The lady seemed to notice their tense reaction to her introduction, but if anything, she had clearly expected it.
Magnus wasn't surprised.
She must have done this for all the senior students as well. It would explain her easygoing attitude with both McGonagall and Hagrid.
"There's really nothing to worry about," she reassured them with another dazzling smile. "I'm here to index your Pokémon."
That broke the tension, but all she got in return were confused stares.
Mrs. Winston beamed, unfazed, as she began pacing in front of them. "Okay, let's put it in simpler terms—I'm here to check whether your Pokémon are in our records."
That cleared things up for most of the students. Most, but not Hermione.
Her trembling hands were becoming more noticeable.
"You have to relax," Magnus mumbled from her right, his voice barely rising above the murmurs of the now-excited students.
Hermione shot him a side glance, then took a stiff breath, clutching the basket with both hands.
From the way her jaw was set, he could tell her teeth were clenched tightly, as if she were physically holding back her fear.
"Slow breaths," he whispered, barely moving his lips.
They were standing at the back, but there was no hiding for him—not with his height towering over the rest.
"Now… calm down, everyone," the deputy headmistress called, restoring order to the hall.
A hush fell over the students.
"Let Mrs. Winston finish explaining. There will be time for your questions after." She eyed several eager hands in the air, which promptly lowered.
"Thank you, Professor," Mrs. Winston beamed at McGonagall.
"I love the curiosity, so let's start with a simple question: What is a Pokémon?"
Magnus shot his right hand up, completely forgetting that his Zorua was perched on his shoulder. The sudden movement nearly sent the little creature tumbling, but it easily leapt to the top of his head, glaring at the lady with clear suspicion—like it knew she was to blame for its near fall.
Mrs. Winston smiled at the sight. "Fox-like, with blue eyes and tufts of red hair on the mane and limbs," she observed with a sharp gaze. "If I'm not mistaken, I'd say that's a baby Zorua."
Whispers rippled through the crowd as people turned to look at him, as if only now noticing his Pokémon for the first time.
Well… maybe most of them were.
With the excitement of bonding with their own Pokémon, no one had really taken the time to admire anyone else's.
The little Zorua jumped back to his left shoulder, shrinking away from the sudden attention.
Magnus wasn't sure why everyone was so intrigued.
His Pokémon wasn't as common as the Eevees, sure, but it wasn't that rare. Mrs. Winston was the second person to recognize it today.
"And you are?" the lady asked, bringing him back to the moment.
"Magnus," he answered tensely, suddenly regretting raising his hand.
Crap. What was he thinking?
This lady worked for the same Ministry that would undoubtedly want to add his details to their registry. He was supposed to stay low-key. The last thing he needed was anyone digging into his background.
But somehow, her charming demeanor had made him lower his guard. Or maybe it was just his enthusiasm. After all, this was a question he could answer off the top of his head—no books required.
"Yes, Mr. Magnus," she said warmly, like she wasn't the slightest bit interested in his identity crisis. "You were going to tell us what Pokémon are."
Magnus exhaled in relief. "Pocket monsters," he said, regaining his composure.
He did not like how McGonagall was looking at him.
"Sorry… again?" Mrs. Winston prompted, as if she hadn't heard him correctly.
"Pokémon means pocket monsters," he repeated, even clearer this time.
She laughed.
She actually laughed.
Magnus had no idea what was so funny. Pokémon were pocket monsters. That was literally the meaning of the name.
Yet the rest of the students burst into laughter, even though none of them had raised their hands.
A sting of embarrassment hit him.
Mrs. Winston's laughter faded, and when she looked at him again, her expression had shifted to one of mild surprise—like she had just realized he'd been serious.
The students' laughter died too, though more likely because McGonagall was now glaring daggers at them.
"Uh… quite an ingenious answer," the lady said, sounding almost apologetic. "But not the exact definition."
Magnus frowned. He was right… wasn't he?, he should be right.
He thought about it.
In the Pokémon world, the name made perfect sense—Pokémon could be carried around in tiny Poké Balls. They were literally portable.
