The news that the wizards would be interviewed hit the headlines early on, the promos were shown on television on a loop two days in advance, and by the scheduled time, countless people were waiting in front of the television for the live show to begin.
The three guests were seated in order, with Slughorn sitting alone in a wide chair, dressed in a magnificent emerald green wizard's robe, Mr. Weasley and Hermione right next to him, the former wearing a taupe suit with his thinning red hair plastered to his head, and the latter looking like a student who had just left the high school next door and had rushed right after, with a hint of constraint in her body movements.
The host who was given the task of conducting today's interview sat on the opposite side of the curved table, looking competent and energetic, gesturing and making last-minute communications with the audience, who whispered and gawked curiously at the trio, the audience was carefully selected from the thousands of applicants after tested to be free of extreme ideas.
After the usual introductory remarks, the opening of the interview began.
"... would like to thank the three special guests for their introduction, they belong to different age groups and assume different social roles - school teacher, government employee, and student, what kind of insights will they bring to the audience? Let's start with Mr. Slughorn ..."
"Hello Mr. Slughorn, what subject do you teach at school?"
"Potions." Slughorn said. He briefly introduced the basic concepts of magic potions, which was very easy for him to do with decades of teaching experience. The conversation unfolded in a pleasant mood, and apart from the occasional unknown terms that popped up, which caused some confusion, the audience listened with great interest. Slughorn spoke eloquently, casually introducing the names of some simple potions, such as potions for boils, cold and flu potions, cheer and vitality potions, and then, at the request of the audience, he mentioned several more complex potions.
"Potions that bring luck, bone-growing potions that help people to regrow bones overnight, baruffio's brain elixir that sharpens the mind, beauty potions that make people beautiful ..." the host was somewhat lost in thought, but professionalism brought him back to his senses as he quickly said, "Well, I think the question on everyone's mind right now is, can these potions be mass-produced?"
"Not really, I'm afraid," Slughorn said with a slight frown, "Many potions require magic to be a part of the process. This includes the consumption of potions as well."
The host's expression instantly became as disappointed as the audience.
"But - ahem - my student, Severus Snape," Slughorn said, "has been put in charge of the simplification of potions by the Ministry of Magic, with the aim of making some of them available to non-wizards. I've heard that Future World has done some early work on this project, but this sort of thing certainly needs to be left to the professionals ..."
He spoke eloquently, trying to direct the conversation into territory he is familiar with.
"... It may be slightly less effective, but it still retains the most magical properties. Severus is capable of modifying that, he was recently awarded the First Class Order of Merlin, do you know what the Order of Merlin is? Only the best wizards are awarded this honour, and I have had the pleasure of teaching a few." He muttered a few names triumphantly, eyeing the host as if waiting for him to follow up with a question about what they had achieved, and it took a few moments of silince for him to continue once again.
"Of course, I personally will offer guidance, limited to theoretical and directional discussions - after all, age is not kind, and I am more than a hundred years old now, so my energy cannot catch up with the young."
This statement gave the impression that if he were twenty years younger, he would be able to solve all the problems by himself. The eyes of those present sparkled.
"You've lived past an age of a hundred?" The host asked in amazement, "It doesn't look that way at all."
"I usually take better care of myself." Slughorn said, "I have quite a few secrets in this respect, even Dumbledore has asked me for tips ..." he sighed, "Living too long has its own downside, there are fewer and fewer familiar faces, a common problem among the elderly. "
"Excuse me - I would like to know, do wizards generally live longer? It was said that Mr. Dumbledore was over a hundred and ten before he died ..."
"One hundred and sixteen," Slughorn corrected, "Wizards of his skill generally live even more longer, and I suspect given his and Nicolas's achieem-" he violently coughed, "I mean - I suspect he was badly wounded when he took on the two Dark lords, otherwise he might have lived past two hundred years. Well, do you know Felix? He is destined to live an exceptionally long life, which is a lucky thing, both for wizards and ordinary people."
