Chapter 250: Invitation
Chapter 250: Invitation
“Liam, come down quickly. Your classmate Granger is waiting for you downstairs.” Liam was in the middle of disassembling and studying a wand when his mother, Mrs. Sally, called from downstairs.
“I’m coming.” Liam put down the half-disassembled wand and headed downstairs. This wand was one of the loot items he obtained after ambushing and defeating two bandits. Besides the thirty-odd silver sikka, a dozen copper knuts, and a gold tooth, the only valuable thing left was their wands.
After taking down the Dark Wizard who had disguised himself as a professor in Brazil, Liam had obtained a wand. However, since it was the only wand he had at the time that didn’t have a trace, he hadn’t disassembled it for study. Now that he had acquired two more wands, he finally had the chance to carefully examine these most common, widely used, and mysterious magical artifacts of the world. He had been busy with other projects, so he only now had the time to study them.
When he reached the living room, he found Hermione sitting on the sofa, chatting with his mother. A parchment letter was placed on the coffee table in the center of the room.
Seeing Liam come down the stairs, Mrs. Sally stood up and said, “Miss Granger is here to see you. You two can chat here.” With that, she went to prepare lunch.
As Mrs. Sally walked into the kitchen, Hermione handed the letter to Liam. “Mr. Weasley said he will come to pick us up the day after tomorrow in the afternoon. He also invited us to stay at his place until the end of the summer vacation if we have no other plans.”
“Living with a wizard family for a while sounds great. Have your parents agreed?”
“Of course. They always worry that I don’t have enough friends at school, so they encourage me to spend more time with my classmates.” Hermione shrugged. “Besides, there are many people who need dental treatment during the summer, so they won’t have much time to spend with me.”
“I think it will work for me too. Next month, my father is going to China for some business and to visit my grandfather, and my mother will go with him. They plan to stay in China for two months, so they can’t take me with them. I was worried about how I would manage on my own during that time.”
After speaking, Liam went to the kitchen to ask his mother. After carefully inquiring about Hermione’s situation, she readily approved Liam’s plan to stay with the Weasleys until the start of the school year.
“Great, I’ll write a letter to Mr. Weasley when I get back home.” Hermione, pleased with Liam’s response, chatted for a while longer before leaving.
The next day, after lunch and a short rest, Liam said goodbye to his parents. He then dragged his suitcase to the garden in the middle of the street. A little while later, he saw Hermione also dragging her suitcase over.
“Good afternoon.” Liam greeted her and asked, “Do you know what method Mr. Weasley will use to pick us up?”
“I’m not sure, but Mr. Weasley said it’s a convenient method we haven’t used before.” Hermione looked a bit worried, as most travel methods in the magical world weren’t very pleasant.
After chatting for a while on the bench, they heard a faint popping sound from the woods behind them. Liam turned around and saw a tall, thin, bald man in an old suit holding a newspaper.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Weasley.” Liam and Hermione quickly stood up to greet him.
“Ah, good afternoon,” Mr. Weasley said kindly. “I planned to drive you, but it’s too far, and Liam’s house doesn’t have a fireplace for the Floo Network. So I’ll have to use Apparition to take you there.”
"Apparition, what's that?" Hermione asked, curious about a term she had never heard before.
"It's a type of Magic that allows a Wizard to disappear from one place and reappear in another with the blink of an eye. You can learn it when you come of age, but not many pass the exam to get a license. Only about half of adult Wizards manage to pass. Every year, there are unfortunate cases of Wizards who get injured by using Apparition before they have fully mastered it." Mr. Weasley shook his head as he spoke.
"But, but we can't do that Magic now. Not to mention passing the exam to get a license", Hermione said, realizing something.
"Oh, right, I forgot to mention. You can use side-along Apparition. Just grab onto my arm, and I'll take you along. Who wants to go first?"
"I will." Liam dragged his suitcase over to Mr. Weasley.
"That's very gentlemanly of you, Liam. Side-along Apparition can be a bit uncomfortable, but it's over quickly. By the way, leave your luggage here for now. I'll come back for it after I drop you off." Mr. Weasley said gently. "Alright, grab my left arm and hold on tight."
Liam grabbed Mr. Weasley's outstretched left forearm.
"Here we go." As soon as he spoke, Liam felt Mr. Weasley's arm trying to slip from his grip, so he held on even tighter. Then, everything around him turned pitch black. He felt intense pressure from all sides, making it hard to breathe. However, this was much less severe compared to the pressure he had experienced when the escape passage was activated.
Soon, he felt his feet touch solid ground. A crooked building that would make Newton roll in his grave stood before him. The red roof had four or five chimneys, and a sign in front read "The Burrow." A few plump, brown chickens were pecking in the yard.
"We're here. Your first side-along Apparition went really well", Mr. Weasley said, noting that Liam's face was only slightly pale. "Wait here, and I'll bring Hermione over."
Once everyone had arrived, Liam and Hermione pulled their suitcases toward The Burrow. They knocked on the door, and a plump middle-aged woman opened it.
"Liam, Hermione, welcome. Fred and George's O.W.Ls wouldn't have gone so well without your help. I can only imagine how poorly they would have done otherwise."
"Actually, they did most of the work. They just needed a reason to study. We just helped them find the motivation", Liam said humbly to Mrs. Weasley.
As they spoke, they walked into the house. It wasn't a large house; the entrance led directly to a small kitchen. In the center of the room was a spotlessly clean wooden table and a few chairs. On the wall opposite the kitchen, a clock with only one hand and no numbers had phrases like "Brew tea", "Feed the chickens", and "You're going to be late" written on its face. The fireplace mantel was stacked with three tiers of books, all with titles related to household Magic.
"Amazing", Liam heard Hermione say.
"Our home, well—it might be a bit cramped, not as spacious as yours", Mr. Weasley said, a bit embarrassed.
"But it's very cozy. You can tell it's a real home. That's all that matters", Liam replied.
Liam wasn't just being polite; he meant it sincerely. After all, in the original story, the Weasleys' home was one of the few truly good families.
(End of Chapter)
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