as he turns to look at Neville with a slight bit of amusement on his irritated face.

“Oh? It seems someone here has some spine. Are you angry, little boy? Did almost hurting your friends with my surprise enrage you?” He taunted Neville openly with a smirk, stepping out of the crater he made and facing the short boy directly. “What are you gonna do about it?”

Is Neville going to fight Alastor Moody? He knows who this is, doesn’t he? Oh boy…

I can’t let him go on his own, damn it.

Just as Neville dashes forward at Moody with his fists raised, I unsheathe my wand and aim it under Moody as its tip glows.

“Spongify.” I cast as quietly as I can, a beam of light shooting from my wand and turning the ground under Moody rubbery and difficult to stand on. The man himself seems slightly surprised as he glances back at me, but he doesn’t falter for even a moment as he catches Neville’s extended fist and turns around to throw him at me with a smirk.

“Oh? It seems I was wrong, there’s two of you with a spine in this house. Too bad that your backbone won’t compensate for how pathetically weak you both are.” He taunts again as Neville flips in the air and lands on his legs in front of me, turning behind for a moment to stare at me with widened eyes. “Come on, let me see something exciting. Surely that wasn’t all you can do, was it?”

“I’ll back you up, go.” I speak exasperatedly to Neville, the boy not noticing my tone as he nods seriously with furrowed brows and a serious expression.

“Immobulus, Incendio, Engorgio!” I step forward next to Neville and away from Terry, shooting out a beam of energy on my first spell before shooting out a wave of fire that suddenly expands into an inferno shooting forward at Moody once my third spell is cast.

My eyes widened as I noticed the beam of energy that I had sent at Moody suddenly deflect to the side, guessing that he must have redirected it while being obscured by the fire. Neville’s eyes widened slightly at my attacks but he didn’t comment for now, simply waiting to see the result of my attack as the smoke cleared.

“Hah! An Engorgement Charm added onto a fire-making charm? You’ve got a brain on you, but that won’t be enough.” The figure of Alastor Moody steps out of the smoke with a few thunderous laughs, not looking the slightest bit injured or even phased by the fire. Not a single hair was out of place on him.

He stops laughing and takes a deep breath, flexing his muscles and crouching down slightly as Neville’s eyes widen. He quickly stepped in front of me again before dashing forward, just in time to intercept a sudden burst of speed from Moody as Neville punched forward at the gigantic man.

Moody easily caught the punch again, but Neville didn’t let up this time and gripped Moody’s wrist with his other hand before shooting himself up and kicking at the side of his head. Moody raises his hand to block the kick, but his arm is suddenly impacted by a Flipendo courtesy of me.

To my immense surprise, his arm only freezes for the smallest of seconds before continuing its earlier block and stopping Neville’s kick. He spins around and throws Neville into the air, extending an open palm at the airborne boy as a magical circle appears in his hand.

I transfigure a block of earth from the ground and levitate it into the air, using another Flipendo to launch it forward into Moody’s path to stop him from firing whatever spell he was preparing at Neville. I’m surprised though as the magical circle in his hand disappears and he punches the block of earth, shattering it into rubble before launching forward at me.

Damn it, he’s switched targets to me.

I was nowhere near fast enough to dodge his incredible speed with my own, and Neville was still in the air unable to block him on my behalf. As his giant form appears in front of me with a fist slowly nearing my face, I push my energy into my feet again.

The ground I’m standing on shatters as I’m launched into the air, my energy blasting me upward and above Moody as his eyes widen slightly and look at me with surprise. I raise my fist in the air and punch at his head while in the air, watching him raise a hand to easily block my strike.

… Oh boy, here we go.

I push a ton of my energy into my fist, feeling the appendage fill with mystical power as it impacts Moody’s forearm. I grit my teeth as soon as my fist touches his forearm, suddenly being blasted back several meters violently with a glaring pain in my hand.

I hear the sound of another explosion as I’m being blasted away though, showing that my plan may have actually succeeded even if I had to injure myself. I roll on the ground a few times with a few grunts before I finally compose myself and stand on one knee, staring at where Moody is standing.

“Richard!” Neville yells out in concern as he finally lands and runs over to me, bringing attention to my extremely injured hand- oh shit those are my bare knuckles. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, this but a flesh wound.” I reply to him with a slightly pained smile, knowing that my excuse won’t actually cut it even if I knew I was actually fine. I stare past him at Moody though, noticing how he’s staring at the both of us with an indescribable expression. His forearm did not seem injured at all despite the earlier explosion.

Neville tries to take a step forward toward him, but Moody suddenly stomps the ground and causes cracks to spread through the entire floor of the building. Neville stops in his tracks with a face of shock, clearly understanding the warning and not moving forward again.

