bacchusnovels Chapter 450 The Combination of Magic and Technology
Chapter 450 The Combination of Magic and Technology
Chapter 450 The Combination of Magic and Technology
Finally, Sean broke the silence by speaking first.
"Miss Granger, it's not appropriate to barge into someone else's room."
"I'm sorry, Professor."
That was Hermione's voice, low and filled with obvious shame.
However, another "Sorry, Professor" came from the side immediately afterward—it was Tonks' voice; she seemed to have completely immersed herself in her role.
Hermione heard the voice, abruptly raised her head, and then quickly lowered it again.
Her intuition was right.
This person is indeed my future self.
That being the case——
Why not bring up the request you didn't have a chance to make last time?
However, we need to confirm this again before proceeding.
After making her decision, Hermione suddenly looked up at "herself" and Professor Phillips.
Did you—talk to the professor about that?
Looking at Hermione, who was staring at him expectantly, Tonks was not only confused but also nervous.
She was afraid that Hermione would find out if she didn't answer something correctly.
What's wrong?
What exactly happened?
But now that things have come to this, even if she doesn't know exactly what happened, all she can do in this situation is bite the bullet and agree.
Tonks nodded slightly.
"I told the professor."
As soon as she finished speaking, Hermione seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, exhaling deeply as if the boulder pressing on her chest had finally been lifted.
The matter that had troubled her for months finally had an answer.
This feeling is hard to describe in words.
Now, she no longer needed to personally bring up that incredibly shameful incident with the professor.
A deep sense of gratitude welled up in Hermione's heart, and her gaze fell on "herself".
"Thanks."
Tonks pursed his lips and responded calmly.
"You're welcome, it's my pleasure."
Sean found it somewhat amusing to watch the two girls chatting on different wavelengths.
Such an absurd scene could probably only happen at this moment.
Seeing that Hermione still had questions for Tonks, Sean coughed lightly, pulling Hermione back from her excited state.
"Don't I have anything to say here?"
Hermione then turned her gaze away from "herself," her expression somewhat blank.
I'm so happy!
She almost forgot the professor was still there. A slightly embarrassed smile appeared on her face. She bowed slightly and said in a low voice, "Sorry, Professor, I was a little distracted just now."
Tonks quickly nodded, "I'm sorry, Professor."
The moment Hermione bent over, Sean caught a glimpse of her slightly lowered figure, and even though it was only for a brief instant, Sean's gaze involuntarily drifted to Tonks standing nearby.
If he meant if—
There are two Hermiones at the same time—
What kind of experience is that?
I doubt anyone wouldn't want to give it a try.
Hermione seemed to sense the different atmosphere as well, and her body stiffened slightly involuntarily.
When she looked up again, she noticed that her future self was still naked, and her overly ripe breasts trembled slightly as she apologized.
Professor Phillips's gaze, which kept shifting between himself and "himself," made her somewhat uncomfortable.
But she couldn't quite explain why she felt so uneasy; perhaps it was simply because the atmosphere was too subtle.
Hermione coughed lightly and said in a low voice, "If there's nothing else—then I'll take my leave, Professor."
Seeing this, Sean originally wanted to tease Hermione, but then he felt Tonks' pleading look.
If things go wrong this time, it will be difficult to trick Tonks into impersonating someone else next time.
Out of consideration for Tonks' feelings, Sean nodded, indicating that Hermione could leave.
Hermione blushed briefly, said "sorry" again, and then quickly turned away.
After seeing Hermione hurriedly leave the office in the silver mirror, Sean turned his head and his gaze fell on Tonks.
At this moment, Tonks had collapsed into a ball, much like a dough ball after being subjected to high pressure, lying on the ground without any strength, supporting himself with his hands and panting heavily.
What she had just experienced was far beyond her capacity to bear.
Compared to the life-or-death tension of fighting the dark forces in the Death Eaters' lair, the scene before her was undoubtedly much heavier and more unbearable for her.
