Afternoon Gathering

In mid-August, as school was about to start, Anthony packed up his things and moved from the Leaky Cauldron to Hogwarts. His brass key corresponds to a simple wooden door on the second floor of the castle. Inside the door is his office.

There is also a hidden door in the office that leads to a secluded bedroom. The bedroom is fully furnished: a sturdy desk, chair and bookshelf, a comfortable bed with bed curtains embroidered with the Hogwarts crest, and a bathroom (Hogwarts mirrors don't speak , thank God).

Professors at Hogwarts have a high degree of freedom and can decorate their offices and bedrooms however they like. I heard that Professor Quirrell next door hung garlic on his door because he was worried about revenge from vampires.

Anthony spent some time tidying up his room and stared at the empty office in a daze. According to Professor McGonagall, professors usually decorate their offices in a way that is related to their own disciplines, so that they can continue to devote themselves to research after waking up. Professor Snape of the Potions class even built an entire Potions room for himself.

But Anthony really can't think of what he should put in his office, Muggle specimens? He's not really a dark wizard.

Besides, apart from a wand, wizards and Muggles don't have any physical differences. As for the inner anatomy... given that wizards have some bubbling potions and swishing charms, apparently they don't need to understand the anatomy of the body to heal. When preparing for the lesson, he also asked the intern clerk at Flourish and Blotts Bookstore about buying some wizard-related books on human anatomy to compare with Muggle medicine. The little girl's face turned pale with fright, and she just shook her head desperately.

So he asked the elf in the castle to help him set up a set of tables and chairs. No, no need for floor-to-ceiling windows and velvet curtains, a set of tables and chairs would be fine, thank you.

"What kind of desk and chairs do you want?" the house elf asked eagerly. "Are three drawers too few? Do you like gold handles?"

Finally, he had a stunningly gorgeous set of desks and chairs in the middle of his empty office.

The mahogany table was carefully polished and had delicate carvings on the edges (Anthony looked closer and saw a row of dancing pears). In addition to the five drawers with gold handles, the elf also thoughtfully provides additional storage compartments on the table. On the inside of the chair's curved armrests, carved pears sit around and sing. The name of Anthony was embroidered in gold thread on the velvet cushions.

"Okay, I'm very satisfied, thank you." Anthony stopped the elf who was trying to continue optimizing, and the other person's big light bulb-like eyes stared at him longingly, "I - I am really satisfied, quite perfect."

The house elf bowed to him beamingly: "My pleasure!" With a snap, it disappeared.

"It's so enthusiastic, isn't it?" Anthony walked to the bedroom and let the cat out of the backpack, "Be good and don't tear up the house."

The cat looked up at him, jumped on the bed, stepped on it, and lay down peacefully. It had a much better temper originally, but now that it has flesh and fur, it sleeps longer. Even when it wakes up, it spends a long time licking its fur. It is no longer like living in an apartment and jumping up and down every day. Sometimes it's so quiet that Anthony misses the sound of it scratching the door manically.

He couldn't hold it back, reached out and poked its soft belly, and was hugged by a paw. He lay on the bed and played with the cat for a while, then took back his hand and sat up: "No more fuss, I'll go to the staff lounge to have a look."

By chance, he arrived just in time for tea time. Professor Burbage was sitting with a witch. He saw him from a distance and waved him over with a smile.

"Anthony, our new professor of Muggle Studies." Professor Burbage introduced to the witches at the table, and said, "This is Pomona Sprout, professor of Herbology, our most recent professor." 

Anthony was immediately in awe of this professor with a kind smile. He knew almost nothing about herbal medicine. He read a few chapters of the textbook and put it aside during his make-up classes.

Those exquisite sketches, meticulous classifications, detailed explanations of functions and complex theoretical analysis can be briefly summarized in one word in his eyes: cumbersome. He was pressed for time and did not have the patience or perseverance to memorize a plant family tree.

"Finally someone is here to share your work." Professor Sprout said, nodding friendly to Anthony, "Not a graduate of Hogwarts, right? I don't think I've seen you."

"Oh! New guy!" A professor who just walked into the lounge shouted happily, "Is this Professor Anthony? Burbage has been talking about you for a long time. You don't know how much she wants to find someone to replace her."

"Who wouldn't?" joked Professor Sprout.

The professor screamed: "Pomona! Are you going to retire too!"

"She started looking for a suitable candidate last year, Filius." Professor Burbage smiled and turned to introduce Anthony, "Professor of Charms, Filius Flitwick."

Anthony's eyes immediately lit up.

