Andrew had never analyzed the wizarding world so formally. As most people he knew understood it, the wizarding world was a place cut off from the Muggle world and hidden by the Secrecy Law.
But Berkeley, the sixth-year Ravenclaw, gave him a fuller picture. It was a way of analyzing things that resembled what Andrew knew, but better reflected how the wizarding world worked.
"If you've studied Herbology seriously, you'll know we're quite good at growing food crops. But crops are a very different thing from the food wizards eat."
"We have better ways than Muggles to grow those crops, keep insects off them, and even harvest them. But processing them—turning them into flour, rice, or bread—requires expensive Alchemy Devices. Our current methods can't properly replicate Muggle machinery, and wizards who can process it all in one go are far too rare."
"A Ravenclaw I used to know designed a way to measure this kind of production. He looked at the abilities of graduates over ten years and chose a midpoint. The amount of work a wizard at that midpoint could reasonably accomplish through spellcasting in one day was called one magical labor-hour."
"He borrowed a little from the Muggles there, but it solved a real problem. Using that measure, he calculated the magical labor-hours required for all kinds of work done by wizards. Then he compared a great many Muggle-made products against the hours wizards would need to make them. The result was a very interesting table."
"That's remarkable..."
"Of course. He's now the Office Director of the Ministry of Magic's Logistics Department."
"The Logistics Department?"
Andrew thought for a moment and remembered the department. He had heard of it now. It might not sound impressive, but through that bizarre club, he had learned it was on the same