Chapter 50: Hogwarts' Open Magic Class

Setting aside how the students of various grades at Hogwarts might view the upcoming addition of public magic classes, let us return to half a month ago. At that time, aside from some essential staff and those ghosts who were too afraid to die, the Hogwarts campus and the main castle felt rather desolate before the start of the term; however, things were getting quite lively in the Headmaster's office.

Because this day was a significant little occasion: the wrinkled little phoenix that Annie had previously given to Hermione was finally able to leave the care of the adult phoenix, Fawkes, and could survive independently. Therefore, Dumbledore had notified Hermione to find some time to come to Hogwarts to collect her little phoenix. Of course, if possible, she was strictly requested to bring little Annie along; Dumbledore had some ideas he needed to discuss thoroughly with Annie, and he could also take the opportunity to further boost their rapport.

The little featherless phoenix, which had looked so wrinkled and ugly in Annie's eyes, was now considered fully fledged. It possessed vibrant fire-red feathers and a golden flame-like pattern on its chest, looking absolutely beautiful. Hermione was currently playing with her new pet; after a simple contract, the little phoenix had already recognized her as its master. Inspired by Fawkes's name, Hermione had even given it a new name: Jinx!

However, in Annie's view, this Jinx was merely a smaller version of Fawkes, looking more like a tiny red turkey. Fortunately, she hadn't decided to raise it back then, otherwise, she would surely regret it now—she might as well have roasted it and eaten it.

At the thought of eating, Annie glanced over, and Jinx was so frightened that it flew in a streak back to Hermione's shoulder; it seemed the creature was quite terrified of Annie. Presumably, Fawkes must have spent a lot of time badmouthing Annie in front of it. Under such influence, in its eyes, Annie had likely become a character akin to a Big Bad Wolf.

*Tch!* Seeing that the little bird didn't dare approach her, Annie couldn't be bothered to pay it any more attention. She turned back to continue her casual, aimless chatter with the old man, Dumbledore. Since she was idle anyway, and since this old man named Dumbledore was willing to chat with her about things like magic, Annie certainly wasn't going to be intimidated.

In her view, although this old Headmaster Dumbledore's actual strength wasn't all that impressive, he possessed very profound insights into the magic of their wizarding world, and his knowledge reserves were exceptionally vast! If Annie needed to draw inspiration from the advantages of certain spells in this world, communicating with him would be the best way.

And so, one old man and two children spent an entire morning chatting pleasantly in this small office. For most of the time, however, it was Annie and Dumbledore discussing various spells and insights, while Hermione worked hard to listen in from the side.

The cunning Dumbledore skillfully used linguistic techniques to extract all of Annie's information during their casual chat, including her origins and the customs and traditions of the Valoran continent. Meanwhile, Annie gained many essential principles of the spells in this world, making it a fruitful endeavor.

The one who gained the most was likely Hermione. Although she couldn't understand much of what the two were saying while listening silently, it didn't stop her from using Quick-Note charms to record everything. This knowledge and experience were things that could not be found in books; this was an exchange of experience between two of the world's top mages. The value of what she recorded was far beyond what the current Hermione could imagine! In the future, these notes would provide her with immense help.

Once the exchange of spells concluded, Dumbledore could not stop expressing his amazement. In his view, the world of magic truly contained too many unknowns! Although Dumbledore was surprised by Annie's ability to travel across time and space planes, he did not probe too deeply. Although he couldn't understand it for the moment, since it had already happened, it must have its own rationality, no matter how inconceivable it seemed.

Perhaps this was what he, Dumbledore, had heard during his travels in the East in his younger years: "There are heavens beyond heavens, and people beyond people"? If it could be understood this way, did it mean there were countless other worlds outside this one? Was the world their wizards inhabited merely a grain of dust among countless worlds? Could the universe truly be this vast?

It turned out their wizarding world had been self-contained all along. Could the pinnacle of magic actually cross the barriers of planes to reach another world? Furthermore, according to what little Annie had just said, the magic she knew was far from reaching the ultimate limit, and the exploration of the magical world was endless? Magic was not merely spells of destruction? It could even analyze all things in the world and the rules of the universe? If it truly reached such a level, what kind of supreme power would that be?

