Hogwarts: This professor is too Muggle.

What kind of dark magic is in Chapter 172?

It's getting dark.

Tacrot walked down the street carrying a black suitcase, his steps hurried yet cautious. He used to slide around on the snow-covered road, but now he was afraid of falling.

As he passed by his neighbor, he didn't even acknowledge their greetings. He hurriedly returned home, closed the doors and windows, drew all the curtains, and squatted down in front of the fireplace.

Open the suitcase and take out a small mirror from a pile of cotton wool.

Despite having watched hundreds of football matches in taverns and seen films more than a dozen times in the dimly lit third-floor screening room, Tacrot had never been so close to a mirror, a small piece of quartz glass with a silvery mist floating inside, like a delicate work of art.

Tacrot examined the crystal-clear mirror repeatedly. From a subjective point of view, this thing was completely different from the alchemical creations he had encountered before. It had no complicated engravings, no strange light, and had a simple yet special feeling.

I can't quite put my finger on how to describe it.

Following the installation instructions, open the groove at the back, sprinkle in a pinch of the included Floo powder, and ignite it near the fireplace with the fire.

Unlike the usual bursts of green flame, the Floo powder burned exceptionally slowly. The green fluorescence was transmitted one grain at a time, like some kind of spice, with a small pinch burning for several hours.

As the fluorescent light shone, the silver mist began to float, and the ethereal clouds outlined a faint silhouette. Colors gradually appeared within the silhouette, and clear tapping sounds came from both sides of the mirror.

As a former Quidditch player, Tacroft immediately recognized the sound as the beater striking the wandering ball.

The teams in the picture are wearing familiar jerseys; it's Scotland and Canada, a revenge match after the World Cup final! And Scotland is leading by a large margin!
He was captivated by the content of the screening from just one scene.

Scottish die-hard fan Tacloth was struck by an unprecedented viewing experience, crouching in front of the fireplace with a magnifying glass, completely absorbed in the intense match.

……

It was getting dark.

Malcolm pushed open his neighbor's door and was startled as soon as he stepped into the room.

The large room was pitch black, without any candlelight or lamplight. A figure squatted in front of the hearth, his left and right cheeks illuminated by different lights: one side was the red glow of the unburnt embers, and the other side was the silver light reflected in the mirror.

It looks like some kind of two-faced monster!

Malcolm recognized the face and patted his chest: "Tacrot, what are you doing squatting there? Why aren't you at the bar drinking..."

"Oh, I'm watching the game."

Tacrot, who was standing in front of the fireplace, came to his senses and was about to get up when suddenly his knees buckled and he staggered and almost fell.

Malcolm quickly went over to steady him, muttering complaints: "What are you using to watch the game? Are there any exciting games lately? I don't know anything about them..."

Before he finished speaking, he had already seen the reflection in the mirror and its contents.

He was immediately captivated. He had originally intended to help his neighbor to sit down on the sofa, but now he couldn't bear to move. He stared blankly for a few minutes, then slowly squatted down, completely absorbed in the game footage.

……

Dorset, in western England.

Newt Scamander and his family have returned from their long trip. It's their habit to travel as a family during holidays, supposedly to let the children see the world and encounter rare and magical animals. But as a Scamander child, Rolf feels that his grandfather Newt is the most enthusiastic one.

The holiday is coming to an end and school will start soon, so the whole family is busy packing for the children.

"Rolf, go to the warehouse and get the copper crucible. You'll need it next semester," Grandma Tina called out.

"Okay grandma!"

Rolf ran to the warehouse with a clanging sound.

The warehouse is for storing miscellaneous items. When I'm away from home on a long trip, the mailed packages are all piled up here, making a mess and quite troublesome to rummage through.

Rolf rummaged through the pile of packages and finally found the shopping list for Partridge's Crucible Shop. As he was about to leave with the packages in hand, he suddenly noticed a peculiar slip: "The baby snakes have hatched successfully. We are sending this gift as a token of our gratitude."

—Sent by Melvin Levent.

"Was it sent to Grandpa by Professor Levent?"

Rolf scratched his head, unable to resist his curiosity any longer. He tore open the hard kraft paper covering the suitcase, took out the mirror and instruction manual inside.

Teenagers are at the age when their hands-on skills are at their strongest. Following the installation steps in the instruction manual, they quickly lit up the mirror.

Then they became so engrossed in it that they couldn't extricate themselves.

An hour later, Newt crept into the room and looked at his grandson squatting in front of the fireplace: "Your grandma has been saying she'd put you in the cauldron, what are you doing hiding here?"

"Huh?" Rolf looked up at the completely dark sky outside, feeling a sense of disorientation, as if he had traveled through time, and it all felt very unreal.

What are you looking at so intently?

Newt slowly walked up to the mirror and saw the image on it: a remote island in the Pacific Ocean, which had been engulfed by a tsunami and a violent storm.

A giant bird, its body crackling with lightning, is crossing a massive wave.

……

"Newt! Rolfe!"

An angry Tina pushed open the door and saw an old man and a young man standing in front of the fireplace. She was both annoyed and amused. She walked closer and said grumblingly, "You two, I want to see what kind of dark magic has bewitched you!"

Tina approached the fireplace, saw the reflection in the mirror, and sighed with a nostalgic expression, saying, "It's Thunderbird."

……

Ministry of Magic, Office of the Senior Undersecretary.

Umbridge waited until all the wizards had left work before leaving her office, crawling into the fireplace to go home, because she was carrying a black-clothed trunk containing a family mirror.

After being promoted to senior deputy minister, power quickly brought convenience. She only needed to slightly express her wishes, and the wizards below her would purchase the items and deliver them to her office.

Of course, you don't have to pay for it yourself; it goes through the Ministry of Magic's accounts.

The Umbridge family home is located in Wiltshire, and like many pure-blood families, it is furnished like an office, with thick carpets on the floors and gleaming wooden doors in all the rooms, each with a small plaque indicating the name of the person living there.

She connected to the Floo network according to the instructions, and soon the picture and sound were transmitted.

Hearing the sounds from the room, footsteps echoed from the upstairs cabin. A hunched old wizard approached, stood behind her for a moment, and asked in a hoarse voice, "Isn't this a Muggle television?"

"What did you say, old man?" Umbridge asked rudely.

The old wizard glanced at her with some fear and whispered, "I told you this is Muggle television. I saw it at your mother's house before I divorced her."

"Don't mention that Muggle woman!"

As if enraged, Umbridge abandoned her usual sweet voice and shouted in a shrill, piercing tone, "You want to go find them, don't you? Your Muggle ex-wife, your Squib son! And you, you lazy mechanic!"

"If it weren't for your burdens, if I weren't Umbridge, if I were of pure blood, I wouldn't have only been promoted to deputy minister now!"

"..."

The old wizard Alford lowered his head, listened to his daughter's screams, and closed his eyes in anguish.

(End of this chapter)