Hogwarts: This professor is too Muggle.

Chapter 98 The Old Wizard's Dispute
In the evening, on the east bank of the Danube.

The streets near the cruise ship terminal are quite spacious, with a constant flow of people coming and going. The roads are covered with tire tracks, which can be considered prosperous.

Melvin sat in a hotel next to the opera house, eating Hungarian-style stew. The main ingredient was chicken, with onions and tomatoes as side dishes, and the spices were bay leaves and paprika. It was slow-cooked until the bones and meat were tender, and sour cream was poured on it before serving to enhance the flavor.

I thought it was a dark dish, but it tasted pretty good.

Kettleburn and Hagrid were sitting nearby, and Iseron was temporarily lodged in the backyard of the hotel, drinking the local specialty plum brandy. The sound of their wings flapping and hooves could be faintly heard.

This is a wizard hotel. The restaurant is full of wizards and other intelligent creatures. The noise is a bit noisy, and various languages ​​are spoken, many of which are English.

"Have you heard? The mysterious man from England is back again!"

"Merlin's boots! Are they real or fake?"

"The news leaked from Hogwarts is spreading throughout the taverns of Britain. They say they're planning a comeback... Everyone knows Dumbledore's reputation. He didn't publicly deny it, and he even emphasized it during a meeting with students. It can't be fake."

"And then? The mysterious man was defeated again?"

"The situation is quite complicated. It seems that he hasn't fully recovered from his previous injuries. Last year, he controlled a dark wizard to sneak into the school and steal the Philosopher's Stone to heal his injuries. However, they were discovered by Harry Potter and his friends. Three new wizards confronted the dark wizard head-on, but there were no casualties. The mysterious man simply escaped again."

"Merlin's pants! That's amazing! Can you tell us the details?"

"There are cinema screens in every pub in Britain. Find some time to go and see it yourself. It's usually shown on weekends. If one pub doesn't have it, go to a few more. You're going there anyway to sell the goods."

"Movies? Those things that Muggles use, how can the Ministry of Magic tolerate such things and not list them as contraband?"

"They did file a lawsuit, but Dumbledore dismissed it. This thing was made by the school."

"..."

"Click."

Melvin chewed on the crispy toasted chimney rolls.

The dough is wrapped around a cone-shaped mold and baked to form a hollow chimney shape. The crust is caramelized and sprinkled with sugar, cinnamon, walnuts and coconut. The sweet fragrance is overwhelming when you take a bite.

Maybe it's because I've been in England for too long, but I actually found these things to taste surprisingly good. I don't know if they were delicious to begin with, or if the dedicated house-elf chefs made some improvements to them.

Although it is also a baked product, it tastes much better than the rock cake made by a certain game keeper.

"Hagrid, how does it taste?"

"great!"

"..."

Professor Kettleburn couldn't help but smile. The half-giant had good teeth and preferred to chew things that would grind his teeth, but his sense of taste was normal and he knew what was delicious.

"Professor, what kind of wizards are the Witch Party?" Hagrid asked vaguely.

"This is a wizarding association founded by Grindelwald in the early 20th century. Apart from a few die-hard wizards, many young people are actually deceived and manipulated by Grindelwald's extraordinary personal charm. They believe in some unrealistic hegemonic ideas and call themselves his followers and saints..."

Professor Kettleburn gave a very detailed account.

The wizarding merchants and travelers were still discussing the mysterious man, while outside there was the sound of Muggle whistles.

Melvin was a little surprised when he first arrived, but he gradually adapted and recalled the information he had read on the way while eating.

The wizards here abide by the Statute of Secrecy and never reveal any magical information to Muggles, but they are not closed off. Instead, they actively integrate into the city, work and live like ordinary residents, creating a harmonious ecology different from London and New York.

Budapest is actually composed of two parts, Buda and Pest. The east bank of the Mannheim River is the relatively flat Pest, which is mainly inhabited by Muggles and is relatively prosperous. The west bank is Buda, which is built on the mountain. Due to its unique terrain, movement is not so convenient and it is mainly inhabited by wizards.

The remnants of the Wuzui faction chose Buda, perhaps also because they considered that mountainous areas are easy to defend but difficult to attack.

As for the local Ministry of Magic?
No need to worry at all.

