Chapter 506: Gaining New Insights
Chapter 506: Gaining New Insights
The train came to a stop at a station in the suburbs of Berlin, Germany's capital. Sera and Albert alighted with their suitcases, their journey across Europe coming to an end as the confused and puzzled gazes of the conductors followed them.
"Mr. Harris."
The conductor hurried forward to stop the pair as they prepared to leave, offering a kindly reminder, "This is Berlin, Germany. Your destination is not yet reached."
"I know this is Germany." Sera replied, "But we plan to get off here."
The pair walked away, leaving the conductor bewildered.
As they departed, Albert faintly heard the conductor muttering something along the lines of "What a waste of galleons."
If their tickets were only for Germany, they probably wouldn't have used even half the amount.
However, as it wasn't his money, Albert didn't feel the slightest bit of heartache.
Sera led Albert to a grocery store next to the station, one that seemed to have been there for quite some time.
It was dirty and narrow, reminding Albert of the Leaky Cauldron.
Hunched over at the counter sat an old lady who, upon hearing the doorbell, lifted her head and gazed toward the entrance, suddenly offering them a rather peculiar smile.
"Long time no see, Harris. What brings you here?"
"I'm just passing by to visit an old friend." Sera smiled.
"Does that include this old lady?"
"Of course, Edelin."
"You're still as bad at lying as ever." The old lady cackled.
"We need to borrow the transfer door to get to Widbees Village," Sera stated her purpose for being there.
Their destination, Widbees Village, was still some distance away. Unlike Diagon Alley, which was right behind the Leaky Cauldron, one couldn't simply open a door in the backyard and enter.
Transfer door.
The name itself was quite suggestive of its purpose.
This trip had indeed been worth it, as they had encountered numerous intriguing things along the way.
As expected, the world was full of wonders.
Soon enough, Albert laid eyes on the so-called transfer door—an old stone door embedded in the wall, appearing as if it were intentionally left there as a decorative relief.
"Follow me!"
Sera stepped forward, as if she intended to walk through the wall with Albert in tow.
The next moment, the pair passed through the stone door.
This scene was reminiscent of walking with luggage through the stone wall at King's Cross Station, albeit with a different effect.
As Albert passed through the transfer door, he felt like he'd been tossed into a washing machine, leaving him dizzy. He still wasn't quite used to this sensation.
At the very least, using the Vanishing Cabinet was much more comfortable than this.
One after the other, they exited the stone door, their appearance on the street going unnoticed.
"Don't ask me, I don't know either."
Sera preempted Albert, as if aware of his impending question.
"The transfer door is an ancient technique left by wizards from long ago. It's now completely lost, and I suspect its principle is similar to the Vanishing Cabinet, but I'm not too sure about the rest."
"The transfer door is a bit outdated, but it's still worth studying." Albert's interest in the door was evident, so much so that even Sera noticed.
"Traveling by Floo Network is obviously more convenient." He said with a smile.
As they spoke, the pair walked down the cobblestone street and into a park with a fountain, where Albert even spotted a few children playing by the water.
"Welcome to Widbees," Sera smiled. "Isn't it a bit unexpected?"
"Indeed. The feeling here is completely different from the wizarding villages in Britain." Albert looked around.
Widbees Village had completely overturned his perception of wizarding villages.
"That's because Widbees is still quite young." Sera explained with a smile, "It's been rebuilt before."
"Rebuilt?"
"The Muggle war reached this village." Sera explained as they walked, "Many houses were bombed and had to be rebuilt. Later, they renovated the entire village, so it's no longer the original Widbees."
Oh, so it had been bombed! Upon further thought, it wasn't difficult to understand.
After all, located on the outskirts of Berlin, it was normal for it to have been bombed. Moreover, the village was larger than expected.
It was also thanks to wizards from various countries being adept at concealment that they could carve out such a large area on the outskirts of the capital, Berlin, as a wizarding village.
Albert believed that the German Ministry of Magic must have spent a lot of time and energy to successfully hide this village.
While wizards did have the Trace Amount Extension Curse to expand spaces, its essence was merely to enlarge the original space, and most magic would gradually weaken over time, making it difficult to maintain long-term effects.
"It's indeed more spacious and prosperous than Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade." Even Sera had to admit this.
"If the Ministry of Magic were willing to spend a lot of time and galleons to renovate Hogsmeade Village, that village wouldn't be too bad either." Albert said.
"Unfortunately, that's impossible."
"Germany has two wizarding villages without Muggle residents." Sera introduced to Albert, "The other one is located in the southern Black Forest, similar to Hogsmeade Village. If it's old and unwilling to be maintained, it will become like that, just like people."
"That's true."
"There's a commercial street over there that specializes in selling things." Sera pointed to the bustling eastern street in the village, "But now is not the time for you to go shopping. We need to visit my old friend first."
As she spoke, the elder led Albert down a secluded alley and eventually stopped in front of a house that looked quite old. She raised her hand and gently knocked on the wooden door.
Footsteps could be heard from within, and the door was opened from the inside.
"Sera, I didn't expect you to come to Germany."
The person who opened the door was also an elderly man. Compared to Sera, who was dressed in a suit, he looked a bit disheveled, perhaps confirming what he had just said.
"Your grandson?" The old man's gaze soon fell on the young Albert, and he asked curiously, "Still an apprentice, he looks quite promising."
"Not a grandson, Jonas." After giving the old man a simple hug, Sera pointed to Albert and introduced him, "This is Albert. I think you know who he is."
"Oh my, is this him? He's even younger than I expected." Jonas sized Albert up, took a step back, and gestured for them to enter, "Please, come in!"
"This is Jonas, my old friend." Sera introduced to Albert, "If you need something special, you can buy it from him."
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Jonas." Albert said in French.
"Your French is fantastic, Mr. Anderson." Jonas looked at Albert in surprise, not expecting him to be fluent in French, "Much better than my grandson."
"Mark, come down here." Jonas called out in German to the upper floor, and soon, footsteps could be heard descending the stairs.
"Grandpa, what is it?" The young man hurried downstairs.
Sera glanced at Albert, feeling a bit amused. She knew what Jonas meant, but her old friend seemed to have misunderstood something.
The old man didn't intend to correct this minor misunderstanding, believing that Albert could handle it himself.
(End of Chapter)
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