Hogwarts: Voldemort, don't stop me from studying!

“Oh, you have a pretty high fever.” The man gently nudged him. “Come with me, kid—come this way—luckily my office is nearby.”

Silver-white hair swayed in front of his eyes, and he looked somewhat like Dumbledore. Wade lowered his guard.

……

A few minutes later, Wade held the empty cup, steam continuously billowing from his ears, staring blankly at the wizard in front of him, making him look like a fool.

The person who suddenly appeared in the corridor was neither Quirrell, whom he had feared, nor Dumbledore, as he had imagined, but a strange male wizard. He looked at least eighty years old, wearing a dark blue robe, with his short, silver-white hair neatly combed and no beard. Notably, he wore a Muggle shirt and trousers under his robe, and his tie was perfectly tied—something rarely done by wizards—and a strangely styled pair of gold-rimmed glasses hung in his breast pocket.

The wizard appeared in the hallway and, noticing Wade's poor condition, took him to his office and offered him his own stimulant. It must be said, it was much more effective than the potion in the school infirmary. After drinking it, Wade's drowsy mind immediately cleared. Aside from his ears still emitting steam, he was fine and could clearly see his surroundings.

It was a circular room, illuminated as bright as day by a dozen or so magic lamps of various sizes. Shelves and tables were filled with many strange and interesting little things. A golden hourglass was slowly spinning; a dozen small crystal balls were strung on silver wires, their colorful lights flickering as if they were breathing; and on a nearby cabinet stood a remarkably realistic manor, inhabited by tiny people the size of a thumb and an even smaller dog, who could even fetch water and cook.

The room also contains some Muggle technological creations—a refrigerator, an oven, a television, a computer, a washing machine, and even a disassembled car engine.

This was truly the strangest room Vader had ever seen.

The wizard who brought him there was fiddling with a radio, and after a moment, a woman's enthusiastic voice came through it—

"Good morning, dear listeners and busy wizards! A beautiful day begins with 'magical time.' Today, your beloved Granda Chitock is hosting the show once again. First, let's enjoy Setina Warbeck's new song—'You Stole My Pot, But You Can't Have My Heart'..."

"Oh, thank goodness I didn't miss it, it's my favorite radio program." The wizard muttered, then turned and asked with a kind smile, "Feeling better, child?"

“Yes, I’m much better. Thank you for your help, sir.” Wade cautiously asked, “May I ask who you are—”

“I am Professor Terence Morrie, the Alchemy Professor.” Professor Morrie smiled. “If you can achieve ‘Excellent’ in Charms, Transfiguration, and Ancient Runes in your fifth-year OWLs exams, and ‘Good’ or above in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbalism, and Potions, you can take my classes in sixth year. You like alchemy, don’t you, child?”

He glanced down and saw that half of "On the Diversity of Species" was sticking out of his bag. He shoved the book back in and said, "Yes, Professor, I'm teaching myself alchemy."

"This content might be a bit too early for you. You should start with the basics, such as the Magic Phonics Chart."

"I've memorized the entire 'Magic Phonetic Chart,' sir. I've also read 'The Magic Symbol Collection,' 'The Rune Dictionary,' and 'An Easy Introduction to Ancient Runes.' In addition, I've read Nicolas Flamel's 'Elementary Alchemy' and 'Analytical Alchemy.'"

Professor Morrie was stunned.

Hogwarts offers alchemy courses for students in their sixth year and above, but the author could not find the name of the alchemy professor. Terence Morrie's character and the eligibility requirements for the alchemy course are both fictional creations of the author.

Chapter 35 Professor Morrie and Alchemy

Alchemy is closely linked to ancient runes, which are an extremely difficult subject to learn. While most courses at magic schools, aside from the history of magic, focus on practical application, ancient runes must be learned through rote memorization.

Characters, glyphs, pronunciation, and meaning—ancient runes differ greatly from modern languages ​​in every aspect. To master the basics of this course, there is no other way but to memorize them. And among the many students who choose to take the ancient runes course, only a very few manage to memorize all of this by graduation.

Fortunately, none of the Ravenclaw students had poor memories. Even if they weren't as good as Hermione, Wade had undergone special memory training, so his memorization speed wasn't much slower than Hermione's. After three months of exposure to magic, he managed to memorize several books thanks to his powerful memory and love for magical alchemy. He further strengthened his memory through repeated recitation, and now he no longer makes mistakes in this area.

After a moment of silence, Professor Morrie began to ask questions about the contents of the books. Then he took out parchment and a quill pen and randomly asked Vader to write down some ancient magical characters and short phrases.

