Chapter 840: The Camp
Chapter 840: The Camp
Ding-dong! The doorbell rang.
Sansa opened the front door and, seeing the red-haired girl outside, smiled and invited her in.
"Isabella, right?"
Sansa had seen Isabella's photo long ago, sent by Albert, and she couldn't help but marvel at how three generations of their family had excellent taste. The red-haired girl before her had a special aura about her, and she seemed well-suited to Albert.
"I believe Albert has mentioned me," Isabella said with a smile. "I'm here to pick them up for the Quidditch World Cup."
"Albert and Nia are still having breakfast. Would you like to join us?"
"No, thank you. I've already eaten."
As Isabella followed Sansa into the dining room, she saw Albert dressed simply, having breakfast, while Nia was also casually attired.
However, even in their simplicity, the Anderson siblings' demeanor and appearance would easily draw attention wherever they went.
Nia put down her fork, wiped her mouth with a napkin, and asked eagerly, "Are we leaving now?"
"Yes," Albert replied after finishing the last bit of food on his plate. "But first, we need to pack everything we'll need for the next few days into the trunk." He looked up at Nia and continued, "You'll need to stay inside the trunk for now so we can smuggle you into the camp later using Disillusionment."
"Stay in the trunk?" Nia's eyes shifted to the briefcase Isabella was holding, and she asked doubtfully, "Won't I suffocate in there?"
"There's plenty of space inside, you'll see." Albert gestured for Isabella to open the briefcase, revealing a spiraling staircase leading downward.
"Magic is truly incredible; I never thought something like this would be possible," Nia exclaimed as she pulled her small suitcase and entered, only to be astonished by the spacious room inside, bathed in sunlight and surrounded by lush flower fields.
"You can stay here, and the Disillusionment won't affect you," Albert said with a smile. "Feel free to choose any room you like."
"Are we staying here?" Nia asked, puzzled.
"Yes, we'll likely be staying here for the next few days," Albert nodded. Then, he and Isabella left the briefcase.
"Then, we should be off," Albert said to Luke.
"Aren't you leaving with her?" Sansa asked, looking at Isabella, who had left empty-handed, and then at Albert, who was carrying the briefcase.
"I'm still a minor, so I can't use magic yet. That's why we have to leave separately," Albert explained as he took out his pocket watch to check the time. "I need Grandpa Luke and Grandma Sansa to leave the house for a while. You can go to the nearby convenience store to buy some things."
"Take care of your sister," Luke instructed.
"I will," Albert assured him. He then headed back to his room, where his house-elf, Bitte, was already waiting.
Albert handed the briefcase to Bitte and then entered the Vanishing Cabinet, using Disillusionment to secretly make his way to Isabella's house to meet up with the sisters.
Bitte's task was to take the briefcase back to the house in Hogsmeade when everyone was out and wait for Albert to set up the tent. Then, he would bring the briefcase to the camp to join the others.
At that moment, Isabella was leading Albert and Katrina, her companion, to the area designated by the Ministry of Magic for Apparition.
As they arrived, they noticed a weary old wizard not far away, frowning as he watched the young trio. His gaze lingered on Albert for a moment before shifting to Katrina, who seemed unaccustomed to Apparition.
"Is there a problem?" Albert asked, noticing the old wizard's stare but remaining unfazed.
"Are there just the three of you?" the old wizard asked.
"We've already registered in advance, and I believe you'll find McDougal on the parchment," Albert reminded him.
"Oh, McDougal..." The old wizard suddenly said, "You must be Albert Anderson."
Just then, a group of young people tumbled to the ground clumsily, clearly suffering from the after-effects of using a Portkey.
Albert didn't answer; he simply nodded and then headed in the direction the old wizard had indicated to find Mr. Paine, the hapless caretaker.
Soon, they spotted the stone hut, and a man stood at the entrance, his face bearing a dazed expression as if he couldn't care less about the world around him.
"Good morning," Albert greeted him. "You must be Mr. Paine." He could tell that the poor man had just been subjected to the Forgetfulness Charm.
Mr. Paine looked at the three young people and asked, "Ah, yes, and who are you?"
"McDougal," Albert replied. "We booked a tent two days ago and plan to stay here for about twelve days. Of course, we might leave earlier than that."
After speaking, Albert took out the pounds he had prepared and handed them to Mr. Paine.
"You have a spot over there," Mr. Paine said, glancing at the list stuck to the door before taking the money. "Here's a map of the campsite."
"Thank you," Albert said, taking the map and leading the McDougal sisters toward the designated area.
"Will that Muggle turn into an idiot?" Katrina asked.
"No, but he'll probably be a bit forgetful," Albert replied. "Using the Forgetfulness Charm too often tends to have some side effects."
As they entered the camp, Albert noticed two rows of neatly arranged new tents. They looked like typical Muggle tents from the outside, but some of the witches' and wizards' tents clearly showed signs of magical enhancement. It was evident that expecting everyone to maintain a low profile was unrealistic.
Soon, they reached the end of the camp and quickly found the wooden sign bearing the McDougal name after a minute of searching.
Albert set up a simple tent using magic in a short time.
The interior of the tent was also much more spacious than it appeared from the outside, containing only a table and a few beds, giving it a very spartan look.
Of course, they hadn't planned to spend much time in the tent anyway, so its simplicity didn't matter.
"This is, without a doubt, the most dreadful tent I've ever seen," Katrina remarked.
"At least it's still a tent, and you're not being asked to stay here," Albert said, checking his pocket watch. "Why don't you two sit and rest for a while? Bitte will be joining us soon."
"Is Bitte your house-elf?" Katrina asked curiously.
Before Albert could answer, there was a series of pops, and Bitte appeared in the tent, briefcase in hand.
