Chapter 1164: The Convenience of Magic
Chapter 1164: The Convenience of Magic
"Damn, there's thick fog everywhere in Britain these days. It's unusual; I can't shake the feeling that something strange is going on that we don't know about."
At this moment, a cement truck was carefully navigating the fog-shrouded highway. The middle-aged driver stared straight ahead, his eyes fixed on the road, muttering to the middle-aged man sitting next to him, "Ever since July, strange things have been happening frequently all over Britain, as if..."
"Those incidents are indeed bizarre!"
The middle-aged man frowned at the dense fog ahead and interrupted the driver, "The fog is too thick right now. Should we find a place to wait for it to clear up a bit before continuing?"
"You're right!"
The middle-aged truck driver hesitated for a moment but was eventually persuaded by the man next to him. After all, his life was at stake, and it was easy to get into accidents driving in such heavy fog.
"You..."
Just as the middle-aged truck driver found a place to stop the truck, he suddenly fainted before he could finish his sentence.
The middle-aged man in the passenger seat lowered his arm, opened the truck door, jumped out, and walked to the back of the truck where the cement was stored. He took out a "small wooden stick" from his bag, drew it around the truck, casting a Muggle-Repelling Charm. Then, he sprayed mist from the tip of his wand, making the surrounding fog even thicker, completely blocking people's vision.
Under the cover of the fog, the middle-aged man took out a briefcase from his bag, placed it on the ground, and raised the "small wooden stick," waving it at the bags of cement. Strangely, the neatly stacked bags of cement seemed to come alive, jumping off the truck one by one and entering the briefcase as if it were a bottomless pit. In the blink of an eye, an entire truckload of cement was emptied.
"Now..."
The middle-aged man murmured as he closed the briefcase and walked towards the driver's seat, raising the "small wooden stick" to alter the driver's memory.
This lucky driver would soon wake up and be convinced that he had delivered the goods to their destination.
As for the payment for the cement in pounds, it had, of course, been made, albeit at a slightly lower price, just barely above cost.
After completing this, the middle-aged man removed the spells around him, and with the briefcase filled with cement, he disappeared into thin air.
When the middle-aged man's vision returned, he found himself standing at the edge of an abandoned village. Holding the briefcase in one hand and his wand in the other, he waved the wand gently across his cheeks. His features began to shift, soon replaced by a youthful face, and his physique changed as well. The initially well-fitting clothes became loose, but with a gentle tap of his wand, they transformed back into a comfortable casual autumn outfit.
Even without using compound potions, Albert could easily disguise himself with a simple Polyjuice Potion, and unless he encountered an exceptionally skilled wizard, his disguise would rarely be seen through.
In fact, the vast majority of wizards had no idea how to detect something as advanced as "magical traces."
Albert walked up to a dilapidated house at the edge of the abandoned village, muttering to himself as he waved his wand gently, as if lifting a veil that concealed the true entrance. He walked inside, and in an instant, he disappeared from the ruined village.
"I bet it's you!"
Fred appeared out of thin air as he recognized Albert, having just used a Disillusionment Charm to hide himself.
"Yeah, it's better to be cautious. The outer layer of protective magic isn't very reliable."
Albert glanced at George and Lee Jordan's hiding spot.
"You really can't hide anything from you. I've always been curious—how do you see through Disillusionment Charms?" George asked, his curiosity getting the better of him as he and Lee Jordan appeared, smiling and greeting Albert.
"It looks like you've got everything ready."
"Yeah, gathering those construction materials took quite a bit of time and money."
Albert put down the briefcase, waved his wand, and with a series of crackling sounds, summoned several identical briefcases that contained steel bars, sand, and gravel.
"To be honest, I still don't quite understand why you're going through all this trouble." Lee Jordan was genuinely puzzled as to why Albert was gathering these materials.
"We're planning to build a few more secret safe houses in the future. While we can use abandoned Muggle facilities as temporary bases, we still need to do some work to make them habitable." Albert offered a casual explanation.