“... Well I’ll be damned. I’d say I almost felt that, but that’d be a lie. You’ve got balls though, kid. Thought you only had brains up there, but you got guts too.” He speaks with a slightly impressed look, staring at my injured fist with amusement. His eyes were slightly narrowed though, showing that he was still surprised at what I had done. “What kind of suicidal brat are you? Your punch did more damage to yourself than it did to me.”

“Took you by surprise though, didn’t I?” I retort with a slight bit of snark, slowly standing back up despite my profusely bleeding fist and Neville’s disapproving expression. Moody laughs loudly at my words, shaking his head with mirth as his posture slowly relaxes.

“I suppose you did. Now get your sarcastic ass to the Hospital Wing to get your hand patched up, you’re lucky enough to escape your first class with me. Don’t think it will happen again unless you break all four of your limbs next time.” He points at the entrance with his thumb dismissively, making me notice Holly’s livid glare from the front of the crowd.

Hermione is looking at my hand with horror from behind Holly, standing next to an equally concerned Le Fay and Ravel. It seems they only managed to reach the head of the crowd just now, which made sense considering how they were at the very back when everything went down and this little bout barely lasted a minute.

“Ah, I’ll be fine Sir. As I said, it’s just a flesh wound.” I wave my slowly healing hand at Moody as his eyes track it intently before slowly widening slightly in surprise. My hand had already healed a little and is now healing at a slow, but noticeable pace. The pain was barely even stinging… which I don’t think is natural.

Okay so, my earlier theory that this was just a new nifty ability that all wizards have has been debunked. The strongest auror wouldn’t be surprised by this if it were a common ability.

Moody mutters and grumbles something under his breath before sighing and shaking his head slightly. “You think you’re tough, eh? Fine then, just don’t regret it. Should’ve just taken my offer gracefully and escaped the first day of your new hell...” His words sounded quite ominous as he stared at where I’m standing with pity before sighing and clapping his hands.

Once he claps, a gigantic magical circle suddenly appears and envelops the floor of the field completely. It glowed blindingly for a few seconds before slowly settling and revealing a completely unscathed terrain, lacking any of the earlier craters and damage.

“Listen up you maggots! My name is Alastor Moody, also known as the greatest Auror of our time and your new Physical Conditioning teacher. If you don’t already know, Aurors are basically the law enforcement of the wizarding world with some reach outside as well depending on some circumstances. If you need any more information on who I am, Tough luck, you're not getting any until you can face my fist.” He crosses his arms and glares at the students menacingly as I move to rejoin them, Neville standing close to me with furrowed brows of concern.

It seems he’s still not very happy about what Moody did earlier, but knows he can’t do much about it. Though I’m surprised he didn’t even think about taking his wand out, going straight to punchy punch mode immediately.

“What you just saw there was just a touch of what maggots like you can accomplish in the future. Sadly, you chumps are usually too caught up shooting light beams and fire at each other to remember to improve your body.” He complains in a tone that reminds me of when an elder says ‘Back in my day!’ and then complains about something that probably still happened back in their day too. “I’m here to make sure you brats don’t do that, so prepare for a hell worse than whatever those schmucks in the underworld can pull off for the next 7 years of your life!”

Ravel and some of the other devils in the crowd looked slightly offended before horror overtook most of the students, spotting an intimidating obstacle course slowly forming out of the ground as several magical circles appeared courtesy of Moody.

Ah… I see now.

This isn’t gonna be fun.

…

…

“How… huff… are you… huff… still fine…?” Hermione asks while panting in exhaustion, leaning on my shoulder with her hand as we pause for a few seconds.

Most of the muggle students and even some of the out-of-shape students not of other races have been struggling for hours now, practically dying from the ‘training’ Moody has been putting us through. That’s not to say that the ones from other races are doing any better, but they are at least somewhat used to the physical exhaustion and strain.

“I work out, drink water, and eat healthily,” I respond to Hermione while concealing a small smile of amusement as I watch her turn to me with a scandalized expression, clearly not finding my response as amusing as I found it.

“I-I eat healthy and drink plenty of water you know? It’s not like I don’t regularly exercise too… I had PE in my old school at least twice every week!” She complains with an exhausted grumble, doing her best to inhale all of the oxygen in the world as I chuckle and give her a pat on the back.

“You do realize that this ‘PE’ you speak of was what the normal magicless humans had, right? Do you think any of those normal humans could hold a candle to any member of the supernatural Hermione?” I ask amusedly as her face turns slightly sour, clearly finding my words quite logical but not wishing to admit it.

