Throughout this entire year, Hermione has gotten perfect grades in all her classes, making her loved by all her teachers--except for probably Snape. However, there has been one person that was always better than her, and it was Susan Bones.
In the few classes that they take together, they always compete for who could answer any question raised by the professor. The thing was that Susan always had better answers than her, even if she answered the question.
Hermione had noticed something different about Susan. Every time she answered a question, she would just paraphrase or repeat verbatim the things that she had read in the books.
As for Susan, she can analyze any question the professors asked, and provide her understanding. So, although the professors always liked her answer, they preferred Susan more due to her insight.
According to rumors, even Snape once complimented Susan during potion class, making her the first and only non-Slytherin to receive a compliment. Of course, Edward does not count.
Hermione has always wondered why Susan was so good at a young age. Although there were rumors that she was related to Professor Bones, many people thought it was just rumored.
But it seemed that the rumors were correct. Susan was probably trained by such a powerful wizard at such a young age.
'No wonder she knew so much. I bet she already knew about the magic core and can control it easily,' thought Hermione to herself.
"Professor, is there a way for me to get access to the magic core on my own?" asked Hermione with a look of expectation on her face.
"There is," replied Edward with a slight smile on his face. "It's all about constant training and trying to sense. Every night before you go to bed, all you have to do is to constantly use a spell, then try to sense the magic core.
"Do this until all the magic power in your core is exhausted. This way, not only can you train to sense the core, but also train your magic core and magic power to be as flexible as possible, and also stimulate the growth of your magic power."
"Wait, professor, are you saying that constant depleting of magic power and letting it regrow on its own will facilitate its growth? That wizard does not have to only rely on age to grow their magic powers?" asked Hermione in shock.
"That is correct, Ms. Granger," replied Edward calmly.
Hermione was indeed shocked as this news completely broke her worldview, and it was not just her, but everyone in this room. Even Hagrid knows that the only way that a wizard's magic can grow more powerful is through time. Now, Edward told them otherwise.
After hesitating for a while, Hermione then asked: "Professor, this kind of thing should be a secret, right? Shouldn't you hide for the Bones family or something? What would other families do if they knew that we knew such a secret? And why are you telling us this?"
Edward looked at her after she said these words.
'Worthy of the Smartest Witch of Her Age, not only can she see the potential benefit of this knowledge, but also the potential danger,' secretly thought Edward.
"Well, the reasons I am telling you all this are very simple. For once, I do not believe that knowledge should be hidden due to being too precious. Only by sharing, communicating, and exchanging can the magic be further developed.
"Secondly, let's just say that I have a soft spot for talented wizards and witches. Whether it is you Ms. Granger, the Weasley Twins, or Cedric Diggory, all you are very talented. So, sometimes, I will give you guys some extra lessons.
"However, you are right to be worried that such knowledge could bring you guys trouble. So let me help you out."
Then, Edward took out his wand, and with a wave of it, a silvery-white light as thin as a finger traveled from his wand and entered the heads of Hermione, Ron, Harry, and Hagrid.
Suddenly, they felt like something in their mind was protected, like a lock was placed on their minds.
"With this spell, I have placed a lock on your memories regarding what I have spoken about tonight. With this, although you guys will not forget what happened today, it will be impossible for you to tell a second person.
"Every time you wish to do so, you will instantly forget about the information, before it returns to your mind a few hours later. On top of that, no wizard can use Legilimency to spy on your mind and read that particular knowledge."
All of them nodded, but there was no awe on their faces. With these people's knowledge, they could not possibly fathom how difficult such a spell was.
This spell was an application of Fidelius Charm--which allows one person to place a secret deep inside a person's soul. Edward modified it so that it locked a specific secret inside a person's mind, then used obliviate to erase that secret temporarily when a certain condition is met.
And that condition is when the person wants to reveal the secret. This is a perfect way to keep a secret without harming the person keeping the secret.
If Edward wanted, he could set up this spell to instead kill the person who decided to reveal the secret. This was the purpose that he invented the spell in the first place.
After everything was done, Edward then finally asked; "Why did you guys call me here again?"
It was then that everybody remembered the reason that they contacted Edward in the first place. So, they explained to him the situation and even mentioned how Malfoy learned about this incident a few days ago.
After hearing this, Edward's first reaction was to just give him the same plans as in the original canon timeline. After all, he had decided not to mess with the original plot as much as possible.
However, a sudden thought came to Edward's mind. He asked himself why he was so fixed upon preserving the original plot so much?
At first, he thought it was because he wanted to use it to his advantage, but after thinking deeper, Edward realized that this was more of a psychological issue. Knowing what is going to happen gave him a sense of security, it made all the future danger meaningless as he could already predict it.
And on a deeper level, this sense of security is also the result of his parents' death when he was young. Despite knowing their fate, despite warning constantly of the danger, they still died.
On some level, Edward blamed himself for not being able to save them; he made himself believe that trying to change the plot is futile as the power of fate is inevitable.
However, Edward realized that his thinking was based on his weak ability. He is currently one of the most powerful wizards alive in modern times. And by the time he finishes his body modification, the number one title would become his without a doubt.
So, why would he care about changing the future? Why would he need to slowly plot for the things he wants when there are more direct ways to acquire them?
After coming to this realization, Edward suddenly felt relieved, like a heavy burden was lifted from his mind. He took a deep breath and decided to stop acting so cautiously from now on.
He then looked at Hagrid before saying: "I will create a briefcase for you just like mine and Newt for you to raise Norberta properly. As for the license to raise her, I will get one for you from the Ministry."
Hagrid became excited after hearing this and he wanted to hug Edward to thank him, but he remembered when Edward taught him a lesson back in school and warned him about using his brute force to hug ordinary people. So he stopped and smiled awkwardly.
After a brief chat, all the people left the shack and went to do their own thing.
In the next two chapters, year one will be finally over, and Edward can focus on his own research, so look forwards to it.
HP Pickup Line: My name may not be Luna, but I sure know how to Lovegood!
