"It's not like it was a hundred years ago. With all the inventions in the Muggle world, wizards need to understand these things better to hide themselves more effectively."
Daniel Davis didn't pursue Draco's inability to answer further. Instead, he continued his lecture.
"You all should recognize this item," Daniel said, pulling out a camera. Cameras existed in the wizarding world, so the students were somewhat familiar with them.
"This was invented in the Muggle world first," Daniel explained. This wasn't a lie—every piece of technology in the wizarding world originated in the Muggle world before being magically adapted.
"And the train you all took to get to Hogwarts was also invented by Muggles and later modified by Hogwarts professors. Muggles might not be able to use magic, but that doesn't mean they're not clever," Daniel said as he waved his wand, causing a large piece of paper, about a meter long and half a meter wide, to float in front of the class.
"On this side is the history of wizarding transportation and communication over the past millennium, and on this side is the Muggle world's progress in the same areas. Study it carefully and write a summary of no less than two hundred words before our next class."
This comparison chart starkly highlighted the wizarding world's advanced technologies, like the Floo Network, which had been around for centuries. However, it also showed that wizarding communication methods had stagnated, while the Muggle world had continued to innovate.
Hogwarts' curriculum was fairly relaxed, and with first-year students being around eleven years old, Daniel couldn't overwhelm them with too much information at once. But even the brief overview he provided was enough to shock these young wizards, most of whom had little exposure to the Muggle world.
Sometimes, stating the obvious was enlightening. What Daniel was doing could be done by many others, like Grindelwald, who had chosen a more aggressive approach.
"It seems our new professor is quite good," Dumbledore remarked as he and the other professors watched Daniel's class through magical means.
Professors like Snape and McGonagall remained silent, as Daniel's lesson had left them as stunned as the students. Daniel had only shown Harry and the others a small part of his collected data, but the professors had seen much more through Dumbledore's presentation, including advancements in Muggle weaponry.
This was far more impactful than any other comparisons. For instance, Muggles using fighter jets to take down dragons—something that was possible thanks to information provided by Grindelwald.
"Newt's suitcase, Newt's house," Daniel murmured to himself, thinking of the book *Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them*. Newt's suitcase was amazing, but his house was even more extraordinary.
Facing the sea, basking in the warmth of spring.
Newt's house could have one door open to a snowy landscape, another to a blooming spring, and a third to the seaside. This was somewhat similar to the Sanctum Sanctorum of Kamar-Taj, which could switch to display different locations through magic.
In the wizarding world, most people only knew about Dumbledore, Grindelwald, and later Voldemort. Newt was primarily known for his book *Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them*, and few paid attention to his actual prowess.
In reality, Newt was one of the top wizards. Observing and caring for so many dangerous magical creatures required immense skill. He had even captured Grindelwald once, albeit with the help of his magical creatures, but that was still a significant feat.
After immersing himself in the wizarding world, Daniel realized that the magic in the Harry Potter universe, as depicted in films and books, didn't fully showcase its true power. Grindelwald, once a dark lord, possessed extremely powerful dark magic. Interacting with him had given Daniel a profound understanding of this world's magic and its complexities.
Daniel also understood that if he had fought Dumbledore without being able to use teleportation magic, he would have lost. While missiles were powerful, they posed little threat to a wizard like Dumbledore who could apparate at will.
"Password," the stone gargoyle outside Dumbledore's office demanded.
"Cockroach Cluster," Daniel said, and the entrance to Dumbledore's office appeared.
"A new little one," came a curious voice from one of the portraits as Daniel entered the office.
One of Hogwarts' miracles was its sentient portraits. The portraits in Dumbledore's office were all of former headmasters and headmistresses and could move freely between frames, even appearing in the Ministry of Magic in London.
"Today's lesson was good. We've indeed neglected the advancements in the Muggle world over the years," Dumbledore said, sitting behind his desk and eating a peculiar snack.
"It's just a different perspective on two worlds," Daniel replied, declining Dumbledore's offer of a snack. The shapes of the snacks were too strange for his taste. The wizarding world certainly had some creative minds.
Daniel wasn't particularly fond of many wizarding snacks, including Chocolate Frogs, which looked too much like real frogs for his liking.
"I've informed the other professors about your request. You can now attend their classes like any other student."
This request was something Daniel had made proactively and was one of his main reasons for coming to Hogwarts. Herbology and Potions were subjects that couldn't be mastered by reading alone; they required hands-on experience. In terms of resources, Hogwarts was unparalleled.
For magical spells, Daniel had Grindelwald, the dark lord, as a mentor. Hogwarts taught basic spells, but true combat spells were usually reserved for Aurors trained by the Ministry of Magic.
Hogwarts would teach how to defend against dark magic, but not how to use it, much like how Muggles might learn about the power of guns without being allowed to own one.
For someone with the power of the Ope Ope no Mi, not studying Herbology and Potions would be a waste. As a fellow professor, it would be impolite to disrupt other classes without a proper reason, hence the need for a good excuse.
Herbology was more manageable, but Potions was trickier. Snape, the Potions Master, was notoriously harsh. Without Dumbledore's intervention, Daniel wouldn't have had the chance to learn from him.
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"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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