He must indeed have some talent in spells. He has mastered all the required spells for the seven grades of Hogwarts and has also successfully succeeded in several advanced spells. But this emphasis on practice over theory also had its drawbacks: He didn't understand how his spell had failed. He was originally going to ask Professor Burbage or Professor Quirrell for advice, but he didn't expect to meet Professor of Charms.

Professor Flitwick was a jolly old man, very small. He deliberately raised his chair by more than ten inches before sitting on it comfortably: "What kind of tea is today?... Oh, give me some too, thank you."

The teapot flew up and poured him a cup steadily, and then two sugar cubes automatically rolled into his cup. Professor Flitwick slowly stirred the tea with a silver spoon, raised his head, and smiled at Anthony: "What's the matter, Professor Anthony?"

"I...I taught myself about the Charms." He said a little embarrassed.

"Ah, very good! Very good!" Professor Flitwick said happily, "I guess you have some magic questions you want to ask me."

Anthony nodded: "I have a lot of stupid questions. The first stupid question is: Why am I not able to cast a cleaning charm on the water available in the magic world."

"Good question, Professor Anthony, good question. This is by no means a stupid question." Professor Flitwick waved his little silver spoon, "In fact, if you asked this question to a wizard a hundred years ago, he would say he doesn't know it, but the solution is the Quick-Drying Charm. It wasn't until Adebe Wulfling defined the scope of the spell that we realized that it was because the water produced by the magic was not considered a stain, and the Cleansing Charm, from The spell, is designed to target stains."

He glanced at Anthony who suddenly understood: "You haven't read "The Theory of Magic", right?"

"No." Anthony admitted, "Is that also a textbook for Charms? I thought there was only "Standard Spells"."

Professor Flitwick said seriously: "It is not a textbook for Charms. It is the theoretical cornerstone of all classes at Hogwarts."

"I will definitely read it," Anthony promised.

"Don't be nervous, Henry, it is not the theoretical cornerstone of Muggle Studies." Professor Burbage put down the teacup, "We have no theory."

She complained to Anthony: "Wizards really don't understand Muggles very well. One of my final exams was a practical exam, and I asked them to come to the exam room with an outfit suitable for visiting a Muggle family."

Professor Sprout took a cookie and smiled knowingly. Obviously, this is not the first time Professor Burbage has told this story.

"Guess what they were wearing?" Professor Burbage asked. "Some people just went to a Muggle store and grabbed a few clothes - I don't even know if they paid for them - and wore them to the examination room. One of them even had his trademark tag not removed. When I asked him, he also told me that it was a Muggle decoration, similar to cufflinks. Charlie Weasley, he went to study fire dragons."

"And Mr. Weasley - the student's father - was fond of writing to me for a while, asking me Muggle-related questions. He asked me how cars moved, and I was surprised that he at least knew how cars worked. What, just tell him it mainly depends on the engine. A week later, he actually sent me an engine that had been removed from the car and asked me why it didn't move!"

"Also, you don't know how outdated the textbooks they originally used were. "Everyday Muggles", I remember it was called this. Their textbooks are still in the 18th century, but we are already in the 20th century!" Professor Burbage Complaining is like a dam that has opened its gates, "I changed the books as soon as I took over the office. It was a disaster. Students who were still writing about charcoal last year were suddenly told that the correct answer was natural gas. Everyone took the past textbooks and reasoned with me, trying to tell me their answer is okay.

"I had to tell them frankly that it would not do them any good to copy the answers handed down from who knows which class - because the focus of my teaching is on modern Muggles, and Muggles live around them, maybe they are the parents of their classmates. Relatives and friends. They cannot treat Muggles of the twentieth century with the same attitude they treated Muggles of the eighteenth century. This will not work. Maybe the wizards of the eighteenth century are not that different from us, but Muggles... change very quickly. "

Anthony listened sympathetically to her complaints. Professors Flitwick and Professor Sprout were both smiling and drinking tea, looking at Professor Burbage kindly, and seemed to find her chattering more interesting than what she said. Anthony felt like he might be the only person at the table who fully understood her complaint.

Professor Burbage apparently feels the same way.

"I liked you as soon as I saw how you were dressed." She said to Anthony kindly. "When he opened the door, he looked like a real Muggle, just standing at the door of the room in the Leaky Cauldron. I At that time, I was thinking to myself, where did the principal find such a Muggle person? Oh, speaking of which, how are you preparing for your class?"

When leaving the professor's lounge, Anthony had a foot-long book list in his hand. On it were the reference books recommended by Professor Burbage and the theoretical readings recommended by Professor Flitwick.