Bring a fairy tale to Hogwarts!

Setting up the banishing spell was actually exactly what Victor wanted, because while he needed to find potential clients, he didn't want them to randomly show up at his house. This kind of thing could be planned out later. He'd only met Trelawney incidentally when he went to school.

Mentioning this, Victor also recalled that transaction.

"Why can't I really see the future? Why can everyone else teach students knowledge and make them grateful to their teachers, but I don't have that ability? I clearly... I clearly want to teach them too..."

"..."

"So what price are you willing to pay for this?"

—This is a conversation that took place in the divination tower yesterday.

Victor's statement that "ordinary people have to pay a price to gain the ability to foresee the future" was not just a casual remark, but based on real-life examples. Trelawney traded two years of her lifespan and two pieces of her liver for the ability to foresee the future.

You reap what you sow; this is an eternal truth in the magical world, and also in the world of fairy tales.

Victor's role was like that of a middleman: taking a price and then giving the other party what they wanted. Apart from him taking a cut, everything was perfect.

...So he couldn't understand why he was always called a "devil" in the fairy tale world when it was clearly a matter of mutual consent.

Victor truly didn't understand.

……

After saying goodbye to Dumbledore and Scrimgeour, he sent them off using the same method he had used before, but this time nothing strange happened. Afterwards, Victor also enjoyed a precious but unremarkable two-day vacation.

On the morning of the third day, Victor looked at the large pile of books he had bought in Knockturn Alley, sat in front of the cool fireplace, and frowned more and more as he looked at them.

He sat on the upholstered sofa in his home, facing the fireplace, holding a book. The remaining dozen or so books were piled high in a stack, each showing signs of having been read, but each one was carelessly tossed on the table, showing no sign of being cherished.

The book Victor was looking at had a purple cover, looked wrinkled like an old tree trunk, and felt eerily cold to the touch, like snake scales. The title was:

How to See Fate Through Curses

Grandma Baba Yaga was sitting at the dining table, chewing on a pile of red food. The food looked much the same as what she had eaten last time, with a strong rusty smell, and it was all blurry and indistinct.

As Victor sighed again, she asked slowly:

"What's wrong? Is the research not going well?"

"It's more than just unsuccessful," Victor slammed the book shut and took a deep breath.

"It's all garbage."

"Apart from 'Seeing the Future Through the Fog,' which is somewhat useful, everything else is just nonsense. Sometimes I'm amazed that people in this world can fill a book with so much nonsense and so little knowledge!"

"Take this one for example," he said hastily, pulling a book with a large black dog on the cover from the pile of books. He read the title aloud, "Death Omens: What to Do When You Know Doom Is Coming."

"This foolish author might as well just list everything in everyday life."

"So they don't know how to tell fortunes?" Baba Yaga asked.

"That's right. Out of ten books, not a single person actually knows how to do even one."

"And this one—'The Connection Between Curses and Prophecies.' With such a title, who would have thought that it's actually about how to use curses to make every prophecy he made come true, because he personally killed all those who died according to the prophecies."

"This can be considered a prophecy?!"

Grandma Baba Yaga laughed, revealing two loose teeth in her dry mouth.

"Just like you, Victor. It reminds me of what you taught Maleficent. She couldn't predict the future, but to become a better dark witch, she needed a correct premonition, so you taught her to use curses to pass herself off as prophecy, and even came up with this 'true love's kiss' thing..."

"She paid a price. Two fairy wings were enough for me to make an exception for her."

Victor shook his head.

He glanced at the books beside him, feeling that letting them remain for even a second longer would be a defilement of his collection. So he snapped his fingers, causing the cold flames in the fireplace to suddenly flare up, instantly engulfing the pile of books and setting them ablaze.

The fly ash produced by the combustion instantly danced in the hall, only to be swallowed up by the scattered flames in the air and vanished without a trace.

Just then, a small bell next to the fireplace suddenly rang twice.

"A letter has arrived."

Grandma Baba Yaga said from behind.

Behind the little bell was a square wooden pipe. After she finished speaking, a rustling sound suddenly came from inside the pipe, as if something was falling rapidly down the pipe.

This is something Victor just made yesterday. Since the owl can't cross the fog to find the house, he had to add a special teleportation spell to the roof to send letters sent to a fixed mailbox.

"Clatter".

Victor opened a small opening at the bottom of the pipe and took out a letter.

The cover still bears the wax seal of four animals.

But this letter was written by Professor McGonagall:

Mr. Vanderbohm

As previously agreed, I will be waiting for you at the designated location on Charing Cross Road at 2 PM. I will be bringing a new student with me, and due to the busy schedule of school affairs, I hope you can help guide them.

Note: A list of items required for Hogwarts faculty employment is attached to this letter.

Victor turned to the second page and glanced at it.

[For Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Teachers Only]

Newly hired professors are required to have:

1. A formal gown suitable for the occasion, with a cape no more than one inch above the ankle, in any color.

2. A plain-colored pointed top hat.

3. Valid birth certificate. Wizards born outside the magical world can use Muggle-issued identification documents or entry papers.

4. Gringotts account number, which will be used for monthly payroll.

5. A magic wand.

6. A teaching plan outline for this semester.

[School activities that require advance preparation of items:]

1. Quidditch Activities. All professors are welcome to serve as referees for school Quidditch matches, but professional experience is required. Interested individuals should apply to Ms. Hodge.

2. Club/Association Creation. All professors may create school clubs/associations, which are open to students after obtaining the approval of the president and vice-president.

3. On-campus hunting grounds patrol. As part of professor benefits, some raw materials within the Hogwarts Hunting Grounds and the Forbidden Forest are available for selection. Each professor may select magical materials with a total value not exceeding one hundred Galleons per month. If exceeding this limit is necessary, please explain the reason to the Vice-Headmaster in advance.

Note: Professors may decorate their offices as they see fit, but a written application must be submitted to the Vice-Chancellor if they require access to the off-campus flyway network.

Please do not bring any infectious or dangerous teaching aids into the campus. All teaching aids must be properly kept by the professors. If the school needs to purchase additional teaching aids, please submit an application in advance.