Chapter 326: Magic and Science

"But how do we know if this era is the right time to break the Statute of Secrecy and reveal all wizards to the Muggle world?" someone asked at once.

And Fischer replied, "I won't tell you that now is the moment to break the Statute."

"In truth, whether this is the right time or not is something you have to judge for yourselves. Before the Muggles discover our existence, what we need to do is understand them—to see what they have achieved in these past few centuries without us, to witness the incredible things they've accomplished without magic!"

"You mean Muggle Studies?"

"Muggle Studies, heh?" Fischer repeated the words with a hint of amusement, then nodded. "Yes, that's right. But you'll soon realize—it's far from enough."

"Who knows how many centuries old those Muggle Studies textbooks are?"

"Maybe you think the wizarding world hasn't changed much over the centuries—it's just different faces, or even the same people from hundreds of years ago still alive today. But for Muggles, everything changes with each passing day."

"Centuries ago, they still relied on horses for transportation. But now, they have airplanes and automobiles. Some of you might think that's nothing impressive, that their planes are still slower than our Quidditch brooms. But in truth, their planes now soar to ten thousand meters above the ground—at that altitude, riding a broom, we wouldn't even be able to breathe."

"Others might say, it doesn't matter—we have the Floo Network, Portkeys, and Apparition… no matter how high their planes fly, we're still faster."

Immediately, someone responded, "That's a fact, sir."

The wizard who spoke wore an arrogant expression, clearly proud of his status as a wizard.

There was nothing to blame him for that.

"I know a little about what Muggles call technology," he continued with disdain, "but, if you ask me, those tricks don't compare to magic at all."

"Is that so?" Fischer didn't seem at all angry about his speech being interrupted. He simply asked calmly, "Then, sir, can you use the Floo Network to fly into space? Can you use a Portkey to bring me some soil from the moon?"

"You can't," Fischer said, "but Muggles can."

The man's face twisted with discomfort. Flustered and furious, he shouted at Fischer, "So what, you're saying Muggles are smarter than us? That they're better than me?! You're saying we're inferior, and you want us to bow down to them?!"

His face flushed red, and his shouting stoked the anger of every wizard present.

No one liked being belittled—especially when they represented not just themselves but an entire community.

At that moment, one wrong word from Fischer could have ruined everything.

Fortunately, Cassandra was there.

The proud woman stepped forward like a queen, immediately drawing all attention to herself. The spotlight was hers the moment she appeared, and every eye in the room locked onto her.

"I've never thought Muggles are smarter than wizards, nor do I think wizards are inferior to Muggles. But you certainly seem pretty inferior," Cassandra said coldly, her words sharp as a blade.

The man's face turned crimson on the spot.

"A few minutes ago, Fischer already made it clear—we're not claiming anyone is superior or inferior," she said. "It's like how goblins can forge mithril, centaurs can read the stars, and trolls have magical resistance comparable to dragons. These are abilities we wizards do not possess. Does anyone here think that makes them nobler than wizards?"

Everyone shook their heads.

"But for you, it certainly seems that way," Cassandra added, casting a cold glance at the heckler and sneering. "I wouldn't be surprised if a troll's brain works better than yours."

With that, she no longer bothered with the clownish troublemaker.

People like that existed everywhere—no matter what you did, there would always be someone jumping out to seek attention. Wasting time on them was already a kind of defeat.

Cassandra took over from Fischer and continued,

"For a long time, wizards have wanted to know how goblins forge mithril, and goblins have likewise coveted the secrets of wand-making. But both sides have kept their knowledge closely guarded."

"Because we all know, the moment goblins get their hands on wands, they'll grow restless. And the same is true in reverse—goblins understand that if wizards master their craft, they'll lose their foundation."

Cassandra said, "But now, the Muggles are displaying their brilliance for all to see. Half a century ago, they already possessed weapons capable of destroying an entire city. We can learn from them."

Learn from Muggles?

All the wizards froze, stunned.

This was something they had never even considered before. Fifty years ago, Grindelwald had also intended to break the Statute of Secrecy, but he preached wizarding supremacy. He wanted wizards to become the superior ruling class. He would never have said to learn from Muggles—he only claimed that Muggles had their uses.

