Since most students still had exams, they didn't particularly enjoy the hearty breakfast at Hogwarts.
Students chatted in hushed tones, a buzz echoing through the halls. Many people yawned, stuffed potato chunks into their mouths with their eyes closed, or absentmindedly stirred their oatmeal while reciting the key points of the course in a low voice.
"'Taking Hogwarts in the right direction'..." read Anthony. "Okay." He skewered the grilled mushrooms with a fork and sprinkled them with extra black pepper.
Professor Boubaji glanced at Professor Sprout's newspaper and said, "It happened last year too. I guess that means you rejected our dear minister too, Henry?"
"Did he invite everyone?" Anthony asked in surprise.
"Probably so," said Professor Sprout, "but he probably only lost his temper with Caredi."
"As if he can really prevent me from joining the Muggle Issues Conciliation Committee." Professor Caredi Bubbaji, an expert in Muggle studies with a long title, spread a large piece of butter on the bread, and it was firm. Really took a bite.
Professor Sprout said with some concern: "I think he can really do it, Caredi. He is the minister after all."
Professor Bubaji said easily: "Then change the minister." She laughed when she saw Professor Sprout's expression, and then she choked and coughed and took a sip of pumpkin juice, "I was joking."
Professor Bubbaji's violent coughing startled a student who was watching "Parting Through the Fog to See the Future" while eating breakfast, and stopped her from putting bacon up her nose.
"Who do you want to change to?" Anthony asked, "Well... is there a red-blue battle in the magic world?"
"What? No, no," said Professor Bubbaji. "I'm really joking. Come to think of it, if it were another person, it would probably be Ms. Umbridge. God, I really can't imagine her not being Senior deputy minister look.”
"She can be the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts." Professor Flitwick stood on tiptoes on the chair, trying to scoop up a spoonful of marmalade. He happened to hear their conversation and joked, "I mean, There just happens to be a vacancy that would allow the Ministry of Magic to bring about much-needed reform or something like that."
"No, it's impossible." Professor Sprout said, handing the last bit of jam to Professor Flitwick, "Minerva said that we have contacted several Defense Against the Dark Arts masters, and they all expressed their opinions on the school's teachings. He showed a certain interest in the position. It is said that Albus even contacted the principal of Ifamoni and wanted to find a professor there."
"That sounds very good." Professor Boubaji said, "By the way, has the Philosopher's Stone been removed from the school?"
"Removed," said Professor Flitwick, clinking the glass bottle with his little silver spoon. "I think only Albus knows where it went."
"If I were Nico Flamel, I would make fifty identical pieces of scrap stone," Professor Bubbaji said, "and then lock them all in Gringotts, with each piece secured with the tightest possible security. Let thieves and robbers face angry goblins for a useless piece of stone."
Professor Flitwick said thoughtfully: "I imagine you would have a hard time forging the Philosopher's Stone. At least, one should easily find out that it cannot be used to make gold, although if one chooses to verify the elixir, it may indeed be necessary It took a lot of time...I mean, a lifetime."
…
Anthony went back to the office after breakfast. He didn't sleep much last night and marked all the test papers, but he left the score statistics until this morning.
Even though he was mentally prepared during the correction, Anthony still carefully reviewed the results to make sure that he did not regard any "O" as a "zero". The pass rate for fourth graders is around 80 percent—pass, not distinction—and the pass rate for third graders is 86 percent, with a slightly less obvious difference in each class.
But when he recorded the results on his lesson plans, Anthony discovered that students who had participated in the practical activities had higher average scores.
Anthony thought about it carefully and made sure that he did not cover any additional knowledge points during the practical activities. As he told the students, his purpose was just to take the students to have fun in the Muggle world. At most, it would allow the students to try how to deal with Muggles without scaring people - in other words, to be normal people.
He turned over all the students' test papers and checked them one by one. Those students who had received three pounds of pocket money from him were generally more familiar with the conversion of pennies and pounds, and the students who were really interested in adopting pets were familiar with some Muggle gadgets.
"Muggles can make full use of their own inventions for cooking without the help of magic," Midgan writes. "In addition, their stoves usually use gas, and their ovens usually use electricity rather than wood. It is important for a cat to be taught not to try to get into the oven or stand on the stove, and for owners to make sure their pet is not in danger before using such tools. Unattended stoves Or ovens are dangerous to Muggles (and their cats)."