Not every country in the world has a Ministry of Magic, nor are there any conditions to establish one. Many places are small, with a wizarding population smaller than even a county in England. Without tax revenue, minerals, or natural resources to exchange for Galleons, it's impossible to establish a stable wizarding regime.

Places like Albania are almost becoming gathering places for dark wizards, and there is no local wizard organization to clear them out.

After the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, this area faced a similar situation.

Romania has favorable conditions and relies on the natural resources of the Dragon Sanctuary to bring in stable income. Raising and breeding dragons attracts tourists from all over the world and merchants of dragon materials. It also attracts wizards who do supporting service businesses. It has gradually grown and established the Ministry of Magic.

Although Hungary has dragons, it has no nature reserves and no stable wizarding regime.

Local wizards who had the conditions immigrated and settled in other countries, while those who did not moved to nearby Durmstrang or Romania. No one thought of establishing the Ministry of Magic, which was a thankless task.

The remnants of the Wiccans were wanted by the International Confederation of Wizards at the time and had nowhere to go. They originally wanted to go to Albania, but the dark wizards there were even worse than the Wiccans. Murder and robbery were common, and the lighting at night was the green light of the Killing Curse and the Fiendfyre. Compared with them, the Wiccans actually seemed somewhat innocent.

After hiding and fleeing for several years, he naturally set his sights on Buda, a good place to escape because it was easy to defend and difficult to attack.

There was no Ministry of Magic before, and after the remnants of the wizarding party came, they kept a low profile and no longer promoted any greater interests, and gradually stabilized.

Located near Durmstrang, Ukraine and Romania, it is a gathering place for a group of wanted wizards. Naturally, it has become a not-so-formal trading transit station. Shops such as taverns, restaurants and clothing stores have gradually appeared, and the wizarding ecosystem has gradually improved.

Whether it's bartering or using goblin currency, the remnants who have been driven out for several years are not picky. They don't set up any rules and regulations, and they do their best to maintain the business environment. They don't engage in dark wizards' murder, robbery, or forced buying and selling.

You can buy all kinds of things in the market here, from alchemical items, ancient magical antiques dug up from nowhere, various fire dragon materials, to potions of famous potion masters in recent decades, albums of singer Celestina, to miscellaneous Muggle electrical appliances.

The price and transaction method depend on the willingness of both parties.

The reputation of safety and reliability gradually spread, and as it accumulated year by year, the scale gradually grew.

Some wizards once tried to initiate a purge at the International Confederation of Wizards, but considering that the Witch Party had been nominally disbanded and even their leader was imprisoned in Nurmengard, Austria, most other countries took a wait-and-see attitude, waiting to see what the president would do.

President Dumbledore expressed his respect for the voting results.

In the end nothing is left.

Melvin found the remnants quite interesting.

Before Grindelwald's downfall, the Wizarding Party intended to expose the wizarding world, provoke war, overturn the Statute of Secrecy, and turn Muggles into slaves like house-elves.

After his downfall, the Malay Party dissolved, and the expelled and wanted wizards found refuge in Muggle cities, creating a unique mixed-race city like Budapest. The atmosphere was more open than Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley, with no ideological disputes between wizards and Muggles, nor any pure-blood prejudice.

In a sense, they are actually ahead of the British Ministry of Magic and the Magical Congress of the United States of America.

Opening up the market for shadow mirrors here means opening up the market to the whole world. The difficulty lies in getting them to follow the rules of the Magic Mirror Club, and I can't think of any good solution for the time being.

Let's take a step by step.

"Crack!"

Hagrid threw the last chimney roll into his mouth like a snack, chewed it twice and swallowed it after mixing it with the broth and sour cream. Melvin and Professor Kettleburn waited for him to finish his meal and went to the front desk to pay the bill.

Total 2 Galleons, 7 Sickles.

The hotel owner and receptionist was a kind old wizard with a slight London accent. He smiled and teased the three of them, "If it weren't for that big guy, three ordinary wizards wouldn't spend more than one Galleon."

"Aibo, I don't remember when your store was so affordable?"

"Because there are three big guys in the backyard!"

"Ha ha……"

Professor Kettleburn smiled and reminisced with him about the past; the two were old friends.

"Aibo?"

Melvin's heart moved. With this last name and this accent, this boss should be a relative of Old Tom. A family chain of wizard hotels?
Hagrid had thought of this possibility as well, and stared down at his boss with a curious glint in his eyes, trying to find some similarities between his face and Old Tom's.

