Hogwarts had seen many scandals over its long and storied history.
Possessed teachers.
Cursed classrooms.
Occasional explosions.
A troll breaking into the castle.
Multiple teacher deaths, along with firings.
But nothing—nothing—spread through the corridors quite like the news that:
"Professor Evans got demoted."
By the second morning, the rumors had mutated into dozens of versions.
"She was arrested!"
"She electrocuted someone with a toaster!"
"She's secretly half-muggle, half-thestral!"
"She tried to duel the Ministry Inquisitor with a Hoover!"
It would've been funny if it wasn't tragic.
And humiliating.
And painful.
Lily Evans walked through the Great Hall that morning with the stiff, brittle posture of someone trying not to break.
Her red hair was tied back tightly, her gaze fixed forward.
Her robes still said "Professor."
But the bright silver badge on her chest?
TEACHING AID
The entire Hall saw it.
And the whispering began instantly.
Students began looking into the position just about as soon as they had seen it for the first time, and it quickly became known that the position was a probationary one, meaning the now former professor was on very thin ice possibly even a single mistake more away from being driven from the castle.
Cassius watched from the Draconis table, expression unreadable.
Beside him:
Daphne smirked behind her goblet.
Hermione looked devastated all her credit from the class thus far had been wiped out in an instant.
Luna cheerfully waved at Lily as if nothing were wrong.
Cho leaned in and whispered, "You caused this, didn't you?"
Cassius gave a serene smile.
"Indirectly."
Hermione choked on her pumpkin juice.
The girls had afterall known Cassius had grand designs and were read into some of his many secrets however, to see him make such an action the six of them squinted their eyes as they tried to bore holes into him, trying to drag out the secret behind his most recent actions.
~
The doors of the Great Hall opened again.
Every head turned.
A tall wizard stepped inside, robes crisp, hair neatly tied back, posture straight as a dueling instructor.
His eyes were sharp—but warm.
A wizard in his early thirties.
Handsome.
Professional.
Competent.
Which already made him a radical improvement over most Hogwarts staff.
The teaching body had only progressively getting older and older afterall with the youngest members of the staff being Severus and Lily.
But now.
Professor Minos Arcturus.
Ministry-appointed.
Expert in muggle culture.
And—though nobody but a few suspected it—a ranking member of the Arcanum.
One of Cassius' people.
Students squinted as he strode confidently between the tables.
"Who's that?"
"Is he the new professor?"
"He looks… normal."
"That's suspicious."
McGonagall rose from the High Table as he approached.
"Professor Arcturus," she said, "welcome to Hogwarts."
He bowed politely. "The pleasure is mine, Deputy Headmistress."
Dumbledore remained seated.
His expression thoughtful.
Tense.
Calculating.
He did not like this development.
Year after year his authority within the school his personal fortress was being eroded, to the point that now for the third straight year his personally appointed teachers had been stripped of their rank and replaced by ministry provided alternates.
Minos turned toward Lily, who stood halfway down the Hall, uncertain and pale.
"Mrs. Evans," he greeted gently.
Lily forced a smile. "Professor Arcturus."
"You'll accompany me during lessons," he said warmly. "It will be a pleasure to work with you."
Lily nodded, but her eyes were glassy.
She wasn't used to being second.
She wasn't used to being corrected.
She wasn't used to being… irrelevant.
~
As Minos took his place at the High Table, students resumed eating.
Cassius remained still.
Watching.
Observing.
Savoring.
Daphne nudged him. "I see you're enjoying your little coup."
"Coup is a strong word," Cassius said.
"It's the correct word," Daphne replied.
Hermione glared. "Cassius, people's careers are not chess pieces."
"They are if they teach children that toasters scream, like a mandrake capable of killing." he said calmly.
Hermione flushed.
Luna hummed. "Professor Arcturus radiates good energy. Much better than the textbooks that screamed at me last year."
Cassius nodded, pleased.
Arcturus was perfect.
Knowledgeable.
Disciplined.
Modern-minded.