If possible, she would prefer to return to the Death Eaters' lair and fight them to the death.
Social death, this unbearable shame and embarrassment, was even more unbearable for her than actual death.
Looking at Tonks, oh no, "Miss Granger," who was limp and lifeless like a lump of mud.
Sean smiled and extended his hand.
Now, the problem is solved.
It was time to get back to business. After several fierce battles, Tonks finally collapsed onto Sean like an octopus crushed by the fighting, his body as limp as a rubber toy that had lost all its bones.
She raised her head resentfully, her eyes filled with helplessness and resentment.
"Senior, do you think it's fun?"
"It's fun."
Sean nodded earnestly, and meeting Tonks's increasingly resentful gaze, he patted her heavily.
"Ugh..." Tonks shuddered, burying her face in Sean's chest, her voice tinged with a hint of grievance, "You really... have absolutely no sense of chivalry."
"Someone was quite proactive just now, wasn't he?" Sean chuckled softly, his fingers gently stroking her back, feeling her rapid heartbeat gradually calm down.
Tonks clung to him, his warm breath brushing against his neck, making him feel a little distracted.
"Continue with camouflage training next time."
"I, I—"
"Training can't stop, junior."
"Okay—. Alright—"
Late at night, back in his room, Tonks suddenly thought of a question.
Something seems off!
Why isn't Hermione surprised at all that her future self is "playing" with her senior? Could it be that the next day...
The morning air was crisp and slightly damp.
Although the storm has stopped, the thick dark clouds have not yet dissipated, and the world has not yet fully recovered from the storm's shadow.
Therefore, the ceiling of the auditorium was still shrouded in gloom.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione ate breakfast while staring at their new term schedules. Above them, bluish-gray clouds churned, threatening to crush the entire sky.
A few tables away, Fred, George, and Lee Jordan were discussing how to use magic to increase their height so they could sneak into the Triwizard Tournament.
"Not bad today—I spent the whole morning outdoors." Ron's fingertip traced the timetable, stopping at the Monday section, and he sighed. "Herbalism class, with Hufflepuff; Protecting Magical Creatures class—damn, with Slytherin again."
"I have two more Divination classes this afternoon." Harry looked down and sighed—Divination was his least favorite class besides Potions, especially since Professor Trelawney always predicted his death, which annoyed him immensely.
"Why don't you just drop this course like I did?" Hermione suggested cheerfully as she spread a thick layer of butter on a slice of bread. "That way you can take a more academic course, like arithmetic divination."
"You've started eating again," Ron remarked, noticing the jam on Hermione's bread slice was so thick it was almost overflowing.
Harry noticed this too—Hermione seemed to be in a very good mood today.
"Did Professor Phillips give you some advice?" Harry asked curiously.
Hermione paused, her smile freezing slightly.
The main reason she was happy today was that matter—compared to the elf's rights, she almost forgot—something she should have brought up when she went to see the professor yesterday.
However, looking back on that occasion, it was simply not a suitable time to discuss the rights of house-elves.
So she took a deep breath, raised her chin, and said with a hint of pride, "I've thought of a better way to make my position on the rights of the elves clear."
"Yeah—? And you're starving too," Ron chuckled, his tone relaxed.
Just as they continued their conversation, a rustling sound of wings suddenly came from above.
Hundreds of owls flew into the auditorium through the open windows, delivering the morning mail to everyone.
They hover in the air, searching for their recipients.
A large, tawny owl flew toward Neville Longbottom and dropped a package precisely onto his lap—Neville almost always misplaced things when packing.
On the other side of the hall, Draco Malfoy's owl landed lightly on his shoulder, seemingly having brought candy and cake from home once again.
Harry also received a package; it was a letter from Sirius Black:
Dear Harry,
I've been living a great life lately, traveling to many places and seeing lots of new and interesting things. I'm in a relatively safe place now, so don't worry, everything's fine.
