Harry Potter and the Way of Reason

They entered the Defense Professor's office, and Professor Quirrell sealed the door before leaning back in his chair and speaking.

The Defense Professor's voice was very calm, which made Harry very nervous-it would be much better if Professor Quirrell yelled.

"I'm trying," said Professor Quirrell softly, "to make allowances for the fact that you're young. Considering that I myself, at your age, was a complete idiot. You speak in an adult way. , meddling in grown-up games, sometimes I forget that you're just a spoiler. I hope, Mr. Potter, that your childish meddling doesn't just kill you, ruin your country, and make you lose A war."

Harry had trouble controlling his breath. "Professor Quirrell, I have much less to say than I would like to say, but I must say something. Your proposal is extremely alarming to anyone who has even the slightest knowledge of Muggle history in the last century." Yes. The Italian Fascists - some very bad people - got their name from the fascist, a bundle of sticks tied together to symbolize strength in unity-"

"So the nasty Italian fascists believed that unity was stronger than division," Professor Chillo said.His voice grew harsher. "Maybe they also believed in the blue sky and advocated a policy of not throwing stones at people's heads."

The opposite of ignorance is not wisdom; the stupidest man in the world might say the sun is shining, but that doesn't make the sun go out..."Well, you're right, it's an ad hominem[2], This theory is not faulted by fascists. But Prof. Quirrell, you can't have all the people in a country accept the stamp of a dictator! That's a single point of failure[3]! Look, let me put it this way. As long as the enemy casts the Imperius Curse on the person who controls the mark—"

"Powerful wizards are not so easily captured," Professor Quirrell said coldly, "and if you can't find a leader worthy of admiration, you are dead anyway. But there are leaders worthy of admiration; the problem It's whether people want to follow them."

Harry ran his hands through his hair in frustration.He wanted to call a pause, have Professor Quirrell read The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, and restart the conversation. "If I say that a government formed by a democracy is better than a dictatorship—"

"I see," said Professor Quirrell.He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them. "Mr Potter, the reason you can easily see through the stupidity of Quidditch is because you didn't grow up admiring the game. If you've never heard of elections, Mr Potter, and just look at what's going on, you Don't like what you see. Look at our elected Minister for Magic. Is he the wisest, strongest, greatest man in our country? No; he's a clown, Lucius Marr Fau has absolute ownership of him. The Wizards polled to choose between Cornelius Fudge and Tania Richie, who were pitted against each other in a stately and entertaining contest, in the After the Daily Prophet—also controlled by Lucius Malfoy—decided that they were the only candidates worth considering. No one could seriously say that Cornelius Fudge was indeed the best our country could elect. Excellent leaders. From what I've seen, it's no different in the Muggle world; a Muggle newspaper I read recently mentioned that the last President of the United States was a retired movie star[5]. If you Not brought up on elections, Mr Potter, the folly of which will be as obvious to you as Quidditch."

Harry sat there with his mouth open, struggling to know what to say. "The point of elections is not to elect the best leaders, but to make politicians afraid of voters so that they don't become, like dictators, total bad guys—"

"The last war, Mr Potter, was between the Dark Lord and Dumbledore. Although Dumbledore was a flawed leader and he was losing the war at the time, it was proposed that the Minister for Magic could replace Dumbledore." Bullido's position - whichever Minister for Magic was in power at the time - was ridiculous! Power comes from powerful wizards and their followers, not elections and the idiots they pick up. This is the British The lessons of recent wizarding history; and I doubt the next war will teach you any differently. Provided you survive, Mr. Potter, and you won't, unless you abandon your ardent fantasies of childhood! "

"If you feel there is no danger in the action you're advocating," said Harry, his voice beginning to sharpen recklessly, "then that's childish enthusiasm, too."

Harry met Professor Quirrell's cold eyes, who stared back without blinking.

