Prime Minister role ? <| sep |> This is a God Dream <| sep |> Um , sir , I said , shuffling my feet . I think I glanced backwards at the closed door . I think this has really gone on long enough , don ' t you ? Dumbledore lounged easily behind his massive desk , his eyes twinkling like the little spinny silvery things he had all over his office . Has it ? he said cheerfully . You haven ' t been caught , and you haven ' t graduated , so I think you ' ve quite a way to go , Simon . I must commend you , though , you ' ve done a splendid job so far . Your teachers are quite impressed . It ' s not hard , I said , rubbing my arm . They ' re not I just don ' t know what you ' re trying to prove anymore . I shook out my sleeves onto his desk , unloading the flash powder , the teacup I ' d secreted away , my lockpick set , and a spool of thin , almost invisible string . They ' re not I ' m sorry to tell you this , sir , but this isn ' t a good school ! Dumbledore ' s eyebrows went up . Is that so ? He leaned forward and picked up a lockpick , turning it over in the light . I ' d be very interested to hear your opinion , Simon , I daresay it will be more enlightening than what your teachers had to say . I threw up my hands . They ' re terrible ! One of them you ' ve got a ghost teaching , you realize that ? Doesn ' t realize he ' s dead . You ' ve got Professor Snape my god , that man loves to play favorites . Which is part of how I ' ve gotten this far , since I ' m in Slytherin , but really , it ' s terrible ! Blatant favoritism all over the place ! Last year , you made Hagrid a teacher ! He ' s terrible ! Nearly got one of the students mauled every lesson ! I mean , I like him , but he shouldn ' t be teaching ! I pushed off from the desk and made the rounds of the room . And even the teachers who aren ' t horrible , they ' re well , they don ' t pay much attention to us , do they ? As long as we can perform the trick I waved my hands over the teacup and palmed it away That ' s it . That ' s all they ' re looking for . Nothing about theory , nothing about about understanding it , you just pronounce the words right and get the motions down and memorize a bunch of names and try not to get bubotuber juice on your bare hands Dumbledore rose to his feet , a complacent smile on his face . I coughed and fell silent . I ' m sorry , sir , I mumbled . I mean , I ' m glad to be here , I was ecstatic when you first came to me , but it ' s been four years and . I shook my head . Every year it ' s something ! One of your teachers was possessed , and then a fucking giant snake started killing people , and then an escaped convict showed up , and then I let out a breath . It ' s the stress , sir , the stress . It ' s not that I ' m a perfect faker , I ' m competent , if that . It ' s just I don ' t know how you expect anyone to learn anything at this school ! Simon , Dumbledore said kindly . Do you really think anyone actually comes to Hogwarts to learn anything ? Uh ? I said . Dumbledore strode to the window , his robes flowing behind him , and gazed wistfully out at the school grounds . It ' s magic , he said . You wave a wand , you say the magic words . You mix the potion ingredients in the right order . There ' s nothing to learn , really . He turned around to face me . You could learn all this at home , really , by one of those what do you call them ? Dictaphones ? Tape recorders ? I said . Recording tape ? he said . How odd , and shook his head . You know why I invited a Muggle to study here ? I slowly shook my head . When we isolated ourselves from Muggles , he said , folding his hands behind his back , it was a sin of pride . It was an arrogance that led us to remove ourselves from the natural world . He made the slow rounds of the room , delicately touching his trinkets . A wizard doesn ' t need society , you see . He doesn ' t need neighbors . He waves his wand , and the world bends to his will . He sighed deeply . Without Hogwarts , we ' d be a population of autodidacts and madmen , flying on our own individual courses . The pureblood houses ? The Blacks , the Malfoys ? That ' s what you ' d see more of if we didn ' t force our children to socialize with each other for seven years . A hundred bitter , inbred islands lashing out at anyone the slightest bit different from them . Sir , I said , frowning , you sort children into four houses and make it so that ' s what defines them for the rest of their lives . Dumbledore shrugged whimsically . Better four than a thousand . I sat back in my chair , trying to process this massive revelation . So , I ' m here because . Dumbledore knelt across from me , bring his face to eye level . I want to teach them , Simon . That there ' s very little separating us and Muggles . He held his fingers together . That there ' s the barest film of difference separating us from each other . Imagine , you graduating from Hogwarts ! Living among wizards ! That would be quite the surprise , wouldn ' t it ? Bbut sir , I stammered . That ' s that ' s a lot to ask of me , sir . I fidgeted in my robes . What if they find out ? Or It ' s not going to prove much , is it ? So one Muggle could fool them . I slumped my shoulders . That ' s not going to prove much of anything . Simon , Dumbledore said , straightening up . In your four years here so far , have you observed your fellow students struggling as you have ? Have you found their performance in class perhaps . less than magical ? Sir . ? I said , squinting up at him . The gleam was back in his eye . Simon , whatever made you think you were the only one ?