There was nothing much to say next. Ellie asked Hermione to notify other teachers to clean up the mess, and then she walked aside and turned on the "customer service hotline".
"Yui, how is it? Did you monitor how this giant monster came here just now?"
"Of course, Dad. I have found the information and re-read it. That's how it broke through the door and rushed in... Although it looked like it was lured by something, I didn't see anyone else around it."
“…”
That is, the event is triggered automatically?
Even if he killed Professor Quirrell, the event was still triggered? Then what was the point of this event? But if you think about it carefully, the troll invasion event did not achieve any effect in Harry Potter. The troll was originally eliminated by Harry and Ron, and Quirrell did not accomplish the task of attracting other people's attention to steal the Philosopher's Stone, so basically this conspiracy was a complete failure.
But now it happens again... Could it be that the will of this world is just an idiot?
Ellie was puzzled, and at the same time other professors and teachers also rushed over. They were also very surprised that the troll could enter Hogwarts, and Dumbledore even called Ellie aside.
"Thanks so much to you. If it weren't for you, I really don't know how this matter would have turned out..."
"I don't know what the situation is."
Ellie didn't bother to play any more guessing games with Dumbledore, so she just said it directly.
"Logically, a creature as stupid as a troll shouldn't be able to enter Hogwarts on its own. I suggest you conduct a search. Also, it would be best if the castle has surveillance."
"……monitor?"
“…”
What technology can I talk about with an illiterate person?
Perhaps seeing the disdain in Ellie's eyes, Dumbledore coughed awkwardly and touched his beard.
"Indeed, this is a very strange matter. I will investigate it."
Since Dumbledore decided to investigate, Ellie didn't bother to care about it anymore. She just nodded and turned to leave.
As for other students, they had no idea what was going on and happily spent a lively Halloween dinner party. Ellie only stayed for a while when the dinner started, then left the restaurant, found a comfortable place in the library, sat down and started reading.
After a while, another figure walked into the library and came to Ellie's side.
"Teacher Ai Li, can I sit here?"
Hearing this voice, Ellie raised her head, glanced at Hermione in front of her, and nodded. After getting her consent, Hermione sat down.
"Um... I haven't thanked you yet, Teacher Ai Li, thank you for saving me..."
“I’m a teacher, and this is my duty.”
Ellie didn't look up, but just replied faintly, while Hermione didn't speak for a long time. After a long while, she spoke in a low voice.
"Teacher Ai Li... why did you use... a gun to kill that giant monster?"
"Because that is the simplest, most convenient and quickest way."
Ellie turned a page of the book and answered casually.
"Any questions?"
"No, no, no, it's not!"
Hermione shook her head hastily.
"That's not what I meant. I thought that since you are the teacher of Defense Against the Dark Arts, I thought you would have some powerful spells..."
"No spell is more powerful than a weapon made by man."
Ellie turned the page again.
"Wizards need to expend their energy and train again and again to obtain things that ordinary people can achieve with just a flick of the finger. In this case, why waste time doing things that are thankless? I remember that I have made it very clear in class that the so-called defense is to avoid making mistakes yourself and to make the enemy make mistakes as much as possible. There is no fairness in fighting. You are not as foolish as Malfoy and ask a troll to have a fair wizard duel with you."
"That's not what I meant... I just felt..."
Having said that, Hermione seemed a little cautious. She looked at Ellie cautiously, hesitating whether to ask a question. Then Hermione finally opened her mouth to ask.
"Teacher Ai Li...what do you think of wizards?"
This was the biggest question in Hermione's heart. As a smart child, she certainly found that Ellie was different from other professors. She never called ordinary people "Muggles" and didn't seem to think witchcraft was anything special. Although witchcraft could do many magical things, in Hermione's opinion, Ellie was not as enthusiastic about witchcraft as other wizards. Maybe it was hard to put it simply, but she felt that Ellie's attitude towards witchcraft was similar to her father's attitude towards the repair tools in the garage.
Use it when it's useful, and throw it aside when it's not... This made Hermione very confused.
Is this a wizard too?
"wizard?"
This time, Ellie finally raised her head and looked at Hermione, but after a moment, she talked about an irrelevant topic.
"Hermione, have you ever been to a museum?"
"Of course I have."
"Then you should know that many of the antiques displayed in museums were daily necessities for people in the period when they were made, but they were relatively difficult to obtain - but in modern times, these things have been replaced and are no longer useful, so they are placed in museums for commemoration and display."
Having said that, Ellie looked at Hermione again.
"The same is true for wizards."
“…”
Hermione was stunned by Ellie's answer.
"You mean... wizards are antiques?"
"certainly."
