https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-1672-A-War-with-No-Victors-One-Hundred-Twenty-Two-/12529451/
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Chapter 1673: A War with No Victors (One Hundred and Twenty-Three)
Chapter 1673: A War with No Victors (One Hundred and Twenty-Three)
So they were hunting werewolves too?
Why were they exhausted while their counterparts, who had also been busy all night, were still full of energy and even hosting a celebration?
"You can join us too," Albert offered, raising his cup to the young Aurors-in-training. "As for the werewolves, we can wait until they regain their human forms at dawn and then bring them back to the Ministry. It's undoubtedly safer that way, and I'm sure Kingsley won't object."
"Harry, I think Albert's right," chimed in Simon, loud enough for everyone to hear. "We shouldn't take unnecessary risks. We've already had one close call with Bolt."
"You're right," Harry agreed, noting the expectant glances from his friends. "Let's all take a break. It's still some time until dawn, and I need to report the situation here to the Ministry."
In fact, the Ministry had no objections. After all, they had already lost one Auror; it was best to proceed with caution.
Soon, the two groups were sitting amicably on the carpeted lawn, enjoying food and chatting about their nocturnal werewolf-hunting exploits.
However, after Lee Jordan finished speaking, Harry's group fell silent.
Yes, they had been outmaneuvered.
Had they really been doing the same thing all night? Their hard work and overtime had apparently been a fun hunting activity for the others.
"I'm so envious of you guys!"
Compared to Avalon's pleasant hunt, Harry's group, tasked with dealing with the werewolf problem in the Muggle world, had been exhausted beyond measure. They certainly didn't have the energy to dance amidst the cheering crowd.
"By the way, has anyone seen Albert?"
Harry, who had just poured himself a butterbeer, suddenly remembered something and turned to George, who was pouring Ron a hot Firewhisky.
"He probably went home to rest," George replied, looking at Harry quizzically. "Do you need him for something?"
"It's not anything too important," Harry said. "Just that the werewolf bounty will probably take another day or two, and Kingsley seems to be planning to put forward an application for a Merlin Medal for you guys."
"One each?" George raised an eyebrow. "That's not very valuable then."
"Just one, for all of you."
"I think the Ministry should just give us more galleons instead," George remarked, making a face.
"A Merlin Medal?" Lee Jordan seemed intrigued. "We could embed it in the fountain statue."
"That's not a bad idea. Albert probably won't object."
The others were rather indifferent to this development.
Being intelligent individuals, they could guess Kingsley's intentions without needing to communicate with each other.
...
"I thought you'd sleep a bit more," Isabelle said, turning to look at Albert as he appeared in the hall. "The newspaper says Kingsley is going to apply for a Merlin Medal for you guys."
"His method of buying people's hearts is rather cheap," Albert scoffed.
"That's not necessarily true," Isabelle said with a hint of amusement as she watched Albert bend down to pick up Alice, who was still unsteady on her feet.
"If he really meant it, he'd give us enough galleons," Albert said, sitting on the sofa with Alice in his arms.
"But you don't need the money," Isabelle pointed out.
"I may not, but that doesn't mean others don't," Albert said, reaching out to pick up Tom and placing him next to Alice so that his old companion could help watch over his daughter.
Little Alice had reached out to grab Tom's tail, but the fat cat quickly butted her with his head, sending her tumbling back onto the sofa. Alice couldn't stop giggling as Tom proceeded to give her face vigorous licks and head bumps.
"They just graduated and haven't started working yet, so they don't have much money," Albert said, watching the interaction between his cat and daughter for a while before turning his attention to the breakfast that the house-elves had brought. His eyes kept drifting to the clock on the wall.
He had just used a Time-Turner and didn't want to be late for class, although Hogwarts would most likely be closed today.
"Hogwarts will probably be closed today," Isabelle said, noticing Albert's actions. "They had a werewolf incident last night too, and the professors were up all night. They're probably resting now." She paused before adding, "Dear, I think you should go back and get some more sleep. It's important to rest after pulling an all-nighter."
Albert's hand, which had been covering a yawn, paused. "I have to go there at least once. Even though I'm not interested in staying on as a professor, I did promise to serve for a year, so I should take it seriously."
"You always have such a strong sense of responsibility."
Isabelle kissed Albert's cheek and watched as he disappeared through the door.
Albert first apparated to another safe house and then traveled to Hogwarts' Dark Magic Defense office via the fireplace.
As Albert stepped out of the swirling green flames, he heard footsteps, and before he could react, a figure had wrapped her arms around his waist and stood on tiptoe to kiss him.
"Don't you have class?" Albert asked, already knowing who his assailant was.
"We're resting today. Most people didn't get a good rest last night," Hermione said, blinking. "Didn't you get the message?"
"I guess I missed McGonagall's message because I was busy last night," Albert said, looking at the girl in his arms and smiling. "What about you?"
"I'll rest after this is over," Hermione said, a hint of regret in her voice as she thought about the werewolf-hunting action she had missed out on. "Ginny told me you guys were running around capturing werewolves last night."
"Everyone had a lot of fun, and there's the galleon reward too. They were so excited that they only went back to rest this morning," Albert said, understanding their enthusiasm, as such an experience was indeed legendary.
"What about you? Didn't you get any rest at all last night?"
"I just used a Time-Turner," Albert said, guessing why Hermione had come to see him this morning.
"Would you mind spending the morning with me?"
Hermione stood on tiptoe again to kiss Albert, her boldness a testament to her love. Or perhaps it was because she had fully accepted her identity and was now taking the initiative with Albert, knowing that love sometimes required one to take what one wanted.
"It'd be bad if you got pregnant," Albert murmured.
"That won't happen," Hermione murmured, snuggling into Albert's embrace. "Even if I did get pregnant, the worst that would happen is that I'd have to drop out of school, and I believe I'd handle it better than Ginny did."
(End of Chapter)
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