Chapter 809: Finally, Siblings
Chapter 809: Finally, Siblings
Is Wormtail dead?
To be honest, Albert's first reaction upon reading this news wasn't concern for Wormtail's demise, but rather surprise that the traitor had escaped from Azkaban.
Although he had long predicted Wormtail's escape, he was still taken aback when he learned of it through the newspaper.
The story had already deviated slightly from its original course due to Albert's interference, but Wormtail played a significant role, especially in Voldemort's resurrection, so it was impossible for him to simply fade away after being imprisoned.
Without Wormtail, Voldemort might have spent the next few years, or even decades, lingering in the Albanian forest with his snake companions.
Among Voldemort's old cronies, none truly wished for his return. Otherwise, how could it be that after so many years, no one had bothered to seek him out in the Albanian forest?
This piece of information was hardly a secret anymore. Any wizard with decent connections knew that Voldemort was likely hiding in Albania.
"Speaking of Tom, he's actually quite pitiable. All his loyal and reliable followers are locked up in Azkaban, leaving him with only a bunch of untrustworthy traitors," Albert mumbled to himself, "I recall he had the ability to see through lies. I wonder what he makes of his current band of Death Eaters."
Of course, even if Tom did crawl out of that cauldron, he probably wouldn't share that information with Albert.
The pressing question now was how Wormtail had managed to escape from Azkaban. The Ministry of Magic must have learned about his Animagus form—a rat—from the Blacks, and there was no reason to give Wormtail the opportunity to escape. Otherwise, the entire Ministry would be in deep trouble.
"Albert?"
The familiar, gentle voice rang in his ear again, interrupting Albert's thoughts. Isabelle's beautiful face, with its fair skin and rosy cheeks, appeared in the two-way mirror, looking at Albert with a puzzled expression as he zoned out.
"What's wrong?" she asked softly.
"I've discovered something," Albert said. "Wait a moment while I record this. I'll study it further another day."
After saying this, Albert picked up the notebook on the table and quickly jotted down the information about Wormtail, pasting the news clipping onto the page along with some of his own thoughts on the matter. Only then did he begin to chat leisurely with Isabelle and make plans to meet at the house in Hogsmeade.
"See you later, dear."
Albert put down the two-way mirror, walked to the corner of the room, and reached out to grab the invisible cloth that covered the Vanishing Cabinet.
The Vanishing Cabinet was actually quite a sophisticated piece of magic, highly sought-after during the First Wizarding War. When Death Eaters came knocking, a wizard could hide inside the cabinet and instantly transport themselves to safety.
However, the Vanishing Cabinet had its drawbacks. It was expensive to purchase and quite costly to maintain, so only wealthy wizards could afford it. For those with money, however, it was a worthwhile investment to ensure their escape.
Of course, after the Ministry of Magic restored peace, the Vanishing Cabinet became obsolete. But in Albert's opinion, the technology behind it was still valuable.
He stepped into the Vanishing Cabinet and, in the blink of an eye, found himself in the room in Hogsmeade.
As he exited the hidden chamber, Isabelle, clad in a sleepwear, greeted him with a smile.
"I missed you," Albert said, opening his arms to the young girl.
"We've been chatting every day," Isabelle said as she walked into Albert's embrace and gently kissed his lips. She laughed and said, "Your kissing technique has improved a lot."
"Thanks to you, my teacher," Albert said as he released her and pulled her to sit down with him. "Is it alright if we spend the night here?"
"I've told Mom about your house in Hogsmeade," Isabelle snuggled into Albert's arms.
"What did your mom say?" Albert asked curiously.
"She said you're more interesting than my dad," Isabelle laughed merrily. "She never opposes our relationship. I guess it's also to save herself the worry about my future."
"Your mom's greatest wish is probably to see you sisters get married and have families of your own," Albert could understand Mrs. McDougall's thoughts.
"By the way, Mom doesn't plan to join us for the Quidditch World Cup. She says she's tied up with work at the hospital," Isabelle moved away from Albert's embrace, as it was getting warm in the summer. "Do you have anyone suitable in mind to go with?"
To be honest, Isabelle was a bit conflicted. She didn't like the idea of someone intruding on their time together, but she also didn't want the tickets to go to waste.
