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

"Wizards Chess and the Sorting Hat may look similar, but they are actually quite different."

He raised a finger, and a box on the table opened, revealing black and white chess pieces lined up and walking out, chattering as they took their places on the chessboard.

Queen White glared at Wade with great displeasure: "Hurry up and start the game, is there any direction?"

On the other side, a knight shouted, "Let me charge! I will crush the enemy army!"

Professor Morrie nodded, and the chess pieces immediately fell silent.

"This is Wizard Chess."

Professor Murray said, "Sometimes it gives the illusion that they are alive and have thoughts. But that's not actually the case—do you know why?"

Wade thought about it carefully.

He doesn't play chess very often, but because the pieces are so interesting, he has a set in his collection and lets them fight each other on the board when he's bored.

With repeated observation, you'll find that these seemingly lively pieces actually behave in a very rigid way.

“They always exhibit similar characteristics and say similar things... They may change occasionally, but they don’t grow or learn from their failures.”

"That's right, so these are just toys pretending to have thoughts."

Professor Murray put the pieces back in the box and said:

"Imbuing inanimate objects with thoughts, making things like mirrors, measuring tapes, and flying brooms appear to have their own ideas, is just a low-level form of biological alchemy."

"But the Sorting Hat is different. If you talk to it a few more times, you'll find that the guy is actually quite thoughtful."

"It truly thinks independently and makes its own judgments, rather than rigidly selecting students according to the ideas of the four founders."

Wade gritted his teeth as he recalled being rejected by the Sorting Hat.

—That's right! That guy not only has his own ideas, but he's also very good at being sarcastic and sarcastic.

"But the Sorting Hat isn't really alive... It has a mind, but it can't reproduce or metabolize."

“True bio-alchemy—actually called life alchemy in ancient times—is the ability to create real life forms, and you’re familiar with the most successful creation. Guess what it is, Vader…?”

Wade lowered his head and pondered.

Bio-alchemy... a true life form... capable of self-replication... a successful creation...

He had learned about many magical creatures from books, but had actually come into contact with very few.

After a moment, Wade looked up and said with certainty, "House elves."

Professor Morrie smiled with satisfaction: "That's right, it's a house-elf."

"Legend has it that ancient wizards, feeling inconvenienced by their isolation from humans, gave rise to all sorts of spirits from nature."

"Golanlin helped craftsmen improve their skills and make tools;"

"The elves help the farms, and some even make shoes for people;"

"The cellar spirits help people manage food and wine, but they also steal wine themselves."

"Uncle Kohl would help milk the cows, collect eggs, and clean the yard;"

"The brown elves help people with housework with extraordinary speed and efficiency, but if they are paid, they will disappear forever."

"At the same time, because of the wizard's evil intentions, many bad elves were also born from swamps, from under tree roots, and from dark forests."

"Goblins bring disaster, Red Hats hunt for blood, Elves make animals sick, Pixies make people lose their way, and Bodak scare children at night."

"Some of these elves have become legends, and we don't even know if they really exist; but some... you can learn about in Defense Against the Dark Arts class."

Wade nodded: "The red hat is in the third-grade textbook... House-elves are descendants of those benevolent elves?"

If we exclude the part of the world that revolves around wizards, the legends of the magical world, no matter how unimaginable they may seem... could very well be true.

“To say ‘descendants’ is too mild, Wade.”

Professor Morrie said, "To be precise, the ancient wizards used extreme methods to try to remove the parts of the elves' bodies that were not beneficial to humans—"

"For example, laziness, theft, pranks... and dignity."

"The first house-elves were created through experiments."

"But their magic is too weak, greatly reducing their work efficiency, and they are often harmed by livestock."

"So the ancient wizards made some modifications to them—incorporating the blood of fairies, so that house-elves also had powerful magic."

"But the fairies don't seem to consider house-elves as their own kind?" Vader asked.

“Of course not,” Professor Morrie said slowly. “Fairies are very proud. In their eyes, house-elves are lowly creatures, unworthy of being called their own kind.”

"Once house-elves possessed powerful magic, they were no longer willing to be enslaved by wizards."

"Their predecessors—such as brown elves and dwarf elves—while enjoying working for wizards, were proud creatures, and could even harbor malice towards their masters if they felt insulted."

Wade nodded and said, "That's why there's a record of the elf rebellion in the History of Magic."

In "A History of Magic," more than half of the wars between wizards and other races are attributed to fairies, to the point that many students fail to notice the subtle distinctions in the descriptions and mistakenly equate fairy rebellions with elf rebellions.

