Chương 15: How Fragile are Muggles?
As Anthony gradually adapted to the pace of life, preparing lessons, attending classes, correcting papers, and making up for his own lessons, his life at Hogwarts became more and more stable.
Teaching only third and fourth-grade students this semester, he had enough energy to tailor his teaching to each student's aptitude, preparing different courses for different houses and grades.
These changes weren't random. Anthony reviewed the Muggle Studies syllabus at Hogwarts over the years. Initially, the course was relatively new, but with the development of the Muggle world, the teaching materials gradually became outdated.
As Professor Burbage pointed out, the course had turned into "a test of Muggle life in the 17th century" before she took over. A professor of history studying the seventeenth century might be interested in their material, but this completely defeats the purpose of the course.
Muggle Studies, as Anthony emphasized in his first class, was established to remind wizards that there are still non-magical humans in the world. They lack magical abilities but have an orderly way of life.
He found the lesson plans of Hogwarts' first Muggle Studies professor in the library. The title page of the lesson plan read: "I always remind myself how easily magic can make people arrogant."
Anthony copied this sentence onto the title page of his lesson plan.
After seeking advice from Professor Burbage, he made drastic changes to the teaching plan. The third-grade children just introduced to Muggle Studies, focused on cultivating their interest. He told them interesting stories about the Muggle world during class. The fourth-year students, having already taken Professor Burbage's course, had a basic understanding, so he could teach based on their existing questions.
Like today.
"Good morning, Professor Anthony!" A fourth-year Hufflepuff student walked into the classroom, greeting him with a smile.
"Good morning, Midgen," Anthony nodded towards the girl. "Today we are going to answer the question you asked last time: how easy it is for Muggles to die."
A Ravenclaw boy who had already sat down interjected, "Great, I have been thinking about this issue since the last time I went back. My grandfather was a Muggle, so he died long before I was born. I didn't think about how my grandmother viewed this issue."
"My father is a Muggle," Midgen said sadly. "I don't want him to die early." Her eyes turned red.
"Oh, kid," Anthony cautiously handed her a pack of tissues.
Hufflepuff students seemed generally very emotional. The last time he corrected a student during a lesson about Muggle family composition, he mentioned that Muggles did not have love potions, so there was no option for "fanatical obsession caused by love potions." The Hufflepuff boy's eyes suddenly lit up with joy.
"How beautiful, there are no lies in Muggle love. Therefore, there are no lies in the love of most people in the world," he said wistfully.
Anthony had to cruelly tell him that even without love potions, humans - whether wizards or Muggles - still have ways to deceive in love.
Although the life and death of Muggles was a question raised by themselves, he didn't want a dozen crying students leaving class afterward.
"Before class begins, let me share my personal opinion." When class time came, Anthony waved his wand and closed the door. "Muggles are indeed prone to death, but not as many wizards imagine."
"The good news is that the average Muggle lifespan is gradually getting longer. I hope this brings some comfort. They work very, very hard to solve problems that are just a potion or a charm away. So today we will first talk about Muggle medicine."
"Has anyone ever had a pick-me-up?" Anthony asked.
Nearly the entire classroom raised their hands.
"Good, then I guess I don't have to explain to you how quickly the Refresher works. A glass of Refresher can make the wizards can get rid of the cold, prevention. Of course, there's no need to bother thinking about what a cold is, right?" he said, "but cold is a very common Muggle illness, and the treatment is usually rest and proper care. Before Muggles knew why they got cold, they figured out how to deal with it."
"It wasn't until recent years - I mean wizards in recent years - that Muggle research revealed that cold is caused by something called a 'virus,' well, at least for Muggles. After the discovery of the virus, they could prevent and treat colds more accurately."
"A classic example of a 'virus' looks like this. We couldn't see it with the naked eye, but the Muggles spotted it. It was purely experience, logic, and wisdom at first, but then they got a picture of this guy. Yeah, with something that magic cannot explain," he looked at the students encouragingly.
"Electricity?"
"Yes, electricity. To be precise, an electron microscope. This is the epitome of Muggle medicine: observation, practice, research, technological advancement, and specialization. Humans are tough creatures. Where there is no magic, nature has another system growing up. If a time traveler tells me that three or four hundred years from now, Muggles have found a way to live longer than wizards, I wouldn't be particularly surprised."
The Ravenclaw boy, whose grandfather was a Muggle, couldn't help but ask, "Why?"
"Because there are so many of them and they have an insatiable curiosity. If there was a Pandora's box, they would open it. Maybe not all at once, but I can imagine them opening it bit by bit, bit by bit, and finally turning the box upside down, shaking it, and then dismantling it into carton shells next to the garbage dump," Anthony joked, "From a certain perspective, immortality may also be a magic box. But what can you do? Cats love to get into boxes. And man is a creature that loves to unbox."
He noticed that only a few people in the class smiled knowingly, and most of them looked at him in confusion since he started talking about "Pandora's Box."
"So a short answer is, because Muggles are full of curiosity and dare to try and make mistakes," Anthony explained to those who didn't understand, "What prevents them from making crazy leaps may just be self-restraint of reason, humanity, and ethics. But the knowledge they have gained so far is unimaginable to most wizards."
Anthony showed them the anatomy diagrams he bought in ordinary bookstores. "You can go into any Muggle bookstore or some Muggle pharmacies, and they sell diagrams of the structure of the human body to everyone."
He tapped the anatomy diagram and raised his voice while exclaiming, "This is knowledge! This is the knowledge that has saved countless lives! Muggles have sacrificed a lot and taken many wrong paths to get the diagrams they have today. I hope their knowledge gains respect in my class! Without magic, they discovered a way to stop a person's heart without dying and restored the heartbeat after completing the operation..."
...
"So, yes, Muggles are much more vulnerable than wizards. They have short lifespans and suffer from diseases that wizards don't experience. They put in countless efforts to explain themselves with another set of theories that wizards have a hard time understanding. When they die..." Anthony pauses, "usually it's death. The ghosts say that only wizards can choose whether to become ghosts. Wizarding supremacists will claim that this is because Muggles have no souls, thus arguing that wizards are more powerful than wizards. Muggles are superior."
He looked around the classroom. The students were watching him nervously. In addition to those who chose the course out of curiosity, he remembered that several students told him that they chose Muggle Studies because they had close Muggle relatives and friends.
His eyes met Midgen's. She covered her mouth and shook her head wildly.
Anthony smiled at her, "But death has no meaning to the living."
"No one really knows what it's like after death. In realms that magic cannot explain, there may be electronic ghosts roaming the world... As for life, Muggle studies tell us that Muggles are just as - if not more than wizards who are good at living."
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