Standing at the door of his office, the leading figure is Headmaster Dumbledore, while behind him stand Professor Flitwick and Professor McGonagall and some other teachers from the school, all lined up at the door of his office, which even Albus Amortus was not used to.
What's wrong? Has anything major happened?
At that moment, Alastor's mind raced with many thoughts, but none could explain why so many professors were blocking his door at the same time.
"Don't worry, Alastor--"
Dumbledore's silver beard fluttered as he spoke with a smile.
"Phineas, Millicent, and we, are here--oh, why don't we go in and say it?"
Albus saw eagerness in the eyes of Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick. He raised his eyebrow.
"All right, it's mealtime now. How about we have a private dinner together?"
Alastor ushered his colleagues into his office, waved his wand, and a large pile of panoramic telescopes and parts automatically flew into a storage box that had expanded. Clearly, there were no so many seats to accommodate the guests in his office. Just as he was about to produce a few chairs, Dumbledore retracted his interested gaze on the alchemical tools, smiled and said:
"No need to worry, Alastor. We can take care of it ourselves--"
So, each professor pulled out their wand and, in their own way, conjured chairs that were more suited to their personal preferences from thin air.
The coffee table in front of the sofa walked with a seductive step to the front of the professors. After Alastor had poured everyone a cup of tea, he waved his wand to open the curtains and windows, allowing fresh air and comfortable sunlight to enter.
"So--"
Alastor didn't sit on the sofa; his buttocks rested on the armrests, and he asked in a puzzled manner,
"What's going on?"
"We've heard from the young wizards that you've been involved with, Alastor--"
Professor Flitwick was the most excited, standing on a stool and asking sharply,
"You invented a new way to help young wizards learn spells, isn't that right, Miss Petty? Professor McGonagall told me about it in her Charms class. She mastered the Curse of Consciousness and the Curse of Impotence in just three hours by learning magic in your mental realm. That's incredible! She said your method can point out where her problems lie!"
"I suppose it would have the same effect on Transfiguration, wouldn't it, Alastor?"
Professor McGonagall expressed great interest and said,
"Transfiguration is a branch of charms. If this method can be used to learn spells, then I'm sure it will also work for transfiguration. Would you show us your ingenious idea, Alastor?"
"Oh, is it about this?" Alastor finally understood. He sighed with relief, "I thought the Ministry of Magic was going to disband Hogwarts!"
"You know, Alastor, our resources are limited!"
Professor McGonagall spoke in an urgent tone,
"We don't have the time to give each young wizard the full guidance they need on those spells, but some students... Well, take Mr. Longbottom for example; he really does need a lot of practice and instruction to keep up. I've heard that your method can teach many young wizards at once. Maybe, we could borrow..."
The other professors all expressed the same view. Alastor listened to his colleagues' requests earnestly, and then turned to look at Dumbledore.
"You're here for the same purpose, Headmaster Dumbledore?"
"I am indeed very interested, Alastor--"
Dumbledore chuckled and said,
"If your method can significantly improve the teaching efficiency of some courses, I have no reason not to pay attention to it. Of course, the first thing is to confirm that it is safe."
Alastor gave a discreet smirk.
As everyone knows, Dumbledore has almost nothing to do with the daily teaching and operation of Hogwarts. Now, he suddenly shows interest in his little innovation. He...he isn't trying to sneak a look into your mental world, is he?
"Okay, I think I understand--"
After hearing the professors' requests, Alastor did not show a look of realization; instead, his brow furrowed slightly.
"However, there are some problems--"
"What is it, Alastor?" Professor Flitwick anxiously pursued.
Alastor pondered for a few seconds before speaking.
"Yes, both spells, Transfiguration, or any other type of spell can indeed be used to accelerate the learning progress of young wizards and deepen their understanding of magic--you've all heard me talk to my students. I incorporate them into my mental world, and they practice spells against the standard shapes. Each young wizard gets individual guidance. But you all know that these tips come from me. The magical structures are attached to my experiences and thoughts, and with my own mental power, I can maintain this teaching method. And you--"
Alastor weighed his words and spoke slowly.
"Thoughts and experiences can be extracted by magic, but you cannot do unlimited guidance to multiple young wizards at the same time. It's too much of a burden--"
Alastor's meaning was clear. They did not possess the mental power to maintain this form of magical instruction.
Professor Flitwick's disappointment was visible on his face. Heaven knows how excited he was when Alastor came up with this ingenious idea. Not every young wizard has the intellect of Percy Weasley or Hermione Granger, who can quickly grasp something after just one explanation in class.
Most young wizards lack a systematic understanding of magic. They are always confused, and it takes them many times to master a new spell. And perhaps by the end-of-term exam, they will forget all the knowledge they have gained. Like Neville Longbottom, oh yes, and Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle from Slytherin, whose fathers were also dimwits at Hogwarts.
"Can I have a try too, Alastor? Your method?"
Professor Flitwick still hoped.
"If it's convenient, Alastor, I also want to see it for myself--"
Professor McGonagall made the same request. The other professors followed suit, hoping to see it for themselves. Even if it can't be widely promoted, it might help to brainstorm together, right?
"Humph, if you don't mind, Alastor--"
The headmaster, Dumbledore, twitched his eyebrow while listening to the discussion among the professors.
"Don't joke, Headmaster Dumbledore," Alastor said with a dark face, "I don't have the ability to contain your mental power!"
After ten minutes, the atmosphere in the office suddenly became lively. The teachers who had just left Alastor's mental world had expressions of amazement on their faces and were eagerly discussing it.
"What a brilliant method, Alastor! It's truly amazing!"
Professor Flitwick was so excited he almost fell off his chair.
"Exact and objective evaluations, and the ability to provide correction and guidance to the young wizards. If we can incorporate this method into classes, after normal teaching, let them use this method for training, I'm willing to bet that the teaching quality of Hogwarts will improve by a significant margin. The Ministry of Magic will be surprised by the teaching level of Hogwarts, and the magical community will benefit as a result!"
"Alastor's method provides incomplete evaluations for Transfiguration--"
Professor McGonagall said objectively,
"But as Phineas said, if it can be promoted, we can better pass on our experience and benefit many people!"
Alastor shrugged,
"But the key issue is here. First, magical constructs are invisible in the real world. Moreover, all that experience and evaluation comes from me. Without my thoughts attached to those constructs, they would be ineffective. Containing the mental power of many young wizards itself is a huge drain and too costly."
"That may not necessarily be the case, Alastor--"
Dumbledore's teacup was full, but he hadn't taken a sip of the bitter drink. Although he didn't get the chance to witness it firsthand, he listened intently to everyone's discussion and also understood how Alastor managed to achieve all this.
"The difficulties you mentioned are not without solutions--"
Dumbledore's deep blue eyes twinkled with wise lights. He looked at Alastor, whose eyelids were lowered, and pointed to the box that Alastor had just collected the monitoring mirror in.
"And the solution is obvious. We can solve those difficulties by borrowing from the field of alchemy--"
(End of Chapter)