She even writes about instant canning: "When Muggles need to store food for a long time or are looking for a quick, no-cook meal, they may turn to cans. Depending on the design, Muggle cans may open in different ways , but those that require a can opener are particularly noteworthy. Their can openers are not the automatic ones in the Magic Kitchen, but manual.”
After instant canning, she writes lingeringly: "Can lids need to be handled with care as they can cause cuts. Tin-plated tin cans of pet food are also very common, so families with cats often provide them for their own." The cat prepares its own bowl and pours the pet food from the can into it, rather than letting it eat directly from the can." She added a small parenthetical note at the end, "(Professor Anthony, Muggle Can cats in the magical world eat magical cat food? Do cats in the magical world also eat canned food? I’ve never heard of a cat with a cut tongue.)”
Other students apparently spent too much time studying Defense Against the Dark Arts.
"The Muggle Expelling Curse is a wizard's modification of the shock technique. It is relatively mild and will make the approaching Muggles feel that they have not done anything and leave the scene." There is a large group of ink spots here, proving that this student has hanged I tried my best to write more about Muggle-related things.
Finally, he followed it with a short paragraph of argument: "I don't know if Muggles will find this spell really gentle. I wouldn't want someone to put more unfinished business in my head. Even if I really I have something to do, and I don’t want to be suddenly reminded of it when I go somewhere.”
"And I don't understand, let's say a Muggle is in crisis. How could he run somewhere and then suddenly remember that he should buy dinner for the day after tomorrow? He couldn't be thinking, 'I'm followed by a wolf, and there's a castle ahead of me. , but what the heck, I gotta go buy some kale first."
Anthony stared at the student's crossed-out "and" for a moment, barely making out what he had written as "and the kale tastes really bad."
He hesitated for a moment and changed the failing answer he originally gave to a passing answer. At least this student showed a strong ability to empathize with Muggles, and the questions he asked were really interesting.
Also, kale really doesn’t taste good. If the question was "List things you wouldn't treat a Muggle to eat", Anthony would give this answer full marks...in his mind, not actually writing it down on the lesson plan.
…
After the results were counted, Anthony leaned back in his chair and rested for a while. For him, the first school year of teaching officially ends at this time. He raised the lesson plan and looked at the sunshine outside the window for a while.
At the beginning of the school year, it was a brand new notebook, neat, clean, and empty. Now, it is filled with his lesson preparation records.
At the front is the course schedule. In the lesson preparation records at the back, there are several pages that record questions raised by students, and the pages that have been turned over so that the footers are a little worn are the knowledge points he compiled for the third and fourth years of Muggle Studies. The messy writing is about his discussion with Professor Bubbaji, and the tables are full of registered students’ adoption intentions and various assessment results.
If he picks it up and shakes it, he will find letters sent to him by parents, various application forms and documents he has prepared, book lists given by colleagues, notes left by students, and letters given by Hagrid. Dragon Raising Books Borrowing List - Anthony took out the borrowing list and put it in the bottom of the drawer.
"I think my professor did a pretty good job," Anthony said to the cat. "Maybe he's not as good as me as a cashier, but at least I tried my best."
The cat looked at him haughtily, jumped onto the highest platform of the cat climbing frame, and looked down at him. It managed to pile a case of white wine in there. Anthony always felt that one day he would be hit on the head by twelve wine bottles.
"I miss the Wraith Chicken." Anthony looked up at the cat climbing frame, "It will definitely push all your wine down, and then you will know that there is a reason why the cat climbing frame is not called a storage rack."
The cat lay on its white wine land, wagging its tail leisurely, squinting its eyes and meowing softly.
Anthony held out his hand: "Come here, good kitty."
But the cat just looked at him for a moment and then turned his head boredly. Anthony called it a few more times, but still no answer, so he let it go.
"Okay, you lie down. I'm going to take a walk." He stood up and put on his coat as he spoke. "I have a hunch that I will be very busy in the afternoon...and will be very busy in the next few days."
When he put his wand into his robe pocket, he took out the wraith rat. The mouse was napping when he was suddenly woken up by the poke of his wand.
"Want to take a walk?" Anthony asked the mouse.
The mouse jumped from his hand to the table, found a small corner between the pen holder and the teacup, and fell asleep again.
…
The surface of the Black Lake sparkles with golden light under the sun, almost dazzling the eyes. A few students who had finished all the exams were lying on the lawn, enjoying the breeze in the shade of the trees, or some were reviewing knowledge points outdoors with questions and answers, but most people were still in the library or lounge of the castle. He held his own textbook and studied hard. Various flying insects buzzed around the flowers and plants, but the students waved them away impatiently.
