【Yo Deng】Badger and Snake

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Fifteen Years Later

Dear Professor Butler:

Thank you for your letter of greeting.I'm fine and settled in Hogwarts.As you said, this castle has endless charm, especially suitable for me who has a strong interest in the history of British magic; unfortunately, I have only lived in it for a month, and I am probably less than [-]% of its excavations.

As a fifth-year exchange student from the Institute of Magic, I was arranged to study at Libertas College.Compared with the other four colleges, this college established seven years ago is like a baby in its infancy, and even has the nickname "Fifth College" among Hogwarts students, which shows its short history.

Although the history is short, it is a witness that Hogwarts got rid of the old impression of "stuck in its own way".The International Federation of Schools of Magic was established after the Second British Wizarding War. When the Magic Institute, Waduga, Ilvermorny and other prestigious schools sent students to communicate with each other, only Hogwarts took advantage of the "post-war recuperation" Reason has shut the doors of one of the oldest wizarding schools in the world.I don’t need to elaborate on the disadvantages of this move: British history of magic, wizarding literature, and magical creatures are gradually closed to research fields, and there are fewer and fewer Quidditch clubs that can make their mark in the international arena... Hogwarts is intoxicated In its long history, it was not until 2023 that with the establishment of the "Fifth College" Libertas, the first batch of international students from all over the world was ushered in, and its mysterious veil was lifted.

Like other colleges, Libertas College has its own animal symbol: the dove.I think this is very suitable for Libertas Academy, which symbolizes communication, freedom and mutual respect.Libertas' dormitory was built on the water in the middle of the Black Lake, in contrast to the Slytherin house at the bottom of the lake.There are not many students here, so the dormitory environment is quite good; except for the foreign students, there are Hogwarts students who are not satisfied with the original sorting results-I am very surprised that Hogwarts is still using a magic called "Sorting Hat" The props are screened, and until seven years ago (before the establishment of Libertas), students were not given any opportunity to choose their own colleges.I watched the sorting ceremony this year: the headmaster called the names of the students one by one, asked them to go up and put on the hat, and then let the hat make a choice.If they are dissatisfied with the decision made by the hat, students can declare themselves to Libertas College instead; if they feel unable to adapt after entering the college they are assigned to, they can also apply to transfer from their original college to Libertas College , but there is only one chance of this kind of transfer.

This style also reflects the stubbornness of the British to some extent.I say this not because I have any prejudice against the British, but because I have seen the prejudice that the British have against their own countrymen.You must know more about the Second Wizarding War than I do. Naturally, you also know that Voldemort came from Slytherin House, so even today, there are still many prejudices against Slytherin House——I have seen one with my own eyes. A young Slytherin student was bullied by Gryffindor seniors in public. He was turned into a mole and kicked as a ball. It was only after I informed the dean that he came to stop it.

Our dean is young, only in her thirties; but after she stopped the bullying, I saw the wrinkles and tiredness that could not be concealed.As Dean Libertas, what she usually tells us most is respect and friendship, but such things happen in the school where she teaches—I can imagine and understand her profound sense of powerlessness.

This incident is also the reason why I became interested in the history of Hogwarts school.I interviewed Professor Binns (you can't imagine that Hogwarts actually uses ghosts to teach!), and after answering my questions in detail, he told me that Hogwarts is much better today than it used to be - change Most of them are reflected in the unobvious but subtle places: the reform of the college cup system to the model student commendation system weakens the competitiveness among different colleges; the Quidditch house competition is completely replaced by the club competition system, which also weakens the competitive factor; In the same way as Fameni, it is no longer a college-to-college class, but an individual pick-and-go system; the most subtle thing is that the dining hall in the auditorium was originally four college long tables, but in Libertas College After the establishment, it was changed to countless round dining tables...

Even if this is done, the prejudice between the colleges still exists, one can imagine how serious the discrimination used to be.It is for this reason that there are exceptionally many Libertas students from Slytherin.

At the end of my talk with him, Professor Binns said that if I was interested, it would be a good topic for a final thesis.I told him that I was planning to start preparations, and Professor Binns then recommended another interview subject to me: Yu Koito, the dean of Libertas College and the first-year flight professor at the time.

