The Number and Distribution of Wizards

Chapter 5 The Number and Distribution of Wizards

"Please come in, there's still room here."

Baron raised his head without changing his expression and made an inviting gesture: "I am Baron Shafik, and this is K, whose name I cannot disclose. It's a pleasure to travel with you."

"Qiu Zhang, it's nice to meet you." The Asian girl greeted her with a smile, then dragged her luggage in. "What were you talking about just now? It didn't seem to be going very well?"

Baron said seriously, "We were talking about the current state of Slytherin. We just agreed that some people in Slytherin have forgotten their former glory and are just blinded by pleasure, indulging their nature recklessly... uh..."

He was speechless for a moment, unsure of what words to use to describe those disappointing senior students.

"asshole."

Avada picked a somewhat appropriate word from the side.

"It's a bit vulgar, but basically correct."

Baron frowned slightly, but nodded in agreement: "That's why I just told him that those were absolutely not Slytherin's intentions, and asked him not to be prejudiced against Slytherin. If any Slytherin offends him in the future, I'm willing to offer my help as much as possible and apologize in advance."

"You are the same, Qiu."

"Thank you for your kindness." Qiu smiled and expressed her gratitude, then asked somewhat hesitantly, "However, if I may be so bold, I think the reason Slytherin's reputation is so...unsatisfactory, besides the factors you mentioned, is also related to their admission standards, right? Ambitious, power-hungry, victory-obsessed...it's hard to recruit good people, isn't it?"

"You've missed the most important point: 'valuing honor.'" Baron said seriously. "Moreover, a person's bottom line and conscience are the fundamental factors that determine whether he becomes a good person, and have nothing to do with ambition or power."

"I don't deny that people with these traits are more likely to lose themselves, their bottom line, and their conscience, which is why there are the most dark wizards from Slytherin. But this does not mean that this was Salazar Slytherin's intention, nor does it mean that there were no upright, kind, and trustworthy people in Slytherin."

"I believe that, and I wish you success in changing others' prejudices against Slytherin after you enter Slytherin."

Avada gently reassured Baron, then changed the subject: "Let's talk about something lighter. Qiu, you seem to be Asian? It seems rare to see Asian faces in England, and even rarer among wizards."

"yes."

Qiu laughed and said, "My mother is a British citizen of Chinese descent and also graduated from Hogwarts. According to her, she was the first Chinese wizard admitted to Hogwarts in over a thousand years, and I am very likely to be the second!" (Note)

“There’s something quite intriguing,” Avada said. “Asia is the most populous continent in the world, yet it has the fewest wizards. There’s only one magic school in all of Asia, the ‘School of Magic,’ which, despite recruiting students from all over Asia, is the smallest of the eleven magic schools.”

“I’ve seen similar questions in my family’s library,” Baron replied. “The mainstream view is that the birth of wizards seems to be related to the Earth’s magnetic field; the closer a location is to the magnetic poles, the more likely it is to produce wizards. Europe and North America, as the largest population centers near the magnetic poles, naturally have the most wizards. Although Asia has the largest population, it is the farthest from the magnetic poles, so the number of wizards is very small.”

"The southernmost parts of Africa and South America are close to the South Magnetic Pole and have a considerable population, so the number of wizards is also substantial. However, considering factors such as climate and natural resources, we chose to establish magic schools in Uganda and Brazil."

Avada was greatly impressed by this idea, a theory he had never considered when reading the original work.

"That sounds reasonable," he exclaimed sincerely.

"However, this viewpoint is merely a summary of reality and lacks empirical verification," Baron sighed. "Moreover, it cannot explain the distribution of magical creatures. Magical creatures are distributed on every continent, and in considerable numbers, which is something that magical creature scientists have always been puzzled by."

"I thought about this myself when I was a kid." Qiu's eyes lit up. "I think the bloodline inheritance of magical creatures is more stable than that of wizards. So as long as a new magical creature is born, or a magical animal migrates to another environment, it can continue to exist, forming a large population after a long period of evolution, without being constrained by geographical environment. The evidence is that there has never been a 'Squib' among magical creatures!"

"Quite an interesting point!" Baron exclaimed in surprise. "Did you really come up with that yourself?"

"certainly!"

