A certain Hogwarts professor of runes

Chapter 695 Reactions

Felix Heap, Hogwarts' professor of Ancient Runes, and 14 students successfully completed their first visit, and Minister for Magic Amelia Bornes confirmed the accuracy of the news during a broadcast on the Magic Radio that evening.

"The Hogwarts students and staff received a warm welcome and stayed after afternoon tea for the subsequent dinner and ball, which lasted until ten o'clock," Ms. Burns said with a hint of delight. "The Muggle Prime Minister escorted them to the Houses of Parliament, and then the entire delegation Apparated."

"This operation is of great significance. It marks the complete opening of communication channels between the wizarding and non-wizarding communities. From now on, mutual visits between the two sides will become more and more frequent, and a series of issues surrounding exchanges and cooperation between wizarding and non-wizarding communities will be carried out in an orderly manner. The Ministry of Magic promises to strive to find a suitable balance between maintaining tradition and openness..."

"In short, we can breathe a little easier now."

The wizarding crowd cheered. If it weren't for the late hour and the injunction still in effect, they would likely have taken to the streets to celebrate.

Even so, many wizards found ways to express their excitement and joy—they flocked to famous wizarding sites such as Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade, and Witch Town, filling taverns of all sizes to capacity, and Fred and George's new fireworks also came in handy.

Some wizards in remote areas chose to have a small celebration at their own homes.

The non-magical world—Muggle newspapers—also gave positive coverage. Some reporters were invited to the Queen's afternoon tea, and their information was more precise; naturally, their newspapers sold out the following day.

"Please allow me to introduce you to a historic magic school—Hogwarts, founded a thousand years ago by four of the most outstanding wizards of their time. The school's four houses are named after their surnames—Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, and Slytherin. Over the millennia, this school has produced countless outstanding wizards, including the delegation of wizards who participated in the Queen's Afternoon Tea yesterday."

"I've uncovered many incredible facts, which may differ greatly from common belief. For example, the ratio of male to female wizards is roughly equal, contrary to the popular belief that female wizards far outnumber male wizards; wizards' routines are similar to those of ordinary people—they sleep in bed at night and don't fly around on broomsticks; the only similarity to wizarding rumors is that flying broomsticks do exist, but they are generally not used for travel—wizards have more convenient modes of transportation—but rather as a tool for a sport called Quidditch."

This sport is said to combine elements of football, basketball, baseball, and other sports, but it's played on a broomstick—in other words, in the air.

The author also unexpectedly discovered several students who mailed letters to *The Sun*, including the little boy adopted by a relative who hated magic. His real name is Harry Potter. He admitted that the contents of the letter were true, but refused to reveal the name of the relative who abused him. Because this name is common in Britain, our child rights agencies have difficulty investigating—but he doesn't care, saying he's doing well now and has found a home in the magical world.

"It's a shame the girl who revealed the existence of several magical creatures to the public isn't in the group. I wanted to ask her in person how to ward off the harassing flies. I'm sure many readers have secretly practiced ritual dances to get rid of them in their rooms, but this might be a unique magic, since the other students are vague about it..."

"My God, we can't wait to know more about wizards—it's unbelievable that for the past two weeks, most of our knowledge about wizards has been wrong, based on folk tales and unfounded ghost stories!"

After learning that the activities of wizards spanned the entirety of human history, the renowned historian Sheridan Mack had a completely new perspective on the supernatural cultures and strange customs of all recorded civilizations. He believed that magic was the last missing piece of the puzzle.

Anthropologist Wycliffe Julius was the first to apply to live in the wizarding village for a year or two, hoping to observe the wizards' lifestyle up close—his request was naturally rejected by the authorities without hesitation. Everyone knew that he had abandoned his wife and children to spend two years in a remote African tribe, conducting what he called fieldwork. Upon his return, this anthropologist was dissatisfied with everything he saw, nitpicking and finding fault with everything. He even wanted all British people to build their own houses as a sign of adulthood…

Hogwarts.

"There seems to be less anti-wizard rhetoric in the newspapers?" Snape stared at the newspaper thoughtfully.

"Because they discovered that their actual understanding of wizards was extremely limited," Felix said, pointing to the newspaper. "Aside from a few letters from students, they hadn't gleaned much valuable information, so they had to search through old documents. The results didn't match up at all."

"So what you talked about at afternoon tea, the newspaper didn't say..." Professor Flitwick turned a page and said with a suspicious look, "I only found a few ladies praising your graceful dancing."

"Ahem," Felix coughed and quickly explained, "Since it's afternoon tea, only the Queen, the Prime Minister, and a few members of parliament are present. Oh, and there's also a little girl, who seems to be a relative of the Queen—"

"Although it wasn't exactly a battle of words, it was actually more tiring, as every word had a hidden meaning."

