Hogwarts: Dumbledore reigned over the wizarding world.

Chapter 339 The Magical World of the East

Christmas is here.

This was the first thing Harry heard in his dorm room after staying up very late last night and not getting up until after 9 a.m., fumbling to put on his glasses.

"—I'm planning to ask Percy to go to Hogsmeade and bring me back some sweets. Would you like to come along?"

It was Ron who was speaking. Just like last year, Ron didn't go home this year either.

According to him, "Vaughn definitely won't be going back this year. He's so busy he's practically insane. We can't even see him anymore. Ginny won't be going back either. Yes, I specifically asked her, and guess what she said? She said she's going to be with that crazy girl Luna. Merlin, I swear, she never used to hang out with that crazy girl when she was at home."

"Percy, my good boy, needs to wear his badge carefully and solidify his position in the student council; he won't want to go back. Fred and George? Don't be ridiculous, they absolutely won't go back. Those two troublemakers have delayed Vaughn's project for ages, and they're practically wishing every minute could be split in two—I'm the only one with freedom this year, but I'd rather not have it. What's the point of going back to that empty house? To wait for Mom to pour all her heavy maternal love onto me alone?"

So Ron didn't send the application form home at all; in fact, he used it as an excuse to write to Molly saying he was worried Harry would be lonely at Hogwarts.

What a great friend!

Seamus, Dean, and Neville were also "good friends"—yes, none of them went back, and they all used the same reason in their letters to their families.

Yes, I'm worried that the great Harry Potter might be lonely!

Thank you so much to these kind-hearted bastards!

In fact, Harry knew very well why these guys were willing to stay at the boring Hogwarts. One reason was, of course, to go out at night, or rather, to go out at night to watch the board of directors argue.

Watching those adults argue and fight like children over Vaughn's practical course reforms, only to end up in a 4:4:4 scoreline each time, is quite entertaining if you ignore the frustration behind the stalemate.

Secondly, it's because recently, professors from various disciplines at Hogwarts have suddenly started talking about knowledge about Eastern countries.

This trend started three days ago with Professor Flitwick, who, while teaching the spell, suddenly mentioned his experiences in China during his graduation trip decades ago.

According to Professor Flitwick, it was a country much, much larger than England. He entered India through a place called Z along the border and traveled eastward for more than four months, but only hurriedly visited four provinces of China. The furthest he reached was a place called Enn in China, which was said to be only the central region of China.

In contrast, he spent more than 20 days traveling through England.

Harry couldn't imagine what it meant to be much, much bigger than England; in his mind, London was already so big that he couldn't find his way around.

Next up was Professor McGonagall, who shared her experience of meeting a shapeshifter from China when she was young. This shapeshifter came from ICUN and could change 24 faces in an instant, each "face" specializing in a particular type of magic.

For example, a type of facial makeup called "Nuomian" can command ghosts.

The young wizards could hardly understand it, but were deeply shocked.

Commanding ghosts — how cool is that!

The most important class, Professor Kettleburn's Conservation of Magical Creatures, is an elective course that only begins in the third year. However, on that day, Professor Kettleburn specially held a large lecture that the entire school could attend.

During class, the professor displayed a life-size replica of a mythical creature named Zouwu, which he had treasured for many years.

Then, that fluffy, majestic yet adorable big cat won everyone over!

The image of that "big cat" with its long tail, both imposing and adorable, still seems to flutter in Harry's mind.

Also appearing is Professor Kettleburn's introduction: "In the East, the Zouwu is considered a benevolent beast, meaning it is very kind. According to Mr. Newt Scamander's research, this magical animal unique to China does indeed have incredible empathy and high morality; they would not even harm a blade of grass."

"What does it eat? It looks very powerful, bigger than a tiger."

Someone raised a question during class.

Professor Kettleburn laughed: "That's a very good question. Zouwus may look fierce, but they are purely scavengers; they only eat the carcasses of dead animals."

Harry couldn't understand why a magical creature would be so merciful.

This is something that many people don't understand.

