Zephyr stood before the large, carved wooden door. One breath in. Another out. He rolled his shoulders once, shook his hands loosely by his sides.

  'Nothing weird. No slip-ups. Surface thoughts clean. Think about... cats. Tea. This will be fine.'

  He rapped his knuckles against the door. Immediately, a calm voice called,

  "Enter."

  The door swung open with a soft creak. The office was just like he remembered it from the games and the books—cluttered with strange and odd devices, ticking quietly, the walls covered with portraits of the previous headmasters and headmistresses snoozing lightly. Right at hand, near the entrance, perched on a stand was a majestic bird. And sitting on a shelf ahead, he spotted a shabby, tainted wizard's hat- the Sorting hat.

  But what really caught his attention was the wizard standing before him in long wizard robes covered in stars and moons. His beard reached his belly and a pair of half-moon spectacles perched on his crooked nose completed the look.

  Albus Dumbledore smiled at him curiously.

  "Zephyr, I presume?" He beckoned him to take a seat across the table.

  Zephyr nodded, siting down with a calmness he didn’t quite feel.

  "Yes, sir. Thank you for seeing me."

  "It’s my pleasure. I must say, I’ve read your published journals with great interest. Your article on the use of magnification charm was... refreshing. And your travelogue from the snow-swept peaks of Himalayas nearly cost me a night’s sleep — I had to finish it."

  Zephyr blinked, a little caught off guard. "You’ve read those?"

  Dumbledore’s eyes twinkled.

  "I try to keep an eye on promising minds, especially those with a penchant for both danger and theory. You reminded me of a former student of mine, actually. Mr. Scamander. Have you read his early notes?"

  Zephyr smiled despite himself. "In fact, I've had the honor to meet with him once before. It was during the very early days of my travels and you can say he has been my inspiration for the longest of time.."

  Dumbledore chuckled and gestured toward the tea tray.

  "Please, help yourself. It’s not poisoned, I promise."

  Zephyr froze just a second too long, then laughed awkwardly, remembering his earlier mantra.

  "That’s... oddly specific, Headmaster."

  "Just a force of habit, but I find it good to settle the more pressing surface thoughts early in a conversation." Dumbledore took a sip, and Zephyr fought the urge to bury his face in his hands.

  Just a moment earlier he had been repeating the thought 'I hope the tea is not poisoned' along with some flashes of his travel and cats in his mind. He felt embarrassed that Dumbledore had to catch that thought specifically. But it also allowed him to relax a little.

  They chatted lightly for a while — Dumbledore asked about Manovidhya Mayakul, and Zephyr offered polite details, avoiding anything that might sound too extraordinary. The Headmaster mentioned about his two visits to the Indian school, both of which, he said had been lively. Quite extravagantly.

  Eventually, the conversation shifted.

  Dumbledore set his cup down gently and leaned forward, his eyes now serious.

  "You mentioned, in your letter, an interest in the Defense post. You’re aware of the... reputation it holds?"

  "The curse you mean, about no one being able to hold the post for longer than an year" Zephyr said, nodding. "I’ve heard the stories."

  "Many do. Most brush it off as nonsense. But you don’t."

  Zephyr met his eyes. "No. I’m here because of it."

  The warmth in the room seemed to thin slightly, the fire crackling lower.

  "I’ve always been drawn to the stranger side of magic. Curses, hexes, forgotten enchantments... they tell us more about fear than they do about power. And this one—this thing that haunts the position—it intrigued me. Especially since its background is really famous, won't you say?"

  Dumbledore studied him for a long moment, the usual glint in his gaze momentarily subdued.

  "Curiosity is good. But caution is better. Many have been led astray in their pursuit of magic that they didn't quite understand."

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  And Zephyr could almost guarantee he could correctly guess the people who the headmaster was talking about.

  "I’ll be careful," Zephyr said simply. "I don’t intend to be reckless. I came to study it, not challenge it blindly."

  "Oh challenging it would be really foolhardy indeed. You aren't the first one to be here for that. There have been curse breakers and others. Most eventually pass their year without any alterations. But some don't have that luck. For more than thirty years, this bad luck has been around. So I'll have to ask you once again to reconsider. Hogwarts has other positions where your talent could be applied to."

  Zephyr could tell that the Headmaster really meant it when he said that. So he decided to put the old man at ease.

  "How about this, I'll keep you in loop and update you on every experiment or action I decide to take. You can keep this on your person and receive my message anytime from anywhere." He handed over a large galleon, inscribed with intricate runes.