If he didn't intend to turn this place into a wizarding village in the future, Albert wouldn't have chosen this location for their secret gatherings, nor would he have gone to such lengths to obtain these construction materials for a grand project.
The three men looked at each other and shrugged helplessly. They trusted that Albert had his reasons for doing this.
And Albert didn't offer any further explanation, so they didn't press the issue.
"Where's Shana?" Albert changed the subject.
"She's helping you organize the information," Lee Jordan said, as if suddenly remembering something. He added softly, "We're also looking forward to the new edition of the 'Dark Magic Defense Guide.'"
"The 'Self-Defense Guide' only covers the basics, enough for self-preservation at most," Fred added. "I can't shake the feeling that our sense of security is diminishing."
"Even if there were 'more,' it wouldn't be of much use. The Ministry of Magic wouldn't allow it," Albert said, referring to the thought process behind writing the 'Self-Defense Guide.' It wasn't a rash decision, and many of the contents had to be carefully considered within the boundaries of what the Ministry would tolerate, hence the final product.
"Will the new book be published?" George asked suddenly.
"Probably not. I doubt the Ministry of Magic would permit it. Even if it were published, it would likely be so heavily edited as to be unrecognizable," Albert said, unconcerned about the prospect.
"I'm getting more and more excited about your new book."
George's curiosity was piqued, knowing that any book allowed to be published would inevitably be constrained by the Ministry.
"There's really nothing to be excited about. Your level of defense against the Dark Arts is already higher than that of most people. As long as you're careful and cautious, you shouldn't have any problems."
Fred, George, and Lee Jordan had all been taught defense against the Dark Arts by Albert himself, and they wouldn't be at a disadvantage when facing Dark Wizards. At the very least, they could always rely on Felix Felicis for a boost.
"Now we're embarrassed," Fred said, pretending to be ashamed.
"Alright, let's go and see what you've accomplished in the last few days." Albert interrupted their idle chat and walked towards the newly renovated house.
The secret entrance to the base was hidden under a blanket next to the fireplace in the living room. When they opened the hidden trapdoor, a secret staircase big enough for one person to pass through appeared before them.
"The air downstairs isn't great, so it's best to use a Bubble-Head Charm.
"Be careful, George," warned George.
The four of them cast a goofy Cannon-Conjuring Charm on themselves and proceeded down the stairs.
The staircase descended at a steep angle, reaching about ten meters below ground, where the space was narrow and the surrounding walls were smooth as if cut by a sharp blade.
At the bottom of the stairs was an antechamber, barely large enough to accommodate the four of them. Beyond it were two tunnels, each leading to several cramped rooms that could barely fit two people. The air was stifling, and without a Bubble-Head Charm, it would be impossible to breathe.
"It's so stuffy in here; I doubt we'll be able to stay down here without a Bubble-Head Charm, or we'll suffocate," Lee Jordan complained, clearly uncomfortable with the confined space.
"Don't worry; a few modifications will fix that," Albert reassured them, confident in his experience with such transformations.
"Hmm, we'll also need a hidden exit in case someone blocks the entrance," Albert added after they returned to the surface. "I remember a steep slope to the west that would be perfect for a concealed exit."
"Like the ones at Hogwarts?" Fred asked curiously.
"You could say that," Albert admitted, having drawn inspiration from the famous wizarding school.
"If you do that, no one will ever find the exact location!" George teased, "They might even think you're creating secret passages like Hogwarts."
"That would be nice, but I don't have the energy for all that," Albert said, handing the map to George. "Besides, for now, we just need a crude base, and we can slowly improve it if the need arises."
"I have a feeling you're planning to rope in others to help," Fred commented.
"Speaking of which, Kingsley told me that Kenneth is being watched," George changed the subject, feeling that if he continued on Albert's tangent, he'd end up with even more work.
"Will he be alright?" Albert asked.
"Yeah, Kingsley rescued him in time, but that guy seems to hold a grudge against us now," George replied.