Then, Kettleburn showed them even more incredible, uniquely Chinese magical animals, such as the Chongming Bird,

Bifang and Qilin —

Harry heard the familiar "phoenix" in it, but to his surprise, Professor Kettleburn said that the Chinese "phoenix" cannot be reborn from the ashes; the one that can be reborn from the ashes is the Bifang. The "phoenix" is an auspicious bird, a combination of the two birds that bring good luck, the Feng bird and the Huang bird.

They aren't even birds, but descendants of dragons! (Ancient legend says the phoenix is ​​a descendant of the Yinglong.)

There's also the Qilin.

A magical creature capable of distinguishing between loyalty and treachery, good and evil. For decades, the International Federation of Wizards used the Qilin to select its president, until China withdrew from the "international family".

As Professor Kettleburn's class progressed, the magical creatures with their unique personalities and moral compasses dazzled all the young wizards, even the proud and reserved Slytherins who considered themselves pure-bloods.

This was the first time everyone had come to know about a magnificent and splendid magical civilization that was completely different from England and even Europe.

And, most surprisingly, even Snape prepared a special "Chinese Potions" lesson!

During the class, Snape, with his already long face, introduced Chinese apothecaries and a magical potion called "Chinese medicine".

To this day, Harry still remembers the complex expression on Snape's face when he recounted it: "—The Chinese medicine system was established earlier than that of Europe. They were the first ancient civilization in the world to notice the special characteristics of magical creatures and magical plants and to try to utilize them in order to create potions."

"This long-accumulated and inherited experience and culture has even influenced Muggles in China, transforming traditional Chinese medicine from a magical potion into a unique and universally applicable medical system in China. Yes, Muggles in China also use traditional Chinese medicine—although in my opinion, their use of traditional Chinese medicine is superficial. They lack magic, don't understand rituals, and find it difficult to purify and enhance the medicinal properties, often resulting in the medicine not being very effective, and even increasing its toxicity due to interactions."

"But it must be said that there are some intelligent people among the Muggles, especially when the timeline is extended to a historical scale of thousands of years. Even with the limited wisdom of the Muggles, a qualitative change can occur. Traditional Chinese medicine has become large-scale and complex in function due to the involvement of the Muggles. It has even developed its own set of theories that are completely detached from alchemy and belong to the field of medicine. The theory is rather absurd, but it is still something that Europe and Africa lack."

To be honest, Harry was very surprised by Snape's account.

He thought the old bat would belittle China's potion system, just as he always favored Slytherin and mocked students from other houses.

In particular, Chinese potions involve Muggles—although Snape never showed any aversion to Muggles, it's hard to believe that anyone would think he liked them.

In response, Ron surprisingly spoke up for Snape after class that day: "He is a Potions Master. You can question his character, but you shouldn't question his love for potions."

"—I can't believe these words came out of your mouth. You're the one who's been questioning him all along!"

"Hmph—well, I don't really trust the old Batman, but I do trust his relationship with Vaughn. Vaughn doesn't discriminate against Muggles, so the old Batman's impartiality might just be a case of loving the house because of the house."

Harry immediately accepted this explanation. Compared to any talk of love for potions, this explanation, which so clearly highlighted Snape's prejudice and favoritism, was far more convincing!

In short, thanks to the professors' encouragement, "Oriental fever" has recently become a popular trend at Hogwarts.

The long history, abundant resources, vast territory, and the mystery brought about by decades of isolation all make the young wizards unable to resist.

A couple of days ago, there were rumors at the castle that this year's Christmas event would have an oriental theme, and that the professors would recreate some of the content they had told.

Therefore, quite a few people actually want to stay in the castle during the Christmas holidays this year.

At least Harry knew that Dean and Seamus were the two guys who stayed behind because they were so eager to enjoy the Christmas activities. Just a week ago, when the school was about to register the list of students staying on campus for the holidays, they were still determined to go home.

Thinking of the two of them, Harry heard Dean ask Ron, "Why did you ask Percy to buy you candy? Seriously, buddy, Percy is the most picky guy I've ever met. He'll probably refuse your request and give you a lecture."

Ron sighed, "Who else could I turn to besides him?"

"Fred and George—"

Dean was interrupted by Ron's sneer before he could finish speaking: "When did you get the idea that they'd be reliable? Percy might refuse me, might lecture me, but he'd never steal my money—heh heh, Fred and George are a different story."

