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Chapter 73: I'm Not One to Hold a Grudge
"Yes, because I'm a professor."
"The reason is quite simple. Because I'm a professor, I can find an excuse to deduct points—but for those who don't care about points, this doesn't seem like a big deal. That's why the school has a supplementary rule: detention."
"Likewise, just as I said at the start of class, if you think I'm being unreasonable, you are completely free to report it to Professor McGonagall."
"Of course, Professor McGonagall wouldn't bother with minor things, but deducting points because of a hat is clearly too ridiculous. She would surely give me a hard time for it."
"So, Susie has earned four points for her House. Hmm, the hat is just a teaching prop. What I said before was just a joke—of course, the part about it being cute wasn't."
The whole exchange resulted in a two-point gain, which was next to nothing.
"There, you see? Your new professor isn't one to deduct points over a hat—but that doesn't mean everyone can get away with joking about it."
"I hope every one of you remembers one thing after you leave this place—humans are more dangerous than Dark Magic."
"During your internships, not everyone will be lucky enough to get a good boss. Some bosses are demanding, some are greedy, and some... well, are lecherous."
The boys and girls all snickered.
"Hmm, I'm not joking. There are plenty of lecherous wizards out there. Otherwise, how do you think love potions were invented?"
"If you ask me, love potions are far more dangerous than the Imperius Curse. Who here knows about the Imperius Curse?"
"Professor, I know! It's one of the Three Unforgivable Curses."
An eager student blurted out the answer.
"An excellent answer, just what I'd expect from seventh-year students—but because you didn't raise your hand, I'm not awarding any points. And by the way, I wasn't planning on awarding points anyway."
The students had clearly grown accustomed to William's style of interjecting sarcastic comments. The student who had answered didn't even have the desire to argue, listening with a grin as William continued.
"Yes, the Three Unforgivable Curses. The name alone is enough to frighten people. But something like a love potion doesn't sound dangerous or scary at all. It's like a gentle sheep. It even goes by the name of love, which makes people look forward to it with some anticipation."
"But I have to tell you all, every year, wizards are arrested by the Ministry of Magic for trying to drug witches."
"And the boys shouldn't think they're immune—there are even more cases of witches drugging wizards. However, it's not illegal for a witch to use a love potion on a wizard. It's only prosecuted if the man resists fiercely and presses charges, and even then, the charge is for poisoning."
"Of course, if we only discuss crimes, we're clearly getting off topic."
But the students clearly didn't share that sentiment. Anecdotes about love potions were obviously more interesting to kids their age—even if they were about to enter the wizarding world for work, they were still only seventeen years old.
At their strong insistence, William had no choice but to elaborate a bit more.
"Alright, fine. Just a little bit more."
William cleared his throat slightly.
"Ahem. Talking only about wizards gets a bit too dark, so I'll tell a story that's a little less so."
"Does anyone here know of Mahoutokoro?"
"I think it's the magical school over in Japan?"
A student answered softly, their tone uncertain.
*'Good, it seems you don't know. I can make up the story from here.'*
Having prepared no materials related to love potions, William pulled out a story he had heard in prison.
"Yes, near Mahoutokoro, there are magical creatures unique to that region. I'm sure you've studied intelligent beings like centaurs, giants, and merpeople. Of course, that classification isn't precise, but it's close enough. Anyway, near Mahoutokoro, there's a type of magical creature with fox ears and a tail, called Tamamo-no-Mae."
"This magical creature possesses a love magic even more potent than a Veela's. When she sets her sights on a man, regardless of whether he's a Muggle or a wizard, he cannot escape her magic. She takes him back to her home, providing him with food, entertainment, lodging, and everything a normal person needs. And then, something terrible happens to him."
"Kill him and cut out his heart? Or absorb his soul?"
The students began to discuss it in low voices. After a few minutes, William announced the real answer.
"Then... the man is turned into a useless layabout, unable to accomplish anything for the rest of his life."
Disappointment crept onto the students' faces, though a few wore distinctly envious expressions.
