Shiller lowered his gaze, gestured to Harley, and she, as if entranced, watched him, moving slowly towards him, until she was right in front of him.
Shiller crouched down and wiped the dust from Harley's face with his hand. She looked at him, a little dazed. Since her father's death, no one else had ever touched her face that way.
"Professor?" Harley echoed again.
"Correct, I am the professor you sought," Shiller confird gently, his movents always careful and restrained. He drew back his hand, looked down at the ground, then raised his gaze to Harley, continuing.
"You are very clever, cracking the code in the newspaper, glimpsing another world. In that world, everyone has a codena that they hold dear. Have you thought about yours?"
Upon hearing this question, Harley began to grow excited and nodded her head vigorously, saying, "Maybe one day, when I can publish articles, I will call myself 'Luck Girl' or 'Genius Boy.' Surely no one has taken those codenas yet, right?"
Shiller just smiled, not giving an opinion about the codenas Harley had chosen. He then asked, "Do you know why my codena is 'Professor'?"
Harley gazed straight at Shiller, thinking for a mont before answering, "Because you are a professor at Gotham University?"
Shiller briefly nodded in acknowledgnt, but then shook his head. He looked into Harley's gemstone-blue eyes, and said, "Indeed, I am a professor at Gotham University, but I am also a professor at Hogwarts. Do you know what Hogwarts is?"
Harley's eyes widened. She was drawn in by Shiller's storytelling tone, as if she knew what he was about to say next, and excitedly asked, "Where is it?"
"It's an ancient, mysterious, and powerful magical school. Compared to the mages you've seen today, the graduates of this school would make them seem like beginners. And even the magical families they ntion might not fully understand the school, because Hogwarts only accepts the most gifted children."
Shiller further emphasized on the words "most gifted" before continuing.
"Whenever the new school year approaches, each child receives an acceptance letter from an owl and placed on their table. They first go to Diagon Alley, where the Lihen bookstore shares a na with this bookstore, and shops selling magic wands, mage robes, and all sorts of peculiar, interesting little things exist..."
Harley's eyes grew brighter and brighter, she could feel a door to a new world opening before her.
She was itching to ask Shiller a question, but he sped up his narration, not giving her a chance to interrupt.
"Once the children have gathered all their school supplies from Diagon Alley, they will set sail to Hogwarts, an incredible castle towering on top of a solitary island..."
"So...so..." Harley was practically jumping up and down in frustration. She didn't question the validity of what Shiller was saying. After all, she had just witnessed magic with her own eyes.
And in the world of ordinary people, without a school or soone to teach magic, how could there be magicians? And if there were no shops selling robes, magic wands, and other magical items, where did these mages get all this stuff?
Harley's vivid imagination imdiately evoked a bustling, mysterious, and fantastical scene—
Bustling streets lined with peculiar buildings, windows displaying all sorts of fun magical items, mages in their robes wielding magic wands, casting dazzling spells, living happily in a world utterly different from the ordinary one.
No child could refuse such a wonderful imagination—Harley was no different.
Or rather, she was even more eager for such a life. Her suprely gifted brain and her soul teetering on the edge of madness couldn't bear the boring normal life any longer. She yearned for excitent, thrill, and legendary adventure.
But there was Shiller, squatting in front of her, looking directly into her eyes, curiously asking, "Have you ever seen an owl?"
Harley thought for a mont before slowly shaking her head. Shiller'll stood up, sighed as if unconcerned, and said, "Then it seems you're likely not a gifted child. The magical world calls such people muggles."
Harley's eyes gradually widened as she incredulously said, "What did you say?!!!"
Shiller looked down at Harley again, but displayed no anger at her disbelief—it was as if he'd seen such reactions countless tis before. He said,
"Whether or not a person is born with magical talent is innate, miss. I'm sorry, but you don't seem to have that sort of luck. If you were a gifted child, you would have received an owl and your acceptance letter when you reached the proper age."
"How old are you now? Twelve? Thirteen? Typically, children at the Hogwarts Magic Academy are admitted between the ages of nine and eleven, and certainly no later than twelve. This is because if it's too late, the buildup of magical power inside them could lead to disaster. No one wants to see that happen."
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