Anthony walked along the shore of the Black Lake, thinking about something not so warm and bright under the sunshine.
He recently found that his necromancy was in a very strange state. Whatever the reason, it suddenly seemed less eager to devour souls.
Anthony speculated that maybe this was because the basilisk was really a very large soul, or because Voldemort's soul was really disgusting. He wasn't sure which guess was closer to the truth, and couldn't even say which one he hoped to be true more.
Another thing is that he discovered that after the relationship between the wraith rat and himself was strengthened, it could escape from Hogwarts. He discussed the matter with Dumbledore, but even the Headmaster could only speculate on the fog of magic.
Dumbledore believed that Quirrell's unfinished curse had changed something in the wraith rat, but it was also possible that it was just because the wraith rat wanted to protect Anthony at the time.
"The determination to protect someone...if you are determined enough, it may create miracles. Love." When Dumbledore said "love", he was as serious as if they were not talking about a dead mouse. He sighed softly. "I think Voldemort may not have figured this out until now."
Anthony asked in confusion: "Love freed the mouse from the restrictions of Hogwarts? But whether it escaped from the restrictions at the time had no impact on the curse. This doesn't make sense."
Dumbledore smiled: "Then it is because Quirrell chose his curse so coincidentally." He repeated, "'Expell you from the land of the living,' your rats were expelled, Henry, but It relies on you to exist in this world, and it is your summon...I remember you said that the resentful spirit cannot truly die?"
"That's right, because ghosts never really survive." Anthony said, "My mouse is not the shadow of any mouse, and my chicken is not the reflection of any chicken. They are all - as I said before like that—a collection of wishes.”
"I doubt that Quirrell would be able to banish a wish, even if it were just the wish of the mice in the castle." Dumbledore said. "You know, successive headmasters and caretakers have tried hard to banish Peeves. They They all failed miserably.”
Several portraits of the principals pretending to be asleep on the wall suddenly began to cough loudly, as if Dumbledore had just swept a handful of ashes into their nostrils with a feather duster.
Dumbledore introduced happily: "This is Professor Eupracia Moore. She tried to lock Peeves in the bell jar, but the end result was that Peeves gained the right to swim in the boys' bathroom. I I was shocked when I went to take a shower."
…
Under the cloudless blue sky, the sparkling waves on the lake were unreally warm. Anthony met several students who greeted him, some chatted for a while, and some just smiled and nodded.
He saw a failed guy on the shore, sitting on the field happily playing Gobstone with his friends, so Anthony decided not to tell him the specific results for the time being. But then again, if a student turns in a half-empty paper, what kind of grade can he expect?
While searching for the giant squid, Anthony even thought he saw a myrtle.
No, unless the mermaid is a creature that looks like Myrtle, or Myrtle has a twin ghost sister, then that's Myrtle. She revealed her milky white ghost head on the lake, stretched out half of her glasses and looked at the leisurely students in the sun with resentment. A group of small blue fish passed through her neck and chest.
She caught sight of Anthony and let out a small "Oh," as if unsure of what to do. They don't usually meet outside of the bathroom.
"Hello, Myrtle," said Anthony, kneeling down.
Myrtle's face rose from the water and she said glumly: "Hello, Professor Anthony."
"Did you like coming to Black Lake in the past?" Anthony asked. This was the first time he saw a ghost outside the castle.
Myrtle said: "No, it's just that after becoming a ghost, I will come to the Black Lake to relax in the middle of the night... You know, Professor Anthony, there are no annoying students here..."
Anthony said: "I mean, how did you get here?" Then he suddenly remembered that Myrtle seemed to have mentioned that she could appear in all the bathrooms in Hogwarts through the pipes, "Wait, here and you Is the bathroom connected?"
"Yeah, yeah," Myrtle said sharply, tears starting to roll down her eyes again behind the thick lenses, "I had no choice, I was flushed down. Those people, before flushing the toilet Never cared if there was a ghost in there! Of course, I'm the least--the least important of the ghosts! Just flush Myrtle down so you don't have to see her!"
Her tears rolled into the black lake without causing any ripples. Anthony tried to comfort her, but he really had little experience with being flushed down the toilet into sewers and school lakes.
The giant squid lazily swam over, swung its tentacles, poked Myrtle in confusion, and passed right through her body.