If one truly reached that height, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them a Creator God. And Annie, who in his eyes was already at the highest point of the wizarding world, was only at what she called the "Demigod" rank? In Valoran, were there heaps of Demigods, True Gods, and Super-Gods? And as a Demigod, could she only utilize the rules within certain domains? What was a domain? Dumbledore expressed that he didn't understand; he hadn't even touched the edge of "rules," and he didn't even dare to think about "Demigods"!

For the first time, Dumbledore felt that he was merely a frog sitting at the bottom of a well, having always thought the sky he could see was only that large! Once upon a time, he had been quite proud of his achievements, unaware that the sky outside was unimaginably vast. In his remaining years, he truly wanted to go out and see that sky.

However, Dumbledore also knew that he, this frog at the bottom of the well, was far too old—so old that he might not have many years left to live, and he certainly wouldn't be able to leap out! Moreover, he no longer had the desire to try. Perhaps what little Annie said last time was true: were they wizards just a bunch of eccentrics who only knew how to throw spells around with sticks?

Although this old frog might not be able to leap, that didn't mean others couldn't. Besides, Hogwarts still had many other seedlings, and they were highly moldable! Looking at Hermione Granger, who was concentrating intently on her note-taking, Dumbledore lowered his head and pondered for a moment, as if making a decision. Perhaps when the conversation ended, he could make an attempt.

"By the way! Annie, there is one thing I've been wanting to ask. It seems you don't need to use a wand at all when you cast spells?" Dumbledore was quite puzzled by this. Although someone as powerful as himself could barely manage wandless magic, it was only for minor tricks that required little magical power!

If it were combat magic, he would be powerless and would have to rely on a wand. Otherwise, without a wand to act as a medium for conduction and communication, the surging magical power within his body would harm him before it could harm the enemy.

Currently, in the present wizarding world, Dumbledore had not heard of anyone besides Annie who could cast spells completely without a wand. The reason wizards required wands was to communicate with the magic within their bodies, because wands were made from parts of magical creatures that were conducive to conducting magic. These magical materials were essential conditions for spellcasting, as they could conduct magic very well.

Having read many documents, Dumbledore remembered that in ancient times, it was said there were no wizards at first, and humans possessed no magical power in their bodies, let alone the ability to use spells! It wasn't until the era of King Arthur that the first true human wizard appeared: Merlin!

It was said that Merlin was born from the union of a Nightmare, a magical creature with extraordinary magic, and a mortal woman. It was the Nightmare bloodline that allowed Merlin to inherit supernatural powers, thus giving birth to the first ancestor of human wizards. Later, through continuous reproduction and the increasing number of humans—both women attracted to curiosities and men attracted to magical creatures—the wizarding population finally grew step by step.

However, although humans at that time possessed magical power due to their bloodlines, their fragile bodies lacked the natural magical conduction properties of magical creatures. Therefore, spellcasting was still not very reliable for the wizards of that era, and only a small number of exceptionally gifted wizards could do it easily.

It wasn't until a certain wizard created the first simple wand, making spellcasting easier, that the human wizarding community could truly be said to have expanded! And it was from that time onward that human wizards seemed to never have left their wands behind.

Previously, at Gringotts, because Dumbledore had not fought Annie, he hadn't cared much. But after seeing the battle footage in the newspapers, he discovered this startling fact: little Annie could cast spells completely without a wand? And she didn't suffer any magical backlash?

This had raised his evaluation of Annie to a new level; it was simply terrifying! If Dumbledore were to attempt a wandless Fireball spell, without a wand, the fireball would likely treat his arm as the wand. If he forced it, he would either fail to release it and suffer magical backlash, or his arm would be burned off directly. After all, a human arm was not as tough or conducive to magical conduction as the materials of a magical creature!

"That's right! Annie, how exactly do you do it?" After finishing her notes, Hermione, who was about to tease the little phoenix on her shoulder, also turned around and asked.

She was also extremely curious about this question. Wandless magic was far too high-level for her current state. If it were her, without a wand, even if she gathered all the magical power in her body, she probably couldn't cast even the simplest Lighting Charm, or at most, she would just cause a surge of magical instability.

"Huh?" Annie looked back at the two of them with curiosity. "Wandless magic? Is that strange? Who told you that magic must be cast with a wand? Was it that mean old man who sells wands?" Thinking of that stubborn old man named Ollivander made Annie feel quite angry!