“Yes,” Professor Morrie remarked, “though not often, the house-elves have rebelled a few times.”

“The wizards are reluctant to completely destroy these creations, so they can only repeatedly modify their thoughts, erase their personalities, and plant the imprint of absolute obedience in their minds, making them happy to be enslaved by the wizards.”

"Thus, the most ideal servants were domesticated."

"But there is only one thing that is rooted in the soul of this creature and that no wizard can ever erase—that is the innate yearning of life for freedom."

"Therefore, wizards and house-elves have an unbreakable pact—when their masters give them clothes, they will be free."

"But……"

Wade recalled the attitude of the little elves towards freedom in the original story, and the little elf named "Shimmer" who was banished.

"Almost all the little elves I know hate freedom. If they are banished by their owners, they feel extremely ashamed and miserable."

"Yes—it's excruciating."

Professor Morrie's smile carried a hint of mockery.

“Exiled house-elves are free; they can go anywhere—including their former owners’ homes.”

"But look, have any of the banished elves gone back?"

Chapter 109 Stealing the Authority of the Gods

Wade was stunned.

After being banished by her master, Sparkle was heartbroken and drank heavily, but did she try to go back?

Later, Barty Crouch and his son were coming and going at Hogwarts for the Triwizard Tournament. What was Gilgamesh doing?

Did she ever consider helping her original owner, who had been cursed with a soul-stealing spell?

Will other sprites that were banished or unintentionally given freedom by their owners try to return to their original owners and resume their employment?

Or will they... collapse to the ground and weep bitterly... and then accept the fact and go to live as wanderers?

Although Vader knew many house-elves, they all belonged to Hogwarts. Most of them were content with their current lives; none of them longed for freedom, nor had they ever been expelled.

Including Zoe and McKee... they just wanted to be treated kindly and respected by the wizard, but they didn't want freedom.

Professor Murray did not linger on this topic for long.

After pointing out a flaw in Vader, he said, "With successful precedents, many wizards have become enthusiastic about life alchemy."

"But this is not an easy task. Many people have been killed by their own creations, and life alchemy has gradually become a forbidden art. But what truly made this magic completely forbidden was the birth of another kind of creature."

"In the fifteenth century, a wizard named Extis built a castle on an island and then lured Muggle ships to the island. He did some terrible things to the Muggle sailors and crew."

"It is said that when the people who were sent to investigate the place returned... they all refused to talk about what they had found there. And the least horrifying part was that the place had become a haven for Dementors."

"And that is Azkaban."

"Dementors feed on happiness, and people feel depressed and hopeless just by being near them. They can also suck away human souls, turning people into walking corpses like themselves. The most effective way to deal with them is the Patronus Charm."

"These creatures cannot be completely killed; even if they die temporarily, they will spring up again from the decaying darkness. They transcend life and death."

"The Dementors have possessed the 'immortality' that humans dream of since their birth."

"—So in a way, this kind of life alchemy can be said to be extremely successful, but it is of no benefit to wizards."

Wade suddenly had a question: "Professor, wizards can use the Patronus Charm to ward off Dementors, but Muggles can't even see these creatures, let alone resist them..."

“Yes, that’s right.” Professor Morrie asked, “Are you worried that these monsters might harm your parents? In the early 18th century, the Ministry of Magic made a deal with Dementors to have them guard the prisoners in Azkaban and not allow them to leave.”

"Although I've always thought it was a foolish decision, it seems to be working quite well so far."

Wade shook his head and said softly, "No, what I really want to ask is—during the Wizarding Wars, why didn't the Sorcerers and Death Eaters rely on the power of the Dementors?"

Professor Morrie paused for a moment, then said, "Because to Dementors, the magical souls of wizards are far more attractive than those of Muggles... and there are actually very few wizards who can use the Patronus Charm..."

He paused for a moment and said, "That's about the end of the story. I think you should understand—the alchemy of life can be described as both wondrous and dangerous."

"It allows wizards to create species that transcend their own level of life... Every life alchemy is an unrepeatable process. There are no two humans in the world that are exactly alike, and therefore no two alchemical life forms that are exactly alike."

"Creating life is the power of the gods, but wizards can steal a small part of that power."

"The temptation is so great that any alchemist with some ability will eventually take this path. No matter how much the Ministry of Magic forbids it, there will always be wizards who try to explore the forbidden zones of life."

"I only hope that when you one day become interested in alchemical life, you will remember what we said today, remember the examples of failure, and remember what I taught you—"