bacchusnovels Chapter 530 The First Lesson of the New Semester
Chapter 530 The First Lesson of the New Semester
Chapter 526 The First Class of the New Semester (Part 1)
"Miss Borns."
Tonks naturally sat down opposite Susan, ordered a plate of toast topped with a golden-brown fried egg, and then took the initiative to exchange pleasantries with Susan.
"How was your summer vacation?"
Susan looked at Tonks sitting in front of her and was somewhat at a loss.
Everyone has had this experience to some extent:
When you haven't been in touch for a long time, or when someone you don't know well suddenly sends you a message and you start exchanging pleasantries.
Anyone would feel a sense of panic.
This is especially true for introverted people like Susan.
"Very, very good," she stammered, her wrist trembling slightly as the bacon she had just picked up fell onto the plate.
Seeing Susan's flustered appearance, Tonks found it unusually amusing.
After quietly noting down this aspect of the other person's personality, he then started talking.
"Don't be nervous, Miss Burns, it's just a casual chat."
It was indeed just casual conversation. Tonks then started by mentioning Director Burns, gradually opening up the topic. With this deliberate attempt to ease the atmosphere, Susan slowly emerged from her withdrawn state.
"Did you come to see me about your aunt?" she asked.
"No, no." Tonks shook his head. "It's just that my dueling club is short of members and is recruiting young wizards from Ministry of Magic families."
"The world outside is in chaos right now, so it's always a good idea to learn more about dueling to protect yourself."
She made up an excuse.
"You fifth-year wizards will soon be taking the O.W.L. exams. You only have three more years left in school, so you need to think about what's to come. Joining the Duel Club will help us improve our grades together."
"6
The long passage that follows is about life itself.
Tonks only gave up after Susan, in a daze, agreed that she would have time to visit the dueling club this week.
"This weekend at 7 p.m., in the classroom at the end of the corridor on the third floor of the castle."
"See you there."
"...
'
It took Susan a long time to recover after watching Tonks' departing figure.
What just happened? Was it a dream? Looking at the bacon on my plate, I think I've found the answer.
A light drizzle was falling from the sky, and Susan sat in the classroom, somewhat absent-minded.
It's not just what Tonks just said; this subject also bears some responsibility—Professor Binns's History of Magic has always been so dry. If Professor Binns's lectures could be recorded, they would be a godsend for those suffering from insomnia.
This lesson is about the War of Giants.
"Giants were once a powerful force in the history of the magic world."
"They are enormous and incredibly strong, but have limited intelligence and are easily provoked, which eventually led to conflict with wizarding society."
"The First War of Giants took place several centuries ago, when the existence of giants began to pose a threat to wizarding society, especially as they became aware of their own power."
"The causes of the war were very complex, involving both territorial disputes and challenges to the magical world's order. It was initiated by a giant leader named Grove, who led a massive army with the intention of occupying—"
"————"
Compared to magic class, Professor Tonks' dueling club didn't seem so scary, Susan thought. During this time, she also pondered why Tonks had invited her to join the dueling club.
Finally, she came to the conclusion that, besides being her aunt, what other reason could Amelia Borns have for Tonks to contact her? Could it be for her sake?
Thinking of the latter, Susan smiled.
How could that be? I know my own limitations. So, the next question is...
What influence can I have over Director Bones?
Was it to please his aunt?
But—she had clearly heard that her aunt's relationship with Professor Phillips and the Aurors under him was not good, not to mention the relationship between Professor Tonks, who was Professor Phillips's rumored girlfriend, and her aunt.
So, why did Professor Tonks contact him?
Sean stood in front of the podium, looking at the young wizards sitting neatly below.
He noticed that many of the young wizards were wearing badges of the Tornado Team on their chests.
That's because the Tornado team had just won the club championship a few months prior, and with their victory, more and more people began to follow the team, with the badge on their chests becoming their symbol.
