"The Way of the Superior Doctor"? What's that?"
Although Hermione was known as "Miss Know-It-All," she was only 12 years old.
Compared to Dumbledore, who could engage with almost anything Roger said, Hermione was clearly still too young.
When Roger used certain words with an ancient Eastern flavor, she often felt confused.
"It's from an ancient Eastern book, the Huangdi Neijing: Suwen. It discusses the essentials of treating illness, and many medical texts from later dynasties have also mentioned it."
Then, Roger began to explain its meaning.
Nicolas Flamel agreeing to become the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor happened not long before the start of term, around the time Roger was on the moon.
Dumbledore had been busy with arrangements, and during this process, the news of the old wizard, long since retired, coming out of seclusion became widely known.
Not just in Britain, but wizarding societies in other countries had also heard about it.
Gilderoy Lockhart had some fame in the British wizarding world by now, but compared to Nicolas Flamel...
Well, the two were not on the same level at all, even if Lockhart's experiences weren't plagiarized and were true.
He couldn't even be compared to this 'god' in the eyes of many alchemists!
It was just like what Roger had experienced before.
As the creator of the Philosopher's Stone and one of the longest-living wizards in wizarding civilization, Nicolas Flamel was renowned.
However, the last time he acted in front of the public traced back to the time of Grindelwald decades ago.
Many wizards only knew of him by name, not by sight.
Thus, rumors began to spread.
Amidst all sorts of gossip, Hogwarts students had endless expectations for this new professor on one hand.
On the other hand, they also worried whether Nicolas Flamel could teach effectively.
Currently, there were three main viewpoints circulating in society.
One was that Nicolas Flamel's main profession was alchemy; could he handle Defense Against the Dark Arts? Those who held this view generally had only a superficial understanding of the legendary figure.
They didn't realize that while Nicolas Flamel was an alchemist, he was also extremely skilled in Defense Against the Dark Arts.
Second, some worried if his body could handle it.
These were people who understood Nicolas Flamel better.
They knew that Nicolas Flamel's Elixir of Life only granted longevity, not eternal youth.
Although his lifespan was long, his body had been aging.
Decades ago, Nicolas Flamel was already so frail that he needed both hands to support himself when picking up a brick; his condition in recent years could only be imagined.
Finally, like Hermione, there were those confused by the nonsensical course reading list.
Many people were pondering these questions, and Hermione, standing before Roger, was just a microcosm of them all.
"I think I understand now," Hermione nodded thoughtfully.
Under Roger's explanation, she had a general grasp of what it meant for "the superior doctor to treat illness before it arises, and the inferior doctor to treat illness after it has arisen."
"So that's how it is." From the perspective of "reducing the possibility of students encountering dark magic" that she had held from the beginning.
Looking at the book titles on the reading list again, Hermione's long-blocked train of thought suddenly cleared.
Honestly, Hermione's experience with Defense Against the Dark Arts in her first year was very bad.
Her first teacher was Quirrell, who was possessed by Voldemort.
Before being possessed, Quirrell was an overly dedicated and good professor, but after possession...
It couldn't be said that he was just messing around with the Hogwarts students' education.
At the very least, he was seriously slacking off.
In the second half of the term, the professor changed to Snape. There was certainly more substantial content in his lectures.
But, the Head of Slytherin teaching Gryffindor... Merlin's beard, in the eyes of most Gryffindor students, it was practically a unique form of torture!
And now, she might actually be able to look forward to the new semester.
Roger said that what he had explained were just his speculations.
But Roger was a Seer! In Hermione's eyes, a Seer's speculation was basically equivalent to a prophecy.
...
In this world, not everyone liked to get all their preparations done in advance, fearing that last-minute changes would cause delays.
Many people also scheduled their time quite tightly and liked to cut it close.
Of course, some people genuinely had too much to do and had no choice but to be last-minute.
Walking down the streets of Diagon Alley, Roger and Hermione passed by many familiar figures.
Some would stop to greet Roger, but most ignored him.
This wasn't surprising. After his summer holiday trip to Knockturn Alley with Harry for 'supplies', where the street was bustling on the way there but empty on the way back, Roger had a clear understanding of his reputation in the British wizarding world.
Roger's wizarding robe was now also an alchemical item.
It had an effect similar to a Confundus Charm. Unless someone was very familiar with Roger and had a strong impression of him, it was difficult for them to recognize him before he spoke to them.
This was Roger's version of an invisibility cloak, not an invisibility of form, but an 'invisibility' in the perception of others.
...Because its effect was dispelled upon direct confrontation, it could only be used as a 'veil.' Using it for tactical purposes was basically out of the question.
Even so, its function received high praise from Mr. Ollivander.
"I think many famous wizards would want one."
"Once we gain fame and status, false splendor will surround us, making it difficult to see the real world."
"And this might allow us to return to an ordinary perspective to observe everything."
