A Very Thick American History of Magic
After signing the contract, Albert returned to the villa, sat on the sofa in the living room, and talked to the others about alchemy.
Catherine would occasionally chime in with a word or two, and the atmosphere was quite pleasant.
However, the conversation always veered off course, and somehow it turned into Albert winning the International Wizard's Chess Competition, and then into Nicholas giving up the Philosopher's Stone.
Nicholas expressed his regret, having visited Mr. Nicolas in his youth and lamenting the decision of the greatest alchemist in history.
When Catherine heard that Nicholas planned to teach Albert in the last few years of her life, Catherine eyes were practically overflowing with envy.
If she could, Catherine would also like to study under Nicolas Flamel, but she just couldn't bring herself to say it.
To say it would be disrespectful to Grandpa Nicholas.
Nicholas was aware of his granddaughter's thoughts, but he didn't have any good solutions.
He himself was not familiar with Nicholas, so it was impossible for him to write a letter of introduction for his granddaughter. Moreover, after Catherine became his successor, she would need to take on responsibilities, and she still had a lot to learn.
The conversation ended with Nicholas inviting the two to his Alchemy Workshop the next day.
As night deepened, Albert leaned against his pillows, unable to sleep, and began to read the books he had borrowed from Catherine by the light of the room's lamp.
The Charms at Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is called "Chadwick's Charms," and it was written by the school's Founders Chadwick Butt.
How should I put it?
The content wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either.
Books from the early 17th century, even those written by powerful wizards, would inevitably have some problems.
After all, Chadwick Butt is not a professional writer of educational books.
Of course, "The Chadwick's Charms" is not the 17th-century version; this book has been rewritten and revised many times by later generations.
The flaw is that this Charms obviously suffers from the same problem as Miranda Gossack's "The Book of Spells": the content of the Dark Curse in the book has been basically deleted.
How could an ancient book of spells not contain Dark Curse?
Those ancient books contain more or less some strange and unusual spells, and those that can be used as teaching materials have all been abridged and rewritten.
If I had to judge which Charms is better, it would be the Standard Book of Spells series, adapted from the Book of Spells.
After all, this book was specially researched and carefully adapted by Miranda Goshak.
Moreover, the fact that "Standard Book of Spells" has become a textbook in many magic schools around the world speaks volumes.
What interests Albert most is the History of Magic, or rather, the History of Magic in United States. This country's history is not very long, but its History of Magic is particularly thick, at least it is the thickest book Catherine gave him.
This book describes in detail some famous historical events in the United States, such as the founding of the Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the Salem Witch Trials, the founding of the American Magical Congress, the crimes of the Scourers (those who committed murder, human trafficking of wizards, torture and other evils), the birth of the Twelve Auror of United States, the history of the elimination of the Scourers, the leak of secrets by the witch Dorcas Twelve Trees, and then the history of the five relocations of the United States, and the Great Sasquatch Rebellion.
In fact, once you've read through this book on the History of Magic in United States, you'll understand why the United States Wizarding World Wizarding World is different from those in other countries.
The real culprits were the Puritans in Britain and even Europe.
These Catholic remnants of reformers, after fleeing to North America, had very low tolerance for faith, which led to a lot of trouble.
Although only some Muggle were unlucky, the relationship between wizards and Muggle became quite bad.
In fact, you can tell from the very first line of the Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry's School Song: We stand united against the Puritans.
Later, the witch Dorcas Twelve Trees caused a lot of trouble because of her infatuation with a handsome Muggle (Bartholomew Barryborn was a descendant of the Scourers).
This led to the creation and implementation of Rappaport's Law, which completely severed the ties between Muggle and wizarding societies.
The law prohibits male and female wizards from befriending or marrying Muggle, and severely punishes wizards who get too close to Muggle.
Wand Permit also came into being under the Rappaport's Law.
The law stipulates that only male and female wizards who have reached the legal age (17 years old) can legally possess wands outside of school, which is why the guy from the Ministry of Magic confiscated his wand.
As for the students of Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, they borrow their wands from the school before graduating and leave them at the school during holidays. Only graduating students can buy their own wands from the school.
The American magical world is very strict with wand manufacturers.
In fact, the Muggle have even more lenient gun control than they do.
The creation of Rappaport's Law further deepened the cultural differences between the United States and Europe Wizarding World, which is the main reason why many wizards dislike going to United States.
Because you need to be extra careful, otherwise you might find yourself inexplicably guilty of a serious crime and thrown in jail.
Later, the American Magical Congress probably also felt that the Rappaport's Law was very undemocratic, so it repealed the Rappaport's Law in 1965.
The Rappaport's Law have been repealed? Albert's expression grew increasingly strange upon seeing this.
Yes, in order to demonstrate the American Magical Congress' commitment to freedom, equality, and human rights, the American Magical Congress repealed the Rappaport's Law in 1965.
To be precise, the American Magical Congress abolished the term "Rappaport's Law".
Judging from the mess Albert encountered in United States, it's easy to guess that most of the policies in Rappaport's Law have been retained. For example, wizards need to have Wand Permit, Muggle and wizards cannot marry or befriend each other, and wizarding families cannot keep Magical Creatures... well, all of these are serious crimes.
Yes, any wizard entering the United States needs to be supervised by the France, otherwise it is a serious crime.
Of course, the United States is so big that there are always shadows that the brilliance of the American Magical Congress cannot reach, but if these wizards living in the shadows commit serious crimes, they face the death penalty.
It is said that the American Magical Congress upholds humanitarian principles and carries out painless executions.
According to the book, Newt, the famous author of "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," almost lost his life in United States. He made amends by helping the American Magical Congress arrest Gellert Grindelwald, the Dark Lord, and thus left this land of freedom and democracy alive.
Albert closed the book, placed the American History of Magic on his desk, and realized that it would be better for him to stay away from United States in the future.
Just as he picked up the Defense Against the Dark Arts, there was a knock at the door.
"Who is it?" Albert put the book on the table, got out of bed and walked towards the wooden door.
Catherine, wearing pink pajamas, was standing outside the door.
"Is there something you need?"
"I noticed you weren't asleep yet, so I made you a cup of cocoa as an apology," Catherine said, handing Albert a cup of hot cocoa. "I'm so sorry for the trouble I caused you today."
"Oh, I didn't take it to heart. There are people like that everywhere." Albert took the hot cocoa, took a sip, and accepted the apology.
He didn't really take it to heart. Anyway, he wouldn't come to United States again, nor would he ever see the other person again, so there was no point in taking it to heart.
Goodnight.
"Thank you for the hot cocoa, it was delicious!" After Catherine left, Albert closed the door behind him, went back to bed and read for a while longer. When he felt sleepy, he turned off the light and went to bed.