"Oh! Wait! I sense... In this regard, you can't fool yourself, you belong to — Hufflepuff!"
The table with the most people underneath burst into a loud cheer. Steve walked over, smiling, shaking hands and hugging them. The Sorting Hat was right. When Steve heard about the qualities of Hufflepuff, a voice inside him told him he belonged there.
When Strange sat down, the Sorting Hat was silent for a long time, and then it asked, "There are many strange things in your mind, where did they come from?"
"Never mind that, which house should I go to?"
"No, no, no, I must remind you, there are many pieces of knowledge forbidden in your mind, which might endanger your safety. If you don't tell me where they come from, I will shout out now and let the teachers stop you and your parents."
The Sorting Hat said seriously, "I didn't expect that after the big war, there would still be pure-blood parents teaching their children these forbidden black magic knowledge. Which family do you come from?... Hey, wait, what's your surname? Strange? Are you a collateral line of the Lestrange Family?"
Before Strange could explain, the Sorting Hat seemed to have filled in all the blanks by itself, saying, "All right, these pure-blood families are always so audacious, thinking that I wouldn't know by changing the name?"
"This school has been in existence for thousands of years, I know some rules too. If you don't want your secret discovered, it would be best…"
"Slytherin."
When the Sorting Hat pronounced this name, its tone was a bit low and not as high and excited as before, like an echo from the distant past.
And the crowd that greeted Strange was far less enthusiastic than the other houses. They just stood up and nodded at him reservedly. One of the slightly older ones came forward, shook his hand, and said, "Welcome here, you won't regret your choice because we are Slytherin."
After the Sorting was over, everyone went back to their own communities. Quite magically, four people were divided into four different houses, so they could only get together when two students had classes together.
The first charms lesson was with Ravenclaw and Slytherin, hence Stark could discuss the usage of magic spells with Strange.
Since Stark had already gone through it once, so he cast Levitation spell without any trouble. Strange didn't move, he just concentrated on looking the magic wand in his hand, as if thinking about something. Stark seeing his actions asked, "What are you thinking?"
"You know what? What I see from this magic wand is not a kind of power." Strange stared at the magic wand as if recalling something and said, "If you have lived in Kamar-Taj for a while, you will understand that magic and human society are completely detached."
"What you have seen in human society—education, production and distribution, are entirely inapplicable in the magic realm."
He turned the magic wand in his hand and said, "What surprises me the most is that in this dream, there is an industry specifically making spell casting tools. Have you heard them saying? There is a commercial street, and even a wand shop…"
Strange shook his head and continued, "In reality, this is almost impossible, because even if we have the raw materials, the methods, and the producers, we don't have that many customers."
"Why?" Strange asked and answered himself, "Because magic is still a subject that cannot be popularized, whether a person can learn it depends not on his learning ability, the efforts he has put in, or the time he has spent, but his luck."
Saying that, he looked up at the blackboard and said, "And why they have so many buyers and customers, I think, the answer is right here."
"They have a complete education system. See? There are teachers, students, even textbooks and homework. They study and grow here, then graduate and become a member of the wizard world, each performing their own duties in this world."
Strange sighed, "Since stepping into the cosmos, I've been considering that the mission of Kamar-Taj to protect the Earth will not end with the development and strengthening of the human race. Contrarily, there are endless challenges in the universe waiting for us."
"Magic, as the most unique power that humanity can master, may not be the sharpest spear but must be the solidest shield. How to make this shield stronger to deal with the imminent dangers in the universe, is a problem I've been thinking about."
"Unquestionably, we have to take the path of parallel development of magic and technology. Where magic is inferior to technology is in its popularity."
"In elementary school, ordinary humans start with recognizing numbers, doing arithmetic, and all the way up to university's advanced mathematics; however, magic doesn't have this process."
"Is it because of the nature of magic, aren't you borrowing power from Demon Gods?" Stark asked.
"Yes, but learning how to borrow power is only the first step of magic. The magic of humans is miraculous because we have developed unique magic technology."
"Have you seen teleportation doors as convenient as ours in the civilizations of Andromeda? Even the powerful Kree, do they possess the Mirror Space? Can they utilize the Crimson Band?"
"Do you think they do not wish to?"
"Human creativity is a treasure in any field, but the problem with magic lies in the high threshold to master these technologies."
"Precisely because we borrow power from the Cosmic Sorcerer, young mages are not allowed to borrow overly powerful forces, as they can't control them, but the less they practice, the less they can control. So, only those with extraordinary talent can master these magic skills in this situation of blind men touching an elephant."
Strange looked down at the small stick in his hand, and said: "This gives me a new idea. Even though those children who just joined Kamar-Taj can't borrow powers directly from the Demon Gods, older mages can borrow the power and transform it into magical items like this wand."
"In this way, young mages also get the chance to gradually familiarize themselves with magic. If coupled with a school-like system, progressive learning, perhaps the popularization of magic could become possible."
"But the problem is, who pays for the borrowed power?"
Strange looked at Stark with a touch of surprise, he said: "Pay the price? When was that? Have you forgotten? The previous membership gifts, as well as the membership dues paid by the Demon Gods, even if the Grand Mages were running at full strength, we have enough to use until the next century."
Slapping his forehead, Stark remembered that Kamar-Taj had now transformed from a buyer to a middleman, leaving no stone unturned.
"What I'm most keen to learn is the art of wand-making, but it seems we can't leave this school." Strange touched his face with a hint of regret, "I really want to know if there is a method that allows for a smooth and efficient production of magical items."
"Kamar-Taj doesn't have such a method?" Stark asked with curiosity.
Shaking his head, Strange said: "Even a Supreme Magician relies on luck to create a defensive treasure; it's not always successful. But here..." He turned to look at the students behind him: "Even the youngest mages have a wand."
"Not just that, I heard about some treasures left by the founders of the four schools. It would be great if I could take a look." Stark pondered as he stroked his chin.
In fact, Stark is also interested in the art of casting. Although it's magic casting, it doesn't mean he can't utilize it. After all, he still has an energy core of magic.