Chapter 82: Release
April 17, Friday.
The last class in the afternoon was Seventh Year Muggle Studies. The review had entered the final stage; everything that needed to be taught had been taught, everything that needed to be practiced had been practiced. The usual class was basically left for students to study on their own, with the professor sitting at the podium, and students going up to ask questions when they encountered difficulties.
Occasionally, he would also talk about some fresh and interesting content.
This class was talking about the period when Muggles and wizards lived together, which was before Hogwarts was founded.
The students’ minds had been stuffed full of electrical appliances’ functions, Muggle transportation, Muggle etiquette and customs recently. Opening their eyes was test question practice, closing their eyes was wrong answer correction. Suddenly hearing such course content made them feel like their minds and souls had been purified.
One by one, they willingly put down their quills and exercise books, listening patiently with focused expressions.
Melvin also spoke quite happily.
The teaching syllabus’s usual chit-chat was intended from the start to relax the students’ minds. There was no teaching scrutiny from the Ministry of Magic, no constraints; he talked wherever it led, just like chatting.
“Hogwarts was founded a thousand years ago. When the four founders built the school, England was going through an extremely chaotic and unstable period.
“At that time, Muggle society and the Wizarding World weren’t as clearly separated as they are now. The Ancient Runes you study share the same origin as ancient Scandinavian script; Muggles called it Futhark. There was no paper back then; they carved the script on marked ash wood sticks.
“The Britain of old was an island full of magic, with all sorts of magical legends. Many wizards worked for Muggle lords, or provided services to dukes of the Muggle royalty, or even joined the army to serve under Muggle generals.
“Some wizards held the position of priests in Muggle society’s organizational structure. Philosophers and wizards with free will were called Druid priests. Muggle books record that their king Caesar once praised the knowledge of Druid priests. Many students traveled far to Brittany to study and practice the Druid spirit. There were also church bishops, astrologers, Viking pirates…
“In the 11th century AD, when the Normans landed in England, before reaching Pevensey, William I the Conqueror promised his subordinates that they would quickly gain wealth in the war, and after victory, he would grant them land and titles. Many wizards provided unknown services to the legions…
“We have ample reason to suspect they used Dark Magic to help the army achieve victory, because after the Battle of Hastings, those who inherited these estates were almost all nobles from Normandy, Brittany, Flanders, and France. Ordinary soldiers only got a sum of tax money.
“And many of the pure-blood families we know today have their own manors on this Britannia island.”
Melvin paused deliberately here for a few seconds, letting the students fully imagine. This group of seventeen- or eighteen-year-old wizards had bright eyes, seemingly completely unprepared for the fact that pure-blood families were once the wizards most deeply connected to Muggles.
“If you have some understanding of Muggle history, you might discover that in terms of spiritual ideals, Slytherin House’s ethos is close to the bloodline values with royalist and noble qualities in Muggle society.
“Salazar is a typical European surname. Perhaps we can guess that he was a Viking who followed the Danish king Canute to land on the east coast of England.”
The young professor spoke eloquently, the students listened quietly. The historical content of Muggle Studies class was much more interesting than History of Magic, with a longer time span and characters in the stories more mysteriously colored.
Later, Melvin talked about the rise of some pure-blood families.
Taking a certain pure-blood family whose surname is inconvenient to reveal as an example, their ancestral precept back then wasn’t 「pure-blood forever victorious」, nor did they reject Muggles; they even had very close ties with Muggles:
Hiring peasant tenants on the estate to develop agricultural trade, not hesitating to use weather charms to control the climate and increase yields;
Participating in Muggle nobles’ business in the Mediterranean and Middle East, using Undetectable Extension Charms and Apparition to smuggle rare goods;
Controlling Muggle currency exchange, deeply involved in lending operations.
In just a hundred years, they accumulated wealth that other wizards couldn’t gain in a dozen generations, becoming one of the richest wizarding families in England, continuously annexing surrounding Muggle lands and expanding their already large manor.
To obtain a title, they even sent the handsomest wizard in the family to pursue a duke’s daughter, but he was despised for his low status and ruthlessly rejected.
Until around the 16th century, when the 《Secrecy Law》 was just being drafted and soliciting opinions from all sides, they lobbied wizard representatives from various countries everywhere, using vast resources to try to overturn the bill.
Because that was the hottest time for colonial trade; they had invested in their own fleets and were preparing to participate in ocean trade.
Wizards and Muggles aren’t essentially different; both greedily pursue profit, both crave more wealth and power. That’s human nature. Later embracing pure-blood ideology and calling themselves pure-blood families was also for profit.
These interesting anecdotes hidden behind history were things the little wizards had never heard before.
Five minutes before the end of class, Melvin knocked on the lectern, waking the still unsatisfied students: “Easter is coming up soon, holiday starts tomorrow, and it’s quite a long one. There’s a movie in the Great Hall tonight, so don’t get too wild.
“Considering this is your last Easter at school, I didn’t leave you too much homework. Three sets of mock questions, no mandatory requirement, and I won’t collect them for marking after classes resume. Do them at your own discretion.
“Still the same words: check for gaps and fix them.
“Class dismissed!”
……
London, Charing Cross Road.
London’s spring had arrived too. Ice and snow melted, light mist stopped, the weather was mild, roadside leaves were tender green, bluebells bloomed in patches, and park flowerbeds looked like a blue carpet laid out.
