However, when Tver stepped outside, he encountered an unexpected visitor.
"Professor Fawley... um, what's this?" Burbage asked, looking at the empty bottle in his hand with confusion. She was holding several books in her arms, her face weary and showing signs of exhaustion, as if she had been up all night.
"Nothing much," Tver quickly hid the bottle behind his back. "What brings you here, Professor Burbage?"
"Oh, oh," she said hurriedly, handing him the books. "The books you lent me a few days ago—I've finished reading them. I came to return them."
Tver took them, slightly surprised.
This was the night he had returned from Hogsmeade and had run into Professor Burbage, who was answering students' questions. Coincidentally, it was a topic that had piqued his interest, so he had offered a different opinion.
If he had said that during his first year, Professor Burbage would have either angrily rebutted him or ignored him completely. But after last year's Basilisk attack, her attitude had changed.
So after a friendly discussion, Tver had lent her the books—these very ones—and they had agreed to discuss them again once she had finished reading them.
He hadn't expected her to finish so quickly. These books were quite thick, so she must have spent every free moment reading them.
His ideas were still as sharp as ever in the wizarding world.
His thoughts briefly drifted, but he kept his expression friendly as he invited Professor Burbage inside.
"Please have a seat. I have something urgent to take care of."
Then, as she stood there looking confused, Tver casually placed the books on the pile on his desk, grabbed the noticeable empty bottle again, and hurried out of the office.
Professor Burbage stood frozen for a moment, then reluctantly accepted the fact that Tver had left her alone in the office. She wasn't sure if this was a sign of trust—after all, professors' offices often contained things that weren't exactly convenient to leave unattended.
She, for example, liked to stash Muggle stuffed animals around her office, the weirder the better. Her favorite was a black mouse plushie.
But...
She took in her surroundings.
Books.
That was her impression. Books were stacked everywhere—on the shelves, on the desk. Some were old and worn, others were brand new. But every one of them showed signs of having been read and reread.
In her memory, only the Headmaster's office and the library had this many books.
Curious, she picked up one of the open books on the desk—A Brief History of Time.
The illustrations inside didn't move at all—this was a Muggle book.
She recognized the trait immediately, just like the ones Tver had lent her.
The problem was, she couldn't understand even the simplest sentence!
"In an infinite universe, every point can be considered the center, for on every side of it lie infinite stars..."
She read it over and over, frowning deeply, but still couldn't grasp its meaning.
No, she understood it—but couldn't believe it.
"This is one of my favorite books. I can't fully understand it yet, but I often flip through it," Tver said, having returned unnoticed. He now sat across from her, holding the same bottle—though this time, it was filled with drink.
He handed her a glass of pumpkin juice. "That perspective is fascinating."
"Oh!" Burbage quickly closed the book, flustered as she returned it to its place, then took the glass.
Pumpkin juice?
Professor Fawley always seemed to surprise her with the unexpected...
She hesitated for a moment, then apologized, "Sorry, I shouldn't have touched your book."
"But interesting? Do you think the ideas in it are correct?"
Tver smiled and shook his head.
"I don't know, but so far, they've been right."
"So far?"
Burbage found such a vague response hard to accept.
Tver chuckled softly. Explaining science to a professor of a wizarding school always felt a little off to him.
"That's science, Burbage. Science makes bold statements when it's certain, but when it's uncertain, it uses the most cautious language."
"But saying that every point in the universe is the center..."
"You didn't refute it, did you?"
Tver pressed his lips together, his gaze suddenly sharp, making Burbage flinch.
"Just like every person in this world, deep down, they believe they are the center of it. Not you, certainly not me!"
"Muggles included?" Burbage asked, clearly deep in thought.
True to her role as Professor of Muggle Studies, her first thought was about Muggles.
"Why not? Muggles outnumber wizards by far. The real question is whether we're included."
Burbage suddenly realized what had been bothering her about Tver.
He was far too friendly toward Muggles.
Not only did he seem to know everything about Muggle science and humanities, but he also freely praised them without hesitation!
"You seem to hold Muggles in high regard?"
"Though I've always advocated for equality, I've never met a wizard who admires Muggles as much as you do."
"May I ask why?"
Tver fixed his eyes on hers, and the slight dilation of his pupils made Burbage uneasy.
"Admire?"
"I never said I admired them. In truth, I fear them..."
Burbage's eyes widened in shock. She quickly glanced at Tver, as if checking whether he had been replaced by someone using Polyjuice Potion.
"Fear? Honestly, even when we disagree, I can't imagine someone with your strength being afraid of Muggles who can't use magic!"
"Not now, Burbage. I fear what the future holds for Muggles."
Tver gently placed one of the books she had returned into her hands.
"You've seen how fast Muggle technology is advancing. Can you imagine what it will be like a hundred years from now?"
"I suppose they'll have devices to detect magic, large-scale magnetic field reactors to restrict Apparition, armor-piercing bullets to break through Shield Charms..."
"When the Statute of Secrecy can no longer protect us, what will we do? By then, I'll probably be retired—what if they arrest me?"
"What about our children, our friends, even our enemies? What will happen to them?"
Tver knew that Muggle technology might not develop that rapidly, but when it came to threats, exaggeration was always the best tactic!
"What then?" Burbage asked, her voice tightening.
She had marveled at the rapid progress of Muggle technology while reading those books, but never imagined this kind of possibility.
Her mind felt foggy, and she found herself following Tver's line of thought without quite realizing it.
Tver's lips curled into a slight smile, though it was too subtle for Burbage, still reeling from shock, to notice.
Foggy was right—no one ever heard this idea without feeling a bit foggy!