"The students were mostly silent, as still as armor in a school castle. The real highlight was the social dance after the banquet. You have no idea how many people asked me to dance, then subtly inquired about the wizarding world, and others invited me to tour London," Felix said, adding, "The other students were the same."

"It sounds like they're trying to win you over," Professor Flitwick said, frowning.

"Pretty much, but it's a good thing," Felix said calmly. "It means their attitude has shifted towards peace talks, and they urgently need to paint a more realistic picture of the wizarding world, hence their eagerness. Of course, I believe the royal family is aware of the existence of wizards—"

"Nearly Headless Nick is actually quite representative. He was born into a noble family and also showed magical talent, which earned him permission to study at Hogwarts. After graduating, he became active in the upper echelons of Muggle society. Through magic—or perhaps with the help of his family—he was knighted and became a courtier of King Henry VII."

As Felix spoke, he fell into thought. "He might have been one of the first victims of the witch hunt, a witch victim. Maybe I can ask him... oh, he probably doesn't even know himself."

The first large-scale witch hunt on the European continent occurred between 1480 and 1520. Nick, the Gryffindor ghost who nearly lost his head, was sentenced to beheading during this period (1492), although the two may be unrelated, as witch hunts in England began slightly later than in Europe, and only sporadic witch trials occurred during the reign of Henry VII. Unfortunately, Sir Nicholas's clumsy transfiguration turned what should have been a simple orthodontic procedure—perhaps even the beginning of a romantic encounter—into a serious magical accident, resulting in Lady Griffith, who received the treatment, growing fangs.

Sir Nicholas was stripped of his wand and locked in the dungeon. He tried to explain that he could immediately undo the harm he had caused Lady Griffith, but it was too late. The beautiful lady had underestimated the unpredictability of magic and had chosen to end her own life beforehand. The damage was irreversible.

"Will religious factors interfere with the negotiations?" Professor Flitwick asked.

"It's not a big problem in Britain, because the Queen is their nominal leader. Outside of Britain—" Felix paused, looking hesitant, "it's hard to say. They do have a lot of influence among ordinary people, but wizards aren't without ways to deal with it, after all, they have a lot of problems of their own."

He plans to send out a copy of "A History of Magic" when things start to look promising; the content from the 14th to the 17th centuries will surely be eye-opening.

Felix currently has no energy to focus on foreign affairs, only occasionally using Grindelwald's identity to operate. Upon closer analysis, it becomes clear that Grindelwald has never summoned saints, nor has he uttered any more inflammatory or extreme slogans. His actions, in line with the retrenchment policies of various countries' Ministries of Magic, are actually beneficial in reducing conflict.

Many people believe this is a restriction of an "unbreakable vow".

The Ten Laws of Wizardry were selected by him with reference to the Code of Grindelwald, in order to lower the expectations of the Muggle government in the upcoming negotiations.

Looking at Felix's strategy in its entirety, one can see that his idea was actually quite simple: prioritize conquering one country, and then use that prestige to deeply participate in the subsequent wizarding reforms, thereby influencing the course of the world.

Something happened quietly during this time: Ms. Burns, together with all the members of Wizengamo, recommended Felix to become the chief wizard of Wizengamo. As a result, he automatically became a member of the International Wizarding Federation.

……

Meanwhile, the students were also very curious about the details that were happening inside the parliament building.

"You guys really sang the school song in public?" Ernie Macmillan asked in surprise. He kept turning his head, but Harry, Ron, and Draco all looked sickly and clearly didn't want to talk about it.

"Overall, it went quite well. Quite a few people applauded," Hermione encouraged them with great enthusiasm.

Harry turned his head away. He preferred to call it a disaster. The Hogwarts school song actually had a set number of syllables, but when Headmaster Dumbledore was in office, he didn't care about such trivial matters. He allowed students to choose their own tunes, so no one knew who sang it off-key first, and in the end, the whole tune turned into a funeral march, creating an extremely awkward atmosphere.

Professor Hyp, however, was able to calmly and confidently expound on the principle that "magic is unrestrained," which impressed Harry greatly.

"Is there anything else interesting?" Colin Crevey asked, clutching his notebook.

"Oh, right!" Harry said as if suddenly remembering something, "The professor said he's preparing to go to the moon to search for ancient wizarding relics!"

After much deliberation, I've decided to downplay the conflict between wizards and religion. Mentioning religion inevitably involves many dark aspects of history, such as witch hunts. In the Harry Potter universe, few real witches are tried; those tried are mostly ordinary people falsely accused. This contradicts the book's overall tone. However, for the sake of plot completeness, it may be touched upon later, but mostly only briefly.

(End of this chapter)