Chapter 3 Invitation From the Magical World
"Okay, the priest said he can let you in."
Outside the door, Bran stood in front of the door handle with open hands and glanced at Professor McGonagall suspiciously, then reluctantly got out of the way. His black eyes reminded McGonagall of the crow's eyes he had seen on the roadside.
"Thanks."
After looking at the little boy who was guarding the door like a guard, Mag pursed his lips, showed a smile, shook his head and said thank you softly, and walked into the room.
"Hello, first time meeting you. I'm Professor McGonagall. Nice to meet you."
Professor McGonagall nodded friendly towards the two people in the room and looked around at the furnishings in the room.
As she had seen when she turned into a cat before, the room was not too big. A little girl with silver hair was standing on the edge of the bed. Benitez, the owner of the orphanage, was half lying on the bed, with a table next to it. There was unfinished breakfast on the table.
——She tried hard to restrain herself from thinking about "Scottish Chicken Soup with Round Faces".
Before coming to the orphanage, Professor McGonagall had already inquired about Elena among the residents of the town.
Unlike the situation of most orphans, the relationship between Elena and Benitez is actually more like a father and daughter. The two of them work together to run the small orphanage.
Therefore, after much consideration, McGonagall still believed that Benitez, as the "guardian", should know about Elena's invitation to study at Hogwarts, so he did not deliberately leave Benitez alone with Elena. chat.
Benitez raised his elbows from the bed, sat up halfway, and looked at the unexpected visitor with curiosity.
She looked slightly older than he estimated. Her curly black hair and amber square-rimmed glasses were very consistent with the professors in Benitez's impression. She was wearing a uniform. A coat in a traditional Scottish tartan pattern.
All in all, it doesn't look like an untrustworthy liar or an idler who comes here to play pranks - people living at the bottom are always particularly keen in this regard.
"Professor McGonagall? Please sit down." Benitez showed a thoughtful look, "Which school are you from? As far as I know, Elena has not submitted an application for admission to a school in Scotland."
Professor McGonagall glanced at the steaming soup bowl on the wooden table. He hesitated for a moment, stretched out his hand to pull the chair to the bedside, sat down with his back to the wooden table, cleared his throat, and looked at Ai with a smile. Lina.
"Our school is called Hogwarts. It is a school specially opened for people with special talents. I am here this time..."
"But - I refuse."
Before Professor McGonagall could finish speaking, Elena shook her head and interrupted unceremoniously.
"I already have my own goals and plans for the future. What's more, I don't think I can learn anything from this little-known school. So, please come back."
If this world is really the magical world written by JK Rowling, then it is not impossible that Professor McGonagall hates other people interrupting during class time. When she hears such words, she might just leave in a rage.
"Elena!"
Benitez on the side frowned slightly. In his impression, Elena was rarely so aggressive, let alone directly interrupting others. This was the first time he had seen her in these years.
"Sorry, this kid is not usually like this." Benitez rubbed the silver-haired little Loli's head and looked at Professor McGonagall apologetically to explain. After a pause, the man continued with slight confusion, "But with all due respect, I only heard about Hogwarts you mentioned for the first time today."
Professor McGonagall smiled nonchalantly and replied in a relaxed tone, "We are in the Muggle world. Well, Muggle is what we call ordinary people. It's completely normal that you haven't heard of it. Because Hogg Watts is a school of magic, a school for wizards who teach young wizards how to use and control magic."
There was silence.
Bennett was obviously stunned by this answer, and his eyes quickly scanned Professor McGonagall's eyes in turn, trying to detect the look of lying or joking in them.
"Magic...magic?" Benitez repeated softly, looking at the lady in front of him with suspicion. He began to be more inclined to support Elena's original idea. It was obvious that Professor McGonagall was a little weird.
Benitez sat up straight, ready to end this boring farce. He thought for a moment and replied politely, "You mean magic, or something like acrobatics, right? Sorry, I'm more inclined. Let Elena go to a public middle school, she deserves a better education."
"No, I mean, magic..." Professor McGonagall shook her head, and the smile on her face became brighter. She took out the wand from her pocket and waved it towards the chair. The old wooden chair turned into a "snap" There was a gorgeous high-backed armchair upholstered in goose down. "...Like this, real, wonderful magic."
After doing all this, Professor McGonagall took out an envelope made of thick parchment from his coat, placed it beside Benitez's bed, patted it gently, and glanced at the two people in front of him. McGonagall She spoke more slowly, "This is the admission notice. After all, we all know that you are not an ordinary person. Elena, you are a born witch. Joining Hogwarts will allow you to learn how to Take control and use your gifts.”
Benitez, who had always maintained a polite expression, could no longer maintain the calmness on his face. His pupils shrank unconsciously, and he looked at the chair that suddenly changed in shock, looking between Elena and Professor McGonagall. Moving back and forth, he opened his mouth feebly as if he wanted to ask something, but in the end no sound came out.
The entire room fell into an eerie silence for a while, and the air was like a frozen ice crystal that would break even if you breathed a little harder.
It may have only been a few seconds, but it seemed like several minutes. In short, Elena, who had not spoken since just now, was the first to break the silence in the room - however, it was not the same as what Professor McGonagall had imagined. Any way is different.
"oh."
The girl responded simply, lowered her eyes, and glanced at the envelope that she had seen more than a dozen times beside the bed, without even the slightest thought of raising her hand to pick it up.
