I, Hogwarts Second Time Around.

Chapter 162 You're not teaching at all, you just want to become an academician.

"Hufflepuff deduct five points."

The gaunt Professor Snape's venomous gaze swept across Owen's face.

He said coldly, with a hint of resentment, "Perhaps you should learn what humility is, Mr. Sanchez."

Faced with this rising new dark wizard who could match Voldemort's 99% similarity rate, he was now a formidable opponent.

Snape certainly wouldn't give him a friendly look.

The hostility remains unchanged.

If he weren't a student and a teacher, Snape would probably have beaten him up every now and then.

"I learned it!" Irving hung the medal back on his chest. "I just didn't master it."

"Perhaps you consulted the wrong teacher."

"How could that be? I've been asking Harry for advice on how to become a proper celebrity these past few days."

"Heh, birds of a feather."

Professor Snape's temples throbbed, and the veins on his forehead bulged. He almost couldn't resist giving the brat in front of him a "Blindfold and Deafensure" and "Tongue Lock and Throat Seal" spell.

"Phew~"

Calm down, calm down!!!

This is only the first class of the semester.

Last semester, Snape refrained from arguing with Owen again, until he discovered that Dumbledore had been protecting the boy the whole time.

Now, of course, I won't break my long-held principles because of a single sentence.

Take a deep breath.

Snape, his expression returning to its usual calm, decided to implement the policy that a certain eccentric professor had applied to Irving.

That means ignoring him for the entire class.

Kyrie Irving, who ruined the fun with a single sentence, ultimately didn't gain anything.

Professor Snape ignored him, even though Owen knew that Professor Snape still loved him deep down; he knew it from the very beginning.

So when he was brewing the potion, he chose not to peel the figs before throwing them into the cauldron.

The boiler exploded, the chemicals splashed, and Justin was in trouble.

Snape deducted points from himself.

He still loves me.

After Potions class.

Irving and Hannah parted ways.

He was the only one who could take the next elective course.

Hannah chose Muggle Studies and Divination as her elective course.

Justin chose to study magical creatures and divination.

Only Irving had to go to his alchemy class that afternoon.

The ancient alchemy classroom was located on the fifth floor of the castle, in a remote corner where young wizards rarely frequented.

As the most difficult subject at Hogwarts, alchemy requires you to achieve an O in multiple OWL exams to learn it.

After graduating from fifth grade, sixth-grade wizards can apply to the alchemy professor.

It usually happens during the summer vacation, and the professor will reply to you two weeks before the start of the semester to inform you whether you have been admitted.

In short, this course is extremely difficult to get into.

However, for most young wizards, alchemy is not a necessary course. Rather than wasting energy on a difficult subject, it is better to choose a subject that is easy to earn credits.

Furthermore, Owen knew that the alchemy taught at Hogwarts was basically superficial and theoretical. If you were really interested in alchemy, he suggested that after graduation you go to Gringotts and find a job as an anti-charm specialist, and then go to Egypt, where you would receive training and several years of instruction until you mastered the most basic principles and laws of alchemy.

As for the path to further advancement...

Young people, do you understand what self-reliance and hard work mean?

Figure it out yourself!

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The ancient alchemy classroom was filled with all sorts of beakers, crucibles, and magical materials.

The classroom is an irregular semi-circle, with the podium in the very center.

The students were arranged in a tiered pattern on the arc, each with their own individual desk.

Irving pushed open the door.

A few scattered young wizards all turned to look at him.

Okay~

Although he had already anticipated that not many young wizards would choose this course,

One, two, three, five.

Including him, there are exactly six people.

Wow, there are so many people!

Hehe~

I must apply to be a professor of alchemy at Hogwarts someday!

This job is too easy.

There's only one class a week, and only six students. Good heavens! I wouldn't trade it for a principal!

"Hey! Isn't that Percy?"

As the only seventh-grader he knew among the five, Owen very naturally sat down next to Percy.

Her eyes were fixed on him with a friendly gaze, giving off a feeling of old friends meeting in the same hometown.

"Hello." Percy's response was somewhat slow. He was dressed neatly and appropriately, and his face, framed by glasses, revealed neither joy nor sorrow.

He was complaining that Irving had taken away the male student council president position that should have been his.

But on the other hand, Percy had to admit the shock he felt from the Patronus Charm that night.

This complex mix of emotions left him unable to blame either Irving or the professor. Unable to find an outlet for his anger, he could only sulk in silence.

"Okay, okay, okay." Owen nodded in an old-fashioned manner.

He has a firm grasp on the qualities of a leader.

Just as he was about to continue flirting with Percy, a small door on the side of the podium was pushed open.

Then a beautiful, proud, aloof, and noble witch walked in with her head held high.