Ollivander examined Roger's wand while scrutinizing Roger with his gaze.
Unlike the young wizards just starting school, Roger and Hermione didn't need to buy much, only new textbooks and new equipment for courses like Potions and Herbology.
For example, dragonhide gloves for protection, magical earmuffs, and so on.
Roger, having finished his shopping quickly, didn't leave Diagon Alley. Instead, he went to Ollivanders.
Last year, he had obtained his wand here.
And this year, his return was because...
"I think I understand why you feel a sense of disharmony with your wand," Ollivander said after observing the wand and Roger.
Normally, a wand was not a simple magical item.
It was essentially a symbiotic relationship with a wizard.
The wand chose the wizard, and the wizard also chose the wand.
They would complement each other, grow together, and even minor damage sustained during use would slowly repair itself.
Therefore, apart from the wand being accidentally broken or the wizard's personality changing drastically, causing incompatibility with the old wand, Ollivanders rarely had 'repeat customers.'
And Roger's situation was a problem that the Ollivander family had never encountered since they started making wands two thousand years ago! "Did you only start feeling the disharmony recently? When exactly?" Ollivander pressed.
"Around the beginning of August, I started feeling this way," Roger replied.
At that time, Roger was still on the moon. Although this extremely subtle disharmony didn't significantly affect his spellcasting yet, Roger always felt something was off.
So, since he was here, Roger wanted Ollivander, a true wand expert, to help him see if there were any good solutions.
Although Roger's knowledge was broad, it wasn't profound in every area. Since there was an expert readily available, it was natural to consult him.
Ollivander nodded. "While your situation is extremely rare, the reason is not complicated."
"Your power has grown too quickly, and it's too strong. Your wand... can no longer keep up with you."
As one of the world's top three wandmakers, Ollivander could sense the terrifying power that had flowed through this wand just by placing his hand on it!
"So that's how it is. Do you have any good solutions?" Roger was not surprised by this answer.
His disposition hadn't changed much, so the cause was either related to his strength or the influence of the space environment.
Or perhaps it was the temporal backlash from using the Time Plague, or the mental pollution from Conceptual Creation.
These were the only four possibilities.
Roger had long suspected the cause; what he truly lacked was a solution.
"This..." Ollivander's expression was somewhat troubled.
"Generally speaking, there's no solution."
"Huh? What do you mean?" This answer truly caught Roger off guard.
"Regarding the growth of strength, it's manageable. A person can't maintain a state of rapid power increase forever. As long as the pace slows down, the wand will soon catch up."
"The key is that your power is too immense."
Ollivander paused here. "The core is Fir wood, and the core is unicorn tail hair. The basic materials of the wand are here."
"No matter how it's strengthened, this material cannot withstand your extremely violent casting style, nor can it bear the power you wield when casting."
Endless light and heat, interwoven and folding spacetime, massive concentrations of thought, and besides these, various powerful forces that Ollivander couldn't comprehend.
The casting rhythm was also a factor: hundreds of extremely high-intensity Apparitions within a single day, and Time Magic cast daily.
Honestly, it was a miracle that this wand had lasted this long and only made Roger feel a slight disharmony, rather than exploding into a pile of sawdust.
In Ollivander's eyes, it was already a miracle.
But even a miracle couldn't alter the fundamental material structure of this wand.
"What's truly troublesome isn't just that," Ollivander's expression turned solemn.
"Not only this wand you're using, but I suspect all wand materials I know of would struggle to withstand you using it like this."
"Except..."
"The Elder Wand?" Ollivander hesitated, but Roger directly supplied the answer.
"Yes, perhaps that legendary Deathly Hallow might be able to withstand your power... though I can't guarantee it, as I haven't studied the Elder Wand in detail."
Ollivander spoke truthfully.
Roger shook his head, "Forget it. I don't like a wand that sides with whoever is stronger."
Roger extended his hand and took his fir wood wand from Ollivander's palm. "I prefer this one."
Ollivander remained silent. A wizard choosing their first wand was something that pleased him as a wandmaker, but...
"Mr. Ollivander, I understand what you mean. So, as long as the material of my wand undergoes a qualitative transformation, the problem can be solved, right?"
"In theory, yes, but as far as I know, there's no material of that caliber in the world."
"And even if the strength is sufficient, we must also consider compatibility. Its magical properties must resonate with yours."
Roger thought for a moment, bowed his head to Ollivander, and said, "Could you please teach me some knowledge about wands? I think I might have a way to solve this problem."
Roger's idea was simple.
If there's no path to Eternal Life, I'll forge one myself.
If there's no suitable material, I'll create one from scratch.
The moment he made this decision, three solutions appeared in Roger's mind.
One was Dimensional Magic: Conceptual Creation.
Another was Dimensional Magic: Material Restructuring.
And the last was... the Second Magic path that Hermione had mentioned considering, which Roger had developed himself, distinct from Dumbledore's path of mental power!
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