"This is Alec Hopkins, professor of occult science."
A unique meeting took place in London.
The man known as the Professor of the Occult is a man dressed in ancient last-century clothing, with greasy hair.
Opposite him, Mycroft was looking at this man with careful eyes.
"Professor Hopkins," Mycroft said with a smile, "I think you know why I came to you."
"Some ridiculous 'wizard' legends." An uncomfortable smile appeared on Hopkins' lips, and he drawled, as if he was mocking a high-level intellectual for believing in these ridiculous things.
This is also the common attitude that many people have when hearing wizards.
Mycroft leaned back on the comfortable chair and asked, "Since you don't believe it, why did you choose the occult?"
"Occult science is not just about those terrifying magics." Hopkins said flatly, "I am more curious about who is worthy of government agencies looking for those 'magic sticks'."
"A real wizard." Mycroft gathered his clothes and stood up.
"Professor Hopkins, I think you don't mind leaving with me."
"Go see a wizard?"
"No," Mycroft said, "go see the magic."
He walked forward, and Hopkins waited a few seconds before following him.
The inside of the car was sealed and no one could see anywhere.
Hopkins took his time.
The car traveled for three hours.
There was a knock on the door and the door was opened.
Hopkins walked out, no longer on the street, but in an unknown garage.
"This way." Mycroft walked in front.
Hopkins followed.
Doors were opened one after another, and each door needed to be opened with Mycroft's card.
Until the last one, it was a room with many control platforms, and in the innermost part of the room, behind the transparent glass was a pure white room.
There were men huddled inside.
Hopkins' pupils shrank when he saw the man.
And Mycroft said into the microphone, "Get up."
The man stood up reflexively, and a pillar rose up in the middle of the white room.
There is a wand on it.
"Take up arms." Mycroft continued to order.
The man did as he was told.
Hopkins watched intently.
At this time, Mycroft looked at Hopkins, "Let's think about the abilities of wizards in those stories."
Hopkins knew that he was testing himself, so he pondered for a while and said, "Transform."
"What a great idea, just like the Evil Queen conjures poison apples and the Fairy Godmother conjures pumpkin carts." Mycroft said into the microphone, changing the things in front of him. "
Another pillar rises, an apple.
The man said loudly: "I am not familiar with transfiguration."
"You have no choice, Conrad."
Conrad was caught and could only be forced to use transfiguration.
It's just that his transformation was as bad as he said, and the apple turned into an apple covered with hair.
This magical scene will move anyone who sees it for the first time.
Hopkins stared at the apple.
Mycroft said: "This is not magic, nor is it some pre-recorded video."
Hopkins asked, "How did you catch him?"
"Catch?" Mycroft narrowed his eyes, "Why?"
"The wizards in the story," Hopkins said after thinking for a moment, "are all evil, aren't they?"
"It does make sense," Mycroft turned to look at the imprisoned wizard and said, "He was in a rental house and made a special team member fall to the ground."
"It's surprising," Hopkins said, as if it was the first time he saw a case in the knowledge he had learned. "You were able to catch him and trap him without fear of him escaping?"
"That thing is his weapon, and a wizard without a weapon is no different from an ordinary person."
"You can press that yellow button," Mycroft told Hopkins.
Hopkins saw a yellow button on the console and pressed it tentatively.
An electric current flowed from the wizard's wand, and the wizard's body twitched and fell.
The door was opened, and a strong man walked in, picked up his wand, and left.
Mycroft said calmly: "Technology, it's that simple."
And there was indeed a hint of shock in Hopkins' eyes.
Today's wizards have begun to find ways to restrain themselves.
"Professor Hopkins, I hope you see more than this."
Mycroft made an invitation, and Hopkins had no choice but to agree.
But his mind was wandering elsewhere
These Muggles have begun to understand all aspects of wizards in a short period of time.
Similar to the previous magic test, how many times did they try?
Yes, this is not some occult professor.
In other words, he is a professor, but not in occult science, but in potions.
