Hogwarts: This professor is too Muggle.

Chapter 353 Leave School for Holiday
We've been waiting and waiting, and summer vacation has finally arrived!

Inside the express train carriage, Harry sat by the window, glancing at Hagrid outside greeting the students, then staring down at the beautifully bound envelope.

The letter was printed next to the Black family crest and signed Sirius Black. It was delivered right after the year-end banquet, when the joy and excitement of Gryffindor winning the House Cup had not yet faded. They were in the common room seeing Oliver and Percy off when Harry received Sirius's message.

Harry, who had lost his parents and was homeless, was overjoyed to finally meet his godfather, thinking he would no longer have to live with the Dursleys. However, a letter from his godfather dashed his hopes.

According to Dumbledore and Professor Levent, the magical protection within him is maintained by the twisting of his bloodline, and he must spend at least a month each year with his immediate family in order for this protection to continue until adulthood. He will spend half of the summer vacation at the Dursleys' house.

"I really want you to come to the humble abode for the summer vacation, but we'll have to wait until August."

Ron sat down beside him and said regretfully, "But don't worry, I'll have George and Fred pick you up at Privet Road. They have to go to work in London every day anyway, so Uncle Vernon won't have another chance to keep you under house arrest."

The carefree summer vacation is truly enviable. It is said that George and Fred will be interning at the factory, doing what interests them, freely coming and going from Diagon Alley, and even having their own bank accounts.

Unlike some children who board at their uncle's house, who spend most of their time in their rooms, enduring embarrassing insults and only occasionally helping with chores, and even having to do their magic homework in secret.

"Don't worry about Harry, I won't be traveling this summer either. Feel free to write or call me anytime if you encounter any problems," Hermione said solemnly, looking up from petting the cat.

Compared to the situation last summer when my two friends were completely out of touch, this promise is indeed reassuring.

"You don't need to stay in London just for me. If anything interesting happens during your travels, just remember to come back and tell me." Harry sniffed and put away Sirius's letter.

That's the friendship between the four founders. Because he needed to stay with the Dursleys for a month, two friends were worried that what happened last summer would happen again. One promised to pick him up immediately in August, and the other was willing to give up his trip and provide help at any time.

Harry felt both touched and guilty to have such a steadfast friend by his side.

“It’s alright. I don’t have any travel plans for the summer. Professor Levent is willing to introduce me to an internship at the Herald’s Newspaper, so I’ll probably be commuting to and from Diagon Alley every day.” Hermione patted Crookshanks’ head and explained in concise terms.

Harry was no longer moved. He looked up and stared at her with a look of envy, jealousy and hatred in his eyes.

As more and more students boarded the train, their irrepressible excitement turned into a noisy chatter that filled the entire carriage. Occasionally, childish words would drift out of the window and reach the professors' ears.

"We're going to New York this summer! The International Wizarding Federation is being held there!"

"Remember to come back early, don't miss the Quidditch World Cup final!"

"Have the final teams been decided yet? I heard the semi-finals just finished?"

"If nothing unexpected happens, Bulgaria should be included; their Seeker is a genius!"

"Waaah...waaah..."

Steam billowed from the whistle, and the express train departed along the winding railway, disappearing into the rolling hills.

Watching the bright red carriage disappear, the elective course professors smiled, picked up their suitcases, and realized that the students were on vacation, and so were the professors. Unlike the four deans, the elective course professors had no business to attend to on campus and had already planned their summer trips.

Professor Basilda Baburin and Professor Setima Victor agreed to explore the ruins of the Mayan civilization together, while Aurora Sinesta was going to visit the Greenwich Observatory.

Trelawney is going back to her hometown to look for her great-grandmother's notes. She realizes that she can no longer continue to fake her divination lessons and plans to work hard during the summer vacation so that she can return to school next semester and impress the entire school.

Hagrid had no plans to go anywhere; he would stay at the school during the summer to work as a gamekeeper. But that didn't stop him from going to catch up with Professor Celticburn and exchange ideas on teaching how to protect magical creatures.

The hippogriff at the start of the semester and Pomlock before the end of the semester—two farces that almost landed him on probation—made him realize that his teaching experience was still too shallow and that he needed guidance from an experienced professor.

"..."

