"Uh..." Thorne thought for a moment and decided to answer truthfully, "Actually, our research method was pretty simple and crude."
Everyone leaned forward slightly.
"It was just extracting the souls of some creatures—mostly Snails—and then injecting them into our own bodies to observe what effects it would have."
"The soul magic I've mastered was indeed learned during this process."
As he finished speaking,
The meeting room fell silent for a moment.
The gazes of several professors turned toward Dumbledore almost simultaneously.
To be honest, this description really sounds like dark magic.
However, Dumbledore looked calm, merely raising his finger to point at a certain column on the resume.
Psychiatric history.
Everyone was stunned, then it suddenly clicked.
"Oh—"
"So that's why."
The interviewers nodded in unison, and the atmosphere suddenly started to make sense.
Mosquito Lady cleared her throat and continued the process: "Alright, then next, please demonstrate some soul magic."
Thorne hesitated for a moment.
"Um... well, I'll just show you the most basic application then."
He thought for a moment and added, "Could I have a knife? Just a small one is fine."
The air fell silent once again.
A few seconds later.
Snape expressionlessly reached out, pulled a boning knife from his robes, and with a "clang," placed it in front of Thorne.
The professors: "..."
The silence continued.
Snape's face was dark, and he added in a cold tone:
"What? As a Potions professor, is it so unreasonable to carry a knife around?"
"Yeah, very reasonable."
Thorne suppressed the urge to snark in his heart and reached out to pick up the deboning knife on the table.
The next second.
He slashed his own wrist without any hesitation.
Blood splattered instantly.
"Wait!"
Several bug professors stood up almost simultaneously, subconsciously about to step forward for first aid, but as soon as they moved, they all froze in unison.
Their gazes were all fixed firmly on the hand Thorne was holding the knife with.
There, a mass of gas-like yet liquid-like white substance was slowly emerging.
This was a state they were all too familiar with.
The ghosts floating all over Hogwarts are in exactly this state.
"How is this possible..."
Snape's brow furrowed tightly, "Is that... a soul?"
Thorne nodded slightly.
Then, he reached out his other hand, gently guiding that wisp of white substance toward the wound.
The moment the white substance touched the wound, as if it had a mind of its own, it quickly covered it.
Bonding, repairing.
In less than three seconds.
The blood vanished, and the wound was as smooth as before, without even a scar left behind.
"This..."
That massive earthworm lady's voice trembled slightly, "Is it healing magic? Or... wandless magic?"
"It's not healing magic."
Snape slowly leaned back in his chair, his tone low, yet unable to suppress the ripple of emotion, "It's something else."
He took a deep breath.
"Just being able to extract a soul from a body and use it to heal the physical form—that alone is already quite incredible magic."
His gaze fell back on Thorne, and he could hardly hide his shock.
That's the soul, after all.
In today's magic world, this is a field where the entrance to research hasn't even been fully opened yet, and wizards are struggling with every step they take on this path.
But the person in front of me is already able to pull out their own soul and use it as a tool.
This isn't even a matter of talent anymore.
This is revolutionary!
"Albus," Mosquito Lady pushed up her glasses, her voice clearly carrying surprise, "where did you trick such a talent into coming from?"
Hearing this, Dumbledore only smiled slightly, his tone light and smug:
"Minerva, these eyes of mine can accurately lock onto the booger-flavored one in a big handful of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans."
"That's what you call a keen eye."
Thorne: "..."
So he's saying I'm the booger-flavored one?
He decided not to look too deeply into that metaphor.
"Uh..." Thorne cleared his throat, pulling his attention back to business, "I want to confirm, what is the result of this interview?"
Mosquito Lady didn't pay any more attention to Dumbledore's cockiness, stood up, her tone formal:
"Buzz buzz buzz, Mr. Thorne."
"I think there's no longer any need for a vote."
She nodded slightly.
"Welcome to the Hogwarts teaching staff."
"From now on, the young wizards will have one more new course."
Dumbledore pulled out a professor's contract from out of nowhere, his movements so practiced it was as if he had prepared it long ago.
Thorne took the contract and immediately looked down to check the pay.
Weekly salary, one hundred and fifty Galleons.
He subconsciously looked up at the professors present, really wanting to ask a question.
Is this treatment really fair?
But as soon as the thought popped up, he pushed it back down.
You've got to be kidding me, the other party is Albus Dumbledore, hailed as the "greatest White Wizard of our time."
Regardless, surely he wouldn't screw him out of this little bit of salary, right?
Thorne quickly signed his name at the end of the contract.
The moment the pen tip hit the paper, he let out a long sigh of relief.
So, I'm... on the staff now?
However, when he looked up and saw Dumbledore's beaming face, he felt an inexplicable sense that he'd been scammed somehow.
After the contract was finished, that Mosquito Lady with the glasses came forward and shook hands with Thorne.
"Let's introduce ourselves properly."
"Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts, and also the Professor of Transfiguration."
Then, she turned slightly and gestured toward the giant Earthworm Lady next to her.
"Pomona Sprout, Head of Hufflepuff House and also the Professor of Herbology."
Finally, there was that short, kind-looking human wizard.
"Filius Flitwick, Head of Ravenclaw House and also the Professor of Charms."
Thorne was in a great mood and shook hands with the two of them in turn.
Especially when shaking hands with Flitwick, he was so excited for a moment that he almost forgot to let go, shaking endlessly until the other person coughed lightly, and then he finally snapped out of it.
"Alright, Professor Thorne."
Professor McGonagall patted his arm, "I'll show you around Hogwarts; after all, this is where you'll be living for a long time in the future."
As she spoke, she was already tugging Thorne, ready to take him straight out of the classroom.
Just then, Snape, who had been silent all along at the side, suddenly spoke up.
"I've also done some research regarding soul magic."
"We can discuss it a bit later."
Thorne immediately gave him an "OK" gesture, smiling very sincerely:
"Of course, we mammals have to help each other out!"
Before he even finished speaking, he was already being forcibly led away by Professor McGonagall.
In the classroom, Sprout and Flitwick, who was rubbing his hand, both turned to look at Snape at the same time.
"...What does he mean by 'mammals'?"
Snape gave a cold snort, his face expressionless, with no intention of explaining whatsoever.
He straightened the hem of his robe and turned to leave the classroom.
——
"Phew—a private office too, the perks here are really nice."
Led by Professor McGonagall, after taking a general tour of Hogwarts, Thorne finally sat down in the lounge arranged for him, feeling significantly more relaxed.
He leaned back in his chair, hands behind his head, and let out a long breath.
Before him, the familiar system prompt appeared.
[Current Special Environment: Hogwarts Castle （15%）]
"Today was quite a harvest..."
Thorne remarked softly to himself.
"But this castle is just too big, isn't it? Only fifteen percent after a whole tour."
"Then again, there's still half a summer break left, plenty of time for me to explore this place properly."
Thinking of this, his mood lightened.
"And... the professors here are all pretty nice."
As soon as the words left his mouth, his brow furrowed slightly.
A previously overlooked question suddenly popped into his mind.
"But then again..."
"Why does it seem like only Professor Flitwick is human to me?"