ᵖʳᵒᵘᵈ ᵖᵃʳᵉⁿᵗˢ ; ʰᵃʳᵐⁱᵒⁿᵉ ✓

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Chapter 38 - The Path to Knowledge

Cornelius, hearing that the new building at Hogwarts was structurally finished, quickly arranged an invitation that saw him arriving after dinner to see for himself exactly what all this fuss was about. Severus and Andromeda escorted the Minister to the new building, keen to show off the centrepiece of their plan to keep Hogwarts open - and ensure all three of them still had their jobs come September.

The first shock Cornelius received was the covered walkway leading to the new building, the second was the number of students already using the walkway - clearly heading for the new facility. His first sight of the actual building was another shock to his system, or rather the six red telephone boxes lined up alongside the strange looking building.

"Do the students need to use these to enter the building?"

It was Andi who took up the explanation. "No, these are genuine muggle telephone boxes - containing actual working telephones. We know the Institute students actually have telephones in their rooms, that's simply not possible at Hogwarts. This though gives our students an opportunity to phone families, friends and - in Mr Diggory's case - his girlfriend in the Institute."

Severus was nodding along with the professor in charge of what was quickly becoming Hogwarts pride and joy - and it wasn't even fully operational yet.

"It would seem the latest fad for purebloods is to have a muggle telephone in their homes. Sitting in your comfiest chair, sipping your favourite tipple, while talking on the telephone is a lot more practical than getting on your knees and sticking your head into a fireplace. It's also made a tremendous difference to the older muggle born students still at Hogwarts."

Continuing their twin attack, Andi also explained the educational benefits. "We have a change machine that exchanges our coins for muggle currency, forcing our students to learn and handle the correct coins needed to make calls. This should allow them to use any telephone box in Britain, as they will be the exact same as these ones here."

The Minister could clearly see all six boxes currently had a student in each of them, with another eight or nine queuing for their turn to make a call. That this muggle technology was so readily and easily being used by witches and wizards all over the country was more proof - if any were needed - that they simply had to embrace these changes.

Entering the building, Cornelius found himself being introduced to the Assistant Professor / Technician who would keep everything running - while assisting Professor Tonks with teaching her subject.

"This is Aaron James. He's extremely knowledgeable about his subject, but is struggling with explaining that same subject to people who know nothing about it. He keeps using big words or terms that none of us will have heard before - far less understand." Andi was smiling at her assistant as she said this, and Aaron took her comments in good spirits.

They were currently standing in the 'cloakroom' section of the building, where students' robes and wands would be left. Entering the main teaching classroom was a revelation for the Minister. He recognised the desks and chairs in the middle of the huge classroom, but that was all. There was one wall that seemed to be finished, with boxes of computers sitting beside it. The rest appeared to be a proliferation of wires sticking out from everywhere.

"The electricians finished installing all the lights, sockets and switches - I'm now putting all the data cables in place. This is the central teaching area, just like a normal classroom - except for Andi's laptop and the projector. Around the perimeter of the class is the computer desks, where the computers will be connected - once I get all the cabling done. The laser printers will be installed down by Andi's teaching position, so she can keep an eye on them..."