Hogwarts.
A well-known and renowned magic school.
If you were to ask about its popularity among Muggles, I believe at least eleven out of ten would be convinced it's the best magic school.
It's undeniably the perfect ivory tower many dream of.
Although compared to the Muggle education system, it's at best a magic vocational school, or a magic technical high school, you can't deny its contribution to the magical world, especially the British magical world.
It practically supplies all the staff to that bloated and sluggish institution—I'm referring to the Ministry of Magic, of course (otherwise, what other institution deserves such descriptive terms?).
Because of this, you won't see the British Ministry of Magic like in British politics, where Ministry Officialsare categorized by their university of origin, with Cambridge and Oxford looking down on each other and then ganging up on King's College.
At least the Ministry Officials in the British Ministry of Magic are all alumni of the same school.
However, as the saying goes, "Without factions, there are all sorts of strange things."
Birds of a feather flock together. It would be more magical than magic if people gathered together didn't form factions to distinguish themselves! Besides, these wizards waving Wooden twigs and muttering incessantly are still human; at least they aren't reproductively isolated from Muggles, so even if some people deny it, they still fall within the scope of the word "human."
So how do the Ministry Officials at the Ministry of Magic, who can't use their school of origin to distinguish factions, divide themselves into factions?
Bloodline and birth.
A rather primitive division indeed.
Pure-blood, half-blood, and Muggle factions.
But their tedious and complicated entanglements are not worth even a single word to describe!
So let's put aside these political distractions and return to Hogwarts.
It's the summer of 1991. Like all schools, Hogwarts is on summer vacation. This bustling, vibrant school is quietly dozing in the scorching July sun. Two months before welcoming new students, this ancient castle, like its professors, needs rest.
Especially the The venerable headmaster with his white hair and beard.
"Hmm—" Albus Dumbledore smacked his lips in satisfaction. Honeydukes' new product, launched to celebrate the 11th anniversary of the fall of the Man of Darkness, was perfectly to his liking. So after dealing with the annoying letters from the Ministry of Magic, he would treat himself to some.
"Hmph—" Dumbledore sighed contentedly, fully enjoying the sweet sensation of the syrup flowing between his teeth. "A perfect day should begin with candy, shouldn't it, Fawkes?"
Fawkes, the phoenix, perched on its perch, responded with a soft chirp, then stretched its magnificent tail feathers. It was at the height of its power, though its twilight years would soon arrive. But for a phoenix that could rise from the ashes, death was no big deal, was it?
After admiring Fawkes's shimmering golden tail, Dumbledore tossed a wriggling candy into his mouth, enjoying the sound of the insect-like candy colliding with his teeth. It took him a while to squeeze the syrup out of its belly.
"Sharing candy with a colleague might be a good strategy… perhaps Minerva will appreciate its charm?" Dumbledore swallowed the crumbs, muttering uncertainly to himself.
But just as he got up to find his colleague, there was a knock on the oak door of the headmaster's office.
The knocking at the door was sharp and urgent.
"Come in!" Dumbledore sat back down in his cushioned chair, his wise eyes scanning the unexpected visitor through his half-moon spectacles.
A dark figure pushed open the door—Severus Snape, Head of Slytherin, Potions Professor, member of the Order of the Phoenix, and also a notorious Death Eater.
"Dumbledore," Snape said urgently and in a low voice, his lips barely moving, "we need to talk." Dumbledore stared into his eyes for a moment, disappointed to find Snape completely oblivious to the sweets on his desk, so he suppressed his own urge to share and calmly said, "It's a rare holiday, we both have plenty of time..."
Then he waved his hand, and a similarly cushioned chair moved to the opposite side of the desk.
"Please sit."
Snape glanced down at the intricately decorated wooden chair, stepping aside to make way for it, and said firmly, "Not here."
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow in surprise. "If you'd like to take a walk, I happen to know a good place…"
But before he could finish his suggestion, Snape impatiently interrupted, "Underground in the castle, there's a discovery you absolutely must know."
"I've been in this castle for almost a century, and I've never heard of such a place." Dumbledore surveyed the vast room before him. They had passed through a winding tunnel leading down to the very bottom of the castle.
At the end of the marble staircase was a magnificent and empty circular hall. Opposite the staircase were four hall-like structures, but apart from the reflective surface, there was nothing noteworthy about them.
The room seemed to be embedded in the mountainside, carved out of its interior by some skilled craftsman. Gold-threaded stone pillars connected the ceiling and floor, seamlessly integrated. At the center of the colorful floor tiles was a circular area, its spotless surface like a mirror, reflecting two figures in long robes, one gray and one black.
"That's Hogwarts! I've never seen it from this angle before!" Dumbledore's voice was full of surprise; he saw an aerial view of Hogwarts on the floor. "How did you find this place, Severus?"
"That's unimportant," Snape said through gritted teeth, drawing his wand and tapping it lightly in the air. Ripples spread across the ground, and the aerial view of Hogwarts disappeared from the surface.
"Watch out," Snape warned, trying to ignore Dumbledore's disappointed nasal tone, but predictably failing. He couldn't understand what was so interesting about this place filled with idiots and fools.
When the ripples subsided, a new image appeared.
It was a child encased in crystal.
A head of unruly black hair made his skin appear even whiter; though he looked young, one could foresee his Heartbreaker Charmer future.
(End of Chapter)