"In that case, I'll take Nia to the Quidditch World Cup. She's always been curious about the wizarding world," Albert said after a moment's thought.
"Nia?"
Isabelle frowned, considering the risks involved.
Albert's sister was a Muggle, and it would be troublesome if her identity was exposed. But if Albert suggested this, he must have a way to bring his sister along without causing any problems.
After all, it wasn't too difficult for a Muggle to bypass the Ministry's arrangements with the help of a wizard and blend in with the wizarding world.
"You'll have to keep a close eye on her, though," Isabelle understood Albert's feelings, as she also loved her sister dearly.
"Thank you," Albert sighed softly. "It's cruel that Nia isn't a witch."
"Then thank me properly," Isabelle said, her eyes burning with passion as she looked at Albert.
"I suddenly realized that you've become even more beautiful than before," Albert was surprised by Isabelle's transformation. She seemed to have quickly adapted to the role she was playing, giving him the feeling of a newlywed wife in the throes of a passionate romance.
The quiet night stretched on, but the night of intimacy between the two had just begun.
...
Albert left before dawn, and before he did, he used the Time-Turner to go back a few hours, then returned to his bedroom via the Vanishing Cabinet and fell back asleep.
When he woke up, the sky was bright, and there was a knock on the door. Nia pushed the door open and entered the room, eyeing Albert skeptically, "You look tired."
"The beauty potion is on the table," Albert reminded her.
"I think you need to exercise some self-control," Nia said bluntly. "Or is it that enthralling?"
Albert felt a strange embarrassment, especially since he was discussing this with his own sister.
Noticing Albert's discomfort, Nia pouted, "Girls these days are actually more open-minded than you think. One of my friends is with her boyfriend... well, you know."
"Your friend?"
Albert eyed Nia suspiciously, his mouth twitching.
"She's my age. Most girls our age already have boyfriends," Nia pulled a chair and sat down to chat with Albert.
"You should protect yourself and stay away from those jerks. Don't let them hurt you," Albert advised seriously. "When choosing a boyfriend, pick someone you like, someone reliable, and most importantly, someone with compatible values."
"Don't include yourself in that category. There aren't many guys like you in all of Britain," Nia teased, "You probably don't realize how popular you are!"
In fact, Nia had lost interest in most boys her age, mainly because Albert had raised her standards.
When meeting male friends, she always likes to compare them to Albert, and then... having such an excellent older brother isn't necessarily a good thing.
Breakfast was plentiful, with the meat dishes on the table mostly replaced by fish and chicken. As they ate, they chatted about their plans to go shopping later.
"By the way, there's the Quidditch World Cup coming up in the wizarding world. Someone sent me a few tickets, would you like to come with me to watch the game, Nia?" Albert suddenly asked.
The hall fell silent.
"Watch the game?" Nia looked up at Albert, her voice shaking as she asked, "Can I really go?"
"Of course, as long as you disguise yourself as a wizard and mix in with the crowd." Albert smiled and said, "But, you must not wander around on your own, and you must stay by my side at all times. Those are my conditions and requirements."
"Of course, no problem."
A brilliant smile lit up Nia's face. She felt that today was her lucky day.
"Quidditch, huh?" Luke's face carried a hint of nostalgia. "'The Prophet' mentioned that Britain hasn't won the championship in thirty years."
"Are you sure it's alright?" Sansa asked worriedly. She felt that letting Nia mix in with the wizards was a bit unreliable, and if her identity was exposed, it might cause a lot of trouble.
"Don't worry, as long as she doesn't run around on her own, there won't be a problem." Albert was about to pat his chest to assure them, "It's just like traveling abroad."
"Aside from you, who else is going?"
"Isabelle and her sister, Katrina, will also be joining us to watch the Quidditch World Cup." Albert said, "We'll be staying in one tent."
"One tent?" Sansa always felt a bit out of the loop when it came to discussions about the wizarding world.
"Wizard tents are quite spacious, like small houses." Luke explained.
"Magic is truly amazing." Sansa changed the subject, "For lunch, we'll have dumplings. What fillings do you want?"
"Prawn dumplings." Albert said, "I can help out later."
After breakfast, the family took Luke's car to London to go shopping.
They agreed on a time and place to meet and then parted ways on the street. Albert's first stop was to buy a dress for Nia.
It was a brand-name store, and the clothes were quite expensive, which was why Nia had asked him to come along.