"The danger," said Professor Quirrell coldly, "is discussed in offices like these, not lectures. The idiots who elected Cornelius Fudge have no interest in complexity and caution. Show them anything subtler than enthusiastic cheers, and you'll be alone in this war. And that, Mr. Potter, is your childish mistake, the kind that Draco Malfoy made when he was eight It wouldn't have happened. It should have been obvious even to you - you should have kept quiet and asked me first instead of voicing your concerns in front of a crowd!"

"I'm not a friend of Albus Dumbledore," said Harry, with a chill in his voice similar to that of Professor Quirrell, "but he's not a child, and he doesn't seem to think my concerns are childish, nor that I should Say it later."

"Oh," said Professor Quirrell, "so now you're following Dumbledore's cue, are you?" Then he stood up from behind the desk.

－－－－－－－－－－－－－－

When Blaise turned the corner of the road leading to the office, he found that Professor Quirrell was already leaning against the wall.

"Brace Zabini," said the Defense Professor, straightening up; his eyes were like black stones in his face, and his voice sent a wave of fear down Blaise's spine.

He can't do anything to me, I just have to remember this—

"I believe," said Professor Quirrell in a clear and cold voice, "that I have already guessed your employer's name, but I will hear it from your own mouth, and then tell me your price too."

Brass knew he was sweating under his robes, there were already visible beads of sweat on his forehead. "I had a chance to show that I was better than all three generals, and I took it. Many people hate me now, but many Slytherins will love me for it. How do you think I—"

"The plan for today's battle was not designed by you, Mr. Zabini. Tell me who designed it."

Blaise swallowed heavily. "Well... I mean, if that's the case... then you already know who did it, don't you? Dumbledore is the only one who can go crazy like that. If you try to do something, he'll protect me .”

"Indeed. Tell me the price." The defense professor's eyes were still cold.

"It's my cousin, Kimberly," Blaise said, swallowing again, trying to control his voice. "She is real, and she is indeed being bullied. Potter confirmed it. He is not stupid. It's just that Dumbledore said that he encouraged the bullies to do it for this plan, and if I work for him If she does, she will be fine in the future, but if I really follow Potter, then Kimberly will be in more trouble!"

Professor Quirrell was silent for a long time.

"I see," said Professor Quirrell, his voice much softer now. "Mr. Zabini, if this happens again, you can contact me directly. I have my own way to protect my friend. Now, the last question: Even if you use all the strength at your disposal, forcefully pull out A draw is also quite difficult. Did Dumbledore instruct you, if a draw doesn't work, who should you let win?"

"Sunshine," Blaise said.

Professor Quirrell nodded. "It's the same as I thought." The defense professor sighed. "In your future career, Mr. Zabini, I don't recommend trying such a complicated plan. This kind of plan will usually fail."

"Well, I actually talked to the principal about that," Brace said, "and he said that's why there's more than one program going on at the same time."

Professor Quirrell propped his forehead tiredly. "It's a wonder the Dark Lord didn't go mad from fighting him. You can go on and see the Headmaster, Mr. Zabini. I won't say anything, but if the Headmaster finds out we've talked somehow, remember , my promise is still valid, I will do my best to protect you. You can go."

Blaise didn't wait for him to speak again, just turned and ran away.

－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－

Professor Quirrell waited a moment, then said, "Come out, Mr. Potter."

Harry pulled the cloak off his head and stuffed it into his pocket.He trembled with rage, and could hardly speak. "His what? What did he do?"

"You should have been able to figure it out yourself, Mr. Potter," said Professor Quirrell gently. "You must learn to blur your vision until you can see the forest behind the trees. Anyone who has heard a story about you, and Anyone who doesn't know that you are the mysterious Boy Who Lived can easily surmise that you have an invisibility cloak. Stepping back from these events, blurring out all the details, what did we observe? There was a heated debate among the students In the end, their game ended in a perfect draw. This kind of thing only happens in stories, Mr. Potter, and there is a person in the school who thinks in terms of stories. It is a strange and complicated You should have found out that this is not the style of the young Slytherins you are dealing with. But there is a man in the school who runs such intricate schemes, and his name is not Zabini. I did warn you that there are There are four agents; you know Zabini is at least three agents, so you should have a good chance of guessing him. No, I will not declare the battle void. None of you three passed the test, you all lost to the common enemy."