This phenomenon is extremely common in both the wizarding and Muggle communities.
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Take Leicester City in football as an example. This team, led by a group of "unknown" veterans, unexpectedly won the Premier League title.
As a result, within just a few months, tens of thousands of "ten-year veterans" began to emerge, claiming that they had never missed a single Leicester City game and even boasting about it on social media, as if they had been loyal supporters of the team from the very beginning.
This phenomenon has long been a regular occurrence in society.
Any team that achieves a breakthrough or glory will always attract a large number of followers.
The enthusiasm of these new fans brought more attention to the team, boosted sales of merchandise, and also drove economic growth.
From the team's perspective, this is undoubtedly a good thing.
Regardless of how many of these new fans are genuine supporters, they at least bring attention and capital, boosting the team's visibility and brand building.
However, for longtime fans, especially those who have been steadfast in their support of the team from the very beginning, the feelings are much more complicated.
To them, these emerging "new fans" often appear extremely hasty and insincere. In their eyes, these people are merely "following the trend" and cannot truly understand the team's history and culture.
Nobody likes having their team, which they've been loyal to for years, suddenly being casually exploited and packaged by unsuspecting "new faces," as if their beloved team were just a fashionable symbol rather than a deep emotional bond.
This phenomenon is not limited to sports.
Music, movies, television programs, actors—any field with a fan base will inevitably encounter similar situations.
As mentioned earlier, it's hard to say whether this phenomenon is good or bad.
But what Sean wanted to talk about in this lesson was precisely related to this phenomenon, analyzing the reasons for its formation, rather than analyzing whether it was good or bad.
"Do you guys like the Tornado team?" he asked.
Meanwhile, the three little ones' first class of the new semester has already begun.
"Quiet," Snape said coldly, closing the classroom door behind him.
He didn't actually need to order everyone to be quiet.
Whenever the classroom door closes, the whole class immediately falls silent, and all their small movements stop instantly.
This is Snape's inherent aura, or rather, his "threatening presence."
"Before we begin our classes today."
Snape strode to the podium and looked around at the students.
"I want to remind you that next June, you will face an important exam where you will demonstrate your mastery of potion-making and usage. Although some of you in this class are indeed a bit slow-witted, I expect you all to barely pass the O.W.Ls exam," otherwise—I will be very angry.
-
His gaze fell on Ron, who gasped in fright, feeling a chill run down his spine.
"Of course, by next year, many of you will no longer have the opportunity to continue taking my classes," Snape continued, his tone more serious. "I only select the best students for my NEWTs Potions class, which means that some of us will have to say goodbye."
He pursed his lips slightly and aimed the light precisely at Harry.
Harry stared back defiantly, feeling a strange sense of joy at the thought of soon being free from Potions class.
"However, we need to persevere for another year before that moment of farewell arrives."
"Therefore, regardless of whether you plan to take the NEWTs exam, I suggest you focus your efforts on meeting my high expectations for OWLs students."
"Study this course well and strive to be as excellent as possible."
"Today, we will prepare a potion that is often used in the regular wizarding level exams: the calming agent, which can soothe and relieve feelings of agitation and anxiety."
"You have one and a half hours. Let's begin."
The young wizards below erupted in excitement when Sean mentioned the hottest Quidditch team of the moment.
Compared to the Potions classroom, one felt like summer, while the other felt like winter.
"The Tatshill Tornadoes were founded in 1520!"
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"At the beginning of this century, the team won the League Cup five times in a row, breaking the league record!"
"At the start of this season, the Tornadoes were far ahead of the pack!"
The history and current status of the Tornado Squad were recounted in great detail by these young wizards.
What excited the young wizards even more was that Sean actually gave extra points to the students who answered the questions correctly.
Although it was only one point, it was enough to ignite their greater enthusiasm for the first lesson of the semester.
If you can get extra points in the first lesson, then you'll get extra points every day in the following lessons, right?
This is how you get good luck.