Honestly, I’ve been cheating this entire time anyway. Or at least I think I am? I haven’t felt even the slightest bit tired despite the number of times I’ve run around the field, actually overtaking Neville once at some point, not because of speed, but thanks to sheer stamina and endurance.

I already noticed that none of the wizards around seemed to share this increased stamina of mine, so it’s definitely not a common or even uncommon trait to have for them or something. Hell, Le Fay was struggling a hell of a lot more than both me and Holly. She was doing better than literally every other wizard, but not the two of us when it came to the physical aspect at least.

Oh, except Neville. He’s breezing through the obstacle course at what looked to be a jogging pace but is actually way faster than most others around. He was truly the Asta/Mashle of this world.

Funnily enough, Holly seemed to have taken his speed as a challenge as she has been chasing after him for a while now while steadily making progress. I didn’t bother speeding up after them, choosing to help Hermione out as she was the one struggling the most out of my friends.

Michael, Anthony, and Terry seemed to not be doing too bad themselves, probably having some form of physical training previous to Hogwarts. Ravel was doing just fine, having her whole devil physiology and Phenex cheats to rely on. That meant that only Hermione needed help not collapsing out of exhaustion.

… You did not want to collapse while Moody was around. Some kids tried to rebel by falling to the ground and laying down, refusing to get up despite his barking orders.

The man picked them up by the collar and launched them into the stratosphere before spongifying the ground and repeating the process every time they landed. It was horrifying. I’m pretty sure Hermione isn’t running right now because she wants to be a good student, but because she’s afraid for her life.

“W-whatever… Anyway, how is your hand doing? It looked quite… terrifying earlier.” Hermione quickly tried to change the subject out of embarrassment, asking about my injured hand instead as I didn’t call her out for her obvious redirection.

“I’m doing just fine, don’t worry about it.” I raised my completely healed hand, not having a single scar or blemish on my skin. “See? It’s completely healed.” I reassure her with a comforting smile, not wishing to worry her while she’s fighting for her life.

“Ah, y-yes it appears so. Though it’s quite odd how fast it healed… I could swear I saw your phalanx bones protruding from your skin, but it may have just been my imagination.” Oh, it wasn’t, but I won’t say that.

“I have always healed fast for some reason, it’s not really a big deal.” I try to play it off as nothing important with a sheepish smile as Hermione seems to want to protest but simply doesn’t have the energy to.

“I-” “YOU BOTH HAVING FUN CHATTING LIKE A COUPLE? THIS AIN’T THE BROOM SHED. RUN MAGGOTS, RUN!” Hermione’s words are suddenly interrupted as a crashing Moody lands on the side of the obstacle course and begins yelling aggressively, placing the fear of god into her as she begins running desperately while dragging me along with surprising strength.

I look back and stare at Moody’s face which was staring at our backs as we left, noticing a slight bit of amusement as he shakes his head before jumping high into the air to probably go and terrify some poor helpless student into running again.

“O-oh my god… My heart just almost jumped out of my chest. I thought I was gonna die…” She speaks between pants with an extremely pale face as I fail to hold back a few laughs at her panic, ignoring the weak smack that impacts my shoulder and the glare she sends me.

“My bad.” I try to apologize despite my inner amusement but she clearly doesn’t buy it if her sour face means anything. “What were you going to say earlier?”

She notices my attempt at changing the subject but doesn’t comment, sighing in both exhaustion and exasperation.

“I was going to ask how you even got injured like that earlier. I wasn’t there at the start of your ‘fight’ with Mr. Moody, but I saw the last part where you punched him and got blasted back with a bleeding fist.” She sounds quite curious despite her panting and heavy breathing, her thirst for knowledge somehow overwriting her exhaustion momentarily.

See, the problem here is that I’m not actually sure what I did. I thought I was manipulating the magical energy into my hands to punch people with it, but it doesn’t seem like Moody recognized what it was I did (and if anyone knew, it’d be him) so I have no clue.

“... Well, I just channeled a ton of energy into my hand and then punched. It wasn’t really anything special.” I act just as clueless as I actually am, shrugging my shoulders with a sheepish smile as we continue running.

“That’s not how wizards work,” Kunou comments from beside me as Hermione nods her head in agreement. Hermione then turns to the fox girl with a dumbfounded expression since she didn’t notice the girl earlier.

“I wouldn’t know. What are you doing here, by the way?” I turn to the fox girl with amusement as she pouts at my lack of surprise, staring at me accusingly while concealing the true amusement she felt.

I felt her approaching a few seconds while Hermione was asking her question. It’s pretty surprising how sneaky she is, but it’s kinda hard to conceal yourself when you’re standing right next to the person you’re hiding from. It’s like she’s asking to be seen whenever she tries to stealth next to me.

