Chapter 56: The Philosopher's Stone (Part 1)

"Truly worthy of being wizards, their physical resilience is impressive," remarked Daniel Davis as he watched the young wizards training on the Quidditch pitch. Even when they fell from their brooms, they quickly got back up and mounted them again, prompting Daniel to feel a bit nostalgic.

Since becoming the Muggle Studies professor, Daniel had been living a typical professor's life at Hogwarts, sometimes attending other professors' lectures, particularly Snape's Potions class and the Herbology class.

He also occasionally came to the Quidditch pitch to train flying. The flying class was arguably the most beloved course for the majority of Hogwarts students. It didn't require memorizing complex spells, potions, or herbology knowledge; you just needed to ride a broom and fly.

It's not just the students; Daniel also enjoyed it. Due to Ministry of Magic regulations, wizards in this world couldn't freely use brooms to fly to avoid being discovered by Muggles.

This regulation was formally adopted by the International Confederation of Wizards after the invention of cameras and telescopes.

A hundred years ago, there was no such regulation. Back then, before the invention of trains, most people rode brooms to magic schools.

Now, if one wanted to use a flying broom freely, it could only be during Quidditch matches.

One of Daniel's initial concerns was whether riding a broom would be uncomfortable, particularly causing pain in certain areas. In reality, this was not an issue. When flying brooms were first invented, there were such problems, but the wizarding world wasn't stupid. They had resolved these issues over the years.

In fact, flying brooms could have cushions added to them. For aesthetics, invisible cushions could be added to avoid looking awkward.

Moreover, you didn't necessarily have to ride a broom; you could also sit sideways on it. For instance, Daniel preferred sitting sideways on a flying broom, floating in the air to enjoy the scenery.

Riding was for acceleration.

Sitting sideways on a broom used to be a common preference among many witches. Unfortunately, in modern society, due to strict regulations on broom usage, this practice had become less frequent.

"What a boring game," Daniel muttered as he floated in the air, watching the others train.

"This is Quidditch, Professor! How can you say it's boring?" Hermione and Ron, who were nearby, looked at Daniel with disapproval. He wasn't far from the ground, and they were standing right next to him.

It wasn't just them; many students around them heard Daniel's words and looked at him with discontent. For once, the Slytherins and students from other houses were united in their displeasure.

Hermione, known for being a know-it-all, didn't like flying classes much because she wasn't good at them. However, this didn't stop her from loving Quidditch.

Quidditch in the wizarding world was like the World Cup in the Muggle world, driving fans into a frenzy. Before crossing over, many of Daniel's friends were obsessed with the World Cup, often staying up all night to watch the matches.

For well-known reasons, Daniel would watch the World Cup but wasn't as fanatical about it.

Daniel's previous remark, if said in the Muggle world, would be akin to saying the World Cup was boring in front of football fans, so it was natural to receive some disapproving looks.

"Professor, what's boring about it?" Hermione asked, voicing the thoughts of the surrounding students, who all stared intently at Daniel.

"Don't you think the scoring system with the Golden Snitch is too high? It makes the game revolve entirely around the Seekers. The Beaters, Chasers, and Keepers could practically be eliminated, leaving just the Seekers to compete directly."

Quidditch matches had no time limit and ended when the Golden Snitch was caught. With the Snitch worth 150 points, it often meant the team that caught it won, overshadowing the contributions of other players.

Gryffindor's Quidditch team wasn't particularly strong, but after Harry joined, their performance turned around.

Daniel's opinion was somewhat biased. While there were issues with Quidditch, he wasn't the first to notice them. The wizarding community had long debated this.

To address these concerns, formal Quidditch matches prioritized overall scores. Quidditch was a series of matches, with the final victory based on total points. So, winning a single match didn't necessarily guarantee a win in the overall championship.

There had been instances where catching the Golden Snitch didn't secure a championship victory, though these were rare occurrences.

After all, unless the team was extremely weak, it was difficult to create such a large point gap.

Overall, Quidditch had some fairness issues, but it also involved luck, especially in catching the Golden Snitch.

Since the match ended upon catching the Snitch, there had been awkward instances in history, such as the Snitch being caught shortly after the game began, ending the match quickly. This was frustrating for spectators wanting to watch an exciting game.

However, the real issue was when it took an excessively long time to catch the Snitch. The longest recorded Quidditch match lasted three days, which was quite dreadful.

"The best approach would be to set a fixed match duration like the Muggle World Cup. Regardless of whether the Snitch is caught, the game should end after the specified time. This way, the team's overall strength would be more apparent, rather than relying on one person to change the team's fate."

Hearing Daniel's suggestion, Hermione opened her mouth to argue but couldn't find a valid reason, so she sat back down in frustration.

As a member of Gryffindor, Hermione was well aware of her team's current situation and knew that the biggest change was Harry's addition. Harry's popularity in Gryffindor also soared because of this.

"I'm just expressing my thoughts. There's no need to take it seriously. Quidditch rules won't change anytime soon," Daniel added. Quidditch was an international sport with its own World Cup. Changing the rules would involve significant implications, especially since the Quidditch World Cup was already in the qualifying rounds. Changing rules now was impossible.

Any changes would have to wait until after this Quidditch World Cup.

"Your suggestion is excellent. I will submit it to the International Quidditch Headquarters," Dumbledore said approvingly after hearing Daniel's proposal.

Though some of the portraits of former headmasters in the Headmaster's office objected, a few supported the idea, especially the headmaster who had witnessed the three-day-long Quidditch match.

"Today, we will be learning Defense Against the Dark Arts," Professor Quirrell, wrapped in a long purple turban, began the class in his stuttering voice.

"The Philosopher's Stone, huh? I wonder what its effects truly are," Daniel thought as he stared at Quirrell's head.

The Philosopher's Stone could grant immortality and turn any metal into gold. Although with Dumbledore watching over it, the chances of obtaining it were slim, it didn't mean he couldn't observe it.

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