At this moment Harry didn't care about the test. "Dumbledore blackmailed Zabini by threatening his cousin? Just to make our fight end in a draw? Why?"

Professor Quirrell smiled wryly. "Maybe the headmaster thinks the rivalry is good for his little hero and wants it to continue. For the greater good, you know. Or maybe he's just crazy. You see, Mr. Potter, everybody knows Dumbledore The madness is the mask, he is sane and pretends to be mad. They are proud of their clever insights, and then they stop there when they know the explanation of the secret. It never occurs to them that the mask beneath the mask It is also possible that a madman pretending to be sane is feigning madness. And I am afraid, Mr. Potter, that I have urgent business elsewhere and must go; but I strongly advise you not to follow Dumbledore at war. the hint to go. Good-bye, Mr. Potter."

The defense professor nodded, with a hint of sarcasm, and then strode away in the direction Zabini fled, leaving Harry standing there with his mouth open in surprise.

-------------------------------------------------- ----------------

Aftermath: Harry Potter.

Harry walked wearily slowly toward Ravenclaw's dormitory, not looking at the walls, the portraits, or the other students; he went up and down the hill at an unhurried pace, without noticing where he was going.

He didn't realize until more than a minute after Professor Quirrell had left that his only sources of information about Dumbledore included (1) Blaise Zabini, who was a real idiot to believe him again, and (1) Professor Quirrell, a man who could easily fake a Dumbledore-style plan, might also think that a little rivalry among students is a good thing; and, if you take a step back and blur the details, this man was just proposing to turn the country into a magical dictatorship.

It is also possible that Dumbledore is indeed behind Zabini. Professor Quirrell really wants to fight back with the Dark Mark to prevent the poor performance he saw from repeating itself.Trying to make sure Harry doesn't end up fighting the Dark Lord alone while everyone else hides in fear, trying to stay out of the fight, just waiting for Harry to save them.

but in fact……

Ok……

Harry thought there was nothing wrong with that.

He knew that this was supposed to be the kind of thing that would make a hero bitter and bitter.

Whatever it is.Harry was very much in favor of keeping everyone else out of danger, leaving the Boy Who Lived to bring down the Dark Lord alone, or with more or less companions.If the next conflict with the Dark Lord escalates to the Second Wizarding War, with so many people killed and an entire country involved, that means Harry has already lost.

And if a war breaks out between wizards and Muggles later, no matter who wins, Harry has already lost if the situation develops to this point.Besides, who's to say that the two societies won't just merge peacefully into one when the secret inevitably comes out? (Although Harry can hear Professor Quirrell's cold voice in his head, asking if he's a fool, and saying all the obvious things...) And if wizards and Muggles can't coexist peacefully, then Harry will mix magic and science Combine, and figure out a way to get the wizards off to Mars or something instead of having a war break out.

Because if it comes to the stage of the annihilation battle...

Unbeknownst to Professor Quirrell, he had forgotten to ask his young general the most obvious question.

Harry couldn't agree with the real reason for the Mark of Light, no matter how much it would help him in his fight against the Dark Lord.

One Dark Lord and fifty followers who have accepted the mark can put the entire British wizarding world in crisis.

If all of Britain accepted the sigil of a powerful leader, they would put the entire wizarding world in jeopardy.

And if the entire wizarding world accepted a single mark, they would threaten all other humans.

No one knows how many wizards there are in this world.He and Hermione roughly estimated that the number was around 100 million.

But there are 60 billion Muggles in the world.

If war breaks out at last...

Professor Quirrell forgot to ask Harry which side he would protect.