Severus Snape.
He’s a guy that fits right into the mix.
Snape, who was half-blood himself, was unlike others who knew nothing about the Muggle world.
The identity he carries is the result of magical manipulation.
As Mycroft walked into a laboratory, researchers in white coats were conducting experiments on some fragments.
Mycroft took him to a glass display case.
The items placed inside are all items from Poland that appeared out of thin air.
There were wands with only the handle left, some broken pieces of wood, and animal carcasses that resembled but were different from cats.
"this."
Mycroft pulled out a piece of wood and showed it to Hopkins.
"Rune." Snape, who used a false identity, said solemnly, "an ancient writing."
"Yes, I have all of these. I need you to translate the words above for me."
The Muggle world also has little understanding of runes, and can only half-guess them.
"I need to take my stuff away," Hopkins drawled. "I don't want anyone to disturb me."
"Professor Hopkins, I hope you understand that you are doing something very important."
"The more important it is, the more important it is for people not to bother me." Hopkins interrupted.
Picking up a piece of wood and holding it in front of his eyes, Hopkins said, "No one can crack it but me."
Mycroft looked at him carefully, and after a while, he said: "I will arrange for someone to protect your safety."
"No need, but if you need it, you can."
Hopkins took the wood chips away.
Mycroft watched him leave, not knowing what he was thinking in his eyes.
...
London, in a cafe.
Elegant decoration, the old man is wearing a purple velvet suit, and his white beard makes people guess his age.
The waiter came over and put down a cup of coffee, smiled and asked, "Do you need anything else?"
"No, not for now, I'm waiting for someone..."
The waiter smiled slightly, turned and left.
After she left, Dumbledore added two sugar cubes to his coffee.
He stirred the coffee and suddenly stopped.
Close your eyes, as if praying, and savoring a familiar scene.
Opposite him, the white-haired man looked at him quietly.
When Dumbledore opened his eyes, Grindelwald smiled and asked, "Do you come to this shop often?"
Dumbledore looked at the people who appeared and smiled: "Actually, they don't come here very often."
The familiar scene reappeared half a century later.
The difference is that one of the men at the time was already gray-haired, and the other used cheating methods to regain his youth.
Grindelwald sat across from him, and both of them were different now.
There is no blood covenant bound by love.
"How do you feel, Albus." Grindelwald looked at that face, "A world without me."
Dumbledore said: "Not bad, just plain, but pretty good."
"I thought you would be happier." Grindelwald shifted his gaze to the black marks left by the poison, "You should accept him."
"I don't want to be like you." Dumbledore shook his head slightly.
Immortality, rejuvenation.
What a tempting thing.
But he refused again and again.
He looked older, his red hair turned gray, and his white beard grew longer.
"Why, Grindelwald?"
He finally asked the question in his heart. He had been wanting to ask it since Grindelwald walked out of Nurmengard.
Grindelwald did not answer immediately. He first looked at Dumbledore's cup, picked up a sugar cube from the sugar cube jar and put it in.
"Three pieces of sugar are your taste." He thoughtfully stirred Dumbledore a few times. "You forget the taste, just like you forget your own ideals."
"But that ideal is not what it is now." Dumbledore frowned.
Grindelwald said: "The greater good, this is what we build together."
"But when you stopped me at all costs, I began to think of other possibilities." Grindelwald stopped stirring and looked into those eyes. "A way that we don't need to be enemies."
"Muggles are becoming more and more powerful, wizards are addicted to the glory of the past, and the glory of magic has become dim." Grindelwald pushed the coffee in front of Dumbledore and said deeply, "Only by overthrowing these can he become dazzling."
Dumbledore said solemnly: "You will never recover."
"Like that time?" Grindelwald said with a smile, "You want to stop me?"
Dumbledore didn't know either, but he had complicated feelings for Grindelwald.
Grindelwald shook his head and smiled evilly: "You don't want to be my enemy, Dumbledore."
...