Qiu nodded proudly: "I was thinking that once I've learned more, I'll refine this idea, write it into a paper, and publish it in the Daily Prophet. Who knows, it might even be worth a Merlin Second Class Medal?"

"You'll definitely be a great Ravenclaw," he exclaimed.

"Thank you for the compliment. This is also what my mother expects of me," Qiu said with a sweet smile.

Avada, a Muggle by birth whose knowledge of the magical world was limited to the original works and a few magic books he had just finished reading, listened with a completely bewildered expression.

Isn't the magical world just about Avada Kedavra and Exorcism weapons?

"Waaah—"

Just then, with a whistle, the Hogwarts Express slowly started moving, speeding towards the ancient and mysterious Hogwarts. Sunlight streamed in through the windows, followed by rapidly receding forests and grasslands.

"Speaking of which, we've been talking about me and Qiu the whole time, but K hasn't introduced himself yet."

On the speeding train, Baron bought some Chocolate Frogs and Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans to share with the two of them, while asking Avada a question.

"I?"

Avada thought for a moment and realized that she didn't really have anything worth emphasizing: "I'm Muggle-born, I have no parents, and I grew up in an orphanage. To be honest, I was quite startled when an owl dropped my Hogwarts acceptance letter onto my desk."

After limited observation and reading, Avada discovered that other wizards did not seem to be able to directly perceive magic like she did, so she stopped mentioning her magical senses to others.

"Oh, sorry."

Baron apologized briefly, then asked, "But what's the deal with your name? Why did Professor Dumbledore have to come to you personally to handle this?"

"Professor Dumbledore?!" Cho exclaimed in surprise, as she hadn't heard Avada and Baron's initial conversation.

"I don't know either."

Avada, without batting an eye, lied: "When Professor Dumbledore came, he showed me a few spells, explained the magical world to me, and then took me to a place called the Ministry of Magic. I talked to the people there for a long time about things I couldn't understand. Then, he gave me compensation for my name and even went to Gringotts to open a vault..."

Baron and Cho were even more surprised—what kind of name could alarm both Dumbledore and the Ministry of Magic at the same time, and why would the Ministry of Magic have to pay K a sum of compensation?

Moreover, the amount of this compensation is enough to open a vault in Gringotts!

"There might be big trouble hidden behind your name." Qiu Dai frowned slightly. "Professor Dumbledore is one of the most prestigious wizards in the entire wizarding world. If even he warned you not to reveal your name to others, it definitely means there's a serious problem, perhaps something even Professor Dumbledore himself might not be able to solve!"

Baron also cautioned, "And try not to tell anyone about the compensation. You might not know this, but having a vault in Gringotts means you're wealthier than most wizards in the wizarding world. Plus, you're Muggle-born and still very young, making you an easy target for others."

"I understand, thank you for reminding me." Avada was slightly touched and sincerely thanked the two of them.

"But you seem to know quite a bit about the wizarding world. Voldemort (Qiu Wei shudders slightly), Slytherin, and other magic schools—you know about them all. I had no idea you were a Muggle when we were chatting earlier," Baron asked curiously.

"Reading." Avada smiled slightly. "Besides textbooks, I bought quite a few books about the magical world in Diagon Alley, and I've learned quite a bit about it in the past month."

As the scenery outside the window rushed past, the sunlight gradually turned a dim yellow. After the three of them chatted and laughed in the carriage for most of the day, the train finally slowed down.

"The train will arrive at Hogwarts in five minutes. Please leave your luggage on the train; someone will take it to your dormitory!"

"The 'specialized personnel' here refers to house-elves," Baron explained to the two while straightening his clothes. "They are creatures that serve wizards, and they are in charge of the kitchens at Hogwarts. If someone is lucky enough to be sorted into Hufflepuff, they should see them quite often."

When the train finally stopped at a small station, it was completely dark and quite cold, making Avada shiver. Then he heard a gruff male voice shout:

"First-year students! First-year students, come over here!"

Note: Chinese people did not begin to settle in Britain until the 19th century, and a large-scale wave of Chinese immigration occurred only after World War II, with the Chinese population accounting for a very small percentage of the total British population. Therefore, the setting that Qiu's mother was the first Chinese wizard should be considered reasonable.

(End of this chapter)