"Alright, if we keep talking about these useless things, I might have to assign homework. I'd rather you not go off to your internships with homework to do."
"Getting back on topic, if you have a spell cast on you, you won't necessarily be lucky enough to encounter a magical creature like Tamamo-no-Mae. Your fate could be far worse."
"Since the name of our course is Wizarding Self-Defense Studies, self-preservation is naturally our top priority."
"Protecting yourself requires more than just magic; it requires the ability to handle difficult situations. Bullying newcomers is a nasty habit in some workplaces. Simple examples include being sent on errands, fetching tea and water, or drafting documents. In more complex cases, there can be all sorts of bizarre requests."
"It's just like what I did at the start of class, only they won't be controlling your House points. They'll be controlling your salary, your career prospects, and even more."
"I'm sure you have some understanding of these things, more or less, but you've probably never seriously considered how you would face such a situation."
"It's a shame that in our first class of the school year, I have to talk about such unpleasant things. But this is what you are about to face, and it's a very real part of the wizarding world."
"This should have been your first lesson after graduating from Hogwarts, but forgive me for moving it up. I believe this will better prepare you to deal with such things. Alright, class dismissed. I want you to seriously consider the potential workplace bullying you might face, as it will be our topic of discussion next class. There's no homework today. See you next week."
William finished his summary just before the end-of-class bell rang, letting out a huge sigh of relief.
*'I almost steered the topic in a completely different direction. Good thing I put the brakes on.'*
Although that other path was more important, it wasn't a topic for the first class. Survival comes before ideals.
"Goodbye, Professor!"
...
An endless chorus of goodbyes rang out from the doorway, but it eventually fell silent.
"Professor, I have one more question."
The one who spoke was a Gryffindor.
"Oh? What is it?"
"Well, Professor... why did you give Susie her points back, but you still haven't returned the points you took from Nymphadora?"
A few heads peeked around the doorway—clearly, this Gryffindor wasn't the only one who felt it was unfair.
"Oh, that," William said, a sincere smile spreading across his face.
"Because Nymphadora really was badmouthing me."
(end of chapter)
"Yes, because I'm a professor."
"The reason is quite simple. Because I'm a professor, I can find an excuse to deduct points—but for those who don't care about points, this doesn't seem like a big deal. That's why the school has a supplementary rule: detention."
"Likewise, just as I said at the start of class, if you think I'm being unreasonable, you are completely free to report it to Professor McGonagall."
"Of course, Professor McGonagall wouldn't bother with minor things, but deducting points because of a hat is clearly too ridiculous. She would surely give me a hard time for it."
"So, Susie has earned four points for her House. Hmm, the hat is just a teaching prop. What I said before was just a joke—of course, the part about it being cute wasn't."
The whole exchange resulted in a two-point gain, which was next to nothing.
"There, you see? Your new professor isn't one to deduct points over a hat—but that doesn't mean everyone can get away with joking about it."
"I hope every one of you remembers one thing after you leave this place—humans are more dangerous than Dark Magic."
"During your internships, not everyone will be lucky enough to get a good boss. Some bosses are demanding, some are greedy, and some... well, are lecherous."
The boys and girls all snickered.
"Hmm, I'm not joking. There are plenty of lecherous wizards out there. Otherwise, how do you think love potions were invented?"
"If you ask me, love potions are far more dangerous than the Imperius Curse. Who here knows about the Imperius Curse?"
"Professor, I know! It's one of the Three Unforgivable Curses."
An eager student blurted out the answer.
"An excellent answer, just what I'd expect from seventh-year students—but because you didn't raise your hand, I'm not awarding any points. And by the way, I wasn't planning on awarding points anyway."
The students had clearly grown accustomed to William's style of interjecting sarcastic comments. The student who had answered didn't even have the desire to argue, listening with a grin as William continued.
"Yes, the Three Unforgivable Curses. The name alone is enough to frighten people. But something like a love potion doesn't sound dangerous or scary at all. It's like a gentle sheep. It even goes by the name of love, which makes people look forward to it with some anticipation."
