Chapter 30: Memory Film
In an elegant, old-fashioned repair workshop, a deal was reaching its final stage of negotiation.
"This channel is equipped with an operational amplifier, offering an extremely fast transient response especially suitable for recording rock drums… Feel free to contact me with any operational questions. Any damage not caused by human error will be repaired free of charge within three years."
"I'd also suggest using Muggle-produced newspaper paper and switching to cold-drying ink. It'll improve printing accuracy and reduce color distortion… Bulk purchases of future supplies come with discounts, so keep that in mind."
"…"
The middle-aged wizard, dressed like a shop assistant, explained everything patiently. The singer and the newspaper editor both seemed very satisfied. The singer paid decisively with a pouch of gold real gold, not Gringotts galleons. The editor tried to bargain but failed, finally paying in galleons, still looking reluctant as he left. The middle-aged wizard reluctantly handed him two boxes of ink as a goodwill gesture.
Nearby, Borgin was fiddling with the portable radios he had ordered. He replaced a few AA batteries without paying much attention to polarity, closed the lid deftly, and the speaker's diaphragm vibrated with a faint hum.
The whole scene looked almost too Muggle-like hardly magical at all.
After seeing off the first two customers, the middle-aged wizard turned to Borgin and Melvin, his tone now more relaxed.
"Borgin, is this the client you mentioned?"
Borgin waved a hand, holding the radio. "Consider this a proper introduction. Free of charge. You two can talk."
Melvin suddenly understood a lot. No wonder Borgin knew who the previous customers were he was playing matchmaker as well. Perhaps he had introduced the singer and the newspaper editor too.
Melvin turned his attention away from Borgin and looked at the approaching shopkeeper.
The middle-aged wizard had a plain face, with some messy strands of hair over his forehead. His hair was short and slightly wavy, his features angular, his brown beard neither long nor short. He wore a simple wizard's robe and a loose, dark-gray overall casual and modest. He had the kind of face that would easily blend into a crowd.
As Melvin studied him, the man also looked at Melvin with bright eyes, extending his hand first.
"Wright Monkstanley. A pleasure to meet you, Professor Lewyn."
Melvin was surprised. "You know me?"
"The new Professor of Muggle Studies at Hogwarts. The papers have mentioned you your work at the Muggle Theatre of New York, your ability to use Muggle technology to create magical visual effects… In the Muggle world, your fame nearly rivals Dumbledore's." Wright's voice was relaxed, less formal than before.
"I think I've heard your family name, Monkstanley…" Melvin thought for a moment, then smiled softly. "If I recall correctly, you're a descendant of Lady Levina Monkstanley the witch known for bringing light into darkness."
"That was my great-grandmother," Wright replied with a faint smile.
The late 18th century had been an age of turmoil. The upheavals of the Muggle world rippled through the magical one from the Bastille to London, from New York to Manchester, wizards migrated across the world seeking stability. During those chaotic times, Lady Levina Monkstanley invented the Lumos spell, inspiring a frightened magical community and earning her the title of "the witch who brought light to the dark."
"I have many Muggle-related questions for you, Professor Lewyn…"
"It's my pleasure."
…
For the next half hour, Wright asked about all sorts of Muggle-related topics not about machinery or devices, but about history, culture, and habits.
In turn, Melvin learned about Wright's family.
After inventing Lumos, the Monkstanleys amassed a fortune and settled in London. Being half-bloods and immigrants, they never shared the pure-blood supremacist mindset. After Hogwarts, many of their descendants attended Muggle schools, eagerly absorbing Muggle science and technology and exploring the boundary between magic and mechanics.
With the rise of the steam engine, the Spinning Jenny, the Industrial Revolution, and the harnessing of electricity and fire, the Monkstanleys integrated all these advances into magical research. In collaboration with the Ministry of Magic, they produced countless wondrous creations.
At that time, the wizarding world was relatively open-minded. The Statute of Secrecy only aimed to hide magic from Muggles, not to deny its study. Though some criticized wizards for mingling with Muggles, few openly despised them. The original Office for the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts only prohibited abuse it didn't ban experimentation. Limited, reasonable development was permitted.