"—Do you have experience?"

"Yes, I have a lot of experience, from when I was 6 years old and received my first allowance until I started school last year!"

Poor Ron————

Harry yawned pityingly, not wanting to disturb the group who were chatting so enthusiastically. He lazily shifted a few times in bed, feeling the cold air outside, and then looked up at the window.

The windowpane was covered with ice crystals, its undulating and winding outline resembling a mountain range extending from a topographic map. Through the distorted light, the leisurely shadows of snowflakes drifted past the window, and the world was a seamless expanse of color.

In the distance, one can vaguely see the trajectory of the snowballs crashing through the snow curtain and soaring into the sky; those must be the little wizards playing in the courtyard, having a magical snowball fight.

He suddenly remembered this time last year.

On the same Christmas, while many people went home, he and Ron were bored and played Wizard's Chess in the common room.

The fireplace in the common room was warm, but it felt very cold and lonely around me.

"Schools should really hold more events during holidays to encourage more people to stay."

he thinks.

Harry had grown accustomed to the bustling castle and deeply hoped that this noise could continue forever.

Because once he leaves this place, he will never feel a similar atmosphere again.

Except when living in a humble abode.

They lingered in bed until 10 a.m., then got up, washed, and the five of them went to the auditorium for lunch. As soon as they entered, they sensed something was off about the atmosphere—

At the long tables in each college, people were gathered in twos and threes, looking at something.

There was no need for Harry to gather around; he could already hear Lee Jordan's booming voice coming from the Gryffindor long table:

"—Damn the Ministry of Magic, that shameless Fudge, and this ridiculous press release! They've pinned all the credit on Fudge, that fatso even has to push Dumbledore aside for photos!"

"Hey, you should at least show some respect to the minister."

Another familiar voice weakly protested.

"Respect what? Percy, your beloved minister even stole your brother's credit!"

The crowd burst into laughter, and through the shadows, Harry saw Percy's face turn red. He seemed to want to explain something, but his mouth moved a few times before he finally said nothing.

The group of five exchanged glances and didn't join in the fun. Ron tugged at Harry's sleeve, and Harry followed his gaze to see Hermione.

As usual, Miss Know-It-All kept her distance from the crowd. None of her classmates were with her, and she didn't like to stick together.

They used to be by her side, but this semester, a red-haired figure has appeared beside her—Ginny.

The two were lying on the long table, eating lunch and talking while looking at the newspaper.

The group of five shamelessly approached.

Dean, Seamus, and Neville sat down opposite him without thinking. Ron instinctively wanted to sit next to Ginny, but Ginny looked up and glared at him angrily.

But the moment she saw Harry, her annoyed expression vanished instantly, a slight blush rose to her cheeks, and her brown eyes seemed to be covered with a layer of mist, her gaze shifting.

Ron, who watched helplessly as his sister "changed her face," looked at Ginny, then at Harry, and felt a lump in his throat.

Harry, oblivious to all that, brazenly peeked out from behind Ginny and asked, "What are you looking at?"

Hermione didn't want to talk to him.

But Ginny was eager to talk to him: "Vaughn's potions exchange program is almost complete. News from the East says that the Central Academy of Magic has finalized its cooperation negotiations with the Ministry of Magic, and they will be sending an exchange delegation to Hogwarts soon."

The East? The negotiations have succeeded?

Harry was taken aback. He naturally knew about the potions exchange and the negotiations with the East, since it had been a hot topic in the Daily Prophet since the start of the school year. At the time, Beauxbatons of France and Castorbucher of South America had even voiced their support in the newspaper, causing quite a stir.

However, when the negotiations stalled and the media shifted its focus, he gradually stopped paying attention. When he occasionally thought about it, he assumed it would drag on aimlessly, like a meeting of the board of directors.

Unexpectedly, the newspaper suddenly announced that they had succeeded.

Ron, along with Neville and the others opposite him, were also surprised. They craned their necks to look at Hermione's newspaper. Hermione pursed her lips but didn't say anything, placing the newspaper in the center of the long table.