Watching his colleagues disappear into the distance, Melvin showed a hint of envy; he had no travel plans of his own.

There are so many things to do; this summer vacation is even busier than the start of the school year.

The Ministry of Magic consulted his advice on special trade occasions. Ms. Burns was not Fudge; she only wanted to do things perfectly and didn't care at all if people called her a mouthpiece. As trade became more established, the frequency of her letters decreased during this period, but she still maintained more than two letters per week.

By wielding power from behind the scenes, Melvin probably understood what the Malfoy family had been pursuing for centuries.

The schools of Ilfamoni and Beauxbatons have sent letters to the Department of International Affairs inquiring about restarting the Goblet of Fire tournament. Since both parties mentioned themselves in their letters, Director Crouch quickly identified the key figure.

Recently, letters from the Ministry of Magic have been frequently interspersed with those from Mr. Crouch, inquiring about the preparations for the Goblet of Fire.

There was also the matter of broadcasting the Quidditch World Cup. The tournament was nearing its end, but the earlier group stage matches were insignificant. The sports broker was in charge of facilitating the broadcasts, and Wright and Mrs. Eckmore, as before, delayed the broadcasts, immediately cutting out the footage after the matches and projecting it using a telescope.

The upcoming final is completely different. Bagman and the tournament committee have reached an agreement that the Magic Mirror Club will be fully responsible for all matters related to the final, and Melvin plans to broadcast it live. This will be an unprecedented groundbreaking commercial event in the magical world, and he must be present throughout the entire event.

“I’m about to embark on a long journey, Melvin,” someone said beside him.

The gentle voice carried a hint of weakness, a side effect of the wolfsbane medicine. The full moon had just passed, and the moonlight on this clear summer day was exceptionally bright.

"The headmaster is going to have to worry about Defense Against the Dark Arts again," Melvin replied jokingly.

He turned his head and glanced at his colleague of a year. His face, now with a two-pronged beard, was quite handsome, no longer the thin, frail man with flesh hanging from his cheekbones. His bright, candle-like eyes were resolute, and he wore a decent gray-brown robe, not brand new, but without patches.

A year at Hogwarts brought about a tremendous transformation in him, both inside and out.

"Are you getting ready to go and join Graybuck?"

Melvin knew his destination and didn't try to dissuade him further: "Did you tell Tonks? You're not keeping it from anyone else, are you? During her time stationed at Hogsmeade, she's always considered you a close friend." Mentioning Tonks, the usually resolute Lupin suddenly became a little hesitant: "Dumbledore informed Madam Burns about this operation, and the Department of Executions immediately set up a special operations team, sending two squads of Aurors to follow the wolf pack and support my operation, responsible for delivering wolfsbane potions and relaying intelligence."

"Tonks is also an Auror in the action group?"

"Um……"

Melvin squinted at the now-departed werewolf professor.

He looks like a kind and honest man with thick eyebrows and big eyes, but I never expected him to fall in love while on a business trip.

"Cough cough..."

Lupin cleared his throat: "I should get going. Goodbye Melvin, it was a pleasure working with you."

The air vibrations caused by Apparition were slightly deafening. Melvin shook his head and turned back to the castle.

Passing through the school gate carved with a warthog with outstretched wings, and walking back along the path between the fields, we happened to meet three siblings on an outing on the shore of Black Lake.

One was dressed in a white robe, with silver hair and beard; it was Headmaster Dumbledore. Another was tall and muscular, with a rough voice; he was the disheveled tavern owner. And the third was shrouded in a hazy mist, his shadow barely visible; he appeared to be a blonde girl.

The tall beech trees are reflected on the lake, like a bridge spanning the mist and reality, crossing the boundary between life and death. Separated by a piece of pale yellow sandstone, Melvin and the principal sit on the top of the stone, while Aberforth and Ariana play in the water not far away.

Black Lake is vast, with a deep bottom that connects to the ocean. A gentle breeze blows from the mountains and forests above, and giant squid wiggle their tentacles on the bottom of the lake, creating shimmering waves that crash against the rocks. Melvin turns his head and sees the principal's kind smile.

For some reason, Melvin suddenly felt that this was the old wizard's genuine laugh, without any pretense or airs of a legendary wizard or headmaster.