After a winter, trade routes were open again, and with it being holiday, many magical creatures from other countries and races gathered in Diagon Alley. The scene was very lively.
The handsome male witch stood alone in the bookshelf corner. Fortunately, traveling merchants didn’t like browsing bookstores, so there weren’t many people here; otherwise, he’d be surrounded again.
He had just negotiated profit sharing for new books with the manager.
These shelves were all his works, with his posters stuck on the bookshelves, his standees in the shop window, his brilliant smile captivating. Only a few witch women gathered around the bestselling books, their praise just audible in the corner.
Compared to his most glorious times, his popularity had somewhat declined.
The books published recently were all reference books and memoirs. Yeti stories were done, werewolf and vampire stories were done, no new adventure stories had been discovered yet. Editors were pressing hard for manuscripts, contract penalties were high, so he could only write something casual to appease fans and readers. Sales were below expectations.
Gilderoy Lockhart stood silently in the corner’s shadow, in no mood to greet his fans, inwardly worrying about new book content.
Footsteps came from the bookshelf aisle.
A beautiful young witch walked in from outside, saw the women chatting together, and joined in with light quick steps. She seemed to be one woman’s niece; the talk had turned to Witch Weekly’s most charming smile poll, and this bestselling book writer had good prospects.
Lockhart’s mouth curved into a smile, preparing to step out and campaign for votes for himself.
At this moment, the young witch suddenly exclaimed:
“Time’s almost up!”
“Then let’s hurry!”
“Aren’t you buying a book?”
“Books can be bought anytime. The Projection Mirror only has three showings tonight; I finally got a premiere ticket.” One of the women pulled her friend and niece out of the bookstore, steps hurried. Far away, the middle-aged witch’s complaint could still be heard: “Damn Old Tom, won’t even give me a discount…”
“……”
Lockhart watched their backs recede, smile frozen on his face, one leg stepped out hanging in mid-air, silently withdrawn.
The tavern’s Projection Mirror… Didn’t the bookstore manager just give him a ticket?
……
At dusk, the sky darkening, shops on Theo’s Fort streets lit oil lamps, blending with streetlights, making the Easter ribbons even more vibrant.
Far from the bustling city, the Crouch mansion seemed especially dim, almost no Easter decorations, few lamps and torches, only faint light in the living room and kitchen.
Walls built of light gray stone bricks, clean as new. The kitchen was neatly arranged, no superfluous items, table and chairs and cutlery wiped spotless. But for a family like Crouch’s, this setup was too sparse.
Sparse to the point it didn’t seem like a pure-blood family’s mansion.
A short, thin house-elf came out of the kitchen, hands wringing together, looking up at her master resting with eyes closed on the sofa, stammering: “Master… I heard the tavern has an event tonight. Is it a Quidditch match? Young master likes Quidditch matches. Let young master go see it. He can wear the Invisibility Cloak, hide in a corner.”
She glanced at the figure on the sofa, took a deep breath, eyes flashing with tears: “Young master hasn’t gone out in years. Let him breathe some fresh air. If madam were still alive, she—”
“This is what he deserves.”
Crouch said coldly, voice soft but exceptionally firm: “The tavern isn’t showing a Quidditch match tonight; it’s Potter. Let the Death Eaters take down that Potter.”
“Let the Death Eaters go see Potter?”
He sneered, his cold tone making the house-elf’s shoulders tremble.
No one noticed the candle flame in the kitchen flicker too.
……
“What are you two doing in the back? Hurry up!”
On Hogsmeade Streets, two middle-aged witches holding their children hurried into The Three Broomsticks.
The two being urged were their husbands, old customers of The Three Broomsticks: Tucklot and Malcolm. When the trailer premiered, they were at the tavern watching the match and ordered tickets from Madam Rosmerta before the match even ended.
Wives and children, the whole family had them, and in the best central seats with the clearest view.
When ordering, the two deliberately chose separated seats to not affect each other’s viewing experience. After going home, they handed the tickets to their wives for safekeeping, just waiting for Friday night to be the first to see it.
As a result, somehow the two female heads of household became good sisters and specially asked Rosmerta to swap seats, so now the two families’ seats were right next to each other.
The thought of sitting together for hours made both feel uncomfortable all over.
Uncomfortable as it was, movie tickets were long sold out; it was too late to swap now.
Gritting their teeth, they went to the third floor. Inside was a spacious Great Hall, packed with wizards, all Hogsmeade residents crammed in.
“Mr. Frum? Mrs. Frum! You’re here too!”
“Good evening, Mrs. Padfoot.”
“No wonder the streets feel a bit quiet tonight; half the street’s shop owners are gathered here.”
“Hahaha…”
The atmosphere in the projection hall was very lively; even Madam Rosmerta was a bit nervous.
This attempt directly decided the Projection Mirror’s future. Presale tickets sold well, but wizards might not accept this new form of entertainment. If it failed, Professor Levent’s many plans would need reworking.
“……”
Rosmerta took a deep breath, her loud voice overriding the chatter: “Quiet!”
Under the gaze of the entire audience, she went to the large Projection Mirror in the front, waved to extinguish all the lights in the projection hall, dipped her wand tip into the glass bottle, drew out a strand of shimmering silver mist, carefully placed it into the Projection Mirror, then gently shook her wand.
The silver mist rippled out, the mirror flashed, the picture went black, and a line of white title appeared:
《First-years Stay》