On the Valoran continent, she had never heard that magic required a wand. In Annie's view, a wand was at most an extra tool to amplify the intensity of a spell—an optional existence! Of course, having one was better than not having one, because a good wand could increase the power of a spell.

However, Annie didn't like wands, mainly because they were too troublesome to carry and even more troublesome to use; they were cumbersome and not handy at all! After all, many wands were too tall for Annie. Looking at those Ice Crystal Staves or Loki's Scepter that she had previously swiped from New York, their normal height was taller than Annie herself. How would it look if little Annie held them?

Annie had also heard of an evil little mage on the Valoran continent who seemed to have a decent artifact hat. What was it called? The Death Cap of the World Destroyer? It was said that besides increasing spell intensity, it could increase spell power by thirty-five percent! If it were a convenient thing like that, Annie could accept it, but if it were a wand, she'd pass.

"Magic requires a wand to be released!" Hermione looked at Annie in surprise. She had always been taught that spellcasting required a wand! Every wizard must have their own exclusive wand; a wizard without a wand was practically a Squib.

Therefore, one of the Ministry of Magic's punishments for wizards who committed serious crimes was to break their wand and forbid them from purchasing a new one! In their eyes, a wizard without a wand was not a qualified wizard and posed no threat. Even someone like You-Know-Who—no matter how powerful, what could he do? Would he dare to go out without a wand?

"Must use a wand? That's absolute nonsense! Hmph! Watch closely." Annie looked angrily at the old man and the child, stood up huffily, and extended her finger. A fireball the size of a washbasin, radiating scorching heat, appeared right above her fingertip. In her view, these two must have been fooled by that mean old man who sells wands; that old man probably wished everyone was dependent on his pieces of rotten wood!

"How... how on earth did you do that?" Although Hermione knew Annie could cast wandlessly at Gringotts, she had been so dazed by the situation then that she hadn't been in the mood to notice such details.

Hermione had later learned more from the newspapers. Although she had prepared herself mentally, this was the first time she had witnessed it clearly and closely with her own eyes. The scene before her was somewhat unacceptable. It felt as if it completely overturned everything she had learned at school—or rather, had she been indoctrinated with incorrect knowledge? She had actually wanted to ask Annie about it while she was at home, but she considered that it might be one of Annie's secret techniques, so she hadn't dared to ask.

"Hmm, that is indeed somewhat enlightening." Dumbledore pondered. As a top existence in the wizarding world, he had perceived much more than Hermione just now.

Generally, wizards cast spells by relying on their own magical power, consuming a portion of it to form a spell effect, and magical power grows as the wizard grows. Therefore, the older a wizard, the more powerful their magical level. Of course, this also depends on each wizard's talent; the higher the talent, the greater the growth potential. And just now, he had felt almost no fluctuation of magical power from Annie, as if this spell hadn't mobilized a single shred of her magic? Could it be because her magic was so vast that he couldn't sense the change?

"Annie, it's one thing that this fireball didn't use a wand, but it seems it didn't call upon any of your own magical power either?" Dumbledore asked somewhat uncertainly. He was also becoming a bit confused by his own judgment. You can cast wandlessly, and you can cast instantly without incantations, but you didn't consume any of your own magical power? That seemed a bit "un-magical"!

"It's Evocation magic. You just construct a spell model to guide the resonance of the surrounding energy; why waste your own magic?" Annie was also surprised by the old man's thinking. If every spell required personal magical power, she wouldn't be able to cast certain massive-scale forbidden spells in certain domains even if her magic were drained dry! Only apprentices would constantly use their own magic to cast spells, right?

This was a fire-type spell within the Evocation school, and the Fireball was merely the most basic spell among them. In a world with a Magic Web, a mage could release it just by communicating with the Magic Web. In a world without a Magic Web, such as Valoran, one had to communicate with the energy drifting in nature or the void, and then construct a spell model.

There is so much usable energy in nature, so why be foolish enough to use one's own magic? Low-level mages might need to waste a significant amount of their own magic to trigger resonance, but for Annie, it was merely about triggering resonance; the tiny bit of magic wasted was less than what she recovered naturally, so there was no need to care!

"Evocation? Spell models?" Dumbledore had never heard these terms. Could magic be played like this? Isn't magic simply divided into Dark Arts, White Magic, offensive and defensive magic, and other auxiliary magic? When needed, you just chant an incantation, wave your wand, and *whoosh*, the spells fly out? That was how the wizarding world had always been.