For centuries, Muggle had been synonymous with ignorance!

And now, this Cyrus actually wanted them to learn from Muggles?

How absurd!

In fact, Cyrus himself understood perfectly well that such a viewpoint was bound to make many wizards unwilling to support him.

That was human nature—it was always easy to spot others' flaws, but far harder to see their strengths.

And if you went a step further and told them where others might surpass them, it felt like a thorn driven straight into their flesh.

From another perspective, Cyrus's proposal didn't seem to offer any obvious benefit to wizards.

Or rather, given the short-sightedness of most wizards, they couldn't see how breaking the Statute of Secrecy would do them any good at all.

—It might even seem less appealing than Voldemort's vision. At least if Voldemort had succeeded, wizards would have openly ruled over Muggles, turning them into their slaves.

...

"I'm giving these decaying corpses a fresh infusion of blood," Cyrus said.

At times, he truly felt that the magical world was like the Qing Dynasty of old—content to sit within its little domain, believing itself to still be the celestial empire, when in reality, those foreigners they had once looked down upon had already turned their cannons into claws, becoming wolves and tigers at their doorstep!

"The day Muggles discover the existence of wizards, the day they figure out the nature of magic, will be the day of doom for the wizarding world," he said.

Moreover, Cyrus believed that one day, Muggles would figure out where magic came from.

Magical power was, indeed, a force mastered by only a few, but since it existed, it was still part of nature, and anything that was part of nature could eventually be explained through science.

Fortunately, that day was still far off. Wizards still had time to prepare.

In fact, Cyrus had no intention of trying to enlighten those ignorant, stubborn wizards too quickly. The beliefs of adult wizards were already so deeply ingrained that they were unlikely to change. They were like rotting wood—unyielding and decayed.

Cyrus intended to let them cling to that foolish stubbornness until they completely withered away.

The ones who could truly be changed were the young witches and wizards still in school. Now, under his direction, Ilvermorny had already added a new course: Magic and Science.

Through this class, young witches and wizards would gain a broader understanding of the Muggle world. Pressured by exams, they would read books, learn about the inventions and discoveries Muggles had made over the past century, and come to understand that Muggle intelligence was in no way inferior to that of wizards.

In fact, because Muggles lacked the assistance of magic, they had been forced to rely even more on their wit and ingenuity.

In truth, Muggle methods of studying biology could offer tremendous inspiration to wizards as well.

When wizards studied magical creatures or magical plants, they might conduct a certain amount of dissection—like extracting bezoars from the stomach of a goat—but no wizard ever thought to observe the cells of magical creatures or plants under a microscope, as Muggles would.

If they adopted Muggle methods of observation, dragon blood alone would certainly have far more than just twelve uses.

To spread this mindset more broadly among the wizarding community, Cyrus even founded a magazine called Magic and Science. Under the name of the Wizarding Bank, he offered prize money for contributions. Tempted by the lure of Galleons, many were willing to learn about this so-called science and submit their work.

At first, the papers that came in were riddled with errors, almost unbearable to read—but Cyrus didn't mind. He didn't necessarily need them to be correct. What mattered was creating the atmosphere.

The purpose of having Lucius establish the Wizarding Bank was already beginning to show. Money could make wizards set aside their arrogance and actively seek to understand the Muggle world. It also gave young witches and wizards still in school a future career path in the field of "magical science."

As they grew to understand Muggles more and more, Cyrus believed that years from now, even without him, they would come to understand that the Statute of Secrecy had to be broken.

...

As for the present—

Cyrus had already returned to Hogwarts.

As he stood by the Black Lake, he could feel that the castle itself was steeped in deep sorrow.

Most of the students no longer spoke of Dumbledore's death, but the castle still mourned the passing of that great wizard.

Now, the position of headmaster had been passed to McGonagall. Like Boot, she would be a good headmaster.

But Cyrus hadn't come to see her today.

He found Harry, with Ginny and the others keeping him company.

"Come, Harry," Cyrus said. "I'm taking you somewhere."

________

Read 12 Chapters ahead:

Patreon: HornyFBI