A Certain Hogwarts Magician Professor

"Hello, Prime Minister," said Ms. Burns solemnly. "This is Felix Hepp, who is—"

"I'm the Ancient Rune Professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," Felix said. The Prime Minister stood up and shook hands with him hesitantly, not knowing Felix's identity more and more. Maybe a bodyguard or staff?

Ms. Burns was sitting in the hard wood chair directly opposite the Prime Minister. Felix sat next to her, fiddling with his fingers slightly, so the Prime Minister had to keep his eyes on Burns.

"Do you know?" The Prime Minister said with a straight face, "Although we have met twice, including Fudge before you, several times, even behind my office every day, there is a portrait of me picking my nose and yawning... His eyes bulged slightly, "but I still have a faint hope, maybe you are a group of sophisticated liars, or I am exhausted and hallucinated after sitting on the throne of Prime Minister after countless hard work..."

"Mr. Prime Minister—"

"I've been careful to hide all this, but all illusions are ruined today! The whole country is in chaos! Over fifty county magistrates blew up the phone at the Prime Minister's residence and they reported to me that there was a bunch of fancy-dress guys over their heads. Flying around and doing all sorts of magic tricks - a cow in Kent flew over the Thames in full view of over 2,000 people! Oh my God, even my niece cried that the gerbil I gave her turned into a teacup and shattered I've never been so helpless."

"I'm sorry, you said gerbil?" Felix asked politely. Could the Prime Minister's niece be a potential little wizard? This is good news and will be beneficial to the next negotiation.

"Fudge turned the teacup on the table into a gerbil when I first met," said the Prime Minister through gritted teeth.

"Oh," Felix said in a long tone, tapping his index finger on the arm of the chair.

The Prime Minister regained his senses and straightened his tie, but he was out of breath at the moment because he was talking too much in one breath.

Ms. Burns finally found a chance to speak, and she said straight to the point, "That's what we're here for. Wizards can't continue to hide, and the fusion of the two societies is inevitable."

"Two societies merge," said the Prime Minister slowly, "how?" He was completely calm now.

“In the past we only identified ourselves in front of the current prime minister, which was the best way to keep secrets, but with what happened today, it’s clear that the old way doesn’t work,” Ms Burns said softly. The people explain why there is a group of wizards living on British soil, and I also need to reassure wizards who are used to secrecy laws into a very different environment."

"I did use the power of the Prime Minister to cooperate with you," the Prime Minister said bluntly. "For example... like the wanted notice of the little gray wolf Black, Tom Riddle's wanted notice, and a gas pipe leak... This is unreasonable. , I paid the price, but what was the result? The whole country was a mess."

"You haven't figured out the seriousness of the problem!" Ms. Burns was impatient for the first time. "It's not a question of who cooperates with whom. When we first met, I spent an hour explaining to you that wizards exist. and the Ministry of Magic exists. So you should be aware that more than 20,000 wizards live in this land, their ancestors owned it even before yours, and before secrecy laws were officially introduced, wizards and Muggles mixed together , these legends are still circulating all over the country.”

"But you quit," said the Prime Minister nervously. "I haven't seen the news about witches in any of the open newspapers - maybe after today - and now you want the two societies to merge, I want to How to convince the people that you are hiding in the dark to maintain the British order? What's more, I have to consider the opinions of the parliament, the church and the army. They didn't know anything about you before, maybe one or two families knew about you, but they dared to go outside. Loud? Well, unless—" His expression changed.

"Unless what?"

"Well, I can't be empty-handed, maybe you don't know our attitude toward refugees—"

"Wizards are not refugees!"

"Yes, yes, I know, but in the eyes of ordinary people, there may not be much difference, especially when you go to the sky one by one, who knows if one day you will suddenly emerge from the fireplace, God, wizards will steal things, You may be amused when you hear it, you can change coins, but you can't stop people from thinking so..."

Felix didn't laugh, neither did Ms. Burns. Because there are indeed a lot of thieves in the wizarding world, and there are still a lot of them, but most of them are not interested in Muggle property, and the penalty for breaking secrecy laws is much more severe than petty theft.

"...I think," the Prime Minister wiped the sweat from his brow with a green diagonal-striped handkerchief, "if wizards could nominally be under the control of the government, under the supervision of the law, and at the same time swear allegiance to the Queen--only, of course, In name - I think it's going to be a lot easier."

