Chapter 301: Purebloods and Halfbloods
Chapter 301: Purebloods and Halfbloods
The week before Christmas, a festive atmosphere pervaded the entire school. In this environment, the Weasley Twins' joke product business saw significant growth. Every day, numerous owls delivered large orders for them.
"We've hired two Muggle-born wizards as employees so we can balance our studies and our business", Fred said to Liam one day while writing out purchase orders in the Common Room. "When we were hiring, we found out that most shops in Diagon Alley, even secretly, claim they don't need Muggle-borns. But from our observations, Muggle-born wizards and pureblood wizards are no different in this kind of work."
"Yes, we wrote to our father about this situation", George, who was checking the list, added. "Father told us it's a disgusting form of discrimination, and as his sons, he absolutely won't allow us to do it."
"Our father believes that the true nobility of pureblood wizards lies in their powerful magic and noble character. Those who have family lineage but fall short in both magical ability and social skills compared to Muggle-borns, and still rely on their family status and blood to secure good positions, are simply despicable. If things continue like this, the wizarding world will be doomed. For example, he thinks the old Crabbe and Goyle in the Ministry of Magic are just two deadweights, good for nothing except not wasting food at banquets."
"Of course, we think Father is a bit extreme. There are talented individuals in pureblood families. But he's right in the big picture. The way pureblood families hog all the benefits and leave no room for advancement for halfbloods and Muggle-borns is terrible. Especially when Hogwarts has been producing more and more excellent Muggle-born and halfblood wizards over the years."
"So, in the future, our shop will prioritize character and ability when hiring. Even from a purely business perspective, this approach is better than hiring based on blood status, and it aligns with the world's development. Besides, those purebloods wouldn't look down on our little shop anyway."
It seems that pureblood wizards are not entirely oblivious to the changes in the world. However, only a few, like the Weasley family, who are marginalized among purebloods, have the resolve to adapt to the times. The ruling purebloods, on the other hand, simply want to maintain the status quo.
At that moment, Liam thought of something: Voldemort, a halfblood orphan, shouldn't have been able to easily deceive the pureblood families. After all, if Slytherin descendants had such great authority among purebloods, the Gaunt family wouldn't have been so destitute.
Now, it seems the ruling purebloods of the European wizarding world used Voldemort as a front. After Grindelwald's defeat, the Ministries of Magic in various countries relaxed the restrictions of the Secrecy Act, leading to a sudden increase in halfblood and Muggle-born wizards. The purebloods naturally wanted to eliminate these competitors for resources. Supporting Voldemort to physically purge these wizards was a logical strategy.
However, the purebloods didn't expect Voldemort to use his strength and charisma to lure the young generation of pureblood families and then eliminate his contemporaries through various means. He ultimately became the true master, rather than a pawn of the pureblood families. For example, Malfoy's grandfather died of Dragon Pox, but it's well-known that Dragon Pox is easily recognizable. Malfoy's grandfather wouldn't have been defenseless against such an acute infectious disease, making his cause of death suspicious.
It's no wonder the Weasley Family became one of the biggest beneficiaries after the war. Having Mr. Weasley, a clear-headed patriarch who could understand the historical trends, as the family leader certainly helped them avoid many wrong turns.
“Liam, Liam, are you okay?” As Liam was lost in these jumbled thoughts, he felt someone shaking him. He snapped back to reality to find the Weasley Twins staring at him with concern. “We were talking, and you suddenly spaced out. We thought something was wrong.”
“I’m fine, just a bit tired from all the recent events,” Liam replied, pulling out two Bronze Defense Bracelets and handing them to the Weasley Twins. “I’ve been staying up late to restock the shop every night.”
“You’re still thinking about this even with all your busy schedule.” George took the bracelets with excitement. “We thought you wouldn’t have time for these after becoming the Champion this year. By the way, won’t this interfere with your Tournament?”
“It won’t, don’t worry,” Liam reassured them. “Making these bracelets also helps me clear my mind, which is a form of rest.”
After chatting with the Weasley Twins for a bit, Liam went upstairs to fetch his textbooks. His next class was with Professor Mcgonagall, and she wouldn’t show mercy to anyone who was late.
Snow fell heavily over the castle and grounds. The light blue carriage of Beauxbatons looked like a large, frosted pumpkin, while Hagrid’s Hut resembled a gingerbread house sprinkled with sugar. The sides of the Durmstrang ship were coated in ice, making them smooth and shiny, and the rigging was covered in a layer of white frost.
That evening, the dinner menu included a variety of steaming hot stews and sweet puddings. The House-Elves of Hogwarts were indeed skilled in the kitchen. However, the British didn’t particularly enjoy spicy food, so Liam didn’t see any dishes like Spicy Lamb Soup, which would have been perfect for warming up.
The students from Durmstrang and Hogwarts enjoyed the food heartily, especially the Durmstrang students, who, coming from a cold climate, praised the high-calorie dishes. It was no surprise that they, both men and women, were generally robust and looked like standing brown bears in their fur cloaks when they stood in the snow.
The French students, on the other hand, remained dissatisfied with the food. For them, elegance was more important than warmth or flavor. They preferred to stay a bit cold rather than gain a few extra pounds.
On Christmas morning, Liam woke up early. After checking his gifts as usual, he went out for his morning exercise. This year’s gifts were mostly normal, except for Hermione’s, which was a bottle of expensive men’s perfume instead of a difficult book.
“Thankfully, I didn’t send her another book this year,” Liam thought with relief as he ran laps around the castle. On the way, he encountered a group of Durmstrang boys running in the snow in just vests and shorts, proving that not all wizards neglected physical exercise.
The Christmas feast was, as usual, a spread of turkeys. Liam still couldn’t understand why Hogwarts, with its long history, followed the New World’s American tradition of eating turkey on Christmas instead of traditional roast goose.
In the afternoon, most of the Gryffindors went to the field for a snowball fight, and Liam couldn’t resist joining in. However, when the Weasley Twins used magic to direct snowballs at people, Liam countered with an Alchemical Array, creating a barrage of snowballs that nearly turned everyone into snowmen. This led to a ban on using magic to throw snowballs.
At five o’clock, Hermione pulled Ginny upstairs with the other girls to get ready, stating they needed to do some grooming. It seemed that, regardless of the world, when men and women took their appearance seriously, it always turned into a major project.
“What, you need three hours?” Ron exclaimed as Hermione and Ginny left. Liam and Harry exchanged a glance and shook their heads in resignation.
This year, there was no Christmas tea party due to the ball. Liam spent the afternoon thoroughly relaxing, and at seven o'clock, he went upstairs with the others to prepare for the ball.
(End of Chapter)
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