"But I have to tell you all, every year, wizards are arrested by the Ministry of Magic for trying to drug witches."
"And the boys shouldn't think they're immune—there are even more cases of witches drugging wizards. However, it's not illegal for a witch to use a love potion on a wizard. It's only prosecuted if the man resists fiercely and presses charges, and even then, the charge is for poisoning."
"Of course, if we only discuss crimes, we're clearly getting off topic."
But the students clearly didn't share that sentiment. Anecdotes about love potions were obviously more interesting to kids their age—even if they were about to enter the wizarding world for work, they were still only seventeen years old.
At their strong insistence, William had no choice but to elaborate a bit more.
"Alright, fine. Just a little bit more."
William cleared his throat slightly.
"Ahem. Talking only about wizards gets a bit too dark, so I'll tell a story that's a little less so."
"Does anyone here know of Mahoutokoro?"
"I think it's the magical school over in Japan?"
A student answered softly, their tone uncertain.
*'Good, it seems you don't know. I can make up the story from here.'*
Having prepared no materials related to love potions, William pulled out a story he had heard in prison.
"Yes, near Mahoutokoro, there are magical creatures unique to that region. I'm sure you've studied intelligent beings like centaurs, giants, and merpeople. Of course, that classification isn't precise, but it's close enough. Anyway, near Mahoutokoro, there's a type of magical creature with fox ears and a tail, called Tamamo-no-Mae."
"This magical creature possesses a love magic even more potent than a Veela's. When she sets her sights on a man, regardless of whether he's a Muggle or a wizard, he cannot escape her magic. She takes him back to her home, providing him with food, entertainment, lodging, and everything a normal person needs. And then, something terrible happens to him."
"Kill him and cut out his heart? Or absorb his soul?"
The students began to discuss it in low voices. After a few minutes, William announced the real answer.
"Then... the man is turned into a useless layabout, unable to accomplish anything for the rest of his life."
Disappointment crept onto the students' faces, though a few wore distinctly envious expressions.
"Alright, if we keep talking about these useless things, I might have to assign homework. I'd rather you not go off to your internships with homework to do."
"Getting back on topic, if you have a spell cast on you, you won't necessarily be lucky enough to encounter a magical creature like Tamamo-no-Mae. Your fate could be far worse."
"Since the name of our course is Wizarding Self-Defense Studies, self-preservation is naturally our top priority."
"Protecting yourself requires more than just magic; it requires the ability to handle difficult situations. Bullying newcomers is a nasty habit in some workplaces. Simple examples include being sent on errands, fetching tea and water, or drafting documents. In more complex cases, there can be all sorts of bizarre requests."
"It's just like what I did at the start of class, only they won't be controlling your House points. They'll be controlling your salary, your career prospects, and even more."
"I'm sure you have some understanding of these things, more or less, but you've probably never seriously considered how you would face such a situation."
"It's a shame that in our first class of the school year, I have to talk about such unpleasant things. But this is what you are about to face, and it's a very real part of the wizarding world."
"This should have been your first lesson after graduating from Hogwarts, but forgive me for moving it up. I believe this will better prepare you to deal with such things. Alright, class dismissed. I want you to seriously consider the potential workplace bullying you might face, as it will be our topic of discussion next class. There's no homework today. See you next week."
William finished his summary just before the end-of-class bell rang, letting out a huge sigh of relief.
*'I almost steered the topic in a completely different direction. Good thing I put the brakes on.'*
Although that other path was more important, it wasn't a topic for the first class. Survival comes before ideals.
"Goodbye, Professor!"
...
An endless chorus of goodbyes rang out from the doorway, but it eventually fell silent.
"Professor, I have one more question."
The one who spoke was a Gryffindor.
"Oh? What is it?"
"Well, Professor... why did you give Susie her points back, but you still haven't returned the points you took from Nymphadora?"
A few heads peeked around the doorway—clearly, this Gryffindor wasn't the only one who felt it was unfair.
"Oh, that," William said, a sincere smile spreading across his face.
"Because Nymphadora really was badmouthing me."
(end of chapter)