Ms. Burns stared, refusing to turn her head to look at Felix, who had expected the Prime Minister's reaction:

"We have to win over the Muggle Prime Minister." Felix analyzed: "I know he can't fully decide this matter, the cabinet, parliament, military, civilians, and the Queen who lives in Buckingham Palace. , they all have the opportunity to influence, but the prime minister is the most important one, he connects everyone, and he has the ability to influence those people as well."

"Well, I don't know how to convince him." Ms. Burns rubbed her forehead wearily.

"Convince?" Felix looked at her seriously. "This is what we want to achieve. But you have to be tough in the process."

Burns looked at him hesitantly. "But—in case—"

"Oh, Amelia. We are worried about war, don't the other side not be afraid? But think about it, we are not afraid of war, we are just worried that because the other side's arrogance miscalculated the situation, it should not break out. war."

"It's not the same as what we discussed," Burns objected.

"That's a strategy for ordinary people, and of course we can take a softer approach and get broad support. But for politicians? You have to treat them as completely different creatures, and you take a step back and you have to take something from the other side. . It's almost etched in the other person's veins."

"Concession means weakness?"

"It could also be a signal of an exchange of interests."

Burns snorted.

"You seem to know them well."

"I just read a few 'story books' before I came here. All I can say is that the content in it is wonderful." Felix said vaguely.

...

"If you stick with this idea, Mr Prime Minister," snapped Ms Burns, "then we can't go on talking. We accept negotiation and set obligations on both sides, but we will never submit to any group or individual. , even in name!"

The prime minister did not expect to draw a fierce rebuttal. A moment of silence.

"I remember, you have a United Nations-like organization?" he said cautiously.

"International Confederation of Wizards," said Ms. Burns, pursing her lips.

"That's right, the International—ahem, the Wizarding Federation, that's what Fudge told me once." The Prime Minister asked hopefully. "What do they think?"

"They still can't make up their minds," Felix broke in. "They're worried about war."

"War?" cried the Prime Minister.

"Yeah," Felix blinked, seeming to have noticed something interesting, "you may not know that not all Ministry of Magic has a friendly relationship with the local government, and the UK is quite good in this regard. In fact, Many Ministry of Magic and the government had a very tense relationship at one time, and they were not afraid to speculate on each other with the greatest malicious intent to measure the strength of the two sides. For example, I have heard a word more than once, nuclear bomb..."

"Nuclear bomb?" The Prime Minister's eyes bulged out, he jumped up excitedly, put his hands on the table, and drooled: "Do they still think that a nuclear war will break out?"

"Oh, they do have this concern." Felix spread his hands and said 'candidly': "Some Ministry of Magic cut ties with the Muggle government early on, and their information channels are quite limited...I have never Worried about being hit by a nuclear bomb."

"Of course not!" the Prime Minister roared: "No leader of any country would agree to detonate a nuclear bomb where its own people live, let alone allow other countries to do so! This is completely nonsense, if anyone dares to publish it With a similar order, his political opponents will absolutely laugh mad, and angry people will tear him to pieces."

Felix glanced calmly at Burns.

When Ms Burns got the signal, she cleared her throat and said: "No one wants war, Mr Prime Minister, and with the utmost sincerity we hope that the two sides can reach a consensus and do our best to facilitate negotiations. In the meantime, in order to avoid inconvenience Necessary conflicts, we will recall the wizards who are reclusive in Muggle society, fully shrink and hide."

The Prime Minister nodded, he really felt the sincerity of the other party.

"But... I hope you don't think about it for too long. On the one hand, I can't suppress the will of the wizarding people for a long time. On the other hand, our retreat will also cause a void in the local wizarding force. At this critical moment, it is not necessarily the case. It's a good thing."

"The power is blank? What do you mean?" The first camera asked sensitively.

"During our strict closure policy, there may be other wizarding forces pouring in." Ms. Burns warned solemnly: "It may be foreign wizards - such as wizards from Africa, the Americas, Felix mentioned earlier. However, they have poor relations with the local government and may flee to the United Kingdom for refuge; the dark wizards who have been driven by the Aurors to hide in the gutter may also take advantage of the opportunity to make waves; but the most likely ones are the saints of Grindelwald."

When he heard the first point, the Prime Minister just frowned. Compared with outsiders, he certainly trusted his own wizards more, but as a tried-and-true politician, he was well versed in the art of negotiation and compromise. He minds using this as an excuse to gain advantage, but when he hears that the Ministry of Magic is going to let the Dark Wizards run their course, he can't sit still.