But here…
His stomach dropped.
No. They weren't. Not in this world.
"Anyone else wish to give it a try?" the lady asked, eager to move on.
A hand rose beside him.
It was Hermione. And she wasn't shaking anymore.
She looked confident—too confident—and Magnus already knew whatever she said next would be the right answer. Or rather, the accepted version in this world.
He was all ears.
"Yes… and you are?"
"Hermione. Hermione Granger."
"Ah, Ms. Granger," Mrs. Winston smiled, her eyes scanning for Hermione's Pokémon, likely to analyze it as she had with Magnus.
Fortunately, the basket holding Pichu was obscured by the students in front of them.
"According to Newt Scamander," Hermione said, her voice clear, "Pokémon are creatures with unique distinctions that do not align with normal zoological classification and do not portray aspects of magical beasts."
Mrs. Winston beamed. "Perfectly said, Ms. Granger."
Hermione lowered her hand, looking calm—back in her element, the world where she was always right.
Magnus could see it in the way her face had lost its previous tension. She was back to where she felt most at home.
Which was great. The little Pichu in her basket looked just as calm.
At first, her answer had sounded like some poorly translated Mandarin, but the more Magnus thought about it, the more sense it made.
In the Pokémon world, every known creature—bird, fish, mammal—was classified as a Pokémon. There were no exceptions.
But here, things were different.
It was something he had noticed but hadn't deeply considered before.
In this world, not everything was a Pokémon.
For instance the pet shop he and Mr Galloway had supplied with berries.
I mean, they had regular animals—rats, owls, cats—nothing out of the ordinary. Meanwhile, Hogwarts had magical creatures like house-elves and phoenixes, but they weren't classified as Pokémon either.
'Why weren't they?'
Magnus found himself wondering.
"Ms. Granger's answer is the official definition of Pokémon," Mrs. Winston continued. "There are further considerations we magizoologists take into account, but for now, that will suffice." She scanned the attentive faces before her.
"So now that we know what Pokémon are… who can name one such distinction that sets them apart from all other creatures?"
Magnus's hand shot up again.
He was probably about to make a fool of himself a second time, but if he didn't get this right… then the Pokémon understanding in this world was completely different from what he was used to.
"Yes, Mr. Magnus," Mrs. Winston nodded, choosing him despite several other raised hands—including Hermione's.
She was giving him a chance to redeem himself.
"All Pokémon hatch from eggs," he said, his voice less steadier than before.
The moment Hermione's hand slowly dropped in Dissapointent , he knew he had gotten it right.
"Spot on," Mrs. Winston said, flashing him one of those dazzling smiles.
"That is, in fact, the main distinction that sets Pokémon apart from all other creatures," she said, her tone shifting to something more serious.
"While some ordinary animals and even magical creatures do hatch from eggs, this trait isn't universal across those categories," she explained, resuming her pacing. "Pokémon, however, hatch from eggs regardless of their appearance." She paused, letting the weight of her words sink in before continuing. "This means that even if a Pokémon resembles a mammal for instance , it can only reproduce by laying fertile eggs."
Raising her wand toward the high table, she gave it a slight flick.
"Accio record book."
A heavy leather-bound book came soaring toward her, but instead of catching it, she let it hover beside her.
"That said, we cannot claim to know every Pokémon in existence, nor can we be certain we've documented all the traits of those already in our records." She paused, scanning the room as if ensuring they were following along.
Magnus could tell they were getting to the real reason behind this meeting.
"Pokémon have proven to be highly adaptable, and these changes can manifest in many ways. Because of this, we conduct regular studies and updates to keep our records as accurate as possible." She smiled, another flick of her wand caused the thick book to open and a quill appeared in midair, poised above the pages.
"This is why we must verify each hatchling—to determine whether it matches an existing Pokémon in our records or if it's an entirely new entry." Her smile remained, but there was an unmistakable undertone of authority now.
"This also ensures that no dangerous Pokémon find their way into the school undetected."
Hermione's hands began trembling again and Hagrid let out a thunderous cough and locked eyes with Magnus.