If you have any questions, remember to ask Professor Phillips for help; he is a trustworthy person.
I hope you're doing well. Don't worry too much about me. Take good care of yourself.
Always support you
Sirius Black.
Several photos were also included.
The first photo shows Sirius standing on a golden sandy beach.
The sunlight cast a long, slender shadow over him, and the sea breeze tousled his long, black hair. A bright, long-lost smile graced his face, a stark contrast to the haggard appearance Harry remembered him having just escaped Azkaban.
The second photo was of him on a high mountain, with snow in the distance and a continuous mountain range in the background; the other photo showed Sirius in front of an ancient castle, with a smug smile on his face, pointing into the distance. Seeing these photos, Harry breathed a sigh of relief and even had the idea of traveling with Sirius. The three boys saw Sean again in the afternoon during their Muggle Studies class.
This class was slightly more serious compared to the fun and engaging Muggle Studies class last semester:
"Today, we're going to talk about the history of Muggles and how they view the magical world."
"Muggles are unaware of our existence, yet they can do things better than us in certain areas. For example, their technology, while not as directly effective as magic, is highly innovative in many fields."
As he spoke, Sean walked to the blackboard and quickly wrote down a few keywords: technology, creativity, fear of ignorance.
"Muggle technology has made tremendous progress, especially in recent centuries." Sean turned to the students. "They have created tools and machines that we cannot even imagine, from flying machines to computers to communication technologies. All of these have surpassed many applications in our magical world."
He paused, his gaze sweeping across each student in the class. "But despite this, their understanding of magic is often filled with fear and misunderstanding. Have you ever wondered why we always have to hide our existence? Why Muggles are always so afraid of magic, even though they know we can do some 'miraculous' things?"
The classroom suddenly fell silent, and Sean's tone was stern.
Here, he is alluding to the witch hunts of hundreds of years ago and the creation of the Witchcraft Secrets Act.
Before this—
Muggles fear wizards because wizards can do things that they cannot.
With the support of the technology tree, Muggles can also do things that wizards can do, and even things that wizards cannot do, using technological products.
So, will this kind of fear still arise?
Indeed, this is a very good proposition.
Sean cleared his throat and analyzed the problem from the perspective of both Muggles and wizards.
"The fear of ignorance is a common Muggle reaction to magic. They cannot comprehend this power, so they choose to avoid or even reject it. We, too, may be walking down this path to some extent."
"Technology and magic seem to be two completely unrelated fields."
"But in reality, they can intertwine in certain places. Muggle innovations are sometimes more practical than our magic."
"Have you ever considered that if Muggles knew about magic, would they find a more effective way to use it than we do?"
“For example,” Sean continued, “like flight. Muggles have invented flying machines through technology. Although they don’t have the magic to ‘fly,’ technology allows Muggles to achieve speeds and distances far exceeding those of wizards’ flying brooms. If Muggles could understand and learn magic, how do you think they would use those powers?”
"Perhaps, in some ways, the limitations of magic are precisely what we've overlooked."
Sean paused for a moment, then walked back to the podium.
"Magic is powerful, but it can't accomplish some of the specific, systematic tasks that Muggle technology can. There are many things we can do that Muggles can't, but conversely, there are many things that Muggles can do that we can't match."
Some of the more astute young wizards in the audience had already begun to understand what Sean meant.
The power of technology or the power of magic are only one aspect of power.
The application and divergence of these two different forces were not for the purpose of better comparison and finding superiority, but rather to make them see more clearly the blind spots in their own world.
If magic could be combined with technology, perhaps they could create a power even greater than that of a single field.
"So," Sean's tone grew more composed, "in the future, should we set aside our prejudices and try to collaborate with Muggle technology, instead of simply viewing it as an adversary?"
"If Muggles knew we existed, would they view us differently?"
He looked around at the faces of the young wizards present and asked, word by word.
"Could technology and magic one day work together to create a completely new world?"