Chapter 192

"Idiot! Crybaby! Scraps! Twist!" Murphy suddenly repeated Dumbledore's pre-meal speech.

"In Ravenclaw's eyes, only themselves are the smartest, everyone else are idiots, but in fact, everyone only thinks they are bookworms."

"In Gryffindor's eyes, they are incredibly brave, everyone else are crybabies and cowards. But actually, everyone else thinks they are stubborn and reckless, troublemakers, chaos-makers."

"In Slytherin's eyes, only they understand ambition, everyone else are lazy good-for-nothings. But in fact, everyone else thinks they are gloomy and selfish, a bunch of bad seeds."

"In Hufflepuff's eyes, they are loyal and hardworking, always down-to-earth, while everyone else is too flamboyant. But in fact, everyone thinks they are boring, lacking any personality."

"Our wise headmaster had long noticed this, and therefore reminded everyone to unite and make up for each other's shortcomings." Murphy said, bowing slightly to Dumbledore, "Thank you for your great wisdom."

Dumbledore smiled, but behind his half-moon-shaped glasses lay a pair of deep, thoughtful blue eyes.

As Professor McGonagall said, this child is indeed exceptionally intelligent.

Yet even he, at this moment, does not know what Murphy actually wants to do.

"You may know, or you may not have heard," Murphy said, "Besides being a professor of practical lessons, I am also a school governor. I came to the school because I was entrusted by the school board to help improve and raise the quality of teaching."

"Therefore, possibly unlike everyone else, when I look at the school's various affairs, I have an extra scrutinizing eye, always thinking one layer deeper."

"For example, today, this sorting ceremony that we all take for granted. I will ask myself a question."

"Why do we sort into houses?"

The hall immediately buzzed with discussion, a Gryffindor student shouted: "We have to be sorted as soon as we arrive; the sorting ceremony has lasted a thousand years, since the school's founding. It's always been done this way—what kind of problem is that?"

"It's always been done this way." Murphy nodded, "You're right."

"But, has it always been right?"

"What?"

Then the hall exploded.

The post-meal drowsiness vanished instantly.

They had never heard such an explosive theory before.

This newly arrived professor actually dares to question the school's thousand-year-old tradition?!

Good heavens, you must be a true Gryffindor!

This courage breaks through the heavens!

Professor McGonagall felt her heart pounding, a sense that something was terribly wrong; she glanced anxiously at Dumbledore, but the headmaster simply pressed his hand down calmly, signaling her to stay calm.

He, however, really wanted to hear what Murphy was actually going to say.

"So who can tell me why we originally sorted into houses?" Murphy asked.

A little girl immediately raised her hand.

As expected of a top student, even though she hasn't attended a single class yet, she's still the first to raise her hand.

"Miss Henmi Gelanjie."

"Be-, cough, because the four founders, when establishing the school, hoped to teach according to aptitude, each selecting students suited to their own qualities to teach, thus they established the four houses."

"Miss Granger, I should add ten points for you."

"That's right, the origin of house sorting comes from the four founders. Since each founder's traits differed, even the magic, spells, and skills they excelled at were different, so they needed disciples suited to their natures. That is the original purpose of house sorting."

"But, everyone, do we still have the four founders now?"

"Is there any essential difference in the knowledge studied by each house?"

"What kind of magic or skill is easy for Gryffindor to learn but hard for Slytherin to master?"

"What magic potion or knowledge can be obtained merely through intelligence and insight, without needing diligent effort?"

"If so, please tell me, and I should list them separately and assign specific houses to teach them."

This...

The murmuring in the hall rose again in volume.

Suddenly another Gryffindor student stood up, saying, "Professor, even if our courses aren't different, we are clearly different from Slytherin! Separating into different houses makes us get along better with those around us, and moreover, competition between houses won't make us work harder for honor?"

"You're right," Murphy said, "competition is beneficial."

"The problem is, who is competing against whom, and what is being competed over?"

"I ask you, in the same competition, would losing to Gryffindor feel the same as losing to Slytherin?"

"This... of course not."

"Yes, it's different," Murphy said, "because Gryffindor are 'our own,' while Slytherin are 'the enemy.'"

"Losing to one's own doesn't matter, since they're friends and it has nothing to do with honor. Losing to the enemy is shameful, unacceptable."

"But have you considered that after graduation, or rather in the British wizarding world, no one will divide your competitive field by house? Would you, after graduation, only compete with a Slytherin, a Ravenclaw, and a Hufflepuff when looking for a job?"

"House competition is competition between groups."

"Group competition brings a sense of honor, but it hardly motivates individual initiative. Because once individuals are wrapped up in the group, aside from the leading students who bear the group's win or loss, others feel no competitive pressure."

"But a good competitive environment should give everyone an upward striving spirit, rather than only having competitive awareness toward certain classmates or groups."

"Therefore, competition between houses does not hold much significance for students' personal growth."

"On the contrary, to some extent it can even be harmful."

The students in the hall were almost numb, asking, "Why?"

"Do you still remember what I said at the beginning? Our four houses have completely different views of themselves and of others. How did this difference arise?"

"Does Gryffindor necessarily have courage? Not necessarily. If you've read the newspapers, you've probably heard the story of Peter—he is a Gryffindor."

"The same goes for the other three houses—does every student actually match their house's traits?"

"No, and sometimes the gap is huge."

"But when a person differs from their house's traits, others don't care about that; they simply judge him by his house. What is this, classmates?"

The hall fell silent, quietly watching Murphy, waiting for his answer.

"This is called prejudice."

(End of chapter)