"You... you want to send Master to Azkaban?"
The little girl Sam stood not far away, speaking blankly.
Upon hearing this, the previously stern-faced Newt instantly changed his expression, smiling brightly as he explained, "This kind of matter can't be concluded yet, okay? If Richard hasn't done anything wrong, then of course nothing will happen. But if he really did make a mistake, then he must face legal punishment!"
Newt was always honest, and everything he said was the truth.
But whether the little girl could understand this truth was another question, in any case, she definitely couldn't accept it.
Because as soon as Newt finished speaking, she immediately turned and disappeared around the corner from which she had come.
"I'll go bring her back."
Kettleburn said this in a low voice and was about to stand up.
But Richard, sitting across from him, suddenly hugged his only remaining good leg tightly, pleading, "Wait! It has nothing to do with her! Professor Kettleburn, for the sake of our past teacher-student relationship, please give me a chance to explain. I can explain, I can make everything clear."
"Richard, do you think this is still Hogwarts? The Ministry of Magic isn't as easygoing as Dumbledore. This time, it's fortunate that we're the ones who came."
"If it had been Aurors, you would have been arrested on the spot. Let go of me! If that girl escapes and leaks the wizarding secret further, not even we will be able to protect you!"
Kettleburn spoke with pain and anger. After speaking, he even raised his mechanical prosthetic limb.
However, at that moment, Link waved his hand and said, "Forget it, Professor. Let's just hear how he explains. As for that girl, don't worry. She won't leak secrets, because she's a Squib. When it comes to the Statute of Secrecy, she understands better than we do."
Hearing this, Kettleburn finally stopped his movement, and Richard also cast a grateful and respectful look at Link and Emily.
Then, Richard didn't waste any time, and began telling his story.
———
Richard Seler was born into a Muggle family in the Greenland west coast oasis.
At the age of ten, he immigrated to the UK with his parents, and was then discovered to have magical talent, later entering Hogwarts.
And just like most Muggle-born wizards, after graduating, Richard faced a difficult choice, whether to stay in the magical world, or return to the Muggle world.
Richard's choice was, to return to the Muggle world.
The reason was very simple. The magical world's involution was extremely intense, not only were job opportunities limited, but there was also severe bloodline discrimination.
If a non-pureblood wizard wanted to get a good job like a Ministry of Magic official, unless they were absolutely outstanding among their peers, it was basically impossible.
At this point, Link nodded in agreement. In his past life, he had already noticed the issue of bloodline discrimination hidden in the Harry Potter world.
Take the Weasley family, for example.
Everyone knows the Weasleys love Muggle culture, even if their understanding of Muggles only comes from distorted and nonsensical magical books.
At the same time, they were also staunch anti-bloodline discrimination advocates.
But the truth is, they were actually beneficiaries of bloodline discrimination.
Because Mr. Weasley's job was as a clerk in the Ministry's "Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office".
A job dreamed of by many lower-class wizards.
Logically, this position should be more suited to Muggle-born wizards, since they understand Muggle items better. But in reality?
Mr. Weasley didn't have a single Muggle-born coworker (otherwise his understanding of the Muggle world wouldn't be so twisted and shallow).
Link didn't believe that Mr. Weasley and his colleagues, who had such deep misunderstandings and biases about the Muggle world, had such strong working abilities that they were irreplaceable.
So the reason behind it was obvious. They were all pureblood.
Mr. Weasley, even more so, was part of the noble and sacred Twenty-Eight Pureblood Families.
So even though he was called the disgrace of the purebloods, and even though he sometimes benefited from the system while criticizing it, he could still hold a stable job in the Ministry.
But people like Richard, had no chance at all!
———
Richard chose to return to the Muggle world to live. But he quickly ran into a new problem.
That was, after studying and living at Hogwarts for so many years, he had no survival skills at all, and was also completely disconnected from the ever-changing Muggle world.
He was like a prisoner who had been locked up for 7 years, totally unfit for life outside.
And because of the existence of the Statute of Secrecy, he couldn't use magic in front of others or profit using his wizard abilities.
So after a few years of struggling, Richard completely gave up. Or rather, he became Buddhist (i.e., indifferent, giving up ambitions).
Richard directly abandoned the Muggle world, but also didn't choose to return to the wizarding world. Instead, he returned to his birthplace, Greenland.
Originally, he just wanted to live in seclusion out of despair.
But soon, he encountered the first group of wandering Inuit, who were driven to desperation by cold and hunger.
Coincidentally, because of his own experiences, Richard also saw himself as a self-exiled wanderer.
So he felt sympathy for these fellow wanderers, the Inuit. He even opened up a small livable area beside his home for them.
And from there, things were simple. More and more wandering Inuit people arrived. And because Richard accepted everyone without exception, the livable area around his home naturally grew larger and larger.
Eventually, it formed what is now known as the Land of Miracles.
During this process, he also met Sam, a girl who had been abandoned by her parents, and then taken in by Inuit wanderers.
Most importantly, Sam might even have magical talent.
Richard had originally planned to send her to Hogwarts at age 11, but unfortunately, facts proved that Sam was just a Squib.
Her parents may have abandoned her for this very reason.
And the reason Sam stayed by Richard's side as a maid, was because the Inuit people offered her as a tribute to serve Richard.
Richard originally intended to just play along, because if he didn't accept her, Sam would be sacrificed by fire.
But the scariest part was that Sam herself had already been brainwashed by her Inuit foster family.
She truly wanted to serve Richard with all her heart and soul.
And so, Richard could only play this pretend maid game with her.
"...Do you know? It was them, and Sam, who saved me! I had already lost all hope in this world. But now, I have a new dream! I want them to live good lives! I want to make my homeland a true sanctuary for life!"
Richard ended his confession with a passionate declaration.
And seeing his resolute expression, with his posture glowing with righteousness, even Professor Kettleburn and Newt couldn't help but shed tears of emotion.
What a story of a disheartened youth rediscovering purpose in life.
Even Emily and little Rolf, after hearing this, couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
However, Link's brow was furrowed so tightly, it was almost twisted into a knot.
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