https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-1615-A-War-with-No-Victors-Sixty-Five-/12529354/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-1617-A-War-with-No-Victors-Sixty-Seven-/12529356/
Chapter 1616: A War With No Victors (LXVI)
Chapter 1616: A War With No Victors (LXVI)
"Achoo!"
Albert turned his head and covered his mouth as he sneezed, reaching into his pocket for a handkerchief to vigorously rub his nose.
"Are you alright?"
Hermione glanced up from the parchment in front of her, looking at Albert with surprise as he sneezed repeatedly.
"Must be that someone's talking about me behind my back!"
Albert casually brushed it off, intending to continue their discussion about the latest proposal for providing electricity to Avalon.
However, Hermione had lost interest in the parchment she was holding. She looked around carefully to ensure they were alone before lowering her voice and teasing Albert, "I'm sure it's your various lovers grumbling about you."
Despite the risk of excessive intimacy being exposed, Hermione relished in this feeling.
"So, you want to attend the welcoming banquet tonight as well?"
Albert directly addressed Hermione's thoughts, puzzled as to why she would be interested in such matters.
"Of course! Everyone else is going, and it would seem odd if I'm the only one missing out. Besides, it'll be more lively with more people there!"
Hermione looked at Albert with anticipation, hoping that he would come up with a good idea that would allow her to make time to attend the banquet that evening.
"The Time-Turner can only take us back five hours, which is a bit too short." After some thought, Albert shook his head and said, "By then, I might not have the extra energy to help you cover it up."
Hearing this, Hermione, who was well aware of her situation, couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. "Looks like I'll have to give up. It's indeed irrational to take such a risk for this."
This was the path that Hermione had chosen for herself, and regardless of the outcome, she could blame no one but herself. She could only grit her teeth, swallow her tears, and continue on this path.
This was undoubtedly an unpleasant topic, so Albert took the initiative to change the subject and brought up another matter.
"I've already picked out a house—it's a newly built Muggle apartment in the London suburbs."
"The house isn't... Oh, you mean our love nest!"
Hermione paused, then quickly regained her composure and realized that the house Albert was referring to was their real home.
"I've already cast the Fidelius Charm on it, and I'll take you there after some time." Albert took the plan from Hermione's hand, inserted the third proposal into the file, and then led her up the hill.
"However, the apartment doesn't have any furniture. I'll accompany you to buy some, but you'll have to do the cleaning yourself."
Albert took the opportunity to inform Hermione of this when no one was around, hoping to lift her spirits.
"It feels like the apartment you've prepared won't be used much anyway." Hermione said wistfully as she gazed at Albert's back.
"After some time, I'll see if I can get a Vanishing Cabinet or a single-line Floo Network. That way, traveling to and from the apartment will be more convenient."
Albert didn't think that the apartment was useless. For them, having a place where they wouldn't be disturbed was important.
"I thought you'd prepare a portable cabinet for me." Hermione actually quite liked Albert's portable cabinet. That thing had ample space and was convenient, private, and not picky about location—it was a great place for the two of them, who had to seize every minute and second for their dates.
"So, you've had your eye on my cabinet, huh? But it takes a lot of effort to make that thing." Albert paused, then shook his head in refusal. "Also, you'd have to spend a lot of time maintaining it. Without house-elves to help manage it, it would be an absolute disaster. Most importantly, staying in the cabinet doesn't feel like being at home."
Hermione didn't like staying in the cabinet per se, but she had a soft spot for the place where they had first been intimate.
"I recall that apartments in London should be quite expensive. You wouldn't have..." Hermione awkwardly changed the subject.
"Without added value, a house is basically worthless. Just look at the cost of building our villa."
Albert stopped walking and placed the file in Hermione's hand, smiling as he said, "I never deny that I used some minor tricks to get the house at cost price."
"That's practically robbery."
Hermione could tell that Albert was making excuses, but she had to admit that what he said made sense.
After all, the British pounds they spent building Avalon were far fewer than expected.
As they approached the house under construction on the hill, Albert and Hermione tacitly ended their previous ambiguous topic and refocused on the arrangement of the electrical engineering project.
The original whimsical ideas were ultimately kept as backup plans for nights and cloudy days.
The only problem was the battery.
This problem had not been adequately solved even in his previous life, and they mostly adopted a water storage method to solve the night power problem.
"The Muggle world has lost a great scientist." Hermione sighed softly.
In order to bring electricity to Avalon, Hermione had investigated the electricity generation model in Britain and was well aware that Albert's water storage method was an entirely new approach. After all, Albert spent most of his time in the magical world, which was quite different from the Muggle world, yet he was still able to come up with so many solutions in a short period! "Scientists are indeed great, but capitalists live more comfortably." Albert preferred to enjoy the good life.
"Why?"
"Because the Muggle world today is dominated by a capitalist social ideology. Naturally, it's more comfortable to be a capitalist." Albert said with a hint of self-mockery, "Of course, you can have it all. Great scientists can also be capitalists, like Thomas Edison in America."
Hermione paused, not quite understanding Albert's words, so she changed the subject and asked, "So, are you going with proposal number three?"
"If proposal number one can solve Avalon's power supply problem, then we'll use that one. After all, we still can't be sure if using electricity in the magical world is reliable." Albert knew exactly what he was doing.
"As for the future expansion of the village and the resulting power shortage, let the residents here decide for themselves whether to adopt proposal number three!"
"The main issue with proposal three is that the project is massive. Before that time comes, you can't expect others to understand you. Who knows, by then, there might be even more convenient power generation equipment in the Muggle world!"
"I always feel like you're more radical than the others." Hermione frowned slightly, as if she had thought of something, and reminded him, "You should be clear about the magical world's attitude towards Muggles."
"In the last few days of Grindelwald's life, I went to Nurmengard to see him off and had a chat with him." Albert sighed softly, "He believed that most of the laws drafted by the Ministry of Magic were meant to protect not Muggles but wizards themselves."
"On this matter, you probably don't feel much, but I've been to North America. The way wizards treat Muggles there is the true reflection of the protection laws."
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
