ALL NOVEL Chapter 12: Onboarding Checklist
Victor was actually quite pleased with the idea of setting up a repelling charm. While he needed potential clients for his deals, he didn't want them wandering into his home uninvited. That sort of arrangement could be planned carefully over time. His previous encounter with Trelawney had been more of a coincidence during his visit to the school.
Speaking of which, Victor recalled that transaction vividly.
"Why can't I truly see the future? Why is it that others can teach their students knowledge and earn their gratitude, but I lack that ability? I… I genuinely wish to teach them..."
"...What price are you willing to pay for it?"
This conversation had occurred just the day before, in the Divination Tower.
Victor's statement that "ordinary people must pay a price to gain the ability to prophesy" was not an idle comment. It had its precedents. Trelawney herself had traded two years of her lifespan and two segments of her liver to gain the ability to prophesize through a deal with him.
Giving something to gain something else—this immutable truth governed not just the magical world, but also the fairytale lands.
Victor's role was essentially that of a broker, collecting the price before providing the desired result. Sure, he took a little profit for himself as the middleman, but overall, it was a fair exchange.
…So he couldn't quite understand why, in the fairytale realms, people always referred to him as a "devil."
Victor genuinely didn't get it.
After parting ways with Dumbledore and Scrimgeour, Victor escorted them out using the same method they'd arrived by, this time without encountering any peculiar incidents. With the visitors gone, Victor gained a rare but mundane two-day break.
On the third morning, Victor found himself seated before the cool fireplace, sifting through a pile of books he had purchased in Knockturn Alley. The more he read, the deeper his frown became.
He was seated on a fabric sofa directly facing the fireplace, holding a book in his hands. The remaining dozen books were stacked in a tall pile nearby, each bearing signs of having been leafed through. However, none of them seemed to have been treated with any care, left haphazardly on the table.
The book he was holding had a purple cover, wrinkled like old tree bark, with a texture that felt oddly cold and scaly, like a snake. Its title read:
"How to Perceive Destiny Through Curses."
At the dining table, Baba Yaga was chewing on a heap of reddish food. The meal smelled strongly of iron, and the contents were too formless to discern what they were.
Hearing Victor sigh again, Baba Yaga spoke slowly.
"Problems with your research?"
"Problems?" Victor snapped the book shut with a loud clap and took a deep breath.
"Absolute garbage."
"Other than Unveiling the Future Through the Mist, which was mildly useful, everything else is rubbish. Honestly, I'm amazed at how this world's writers manage to cram so much nonsense into a single book with so little actual knowledge!"
"Take this one, for instance," he said, picking up a book with a black dog on its cover. He read its title aloud: "Death Omens: What to Do When Doom Approaches."
"The author may as well have listed every mundane thing in daily life as a potential omen!"
"So they're all clueless about divination?" Baba Yaga asked.
"Exactly. Ten books, not a single competent author among them."
"And this one—The Connection Between Curses and Prophecy—what a title! You'd think it was profound, but it's actually about using curses to ensure every prediction comes true by personally eliminating anyone who defies the prophecy."
"And that counts as prophecy?!"
Baba Yaga laughed dryly, exposing two precariously loose teeth in her shriveled mouth.
"You're no better, Victor. You remind me of what you taught Maleficent. She couldn't prophesy but needed a convincing prediction to solidify her status as a great dark sorceress. So you had her fake it with curses and concoct that nonsense about true love's kiss..."
"She paid the price," Victor replied with a shrug. "Two fairy wings. That was sufficient for me to make an exception."
Casting a disdainful glance at the pile of books, Victor decided their continued presence was an affront to his library. With a snap of his fingers, the cold flames in the fireplace surged and consumed the entire stack in seconds.
Ashes danced briefly in the air before being devoured by glowing embers, leaving no trace.
At that moment, a small bell near the fireplace jingled twice.
"You've got mail," Baba Yaga said from behind him.
The bell was attached to a wooden chute Victor had set up just the day before. Since owls couldn't navigate through the magical mist surrounding his house, he had installed a transfer spell on the roof. It redirected letters from a fixed mailbox to his home.
With a soft clunk, something slid down the chute.
Victor opened the small hatch at the bottom and retrieved an envelope sealed with four animal crests in wax. It bore a letter from Professor McGonagall:
To Mr. Vanderboom,
As previously arranged, I will meet you at the designated location on Charing Cross Road at 2 PM this afternoon. I will also bring along a new student. Due to the school's current administrative workload, I hope you can assist with guiding them.
Note: Attached is the list of items required for Hogwarts teaching staff.
Victor turned to the second page to find a neat checklist:
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry – Teacher Essentials
-A set of formal robes suitable for official occasions, with cloak length no more than one inch above the ankle. Color is optional.
-A plain pointed hat.
-A valid birth certificate. Non-magical born witches/wizards may substitute a Muggle-issued ID or immigration papers.
-A Gringotts account number for monthly payroll deposits.
-A wand.
-A detailed syllabus for the term.
Optional activities requiring preparation:
-Quidditch: Professors may volunteer as referees for school matches but must have prior experience. Interested individuals should contact Madam Hooch.
-Club Creation: Professors may establish student clubs, pending approval from the headmaster and deputy headmaster.
-Hogwarts Grounds Exploration: Professors are entitled to select magical materials worth up to 100 Galleons monthly from the grounds and Forbidden Forest. Requests exceeding this limit require deputy headmaster approval.
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