"As for being born a witch? Teachers from public primary schools in Scotland have said more than once that I am a born mathematician. But this does not mean that I will definitely choose the mathematics department in the future." The girl replied expressionlessly, Apparently not touched by what Professor McGonagall said.
After a pause, Elena raised her head, looked directly into Professor McGonagall's eyes for the first time, and asked calmly.
"I'm sorry, ma'am. I guess the magic school diploma and learning experience will not be recognized by any institution in the non-magical world - that is, if you really issue diplomas."
Regarding the admission invitation to Hogwarts, Elena had already thought very clearly from the first time she received the letter from the owl. As a reborn person, she knew very well that the future from now on belonged to Muggles.
Rather than wasting seven years studying skill-based courses such as spells, potions, and transfiguration, she would rather use these precious time to deepen her knowledge in macro investment or corporate strategy. At least these can ensure She will have no worries about food and clothing for decades to come.
"As a magic school with a thousand-year heritage, every qualified graduate of Hogwarts can find a good job in the wizarding world. You don't have to worry too much about this. It seems that you don't understand, wizards Our world and the Muggle world are two different worlds, and there are still Ministry of Magic, hospitals, schools, etc. in the wizarding world."
Professor McGonagall shrugged. Most children from Muggle families would have such concerns, but as long as the existence of the two worlds is explained clearly, both parents and students can accept this fact.
"You are the ones who really don't understand. I understand the magical world far better than you think." Elena sighed. She was not going to continue this roundabout riddle-like conversation. Her delicate little face was straight, and her whole body was... The person's demeanor instantly became mature and serious.
"Professor McGonagall, I would like to ask, what is your monthly salary at Hogwarts?"
Faced with Elena's abrupt question, Professor McGonagall couldn't help but be stunned, thought for a moment, and answered humbly.
"80 gold galleons per month, but that's because I also serve as the deputy principal of Hogwarts. Compared with other teachers, the monthly salary is naturally higher. Oh, by the way, the currency used by our wizarding world and Muggles It’s different, so it doesn’t make much sense for you to ask this.”
Although the tone was extremely humble, both Benitez and Elena could clearly feel the pride hidden behind it. Obviously, as Professor McGonagall, he is quite satisfied with his treatment.
"Of course it makes sense. As long as it still exists in human society, all monetary systems can be easily understood after a simple conversion of purchasing power - wizards also need to purchase livestock, food and light industry daily consumables from us. ,Right?"
Hearing this answer, Elena raised her eyebrows unconsciously, and the light in her eyes became brighter. Even just listening to the voice, she could feel the strong sense of confidence in the girl's words, as if the king had returned to his own territory. The dominance is the same - after all, the financial industry was her profession in her previous life.
The silver-haired little loli clasped her hands together, tapping each other rhythmically with her two index fingers, and said softly, "If what I know is correct, 1 gold Galleons = 17 silver Sickles = 493 copper Nats, as far as I know one A pound of potatoes costs 25 copper knuts, and I happen to know that one pound can buy 4 pounds of potatoes. In other words, teaching you this job, which is not a bad job in the wizarding world, has a monthly salary of about 400 pounds - if you think potatoes If you cannot afford a currency conversion hub, it can also be compared to beef, toothpaste, glass, toilet seats..."
Having said this, Elena paused, tilted her head slightly, and exchanged glances with Benitez beside her. There was a hint of weirdness and humor in their eyes at the same time.
"What do you want to say?" Mag frowned, vaguely feeling that some unspeakable uncomfortable atmosphere was spreading in the air.
The girl raised her head, her snow-white neck looked like a proud goose, a trace of pity flashed in her eyes, and for a moment, Mag even seemed to hear a slight sneer.
"In this country, I mean the Muggle government you are talking about, the average weekly salary of an ordinary worker is one hundred pounds, and the salary of a full university professor is..."
Elena paused deliberately when she said this. When Professor McGonagall's eyes became a little straightened, she deliberately shook her long silver hair and spoke softly.
"£1,959."
"So what exactly are you trying to say?!"
Professor McGonagall's body unconsciously left the back of the chair and sat upright, raising her voice and asking with an unhappy look on her face.
The corner of Elena's mouth curled up slightly, and all her reactions were as she expected - the first step in sophistry is to use curiosity to disrupt the other party's rhythm, drag the topic into a field that she is familiar with, and then rely on her rich experience to gain victory.
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(Meng Meng Da You Meng is begging for food, please vote for recommendations, 嘤嘤嘤, it’s a chapter with more than 3,000 words!)
PS1: 1 gold galleons = 17 silver siko = 493 copper nat ≈ 7.33 US dollars ≈ 5 pounds ≈ 51 yuan
PS2: From 1978 to 1991, the weekly wage of an ordinary worker in the UK was one hundred pounds, according to (Ke Hua: "At the Tomb of Marx")
During the same period, the per capita salary in the United States was approximately 1,152 pounds ($1,690) per month, the salary of American teachers was 2,475 dollars per month, and the salary of new college teachers in the United Kingdom was 1,959 pounds. (Data source: U.S. Bureau of Commerce/European Education Development Overview)
The salary of an ordinary teacher at Hogwarts is roughly between 50 and 80 Galleons, and the director of the Memory Cancellation Department of the Ministry of Magic only earns 80 Galleons a month.