Wright's tone carried emotion. "My grandfather helped redesign the Hogwarts Express a project beyond imagination. It stretched from Birmingham and Manchester all the way to Scotland, from Glasgow to Inverness, and finally Hogsmeade over 800 kilometers in total. Unthinkable today…"
"My father designed the current Ministry of Magic the red phone booth entrance, the mix of Muggle aesthetics with magical grandeur, the golden elevator…"
Melvin listened in silence, picturing that bright, inventive age. If such openness had endured, magic and science might have achieved brilliance beyond imagination.
"After graduating from a Muggle school, I inherited my family's trade," Wright continued. "Designing and building Knight Buses, helping the Ministry equip and modify magical vehicles…"
He paused. "Decades ago, during the Wizarding War, we used Muggle technology to transmit information, helping many wizarding families escape the grasp of You-Know-Who and the Death Eaters. Once again, the name Monkstanley shone as the 'Light in the Dark.'"
Melvin sighed inwardly. Looking at the weary man before him, he could already guess what came next.
"When Umbridge rose to power," Wright said bitterly, "she shut down all development projects under the excuse of the Statute of Secrecy. She fired all the core technicians, keeping only pure-blood fools."
"I was on the dismissal list too for my alchemical and mechanical work with Muggle devices but the Monkstanley name still carries weight. The Wizengamot, Dumbledore, and Madam Bones aren't as blind as Umbridge. If my name had been on her list, they would've rejected it."
"So instead, she reassigned me to the Department of Mysteries to the Hall of Prophecy, to 'study' those ghostly visions, time itself, the Veil of Death, and the vast, brainlike thing no one understands."
Wright scoffed. "How could research like that lead anywhere? Seeing the Ministry rot while Dumbledore refused to act and let Fudge ruin everything, I finally quit and opened this Muggle appliance repair shop."
Umbridge again. Always Umbridge.
Umbridge, you've done enough harm!
Melvin glanced around the elegant furnishings, the secondhand electronics. He couldn't help pitying the Monkstanleys. Their ancestors had accomplished far more than Umbridge ever could. If a man like Wright ran the Ministry, the wizarding world wouldn't be in such decline.
Who had chosen the current Minister anyway?
Ah, of course Dumbledore.
Melvin sighed. "Isn't it risky to open a shop like this? With Umbridge's rules, if they find you, she'll send you straight to Azkaban."
Borgin an Azkaban regular himself spoke up with his oily voice.
"Professor Lewyn, never underestimate the convenience of the Monkstanley name. Even if he's caught, the Wizengamot will only fine him at most."
"Besides," Borgin added, "he's not like us Knockturn Alley dwellers. His clients are all high-profile. You've seen singers and editors but there are Ministry officials, even foreign ones, who come here. They won't let him be imprisoned."
"The charm of Muggle technology is irresistible," said Wright. "Their civilization shines too brightly. Not all wizards wish to live in ignorance and stagnation forever. Professor Lewyn, your arrival will let young wizards glimpse that brilliance again like the flicker of Lumos itself."
"That was your great-grandmother's title, I'll forgive it." Melvin smiled. "Now then, what is it you wanted to discuss with me?"
Wright looked puzzled. "To be honest, Professor, you probably know more about Muggle devices than I do. What could I help you with?"
"I need special imaging and projection equipment," Melvin began. "There's powerful protective magic at Hogwarts. Any Muggle electronics would short-circuit or fail. So it must be purely mechanical magic-powered, if possible. Precision doesn't have to be perfect."
Wright frowned. "That's… difficult."
"And I need two projectors," Melvin continued. "A small one for my office and a larger one for the Great Hall. Preferably without electricity battery-powered, at most. The village and castle may lose power soon."
"For everyone in Hogwarts to see?" Wright's voice trembled slightly, his breathing quickened he hadn't been part of a project this grand in years.
He began muttering to himself. "A camera would need film… The projector can't run on power… no, impossible wait…"
Melvin and Borgin waited silently as Wright thought aloud for a long time. Then, suddenly, his eyes lit up.
"Memories can be turned into film!"
(End of Chapter)