Chapter 5 Lucian's Ambition
"It looks like I'm about to start a different kind of life from now on."Lucian saw Dumbledore off, waved his wand to restore the messy classroom to its original state, and turned to look at the twenty-four students behind him.
"Professor, are you leaving?"
Their gazes toward Lucian were filled with reluctance—just moments ago, Jeffery had already told them what had happened.
Lucian would take two assistants with him to teach at Hogwarts; that was the limit Dumbledore could accept.
As for the other students, they could only be disbanded on the spot.
There was no choice—Hogwarts couldn't accommodate so many outsiders staying long-term, especially since each of them was proficient in magic and could qualify as outstanding Hogwarts graduates.
Dumbledore couldn't guarantee that their ideas wouldn't subtly influence the other students—these were a group of scholars who had no qualms about studying dark magic.
"Why do you all look so dejected?" Lucian looked at these students he had spent so much time with. "I'm just going to teach at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It's not like I'm dying.
"I've already taught you everything about how to explore the mysteries of magic through a scientific approach. Even without me, you can still continue to advance in the world of magic."
"That's not the same, Professor." One student couldn't help but speak up.
"Without you, it's like we've lost our lighthouse in a pitch-black ocean. Without a clear direction, we—"
"Then I'll just give you a direction, won't I? I'm going to teach in a school, not to prison. Once I've settled in at Hogwarts, I'll send you letters right away. After that, I'll still assign you research topics."
"You don't seriously think that just because I'm at the magic school, you lot can slack off and live carefree lives, do you?"
Hearing Lucian say this, the other students didn't look scared at all—instead, excited smiles appeared on their faces. After all, they were the ones Lucian had personally selected: the group most passionate and patient about magic.
"We couldn't ask for more, Professor!" After making promises with the students and sending them to another undiscovered secret base, Lucian sat at his desk and let out a soft sigh.
"After keeping such a low profile for so long, I still can't avoid getting involved in the main storyline, huh?" Lucian had a typical engineering mindset. Ever since crossing over, he had instinctively tried to deconstruct magic using scientific principles.
As this deconstruction deepened, he increasingly realized the benefits of this approach.
But in the early stages, his progress in learning magic wasn't ideal—compared to Snape, who could invent advanced dark spells while still a student, Lucian was utterly crushed.
In his first year, he witnessed too much of the stupidity and arrogance of Slytherin students. At the very beginning, having had no prior magical education, he truly couldn't compare to those pure-blood heirs, which gave Lucian a strong sense of crisis.
The reason he was later able to surpass most students' progress was entirely due to his passion for magic and the extreme self-discipline from his second life.
While others were falling in love, he was studying magic. While others were playing wizard's chess, he was studying magic. While others were chasing fame and profit in the Ministry of Magic, he was studying magic.
After graduation, he rejected olive branches from pure-blood families and kept his distance from mixed-blood factions. He wandered around, blending into the crowds.
When Voldemort was wreaking havoc across the British wizarding world, he took ample supplies and hid in a remote Muggle village, discussing magic with his students.
Along the way, there were no talent cheats or system—just his own effort and constant exploration. Even so, his path in magic seemed to have reached its end.
After turning twenty-five, Lucian's understanding of magic fell into a kind of stagnation.
If he hadn't known early on that one person's ingenuity is limited and consciously sought out talented magical prodigies, his gains over the past seven years probably wouldn't have been much.
Magic seemed to naturally favor young children—their wild imaginations, their desires, always producing one miracle after another.
For a wizard like Lucian, who was approaching middle age, maintaining the status quo was already considered a remarkable achievement. But in a world like this, how could he possibly be content with mediocrity? When the Sorting Hat sorted Lucian, it hesitated for a long time between Hufflepuff and Slytherin.
But in the end, it decided that Lucian's ambition would dominate everything.
"You are a unique kind of ambitious person. You don't know how to scheme for power and profit, nor do you stoop to unscrupulous means to achieve your goals. But you are even more arrogant than they are—wildly ambitious! You aspire to stand at the top of everyone, overlooking the development of all things with an infinite lifespan. Arrogant boy, embrace Slytherin! There, one day, you will achieve your ambition!"
Lucian neither agreed nor disagreed with the Sorting Hat's evaluation.
Achieve his ambition in Slytherin? Aside from living in a lake-view dorm long-term and trading for some forbidden knowledge from classmates, he didn't see much benefit.
The average quality of Slytherin students was decent.
It was just a pity that most of them were dominated by pure-blood supremacy or the lingering influence of a certain Dark Lord. Under the influence of their ancestors and parents, they didn't believe miracles could be created through their own power; instead, they were more inclined to attach themselves to the strong.
This limited their own development to a certain extent and was completely contrary to Lucian's belief that "man can conquer nature."
Lucian wanted to become a Dumbledore in terms of magic prowess and a Nicolas Flamel in terms of immortality—everything else had to give way to these two goals.
Unfortunately, the first of those goals had now come to him and told him that it was he himself who needed to compromise.
Tap—tap—tap—
Lucian's fingers lightly tapped the desktop as he pondered slowly.
Going to Hogwarts to serve as a professor had become an established fact; the teaching duties would inevitably take up some of his time. But there should still be some benefits.
As the setting school in Harry Potter, Hogwarts must have its special qualities. Moreover, researching dark magic at Hogwarts would avoid constant interruptions from Aurors—a huge help in terms of focus.
Knock knock knock.
A sudden knock sounded at the door.
"Come in."
"Professor, I've found the books you needed."
"Hmm, thank you." Lucian waved his hand, and a large number of books related to Defense Against the Dark Arts floating beside Jeffery instantly flew over to him, stacking neatly on the desk.
Though it was forced upon him, since the path had been chosen, he could only walk it seriously. He needed to prepare in advance for how to teach students of different years at Hogwarts, dividing them into sections and stages.
He was fairly good at this kind of thing, so it wasn't too troublesome. As time passed bit by bit, on August 15th, Lucian received a letter from Hogwarts.
Dear Professor Lucian:
I am delighted that you have accepted the invitation to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Please arrive at the school at 10 a.m. on August 25th via Floo powder (location: Hogwarts Deputy Headmistress's office). If you choose another method, please inform us in advance.
I will be waiting there to provide some introductions and assistance for your teaching work.
Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall