The moment those words fell, all of Durmstrang, along with Hogwarts and Beauxbatons thousands of miles away, simultaneously sank into a silence so deep one could hear a pin drop.
The werewolf curse...
This problem, which had plagued the magical societies of the entire world for centuries, had been quietly solved just like that by an organization that had only been established for a few decades and had never been heard of before?
For as long as anyone could remember, the werewolf issue had been a stubborn illness troubling magical society. Naturally, countless wizards had racked their brains trying to overcome this disease. But before today, the best result they had been able to produce was merely an absurdly expensive potion that could only prevent a werewolf from transforming once a month...
As for a cure?
They had not even dared to think of it!
Many people subconsciously assumed this newly revealed organization was simply bluffing and swindling. But even more people had already recognized, among the many faces on the judges' stand, the expert who had invented the Wolfsbane Potion—Damocles Belby. His appearance undoubtedly raised the credibility of this statement to a level that was almost completely reliable...
"I guarantee that this result is entirely true and reliable. Our team will also make this achievement freely available to all of society. Around next week, you should be able to see the relevant papers in newspapers and academic journals... And our achievements go far beyond this."
Seeing the students and professors below fall into silence together, Goshawk also understood what effect her words had produced. She smiled calmly, then continued throwing out one heavy bombshell after another, all of which had long since been prepared.
"And this is merely the most important achievement the university has made within the past year or two. Besides this, we have achieved much more—for example, the mist screens you used to watch the competition this time, the establishment of the first basilisk breeding farm, and even the development of the latest broomstick, the Firebolt, all received help from the university... We can even say without blushing that the breakthroughs the university has made in these thirty years exceed those made by the entire magical society over a century!"
"Do you know why that is?"
"We are not more outstanding than other wizards. Although our professors are all elites in their academic fields, none of them dares claim to be the finest or most authoritative figure in any given field. And as Headmistress, I dare even less to say that the university has gathered all the talent in society... But the fact is that these people, limited in both talent and number, came together and, in a very short time, created achievements capable of shaking society... Why?"
After posing this question, Goshawk deliberately paused for a while, giving the audience enough time to think. Only then did she give her answer.
"In truth, we did not make people smarter. We merely discovered people who were already intelligent through the framework of the 'university,' then placed them in the positions most suited to them."
"In Europe, hundreds of wizards come of age, graduate from magic schools, and enter society every year. Among them, apart from the tiny minority who come from families with deep academic traditions or are hired by research institutions, the vast majority have no opportunity to pursue further study. Countless intelligent minds, carrying countless possibilities, are sent onto a fixed life trajectory at far too young an age. Without question, whether for individual wizards or magical society as a whole, this is an enormous waste."
"..."
Goshawk's voice stopped again, but all of Durmstrang remained utterly silent.
Even Dumbledore, Karkaroff, and Maxime, the three headmasters, maintained their silence with complicated expressions. As people standing at the summit of magical society, they were the ones who best understood just how true Goshawk's words were.
And yet, before this year, all of them had also done nothing for all sorts of reasons.
This was not their fault, because it was not their responsibility to begin with. Moreover, with the current environment between wizards and Muggles, suddenly activating the full vitality of magical society might not necessarily be a good thing...
But when these words poured into their ears, they still felt as though they had become some kind of antiques, no longer belonging to the vibrant era that was about to begin.
"In truth, this is what education should mean,"
After a moment, Goshawk spoke again.
"At the very beginning, children who know nothing should learn a little of everything, understand a little of everything, and be given enough choices to discover the field they love most and have the greatest talent for. Then, from within that broad field, they should find a narrower field they are better at and continue studying it more deeply... This process should then repeat again and again, until they reach the limits of what they can master. Only then should they finally decide whether to transform the knowledge they already possess into wealth through work, or continue researching and expand the boundaries of knowledge... The more people who participate in this process, the more knowledge will be developed and used. Society will progress more and more, and people's lives will gradually improve."
"But all this time, the education of magical society has run contrary to this process. Students lose their channels for further study just as they have grasped basic knowledge and before they have made any deeper choices. As for those who promote social progress, they are either people qualified to access deeper knowledge but not necessarily truly skilled at it, or once-in-ten-thousand geniuses who rely on astonishing talent to become all-rounders without making a choice at all..."
"And the remaining vast number of minds, gifted yet never properly developed, are restricted and buried just like that."
"To break this rigid state of affairs and allow the social vitality long buried beneath the surface to bloom once more—this was Headmaster Nobby Leach's original intention in founding this university, and it is also the principle we have upheld all along."
Goshawk's voice gradually rose, and her tone gained a few traces of pride.
"Leach University has now operated for a full thirty years. In these thirty years, we have continuously recruited students and professors in secret, sending more than five hundred elite wizards with frontier knowledge into society one after another. They have carried their outstanding abilities into every profession and made enormous contributions to the development of society."
"And even setting those graduates aside, the university's own research team alone has achieved theoretical and technological breakthroughs in multiple fields over these thirty years. At the same time, we have also opened up several entirely new research fields... I believe that from what all of you experienced earlier, you should already have seen this point."
"Due to certain circumstances, before today, the university could only operate in secret—secretly recruiting students and teaching. Every newly joined member had to sign a confidentiality agreement and was not allowed to reveal the existence of the university without permission... People like Mr. Ken, as well as quite a few among those present, have all gone through this step. And today, Leach University is about to welcome a brand-new beginning..."
As she spoke, Goshawk drew a neatly folded piece of parchment from within her robes and slowly unfolded it. Then she took out her wand and touched it to the parchment, an irrepressible smile appearing on her wrinkled face.
Boom!
A burst of flame suddenly erupted from her wand, devouring the parchment completely in an instant. Her voice, almost shouted, spread across the entire venue together with the firelight—
"I, Miranda Goshawk, in the name of the current Headmistress of Leach University, after unanimous approval by the board of governors and all professors, hereby announce..."
"From this moment forth, Leach University terminates the magical contracts of the Confidentiality Regulations for New Student Enrollment and the Confidentiality Regulations for Employment, officially entering its public phase. All professors and graduates no longer need to conceal their identities or educational backgrounds!"
(End of Chapter)