Hogwarts: Voldemort, don't stop me from studying

Chapter 108: Elves and Biological Alchemy

"Bioalchemy?"

Wade thought of the walking tin can man for a moment, and then he recalled what he had learned from the book: "Like the Sorting Hat and Wizard Chess?"

Professor Murray smiled.

"Wizards chess and the Sorting Hat may look similar, but they are actually very different."

He raised his finger, and the lid of a box on the table opened. The black and white chess pieces lined up and walked out, standing on the chessboard while making a lot of noise.

The White Queen glared at Vader with great dissatisfaction: "Hurry up and play chess. Do you have any instructions?"

The knight on the other side shouted, "Let me charge! I want to crush the enemy army!"

Professor Murray nodded, and the chess pieces immediately quieted down.

"This is Wizard Chess."

Professor Murray said: "Sometimes people give people the illusion that they are alive and have thoughts. In fact, this is not the case - do you know why?"

Vader thought about it carefully.

He didn't play chess very often, but because the chess pieces were very interesting, he also collected a set and let them fight on the board when he was bored.

The more you observe, the more you will find that these seemingly lively chess pieces actually behave in a very stereotyped way.

"They always display similar personalities and say similar things... There are some changes occasionally, but they don't grow or learn from their failures."

"Right, so these are just toys pretending to have thoughts."

Professor Murray put the chess pieces back into the box and said:

"To infuse thought into inanimate objects, to make things like mirrors, measuring tapes, and broomsticks appear to have minds of their own, is just low-level bio-alchemy."

"But the Sorting Hat is different. If you interact with it a few more times, you'll find that it's actually quite thoughtful."

“It’s about truly thinking independently and making your own judgment, rather than rigidly selecting students based on the ideas of the four founders.”

Wade gritted his teeth when he thought about being rejected by the Sorting Hat.

——That's right! That guy is not only thoughtful, but also very sarcastic.

"But the Sorting Hat isn't really a life form...it has a brain, but it can't reproduce, and it doesn't metabolize."

"True biological alchemy—in ancient times it was actually called life alchemy—is the ability to create real living organisms, and you are no stranger to the most successful works. Guess what, Wade...what is that?"

Vader lowered his head and thought.

Bioalchemy... a real living organism... capable of self-reproduction... a successful work...

He had learned a lot about magical creatures from books, but had actually come into contact with very few of them.

After a moment, Vader looked up and said affirmatively, "House-elf."

Professor Murray smiled with satisfaction: "Yes, it is a house-elf."

"Legend has it that ancient wizards felt that life was inconvenient because they were far away from people, so all kinds of elves were born from nature."

“Golanlin helped craftsmen improve their skills and make tools;”

"The elves help on the farms, and some even make shoes for people;"

"Wine cellar spirits help people manage food and wine, but they also steal wine themselves;"

"Cobbers will help with milking cows, picking up eggs, and cleaning the yard;" "Brown elves will do housework with extraordinary speed and efficiency, but if they are paid, they will disappear forever."

"At the same time, because of the evil thoughts of the wizard, many bad elves were born from the swamps, from the roots of the trees, and from the dark forests."

"Goblins cause disasters, redcaps hunt for blood, goblins make animals sick, Pixie makes people lost, and Berdock scares children at night."

"Some of these elves have become legends, and we don't know whether they really exist; but some of them... you can learn about them in the Defense Against the Dark Arts class."

Wade nodded: "There are red hats in the third grade textbook... House elves are the descendants of those good elves?"

Excluding the part of the world that revolves around wizards, even if the legends of the magical world sound beyond imagination... they are very likely to be true.

"'Descendant' is too mild, Vader."

Professor Murray said: "To be precise, the ancient wizards used extreme means to strip away the parts of the elves' bodies that were not beneficial to humans-"

"Like laziness, theft, mischief... and dignity."

"The first house-elves were born from experiments."

"But their magic power is too weak, and their efficiency is greatly reduced. They are even often harmed by livestock."

"So the ancient wizards made some modifications to them - blending the blood of fairies into them, so that house-elves also have powerful magic powers."

"But goblins don't seem to consider house-elves as their own kind?" asked Vader.

"Of course not." Professor Murray said slowly: "Fairies are very proud. In their eyes, house-elves are lowly creatures, not worthy of being called their own kind."

"After the house-elves acquired powerful magical powers, they were no longer willing to be enslaved by wizards."

"Their predecessors - such as brown elves and dwarf elves - although they enjoy working for wizards, they are proud creatures and can even harbor malice towards their masters if they feel insulted."

Wade nodded and said, "That's why there is a record of the elf rebellion in the History of Magic."

More than half of the wars between wizards and alien races in "History of Magic" were caused by goblins, so many students did not pay attention to the subtle differences in the expressions and regarded the goblin rebellion and the elf rebellion as the same thing.

"Yes." Professor Murray sighed, "Although not many times, the house elves have rebelled a few times."

"Wizards are reluctant to completely destroy these creatures, so they can only reshape their minds and erase their personalities time and time again, planting a mark of absolute obedience in their minds, making them happy to be enslaved by wizards."

"Thus the most ideal slaves were domesticated."

"But there is only one thing that is rooted in the soul of this creature, and wizards cannot eliminate it no matter what - that is life's natural yearning for freedom."

"So wizards and house-elves have an unchangeable contract - when their masters give them clothes, they will be free."

"But……"

Wade recalled the attitudes of the elves towards freedom in the original story, and the exiled elf named "Sparkling".

"Almost all the elves I know hate freedom. If they are exiled by their masters, they will feel very humiliated and miserable."

"Yes—in agony."

Professor Murray's smile contained a hint of sarcasm.

"Exiled house-elves are free and can go anywhere - including their original owner's home."

"But look, have any of the exiled elves returned?"

(End of this chapter)