Hogwarts: This professor is too Muggle

At this moment, Ms. Grey was answering the headmaster's question about ghosts: "After death, wizards may still cling to the world, or harbor strong emotions that are difficult to let go. It may be regret, or it may be unwillingness to accept the reality of death... The wizard's emotions and soul are magic. This magic between life and death is even more wonderful. It can transform the soul into a translucent entity, wandering the places it visited in life."

Dumbledore frowned. "I have witnessed more than once that many wizards died with strong reluctance, yet their souls did not linger."

"I'm not sure about that either." Ms. Grey spoke in a very soft voice, her words tinged with melancholy. "Maybe it has something to do with the time of death. Some people's souls are compatible with the magic of the full moon, some with the magic of the waning moon, and some with the magic of the sun. They need to die at the right time to transform into ghosts.

"It may also be related to the location. Some places themselves have magic, such as Myrtle, who died in the school bathroom. The magic of Hogwarts may have inadvertently helped her.

"These are just speculations, my mother's speculations."

The Bloody Barrow remained silent.

"Did Ms. Ravenclaw really conduct research on the soul?"

“There are no clear results.”

"Is it possible for a soul that has been dead for many years to be transformed into a ghost?"

"I don't know either. There is no such precedent in history." Ms. Grey paused for a moment, looking at the old principal with a clear gaze. She wanted to give some advice, but she couldn't say it, and only sighed.

Dumbledore picked up the cooled tea, took a sip, and said to them, "The above questions are only my personal questions. I called you here mainly for Ms. Ravenclaw's diadem."

Ms. Grey and the Bloody Baron looked up at the old headmaster. "Did you find the diadem?"

Dumbledore nodded. "I found it with the help of Professor Lewynter. In fact, the diadem has been hidden in the castle. Forgive me for not being able to return the diadem or show it to you for the time being. It has been transformed by dark magic into some kind of evil vessel, and I have not yet found a way to cleanse the filth."

The two ghosts wanted to say something else when they heard clear footsteps outside the office door.

"That's all for today. I'll let you know if there's any progress."

"Please, Dumbledore." Ms. Grey's voice trembled slightly.

"Principal Dumbledore..." The Bloody Baron finally spoke, but he didn't finish the sentence.

Before floating out of the office, Ms. Grey suddenly turned back, with sadness and regret in her eyes: "Ghosts are not a continuation of life, but a form of torture, Dumbledore. Don't make a choice that you will regret."

"I see……"

Chapter 32 Pensieve

"Dong dong..."

"Please come in."

Melvin knocked on the door and two translucent silver figures floated past him.

Ms. Grey saw Melvin and nodded slightly, a faint arc that could be considered a greeting. The Bloody Baron had a blank expression on his face and followed behind without saying a word.

The two ghosts left the office lightly. They were very polite ghosts. They left through the main door out of respect for the principal. Unlike other ghosts in the school, they treated the walls as air and moved back and forth in a straight line. Sometimes when they were walking on the road, a cold head would suddenly pop out from the ground.

Melvin walked into the office and subconsciously looked at Fawkes, the phoenix nestled in the Sorting Hat, nodding and smiling at it.

"Chirp!"

The phoenix is ​​a beautiful thing, but its cry sounds like a sparrow. I don’t know who it learned it from.

"Good evening, Melvin."

Dumbledore watched the scene with a smile, holding the teapot and said to him, "If you don't mind, I'd like to drink something sweet."

"Then I'm here just in time..." Melvin sat down and took out the ice cream from the paper bag and handed over a box. "Try it, it's lemon flavored, a new product from Florin's Ice Cream Shop."

Dumbledore opened the brown paper box, and the ice cream was steaming. The color and smell were very fresh. The sweet and cool air drifted into his nose, and he couldn't help but smile.

Melvin opened the chocolate-flavored one himself and said, "Principal, I need your help with something. Can I borrow the Pensieve for a moment?"

Dumbledore asked doubtfully, "The Pensieve?"

"Remember what we talked about in New York? I want to write stories about wizards and explore the forms of magical drama." Melvin didn't want to hide it. "I went to Diagon Alley to find suitable equipment that could match wizards and magic for filming and projection. I didn't find the equipment, but I met a wizard who understands technology. He suggested using memories to make film. The Pensieve is the projection equipment, so I want to borrow your Pensieve to do some research."

Dumbledore looked at him and smiled: "A movie from the Muggle world, right?"

"Principal, do you know anything about movies?"

"Don't imagine me as a lonely old wizard hiding in a castle all day. I'm not a closed-minded and conservative pure-blood either. You might not imagine that I have a complete London Underground map tattooed on my left knee," Dumbledore said with a bit of pride. "I'm a Muggle-savvy person."

"I got it now."

Melvin didn't know what was so proud about having a subway map tattooed on his knee, and he didn't dare ask, for fear that the old principal would insist on showing it to him.

"Someone planned to build a cinema in Godric's Hollow decades ago, but it didn't work out."

Dumbledore took a sip of cream and said thoughtfully, "Your idea is theoretically feasible. However, the Pensieve itself has its flaws. Furthermore, the audience needs to bury their heads in the basin to watch, making it unsuitable for public screenings. The stone basin is just a container; the silver mist within is the key. You could consider changing the design of the vessel. You could learn from the Mirror of Erised and make a mirror that projects memories. How about calling it the Memory Mirror?"

"I will think about it."

I have an idea for the magic projection equipment.

Melvin made a mental note of these thoughts.

Dumbledore's lips curved up, his heavy heart gradually lightening. "I haven't been using the Pensieve lately. I have some information about it. Take it with you when you leave. If anything comes of the wizarding film, I hope to be among the first to see it."

"Of course!"