"It's a threat!" he shouted. "You're uneasy and kind, and you've been hiding this for a long time, haven't you? You keep dark wizards secretly just to be able to—"

"What nonsense are you talking about!" said Ms. Burns angrily.

"Don't lie to me, I don't know anything about you," said the Prime Minister, giving a thoughtful recollection, "you that, that—your former Minister of Magic revealed a lot in several conversations. — Knockturn Alley, isn’t it? Fudge complained once that the Aurors had found another batch of cursed items from Knockturn Alley, and kept repeating… You wouldn’t deny it, would you!?”

"I don't deny it." Ms. Burns said calmly, "in the official definition, Knockturn Alley is another magical business district other than Diagon Alley, and it sells all kinds of strange items, far more than Diagon Alley. Abundant. Many of these items have no practical use, or are second-hand, have incomplete functions... Naturally, there are also some dangerous goods. Law enforcement officers are targeting the transaction of the last category of goods."

"...different people have different senses of it. If he is just a student, or a law-abiding civilian, he may never step into Knockturn Alley in his life; but if his interest is special enough, such as ancient magic Interested in items, cheap novelty gadgets and rare magic materials, or just want to get rid of a rare plant bug where conventional methods don't work...you can try your luck there. Of course - you have to always Keep an eye on your wallet and your own safety. There's always some weird, scary people walking around out there. But they're not breaking the law and the Aurors can't deal with them."

"Sounds like a big unregulated grocery market," the prime minister said dryly.

"Is your grocery market completely free of stolen goods, drugs of abuse and second-hand guns?" Ms. Burns asked.

The Prime Minister stopped talking.

"The most common people in Knockturn Alley are petty thieves - or smugglers, or obsessed with dark magic, the latter are also classified as dark wizards, but they are cuter than the really cruel and evil dark wizards. More, at least the Aurors don't have to worry too much about a death curse flying from the opposite side when enforcing the law." Burns finally concluded.

"What is a real dark wizard?" asked the Prime Minister.

"Or to put it another way - what is a dark wizard who is so hostile to Muggles?" Ms. Burns held up her monocle, "you should have seen his abilities this morning, even though he met face to face. Nothing is revealed, it is the saints under his hands who are making trouble."

"Grindelwald? Oh, yes, I was just about to ask, you mean he was the culprit of the whole thing? An extreme subversive?" the Prime Minister asked eagerly, "I saw the The interview of the guy who came out of the tornado, I watched it several times!" He couldn't hold back his anger again, and punched the desk.

"Why didn't you arrest him?"

"If you knew what he had done, you wouldn't have asked the question," Ms. Burns said solemnly, waving her wand, and a bulging folder appeared on the desk. "Here are our Some materials compiled, his ideas, his ideas, his influence..."

The Prime Minister opened the folder and poured out a newspaper clipping from it. It seemed to be some years old, and the clippings turned yellow.

"—It's worth mentioning that there is a big difference between wizards and Muggles in terms of combat evaluation. I know that Muggle armies rely more on collective strength, and wizards—" Burns sighed, "some people only You need a magic wand, and you can do all kinds of incredible things."

"Like this man?" the Prime Minister asked uncomfortably, frowning at the malevolent man in the photo.

"And Dumbledore."

"The guy on the news said he was dead."

"...Yes, alas, if only he were still here, he has thwarted Grindelwald's plot to rule the world many times," sighed Ms. Burns, seemingly dumbfounded when she saw the Prime Minister open his mouth, and continued. Said: "But this does not mean that he is unrestrained. We also have an archmage who touches the essence of magic in some fields. He - oh, the researchers in the ministry borrowed Professor Hepp's knowledge of magic. The grading method, this form is also attached to the document.”

"Professor Hepp? Is he a scholar in this area?" The Prime Minister turned his attention to Felix, who had little sense of existence.

"No, he's the only one who can compete with Grindelwald at the moment, even though he's still young, only—" Ms. Burns paused, then turned to look at Felix, and seemed to be equally impressed by the numbers she was about to say. Surprised, "If I remember correctly, you are only 26 years old?"

Felix nodded, "If you compare magic to science, only scientists in the magic world can master the power, and I happen to have a good talent. There is no need to make a fuss."