“Oh, you’re all being trolled by Mr. Alastor. It’s been like two hours, you were supposed to be dismissed like half an hour ago. It’s Hufflepuff’s turn here. He made a sound-concealing ward earlier to cover up our entrance.” Hermione’s face morphed into a mix of shock and anger, glancing around to look for Moody with righteous fury as my own face darkened slightly.

Well played, Moody. Trust no one, indeed.

“Hermione, I recommend you stop searching around for him lest he actually shows up.” Hermione’s face suddenly pales and she realizes that she, in fact, did not want to see Moody no matter how angry she was at him lying to us.

Not that he ever even gave a countdown for how long we needed to run. He technically never lied, huh?

“Speaking of showing up, what kind of person greets their friend with ‘What are you doing here?’ instead of something like ‘Good afternoon!’ or ‘How’s my favorite youkai?’, huh!? Does our friendship mean so little?” Kunou crosses her arms and pouts again, doing her best to fluster me with her accusation. Too bad she failed to hide her amusement again.

“My bad. Good afternoon, how’s my favorite Youkai?” She seems both amused and exasperated at my blank response, huffing when I actually repeat her lines instead of getting flustered.

She’s the only Youkai I know, so it’s not like there’s a lot of competition for that title.

“Horrible. I thought my mother would leave once the opening ceremony was done, but she’s sticking around and even forced me to sleep in her Head of House room instead of my dorm! Could you imagine that?” Kunou whines while flaring her nose in irritation, staring behind me with amusement for some reason as we continue running through the rocky field.

“... I wouldn’t know. Maybe she has some work to do or something so she needs to stick around Hogwarts for a bit?” I speak the most neutral response I can since I have no idea what her mother would be doing here.

“I’d believe that if I didn’t see her sitting with the other House Heads – who are also here for some reason – speaking and bantering at their table.” She grumbles with annoyance again, clearly displeased with the situation.

Wait, Hermione has been pretty quiet and I haven’t even heard her heavy breathing for a while.

I turned to where Hermione was running next to me to find no one, suddenly hearing Kunou giggling once I did so and turning to her with confusion.

“She tripped and fell a bit ago because we were running too fast.” Kunou explained with amusement and I quickly realized that Kunou must have quickened her pace earlier, making me speed up to match her. “Don’t worry, I saw Holly and the Phenex help her up.”

Ah, I’m glad I didn’t throw her to her death accidentally. Wait, how did I notice Kunou sneaking up on me but not notice Hermione suddenly trip and disappear? Am I stupid?

I must be getting tired or something…

“You’re surprisingly agile. I didn’t even notice how fast you were running until you pointed it out.” I comment with a bit of surprise, staring at Kunou and realizing that she was wearing some women's sports uniform or something instead of her earlier Miku outfit. Makes sense, no one’s running in that thing voluntarily.

“The fact that you’re keeping up speaks a lot about you, Mr. ‘I’m new to the supernatural’.” She points out accusingly with twitching lips of amusement as I flail my hands helplessly and sigh.

“I am new to the supernatural. I really don’t understand what you think of me to be so doubtful of my words.” She giggles in response and doesn’t reply further, leaving me to despair in my own confusion without any idea of why she thinks I’m not new to the supernatural.

“You know you can probably leave the obstacle course now, right? Mr. Alastor won’t say anything unless you collapse on the field. If you leave right now, he wouldn’t care.” Kunou points out mirthfully, pointing at Moody who’s busy throwing around some youkai who were probably acting unruly.

Now that I think about it, her tone while speaking about him is a lot more familiar than one would expect. Everyone calls him Mr. Moody or Sir, yet she’s calling him Mr. Alastor. Maybe there’s some history there? I wouldn’t doubt it. He’s probably been around.

“I’d rather not abandon the others who are still running around. How about we speed up a bit to try and lap Hermione and the other girls and inform them that we can probably leave?” Neville too, but I doubt he cares much anyway.

“Sure! Last one there is a big chicken!” Kunou declares with a grin and suddenly sprints forward with a burst of speed, leaving me behind to smile wryly at her back.

Shouldn’t I be the one playing Sonic and her Tails?

…

…

…

I have a Patreon now by the way! If you want to see the next chapter early or want to support me, check it out! p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / AnxietyOverlord

See you all later!

…

…

hi. Don't really got much to say. Got exams next week. Not very pog. Sorry for how late this chapter is even if its before my usual 2 week self-inflicted deadline. I wanted to make it in only one week but... Sad.

Thank you all for the support. Some of you lovely losers have been sending really nice messages in PMs. I'll try and make a new chapter of this ASAP.

Enjoy, losers.