Lessons and Scandals
After the day of celebration, it was not as if the world had to stop because of it. Classes resumed their usual course on Monday, as always.
Students returned to their daily routine, while some could see through the windows how the structures of the first task were being dismantled and floating through the air. Something that would, without a doubt, take at most one or two days; much faster than their construction had been.
Harry was watching that through the window of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, taught by none other than his mother; Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch.
"Magic in emotions, or emotions in magic," Wanda said as she held a book in her hands and walked in front of the class with that calm, composed presence of a professor. The classroom remained completely silent; everyone paying attention to every detail, or students like Hermione, writing absolutely everything down without stopping.
"We have already spoken about curses, which require truly dark emotions to be activated; not just magic. And about how that can lead to the corruption of our minds," she said in a serious tone while observing the classroom. "But now we will talk about the loss of magical control that can occur when we lose control over our own emotions," she continued.
"As you all know, the first magical awakenings are called accidental magic. It happens to children and is usually caused by intense emotions such as fear, anger, stress, or sadness. Being unable to control a power they do not yet understand, magic activates involuntarily," she explained clearly. "More than one of you has surely experienced it," she added while looking at them.
Many seemed to recall their own past; some with slight embarrassment, others with faint irritation… or even with barely concealed sadness.
"There are documented cases of children falling from rooftops and activating their magic out of fear, saving themselves from the fall. Even houses completely burned down due to a child who was truly furious with their parents. And other cases we will not list here, but which can be found in ancient records," she continued.
"That leads us to one conclusion; emotions without control cause magic without control. And that magic might not only save your lives, but also put the lives of others in danger. Something that is almost never mentioned is that the more magic a person possesses, the more intense their emotions can become," she said, glancing almost imperceptibly toward Harry.
He could not help but feel that his mother was giving a general lesson aimed especially at him.
Hermione raised her hand immediately, so Wanda stopped and pointed in her direction.
"How does that work? The more magic we have, the more emotions we feel?" Hermione asked, not fully understanding the concept.
"Mmm… not literally," Wanda replied calmly. "It is a way of saying that our emotions influence our magic far more, even in the smallest details. That is why powerful witches and wizards must control every single emotion that arises. Many rely on the use of Occlumency, but most try to let only their positive emotions rise to the surface, as a way to guide their magic down a… well, safer path," she explained gently.
"Is that why Dumbledore seems like a crazy old man who is always happy all the time?" Daphne asked, quickly raising her hand, earning a few amused laughs throughout the classroom.
"Perhaps," Wanda replied with a faint smile.
As always, Wanda's class was clear and detailed. She spoke softly, making sure every student understood the topic well. This time, focusing on the danger of allowing emotions to control magic… or the wand. And on how devastating a spell cast in a moment of loss of control could be.
She also hinted that there were spells whose effects could never be reversed, and reckless decisions that time itself could never truly mend.
"I am not telling you all this so that you try to use magic for good, or so that you become heroes or witches and wizards who save the world," she said seriously. "I am telling you this so that you learn to use your own magic, and so that you never allow your emotions to control you."
She was, without a doubt, someone with direct experience in losing control over her emotions and her own power. Something they did not know… but could feel in every word she spoke.
Just then, the class came to an end. Many were surprised, feeling as though it had passed far too quickly. As always, Wanda's classes were good and very popular.
"Alright. This time, I will not be assigning homework," she announced. "However, those who wish to earn a few extra points may bring me examples of witches or wizards who lost control of their magic due to their emotions, and the damage they caused."
Some students, especially from Ravenclaw, smiled excitedly at the idea of earning points for their house. In contrast, only a few Gryffindors seemed genuinely interested, while others hesitated as they left the classroom, one by one.
"Mum, it seems you enjoy being a professor," Harry said, looking at her with a smile.
"I do. Especially because I get to teach my little ones," Wanda replied sincerely, visibly happy.
"Or keep an eye on them so they do not get into trouble or danger?" he added in a playful tone.
"That is another advantage of being a professor," Wanda replied, unable to deny it; especially knowing how her small and chaotic children tended to behave.
And as if that were a sign, when Harry left the classroom, he saw Professor McGonagall dragging Tommy toward Wanda's classroom, while he was, for some reason, completely covered in a thick green liquid. Dee was also there, perched on his head, in the exact same state.
Harry watched his brother for a moment and then continued on his way, a faint smile forming on his face.
…
"What do you think it is?" Billy asked as he approached Harry, who was staring intently at the egg he had left on the dining table. Around them, their classmates seemed to be asking themselves the same question, but Billy spoke first.
"I do not know. I just hope it is not a dragon. Having another one like Red would already be problematic enough," Harry said quickly. Even so, not even he could see through all the magic surrounding the egg, so all he could do was wait for it to hatch to find out what he would be facing in the second challenge.
Terra, who was standing beside the egg, which was almost as tall as she was, tapped it a couple of times carefully and then pressed her ear against the shell, trying to hear something. After that, she turned toward Harry and Billy, communicating through gestures.