Ellie lowered her eyes again and looked at the book in front of her.
"Why do you think Hogwarts is here? Why do you think those wizards stay away from the world of ordinary people? The reason is simple. They have been eliminated by this world. Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, most people did not have special powers. They also lacked the wisdom to observe the stars of fate. They only knew how to wield the crude and simple weapons they forged in their hands to fight. To them, wizards who could summon fire and lightning and fly freely in the air were powerful, mysterious and terrifying..."
Hearing this, Hermione couldn't help but nodded. In fact, this was also her first impression of the wizard.
"But now the situation is completely different. People have built airplanes and cars. They can drive these steel behemoths to fly in the sky and dash on the ground. There is no need to learn any spells or have any talents. Even a pig can take a plane for a high-altitude trip as long as he has the opportunity. They used to be able to call the wind and rain, but now, ordinary people can also create weapons that are equally... or even more powerful to fight."
At this point, Ellie snorted.
"So what do you think is the meaning of the existence of these wizards? They cannot accept their own status, and cannot accept the difference between the present and the past. The era when people worshipped the mystery and power of wizards has ended. Humans have entered a new era. They do not need wizards, let alone witchcraft, to create a brighter and better future. So what do you think is the value of witchcraft and wizards?"
“…”
This time, Hermione was stunned. Although she had long noticed that Ellie was not very interested in wizards and witchcraft, and was even a little indifferent, she did not expect that she would think so.
“This…this…”
"I can tell you that even if all the wizards in the world died tomorrow morning, not a single one would be left. Their death, the destruction of the entire wizarding world, would not have the slightest impact on the human world, on this earth - just like the death of a group of ants would not cause any harm to a human community."
“But, but…”
Hearing this, Hermione's face turned pale. She looked at Ellie in surprise, as if she was looking at some treasonous regicide.
"But...if that's the case, why did you become a wizard?"
"Because without investigation, there is no right to speak."
Ellie raised her head again and stared at Hermione.
"My attitude has always been that if you want to judge something, you must first understand it. You can't criticize something you don't understand, so I learned witchcraft and became a wizard. Study them, think about them, and then draw conclusions, just like this."
As she spoke, Ellie placed a picture on the table, and Hermione saw at a glance that it was a picture of a chocolate frog with Dumbledore on it.
"Albus Dumbledore, the current headmaster of Hogwarts, is recognized as the greatest wizard of our time. Dumbledore's well-known contributions include: defeating the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, discovering the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and making great achievements in alchemy with his partner Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore is fond of chamber music and ten-pin bowling."
After reading the above introduction, Ellie glanced at Hermione.
“You should know this.”
"Um...what's the problem?"
"Of course. In that case, let me ask you, as the 'recognized' greatest wizard of our time, what contribution has he made to mankind?"
“…”
This time, Hermione was dumbfounded and could not answer. She had indeed read many stories about Dumbledore in biographies and history, but they were almost all related to wizards, and there were very few parts related to the Muggle world.
"Superstars can bring music and joy to the world, scientists can invent technological creations that change human life, and even wealthy businessmen can create wealth and provide jobs... So, what did Dumbledore, the recognized 'greatest wizard of our time', do?"
“…”
This time Hermione couldn't answer the question. When she read the book and saw the deeds of Dumbledore, she thought they were amazing - but when she thought about it carefully, if she asked whether these things Dumbledore did had any impact on human society... she really couldn't say.
After all, wizards always seemed to be isolated from Muggles. They didn't seem to want to have anything to do with the Muggle world at all, so much so that many times the books Hermione read made her feel as if they were things happening on another planet, completely different from the world she lived in.
At the same time, Hermione suddenly thought of a problem.
Do I really want to be a wizard?
What do I really think about my future?
Hermione didn't think about these issues too much before. When she received the notice and learned that she would become a wizard, she felt excited, thrilled, and happy. After arriving at Hogwarts, the various magical phenomena and existences she saw before her eyes also made Hermione very happy.
But after hearing what Ellie said, Hermione suddenly began to hesitate.
Do I really want to be a wizard in the future?
Indeed, if you think about it carefully, wizards are very powerful. For example, they can use magic wands to cast spells and make objects float - this kind of thing is definitely impossible in modern times, but what's the use?
And those black magics are all very powerful, but when you think about the scenes you have seen in war movies, they seem to be similar?
Besides, what should one do after becoming a wizard?
Wizards are not allowed to use magic in the Muggle world, which means that Hermione can hardly use magic to help her parents. So, what is the point of working in the wizarding world? But what is the point of these jobs? Will she choose to be a teacher like Professor McGonagall? Or do something else?
It was the first time that Hermione felt confused about her future.