Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor's Office.
After Ian was caught outside Dumbledore's headmaster's office by Gilderoy Grindelwald, he was taken by this Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher to wait here without the option to refuse. As for Gilderoy Grindelwald himself, according to what he said, he needed to first check on what Dumbledore had found.
The conversation between the headmaster and his close friend obviously wouldn't be short, and Ian had thought about sneaking back to the dormitory, but he was still worried that Gilderoy Grindelwald would come to the dormitory to catch him back.
Ian was someone who cared very much about his own reputation. During the day, the incident where Snape took him away in a crowded classroom had already formed a rumor. Who knows what kind of story would circulate if Gilderoy Grindelwald caught him from his bed in the middle of the night, about some unspeakable secret between him and Gilderoy Lockhart.
"What a dreadful night."
Ian stared at the tea in front of him, brewed by Gilderoy Grindelwald. It was in a simple yet graceful porcelain cup, the body of which was smooth and delicate, with a glaze as warm as jade, exuding a faint gloss. Such an exquisite appearance, color tone, and texture were undoubtedly from the elegant porcelain of the Ancient Eastern Country.
The Great British Empire has always upheld an appreciation for Eastern tea and pottery; however, such items are not commonly seen at Hogwarts or in many wizarding families.
Most wizards actually have a sort of closed-mindedness akin to isolationism, so it was clear that Grindelwald was someone whose thinking was truly different from that of other wizards in this regard. Apart from the tea set, there were also many items with cultural symbols from various countries in the office, which seemed to have been redecorated.
Russian pine furniture, Persian rugs, Japanese wind chimes, African percussion instruments, and wooden art pieces, items from different countries were all gathered in this office.
There was even an ancient Eastern broadsword hanging on the wall, along with a magic staff Ian couldn't identify the cultural origin of, crossing each other. Together, they formed a pattern like an X on the wall.
It was as if reality and fantasy intertwined... Although all these objects bore some magical aura, belonging to alchemical creations, like the magically modified car belonging to the Weasley family, most were extraordinary modified items. It was unclear how Grindelwald dared to openly use them to decorate his occupied office.
"What an enigmatic fellow." Ian had always heard that Grindelwald was a wizard supremacy advocate, his ideology being slightly less radical than Voldemort's pure-blood supremacy slogan. However, he was somewhat surprised to see some Muggle items in this room.
Muggle technology products.
Indeed, a refrigerator, oven, television, washing machine, and even a dismantled computer were present, which, for this era, were relatively expensive Muggle technology products.
Grindelwald might truly be wealthy himself, or possibly had embezzled Gilderoy Lockhart's fortune, but Ian was more inclined to believe he had intruded a Muggle tycoon's home and conducted a beyond-its-time Zero Dollar Purchase event. It's unknown why this wizard supremacy advocate showed interest in Muggle goods.
"Perhaps to understand Muggle society?" Ian thought that just based on the contents of this office, Quirinus Quirrell returning might not even be able to obtain the position of Muggle Studies Professor. Look at that; Grindelwald's shelf even had a box of magically preserved Korean kimchi.
Filled with various types of kimchi, Grindelwald clearly grasped the cultural essence of the Great Cold Nether Country, this level of understanding even exceeded that of Muggles at this point in the early 1990s. Of course, compared to the tags under the other collectibles, the tag beneath the kimchi box had no insights or cultural analysis from Grindelwald.
It only had "?????"—a string of five question marks—as if Grindelwald managed to write elaborate essays on the Ancient Eastern Country, yet peculiarly couldn't dissect the culture of the Kimchi Country.
"One could understand, who wouldn't be puzzled by their situation..." Ian, out of sheer boredom, continued to wait for Grindelwald, during which he curiously examined the various collections in the office. All those technology products, apart from the modified radio, were useless within Hogwarts.
Even though Ian, adept in both magic and technology, could manage to produce a stable and enduring electrical current through magical means, he still couldn't start even a single electronic device—this situation was something Ian discovered by accident when he realized his recorder couldn't play back the recording concerning Daphne Greengrass.
He hadn't forgotten to make a complaint; it was that he found he couldn't present evidence. Of course, Miss Daphne Greengrass's recent obedient behavior was also the reason Ian didn't press further, otherwise, a "Professor, what does 'Mudblood' mean?" would have sufficed to make Daphne Greengrass uncomfortable for a while.
Ian had initially planned to roam all over Hogwarts and mention Daphne Greengrass to every professor, but Daphne Greengrass's reformed attitude actually saved her—the Muggle-born little wizard, as Aurora heard, she dared not discriminate against any more.