Professor Koito is a British person of Japanese descent. In the group photo attached to the letter, she is standing in the center of the first row (the witch with shoulder-length orange hair).She is very gentle and approachable, but I am still nervous about this interview because I have heard that Professor Koito is one of the driving forces behind a series of reforms at Hogwarts in recent years.

When I finish the interview, I will sort out another manuscript for you, I hope you can read it.

Yours sincerely,

Yano Mori

※※※

With a soft "bang", the list of the new Quidditch Club Tournament appeared on Koito Yu's desk.She stopped the quill pen dipped in blue-black ink, reached for the roll of parchment, opened it, glanced at it, and stamped her seal on it.

The parchment was put into a side box and disappeared again.Koito supported his forehead, tapped the table with his knuckles, and carefully thought about the words and sentences of the document in his hand; but the disturbing "bang" sounded again.

She put down the pen slowly, raised her head, and was surprised to see a bunch of red roses in full bloom being placed in the square box used for sending.

Before Yu could make a move, there was a knock on the door right after him.After reacting, she smiled helplessly, picked up the bouquet of flowers, walked to the door and opened it herself.As she expected, a black-haired witch was standing upright in front of her eyes, the silver badge symbolizing the Ministry of Magic gleaming on her black robe.

"May I ask what crime you have committed, so that the deputy director of the Department of Law Enforcement came to visit?" The orange-haired woman took two steps back teasingly, so that the other party could enter the door; the latter took the door very smoothly, and said softly : "Stealing heart, do you think it's serious, huh?"

"I didn't do anything," Yu pretended to be innocent, "this bouquet came out by itself."

"Oh," the deputy director hugged the woman's waist very affectionately, "Then you mean I threw myself into my arms?"

"You said it yourself." Yu pushed her away with a smile, and stuffed the rose back into her hand, "I said many times not to send flowers, and I don't know how to deal with it."

Qihai Dengzi seemed to be clutching flowers pitifully, and followed her: "Isn't this trying to add some color to your office? If you don't like it, I'll just throw it away."

"Hey, don't—" You turned around immediately, and seeing the black-haired woman smiling slyly, she knew she had been tricked, and couldn't help shaking her head: "Okay, let's get down to business, why are you here suddenly?"

"It's nothing." Qihai pulled out the willow wand and sent the bouquet of flowers back to the two of them's home. "It's just a school board meeting, so I stopped by to see you."

"You held a school board meeting today?" Yu was a little surprised, "What did you say?"

"It's the same," Nanami shrugged. "The die-hards are picking on Libertas again, accusing you of encouraging students to participate in the same-sex marriage referendum parade last time."

"How long has it been, why are they still thinking about it?" Yu was a little dumbfounded, "It was a pure student movement, and I didn't do anything."

"I was very surprised when you said that all members of Libertas participated in the parade," Qihai sat down on the sofa opposite Yu, "As far as I know, there are also many students from pure-blood families in Libertas." Should it be said that the environment changes people, or something else..."

In the middle of speaking, she changed the subject and asked with a smile: "Are you free tomorrow night, Professor Koito?"

"What's wrong?" Yuu looked up at her.

"Of course I'm on a date," Qihai stomped her feet in dissatisfaction, "Don't you forget, tomorrow is Valentine's Day—"

"——and our thirteenth wedding anniversary," Yuu rolled up the parchment with a smile, and planted a kiss on the woman's forehead, "I will never forget it. Even a busy person like you can take time off, I Naturally, I will accompany you."

Qi Hai squinted her eyes, and pulled the woman down by the collar of her robe: "Not enough..."

"Please forgive me, this is an office—"

He was silenced halfway through the conversation.Koito Yu struggled a few times at first, and then let her go; how difficult this woman is, she has the most say.

Lips and tongues were fighting to the point where Qi Hai couldn't help but unbuttoned the collar of Yu's robe.Yu was startled, jumped up immediately, and gasped in embarrassment: "Wait, wait a minute—"

The knock on the door sounded just right, making Qihai's movements stagnate: "Who?"

"Probably Yano-kun is here," Yu wiped his mouth, straightened his collar, and the flush on his face faded a lot, "He has an interview homework to do, I made an appointment with him at five o'clock—I just wanted to talk to you As you said, you end up one after another..."