Albert took the briefcase, opened it near the entrance, and disguised the opening as the tent's entrance, making it look like a regular door leading into the tent's interior.
As for the tattered tent, it was actually prepared for the house-elf. Should any trouble arise, the house-elf could immediately grab the case and Disapparate, leaving the tent behind.
"If there's any issue, you can notify me through this."
Albert took out a wristband and handed it to the house-elf. It was a communication device he had crafted. He had made quite a few similar devices in the past, but most of them were only capable of one-on-one communication and had certain flaws.
"Yes, Master." The house-elf put on the communication wristband and went about its business.
"Master?" Katrina, sharp as always, caught the underlying meaning in the house-elf's words and looked at Albert inquisitively.
However, Albert had no intention of explaining and simply pushed open the door and stepped into the briefcase.
"Have we arrived?"
Hearing the noise, Nia hurried back to the room and saw Albert, along with the two beautiful red-haired girls, appear inside the house.
Nia had heard from Albert that Isabella's sister would be joining them for the Quidditch World Cup.
"Won't there be an Anti-Muggle Charm cast around the Quidditch pitch? How do you plan to bring me in?" Katrina remembered that Nia was a Muggle and was concerned that Albert's actions might attract unnecessary trouble.
"It's not difficult to shield against the Anti-Muggle Charm. It's not a particularly powerful spell." Since Albert dared to bring Nia to the Quidditch World Cup, he had naturally considered various possibilities and had corresponding countermeasures in mind.
"Why don't you two rest for a while? During the day, to prevent Muggles from discovering anything unusual, the camp is quite normal and there's not much to see. It won't be until evening that vendors will start appearing in the camp, and then I'll take you around to browse and buy souvenirs." Albert had learned about the situation here through other channels in advance.
"Can I come too?" Nia asked, blinking her eyes.
"Of course, but first, you need to put these on, and you must stay by my side at all times." Albert handed Nia a few magical gadgets and then cast spells on her with his wand.
"Are you sure this is alright?" Katrina was a little worried. Albert was being rather reckless and seemed to completely disregard the Ministry of Magic.
"I've studied the Ministry's tracers. As long as we don't use magic outside the wizarding world, there won't be any problems. I've tested this in Diagon Alley before. As long as we're within the wizarding world, even if you use magic in front of Muggles, it won't trigger any warnings." Albert led Nia out of the briefcase and into the tent.
"What's that?"
The first thing the girl saw was the house-elf, which startled her, and she shrunk back behind Albert.
"It's a house-elf, a sort of servant for some wizarding families." Albert explained casually, "His name is Bitte, and he's here to take care of our daily needs."
"This is my sister, Nia." Albert introduced Nia to Bitte, and the house-elf bowed slightly to her before continuing with his tasks.
"Did you use a similar spell on this tent as well?"
Nia followed Albert out of the tent and was surprised to find that the inside of the tent was spacious, while the outside appeared to be just a small tent.
Outside, people came and went, looking like an ordinary campsite. If it weren't for the bizarre costumes, this group of wizards would have been trying to pass themselves off as Muggles with their clumsy acting. However, they seemed completely unaware that their behavior appeared odd to Muggle eyes.
"I think they take ordinary people for fools." Nia watched the wizards with their poor acting skills and couldn't help but comment.
"Yes, no one really pays attention to those things. They prefer to use magic to solve problems." Albert spoke softly, "If any Muggles were to discover the secrets here, the wizards would use magic to deal with the situation."
"Make them forget?"
"Make them forget."
"How... arrogant." Nia muttered under her breath.
"That's the wizarding world for you."
Albert patted Nia's shoulder, signaling for her to return to the tent and rest instead of wandering around at this hour.
"When does the Quidditch match start?" Nia looked up at Albert.
"Probably in the evening." Albert replied.
"What a terrible time. Staying up late is a woman's enemy." Nia grumbled.
"I completely agree with you." A voice came from not far away.
Albert turned to see Catherine and Valeria approaching.
Nia eyed the two uninvited guests curiously and frowned, "Your charm really works on everyone, doesn't it?"
"Who's this beautiful lady? Is she your new girlfriend? Isabella is going to be heartbroken." Valeria greeted Albert enthusiastically, eyeing Nia with curiosity and teasing him.
"Let's talk inside." Albert invited the two ladies into the tent.
"Your tent is rather simple." Valeria looked around, surprised at the shabby state of the tent, finding it hard to imagine that Albert and Isabella would stay in such a place.
"You idiot, they obviously won't be staying here." Catherine's gaze fell on the girl beside Albert, and she, too, was curious about the beautiful girl accompanying Albert.
"This is my sister, Nia." Albert introduced them, "This is Catherine and Valeria, my friends from the wizarding world. They played a part in the beauty potions you used before."
"Your biological sister?"
"The wizarding world?"
Unlike Valeria, Catherine noticed the choice of Albert's words.
"Nia is a Muggle. Remember to keep this a secret." Albert knew that he couldn't hide such a thing from smart people like them, so he decided to be straightforward.
The two ladies exchanged glances and assured him that they would keep the secret.
"If you're looking for Isabella, she's resting inside." Albert pointed to the entrance of the briefcase.
"Do you mind if we crash your lunch? Catherine's cooking skills are terrible, and my cooking is barely edible as well." Valeria said pitifully.
"I'll ask the house-elf to prepare extra portions for you."
"Actually, if it's possible, we'd like to move in and stay with you." Valeria continued to push her luck, as this was her true intention.
Nia eyed the busty, blonde woman with suspicion, feeling that she had other motives regarding Albert.
"I'm sorry, but we don't have any extra space here." Isabella directly refused.
(End of Chapter)
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