The principal is still very reliable when he is serious.

Melvin picked up a wooden spoon and scooped out a piece, then put it in his mouth and took a sip. A rich cocoa sweetness filled his mouth. The ice cream made with the freezing spell did taste different.

Dumbledore looked at him with a gentle smile. The more he looked at him, the more he felt that hiring Melvin was the right choice. "One more thing. The package you sent contained a Dark Magic item, but Filch handed it directly to Minerva without opening it. You'd better come up with a reasonable explanation."

"To help you arrange protective measures."

Melvin then explained his design ideas, hoping to get the school to reimburse the expenses. "I'm planning to imitate the Muggle Chamber of Secrets. Another way to call it a haunted house is to call it something like the Shrieking Shack, but without the ghosts or spirits. By setting the scene and limiting the lighting, I'll create a terrifying atmosphere and build psychological pressure. These defective Dark Magic items are just props, and the traps I've set are limited in power. My main purpose is to help Potter and the others overcome their fear."

"What Potter, I don't understand what you are saying."

Dumbledore denied it perfunctorily, "But I personally like this design. I also have some horror stories circulating in the British wizarding world. I hope they will be of help to you."

Melvin looked at the old principal and asked, "What about the cost of purchasing the props..."

Dumbledore calmly looked away. "Financial matters are under the approval of the Vice-Headmaster. Please go talk to Minerva."

……

The negotiations with the vice-president were not going well.

Professor McGonagall believes that the purchase of these items was Melvin's personal behavior, the ownership belongs to Melvin personally, and the use is not for teaching purposes, so the expenses cannot be reimbursed.

Melvin, of course, strongly objected.

The teaching aids haven't been used yet. How does Professor McGonagall know that they are not for teaching purposes?

Even if the ownership does not belong to the school, the school should at least pay him a rental fee.

The reasons were strong and sufficient, but unfortunately it still failed to pass the review because these props were used for the project proposed by Dumbledore, which was a personal project, and the rental fee should be asked from Dumbledore.

“The superiors follow suit and the subordinates pass the buck to each other.

"Hogwarts is a serious bureaucracy..."

Melvin glanced at the defective black magic artifacts on the table, then at the Pensieve not far away, his expression complicated.

The Pensieve is worth tens of thousands of Galleons. Dumbledore can lend it to you just by asking for it, so why would anyone ask for rental fees?

"Let's study the Pensieve."

Melvin gave up worrying about it, stood up and walked to the stone basin.

A shallow stone basin, seemingly carved out of a single piece of stone, perhaps granite. The year of its creation was unknown. The edges of the surface were blunted, and the edges were engraved with fine runes, some of which were runes, while others were unrecognizable.

The basin contained some kind of silver substance, which was between liquid and gas, like flowing clouds, slowly swirling and surging, and the ripples were shining with crystal light.

Unlike rare items like the Mirror of Erised, these memory-replaying instruments are not uncommon. Similar to flying brooms, they come in different styles and have varying performances. The Pensieve is one of the most advanced ones.

Melvin placed the wand against his forehead, applied a little force with the tip of the wand, and pulled out a strand of silver thread.

The silver threads fell into the stone basin and quietly melted into the silver mist. The fluorescent light spread, presenting a slightly hazy scene: a water snake with horns on its forehead coiled on the treetop, with no vertical pupils in its eyes, only a silver-white color.

Leaning over the clouds in the basin, his consciousness fell into the void. When he came to his senses, Melvin found himself standing under the shade of a snakewood tree.

The horned water snake whispered to him, "Melvin, leave school. I see your future is not here."

"..."

Chapter 33 Teaching Group Activities

Sunday morning.

The forest is shrouded in mist, and the rising sun in the east is orange.

Melvin opened the window while holding a piece of bread, chewing and looking at the courtyard below.

Hogwarts is located in the Scottish Highlands, and its environment and climate are completely different from Ilvermorny. At this time of year in previous years, the temperature on the top of Mount Greylock is close to below zero, and the students put on thick winter clothes early. There is still some summer heat here, and it is just the right season, neither too cold nor too hot.

Mr. Filch, an early riser, hurried across the courtyard.

Mrs. Norris lazily moved on the steps of the corridor to the morning light. Whether in the wizarding world or the Muggle world, cats are always afraid of the cold and always like to bask in the sun.

So are horned water snakes.

Melvin was touring his memory before going to bed last night and was affected by it. He dreamed about his time in Ilvermorny. He dreamed of the horned water snake and Headmaster Fontana. Later, Dumbledore also appeared. The two headmasters got together to play chess and share desserts and snacks. The dream was so absurd that he still felt a trance and unreality after waking up.

"Susu..."

The end of a hangman's noose protruded from the corner and climbed up around his legs.

Melvin glanced down, pinched the bread slice and waved his hand, and the rope immediately retracted and folded neatly in a circle.

He waved at the other cursed objects in the room, and magic power swept out.

Five or six cursed objects trembled for a while, then lined up in a row and jumped into the suitcase. The last one to go was the hangman's noose. The last section of the rope was retracted and hit the lid of the suitcase, closing it.

The curse magic carried by these things is weak, and under normal circumstances they are no different from ordinary furniture. Ordinary levitation spells can be used to control them, and they are quite convenient to clean up and organize.

After breakfast, Melvin cleaned up the dishes and placed them neatly on the plates. He thought that he didn't need to bother the elves to clean up again, just like he did with Pukki in Ilvermorny.

But the elf who collected the tableware obviously didn't want to accept this kindness. When he left, he looked sad and almost cried, as if he had been let down by him.

There's something wrong with these little elves.

Melvin got dressed, picked up his suitcase and went out.

……

At the end of the restricted corridor on the fourth floor.