Pen Pal's Uneven Academic Performance

However, with this "personal shopper" who was entirely his own, Edmund could have told Lily that he no longer needed to bother Mrs. Evans.

But something that even Edmund couldn't have imagined happened inexplicably.

Elena obtained the Evans' address by asking her mother to find and send some magic books that "Muggles can read without any problem" to the Evans family.

Edmund considered himself the person who understood Elena better than anyone else in the world. His mother had never been particularly intelligent, not that she was stupid, but she could never make the choice that was "most beneficial to herself" or "most in line with her status."

Logically, she should have harbored deep resentment towards Grindelwald and Dumbledore due to the separation of her family during her childhood. This would have brought her considerable benefits and added to her political resources.

But every time she mentioned those two people, she only felt a symbolic hint of hatred, and mostly felt numb and helpless, as if she were just accepting her bad luck.

The most ridiculous thing is that, because she grew up with witchcraft ideas, even though she knew it was "wrong," she was also influenced to be very resistant to Muggles. She almost truly believed that Muggles were "creatures completely different from wizards" and never thought of trying to understand them.

Therefore, Edmund never expected that his mother, after reading those magazines, would suddenly become brave for the first time in a long time. Simply because she really wanted to know what those technical terms and theoretical concepts in Muggle fashion were all about, she actually wrote a letter to Mrs. Evans in her broken English.

To show his sincerity, he also enclosed many Galleons.

……Um.

Yes, that's right. The wife of the nominal heir of the UMNO party, she just became pen pals with a Muggle woman in such a muddle that she would discuss poetry, romance, and everyday life with her using a dictionary.

Let's set aside whether Mrs. Soman had even the most basic understanding of the last point.

Edmund has something to say about this matter alone:

"Very good, very energetic."

"In the end, the world has become the kind of crazy place I love to see."

……

Aside from my mother having a new pen pal, nothing else has happened this month.

The first-year curriculum wasn't extensive, and after the initial novelty wore off, the young wizards all developed some degree of specialization in certain subjects, even Edmund was no exception.

If we were to rank them, then Transfiguration would undoubtedly be ranked first.

Edmund's talent for Transfiguration was exceptional. Whether adding patterns to hard objects or transforming a small object into a more complex form, he did it quickly and well, with remarkable ease.

Moreover, if this wasn't an illusion, Edmund felt that Professor McGonagall's gaze towards him had become much more affectionate lately.

Ironically, she should have favored the equally gifted James Potter. Although Professor McGonagall was known for her impartiality, it was perfectly reasonable for her to secretly favor one of the young wizards in her own house.

But James is such a nuisance. Professor McGonagall both loves and hates him, and she instinctively shakes her head every time he is mentioned.

Shake at least three times.

Unlike his increasingly proficient Transfiguration, which he even developed a tendency to master, Edmund was very interested in Defense Against the Dark Arts, but he couldn't always do well, and sometimes he couldn't even keep up with the professor's train of thought.

In conclusion, Edmund realized that this was because he lacked the sense of crisis that most wizards possess.

Defense Against the Dark Arts, as its name suggests, teaches how to fight against dark magic and how to survive the enemy's dangerous and utterly illegal attacks.

...But what does that have to do with him? Edmund's biggest fear right now is facing a harmless "good guy" like Dumbledore head-on. If he really encounters a criminal, it's hard to say who will need to defend themselves.

But Edmund really enjoyed the course because Professor Hecate was a great storyteller.

Don't get me wrong, this is by no means sarcastic.

Perhaps because Professor Hecate's previous job gave her ample experience in combating curses, she was able to combine real-life cases with humorous and vivid language to clearly analyze the actual effects of the curse and how to break it whenever she introduced a new curse.

"Like hot butter."

During a class, James Porter spoke to Professor Hecate with great interest.

"You throw a pat of butter into the pan, turn on the heat, and then, with a sizzle, knowledge flows smoothly into our heads—"

Edmund wasn't sure if he was being polite or not. Considering that Professor Hecate had indeed laughed, it seemed that there were people who enjoyed such excessive praise that emphasized appetite and implied that the person hadn't eaten much at lunch.

Thank you, I learned something.

I think I've learned something.

perhaps?

Out of respect for his headmaster, Edmund placed Potions class in this position: third place, neither particularly good nor bad.

To be honest, after the initial novelty wore off, he quickly lost interest and curiosity in potions.

This was unavoidable; Edmund had understood Professor Slughorn's implication from the very beginning:

Potions are the most lucrative of the five main subjects. With enough talent, you can reap both Galon and glory.

...But Edmund had long lost the desire for upward mobility. Where would he leap to next? To become the Dumbledore of the new era?

He was no longer as obsessed with making a name for himself in history as he used to be, and had no interest in contributing to the academic community of wizards.

Moreover, and more importantly, Edmund had neither interest in nor talent for it.

The "talent" here refers to that sudden flash of inspiration that comes out of nowhere.

Edmund couldn't flash an inch.

It wouldn't be a problem to have him follow the steps in the book to make an effective potion.

But when Edmund, simply out of curiosity, asked Lily, "Where do you and Snape get so many brilliant ideas?" and "What's it like to be a potions genius?", Lily declared:

You need to use your intelligence and trust your instincts. It's not just about putting your heart into it, but also about enjoying the process, thereby resonating with the Potions Master who wrote the book, achieving a kindred spirit…

"sorry."

Edmund replied expressionlessly at that time.

"I think I might be under some kind of curse. I've suddenly found myself unable to understand English. Do you have any clue why?"

In short, Edmund had basically given up on shining in Potions class. However, since it was a subject taught by the Head of Slytherin, he shouldn't perform too poorly and always tried his best.

Interestingly, Edmund vaguely sensed that Pollyanna seemed to have once harbored the idea of ​​using her potion-making talent to gain the Headmaster's favor, just like Lily and Snape.

Most of the little snakes had similar thoughts, but only Pollyanna persisted the longest... but in the end she had to give up.

No talent is no talent. Just as Edmund had previously thought, a wizard's power is quite subjective.

Edmund wasn't sure how long Pollyanna had been depressed because of this, because even he couldn't tell what the girl was thinking without paying special attention.

Edmund further elevated his opinion of her and became even more curious about her past experiences.