His hair and beard were gray, his eyes seemed prominent because of his thinness, his eyeballs were slightly cloudy, his eyes were gentle, his face was old but very energetic.

Professor Kettleburn was very familiar with him: "Let me introduce you, this is my colleague, Professor Lewynter, and this is Hagrid."

"You're so young! Welcome to Budapest!"

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Abbott."

"..."

Hearing his name, Aibo's eyes showed a bit of strangeness, and he shook his head casually, still smiling kindly: "Just call me Aibo. I don't know how long you plan to stay here. There are many fun things here besides the fire dragon. The Turkish bath at the end of the street is very good, you can go and experience it."

"Ok sir."

Melvin didn't strike up a conversation rashly. He greeted the customer as a regular customer and friend, leaving an impression without doing anything extra.

The old professor had been traveling all day and was exhausted, so there were no special activities in the evening. The market tour and the fire dragon viewing were scheduled for tomorrow. After dinner, they went out for a half-hour stroll, experienced the Turkish bath, and returned to the hotel, where they each went back to their rooms to rest.

Having just taken a hot shower, Melvin changed into local-style pajamas. The size was slightly loose, the fabric was soft, and he seemed to still be covered in moisture, feeling very comfortable.

Because they were adjacent rooms, I could hear Hagrid and the old professor snoring while leaning against the wall. In between the even snoring, their rhythms gradually became consistent.

Just as Melvin was about to fall asleep, he heard the faint sound of quarreling and noisy voices coming from the corridor outside. One of the voices was gentle and slow, belonging to the boss, Ai Bo, while the other voice was a little shrill, and seemed to be that of a witch.

Melvin opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling.

This is someone else's place, and every place has its own rules. Mr. Ai Bo has been doing business here for decades and should not need help from outsiders. If it is a local dispute, he, a visitor from afar, will only cause trouble for others if he gets involved.

"Are you going to watch him die of old age in that tower!?"

"If that's his wish..."

"Bullshit will! It was that old guy who cast the Imperius Curse on him!"

"You know, no Imperius Curse can remain in effect for decades, and that gentleman is not one of those people."

"So you want to try my Imperius Curse?"

"Stop messing around, Vida."

"The soul leaves..."

Feeling the clear fluctuations of magic, Melvin could no longer sit still. He stood up and took two steps, making clear footsteps. He stood at the door and paused for a moment until the quarrel outside stopped. Then he pushed open the door and saw an old witch with gray hair standing in the moonlight on the terrace at the corner of the corridor, her figure dim.

Although she looked very old, one could still glimpse some of the witch's elegance when she was young. She was wearing a black satin robe with a narrow waist. Her white hair was combed very neatly. She had a pair of deep blue and bright eyes. Even the wrinkles on her face and neck seemed to reveal an elegant temperament.

I don’t know if there is any emotional entanglement between the two old wizards.

Facing their gazes, Melvin pretended to be sleepy and asked vaguely, "Mr. Aibo, is there anything I can help you with?"

Hearing this name, the witch glanced at the boss with a hint of sarcasm on her face.

The hotel owner paused and said apologetically, "I'm sorry that our bickering disturbed your rest. It's nothing serious. We are old friends."

"Well, sweet dreams to you all."

Melvin yawned sleepily, shook his head and closed the door.

Standing behind the door and listening again, there was only the sound of footsteps gradually fading away. It seemed that it was indeed just a dispute between old friends. But then again, it was normal for them to cast the Imperius Curse after just a few quarrels. The people here are really fierce.

Melvin went back to bed, but he wasn't sleepy.

Not because of that witch's Unforgivable Curse.

But he remembered that several times when he called his boss Mr. Abbott, they behaved a little strangely. This should not be a name like Voldemort's that could not be called directly. It must be that there was some unknown story hidden behind the name. These wizards were old and had some secrets.

This kind of thing might come in handy if you want to expand your market, but it doesn't seem like a good idea to pry into other people's secrets.

I wonder if Professor Kettleburn can help.

Listening to the snoring next door, Melvin fell asleep unknowingly.

Late at night, there were faint sounds of quarrels and magical fluctuations in the backyard, but the noise was very low, just rustling and did not disturb the hotel guests.

(End of this chapter)