A cup of fragrant coffee floated over from behind, and several thick magic books floated by, their pages turning automatically. She herself sat leisurely by the lectern, in a dark red wooden armchair.

"Page 135," she said.

An alluring fragrance wafted through the air.

Although the young wizards were puzzled, they all obediently opened the book "Guide to Ancient Alchemy" by Nicolas Flamel.

"Mr. Sanchez," Wenda suddenly said.

She held up her coffee, took a slow sip, and held the book in her other hand, her eyes never leaving the book, "Guide to Ancient Alchemy."

"You explain what the principle of equal exchange of substances means."

"Uh—" This sudden question reminded Owen of a certain Professor Snape who never washed his hair and refused to reveal his name.

However, since he is his maternal grandfather's head butler, he must be one of their own.

It was probably to consolidate his prestige because he was young!

Hehe ~

"Yes, Professor." Owen slowly stood up and succinctly explained the most basic theorem of alchemy, the principle of equal exchange of matter.

After all, he had been taught by Nick for a month, so he should know these basic things.

"Does the soul belong to matter, Mr. Sanchez?" Wenda continued, her eyes fixed on him.

"From an alchemical perspective—"

Yes, the soul belongs to matter.

"Then does the soul abide by the principle of equal exchange of matter?" she asked again, "and please elaborate on the development of this research."

"From ancient times to the present—countless alchemical techniques—the brutal research of the Dark Ages—"

"Souls follow the principle of equal exchange, Professor." It took Owen a good ten minutes to finish answering the question. The main reason was that during the Dark Ages—the turbulent era before the Federation was established—various dark wizards conducted far too much research on souls. For them, their descendants, although that research was extremely inhumane.

But they cannot ignore the achievements.

Just listing a bunch of notorious black devils would make Irving's mouth dry.

"Hmm." A soft hum came from her nose.

It seemed they had anticipated that Irving would answer fluently.

Then, she put down her coffee, slowly stood up, looked around at the group of young wizards, and said with her rose-red lips slightly parted, "Since this third-year wizard has such a strong understanding of alchemy, then you all must have a pretty good foundation!"

Her gaze swept over Percy and the others.

"In that case, just browse through the textbook."

"I'm assigning three homework assignments," she said, raising her head. "First, clean this classroom thoroughly, making sure it's spotless, and then throw away all the trash piled up on that shelf over there."

She pointed to the various semi-finished gold-plated items on the shelves at the back of the classroom.

Those were the "achievements" of the young wizards in the past, but of course they were not very successful.

But it's very memorable!

After all, what impressive results can one achieve by learning only theory in two years?

"But—Professor, those are all from previous students." Percy stood up, wanting to explain the meaning of those 'decorations' to the new professor.

"Will it work?" Wenda interrupted, raising her hand.

Percy's face darkened. He had already said those were just decorations.

"So—what's the difference between them and garbage?" Wenda's face showed no emotion, but she continued, "The second assignment."

She waved the textbook in her hand.

"Go to the library and find any ancient alchemist in the book, and write a report on the core arguments of no more than three hundred ancient runes based on their life and achievements."

???

The moment she spoke, not to mention anyone else…

Even Kyrie Irving was stunned?

Let alone whether they could understand the achievements of those ancient wizards.

You expect Hogwarts high school students to write core argument reports with at least a master's thesis?

Damn it, how can you possibly draw a conclusion like that?

And it must be written in ancient runes?

Believe it or not, even if I brought in Professor Bascida Baburin, who teaches ancient runes, she might not be able to write a core academic report on three hundred runes.

This is equivalent to asking a foreigner who has just learned 300 Chinese characters to write a brief summary of a master's thesis in Chinese.

It's no longer a question of whether it's possible or not.

If they had that ability, they wouldn't be sitting here.

Instead, he appeared at Dumbledore's recruitment fair!

"The third assignment."

???

Again?

"Given the difficulty of the last one, let's make the third assignment easier!"

"Phew~" In the classroom, the young wizards, including Owen, all breathed a sigh of relief.

"Professor Sprout, a herbalist, introduced a new batch of biting cabbage of superior quality from the Far East this year."

However, while the new cabbage varieties are much more active and aggressive than before, they contain a deadly toxin. This could cause unpredictable harm to your classmates.

"The time required for long-term culturing and iterative screening to select individuals with weak or no toxicity is too long."

"So—before Christmas, I want to see you successfully remove toxins from cabbage plants that can be stably inherited, using the principle of equal exchange of alchemical substances."

"This long-term assignment will be included in your exam scores and will ultimately be factored into your total score."

"If you don't want to get a P in this course next year, then start working hard now!"

Alchemy is not simply the invention of something or a machine.

It's a way of understanding the world; I consider it the science of the wizarding world.

(End of this chapter)