Chapter 247: Are Wizards Backward?
Professor Abigail then displayed various other weapons.
Rifles, machine guns, sniper rifles, Mills bombs, landmines.
And things that couldn't be displayed directly, only understood through models and videos—
Atomic bombs, intercontinental missiles, white phosphorus bombs, thermobaric bombs, depleted uranium munitions.
Tanks, fighter jets, bombers, battleships, aircraft carriers.
Many young wizards, who knew nothing about Muggles, were shocked again and again. Malfoy couldn't help but ask, "Muggles made so many terrifying weapons? Who exactly are they trying to fight?"
The students exchanged glances, finally looking at the Muggle-born students among them.
Justin Finch-Fletchley of Hufflepuff couldn't help but say, "Don't look at me, I'm just as shocked as you are."
Seamus Finnigan of Gryffindor, pretending to be knowledgeable, said, "Well, Muggles often have wars. Many Muggle countries are keen on invading other countries, like... uh..."
He glanced at the professor teaching at the front and swallowed the rest of his sentence.
Instead, Professor Abigail herself said, "That's right, like America. In just the past few decades, America has invaded Korea, Vietnam, Grenada, Libya, Panama, Iraq..."
She saw that most of the students had confused expressions, and she smiled with a complex look, saying, "Those are countries in other parts of the world. In Iraq, the American military even used depleted uranium weapons."
The students recalled the depleted uranium weapons shown in the video earlier, gaining a more concrete understanding of them.
A girl raised her hand.
Professor Abigail called on her, "Susan Bones?"
The girl with braided pigtails, under the gaze of everyone, asked tremblingly, "Professor... is your country bad? Like... like He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named..."
Many children held their breath at once.
After a moment, Professor Abigail finally spoke:
"What is good, and what is bad? Everyone actually has their own criteria for judgment on such matters. You can think according to your own ideas—the goodness or badness of a country, the goodness or badness of wizards versus Muggles, the goodness or badness of an event. Only when you've thought these through can you decide how to act."
She seemed to have said a lot, yet also nothing at all, and question marks seemed to be plastered all over Bones's head.
But raising her hand to ask had already exhausted her courage, and she truly didn't dare to press for a second question.
Theo quietly said to Wade, "I think even in the professor's eyes, America is bad. But it's her home country, so she probably doesn't want to speak ill of it directly, right?"
Wade nodded in agreement, looking at Professor Abigail with an even more serious expression.
He had never seen a wizard who understood Muggle weapons better than Professor Abigail.
Moreover, this wasn't the future where self-media was ubiquitous; some information was very difficult to find, and some was the latest intelligence, which even non-magical people who regularly followed current events might not know.
But Professor Abigail just casually told a group of underage students about it, as if it were a very ordinary lesson plan.
Afterward, Professor Abigail, seeing that the students seemed intimidated, told a few short stories to ease their tension.
"Actually, the probability of wizards encountering such weapons of mass destruction is very low. It takes a considerable amount of time from their launch to their actual explosion, which is enough time for a wizard to escape."
"Unless you're like my wizard friend Macna from Africa – he stubbornly believed he could withstand the power of a bomb and almost ended up in pieces..."
"For wizards, the greatest danger actually comes from arrogance born of ignorance."
"I also have another friend, Diwent. One time, he was strolling down a Muggle street and encountered a teenage boy pointing a pistol at him to rob him."
"He didn't recognize the pistol and thought the boy's actions were comical. He burst out laughing on the spot, and before he could finish laughing, he was shot through the chest... In the end, the boy robbed him of all his Galleons and casually snapped his wand."
Because Abigail told this story with a smile, the students also laughed after hearing it, thinking that Diwent was foolish.
After they finished laughing, Abigail said seriously, "So... don't underestimate any Muggle, children. You have magic, but that doesn't make you superior."
"Any Muggle... even a child... if they have a pistol in their hand, they have the ability to take any wizard's life."
"Remember that."
...
Defense Against the Dark Arts class ended, and the oil-smelling weapons were covered up again. Professor Abigail didn't seem to have anything more to say, so the students had no choice but to walk towards the castle.
But the discussion about this class was far from over.
"Is what the professor said true, Harry?" Ron asked his friend curiously, "Are Muggle weapons really that powerful?"
"Uh... maybe..."
Harry said vaguely.
Although the Dursleys had a television, they rarely watched shows about weapons and war. Aunt Petunia preferred mindless soap operas, and his cousin Dudley liked cartoons and boxing.
Harry looked at the other two Muggle-born students.
But Hermione, uncharacteristically, frowned.
These things had nothing to do with academic performance. Although she had read many history books, the books she read didn't detail the weapons used by warring parties.
"It's true," Wade said. "And there's a lot more the professor didn't mention—like gas, biological, and sonic weapons."
"...What are those?"
After a moment of silence, Ron politely asked.
So Wade gave everyone a brief explanation.
"Silent, large-scale weapons of mass destruction..." Hermione summarized.
Harry tilted his head, thinking. "So even powerful wizards would have a hard time surviving if they're within the attack range?"
"That's right," Wade nodded. "Unless they Apparate away or use similar methods before the attack... otherwise, the Shield Charm definitely wouldn't be able to block it."
"Why are Muggles so keen on inventing these things?" Ryan asked. "Even handguns and cannons are already powerful... why do they keep inventing more dangerous weapons?"
"Because if you fall behind, you get beaten up, right?" Wade said. "If those invaded countries also had nuclear weapons, America wouldn't dare bomb their land indiscriminately."
"Then..."
Ryan thought for a moment, then finally posed a profound question:
"Compared to Muggles now... are wizards the ones falling behind?"
Everyone simultaneously paused, as if unprepared students were being forced to face an exam they didn't want to take.
Next chapter will be later
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