Myrtle and the giant squid were startled.
"Get away!" Myrtle shouted angrily at the giant squid. The giant squid shrank and avoided the milky white translucent ghost.
While Myrtle forgot that she was still crying, Anthony quickly changed the subject: "I haven't seen you much recently."
"You didn't come to my bathroom, Professor," Myrtle said sadly. "Nick organized a party there. I wanted to invite you and Professor Quirrell - because you are our neighbors - But Peeves tore up the invitations we prepared. As a ghost, preparing invitations is not easy!"
Anthony asked with interest: "You threw a party? What party?"
"The shroud and shroud party. We all pretended that we had just died and were about to be dumped into the sewers by the living. The moans and whines and cries...oh..." Myrtle said wistfully, "It was wonderful, I I keep telling Nick that he should do it again, but his mind is already focused on the Headless Hunters."
"Headless Hunter?"
"A group of ghosts who play jugglery and stuff. Ever since Nick heard about them at the party, he has been thinking about joining. He wanted to do something commemorative before his 500th death anniversary..." Tao Jin Mom said, picking her chin, "I think it's very commemorative to wash my head into the black lake, right, professor?"
"Hmm... maybe," Anthony said.
Myrtle asked: "By the way, where is Professor Quirrell?"
"He's gone," said Anthony. "Didn't the other ghosts tell you? He's no longer a professor at Hogwarts... Oh, I wonder if he waited until his paycheck. He really should have waited until the end of the school year. Go and do his own thing."
Myrtle said melancholy: "Yes, living people always come and go. But I am dead... I have no job, no salary, and no things of my own... I don't even have a little time to think by myself." Being disturbed..." Tears began to accumulate in her eyes again. She looked gloomily at the lawn that was hot under the sun, then at the students walking over while talking, and sank into the lake.
Anthony waited worriedly by the lake for a while - feeding dry bread to the giant squid - but Myrtle never resurfaced. She probably followed the pipe back to her bathroom. The drainage system of Hogwarts is really quite primitive. Under such circumstances, Anthony doesn't know if he would like to be a mermaid living in the Black Lake.
…
As he expected, his afternoon was busy. As he left the dining table, he heard several footsteps immediately following him. His students were trying hard to pretend that they had just finished lunch and happened to be walking the same way as the professor, and they also happened to want to go to the professor's office. Dealing with pet adoption issues.
Anthony opened the door and said funny: "You come first, Mr. Roberts."
"Okay, Professor Anthony!" Roberts said cheerfully, elbowing his friend next to him in a showy way.
"Then you, I remember you want to adopt a dog?" Anthony called to his friend and quickly found some information from his drawer, "Here are the pet regulations of Hogwarts. Let's go up. As mentioned previously, dogs may only be kept in your own home. This is the health report provided by Ms. Howard, who will be working on our applications this week and next - if she is conducting the phone interviews with you, Please remember to thank her. Take the information and take a look at it first. Okay, Roberts, come in."
The resentful mouse didn't know where he went, but the ginger cat was still on top of his box of wine. It looked coldly at Anthony and the students who came in for a while, then turned its head to one side and lay back down. The student glanced at it, wisely not trying to disturb it.
"Please sit down, Mr. Roberts." Anthony rummaged through the information, "Let me see... a black cat. There have been no pets in the family before. His father is a curse breaker and his mother is a therapist, right?"
"That's right, Professor." Roberts said, leaning his head to look at the photo of the black cat that was not yet his, "Oh, little cutie."
"Ms. Howard's suggested phone interview time is...this Friday. Are your exams over?"
"No, there is also arithmetic and divination." Roberts said, his smile fading slightly, "but there will be no exams until Friday."
"Then I will confirm the interview time with Ms. Howard." Anthony said and took a few notes. "Because it is a telephone interview, I will take you to apparate outside Hogwarts to use the phone. I am in the hotel there. Rented a small room - don't worry, I've got my certificate for Apparition. I promise I won't lose anything of yours."
"Okay, Professor," Roberts said, still looking uncertain.
"You can also take the train there." Anthony said, "There is a small town about forty minutes' walk away. From there, you can take the train to the hotel in five minutes - this is the name and address of the hotel." He pushed the parchment passed.
Roberts said: "It doesn't matter, let's apparate, professor. I haven't felt it yet!" When he heard that he had been walking for more than forty minutes, he immediately began to shake his head desperately.
