"The gentleman over there, how can I address you?" asked Christian calmly, despite the man's aggressive approach and all the eyes and cameras around.
"The name is Aurelius Evershade, one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight," he declared proudly.
"So, Mr. Evershade, what part of my book did you find ridiculous?"
"This entire book is Muggle Propaganda, insinuating that Muggles have greater accomplishment and development than we, wizards. That's simply absurd."
"The truth is sometimes hard to accept, Mr Evershade."
"What can a mere child know about the truth?"
"Alright, it seems you feel strongly about your opinions, so let's debate it," said Christian. His aunt was a lawyer, so he was used to defending his thoughts as she often played devil's advocate. "What evidence can you provide of wizardkind's superiority to Muggles?"
The street was quiet as everyone listened, with only an occasional flash of lights from the cameras. The journalists swiftly recorded everything stated, knowing this could be major news.
"Isn't it obvious?" said Aurelius. "We have magic."
"This is not an achievement. We have magic because we were lucky to be born into the right family. So, if your argument is that wizards have drawn the winning lottery at the beginning of life, I guess I could agree."
"That is not what I mean."
"We can control the elements, move things around, turn people into stone statues, and much more. All those things Muggles cannot do."
"Muggles' control over things like engines is proof of their control of combustion or fire. Windmills are an example of controlling the wind, and a simple lightning rod proves they can influence thunder," rebutted Christian. "Magnet can also draw things, but I will give you the petrification thing."
"It is not the same," said Aurelius with a raised voice, not hiding his frustration.
"Why isn't it? They do not have magic, so they used other means. It could be argued their achievements are more impressive since they did it without magic."
"You're twisting my words."
"You simply don't know what to say," Christian rebutted. "Let me show you a few statistics. The Statute of Wizard Secrecy was passed in 1692, almost three hundred years ago. During this long period, Muggles conquered the sea with advanced ships, the earth with cars and trains, the sky with airplanes, and darkness with electricity. They created instant ways of communication with telephones and innovated arts with radio and television.
"Meanwhile, we still use carriages transported by animals, brooms to fly, and owls to transport letters. I have many more examples. Do you want me to continue?"
Aurelius's face was red with anger and embarrassment, but Christian would not let him go so easily.
"Muggles probably inherited Astronomy from us. However, while we still observe the stars, they have already landed on the moon, and in the next 20 to 25 years, they will land on Mars. In the next 100 to 200 years, they will form colonies on the Moon and other planets. But us? We will probably still be stuck on this tiny planet, wondering about the universe's wonders."
"That is not as impressive as you state," said Aurelius with gritted teeth.
"I can guess what you're thinking. You can also reach the moon with a broom and a spell like the Bubble Charm to provide oxygen?"
"This is further proof of your ignorance. The freezing temperature would kill you instantly, and if it did not, the radiation would quickly poison you to death," sneered Christian. "And that's not even mentioning whether the enchantments in the broom would function in the vacuum of space."
The venue was quiet as Aurelius was too emotional to speak. Then, after a few seconds, one of the reporters spoke up:
"Mr. Malik, although this gentleman spoke poorly, his words have some validity. Your book, disguised as a guide to the nonmagical world, secretly criticized many aspects of the magical world, from our education to our cultures and research capabilities."
"And? No one or nothing is above criticism, including me or my book," said Christian cooly.
"No, that's not what I want to relay. I want to ask if you could comment on other differences between the magical and nonmagical world?"
Christian was immediately speechless as he realized this reporter only wanted him to keep talking so they would have more to write about in the next few days, maybe weeks.
"Alright," he nodded; this was an opportunity for his voice to be heard, and he would use it. "You mention education, so let's start with that."
The reporter's eyes lit up and he immediately began recording on his notepad.
"Wizards attend school from 11 to 17/18 for seven years. After that, we immediately enter the workforce, and any further magical training becomes personal. Of course, I'm not mentioning jobs like Aurors or Curse Breakers, where additional training might be required to be efficient.
"Meanwhile, Muggles start school at 5, not counting Nursery School, which begins at age 2. Once they finish College or Sixth Form, they are 17 or 18. Afterward, they have the option of an Undergraduate Program, which will take another 3 to 4 years, and a Postgraduate Program, which can take 1 or 4 years, depending on whether it's a Master's or a Doctorate.
"In other words, if you take a highly educated Muggle and Wizard of the same age, they will have a minimum of an extra four years of education and a maximum of 8 years. And I'm not even mentioning the longest field of Muggle, medicine, which requires an additional 8 to 16 years after their Internship, Residency, and a bunch of other stuff."
Christian paused to let his words marinate.
"I would love for the magical world to have a Magical University to attend after adulthood. I would love to go to Charm Class to learn how to use magic to replicate specific properties or laws of physics.
"I want Transfiguration Class to teach me the effect of magic on the subatomic particles, for Potion Class to dive into the impact of healing potions on the cells and DNA, for Care for Magical to teach the evolution of the Ukrainian Ironbelly, or for Astrology to teach how to harness the power of the stars or navigate the galaxy.
"I would love for this thing, but that's unrealistic."
The venue was quiet and gloomy. These people saw a bright future for magic in a few seconds, but reality hit them in the face the next moment.
One of the readers asked, "Mr. Malik, do you think we will ever have a Magic University?"
"And where is this confidence coming from?" asked another reporter.
"One of my life's goals and ambitions is to open the magic world's first university, and I'm prepared to work my entire life for this goal."
"Quite the ambition, Mr. Malik, but my question is whether wizardkind has done anything better than Muggles?" asked a female reporter.
"Of course. Our Floo Network System is brilliant, and Muggles will not be able to achieve spatial technology for another dozen hundred years, if not thousands. Our medical system is also excellent. We can grow bones and cure most nonmagical injuries or maladies. They won't reach that level without a couple of centuries."
The people finally had a smile on their faces. After all, the past few minutes have been about how terrible they were, so they are glad they did something good — until the reporter's follow-up question.
"So, will they eventually catch up to us in those fields?"
"If we continue this slow pace of progress, that is inevitable."
"What I want to know is what criticism you have of Muggles?" asked a long-haired male reporter.
"It's in my book. I talked about their racism, rampant capitalistic nature, deep-rooted ideologies based on colonialism, and their destruction of nature. By the way, you should all care about the planet's safety because its destruction won't be only their problems but ours too."
Christian decided to answer two more questions before returning to the signing, but most people were not in the mood afterward. So, the session was rescheduled for two days later.