And with that, the "Top 100 Tournament" arc came to an end.
I'd considered whether to put Snape's battle against Voldemort in the finale as a major climax for this volume.
For many readers, that might have made for a more satisfying read.
In the end, though, I placed that part in the middle of the volume. After all, Snape wasn't the only one influenced by Anton.
What was the thing a transmigrator could be proudest of? In a Harry Potter fanfic, was it taking Harry's place and killing Voldemort? I didn't think so. Personally, I'd much rather see a New Era begin.
A New Era ushered in by Anton the transmigrator—that would be much more satisfying to me.
This volume was mainly about the ship of the New Era setting sail, with every character finding their place.
Of course, it still followed the main thread running through the whole book: "magic that's truly magical, and a story that's truly magical." I hope I managed to capture that feeling.
What do you think?
This volume wasn't easy to write. Dumbledore and Voldemort's changing mindsets, Neville and the others' bright futures, Harry and Hermione starting to reach the professors' level...
All of that was completely different from the original, which meant I had to overturn everyone's established impressions of these characters.
So I had to make their changes convincing and well-supported.
The angle I chose was magic: I told the story of their transformations through the lens of magic.
Why would Dumbledore, who'd been Headmaster for over a hundred years, resign? Why would Tom become patient instead of killing everyone in sight? How could Snape start to brush against the ranks of the top wizards? What gave Harry the right to reach Professor Flitwick's level? How could Ron go toe-to-toe with