Chapter 61: Return (Part 2)

"The House Cup goes to Gryffindor this year," Dumbledore announced in the Great Hall of Hogwarts. Gryffindor students erupted in excitement, tossing their wizard hats into the air. The hall ceiling sparkled with bursts of light, much like fireworks in the Muggle world. Magic truly was marvelous in such instances.

Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students also looked pleased, while the only discontent came from Slytherin. It was the first time in over twenty years that Slytherin had lost the House Cup. Draco Malfoy, in particular, glared unhappily at Harry and his friends. Despite some changes in Draco, old habits die hard.

The last time Gryffindor won the House Cup was when James Potter was in school. Back then, James had truly earned it through his abilities. Harry, on the other hand, received a generous helping of points from Dumbledore, tilting the scales. Though Harry had scored plenty of points for Gryffindor in Quidditch, they were still significantly behind Slytherin. Dumbledore's additional points not only closed this gap but also put Gryffindor ten points ahead of Slytherin.

Dumbledore's reasons for awarding Harry were valid enough that even Snape, despite his displeasure, had nothing to say. The official reason given was that Harry thwarted a Death Eater plot. The return of Voldemort was not publicly disclosed, and Dumbledore made no mention of Daniel's contributions.

Daniel didn't mind this omission. He had no use for the credit, and if Dumbledore wanted to continue with his plan for Harry as the savior, so be it. 

After Professor Quirrell was dealt with, Dumbledore had spoken with Daniel. Although Dumbledore hadn't revealed his plans, Daniel had guessed them.

After the House Cup ceremony, students packed their belongings and prepared to head home for the holidays. Harry, despite his reluctance to leave Hogwarts and return to his uncle's house, had no choice.

Before he boarded the train, Hagrid gave Harry a photo album with moving pictures of his parents, undoubtedly arranged by Dumbledore.

After saying his goodbyes to Dumbledore, Daniel opened a portal and returned to London. Knowing that Grindelwald was at his house, Daniel opened the portal in London and Apparated home from there.

"Here's what you asked for," Grindelwald said, pointing to a stack of documents on the table as Daniel arrived.

With little else to occupy him, Grindelwald had been managing Daniel's ventures in the Muggle world. After months of effort, they had made some progress in the realms of novels, TV shows, and films, despite facing considerable opposition and interference.

Among the most vocal opponents was Harry's aunt, Petunia. Daniel remembered her name because of her strong protests, especially against TV shows depicting romances between wizards and Muggles. Fortunately, there was no organization like the Second Salem in England; otherwise, she would likely be its leader.

The wizarding world, on the other hand, showed little reaction to these ventures. Individuals like Malfoy would undoubtedly oppose such things, but without electricity or even any electrical appliances in their homes, they remained unaware.

Despite electricity having been invented nearly a century ago, most wizards, except a few, did not use it, including those in the Ministry of Magic.

Daniel's first phase goal was to electrify the wizarding world. Unfortunately, even Dumbledore couldn't quickly bring electricity to Hogwarts due to opposition and the practical challenges of working within a living castle.

Everything had to proceed slowly.

"This progress is too slow," Daniel sighed, looking at the report on the development of mobile phones.

Mobile phones were the key to transforming the wizarding world. Once introduced, the wizarding world would have to change, although such a shift could lead to major conflicts. Such sacrifices were inevitable; merging two worlds with different ideologies could not happen without clashes and sacrifices.

In some ways, Grindelwald's ideology was correct, but his methods were too radical, while Dumbledore was too idealistic.

"Your idea is good. If I had followed your approach back then, things might be different now," Grindelwald remarked, pouring himself a glass of wine. Although the bottle bore no label, Daniel knew it was a fine wine, perhaps even superior in quality due to its ingredients.

Despite its overall backwardness, the wizarding world had wizards who kept up with modern trends. Some old wizards, given their long lifespans, explored various hobbies, including winemaking.

Nicolas Flamel and his wife chose to end their lives, but others did not.

"Even if you knew this method back then, you wouldn't have used it," Daniel replied, setting down the documents. Grindelwald's thoughts had changed with age. In his prime, he sought quick, decisive action, not the slow, time-consuming approach.

Grindelwald was neither a pure-blood supremacist nor a Muggle supporter; he was a wizard supremacist.

In comparison, Voldemort's ideology was far less sophisticated. Despite being a half-blood, Voldemort pretended to be pure-blood and persecuted other half-bloods. This behavior was akin to collaborators during a war and was not uncommon in the wizarding world, as seen with Ministry official Umbridge.

Such individuals, mocked by pure-blood wizards in their youth, blamed their parents for not giving them noble blood rather than seeking revenge on pure-blood wizards. This mindset baffled Daniel.

It was strange that while there were half-bloods pretending to be pure-bloods and attacking Muggle-borns, there were no Muggle-born wizards retaliating against pure-bloods. This could be due to a twisted desire to integrate into the pure-blood class and enjoy its privileges.

"You're right," Grindelwald admitted after a moment's silence. His radical actions had alienated potential allies.

"What are your plans for the holiday?"

"I'm going back home. You keep an eye on things here; it's almost time to start there," Daniel replied. Transforming the entire wizarding world couldn't be done from England alone. On this, Grindelwald's broad vision far surpassed Dumbledore's and Voldemort's.

In the global wizarding power structure, the East was the weakest, with very few wizards. This situation was ideal for Daniel.

The entire East had only three magic schools: in China, Russia, and Japan.

Advancing this world's technology had always been Daniel's plan, but he hadn't shared with Dumbledore or Grindelwald which country he would start with.

Daniel felt starting with China was a good choice. The root servers for this world could be placed there.

"Very well," Grindelwald didn't object after a brief silence.

In the following days, Daniel consulted Grindelwald on various aspects of dark magic. Then he packed all his belongings and prepared to fly to China.

There were two ways to travel abroad in this world. The first was through the Muggle world via planes and ships. Due to suppressed technological advancement, planes here were slower than those in his previous life or the Marvel world.

The second way was through wizarding means. Apparition had distance limits, but Portkeys didn't. For official travel, wizards could apply for a Portkey from the Ministry of Magic, quickly reaching their destination. However, this method had many restrictions. Wizarding jurisdictions were very territorial, and without official business, the Ministry wouldn't issue a Portkey. Foreign wizards also needed to apply for entry permits, making it a complicated process.

Even private travel required such permits and constant monitoring by the host country's Ministry. Once business was concluded, the wizard had to leave.

Of course, there were ways to bypass these channels, like magical smuggling. Magical smuggling was far more advanced than Muggle smuggling; using a Portkey, one could instantly cross borders. The only drawback was the high cost.

The wizarding world's backwardness was partly due to such restrictive practices, akin to a form of isolationism.

However, China's policies in this regard were much better.

"Finally back," Daniel thought as he stepped off the plane at Shanghai International Airport. Seeing the majority of black-haired, yellow-skinned people gave him a sense of nostalgia.

Although this was another world, the familiar faces were comforting.

In this world, the existence of magic meant certain things differed from his previous world. For example, China maintained its territorial integrity.

Additionally, there was little famine. Since entering the modern era, the Muggle world could request help from the wizarding world. Even in times of poor harvests, magic could quickly produce large amounts of food.

"Once I'm settled, I can return," Daniel mused as he exited the airport, paying little attention to the shadow following him. As a Hogwarts professor, his identity wasn't completely hidden. A nation's power could easily uncover his presence, especially since he had entered the country officially as Daniel, not through smuggling.

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