Slughorn took out his handkerchief and wiped his sweat.
He had just almost uttered Nicolas Flamel's name, and the secret concerning Philosopher's stone is a myth even in the wizarding world. At that thought, he realised with a start that Felix Hap had inherited all of Nicolas Flamel's knowledge of alchemy and that even if he started from scratch right now, with his talent he could hopefully create a brand-new Philosopher's stone before his life span ran out, not to mention the fact that he is a top alchemist at the moment - a title Felix himself doesn't care much for.
"You mean Mr. Felix Hap?"
"It's obvious, isn't it?"
The host, keenly aware that there were some secrets to be mined, but he was warned before the interview that today's guests are not some third-rate celebrities, nor he's scavenging for tropes, so he decisively broke off the topic and turned to Mr. Weasley.
"We know that Mr. Weasley had participated in previous negotiations, in Minister Bones' team, do you have anything to share with us?"
Mr. Weasley's mouth dropped open, and his ears flushed a little, a sign of the pressure he was feeling.
Merlin, two years ago, he had just worked in a two-person office and spent his days dealing with the Nose-Biting Teacup, posters, bags, and clay sculptures that flowed into Muggle society and could only scare people who brought magical items to the muggle community. But with Ms. Bones taking power, his division has risen significantly in importance, and this time he's participating in the negotiations as an expert because of his experience in compiling laws.
"Well ... I have to say that those things called technology really opened my eyes, yes I would say my eyes were opened." Mr. Weasley said seriously. "So refined, so intriguing, I'm still not sure how the slot machines work, it's hard to imagine how some pieces of plastic and metal combined together can do such wonderful functions ..."
The host was compelled to remind him. "I think it might be because of the use of a computer(chip)."
"Compater?" Mr. Weasley blinked, "does it hide people who can count?"
"Oh no, no," the host laughed as he repeated the pronunciation. "It's a device, some people describe the computer as the greatest invention of the century, and although it can also be used for counting, we have the ability to make it do more complex operations, like controlling machinery, using it as the personal computer, in a mobile phone ..."
Mr. Weasley listened with a smile on his face and when the host had finished, he said frankly, "It's remarkable, I've only ever had access to a mobile phone once. One of your ministers was kind enough to give me a demonstration."
The host seemed to show a keen interest in Mr. Weasley's family for a long period of time, and the two kept asking and answering questions. At first, Mr. Weasley was worried that he would misspoken some confindintial information due to tricky questions, but finding that the questions were about trivial matters, he gradually became chatty. But little did he know that the things he found trivial were exactly what the average viewer was interested in. The ratings kept rising.
At that moment, a TV crew member handed the host a stack of cards with writings all over them. The host flipped through it and said.
"A number of viewers watching the television programme have dialled in the hotline, from which our call taker has selected a number of questions, would you like to answer a few, Mr. Weasley?" Mr. Weasley said cautiously, "I suppose I can. But -" "Great." The host selected and took a card and asked, "Mr. Lincoln, who lives in Surrey, asks why the life of a wizard seems primitive?"
The host cleared his throat, "I think the viewer is referring to the fact that wizards still use owls to mail letters and parcels - that's a real surprise, all things considered, have wizards ever thought of introducing advanced technological products, such as mobile phones?"
"That's just a preconceived notion," Mr. Weasley said seriously, "Wizards don't live a primitive life, it's just a matter of two different attitudes to life, we do use owls to mail letters and parcels, but we also exchange information through other means, such as floo networks, apparition, knight buses, etc. And in recent years there have also been similar items like mobile phones available which goes by the name Communication Mirror."
Thanks to the fact that Hogwarts students were constantly writing letters to the Muggle press, and that government spokespeople would occasionally disclose some of the wizarding information, the audience was able to understand Mr. Weasley's words in general, and many were impressed by the Knight Bus, which could travelled across the country and avoided every obstacle in its path, so they hoped to experience it by themselves, while some were still sceptical, believing that no vehicle would be capable of jumping dozens of kilometres at a time could exist.
