Chapter 411: Magic Item Upgrade
Chapter 411: Magic Item Upgrade (Request for Subscriptions, Favorites, and Votes)
During the Christmas holiday, Liam stayed in the same room at Grimmor Plaza No. 12 where he had lived during the summer vacation. During this time, he devoted a lot of effort to crafting magic items for the Order of the Phoenix. He also invested a significant amount of energy into developing the next generation of upgraded Magic Defensive Bracelets.
In the last week of the holiday, Liam finally completed the upgraded bracelet. The main body was made of gold, with gold-inlaid silver craftsmanship embedding Mithril from the world of The Lord of the Rings and copper alloy runes forged using techniques from the secret library at Hogwarts. Additionally, several cut red and blue spinels were embedded as magic power nodes.
When he brought the finished product to the second-floor study, he heard Ron's voice from inside: "Why do you help Liam with his homework but refuse to let us see your essay? I know you're his girlfriend, but this is a bit much."
"Because Liam is busy with important matters, and he already knows this information; he just doesn't have the time to write it down due to his work for the Order of the Phoenix. Although I can't help him with what he's doing, I can help him with these things so he doesn't have to worry about them." Hermione paused for a moment. "But your problem is that you haven't grasped the knowledge. Don't forget, we have our O.W.L.s this year. You can't afford to have the same attitude as before."
Hearing this, Liam quickly pushed the door open and interrupted their argument, then showed them his new product. As Liam was explaining the new item, Sirius Black suddenly burst in with a smile, exclaiming, "Good news, we have some excellent news today."
"Liam, what are you doing here?" Sirius Black was taken aback when he saw Liam, as he had been holed up in the Alchemy Lab almost all the time except during meals. So naturally, he was a bit surprised to see Liam now.
"My new Defensive Bracelet is ready. Even if we encounter that snake again, it will give the user enough time to draw their wand", Liam said, then handed the gold bracelet to Sirius Black.
"Ah, that's great. When can we get one for everyone on field duty? Don't worry about the cost; I can afford as many as you need, and I can even help you get the materials", Sirius Black said, examining the bracelet. With his pureblood family background, he quickly recognized its exceptional quality.
"It's not about the cost or the materials. The real issue is that the manufacturing difficulty of this upgraded bracelet has increased significantly. Even if I devote all my time to it, I can only make one in a month. The one you have here was possible because I had a rough prototype ready, so I could finish it in just a week", Liam explained to Sirius Black, who was now radiating wealth. It took some effort to curb his impulse to spend lavishly.
"By the way, what good news did you mention?" Liam changed the subject, not wanting to continue this discussion with Sirius Black, who was essentially a layman in alchemy.
"I almost forgot, seeing your bracelet got me so excited", Sirius Black chuckled. "We received confirmation today that the Giant tribe we were worried about has completely disappeared, along with three of Voldemort's most loyal Death Eaters. Voldemort was so furious that he used the Cruciatus Curse on all the Death Eaters at the meeting."
"Really?" "When did this happen?" Ron and Harry immediately crowded around Sirius Black, bombarding him with questions. Hermione, meanwhile, made a face at Liam when they weren't paying attention.
"Disappeared? What do you mean by that?" Harry's voice carried a note of confusion. "After all, they're Giants, massive creatures, and there were dozens of them. They can't travel using magic. Plus, there were three Death Eaters. How could they all just vanish without anyone knowing?"
"Yet, that's the reality", Sirius Black's face showed a look of confusion. "The information we received indicates that the Russian Ministry of Magic was the first to discover a group of Muggles who had been kidnapped and later rescued by Death Eaters. Following these leads, they found the previous encampment of the Giants. However, they only found six Giants who were terrified out of their minds. The only thing they could say was that everyone else was dead."
"Everyone else is dead?" Harry and Ron exclaimed in shock. Sirius Black nodded. "Yes, but the members of the Russian Ministry of Magic found nothing else in the valley except for some bloodstains that had frozen into ice. They only discovered defensive magic traces left by the three Death Eaters. There were no other magical traces."
"Your point is, if something attacked the Giants and the Death Eaters, the attacker managed to achieve their goal in an extremely short time without using any magic, and the three Death Eaters, who were spread out in different locations, didn't have enough time to react or send a warning?" Ron's eyes widened. "Heaven, that's terrifying."
"If we're correct, that's exactly what happened. The Russian Ministry of Magic has now relocated the remaining six Giants to another place. At least we don't have to worry about Voldemort recruiting them to cause us trouble", Sirius Black said, looking relieved.
"But, don't you think this is strange?" Hermione couldn't help but ask. "I mean, even in the magical world, such incidents should be rare, right?"
"Indeed, they are rare", Sirius Black agreed. "But similar events have happened in the magical world before. Right now, we don't have much energy to focus on something that happened thousands of kilometers away and doesn't directly affect us."
"Sounds like good news", Liam thought. At least this way, fewer people would pay attention to that area, and he wouldn't have to worry about someone discovering what he had done there.
"By the way, there's more good news. St. Mungo's has found an antidote for snake venom, and Arthur is set to be discharged in a couple of days", Sirius Black added.
"That's fantastic!" Liam and the others exclaimed. At their request, Sirius Black agreed to take them to St. Mungo's to visit Mr. Weasley in the afternoon.
The weather was pleasant that afternoon, and the rare winter sunlight illuminated the entrance of an old red-brick department store as the three of them arrived.
"We're here. This is St. Mungo's. The Diagon Alley area lacks space, so unlike the Ministry of Magic, they chose to build here to blend in with the crowd", Sirius Black explained to the curious Liam and Hermione.
The department store, Taotao Co. Ltd., looked dilapidated and deserted. The windows displayed a few broken mannequins with crooked wigs and outdated clothing from at least a decade ago. The dusty doors had large "Closed for Renovation" signs. Liam overheard people around them muttering, "I swear, it's never been open—"
Sirius Black approached the window, looked up at the ugly mannequin, and his breath fogged the glass. "Hello... I'm here to see Arthur Weasley." The mannequin nodded slightly and waved its joined fingers, and the three of them vanished through the glass.
Since it was the Christmas holiday, St. Mungo's was still in a festive mood. There weren't many patients in the waiting room. Liam saw a male wizard with a head swollen like a tomato and a witch with purple skin standing at the Information Desk.
"Domestic dispute, huh? I suggest you learn to hide your wands when you argue. I've seen you four times in the past six months. Now, both of you head to the fifth floor Spell Damage Ward. I really hope I don't see you again", the plump, blonde middle-aged woman behind the desk said.
Is this how wizarding couples get along? Liam thought as he went upstairs. It does sound a bit terrifying.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