"Then it's settled," Anthony said, "Then let's do some simple preparations... For example, have you ever raised a cat before?"
"No, Professor. You know, our cats are too expensive," Roberts said naturally.
"Then how are you sure that you can raise this cat well?" Anthony smiled and shook his head, indicating that this was a mock interview, "I just want to make sure. For example, what would you do if the cat got sick?"
Roberts began to roll his eyes upward desperately, trying to recall the information.
He recited: "I would contact my veterinarian immediately and describe the symptoms accurately. I would follow the veterinarian's advice and make an appointment for appropriate treatment for my cat... Well, if the condition is mild and does not require immediate veterinary treatment, I will monitor the cat's condition closely and provide the cat with any necessary home remedies or treatments based on the veterinarian's recommendations."
"I will ensure the cat's comfort, isolate it when necessary, and provide it with a quiet, stress-free environment for rest and recovery...Strictly follow the veterinarian's instructions regarding medications or treatments and closely monitor the cat's health for changes or improvements." He paused to take a breath, "If the situation worsens or the cat's condition does not improve, I will not hesitate to seek further help from a veterinarian or consider hospitalization on the advice of a veterinarian."
Anthony waited until he finished reciting, then pushed a glass of lemonade over: "Take a rest, Mr. Roberts. You have prepared very carefully."
Roberts took the cup and said with some embarrassment: "I have carried it several times. I really want Isabella."
"Have you decided on the name?" Anthony smiled, "Very good, I can foresee how Isabella will step on your shoulders. However, those information are just some assistance, you can tell the truth based on your true situation. Think about it, Mr. Roberts, why do you think you can take care of a cat? How do you even know that you are not allergic to cats?"
"My roommate has a cat," Roberts said. "We already have two cats in the dormitory. They fight on my pillow every day and sometimes scratch the feathers out of the pillow. But I can carry it. Even if I scold them, they won’t scratch me. I think I’m a good cat owner.”
"How can you be sure that your Isabella won't be bullied by the other two cats? Or will it hit other cats and cause harm?" Anthony said, "You have to understand that the people at the pet rescue center hand over the cat to When I gave it to you, I didn’t expect you to train it to be a slave or a warrior. Cats don’t necessarily like to live with other cats.” And some cats don’t even like to live with living animals.
"But all cats in the magical world are like this!" Roberts said, "We put the cats in a basket. If they fight, we each hold our own cats and walk away. If they are injured, we give it a little magic potion. .And Isabella is a strong, beautiful cat, and she also loves humans, and I can’t imagine how she could be bullied. Besides, I’ve made a box for her next to my bed, and the two Not even a cat can get in.”
"She likes humans very much?" Anthony said, looking down at the black cat information that Ms. Howard sent him, "Oh, yes, 'extremely in need of companionship' 'intelligent and gentle'... The box is a very good idea, Mr. Roberts, you You can mention that you have prepared a safe and independent space for the cat in the environment, and then show that you are prepared to introduce this new companion into your residence under a controlled and supervised manner to ensure that all cats can be safe. Gradually understand each other in an environment.”
"Okay, Professor," Roberts said, muttering words like "safe and independent space" and "controlled understanding of each other."
Anthony comforted him: "It doesn't matter. This just proves that you have thought of possible challenges and are prepared to deal with them. A positive attitude and proactive attempts are very important, Mr. Roberts."
"But a box isn't enough!" said Roberts. "I think it sounds like I should give Isabella a room. Oh my god, are Muggle cats fragile, like Muggles? Couldn't they be easier?" Death? Do they break down emotionally easily?"
"No, wizard cats and Muggle cats are the same. The personality differences between them are far greater than the differences caused by whether the families who raise them are magical." Anthony assured him, he did this before taking the students to adopt After doing some homework, "The difference is between cats and civets, but they can still interbreed under natural conditions."
"But it sounds like Muggles treat cats as fragile," Roberts said. "Our cats are stubborn, sharp-edged furballs. Aiden - my roommate's cat - because he I lost my temper because I wasn't allowed to chew the quill, and ruined all the potions papers in our dormitory."
"Yes, there are some ways of raising cats in the wizarding world that are different from Muggles." Anthony said, "I would chalk it up to culture shock for the time being."
Damn it, it was copied and repeated! Please refresh x tomorrow and I will replenish an additional 4k! ! ! ! I'm not here to cheat money! (kneel)
——————
Changes completed (paralysis)
(End of chapter)