Already accustomed to working with muggles—because Arcanum researchers had to be.
Afterall the Arcanum's goal was to merge Muggle ingenuity with Magical might.
He would bring Hogwarts' most outdated class into the present, in doing so he'd elevate the overall knowledge of all the students, while also pulling some blooded wizards to his side in the process as their tightly sealed eyes were pryed open.
And—quietly—he would increase the Arcanum's influence inside the castle, replacing the students beliefs in both the School, and the Ministry of Magic itself.
~
The following morning, Muggle Studies reopened.
Cassius attended.
Of course he did.
It was too good to miss.
Lily stood by the chalkboard, fidgeting with her teaching robe.
Her "TEACHING AID" badge caught the light like a scarlet letter.
When Minos entered, he smiled kindly at the students.
"Good morning, class. Today, we begin with a foundational topic: electricity."
Half the class tensed, expecting dramatic warnings and screaming bread.
Minos picked up a chalk.
"Electricity," he began calmly, "is not magical. It is a natural force generated by the movement of electrons."
Quills scribbled.
Students blinked.
Hermione looked like she'd found religion, this teacher was actually teaching muggle studies, she had afterall attended regular muggle school and per discussions with Cassius had been attending summer school to continue her regular muggle education even if compressed during her free time, and the knowledge being delivered was on par with those lessons.
Cassius waited patiently.
Minos placed down the chalk and lifted a mundane object from his desk:
A power strip.
Actual.
Functional.
Non-magical.
But utterly useless within Hogwarts due to magical interference preventing proper electrical flow.
Gasps spread through the room like sparks.
"Professor—!" one student squeaked. "That—that device—won't it attack you?!"
Minos blinked slowly.
Then turned to Lily.
"Mrs. Evans," he said gently, "did you teach them that power strips are predatory?"
Lily went crimson.
"I—The previous curriculum—I—It wasn't—"
"It's alright," Minos said softly. "We'll correct all past mistakes."
Lily's hands trembled.
Cassius watched, expression carefully polite.
Minos turned back to the class and plugged the strip into a rune-insulated converter he'd brought with him.
"Observe," he said.
The powerbar connected to the magical device, did nothing more than illuminate a simple orange light on the on/off switch, but next he pulled out a fan placing it on the desk before plugging the power cord into the charged powerbar.
As soon as the connection was made, the fans blades began to spin silently, much to the shock of the magically raised students.
Some even whispered at how this must be a joke, the professor cast a spell silently and wandlessly to make the blades spin at such speed.
But that thought shifted when they looked round only to see the muggle-born or muggle raised not being surprised in the slightest, and only those that were, were questioning how an electrical device could function when Magic should impede its ability.
The professor moved on detailing the purpose and function of not only the powerbar, but also the fan, before then also pulling out more appliances from his bag.
A space heater, desk lamp, even a cdplayer.
As the number of muggle devices increased the magical arrogance shifted, even if the professor was playing a joke on them how was he maintaining so many different spells at the same time?
Hermione whispered, breathless, "He's actually teaching."
Daphne whispered back, "Terrifying."
Cassius smirked.
Perfect.
Everything was going according to plan.
The class wouldnt do all to much for the muggle students other than keep them from becoming ignorant, but for the magical ones, this class would become a source of great interest.
with only the most stubborn purebloods refusing the class out of pure arrogance.
~
After class, Lily lingered behind.
She looked small.
Lost.
Like a woman trying desperately not to fall apart.
"Professor Arcturus," she said softly. "Thank you for… being patient with me."
Minos nodded kindly. "We all start somewhere. And you'll improve quickly, I'm sure."
Her gaze drifted to Cassius—still packing his bag.
Something unreadable flashed in her eyes.
Guilt?
Resentment?
Fear?
Cassius simply offered her a polite nod.
"Good to see you back, Mrs. Evans."
She forced a smile.
Barely.
Once that would have been Professor Evans... but no longer.
Then she left the room quickly—too quickly—before anyone saw her tears.