On one side is a scientific civilization, exploring outwards and upwards, knowing that it is destined to hold the stars in its palm.

On the other side is the civilization of magic, which is gradually disappearing as knowledge is forgotten, and is still ruled by nobles who regard Muggles as inhuman.

The feeling was terribly sad, but there was no question in it.

-------------------------------------------------- ------------------------

Aftermath: Blaise Zabini.

Blaise strolls down the corridor, with careful, deliberate slowness, his heart pounding, trying to calm down—

"Hmm." A nonchalant whisper came from a dark recess he passed.

Blaise jumped up, but didn't scream.

He turned around slowly.

In a small dark corner, there is a black cloak, a huge cloak that billows like a wave, making it impossible to determine whether the person under the cloak is a man or a woman. On top of the cloak, there is a wide-brimmed black hat that looks gathered underneath. Black mist, covering the face - no matter who or what is below.

"Report," whispered Mr. Hat and Cloak.

"I said what you told me to say," Blaise said.His voice was a little calmer now that he wasn't lying to anyone anymore. "And Professor Quirrell reacted just as you'd expect."

The wide-brimmed black hat tilted and straightened again, as if the head below nodded. "Very well," said the unintelligible whisper, "my promised reward has been owled to your mother and is on its way."

Blaise hesitated, but his curiosity was eating him raw, "Can I ask now why you want to cause trouble between Professor Quirrell and Dumbledore?" The Findo bullies had nothing to do with it, and besides helping Kimberly, the Headmaster offered that he could get Professor Binns to give him a very good grade in History of Magic even though his homework was blank sheepskin paper, though he still has to attend class and pretend to hand in homework.In fact, Blaise would have betrayed all three generals even if he hadn't bid, and he'd never cared about his cousin, but he didn't feel the need to say it.

One side of the wide-brimmed black hat was turned up, as if to express a teasing stare. "Tell me, friend Bryce, have you ever thought that traitors who have betrayed so many times usually end badly?"

"No," Blaise said, looking straight into the black mist under his hat. "Everyone knows that nothing really bad happens to students at Hogwarts."

Mr. Hat and Cloak chuckled softly. "Indeed," whispered the man, "if you don't count the murder of a student 50 years ago, then the rule stands, because Salazar Slytherin must have locked his monsters in a In the ancient barrier where the principal himself is of a higher level."

Blaise stared at the black mist, and he was starting to feel a little uneasy now.But the only ones who could really hurt him without setting off alarm bells were the Hogwarts professors.The only people who would do that were Quirrell and Snape; Professor Quirrell wouldn't fool himself, and Snape wouldn't hurt his own Slytherins... right?

"No, Bryce friend," Black Mist whispered, "I just want to advise you, after you become an adult, don't try this kind of thing again. So many betrayals will definitely suffer at least one revenge."

"My mother never suffered revenge," Blaise said proudly, "even though she had seven husbands, each of whom died mysteriously and left her a lot of money."

"Really?" Whisper said, "how on earth did she convince the seventh to marry her after hearing what happened to the first six?"

"I asked my mom," Blaise said, "and she said I'd have to wait until I was old enough to find out, and I asked her how old was old enough, and she said, when she was older."

There was another burst of sneering. "Well then, friend Blaise, congratulations on following in your mother's footsteps. Come on, we won't meet again if you have nothing more to say about it."

Blaise turned around uneasily, with a sudden, odd hesitation in the act of turning.

The hat is askew. "Oh, come on, little Slytherin. If you're really on par with Harry Potter or Draco Malfoy, you should have seen that the threat I'm alluding to is just to make sure you'll be Keep silent in front of you. If I really wanted to hurt you, I wouldn't hint at it; if I didn't say anything, then you should worry."

Brace straightened up, feeling a little insulted, and nodded to Mr. Hat and Cloak; then he turned decisively and went straight to meet the Headmaster.

He was still hoping in the end that someone else would show up and give him a chance to sell Mr. Hat and Cloak.

