School Rhythm

A few weeks passed, and Aurelius got used to his school routine. Get up early, exercise, eat, attend lessons, hand in homework, explore the castle for clues about the treasures, write home, play with Hermes, etc.

He immediately stood out among the students with an absurdly monstrous talent in transfiguration, potions, charms, and herbology. They were all subjects that piqued his curiosity and his heritage as a Galegold, where development was a fundamental part of their family.

Professor McGonagall couldn't contain herself and recommended advanced transfiguration books to help cultivate his talent, seeing that he was bored, the rest of his classmates struggled to finish changing simpler transfigurations like the first lesson. With a few exceptions, like Miss Granger, who successfully transfigured simple objects but was determined to make them more detailed than what Aurelius has shown.

Professor Flitwick was impressed by his creativity in adapting or modifying the spells and often awarded him points because he helped his classmates correct their intent and imagination of how the spell functioned. He practically became the professor's assistant, and the half-goblin professor, in return, revealed to him some lesser-known applications of charms and enchantments.

Thanks to his experience taking care of the garden at home, he was pretty good at treating plants and did not make basic mistakes, so his knowledge of magical plants was on the same level as his pureblooded peers; however, he had to put a little more effort into herbology, before he could begin to become one of the most knowledgeable of his year. It took him a few visits to the library with the young Longbottom hot on his heels.

As for potions, his rare talent for potions gave Snape a newfound respect for the budding potioneer, and he even answered his questions about his personal potion projects. His natural skill, ability to listen to instructions, and not repeating mistakes had endeared him to the old bat. He even had given points to house Galegold. Granted, the points were warranted due to the sheer quality of his work, but it was surprising for the Gryffindors, nonetheless.

What was unknown to them was that while he respected Aurelius's talent, he was also doing what he could to raise the child, which was the only way he knew how was by helping him indirectly or through advisory. Granted, some of this advice was insulting, but he tried to keep that to a minimum with the child.

When Aurelius inquired about the letter's contents, Snape told him that he would show it to him during his second year and that he should focus on having a good foundation of magical knowledge, theories, and practices. On the other hand, when he pitched his idea of creating and marketing a vision potion to him, Snape gave him a nod of approval and suggested several books that could help him compose the basic formula of the potion. He found the books in the library, and after reading them, he did what probably no student at Hogwarts had ever done before. He went down to the school infirmary and asked Madam Pomfrey her opinion. Since he had a medical connoisseur nearby, he saw no reason not to use her experience to his advantage. It should be noted that Poppy was surprised that a healthy student would want something from her, but after hearing the reason, she was delighted to impart some knowledge to develop a new potion. (Granted, literally, only a few people canonically wear glasses in the books, but meh semantics. Besides, just because you don't wear glasses doesn't mean your eyes are perfect.)

Then, it was just a matter of finding his way to stock up on ingredients and get started.

And just like that, Aurelius was creating his first original potion under suggestions from the school nurse, corrections from the potions master, smuggling ingredients from the Weasley twins, and tending to his orchard. The results came out in a month after continuous experimentation. I have everything I need to have an acceptable potion with the desired effect without repercussions. I brew the potion, and it's working without fail; I have enough to give Potter like I promised. At this stage, I need to find substitutes to replace the more expensive materials used for this potion. For another time, I suppose."

It was a most stimulating and enriching process, unlike other disciplines.

In Quirrell's DADA, the only thing he learned was perfecting the bubble head charm to cover his entire body to ward off the strong smell of garlic. The History of Magic was boring and outdated because the ghostly teacher only repeated what was written in the textbooks and seemed to ignore any changes or corrections made after his death. He learned more from self-study than from what was taught. Even the flight classes were mere routine to make sure that we were somewhat competent on a broom to fly in the future.

The only other subject to which he paid attention was astronomy, the reason being that, for some reason, celestial movements could affect potions, some enchantments, and magical plants. Magical plants, sure, it's like any other, but potions and enchantments?

One morning, as the rest of the four houses stared blankly at the point clocks in the Great Hall and saw with their own eyes how the new house with only one student had more points than any of them, Aurelius was given a copy of the Daily Prophet, with an interesting headline while having a tasty and nutritious breakfast.

ATTACK ON GRINGOTTS!

That reminded him of the existence of the philosopher's stone; at some point, he should look for Erised's mirror to take a look at it. And maybe visit Fluffy. Perhaps the time had come for him and Hermes to pay Hagrid the promised visit; after all, he would have to get the dragon egg at some point, and he had other thoughts to exchange with the good-hearted but half-minded half-giant.

After finding free time and leaving the castle, Aurelius walked with Hermes over his right shoulder to the Hogwarts key-keeper's cabin and pounded on the door several times. The door opened, and a large dog peeked out, tail wagging joyfully.

"Aurelius!" Hagrid looked with unexpected joy at his surprise visitor. "Oh, I see you've brought Hermes. Come, come. I just made some tea and rock cakes."

Watching Hagrid pour tea into a delicate china cup with a giant metal kettle was funny.

"I'll have to pass on the rock cakes. I just had breakfast, and my mum would be furious if she knew I ate too much. I'm on a strict diet. I'll take some with me, though."

"I heard from Pomona that you are good with plants."

"Well, I have a garden at home, and I helped take care of it when I'm at home," Aurelius said while shrugging as he sipped his scalding tea. "Instead of plants, I wanted to talk to you about magical creatures. I have some ideas, and I'm told you were among the most knowledgeable people on the subject."

"I only know from experience and trying stuff out. It's me passion!" Hagrid immediately became more enthusiastic. "How about you? Tell me about your adorable little niffler, and I'll help you however I can."

"Sure," Aurelius said, taking a moment to summarize his story. "I met Hermes when I was five years old, and I was caring for a tree in the garden. I dropped a piece of candy in a shiny gold wrapper on the ground and saw a shadow rush to take it."

My mothers found us fighting over the candy, and after reaching an agreement where I kept the candy and Hermes got the shiny wrapper, the fighting stopped. Hermes began to visit the family often and eventually just became part of the family.

"Quite the bond, I see." Hagrid was blowing his nose into a rag the size of a small towel. "A true tale of friendship between man and magical creature, it's like a bond made by brothers more so than friends."

"I suppose so." Aurelius watched Hermes fooling a disoriented Fang while they played and nodded. "As for what I want to talk to you about, I understand that occasionally, you try to cross some species of magical creatures with interesting results."

"Well, I admit it's a little tricky sometimes. Some creatures don't get along, and I have to spend a lot of time convincing them to open up to new possibilities, and even then, results aren't guaranteed." Hagrid explained.

"You see, Hagrid, I recently came to learn about animals in the muggle world and how different animals and plants can be cross-bred. Perhaps this book can help with your research." Aurelius gave Hagrid books on evolution by Charles Darwin and a standard farming book about the cross-breeding of animals and plants.

Hagrid listened intently as Aurelius gave an outline of the process; his eyes sparkled with interest. "If I understand what you're saying, these books could help me breed different species. This could be truly revolutionary to the wizarding world!!! And you say this all came from the muggles?!?"

"We know some of their technological advancements, but not necessarily all the concepts that can be directly applied to the wizarding world without restraint. So let's change the world, Hagrid." Said the excited revolutionary.

"Aye, you've got my blood pumping. Let's do this." Said the gentle giant.