Of course, Nia didn't plan to spend all her pounds on stocks, but she wanted to keep some money aside for emergencies.
Moreover, in her own words, since Albert couldn't use the pounds anyway, she might as well spend the money on herself, his adorable sister.
"What do you think?" Nia twirled in front of Albert, wearing a milky white dress, "I think this dress goes well with the hat you gave me last time."
"It's not bad." Albert felt that Nia had matured a lot, and her demeanor was quite different from the lively and cute sister he remembered.
Beautiful girls looked good in anything they wore.
"This is the most popular style right now, it suits your girlfriend very well." The young female salesperson flattered.
"She's my sister." Albert corrected.
The salesperson was a little embarrassed. She felt that the two were more like a couple, as most girls usually went shopping with their girlfriends or boyfriends.
"Yes, this is my brother." Nia winked at the young salesgirl, "But, he already has a girlfriend."
The salesgirl looked at the siblings at the counter in astonishment.
"Okay, next, let's go buy your clothes!" Nia turned to Albert and said.
With proper nutrition, Albert's height had almost reached six feet, and many of his clothes had become too short.
The enthusiasm of the girls for shopping was truly terrifying. Albert couldn't understand why Nia was so keen on buying clothes for herself. He felt like a living mannequin, and it took them several clothing stores before they were satisfied.
Of course, Nia had a good eye, and after Albert changed into the new set of clothes, he looked even more sunny and handsome.
However, the troubling issue was that the shop assistants often mistook them for a couple.
"I think we do look a bit similar."
Albert looked at himself in the glass window of the tea shop, wondering why people often thought they were a couple instead of siblings.
"That's their trick. Most guys are quite generous in front of their girlfriends, so when they see a man and a woman shopping together, they always assume they're a couple." Nia took a sip of her milk tea and smiled, easily exposing the shop assistants' little thoughts.
"Okay, we've bought almost everything, we should head back." Luke and Sansa were much faster, and the back seat of the car was filled with a bunch of things, including a large fan.
With the arrival of summer, the fan in the living room was no longer sufficient for the four of them. As for air conditioning, installing it in Europe was actually quite expensive, and summer usually didn't last that long anyway.
Back home, Albert sat in the living room and watched TV for a while, experiencing the power of the large fan, before heading to the kitchen to help with the cooking. Lunch was seafood fried noodles with a large portion of seafood dumpling soup.
As they were enjoying their meal, an owl flew into the window and dropped a letter in front of Albert, almost knocking over his bowl of dumplings.
Albert picked up the letter and glanced at the sender. It was a personal letter from the Minister of Magic. Albert opened it and read: Fudge informed Albert that he had been awarded the Third Grade Order of Merlin.
Then, another owl flew in and dropped a package on the table. It contained a delicate box with a gold medal and a white ribbon symbolizing the Third Grade Order of Merlin.
Albert picked up the medal, weighed it in his hand, and then threw it back into the box, saying, "It's just gold-plated."
The three, who had been attracted by the medal, looked puzzled.
"Nowadays, most medals and trophies are just gold-plated." Albert picked up another letter that looked quite formal, only to find that it was an official commendation from the Ministry of Magic for his outstanding contribution to the Human Restoration Spell.
Albert had thought that he would need to provide more information about the Human Restoration Spell and go through a strict review process before receiving any recognition. He never expected it to be so easy and sudden.
What he didn't know was that last month, Fudge had someone try the Human Restoration Spell during the full moon, and in front of everyone's eyes, the werewolf was restored to human form.
And so, Albert received the award.
Compared to Albert's casual award, Fudge's award ceremony was much more formal. Almost the entire front page of 'The Prophet' reported that he had been awarded the First Grade Order of Merlin, pushing Albert's award to a corner.
However, Cornelius Fudge's award was not well-received, and many wizards felt that he didn't deserve it.
On the other hand, news of Albert's award quietly spread, and after the three owls from the Ministry, more owls flocked in, bringing congratulations from old friends.
"Oh my, there are so many owls."
Sansa looked at the owls flying around in the kitchen, a little at a loss. The birds had made a mess of their lunch.
"They're congratulatory gifts from friends." Albert looked at the chaotic dining room helplessly, "I'll help clean up later."
(End of Chapter)
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