But after thinking about it, my mother didn't betray her seven husbands at the same time.From this point of view, he still did a better job than her.

Then Blaise Zabini made his way to the principal's office, smiling, content to be a five-faced agent—

The boy staggered for a moment, but then he straightened up, shaking off his odd sense of confusion.

Then Blaise Zabini made his way to the principal's office, smiling, content to be a spy on four sides.

-------------------------------------------------- ----------------------

Aftermath: Hermione Granger.

The courier did not approach her until after she placed the order.

Hermione had just come out of the ladies room, where she sometimes hides thinking, when a bright cat jumped out of nowhere and said, "Miss Granger?"

She let out a small squeal, and realized that the cat was speaking in Professor McGonagall's voice.

Even so, she wasn't afraid, she was just taken aback; the cat was bright, dazzling, and beautiful, with silvery white light, like moonlight, and she couldn't imagine being caught by something like that. scared.

"What are you?" Hermione said.

"This is a message from Professor McGonagall," said the cat, still in the professor's voice, "could you come to my office and not mention this to anyone?"

"Soon," said Hermione, still surprised, and then the cat jumped up and disappeared; it didn't disappear, it just went somewhere else somehow; or so she thought, even though she His eyes just saw the cat disappear.

During Hermione's visit to her favorite professor's office, her mind was filled with all sorts of conjectures.Is there something wrong with her Transfiguration score?But then why did Professor McGonagall say not to tell anyone else?Possibly something about Harry practicing partial Transfiguration...

Professor McGonagall looked concerned, rather than serious, while Hermione sat down at the desk - and tried not to look at the cutout latticework containing Professor McGonagall's homework, which she had been curious about keeping the school The operation of the system, what work the adults have to do, and whether I can help them...

"Miss Granger," said Professor McGonagall, "let me start this way, I already know that the headmaster made you make that wish—"

"He told you?" Hermione blurted out in shock.The principal said that no one else would know!

Professor McGonagall paused, looked at Hermione, and let out a small sad sneer. "It's good to see that Mr. Potter hasn't taught you too much. Miss Granger, you shouldn't admit to something just because I say I know. Actually, the Headmaster didn't tell me, I just know him too well. "

Hermione's face flushed.

"It's all right, Miss Granger!" Professor McGonagall said hastily, "You're a first-year Ravenclaw, no one expects you to be a Slytherin."

This sentence stung her severely.

"Okay," Hermione said with a little sourness, "then I'll go to Harry Potter to make up my Slytherin lessons."

"That's not what I thought..." said Professor McGonagall, her voice trailing off. "Miss Granger, the reason I'm worried is because young Ravenclaw girls shouldn't have to be Slytherins! If the headmaster asks you to take part in something that makes you uncomfortable, Miss Granger, are you really Just say no. And if you feel pressured, please tell the principal that you would like me to be present, or that you would like to ask me first."

Hermione's eyes widened. "Will the principal do something wrong?"

Professor McGonagall looked a little sad. "Not on purpose, Miss Granger, but I think... well, sometimes the Headmaster may not really remember what it was like to be a child, and I'm sure he's really wise, with his head and heart. Strong, with the guts of three Gryffindors. Miss Granger, sometimes the headmaster demands too much of his young students, or doesn't take care enough, and leaves them hurt. He's a good guy, but sometimes his plans It would be too much."

"But it's good for students to be strong and brave," said Hermione. "That's why you suggested me in Gryffindor, isn't it?"

Professor McGonagall smiled wryly. "Maybe I'm just being selfish and wanting you to stay in my own house. Did the Sorting Hat propose to you—no, I shouldn't have asked."

"The Sorting Hat says I can go anywhere, except Slytherin," said Hermione.She almost asked why she wasn't good enough for Slytherin, before she managed to stop herself... "So I have courage, Professor!"