"So you like them because they won the championship?" Sean continued to ask.
"Of course," a student replied eagerly.
And who doesn't like to win?
Even the most die-hard fans will feel bad if their favorite team keeps losing, and may even refuse to go to the team's home stadium to support them.
The game is like this; usually, there's only a winner and a loser.
The winner takes three points, the loser gets nothing.
No one mourns defeat; there are only people cheering for victory!
Moreover, watching a sports competition always gives you a sense of being there.
If a player on the team doesn't perform well, the audience might even feel that they could play better than him, and this feeling can affect how much the audience likes the team as a whole.
In a competition, who would like to put themselves in the shoes of the underdog?
Just looking at it is already frustrating enough, let alone fantasizing about it.
"Very good," Sean paused, then asked a new question, "If their team's players transfer next year, and the existing players and new players don't mesh well and perform below expectations, will your enthusiasm and love for the team fade as a result?"
The noise in the classroom immediately subsided.
Some students lowered their heads and felt uneasy when they thought about the possibility Sean mentioned.
However, the reasons for this unease are currently unknown.
Perhaps they are die-hard fans of the team, and the thought of this possibility makes them worried and afraid; perhaps they don't think they can hold on until then, and might "run away at the last minute"; perhaps they—
"What I want to talk about today is related to the team, and it's also related to you all."
"I want to use Muggle theory to analyze this."
Sean paused, deliberately drawing out his words, waiting for the students to fully focus their attention.
"Why did the number of fans increase dramatically when the Tornado team was at its peak?"
"To be honest, this sounds like a rather inappropriate question."
"But this phenomenon is worth analyzing."
The classroom fell silent immediately.
As fourth-year students, this wasn't their first time taking Sean's Muggle Studies course, so they naturally knew that this course was completely different from others.
Sean's previous Muggle Studies courses may have focused more on Muggle technology, artifacts, and even the differences between the magical and Muggle worlds. However, Sean's Muggle Studies course goes beyond that. He will also delve into Muggle culture, history, and even explore Muggle social theories and psychological phenomena.
The students were slightly expectant because Sean's topics were always somewhat unexpected and had a unique perspective, yet they always managed to pique their interest.
"First, I'd like to present a few psychological theories."
As he spoke, Sean wrote a few words on the blackboard—Social Identity Theory.
Cognitive Dissonance (cognitive dissonance theory), Conformity (conformity psychology)
"First, there's the theory of social identity."
"The core of the theory can be simply summarized as follows: individuals gain a sense of self-worth by joining a group and regard the success of the group as their personal success."
"Social identity is part of an individual's self-concept."
"Everyone will have it, I will have it, you will have it, and tracing its roots back to the personal perception of belonging to a specific social group."
"Social identity theory posits that social identity consists of three basic processes: generalization, identification, and comparison."
"Categorization refers to people classifying themselves into a certain community; identification is the belief that one possesses the common characteristics of a member of that community; comparison is the evaluation of the superiority, status, and reputation of one's own community relative to other communities."
"Through these three processes, people enhance their self-worth and self-esteem."
"Identifying oneself with the Tornadoes team reinforces the winner's identity by supporting the championship team," thus creating a sense of belonging and satisfying the individual's need for self-esteem.
"What do you mean?"
To help the young wizards better understand what he was saying, Sean gave an example.
"For example, as a fan of Tornado."
We often use "our team" as the subject: "Our team won," "Our team performed well," "Our team—," and in this process, the boundary between the individual and the group becomes increasingly blurred.
"For example, this kind of saying is also very common in daily life."
"During the Triwizard Tournament last semester, as members of Hogwarts, when we saw Mr. Potter, or Mr. Diggory, or Ms. Cho Chang win in various events, we would also use terms like 'our school'."
"As I said before, humans are social animals with social attributes, and a sense of social identity is a natural thing. But this sense of social identity can be exploited by people with bad intentions at times."
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