"S-sorry…" the Little Wizard said awkwardly.
Admitting mistakes was difficult; children were always ashamed to do so.
Fortunately, Howl didn't care about that; he was the one making others admit their mistakes.
"No, it's nothing." Sindel waved her hands repeatedly, a little shy.
Howl stepped forward, then turned to look at the Little Wizards.
"Alright, if you have any questions, ask them here."
"Professor, are there any rules for the competition?" Fred quickly asked, while George next to him kept rubbing his fingers.
It seemed he was the one who had tried to fill in someone else's name and got his hand burned by the quill.
"It's the rules of a formal duel, Mr. Weasley. Your status as a master prop-maker won't do you any good here."
"Oh, thank you for the compliment." Fred and George exchanged glances, a satisfied smile on their faces.
"Sigh, I really wanted to get along with you all as ordinary Wizards, but now it seems I have no choice but to let them see our duelling prowess," George said with a helpless laugh.
"George!!" Just as he finished speaking, an angry roar came from the other end of the corridor.
"Oh, damn it! Percy's here." Fred exclaimed softly, then quickly said, "Professor, goodbye."
Then he and George quickly slipped away from the crowd and walked towards the other end. Percy walked quickly, furious, his hair disheveled, and he even had a bump.
It looked like he had been hit by a Redcap.
Tsk tsk tsk, it seems those two really were caught by the Redcaps.
Soon, other children began to ask questions.
Howl tried his best to answer them, even if some questions were quite foolish, but it was much better than waiting until class tomorrow.
Finally, as one question after another was answered, the surrounding crowd gradually dispersed.
Many of these questions were repetitive, such as the timing of the Duelling Club and Quidditch matches, which had been asked by more than one person, including Wood, Cedric, and others.
"Alright, that's enough. I've answered all your questions. Any unanswered ones are irrelevant. For specific matters, you can wait for the schedule!" Howl finally had to defer some completely irrelevant questions.
"Professor!" From the end of the corridor, a figure rushed over, his black robe trimmed with dark green and silver thread.
"Oh, Hedlund, do you have any more questions?" Howl nodded. He greatly admired this child; he was strong and didn't cause trouble—though it might just be that he simply looked down on these guys. But undeniably, he was a young man who wouldn't bring trouble.
"Professor, I'd like to inquire about graduation-related matters. Do you have time?" Hedlund bowed slightly.
"Oh, graduation consultation… Of course, I still have some time. Come in."
Then Howl turned around and looked at the girl on the wall: "Sindel, you come in too. Don't worry about things here. I'll send two other cats."
"Alright." Sindel nodded obediently.
Howl pushed open the office door, his fingers flickering slightly, and the gramophone record began to spin slowly.
This was Hedlund's first time entering this office. Professor Jones was undoubtedly a mysterious, powerful Wizard in his eyes.
Naturally, his gaze constantly swept around.
A cabinet, no books, filled with records.
There was also an easel, with many empty frames around it, and two or three landscape paintings with no clear subject.
Next to the fireplace were feathers, fiery red with some gold. Were they from a Phoenix?
And a huge box—strangely constructed, with a metal casing, and many Muggle-like features.
"That's a refrigerator," Howl noticed his gaze and explained.
"A refrigerator?" Hedlund was puzzled by this incongruous term. It had nothing to do with ice at all.
"Hmm, a household appliance ordinary people use to refrigerate food and drinks. I've been recommending this to the owner of the Pigs Head Bar; otherwise, all the drinks are room temperature, which is too boring to drink." Howl said, opening the cabinet door: "What would you like to drink? Draft beer?!"
"Professor, I can't drink alcohol. Is this compliant?" Hedlund was greatly shocked.
"It doesn't matter, try this. Coconut milk with a little whiskey. Hmm, I forgot what it's called, but don't worry about it."
Howl took out two cups, then poured the drinks.
"After this year, you'll be adults in a societal sense, so there's no need to be so reserved."
"In front of all the teachers, I will always be a student," Hedlund quickly said.
Howl chuckled, raising his glass and taking a sip.
"Hmm, alright. I hope Severus won't think I'm being nosy. What do you want to ask?" He leaned lazily on the bright red leather sofa.
"Professor Snape might not agree with my ideas. So I could only come to you for advice," Hedlund said.
"I'd like to ask, if I want to travel the Muggle world after graduation, where should I start? What should be a suitable main path? Should I travel to multiple places and understand the customs of Muggles in different regions, or should I enter the workforce and understand Muggle production and living methods? What are the differences between these choices, and what progress can they bring me?"
"Oh, very good questions. And indeed, Severus might actually know less about this." Howl was somewhat impressed; this child was very perceptive.
The Wizarding World's understanding of Muggles was actually very distorted and backward.
Little Wizards from ordinary backgrounds, upon arriving at Hogwarts, always felt ashamed of their past "magic-less, boring, and not-at-all-cool impoverished lives," and in their conversations and habits, they unconsciously tried to emulate the behavior of children from pure-blood Wizard families. This led to the fact that even though Little Wizards from ordinary backgrounds made up half of Hogwarts, you wouldn't see any Muggle culture in the entire school.
The last time was the Halloween costume tradition created by Fred and George.
"So before we discuss this, we must first consider, what is your goal? In my opinion, you should be seeking progress in magic, right?!"
"Yes, Professor."
Howl nodded: "Then my advice is—study."
"Study? Is that… screenwriting university? I think I heard you mention it during the first Duelling Club meeting."
"Not screenwriting, it's university.
Go and learn Muggle scientific thinking. This will definitely help one make significant progress in the path of magic. And in specialized fields, the various disciplines of engineering are undoubtedly the best choices, whether it's Alchemy, Potions, or biology, herbology. In fact, ordinary people already have a self-contained and highly developed academic tree. Believe me, it will definitely open your eyes."
"But… wouldn't that be too difficult? I have never received Muggle education before, I have never received ordinary people's education before."
"You can start by attending a community college for a year or so." Howl nodded: "In doing anything, the first step is always the hardest, isn't it?"
Just as he was speaking, the door suddenly knocked again.
"Come in."
The door was slowly pushed open, and Harry appeared at the doorway, with Draco peeking out from beside him.
"Come in." Howl nodded.
Hedlund gave a slight nod to the two, as a greeting, and at the same time, the chair beneath his bottom suddenly vibrated.
With a swish, the chair split again.
"Draco, I'm asking the Professor about studying abroad in the Muggle world. Perhaps we can, as we first discussed, persuade your father to take you to see it too."
"Oh, really?" Draco was a little surprised: "Then can we go to the shooting range and go 'da da da' with Muggle wands?! Damn, I can't wait!!"
??
Howl looked at the three of them strangely.
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