She stared into those slightly watery sea blue eyes, and her voice gradually weakened.Qihai circled her waist pitifully: "We haven't seen each other for three days..."

"...Not now," Yuu made up his mind and got up from her body, "You also tidy up, and I will open the door."

Yano Mori had no idea what kind of lingering relationship he had interrupted.After getting permission from the dean of his family, he stepped into the door with great interest, and then his eyes were attracted by the black-haired witch sitting on the sofa with crossed legs: "Professor? I didn't know you had visitors..."

"It's okay, this is my wife," Yu raised the corners of her lips, "She just finished the school board meeting, so she stopped by to see me."

"Oh, oh..." The boy stared straight, "You, hello..."

"Hello," Qihai shook hands with him, "I am the deputy director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Qihai Dengzi."

Yano Mori's eyes widened: "No, very honored!"

Noticing that his hands began to tremble slightly, Qihai smiled, turned around and said, "Yo, I'm leaving first, so I won't disturb your conversation."

Unexpectedly, Yu Koito gave an unexpected answer: "It's okay, maybe you will be interested in what Yano-kun wants to interview."

※※※

Dear Professor Butler:

...My interview with Professor Koito ended very smoothly.To my surprise and delight, I not only interviewed Professor Koito, but also met her wife, Ms. Nanami Toko, then Deputy Director of the Department of Legal Enforcement of the British Ministry of Magic.

As far as I know, Ms. Nanami is also one of the youngest Hogwarts trustees ever.From their conversations, it is not difficult to find that there is a romantic love story hidden in the great changes of Hogwarts in the past ten years.I didn't have the chance to see the whole story of this love story, but I was lucky enough to glimpse the tip of the iceberg of their memories - that small wedding held in the deep forest of Iceland...

※※※

November 2018, 2, Iceland.

A beautifully decorated carriage descended from the sky and stopped at the gate of the Scurathon Mansion.The aged butler respectfully opened the door and helped Hestin Rutherford out of the car.

"Where is that woman?" Before standing still, the blond witch asked aggressively.

"The two brides are getting dressed," the old housekeeper bowed. "The guests want to take a rest in the hall, or go directly to the wedding venue?"

"Let's go directly to the venue, please lead the way." Hestin snorted through his nose, feeling a feeling of disappointment or anger in his heart - it was clearly the woman who handed her the invitation, but she didn't come to greet her in person - Where did Qihai Dengzi put her, the heir of the main family, in his eyes?

Thinking of the position of heir, the farce with Qi Hai a few years ago came to mind again.Hestin Rutherford couldn't help stomping on the carpet even harder, as if she wanted everyone to know how reluctant she was.

——This kind of reluctance melted inexplicably when Qihai threw the bouquet at her.

Looking at the couple smiling like flowers, her body couldn't help moving; the hands holding the bouquet seemed not to be her own, and the bouquet also exuded a refreshing fragrance—before she could react, she There was also a smile on his face.

Once you smile, it's hard to take it back.She had to bite the bullet and shake hands with Qihai Dengzi to make peace, and then gave up her original idea of ​​"making a big wedding".

"I still don't like you," Histin squinted his eyes because of the fragrance of the flowers, "but I wish you a happy union for a hundred years."

"Thank you." Qihai Dengzi smiled happily, wrapping his other hand around his wife's waist.

Declining the invitation of the centaur master of ceremonies, Froze, Hestin Rutherford set out on his way home with a bouquet of flowers.Nanami Dengzi and Koito Yuu saw her off, and she looked at the hands they held together from the beginning to the end, and a part of her heart suddenly became hot.

--so good.

she thinks.

Probably everyone who sees them will think so.

——With these two people together, no matter what kind of difficulties can be overcome.

Leaning against the car window, Hestin Rutherford closed his eyes.

——End of full text——

Epilogue·Love Letter

dear yoo,

I wrote a love letter with 26 words.

You can't send it out and you can't send it, because you don't exist in this world.

Still, I don't regret the time and energy I spent because it's the only time I can spend with you and the closest I can get to you.

May she love you as much as I do.

May she be with you in happiness and well-being.

foggy mountains

2019. 1, 18