"Huh? You guys don't even know this? Then how exactly do you cast spells?" Annie suddenly became curious. Could there be some trick used by the wizards here that she didn't know about?

"Uh, well..." Dumbledore suddenly found it difficult to speak.

"Isn't magic just chanting an incantation, then following the instructions and movements, mobilizing magic, and waving the wand a few times?" Hermione said weakly from the side. This was how she had always learned magic, and she had learned it quickly and was quite proud of it.

"Ha! So that's how it is. You don't know the principles, and you don't know spell models! You rely only on incantations, gestures, and your own magic? No wonder you're so dependent on that piece of junk wood!" Annie was somewhat shocked.

She finally understood why that group of wizards at Gringotts had obediently surrendered and allowed themselves to be tied to the pillars after she had taken their wands. She had been puzzled at the time—she had only used magical ropes to bind them casually, so why hadn't they cast spells to resist? So that was it... that made sense! It seemed they truly required those wooden wands.

Although Annie had been quite playful during her time in the Voodoo lands, she had at least read almost all the books from the Mage Towers in the Grey Order, the library books, and her family's collection. Even if many were forced upon her by her mother Amoline or memorized through spells, once she became familiar with spell principles and spell models, and combined them with her extraordinary talent, the execution of all magic became as natural as flowing water, leading to her current achievements! Otherwise, would anyone really think Annie was born this way?

And what about these people? Only learning incantations and gestures? If placed in Valoran, they would probably be apprentices for their entire lives. By the time you finished your incantation, someone would have already smashed several spells into your face. Or, they wouldn't even need to counter your spell or disarm you; they would just drop a Silencing Charm on you. What would you do then? How would you chant? Would you take your wand and try to engage in melee combat?

"Haha, that is indeed a problem." Dumbledore gave an awkward laugh, and then he finally made a certain decision. He asked Annie cautiously, "So, Annie, would you like to come to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?"

"Huh? School? Going to school?! I don't want to!!" Annie remembered her time in school in New York; it wasn't fun at all! Having to do homework and waking up early was one thing, but the key was being frequently reported by others; she was sick of it. She didn't want to go to school! Never! Besides, once her Space Gem was fully charged, she was going to run away; she didn't want to stay in this world for long.

"No, no, no! Annie, you've misunderstood. I'm not asking you to come to Hogwarts to be a student. Besides, we probably don't have much to teach you. What I mean is, I want to ask: would you be interested in opening a public class at the school? Specifically to teach your, um, special magical knowledge?" Dumbledore wiped his sweat and adjusted his half-moon spectacles, looking at Annie with bright eyes.

He had already thought this way just now: why keep the joy to oneself when you can share it?

Wouldn't it be a waste not to utilize this powerful little Demigod girl? Her knowledge would be extremely useful! It would play a massive role in advancing the transformation of the wizarding world! Moreover, how much could he personally gain from listening to her alone? Only by sowing the seeds of reform could the wizarding world have hope of jumping out of the stagnant well and never being that frog at the bottom again.

"Eh? Opening a class? Making me a professor? Are you sure you're not joking?" Annie seemed to have heard something interesting and suddenly perked up. This sounded much more fun than being a student!

"Of course not! And, the time and schedule for the classes will be entirely up to you!" Seeing Annie's reaction, Dumbledore knew his suggestion had been accepted by little Annie. *Hoh-ho!* A lost little lamb, returning to my bowl once again? Wandless magic, spell models, Evocation... I want to learn those too.

Dumbledore had actually realized just now that he couldn't have the little girl come to his office to chat and discuss magical experiences every time, and how much could she actually say here? Who knows if she might get bored one day and never come back? That would be a huge loss!

Since that was the case, it would be better to just let the little girl open a class herself. That way, he could actually go and listen in, right? And to set a good example, Dumbledore decided that he would make time to audit every single one of Annie's classes. The Headmaster would lead by example and set a good standard for the students!

"Okay, it's a deal!" Having always gone to school in her previous world in New York, Annie was suddenly told she could open her own class and even become a professor here. She certainly couldn't pass up this opportunity! Being a teacher sounded quite fun—if anyone dared to disobey her, she'd smack their little hands! Hehe.