"A communication mirror," the host repeated in surprise, "you mean something that functions similarly to a mobile phone?"
Mr. Weasley nodded.
"It was invented by my two sons, Fred and George, and it's really easy to use."
"Er, your two sons? Name-" the host frowned, "Fred and-"
"George." Mr. Weasley said patiently, "They're twins."
The host looked at him incredulously and asked a question that everyone in the room was curious about, "How old are they?"
"Just turned nineteen three months ago," Mr. Weasley puffed out his chest proudly, "They're my fourth and fifth sons."
"That's incredible," the host said, as he turned towards the audience, "It seems that magic and technology work on completely different principles, and it's hard to imagine this sort of thing happening in reality. I don't know if you're looking forward to seeing the real thing ... Let's read the next viewer question, Mrs. Beverly asks why magic seems to be capable of everything, but wizards still have the same troubles as ordinary people?"
Mr. Weasley said seriously.
"Magic is not omnipotent. We need lengthy periods of study to master specific spells, and from what I've observed and learned so far, the lives of wizards and muggles are pretty much the same - except for the magic. We both need to study and work, have families and friends, worry about money and various life chores, there is no essential difference." He concluded with another emphasis, "Except for magic."
"... Another question from our viewers is, what is the Statute of Secrecy that you have repeatedly mentioned, what is its standing, similar to the constitution of a country? If so, wouldn't that mean that wizards all over the world share a common set of constitutions?"
"I don't know how constitutions are defined, but I understand that the Statute of Secrecy is more about limiting the presence of magic in the public eye than it is about restricting wizards. We have a special division, Improper Use of Magic Office ..."
Almost an hour had passed when the host turned his attention to Hermione, who had a slightly stiff expression on her face.
"Miss Granger, I've read your name in the newspaper, may I ask if you are currently a student at school?"
"Yes, I'm still one year short of graduation from school." Hermione said with some formality.
"Oh, I think you must be exceptionally brilliant to have been chosen for this interview."
"I, er," Hermione shook her head a little, "I'm not the best, I think it might have something to do with the fact that I'm good at the history of magic - that is, the history of wizards - and it also related to my identity-"
"Identity?"
"My parents are both muggles, which means they're ordinary people."
"Wow. So you didn't know magic existed before you went to school? Then how did you come to accept that magic is real, I mean, a typical person might think they might have met a fraud, no?"
Hermione pursed her lips as if she had thought of something funny.
"I did think of it that way for a while, but something strange happened to me when I was a child, and I remember it well enough to write a letter to the school, which later proved unnecessary, as the professor from the school would visit young wizards from non-wizarding families on their own initiative."
"And that professor convinced your parents?"
"Convinced me." Hermione corrected.
"What exactly did they do?" The host glanced at the reaction off the stage and realised he had captured another topic of popular interest.
Hermione looked at him hesitantly and the host said encouragingly, "It's okay, our audience is curious - no one will be able to predict if one of their children at home will become one later."
Hermione held out her hand and the mug on the table instantly turned into a palm-sized beaver, she didn't even use her wand, there might be no one in the world who knew the structure of this creature better than she did, as no wizards would spend half an hour a week turning into a beaver to move around.
Everyone stared unblinkingly at the quick-witted and dexterous creature on the table, as they tried to tell if they had been blindfolded. The host held out a hand, which the beaver deftly dodged. It reverted back into a cup.
The host raised the cup and examined it, visualising how it could run and move. The crowd moved their eyes with the movement of his arm.
"I think this is one of those disciplines of the magic form called Transformation, Transform-"
"Transfiguration."
"That's right, are there any other subjects besides Transfiguration?"
"Charms, Potions, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, History of Magic, Ancient Rune, Care of Magical Creatures Class ..."
"The magic the other day outside in front of the Houses of Parliament falls under-"
"An introductory level of Ancient Rune magic."
...