"Where do you plan to travel this summer?" Dumbledore asked softly, his legs hanging down naturally, the soles of his shoes wet from the splashes of water.

Melvin shook his head: "Nowhere."

“I thought you were going to go somewhere abroad again, make a splash in the newspapers, and get a medal of merit from the local Ministry of Magic,” Dumbledore chuckled. “Like New York, the International Wizarding Convention is being held there this summer. If you’re going, we can go together.”

“I sat in on the last federation meeting and saw you there, sitting in the chairman’s seat, dozing off out of boredom.” Melvin shook his head.

"Is it... that obvious?" Dumbledore pondered, resting his chin on his hand. "Looks like I'll have to be lazy this year and come up with a more subtle way."

"You can think about it when you get to Woolworth House. Did you call me over specifically to tell me something?"

Dumbledore paused briefly: "It's mainly about the Resurrection Stone, Melvin. I plan to take Aberforth and Ariana to New York. You found the Resurrection Stone, and I'd like your permission."

"As long as it doesn't make me work overtime..." Melvin waved his hand. "There's no reason to refuse a family trip from a centenarian wizard. Have a pleasant trip."

As soon as he finished speaking, a gentle breeze blew by, causing the misty water ahead to ripple, and the sunlight refracted to create a faint rainbow.

Beneath the dazzling rainbow bridge, Melvin's gaze pierced through the mist, and he seemed to see a bright-eyed, white-toothed girl giving him a radiant smile, her lips forming words of gratitude.

Melvin smiled back, rose to say goodbye, and headed to Hogsmeade.

There are two most important things to do this summer: the Quidditch World Cup and the International Wizarding Union Conference.

As early as the 14th century, the rules of Quidditch were gradually perfected and spread from Kent to the world, becoming popular throughout the wizarding world with millions of fans and an increasing number of various competitions.

In competitive ball sports, conflicts are not limited to the field; there are also emotional spectators, which means that large-scale riots may occur after the game, mostly by wizards waving wands.

The first large-scale fan riot occurred in Britain during a match between Scotland and England. Both sides believed that the other side had used unfair means and attempted to win by despicable means. The verbal disputes among small groups quickly spread and eventually escalated into a large-scale duel.

At that time, the Ministry of Magic had not yet been established, and the most authoritative government agency was the Wizarding Council. The council president, Boldock Malden, led the batters to quell the dispute and subsequently issued several Quidditch restrictions over the next few decades.

In 1362, Quidditch games were banned within fifty miles of any known Muggle town.

In 1368, it was decreed that Quidditch matches were also prohibited within 100 miles of Muggle towns.

In 1419, it was decreed that Quidditch matches could not be played in any place where Muggles might even have a chance to see them, and those who violated the law would be chained to the walls of the dungeon.

These chaotic events and related laws led to the creation of the Quidditch Management Group, the precursor to the Quidditch Committee. After the establishment of the International Confederation of Wizards, the International Quidditch Federation was immediately formed, agreeing to hold a Quidditch World Cup every four years.

In recent years, with the development of Wizard Radio, World Cup commentary has been broadcast live on the radio, but there is only sound and no picture. It's like a thirsty homeless person smelling the aroma of bread and roast meat, but unable to reach it.

Instead, it left the viewers glued to their radios scratching their heads, unable to put it down.

To achieve real-time broadcasting of video and audio, several technical challenges need to be addressed:
First, the Floo Network is a local area network based on the Ministry of Magic, which needs to provide memories to the Departments of Transportation of the Ministry of Magic in various locations simultaneously to achieve synchronized playback.

Secondly, previously, the video streaming service only handled pre-recorded programs. The edited footage was transported to the Department of Transportation and then transmitted to video streaming services in households via the Flylink network. This process was inherently time-consuming. Even for the most time-sensitive news programs, the editing and delivery time could only be compressed to within half an hour.

To solve these problems through normal means would require enormous wealth and decades of time, persuading the national ministries of magic to connect to each other's Floo networks, setting up a transmission center at the finals venue, and resolving the transmission delay issue...

So Melvin chose a shortcut. He had already reached an agreement with Ms. Burns on the specifics, but some preliminary preparations were still needed.

For example, he entrusted Bagman and Wright to organize investment promotion meetings.

(End of this chapter)