https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-1606-A-War-Without-Victors-Fifty-Six-/12529345/
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Chapter 1607: A War Without Victors (Fifty-Seven)
Chapter 1607: A War Without Victors (Fifty-Seven)
In the late hours of the night, lights still shone within the humble Weasley residence.
Mrs. Weasley sat on the sofa, knitting Christmas sweaters for her children as she often did. With everyone occupied by their own endeavors these days, she found herself alone in the house more often than not.
Time passed, and suddenly, a familiar crackling sound emanated from outside.
Mrs. Weasley immediately looked up from her knitting, her gaze shifting to the magical clock on the wall. Just as she set down the half-finished sweater and rose from the sofa, Hermione and Ginny, who had just returned, pushed open the door and stepped inside.
"We're back, Mum," Ginny said to Mrs. Weasley.
"Hermione, you've received a letter," Mrs. Weasley said, handing a sealed letter from the table to Hermione before heading to the kitchen to prepare a late-night snack for them.
"A letter? From Hogwarts?" Hermione asked, taking the letter with a puzzled expression as she noticed there was no sender's name, only a peculiar seal.
"No," Mrs. Weasley replied.
She placed a plate of pies on the table and then went back to the kitchen to make them hot cocoa.
"What is it?" Ginny asked, picking up a pie and noticing Hermione's confused expression.
"I don't know who sent it. There's no sender's name, only this seal," Hermione replied.
"Do you think...?" Ginny started to voice her concern about the possibility of a curse, but Mrs. Weasley interrupted.
"I've already checked it with a Dark Magic Detector. There are no curses, so it should be safe. But do be careful when opening it," Mrs. Weasley assured them.
Hermione scrutinized the conspicuous seal on the letter, feeling that it seemed somehow familiar, yet she couldn't quite place where she had seen it before.
"Do you know who sent the letter?" Ginny asked, sitting on the sofa and looking curiously at Hermione, who was staring intently at the seal.
"This seal looks vaguely familiar," Hermione murmured, rubbing her forehead in thought. "But I just can't remember where I've seen it."
"Do you want to open it or just destroy it?" Ginny also found the seal vaguely recognizable but felt that Hermione should exercise caution. After all, the letter was odd, and there was no need to take the risk of opening it.
However, after much hesitation, Hermione finally decided to use magic to carefully open the letter.
The letter itself posed no problems, but its contents were rather unexpected—a delicate little booklet featuring an elaborate introduction to the product catalog of a Witch's Beauty Shop.
"No wonder it looked familiar. It's the mark of the Witch's Beauty Shop," Ginny said, looking at the booklet in Hermione's hand and seeming to recall where she had seen the mark before.
"But why would the Witch's Beauty Shop send you their product catalog?" Ginny's curiosity grew, realizing that the sender obviously knew Hermione.
"Witch's Beauty Shop?" Hermione flipped through the booklet and found a metal card inside, bearing a printed message that seemed to be reminding her of the store's opening date.
However, what caught her attention the most was the sender's name at the bottom: Katrina McDougall.
Katrina McDougall?
Wasn't that the last name of Albert's wife? This was most likely her sister, but why would she send this to me? Hermione examined the metal card in her hand, feeling that it, too, was oddly familiar. Soon, she realized what it was.
A Communication Bookmark! Indeed, it was a communication bookmark.
"Is something wrong, Hermione?" Ginny asked, sensing that Hermione had become a bit odd since opening the letter.
"It's nothing," Hermione replied nonchalantly as she tucked the communication bookmark into her pocket.
"Miss McDougall from the Witch's Beauty Shop must have sent this because Albert once gave me a few sample products. She probably wants to invite me to the shop's opening," Hermione quickly came up with a plausible excuse. She suspected that Isabel had sent the letter under her sister Katrina McDougall's name to avoid drawing unnecessary attention and to initiate a conversation via the communication bookmark.
"Witch's Beauty Shop... I think it's an international chain brand, right?" Ginny said.
Ginny picked up a newspaper from the previous day and pointed to an advertisement on it. "They've also placed ads in many other newspapers and magazines. It looks like they're preparing for their grand opening soon."
"Yes, this is a product booklet, and there are two items here that I've used before with great results," Hermione said as she handed the elegant product booklet to Ginny, pointing out the items she had personally tried.
"The prices are scary, though!" Ginny exclaimed as she flipped through the pages, her eyes widening at the exorbitant costs. What puzzled her even more was that you had to make appointments in advance for some of the treatments.
"So, they intend to let customers purchase trial versions first. This also indicates that the products are indeed effective," Hermione explained.
Hermione had never doubted the effectiveness of the beauty potions described in the booklet, as she was currently using them herself with noticeable improvements to her skin.
This was most likely something Albert had specially arranged for Isabel.
Ginny examined the product descriptions in the booklet with great interest. "It looks like they'll have promotional discounts on the opening day," she said, looking up at Hermione.
"Let's go together then," Hermione suggested with a smile.
"Maybe not," Ginny hesitated for a moment before shaking her head. "Even though there are a lot of things I'd like to buy, they're just too expensive."
Hermione pointed to a particular facial cleanser in the booklet and said, "This cleanser is quite effective, and I've used it before. Plus, it's not too pricey, and they offer additional discounts for Hogwarts students."
"I'm no longer a Hogwarts student," Ginny said with a hint of sadness, but she knew it was a decision she didn't regret.
"But no one knows you've dropped out," Hermione reassured her.
"What are you guys talking about?" Harry and Ron returned after finishing their tasks.
"The Witch's Beauty Shop is about to open, and they sent this to Hermione," Ginny said, handing the booklet to Harry.
"McDougall?" Ron picked up the newspaper and looked at the advertisement, furrowing his brow. "The surname sounds vaguely familiar."
"It's run by Albert's sister-in-law," Hermione explained to Harry and Ron.
"Are you guys close?" Ron asked, suspecting that Albert might have sent the letter.
"Not really, but Albert has given me similar gifts for Christmas before," Hermione replied nonchalantly. "Miss McDougall probably thinks that as someone who has personally used their products, I could convince other girls to patronize their shop during the opening."
"Be careful when you go there. Don't let the crowds push you around," Harry said as he kissed Ginny's cheek and pulled out his wallet. "Take this with you when you go."
Although Harry wasn't too keen on Ginny wandering around in her pregnant state, he knew he couldn't treat her like a fragile patient, or she would be upset.
Ginny took the wallet from Harry and slipped it back into his pocket. She knew she had to start considering their life together after marriage. Even with Harry's substantial inheritance in Gringotts and his decent job, they still needed to be mindful of their spending. There would be significant expenses for setting up their post-marriage life.
To divert the conversation from a potentially awkward direction, Hermione quickly interjected, "So, what have you two been up to lately? More overtime?"
With a mouthful of pie, Ron replied, "What else? Cleaning up Inferi!"
"We've cleared out another batch of Inferi in the past few days," Harry sighed.
"Are there that many of them?" Hermione raised an eyebrow, surprised at the seemingly endless supply of Inferi. "I thought you would have gotten rid of most of them by now."
"We have gotten rid of a lot, but..." Ron and Harry exchanged glances, a somber expression on their faces.
"Kingsley suspects that some of the 'pure-blood' supporters of Voldemort are still secretly creating Inferi to cause trouble for him," Harry explained gravely. "Some of the Inferi groups we've encountered recently have been unusually small, which is suspicious no matter how you look at it."
"I thought that issue had been resolved for now," Hermione said, astonished that the problem persisted.
(End of Chapter)
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