More than an hour later, Professor Murray had to admit that the student in front of him, who he considered to be still a child, was not lying; he truly knew everything he had said.

Alchemy is one of the most difficult courses at Hogwarts, and Professor Morrie's requirements are extremely strict. Each year, fewer than ten students are chosen to study alchemy, and they are all among the best in their grade. But Professor Morrie dares to say that if he were to call upon the few seventh-year students he currently teaches, even the most outstanding one would make one or two small mistakes on these questions.

Alchemy requires a genius-level keen imagination and creativity, as well as an attitude that is more meticulous, rigorous, and rigorous than the gears of a watch. These two qualities rarely coexist in one person.

Moreover, this is just one... one...

Professor Murray suddenly realized that he knew nothing about the student in front of him.

"Child, what grade are you in now?" the old professor asked kindly.

“First year, sir,” Wade said.

Professor Morrie paused for a moment, then said, "I remember—ancient runes were an elective in the third year?"

“Yes, sir,” Wade said, trying to appear composed rather than like a peacock showing off its tail.

Professor Morrie didn't care whether the student in front of him was mature enough; he simply began to recall his own eleven years... and his level when he first encountered alchemy at sixteen... and the remarkable wizards he knew—such as Dumbledore, Grindelwald, and Voldemort—and the level they demonstrated in their first year...

As Professor Morrie pondered this, his gaze toward Wade grew increasingly amiable, as if he were looking at an undiscovered treasure. His smile deepened, and he asked softly, "What's your name? Which house are you from?"

“Wade Grey, Ravenclaw,” Wade said, looking up. He had already sensed something from the change in the other man’s attitude.

Professor Morrie asked again, "You really like alchemy, don't you, Vader?"

His tone was now completely different from before, serious.

“Yes, Professor,” Wade replied as always, “It is a very fascinating field, with the power to change the world, and perhaps I will dedicate my life to its study.”

"As a wizard, what is your view on Muggle technological inventions?" Professor Morrie asked again.

This question couldn't be easier; the office furnishings alone were enough to tell what kind of answer the professor wanted to hear. But this time, Wade fell silent. After thinking seriously for a long time, he said, "Muggle technology is developing rapidly, production tools are constantly being innovated, and information exchange and communication are becoming more and more efficient, causing increasingly significant changes to the world. Wizards need to actively learn, absorb, and integrate, otherwise they will one day be left behind by the times."

This is his heartfelt thought.

Although he yearned for the wonders of magic, let's compare the real differences between the two:

Wizard communications – owls; Muggle communications – instantaneous mobile phones and the internet.

The number of wizards—there are only about three thousand in Britain, and only a few hundred thousand to a million worldwide; the number of Muggles—there are more than 57 million in Britain alone, and 54 billion worldwide, and this number will grow to 7 billion in twenty years and reach 8 billion in thirty years.

Wizards kill – Killing Curses that only a few dark wizards can use; Muggles kill – Maxim guns, incendiary bombs, nuclear bombs, self-propelled artillery, howitzers, intercontinental ballistic missiles, even a two-year-old child can kill with a gun.

The gap between the two sides is so vast that in the past, during the ignorant Muggle era, wizards could only survive by doing their best to hide themselves. In the future, with increasingly advanced technology, wizards must learn from, emulate, and integrate into the Muggle world in order not to be easily swallowed up by the times.

In truth, Wade had many more dangerous ideas, but he couldn't voice them. He feared that if he went too far with his words, Professor Morrie's current good impression of him would vanish, and he would be relegated to the ranks of "the third generation of Dark Lords"—how unfair would that be?

Professor Morrie was already quite satisfied with this general answer. He smiled and said, "I teach sixth and seventh grade students every Monday and Thursday. If you have any questions, you can come to my office during those times. As long as you maintain your passion for alchemy, I'd be happy to dedicate two hours each week to guiding your studies."

Professor Morrie spoke with great restraint, but the next moment he took out a book from his collection, "Learn Magical Item Making from Scratch," and lent it to Wade, setting a tutoring time for Thursday before letting Wade leave.

As he left with his books, Vader looked out the window at the Black Lake beside the Forbidden Forest and suddenly remembered the figure he had seen when he woke up that morning.

Judging by appearance, that must be Professor Morrie, right? Same silver-white hair…

Suddenly, Wade stopped in his tracks, his scalp tingling and goosebumps rising all over his body.

When did he see that person? And then when he met Professor Morrie... was there at least ten minutes in between? Damn it! He was burning up so badly he couldn't even remember the time.

In any case, it shouldn't take too long.

