Chapter 40

"Scientifically, there are two primary schools of thought. One. The egg came first. Evolutionary biology states that the chicken must come before the egg, but where did the egg come from?" Albert paused to gauge the reaction of the people listening. He then continued, "The first chicken was a result of a random mutation in another egg, which then leads to the creation of the first chicken."

"But, wait. You said chickens came first." Katrina said.

"You didn't let me finish. As I was saying. There were some scientists who claimed that the chicken came first. This claim came from some researchers studying how chicken eggshells form. Eggshell is mostly made from calcium carbonate. Hens get their supply of calcium for eggshell production from dietary sources. To form a shell, the calcium needs to be deposited in the form of CaCO₃ crystals, and hens rely on specific proteins that enable this process. One such protein, called ovocleidin-17, is only found in the ovary of a chicken, leading to the suggestion that the chicken must have come before the chicken egg, since without ovocleidin-17, there can be no chicken egg formation. Interesting fact: this protein is responsible for speeding up the rate of eggshell formation, enabling hens to build an egg from scratch and lay it within a 24-hour timeframe."

"So to answer the question: What came first, the chicken or the egg? The answer is egg, but what came first, the chicken or the chicken egg? The chicken and the question are something of a false dichotomy. Eggs certainly came before chickens, but chicken eggs did not—you can't have one without the other." Albert said.

The people listening were shocked, including the muggle born population. They had never heard of the scientific proof and they wouldn't until 2010.

"So... The flame came before the Phoenix., right?" Katrina asked.

"The magical and non-magical are two different worlds that run on two different foundations. Muggles rely on science while we rely on magic. We cannot use the muggle proof in this circumstance," Alber said as he shook his head. "I am inclined to believe that it is more of a cycle. One a phoenix dies, it is reborn in the flame and the flame grows into a phoenix. There is no point in exploring whether the phoenix or the flame comes first as you'll enter infinite regress."

"What's infinite regress?" a boy in the crowd asked.

"A sequence of reasoning or justification which can never come to an end," Albert said.

Everyone now went to sit down in their seat as the bell started ringing. The boy who asked got his bag and sat behind Albert.

"Hi, I'm Roger Davies. Quick question: why weren't you sorted in Ravenclaw? You'd be a perfect fit," said the boy.

"I don't know. Maybe because I ..." Albert stopped talking as he felt Katrine nudge him. He turned around to see Professor Binns at the front of the class."

"Good morning everybody. Open you books to the chapter on the 'Goblin Rebellions'," said Binns in a monotonic voice.

Within ten minutes of the class starting, the students expect Albert were failing to stay awake. Most of them had put their head on the table and fell asleep and those who didn't were almost there. Albert chucked some beans in his mouths and tried to make detailed notes about what the professor was saying. Fun fact: Professor Binns does not exclusively talk about the Goblins Rebellion in lessons. Today, he mentioned Giralt Grindelwald and the most dangerous Dark Lord in history. Ekrizdis. He was so evil that the only work of his the Ministry did not destroy were the dementors and Azkaban.

As soon as the bell rang, all the students got up from their daze and left the room. Albert waited for the three boys outside the classroom while they drowsily left the room.

"I can't believe it!" George said while yawning. "How did you not fall asleep?"

"Can I borrow you notes?" Lee Forden said.

"Us too," Fred said while pointing at his tin

"Yeah, sure," Albert said as he started to walk toward the Great hall for lunch. "Have you guys heard the story of how he became a ghost?"

"Are you going to tell us?" Lee asked.

"Yes, I will," Albert said. "His most famous quote is 'My subject is History of Magic. I deal with facts, not myths and legends.' Professor Cuthbert Binns owned an office and Classroom 4F on the first floor where he used to teach. He taught until a very old age, when he fell asleep in the staff room and died in slumber. If I remember correctly, he died in 1890. Afterwards, he became a ghost, and he continued to teach, droning on about various Goblin Rebellions and The Giant Wars. Professor Binns' lessons are regarded as some of the most boring at Hogwarts. During his time in Hogwarts, he has never taught anything that didn't have facts to back it."

"That's cool!" The three said in unison.

They entered the Great Hall and eat lunch without much fuss. They were sleepy from history, so they ate quickly and soon left the Great Hall.

"Do we have a class in the afternoon?" Fred asked.

"I really want to go and fly on my broom," George said.

"We have Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall," Lee said.

"That's good. An easy lesson to end the day," Albert said, as the others gave him a strange look.

They made their way to the front lawn near the Black Lake where they proceeded to sit down. There were a lot of students eating here as today was a clear day with not a single cloud in the blue sky. Fred turned around to look at the Forbidden Forest.

"What do you think is inside of that to make it forbidden?" Fred asked.

"Charlie said something about Centaurs." George said.

"Maybe some sort of poisonous snake?" Lee said.

"Unicorns, Bowtruckles, Hippogriffs, Acromantulas, and Thestrals. Those are the ones that everyone knows about. There maybe some that no-one apart from Hagrid has seen," Albert said.

"Anyway, how is it going with learning the Disillusionment Charm?" George asked.

"Not that well. If we want to go on night tours, you'll probably have to wait until Christmas before I can fully master it," Albert said.

"So by Christmas, you'll be able to make all of us invisible and no-one will be able to see us, right?" Fred asked.

"People far away will not be able to see us. However, if they are right next to us, they may be able to see us," Albert said.