Chapter 46: Notice of Prohibition on Magic Use
Chapter 46: Notice of Prohibition on Magic Use
The house-elf looked at him with childlike innocent eyes.
"Is Master Weasley sad?"
"Er..." Weasley was slightly taken aback and sighed, twirling a bean from his hand, "I wouldn't say sad, exactly. I just suddenly realized that my thoughts might be a little..."
Dark.
He swallowed the word and continued, "Paranoid, perhaps? I had some very unpleasant suspicions about a professor who has been nothing but kind to me..."
"Master Weasley is not wrong!" Zoe suddenly exclaimed.
"Zoe?"
"Professor Moriarity is a good person, but it's right for Master Weasley to be cautious." Zoe nodded firmly. "Zoe knows of a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher who tried to have an inappropriate relationship with a third-year student and ended up in Azkaban. And there was another Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher who used Dark Magic on his students and was also sent to Azkaban. Not to mention a teacher who used the trust of his students to invite them to a party, only to have them kidnapped by Dark Wizards who demanded ransom."
Weasley couldn't help but chuckle. "And he ended up in Azkaban too?"
Zoe shook her head. "His spell backfired, causing his wand to explode and killing him."
"All Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers... This position sure attracts trouble." Weasley commented sarcastically.
"The Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers change too frequently, and many of them are bad people. Quirinus Quirrell was also bad. Master Weasley must always stay vigilant." Zoe said seriously.
Weasley sighed. "I will."
...
In the morning, Weasley woke up and waved his wand to check the time.
Golden letters appeared, displaying: [07:00 am].
It was Friday, and they didn't have any classes in the morning. Most students wouldn't get up early, but as Weasley passed through the common room, he saw only two fifth-year students sitting by the fireplace, reading.
—Poor seniors.
Weasley sympathized with them.
He waved his wand and created a blue flame, which he then bottled up. Carrying this with him would ensure he stayed warm even when outdoors.
As Weasley would be leaving the school by train tomorrow, he decided to go to the library after breakfast to borrow as many books as possible. That way, he wouldn't waste his time during the holidays.
After spending the entire morning in the library, Weasley returned to the Great Hall to find Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick busy decorating for Christmas. He immediately went to help them.
"Oh, Weasley, thank you." Professor Flitwick said happily. "We need to hang these ribbons on the walls."
Together, they hung the colorful cascading ribbons on the walls, set up twelve towering Christmas trees on both sides, and arranged hundreds of candles that wound their way up the trees under Professor Flitwick's direction, burning quietly. Golden bubbles were also spewing from the tip of his wand, hanging gracefully from the tree branches.
Professor McGonagall, on the other hand, gently tapped the icicles hanging from the tree branches with her wand, transforming some of them into glittering little animals or bells. Her effortless Transfiguration earned admiration from the students in the Great Hall.
More students joined in, showcasing their creativity. Some created golden stars, while others made proud, strutting stags. A few even made sleighs that ran through the air above the Great Hall, displaying their impressive magical skills and earning their houses extra points.
Of course, there were also those who failed in their attempts at Transfiguration. A Slytherin student, for instance, had only wanted to create a few candles, but his spell went awry, causing the tip of his wand to explode and his face to turn black. This incident elicited laughter from the onlookers.
Soon, the Great Hall was transformed. As Michael came downstairs for lunch, he hesitated and said, "You know, Weasley, I really miss my family.
But..."
He fiddled with a twig with his finger, and the ice squirrel hanging on it immediately squeaked.
"Christmas at Hogwarts seems pretty fun, too..."
He looked like he really wanted to stay.
"Weed, Michael, you're both here." The sixth-year head boy, West, strode over and pulled out two pieces of paper, handing them over. "Here, sign these."
Michael took it and asked, "A 'Notice of Prohibition on Magic Use During Holidays'? Why do I need to sign this? I'm a wizard!"
"Yes, a minor wizard," West nodded dismissively. "Come on, I still need to find Anthony and the others."
Weed looked down at the notice—
"According to the 'Reasonable Restraint Act for Minors,' underage wizards need to pay attention to the following prohibitions during the holidays:
First, wizards under the age of seventeen are minors and are prohibited from using magic outside of school;
Second, underage wizards should consciously abide by and uphold the 'International Wizarding Confederation Confidentiality Act.' Underage wizards must know that any magical activity that may attract the attention of non-magical members (Muggles) is a serious violation;
Third, knowingly using magic in front of Muggles is a criminal offense and will result in a warning from the Ministry of Magic. Severe cases may result in expulsion..."
There were seven or eight more prohibitions listed, all of which essentially stated one thing—do not use magic and do not reveal any information about the wizarding world to Muggles.
Weed had read in books about magic history that starting from the 15th century, there had been large-scale witch hunts by Muggles. Despite individual wizards often possessing greater power, their societal structure was entirely dispersed, and wizards relied on the Muggle world for everything except transportation. This often led to exposures of their identities.
For over two hundred years, many wizards had been persecuted to death by Muggles. Especially the children of wizards, who, due to their inability to control their magic, easily drew attention and were subsequently captured, imprisoned, or even burned alive. To protect the wizarding community, the 'Confidentiality Act' was established in 1692 and has been strictly adhered to until the present day as an ironclad rule in the wizarding world.
Of course, wizarding books only recorded instances of wizards being persecuted by Muggles, without mentioning the reasons for the sudden deterioration of relations between the two groups, nor did they document any wizard retaliation or revenge.
Nowadays, it was unclear if it was to ease the hatred and avoid exacerbating conflicts between Muggles and wizards, but their textbook, 'A History of Magic,' was vague about this historical event, focusing instead on the exploits of the eccentric Windelinus—a peculiar and powerful witch who enjoyed the feeling of being burned at the stake so much that she deliberately transformed into different appearances to be captured and burned a total of forty-seven times.
This peculiar case in 'A History of Magic' served as proof that burning witches was completely unfounded. However, in reality, there were indeed many witches who were tied to stakes and burned to death.
Naturally, there were even more non-witch women who were mistakenly burned to death, or one could say, the vast majority of them were.
Weed looked at the notice—complex magical text appeared on what seemed to be ordinary parchment. With West hurrying him along, he didn't have much time to study it and could only sign his name.
As he signed, Weed felt something intangible, like a contract, wrap around him.
"Don't think you can secretly use magic at home," West warned finally. "Underage wizards have tracers on them, and any use of magic will be immediately detected by the Ministry of Magic. Every year, there are a couple of idiots who receive warning letters from the Ministry, and I hope you won't be among them."
(End of Chapter)
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