Hogwarts: This Wizard is Unscientific 112
by adminChapter 112: Analyzing Mythology from a Magical Perspective
Cedric stared at Andy with envy. He wished he had Andy’s nerve.
Andy patted Cedric on the shoulder. “Hermione’s been researching Chinese mythology lately, and Cho’s helping her. Want to check it out at the library?”
Cedric practically leaped from the ground. “Why didn’t you say so sooner?” He glared at Andy with a reproachful look. “You made me play a stupid duel game when you had this amazing opportunity? Are you even my friend?”
“I had to make it seem natural!” Andy shrugged, smiling. “You’re a third-year Hufflepuff. If I just dragged you there, how would I explain it to Cho?”
“Say you’re admiring her beauty, so you followed along?”
Cedric’s face flushed crimson. “I never…”
The thought of admitting his admiration for Cho’s beauty was mortifying. He fidgeted, unsure where to put his hands.
Andy smirked. “Such a pure young lad.”
“So,” Andy continued, “I made you practice dueling, and during our casual chat, I mentioned Chinese wizarding culture…” He smiled. “See? Perfectly reasonable.”
Cedric nodded vigorously. “Yes, yes, let’s go!”
At the library, Andy and Cedric searched before finally finding Hermione and Cho in a quiet corner, poring over books and whispering to each other. They’d cleverly chosen a spot out of Madam Pince’s line of sight.
Andy was about to approach when he noticed Cedric freeze, failing to follow. He turned around… and facepalmed.
“Seriously? This handsome guy’s got a crush?”
“Hey! Snap out of it!” Andy tugged Cedric. “Don’t scare Cho with that dopey look.”
“Sorry!” Cedric recovered, hastily straightening his clothes and smoothing his hair. “Andy, is it okay?”
“You look great!” Andy shrugged, helpless.
Approaching Hermione and Cho, Andy smoothly pulled out chairs for himself and Cedric. “Hi Hermione, Cho!” he greeted them softly.
“Hello, I’m Cedric Diggory, a third-year Hufflepuff,” Cedric said, initially stiff, but quickly composing himself.
Cho looked up. “Hello! I’m Cho Chang, you can call me Cho.”
“Hello, Mr. Diggory,” Hermione greeted them, then turned to Andy. “How come you’re here? Didn’t you say you needed to find someone to duel with?”
“Just call me Cedric,” Cedric said, then glanced at Andy with a grateful look. *Nice cover story, bro!*
“Cedric and I were chatting about the Chinese magical world, and he turned out to be quite interested,” Andy casually replied before asking, “What are you reading?”
“Lots! Nüwa mending the sky (Nüwa补天, a Chinese myth about a goddess repairing the heavens), Kuafu chasing the sun (夸父追日, a myth about a giant chasing the sun), and other mythological systems,” Hermione replied, flipping through a book. “I’ve heard some of these stories before—in the Muggle world, I mean.”
“I’ve read the story of Nüwa mending the sky too,” Cedric chimed in, recalling recent research. “Legend says that in ancient times, a great flood devastated the world, and a witch named Nüwa, unable to bear the suffering of the people, created five-colored stones to repair the heavens.”
Cho looked at Cedric in surprise. She hadn’t expected so many people in the British wizarding world to be curious about ancient Chinese legends.
Cedric couldn’t help but smirk; Andy’s intel was spot on.
“Many mythological systems record legends of devastating floods,” Hermione said thoughtfully. “But in my opinion, it’s just an exaggeration by ancient people who couldn’t cope with natural disasters.”
“If Nüwa was a witch, the five-colored stones would have been some kind of alchemical artifact. We all know that reinforcing riverbanks prevents floods,” she added.
*Seriously? People still care about this?* Andy thought. *And the five-colored stones were for repairing the heavens, not riverbanks!*
“If you relate the myths to reality, it’s understandable,” Cedric said. “Many Muggle myths are actually the results of ancient witches’ magic. Muggles didn’t understand magic, and as rumors spread, they evolved into myths.”
Cho added, “My mother told me these stories when I was little. In ancient China, during the Shang and Zhou dynasties, there are some legends about witches, but they disappeared later. Maybe it’s because the wizarding world separated from the Muggle world!”
“They call them witches in China too?” Andy had thought they were called Qi practitioners.
“My mother said so,” Cho replied.
Cedric was astonished. “The magical and Muggle worlds separated so early in China?”
“I know about this!” Hermione exclaimed. “It is said that a war occurred in ancient China, called the Investiture of the Gods (封神之战, a reference to the *Investiture of the Gods* novel, a major Chinese mythological story). If it wasn’t a myth, maybe witches participated in the Muggle war.”
Cho explained, “The Investiture of the Gods was supposedly at the end of the Shang Dynasty!”
“That explains it!” Hermione seemed to have found the truth. “Because witches participated in the Muggle war, resulting in excessive casualties, the magical world separated from the Muggle world to prevent such things from happening again.”
Andy: *…Forced explanation much?*
Listening to the three of them, Andy found that, ignoring his past memories, their explanations were plausible. But wasn’t *Investiture of the Gods* a novel?
“Andy, why aren’t you saying anything?” Hermione asked, rarely seeing Andy so silent.
Hermione glared at Andy. *You told me to get Cho to go back to China, so why are you keeping quiet?*
“Does the library have books on this?” Andy asked.
Hermione handed him a large book. “They’re all here. Read it yourself.”
Andy flipped through the book. It contained ancient Chinese legends, but looking at them from a magical perspective gave him a strange feeling.
Hermione glanced at the chapter Andy was reading. “That’s the story of Jingwei filling the sea (精卫填海, a myth about a bird trying to fill the sea with pebbles). I think it was probably a failed Animagus transformation.”
Andy: *Speechless.*
“Jingwei died by the sea, right?” Cho mused. “I remember that to practice Animagus transformation, you need a storm.”
(End of Chapter)
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