"It can't be helped; someone has to be the decoy and draw their fire," Albert said nonchalantly. "But after a few more decoy missions, they'll stop targeting him."
If it weren't for his father's mess, Albert wouldn't have involved Kenneth, as they did have some friendship between them. But now that Kenneth wanted to join, he had to pay a price, or he might sell them out one day.
The expressions on the faces of the three men were priceless as they silently mourned Kenneth's fate for three seconds.
"Also, I've talked to Bill about your meeting with him," George brought up another matter.
"We'll meet at a Muggle coffee shop; he'll use a compound potion, and I'll send you the address later," Albert explained, then paused as if an idea had just occurred to him. "Actually, we could have the Ministry disguise themselves as me and meet with Kenneth. It could be a sting operation, and we might catch a few Death Eaters."
"Don't mess with him like that," Lee Jordan said with a bitter smile.
"The Ministry can disguise themselves; it doesn't have to be the real me. As long as the Death Eaters think they've found our hideout, that's enough," Albert nodded vigorously.
"That's a devious plan; they won't know what hit them."
George felt that any Death Eaters targeting Albert were in for a world of trouble. The Ministry would surely be eager to set up such a trap, which was much more reliable than randomly searching for Death Eaters.
"If they want to kill me in the future, they'll have to consider whether the target is real or not," Albert mused, pleased with the idea. "It will teach them a lesson and keep them from bothering me all the time."
"You're full of mischievous ideas," Fred commented.
"Alright, let's get this place sorted quickly," Albert said, heading outside.
Fred, George, and Lee Jordan watched as Albert produced a crucible out of thin air and proceeded to pour the cement, water, sand, and gravel from the suitcase into it in specific proportions. With a gentle tap of his wand, the ingredients began to rotate and mix swiftly.
"Is this how Muggles build their houses?" George peered into the crucible, noticing the Trace-less Expansion Charm cast upon it.
"Not exactly, but this makes it more durable. Remember, we'll be underground, so it's best to make it as sturdy as possible. We don't want our practice of spells to collapse the base and bury us alive," Albert explained as he casually waved his wand, conjuring a stack of wooden boards that stuck together with the Permanent Sticking Charm, forming the model he needed.
The entire process was smooth and effortless for Albert, who needed only to wave his wand to accomplish these feats.
Next, he connected the steel bars tightly together and placed them in a mold. He then poured the mixed cement into the mold, ensuring a tight bond between the steel and cement. After smoothing out the surface, he waved his wand again, causing the water on the cement to evaporate instantly, leaving behind a perfectly formed wall.
"Looks good, doesn't it?"
"Is this a wall?"
Albert's methods were certainly unconventional in the eyes of the three men.
"Yes, four walls and a cement lid will make a room," Albert explained.
"Are you sure that's a room? And how are we supposed to..." Lee Jordan was at a loss for words.
"We'll use the Shrinking Charm to move it into place. You should make use of the spells you learned at school," Albert suggested.
Albert waved his wand, releasing the wall from its mold and moving it to the side. It would take several wizards chanting together to shrink such a wall, but Albert had no such limitations.
In less than a quarter of an hour, a cement box was formed. Though it resembled a simple wooden box with interlocking joints and no nails, it was unquestionably sturdy.
"Is this how Muggles build their houses?" The three men stared in amazement at the "house" Albert had created.
"More or less. They usually pour cement to form the structure, but I'm using magic as a shortcut. It may look ugly, but it's definitely solid," Albert said, satisfied with his handiwork. "Now, you'll need to expand the space inside, and I'll shrink this and move it in. Then we'll fill in the gaps, and it'll be done."
Albert had a plan—he intended to assemble the underground base like a giant puzzle using these cement blocks.
The thick steel-reinforced cement, along with the Permanent Sticking Charm and interlocking joints, would ensure the secret base was safe and secure.
After all, the space inside had been expanded using the Trace-less Expansion Charm, so there was no need to worry about the weight causing any structural issues.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