  Dumbledore held the coin curiously, his blue eyes analyzing and breaking down the runes on the magical artifact immediately. He then smiled at Zephyr, gesturing him to display how the device worked.

  "I'm sure you already figured it out. Whatever I inscribe on my coin, will appear on yours as well and vice versa. A little use of the protean charm and the scrying charm used on two-way mirrors to make communication bi-directional." Zephyr was slightly proud of this slight trinket he had made. The idea wasn't originally his, as he remembered reading about it in the books where Hermione had done the same in the fifth year. But he had gone and improved on that, making it efficient and have a very wide range.

  To demonstrate, he pulled out another coin from his pocket and slightly rubbed it with his thumb. A message was inscribed on it instantly. And in front him, the coin in Dumbledore's hand glowed slightly as his message successfully appeared on it.

  *'Good evening, Headmaster'*

  The Headmaster chuckled at this and imbued the coin with his own magic, wiping the message and replying with his own greeting.

  *'I'm impressed, Professor Zephyr'*

  When Zephyr read the message, he was ecstatic, as he noticed how the Headmaster had addressed him. He reached forward to grab the old wizard's hand, shaking it in glee, leaving the him a little taken aback.

  "Sorry for being too excited, but I'm really glad to have this opportunity. I'll make sure that you don't regret this decision."

  The old wizard leaned back, fingers tapping thoughtfully.

  "Very well." He reached into a drawer and withdrew a scroll, setting it on the desk.

  "Then let’s see how your year goes. Welcome to Hogwarts, Professor Zephyr."

  --------

  After that, Zephyr and Professor Dumbledore had continued their conversation, with the old wizard eventually testing him on his skills to teach, asking actual questions that one would usually face in a job interview. He passed with flying colors, but then the headmaster had reminded him of something important.

  "Professor, I do have to remind you to buy a wand and get used to it as soon as possible. Here at Hogwarts, wandless magic is only talked of and not taught." He winked at him and pointed to his own wand that was lying on the table.

  *Don't think of it, don't think of, cats, elder, tea, la la la la*

  Zephyr had to resist naming the wand in his head, incase the information slipped.

  But of course, he recognized the wand. With its knotted appearance, the elder wand was very well known to the average Potter fan.

  "Ah, yes of course. My next stop was going to be Ollivander's in Diagon alley. And I won't need much time to get used to it either - I have used similar mediums while travelling through the world." Zephyr replied, doing his best to keep his thoughts neutral. He was sweating a little, but Dumbledore, if he noticed, gave no sign.

  The old wizard smiled, eyes twinkling behind his half-moon spectacles.

  “Splendid. Just be sure the wand chooses you, and not the other way around. Wands can be rather fussy about that sort of thing. As can their owners, I suppose.”

  He chuckled softly, rising from his chair.

  “Well then, Professor, I shall look forward to seeing you on the first of September. Try not to get into any duels until then - I’d like you to arrive with both eyebrows intact.”

  He offered a polite nod, then turned back toward the window. Zephyr understood and quietly left the office, down the spiral staircase.

  As he walked away, he reflected on his meeting and tried to remember if he had left any clues or made any mistakes. Facing the greatest wizard with the knowledge that he carried presented a very heavy challenge for him, but going forward, he wanted to ensure that nothing untoward happened. Not until he was sure enough of his own safety.

  Outside the office, Professor McGonagall was nowhere to be seen, not that he was expecting her to be there. While conversing with Dumbledore, he had brought up her grumpiness from earlier and the Headmaster had informed him that her younger brother had also applied for the position. But since he had instead arrived for the interview, it was only natural that she had a slight sour reaction to him.

  Hearing the news had greatly cheered him up.

  In the original timeline, Professor McGonagall's family was very likely murdered during the first wizard war. There was never a mention of her brother's or family throughout the story. But from his own research and reading he was aware that she had two siblings, both of whom were wizards and participated in the Wizarding War. Seeing that her younger brother was alive, he was glad that his measures to manipulate the timeline had bore some results.

  There wasn't a lot that he could do during the war, since he was in his last year of school during its peak time. But knowing what was happening on the other side of the planet, he had done whatever he could.

  *No point pondering on what has already happened. My aim is not to defeat some evil lord or to be a hero. I'm here for the adventure. Let's just focus on the 'Now'.*

  Once he had walked out of the wards, he apparated again, destination: Ollivander's.