"I do not think that is it. Though it would be interesting to see," Billy said, shaking his head.
Terra paused, thoughtful. Then she opened her hands as if forming a massive mouth and, right after that, brought them closer to her chest, making them look like small hands.
"I think that even for wizards it would be difficult to bring a Tyrannosaurus Rex back to life just to make it fight against teenagers in a competition…" Harry began, but each word made him hesitate a little more. "You know what? Knowing the magical world, it could actually be an option," he finished admitting, no longer dismissing the little fairy's idea. The magical world had a strange ability to surprise him.
Terra puffed out her chest proudly, as if she had just guessed exactly what the enemy would be.
"Harry, this is bad," Daphne said, rushing in and causing a bit of chaos in her wake. She bumped into a few students before stopping right in front of him and dropping a newspaper onto the table, next to the egg and Terra. The latter reacted quickly, preventing the egg from being hit, and shot Daphne a sharp glare.
"Ah, sorry," Daphne said quickly. "But this is bad. Harry, they discovered your secret," she added, looking at him with completely genuine panic.
Harry looked at her for a moment, confused. "Secret?" he repeated, glancing at the newspaper without understanding what she meant.
That was until he read the first words.
Then he slowly lifted his gaze and gave Daphne a flat look, which only made her start laughing, clearly amused, as if she had just pulled off a great joke.
Meanwhile, Terry, who was sitting nearby, leaned in slightly to try and read the newspaper in Harry's hands. "What happened?" he asked.
But Harry quickly covered it. "Nonsense," he replied.
Unfortunately for him, at that very moment, a large number of owls began to enter through the special window in the ceiling of the Great Hall. Each one carried a newspaper identical to the one Harry was holding, dropping them onto all the tables in front of the students of Hogwarts; or at least in front of everyone who was subscribed to the Prophet.
It was a special delivery.
And one of those newspapers ended up in Terry's hands. He opened it with mild confusion at the sudden mass distribution… until he completely froze upon reading the front page. His mouth slowly fell open, and then he glanced sideways at Harry.
Harry reached out to snatch it back, but Terry bolted at full speed, getting away from him.
"Guys, you have to see this!" he shouted as he ran between the tables, clearly excited to share some entertaining news.
Harry let out a sigh as he watched the number of newspapers raining down from the sky. Many students picked them up, read for only a few seconds… and then lifted their heads to look at him with faint smiles.
To make matters worse, Daphne stood up on her seat, the newspaper open in her hands, and began reading aloud.
"Ahem, ahem," she cleared her throat before starting.
"Dear readers, it seems that Hogwarts is not only the cradle of future heroes, but also of unexpected social celebrities.
According to whispers in the corridors, the ever-unpredictable Harry Potter has gone from being the Boy Who Lived to becoming the boy everyone is talking about.
And not precisely because of his grades or heroic deeds, but because of his surprising ease at attracting glances… and sighs.
The evidence, of course, is plentiful.
Enchanted photographs show the young Potter calmly walking across the castle grounds with a girl named Luna Lovegood riding on his back, as if carrying eccentric friends were simply part of his daily routine.
In other images, he can be seen handing sweets to the young Astoria Greengrass, who smiles delightedly, while a very attentive Ginny Weasley watches the scene from nearby, receiving a knowing smile from the protagonist of this story.
But that is not all.
Sources claim that during the preparations for a certain school event, some students witnessed something even more curious; a supposed momentary transformation in Potter's appearance.
Taller.
More confident.
More striking.
All with the apparent objective of impressing none other than Fleur Delacour herself, who was reportedly left completely stunned by the sudden change. Possibly granting Potter victory in the competition for her attention over his three rivals.
'I will not lie, he is quite handsome,' confessed a fourth-year student, hiding her face behind a book.
'I would not mind if he asked me to take a walk by the lake,' added another, amid nervous giggles.
At Hogwarts, it seems admirers are not in short supply.
There is even talk of a relative of his best friend, Draco Malfoy, who appeared at the celebration after the first task solely to see Potter there.
However, not everyone is willing to let Potter take all the attention.
Draco Malfoy himself was also seen calmly walking alongside Hermione Granger. According to witnesses, Malfoy did not miss the opportunity to mock the situation, commenting with a crooked smile that since he could not compete with the 'gigolo Potter,' he was simply making do with what happened to be closer at hand.
All of this while relentlessly bothering Granger, having already lost the competition for Fleur Delacour's attention.
More images on pages 3, 4, 7, and 10; because a story like this deserves to be seen from every angle."
Daphne finished reading while laughing openly, seeing Harry's expression; clearly annoyed, as he received the gazes of everyone present.
And just at that moment, Draco entered the Great Hall, catching the last part Daphne had read. Hermione was not walking beside him, but she entered almost at the same time, stopping right next to him and drawing just as much attention.