https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-1584-A-War-Without-Victors-Thirty-Four-/12529302/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-1586-A-War-with-No-Victors-Thirty-Six-/12529304/
Chapter 1585: A War Without Victors (Thirty-Five)
Chapter 1585: A War Without Victors (Thirty-Five)
Taking advantage of a rare weekend off, Harry, Ron, and Ginny set out to find Albert in the wizarding village that was still under construction, with Dobby's help.
As soon as they Apparated to the unnamed village, still taking shape, their attention was immediately drawn to the bustling construction site.
It had only been a short time since the end of the Second Wizarding War, yet the village already showed promising signs of progress.
"It's incredible how much has been done in such a short time!"
"The place seems to change every day."
After thanking Dobby, Ginny took the lead, guiding the other two while filling them in on the village's progress and inquiring about Albert's whereabouts from those she encountered. Upon confirming that Albert wasn't there that day, she led Harry and Ron to find Shana, the site supervisor, as she was the most likely person to know of Albert's location.
"It's a personal matter," Harry replied, not intending to divulge much but still expressing gratitude. Ginny had been receiving extra care from Shana during her visits.
"Then you should thank Albert," Shana reminded him. "It was his idea."
"I will," Harry said, unsurprised but aware of the need to maintain a good relationship with her.
Under Shana and Ginny's watchful eyes, Harry and Ron Apparated together, heading for Hogwarts.
However, things didn't go as planned, and they soon encountered trouble.
Hogwarts was now closed off to outsiders once more, and they found themselves relentlessly barred from entering beyond the walls.
Forcing their way in would be suicidal, and neither Harry nor Ron dared to challenge the school's defensive magic.
Staring at the tightly shut school gates, Ron frowned in dismay. "We should've had Dobby bring us inside."
"We can try going through the passage from the Shrieking Shack," Harry suggested, reluctant to trouble the house-elf, knowing how busy he always was.
The biggest concern now was whether the Shrieking Shack still existed.
The pair eventually decided to make a detour to Hogsmeade, having heard that it was also undergoing reconstruction. If there was another way to get into Hogwarts, they wouldn't need to rely on the passage from the Shrieking Shack.
Indeed, Hogsmeade was being rebuilt, but the progress was far slower than the other village they had visited, and the scale of the village had shrunk significantly from its original size.
Fortunately, luck was on their side, and they ran into Aberforth Dumbledore in the village, negotiating the reconstruction of the Hog's Head pub.
With his help, they were able to get in touch with Hagrid, who was rebuilding his hut, sparing them the need to take their chances at the Shrieking Shack.
Moreover, according to Aberforth, the passage beneath the Shrieking Shack had been sealed off, making it impossible for them to use it to sneak into Hogwarts anyway.
As Ron surveyed the outlines of the emerging houses, he asked Aberforth, "Can we build our own houses here as well?"
"You're thinking of settling here?" Aberforth was taken aback, having heard about Albert's village-building endeavor. Ron, it seemed, had the credentials to settle there.
"I think settling here is a good option as well," Ron added, noticing Aberforth's surprise but not wanting to mention his inability to secure a villa of his own.
"Oh, how shocking," came a familiar voice.
"We thought you'd prefer to settle in the village we're building."
Two all-too-familiar voices suddenly rang out beside the trio.
"What are you two doing here?" Ron exclaimed, surprised to see Fred and George.
"Isn't it obvious?" Fred shot Ron a look that seemed to say he was an idiot.
"We don't give up Hogwarts students easily," George explained to his younger brother. "It's a nice little earner. Plus, we already had a shop here, so it's less hassle to rebuild here."
"What do you mean?" Ron had a bad feeling about this.
"Only original residents are eligible for the first round of house-building here; everyone else has to pay a hefty sum of Galleons.
"Aberforth knew this was Kingsley's policy, a form of protection for the original residents, but not everyone wanted to return to rebuild their homes, as that would also require spending a large sum of Galleons.
Take Aberforth himself, for instance. If it weren't for Fred and George lending him a hand with the Galleons, he wouldn't have considered rebuilding the Hog's Head pub.
As a trade-off, when Aberforth no longer wants to run the pub or passes away, the pub will belong to them.
'With the pittance of Galleons in your pocket, I reckon you won't be able to build a house of your own here!' Fred didn't mention the amount needed, as he was well aware that Ron couldn't afford it.
'However, if you ever get tired of being an Auror, you can always come to Hogsmeade to help us sell joke items.' George patted Ron's shoulder amicably, 'At least you won't have to worry about borrowing a large sum of Galleons to build a house here.' 'Then I truly have you two to thank.'
Ron's face twitched, and he pushed Fred's hand off his shoulder and left with Harry.
'He still hasn't been taught a lesson by reality!' Fred watched Ron's departing figure and snorted, 'He'll get a rude awakening one day.' 'Not necessarily. If Ron stays at the Ministry as an Auror, he probably won't be short of Galleons either. Aurors earn a decent salary.' George signaled for Fred to stop slacking off and get back to work.
'Those two have been so annoying ever since they got their hands on some Galleons!' Ron couldn't deny that he was envious, but he still disliked the smug look on their faces.
'Come on, I see Hagrid over there.' Harry waved at Hagrid, who was hurrying over to open the door for them.
'What brings you two to the school at this time?' Hagrid looked at Harry and Ron with confusion, wondering how they had the time to visit Hogwarts.
'We're looking for Albert. We heard he's at Hogwarts,' Harry confessed.
'I'm not too sure about that,' Hagrid shook his head. 'But he did come by often to help inspect the castle's restoration progress not long ago.' Now, the Hogwarts castle had been completely restored, even the burned Quidditch pitch had been rebuilt. The deep trenches originally used to restrict the Inferi had been filled in, as if that horrific night had never happened.
Only the monument still stood tall by the Black Lake, serving as a constant reminder of the cruelty of the Wizarding War.
'If Albert is at the school, remember to tell him to come by for lunch at noon,' Hagrid pointed at the half-plucked rooster on the table and said to Harry and Ron, 'I'll make you taste the chicken stew with mushrooms that I learned from Dobby.' 'Chicken?'
Harry looked at the rooster with an odd expression.
'That guy is more picky about his food than we are. I guess he'd rather have lunch at the school,' Ron mumbled. He'd rather go hungry than eat lunch at Hagrid's, as no one wanted to find strange things in their bowl.
'What were you just saying?' Hagrid closed the door to his hunting cabin and was about to go invite Albert over for a meal and thank him for his help.
'Nothing,' Ron shook his head.
'Who are you looking for Albert for?' Hagrid pretended he hadn't heard Ron's previous comment and changed the subject.
'We want to ask Albert about Hermione. She's been missing for almost a week,' Ron didn't hide the reason for looking for Albert.
'Hermione's missing?' Hagrid was shocked.
'Hermione went to look for her family with Albert, I believe. But Albert came back, and there's still no news from Hermione, so we thought we'd come by and ask about her while we had the chance,' Harry quickly explained to avoid any misunderstandings.
'You scared me there, I thought Hermione had really gone missing.' After hearing Harry's explanation, Hagrid breathed a sigh of relief and comforted them, 'Don't worry, there's no way Albert would let anything happen to Hermione. I'd bet she's with her family.'
Before Harry and Ron could say anything else, Hagrid asked, 'By the way, Harry, when do you and Ginny plan on getting married?' (End of Chapter)
Chapter end
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