If that person was Professor Morrie, how could he have arrived at Wade's location in just about ten minutes? Apparition is forbidden at Hogwarts, and Professor Morrie, with his old arms and legs, certainly wouldn't be able to climb stairs quickly, nor does he seem like a young boy who would travel on a broomstick.

If that person wasn't Professor Morrie... nor Dumbledore... then who could he be? Was it another professor Vader didn't know, or...?

He thought he might be overthinking things; Harry Potter's first year at school should have been a peaceful one... at least for the average student... but a chill still crept up on him.

"What's wrong, Wade?" Professor Morrie asked from behind him.

The voice, which had sounded kind and gentle before, now had an inexplicably eerie atmosphere.

"It's nothing." Wade was surprised that his voice was so calm, with a hint of gratitude in it. "I was just thinking that this morning, Professor, you were lucky to have passed by and found me... Were you just coming back from outside at that time?"

“Of course not.” Professor Morrie seemed unsuspecting, and he explained casually with a smile, “I don’t usually live at the school. I only come to the school via the fireplace when I need to teach—oh, my office fireplace has a temporary connection to the Floo Network, which is a special permission granted by the Ministry of Magic. This morning, as soon as I got to my office, I heard Griffiths shouting in the hallway, and when I went out, I ran into you.”

Chapter 36 Griffiths

The red-haired wizard tapped the picture frame idly, occasionally peeking out to see what the other portraits were doing.

The tower is known to students as the Astronomy Tower because they observe the stars and have astronomy classes at the top every week; even most of the portraits in the corridors are related to astronomy. Most of them are quiet and reserved; no one wants to talk to him.

Suddenly he heard footsteps, and then saw a familiar student walk by. He hurriedly chased after him.

"Hey, are you feeling better from your cold? Morrie gave you your medicine, right? That old man's energy booster is really good—"

He thought the student would walk away without looking back as before, but to his surprise, the student suddenly stopped and looked at him thoughtfully.

“Your name is Griffiths?” Wade asked.

“Yes!” The red-haired wizard nodded happily. “Morley told you, right? He’s the only one who talks to me occasionally now.”

“Aren’t there still many portraits here?” Wade gestured to his surroundings.

"Sigh, don't even mention it," Griffiths said dejectedly. "Did you see that old man in the portrait diagonally across from us?"

Wade looked over and saw that he was talking about an old wizard whose robe and hat were painted with stars. He was standing in front of a large telescope, staring intently at the starry sky.

Griffiths said, "He's been holding a telescope for centuries, observing the same starry sky in the portrait for centuries, and he just finds me annoying; and there's Salom, the one with glasses, always writing and calculating on parchment, never stopping. In fact, her calculations were confirmed by Muggle scientists more than a hundred years ago, yet she's still calculating."

Wade saw a thin witch hunched over her work, and she didn't stop even after hearing Griffiths's words.

“And those stargazing kids over there, see them? They’re a bunch of Cornish imps,” Griffiths complained. “When they’re not stargazing or sleeping, they’re always causing trouble—pushing over the old man’s telescope, tearing Salom’s parchment, or pulling my hair and spilling ink on my robes! I’ve had enough!”

Griffiths sighed with loneliness and helplessness. Even though Wade was in a bad mood, he was still amused by him, and the gloom, heaviness and doubt in his heart seemed to be dispelled.

He asked, "How long have you been hanging here? Aren't you used to it yet?"

“Oh, you don’t know, I used to hang in the first-floor foyer, surrounded by portraits. I could watch the little wizards come and go every day, occasionally teaching them pranks—it was so much fun,” Griffiths said regretfully. “But then, to put Fosco’s portrait up there too, they moved me to the Astronomy Tower. I was thinking it would be nice to meet some new friends. I never imagined it would be so boring here!”

“Can’t portraits be sent around to different places?” Wade asked.

“That’s possible, but it would be too much work. Most of the time I’d still have to stay in my own portrait,” Griffiths said expectantly. “Could you move my portrait back to the foyer? Or somewhere more lively would be fine! I would be grateful!”

Wade didn't agree immediately, but said, "I have to ask the professors first. As long as they don't object, I'll help you find another place."

Griffiths thought for a moment and asked, "—What if they object?"

“Then I’ll secretly help you find a different spot, but it can’t be in the foyer—that’s too conspicuous,” Wade said.

"That's great!" Griffiths was so excited he almost jumped for joy, urging, "Then go ask quickly! Go ask as soon as possible."

"……okay."

Wade smiled, turned and left.

He had originally intended to ask Griffiths if Professor Morrie had really come out of his own office that morning, and whether Quirrell frequented this place. But after exchanging a few words, he changed his mind.