Professor McGonagall leaned forward on the table.The worry on her face was beginning to show. "Miss Granger, it's not about courage, it's about being healthy for a little girl! The headmaster pulled you into his scheme, Harry Potter asked you to keep his secret, and now you're fighting with De Racko Malfoy allied! And I promised your mother you'd be safe at Hogwarts!"

Hermione didn't know what to say to that.But the thought crossed her mind that maybe Professor McGonagall wouldn't have warned her if she had been a boy in Gryffindor instead of a Ravenclaw girl, and it made her think, okay …“I try to be a good person,” she said, “and not let other people influence me.”

Professor McGonagall covered her eyes with her hands.When she moved her hands away, her wrinkled face looked old. "Yeah," she said softly, "you'll do just fine at my house. Stay safe, Miss Granger, and be careful. If you're worried or uncomfortable about anything, come see me right away. .you can go now."

-------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------

Aftermath, Draco Malfoy:

Neither of them wanted to do anything complicated this Saturday after their previous fights.So Draco just sat in the abandoned classroom, trying to read a book called The Physics of Thinking[6].It was the most fascinating thing Draco had ever read, at least the part he could understand, at least when the damned idiot who refused to let the book out of his sight shut up and let Draco concentrate— —

"Hermione Granger's a oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooever" is, sings Harry Potter, sitting at a table nearby Book.

"I know what you want," Draco said calmly, not looking up from the book. "It's useless. We'll still work together to crush you."

"A horse~~~~Alfo wants to join forces with a mud~~~~Bah~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ that, what will all your father’s friends--"

"They'll think Malfoy won't be as pushy as you think, Potter!"

The Defense Professor was crazier than Dumbledore, and no future savior would be so immature and out of place, no matter what his age.

"Hey, Draco, do you know what's really miserable? You know that Hermione Granger has two pieces of magic alleles, just like you and me, but all your Slytherin classmates don't, And you~~~~~~~~~~ still can’t solve it~~~~shi~~~~—”

Draco's knuckles were white as he gripped the book.It wouldn't take that much self-control to let himself spit out after being knocked out, and if he didn't get his revenge on Harry soon enough, he'd be committing a crime—

"So what was your first wish?" Draco said.

Harry didn't say anything, so Draco looked up from the book and felt a vicious relief: Harry looked sad.

"Well," said Harry, "a lot of people have asked me, but I don't think Professor Quirrell would want me to talk about it."

Draco made a serious expression. "You can talk to me. It's probably not a big deal compared to the other secrets you've told me. Besides, what are friends for?" That's right!I am your friend!Feel guilty!

"It's really nothing interesting," Harry said with mock ease. "It's just that I hope that Professor Quirrell will continue to teach combat magic next year."

Harry sighed, then looked down at his book.

Then, after a few seconds, said, "Your father may be very disappointed in you this Christmas, but if you promise him you'll betray that mudblood girl and obliterate her army, all will be right again, You can still get your Christmas present."

Maybe if he and Granger were extra polite and asked Professor Quirrell, and spent some of their Quirrell points, they would both be allowed to do something more interesting to General Chaos than put him to sleep.

-------------------------------------------------- -

1. Fasces: Latin.The token of a senior law enforcement official in ancient Rome, in the shape of a bunch of sticks, with an exposed ax in it, which is the origin of the word "Fascist"

2.诉诸人身谬误（adhominemfallacy）：俗称“对人不对事”，详见zh.wikipedia/wiki/%E8%A8%B4%E8%AB%B8%E4%BA%BA%E8%BA%AB

3. Single point of failure/single point of failure (single point of failure): Once an error occurs in the system, the entire system will be scrapped, see en.wikipedia/wiki/Single_point_of_failure

4. "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich": book.douban/subject/1125731/

5. Ronald Reagan: No.40 President of the United States.See en.wikipedia/wiki/Ronald_Reagan for details

6. "Thinking Physics": amazon/Thinking-Physics-Practical-Lessons-Critical/dp/0935218068