Inside St Mungos Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.
In the reception room, Thorne sat on a long bench, flipping through a Hogwarts promotional brochure, his gaze unconsciously drifting around the room.
There were bugs everywhere.
Bugs of various shapes and eerie states were communicating their respective illnesses through rising and falling chirps.
A mosquito with only four legs, a weevil with mantis-like forearms, a shivering Little Bug, and countless others missing limbs.
But perhaps because they were all bugs, Thorne didn't find the scene particularly strange.
On the contrary, the cluttered, noisy, yet strangely orderly atmosphere gave him a bizarre illusion.
It was like being back in the human world, in one of those overcrowded county hospitals.
Except here, the "people" were all bugs.
Just then, the door to the reception room was pushed open.
A Bee's head peeked in.
"Thorne."
Dumbledore said with a smile, "If your tour is over, we can set off. The Portkey application has been approved."
Thorne immediately closed the brochure, stood up, and followed the Old Bee out of the reception room.
The two—or rather, one human and one bug—walked through the corridor toward a narrow little room.
Inside the room sat someone wearing a healer's uniform... a Fly.
To be honest.
That round, plump figure gave Thorne an extremely strong sense of incongruity.
However, he didn't have the heart to look further and spoke up somewhat hesitantly:
"Professor, about that—"
"Sorry, Mr. Thorne."
Dumbledore calmly interrupted him, his tone still gentle.
"Unless I want to lose a cash cow..."
He paused, as if realizing the wording was inappropriate, "—no, an excellent Professor."
"Otherwise, I will absolutely not allow you to continue visiting the intensive care units here."
Thorne was silent for a moment, then couldn't help but ask back:
"But the problem is, Mr. Headmaster..."
"Does seventy percent of this place consist of intensive care units?"
As he said this, his gaze had already fallen onto his system panel.
[Current Special Environment: St Mungos Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries (31.3%)]
[Reward Obtained: soul container fragment ×1]
Dumbledore turned back, glanced at Thorne, and gave a slight smile.
"Mr. Thorne."
"We are Wizards, after all."
"You'll get used to it slowly."
After saying that, he signed his name on the brochure handed over by the healer Fly.
"...Wizards?"
Thorne wordlessly put away the system panel.
He suddenly had a strong premonition that his future as a teacher in this world might be... not so great.
Under the supervision of Ministry of Magic staff, Thorne had just briefly toured the first, fifth, and sixth floors of St Mungos.
As for the floors in between.
They were said to be "too dangerous," which were the intensive care areas Dumbledore mentioned, and he wasn't allowed near them.
Just looking at the names of those departments was enough to discourage curiosity.
Creature-Induced Injuries, Dangerous Microbiological Infections, and Potion and Plant Poisoning...
Indeed, they didn't seem like places a "Muggle" should wander into casually.
It did align with Dumbledore's explanation.
However, Thorne was still strangely curious.
Mainly because... back in the Holy Nest, he had seen bugs infected with all sorts of strange things.
The kind that were unclean both in body and in dreams.
He really wanted to compare them.
Of course, that thought only circled in his mind for a moment.
Next, he saw Dumbledore pick something up from the side.
It was a rather old-looking Toilet Plunger.
"This is the Portkey."
The Old Bee's tone was as natural as if he were introducing a teacup, "It will take us where we need to go; just hold on to it."
As he spoke, he had already gripped one end of the Plunger.
"Wait a moment."
Dumbledore seemed to suddenly remember something and looked at Thorne, "Mr. Thorne, I noticed you were reading the Hogwarts brochure just now."
"My previous introduction was indeed quite general."
"That information will give you a more comprehensive understanding... any thoughts?"
Thorne looked bewildered but still obediently grabbed the other end of the handle.
"Well... how should I put it."
He thought for a moment and said honestly:
"Actually, I didn't finish it; I only read the part about Slytherin."
"Regarding their point about 'only recruiting students from wizarding backgrounds,' I personally don't agree."
"Strictly speaking, this counts as a form of racial discrimination—AHHH!!!"
Before he could finish his sentence.
Thorne suddenly felt as if a hook behind his navel had given a violent tug!
The force was impossible to resist.
In the next instant, his feet left the ground, and he was bodily yanked upward.
He managed to open his eyes only to see Dumbledore opposite him, looking perfectly normal, clearly long accustomed to this.
Then the world began to rush forward frantically.
The wind howled, and his vision was a blur; he couldn't see a thing.
Thorne's palm was deathly stuck to the Plunger, which seemed to have a magnetic force, pulling and dragging him forward incessantly.
Until—
"Thud!"
His feet landed heavily on the ground.
If not for an invisible force supporting his body, he had no doubt he would have landed face-first.
Thorne staggered a few steps and barely managed to steady himself.
"Whoa..."
He rubbed his stomach, his voice weak, "This is the wizarding world's way of traveling?"
"It feels like being thrown into a washing machine and spun for a full cycle..."
After speaking, he looked up at the still-smiling Dumbledore, his tone resigned:
"Alright, alright, I'll get used to it."
Then, he instinctively looked back.
The sight before him silenced him.
A massive lake spread out quietly at his feet.
And on the cliffs at the end of the lakeshore, a magnificent Castle stood tall.
"The landing point for a temporary Portkey is usually quite random."
Dumbledore said with a smile, "Welcome, Professor Thorne—this is where you will be working in the future."
Saying this, he led Thorne toward the Castle.
Along the way, the Old Bee introduced various pieces of information about Hogwarts, from the Castle's history to the house structures, and the faculty configuration, in great detail.
Except Thorne barely heard a word.
His attention was entirely captured by the magnificent, almost unreal Castle before him.
Until the two of them arrived before the Castle's massive main gates.
Dumbledore suddenly showed a look of surprise:
"Oh, Severus, what are you doing here?"
"I thought you usually wouldn't stay at school during the summer break. I was planning to visit you in London."
"..."
The man standing before the gates remained silent for a moment before speaking coldly:
"I only came back to pick up some ingredients."
"As for the visit, if you're willing to pay overtime."
"Merlin's smallest sock!"
Dumbledore chuckled, "Severus, how can you let my ears hear such a sinful word as 'overtime'?"
The man didn't respond further.
Just standing there gave off a damp, oppressive feeling; his voice was low and cold, as if he lived in the shadows year-round.
While listening to the two chat, Thorne formed an impression of this man in his mind.
Not someone to mess with.
After a few words of small talk, Dumbledore stepped aside, letting the man be fully exposed to Thorne's view.
In the next moment, Thorne was stunned.
Furry.
Having spent a whole day in a world of bugs, Thorne was faced with an extremely strong visual impact.
"This is Severus Snape."
Dumbledore introduced naturally, "The Potion Class Professor at Hogwarts and also the Dean of Slytherin House."
"And this—"
He pointed to Thorne, "is Eric Thorne."
"For now..."
Dumbledore paused, seemingly unsure, "his position is still pending."
Snape looked coldly at the young man staring blankly at him, his brow slowly furrowing.
"What?"
"Is our new colleague an imbecile?"
As soon as he finished speaking.
Thorne immediately snapped out of it.
He stepped forward abruptly and grasped Snape's hand with unusual enthusiasm, his tone sincere and excited:
"Hello, Professor Snape. You're so right, Slytherin was right!"
"What?"
"I mean, we mammals are just more advanced than those arthropods!"
Thorne said so.
And in his eyes, standing before him was a giant Bat.