Chapter 56: Snape's New Look and the Adventurers' Meeting
"Professor Welles, is there something you needed to speak with us about?"
"It's after class, Neville. Just call me Ryan."
"Alright, Professor Welles."
"...Fine." Ryan gave up. "I was wondering, when you were... dealing with the Red Caps, what was going through your minds? Did you have any new ideas in that moment?"
Hannah looked confused, but Neville answered honestly, "My hands hurt. I wished my hands wouldn't hurt."
"Oh, I see," Hannah said, catching on. "I was thinking my own punches were too weak."
"Excellent," Ryan said with a nod. He presented the two students with a basic strengthening charm, a relic from one of his explorations, its original name lost to time. He suspected it was a spell derived from ancient runes, as it was similar in effect to the runic combinations used in alchemy to channel the concepts of "strength" and "foundation."
"Consider this an extra reward for your quick thinking," Ryan said, giving them each a copy of the incantation and wand movements. He was curious to see how Neville would take to this new, more physical style of magic, and if it was a path worth cultivating. A speech was already forming in his mind: To promote a hundred flowers of magical thought, to liberate the wizarding world from the stagnant dogma of traditional magic…
"You can practice this in your spare time," he told them. "It may come in handy in our next practical lesson."
"Yes, Professor!" Hannah said, her confidence bolstered by his praise.
"Alright, senior Welles," Neville added, having changed Ryan's title yet again.
After his post-class tutoring session, Ryan headed to the dungeons. It was time for fifth-year Potions, and he wouldn't disrespect Professor Snape by being late. In an instant, he transitioned from "Professor Welles" back to "student Ryan."
He walked into the classroom and saw Professor Snape, his eyes closed, already seated at his desk. He also saw the looks of utter shock on the faces of the students who had arrived before him. Ryan understood their confusion. For a moment, he thought he had entered the wrong classroom, or that Hogwarts was haunted, and a ghost had possessed Snape.
At the front of the room, a middle-aged wizard in black robes sat quietly. His usually lank, greasy hair was now clean, and with this single, transformative change, he was actually quite handsome. Ryan backed out of the room, then walked back in. And out again. And back in. He was definitely in the right place.
"Professor Welles," Snape's signature drawl echoed through the dungeon. "What are you doing? Has your first day of teaching already driven you mad? Do you require a trip to St. Mungo's?"
Ryan was relieved. It was still the same old Snape. "My apologies, Professor Snape," he said. "I was just a bit… surprised."
"I do not see why you should be," Snape replied, his empty black eyes opening. Ryan felt that Snape was being unusually harsh. Then he understood. Before, they had been just teacher and student. But now, with Ryan's new position, and especially after their… intimate chat… the night before, their relationship had changed. Snape now felt comfortable enough to be his usual, charming self. Fine, Ryan thought. I won't hold it against him. I know his deepest, darkest secret. I could ruin his life. The thought of Snape's browsing history being leaked was a comforting one. And what Snape had confessed was far more scandalous than any browsing history.
As more students arrived, they all shared the same look of stunned disbelief. Thankfully, once the lesson began, Snape was back to his old self: ignoring the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, praising the Slytherins, and hating the Gryffindors with a fiery passion. The students all came to the same conclusion: Snape was in the mood for a new haircut. The resident gossip experts even began to craft a new story: Snape, after so many years of being single, was finally looking for love. The old tree is finally blossoming!
A week passed in a flurry of activity. The two biggest stories at Hogwarts were the DADA class's first practical lesson, which had made Ryan the most popular professor in the school, and the shocking news that the Head of Slytherin had started washing his hair.
In the midst of his packed schedule of teaching, attending classes, and dodging Dumbledore, Ryan had managed to have a discussion with Professor Flitwick about the possibility of creating a magical communication device. Ryan's idea was to skip the "cell phone" stage entirely and go straight to holographic communication. The main obstacle was the high cost of creating a magical, self-powering screen. So he had turned to Flitwick, the master of Charms, for help in developing a new, projection-based system.
After he had finalized the invitation for the next Adventurers' Club meeting—this time with a detailed agenda—he headed to the kitchens to ask the house-elves for their assistance. There, he ran into Penelope, who was feeding the white mice.
"It's hard to believe we're in the same house and we haven't seen each other in days," she said with a smile. The mice were all clamoring for her attention, some even presenting their newborn pups to the "goddess of food."
"It's been a busy week," Ryan said, squatting down. The mice all scattered, squeaking in alarm.
"I know," she said. "I just… missed you."
"Why? I haven't come up with any new ways to instantly improve your magical abilities yet," he replied. "And I was just about to send you a letter about the next club meeting. It's this Sunday afternoon."
"I see," she said, her expression unreadable. She had recently been reading a Muggle book on adolescent development, which stated that boys often mature more slowly than girls. She decided she would give Ryan some more time to grow a brain. "But why send a letter?" she asked. "I thought you had already mastered the long-distance communication charm."
"It's more… ceremonial, don't you think?" he replied. "And besides, at our meeting this week, I'll be proposing a new research direction, focused on that very topic."
"Long-distance communication?" she asked, her eyes lighting up. "Like a Muggle telephone?"
"Oh, no," Ryan said with a smirk. "Much, much better."
Sunday, The Adventurers' Club.
After the sharing of study notes, the meeting was opened up for free discussion.
"Ryan," Harry began, "Neville has been practicing a strange new spell all week. He said you taught it to him."
"I did," Ryan replied. "His performance in our practical lesson was quite… unexpected. I thought it might suit him. How is he doing with it?"
Harry and the twins exchanged a look. "He's taking to it a little too well," Fred and George said with a groan. "Last night, we were trying to sneak up on him, and he just… grabbed me," George said, "and threw me over his shoulder. And then he picked up George's unconscious body and threw it at Fred." The room erupted in laughter.
Cedric Diggory then reported that Hannah Abbott, the Hufflepuff first-year, had displayed a similar aptitude for the strengthening charm, much to the astonishment of her housemates.
The club members all looked at each other, their minds buzzing with this strange, new form of magic.
~~~
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