The Prime Minister murmured: "Yeah, 26 is nothing, many scientists have published the most important papers in their lives at this age, such as Albert Einstein, I remember him doing something earth-shattering at the age of 26. matter……"

"He came up with special relativity," Felix reminded him kindly.

...

"Grindelwald almost destroyed a city in the 1920s?" the Prime Minister asked incredulously, looking at the documents. He lowered his head and glanced quickly at the parchment. "Or Paris? How on earth did he do it?"

"A runaway magic," Felix said softly.

"Fierce fire." His fingertips fiddled with a cluster of small flames, "Even in the magic world, it is an extremely evil curse. The reason why it is called a curse is that it can sense living creatures and prioritize them as an attack target. It is difficult to It can only be extinguished by waiting for it to burn itself out - oh, I mean it can't be extinguished by conventional means, but it has an anti-curse."

The Prime Minister's eyes were fixed on the small flame in his hand, and he said nothing.

"What I have in my hand is just a normal flame, no different from the flame of a lighter," Felix said.

"Felix, are you sure he is using Flaming Fire?" At this time, Burns asked suspiciously, "There is no conclusion in the magic world at present."

"He trained Fiery Fire." Felix said in a flat tone: "Grindelwald seems to be very good at fusion magic, such as the one I saw in the data, I suspect it is the combination of advanced form of armor protection and Fiery Fire Spell It's not a random piece, but a fusion of the characteristics of different magic spells, and maybe other things... He must have studied the magic power itself very deeply."

The Prime Minister swallowed and continued to look down at the material, asking a question or two from time to time.

...

Coming out of the Prime Minister's residence, Burns breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's a worthwhile trip, although the Prime Minister didn't promise to stand on our side... but at least he promised to do his best to negotiate, and he also asked us to continue to maintain the magical order in the meantime, uh, that's what we intended to do."

"This is just the first step," Felix raised his eyebrows and said calmly: "The Prime Minister is half a person who knows the existence of the magic world. He has past communication experience. At least he won't shout and kill as soon as he comes up. But he's dealing with a group of people who know nothing about wizards, and the Prime Minister has never been known for his decisiveness and tenacity... just wait and see."

"Oh, I have the heart to step back."

"It's not like what came out of your mouth." Felix turned his head in surprise.

"I'm serious," Ms. Burns said earnestly, "I'm not trying to escape, I just feel more and more that I'm not capable enough to lead the people to deal with the crisis at hand, why don't you be Minister of Magic, I'll start over again. As the head of the Law Enforcement Department to assist you..."

"No, I don't think so."

"Felix..."

"Okay, let's talk frankly." Felix stared clearly into Burns' eyes: "At this moment, I can't stay out of it, I do intend to seize power - but not the Minister of Magic, you Understand?"

"Then—" Burns blinked and said in shock, "President of the International Confederation of Wizards?"

"That's right."

"But what about the oath of Agimbad and Grindelwald?"

"Of course not now, Amelia. Let's take a long-term view: even if the wizarding society and the Muggle society reach a reconciliation, will the contradictions and conflicts disappear? From the moment the two sides signed the peace treaty, at least It has to wait for the new generation to fully grow up before the initial results will be realized.”

In the dark night, Felix spoke his thoughts, and Ms. Burns listened quietly.

"...Whether it's a little wizard or a Muggle child, they may still be babies at the moment, babbling and toddlers. But they will eventually grow up in the new world, and that's what I want to see. —Neither like Muggles who are unfamiliar and terrified of magic, nor wizards who feel at a loss to live in the sun."

In the silence and stillness, the moonlight fell on the longing and determined face of Ms. Burns.

"Then let it go, Felix, and I'll give you my full support," she said.

Felix smiled.

"We took the first step tonight: kicking the International Confederation of Wizards and other countries away, and successfully shifting the contradictions from the huge subject of Muggles and wizards to the internal affairs of the country. If all goes well, we may well Be the first to succeed!"

"You will also gain great prestige and step onto a bigger stage?" Ms. Burns asked excitedly.

"Yeah, so don't be lazy anymore, aren't you going to give a speech to all British wizards, add me too."

"Have you ever thought about letting it go?" She widened her eyes.

"Cough, I'm still getting used to it." Felix looked away, his eyes twinkling and said: "Let's go. Let's talk to the undercover in the newspaper office, and then I'll make a trip to Hogsmeade. There are so many things going on that many of my research projects have been put on hold."