The topics became more specific, and the host, with his lengthy tongue, kept asking all sorts of questions as he gradually noticed the differences between the three. Slughorn liked to talk a lot about social connections, and the audience could weave a huge web in their heads based on his words; but the old man was also a bit of a braggart.
Mr. Weasley is familiar with the Ministry of Magic, but he only likes to talk about topics that aren't confidential, such as family and friends; the host understands his concerns and deliberately steers the conversation in that direction, and the two men become very comfortable with each other.
Hermione Granger, who is a student, surprised the host most, as she spoke for ten minutes in one breath about the history of wizards, and she seemed to have anticipated ahead of time the fact that not many people in the audience might be good at the history of the world and timelines, so she thoughtfully supplemented a paragraph with a history of England from the same period.
Like the fact that Henry VII had actually recruited real wizards as court mages. Of course, both sides maintained a tacit agreement on the issue of witch hunts and no one started a conversation about it. The host secretly felt that when information about witch hunts is disclosed, anyone in their right mind will have doubts about the history.
How many actual witches were killed by fire in history? That ratio would make many people despair, and the collective silence of the country's religions might have something to do with it.
"Miss Granger, how do you feel about wizards being exposed to the world? As someone who knows something about both sides, which side do you personally lean more towards?"
"I am in favour of resolving the issue through means of negotiation and both sides living peacefully together." Hermione said evasively.
"But now that the negotiations have reached a deadlock and the wizards are unwilling to abide by the laws that are common in modern times, you should be able to understand the risks involved, right?" The host asked, he wasn't being deliberately difficult, but the young girl opposite showed a keen sense of politics.
"Wizards have their own laws that function well to this day." Hermione said emphatically, "Now that new laws have not come into being, it is necessary for the old ones to continue. And new laws need to be made without siding with any particular side, they need to be convincing and agreeable to both sides - there was a professor who taught me in my third year said this - well, the point of the law existing is to clarify what we expect from this society in a limited number of words. "
Hermione said, word by word:
"From my point of view, laws cannot fully calculate human behaviour and there will always be new challenges, such as the situation we are facing at the moment - they are difficult to solve in the short term, but the link between the two must not remain stagnant, and the best thing to do now would be to stop and think carefully about what we really want, whether it is conflict or peace? If we can't figure it out, even if a thousand or ten thousand laws are drafted, it won't help."
"This is a collision of two different concepts."
Hermione finished with a deep sigh, it was her most genuine thought, and now she finally said it in one breath. The audience was silent, she subconsciously looked at the audience's reaction, and suddenly her eyes widened, and her heart almost jumped to her throat - a familiar face was sitting among the audience.
It was Professor Hap! He was dressed in a bright blue suit, with straight, pin-stripped pants that looked great together, and he was smiling and applauding as if saying, "Good job."
She looked around quietly, and no one noticed anything unusual, and instead, as if infected, they applauded along. The host asked another question, but she didn't pay any attention whatsoever.
"Miss Granger? Miss Granger?" The host called her.
Hermione hurriedly retracted her gaze and whispered an apology: "Sorry, I didn't catch that?"
The audience offstage broke into a soft laugh.
"Oh, my question is, you seem to be very confident about the future?"
Hermione looked a little embarrassed by her earlier panic, but her heart was surprisingly calm, she subconsciously stroked her hair, and after a few seconds, she seriously replied.
"... Yes, I think it is a foregone conclusion. There are several periods in history when ordinary people and wizards were inhabited together, so we are not creating a new history, but taking a section from one of the many eras to inherit. The question is whether we choose a hard path or a more rewarding one, even though both are filled with thorns. My friends and I are ready for the journey. ..."
Felix was lost in thought for a moment. He wondered how many people could realize that older people always remember the past, and it is the young who fantasize about the future because the young themselves represent the future. Magic is the power that goes straight to the soul, and how many wizards will stand out in this turbulent era?
He seemed to see the curtain slowly pulling open, and it would not be a one-man drama.
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