Chapter 907: Suffering the Cruelest of Beatings
Chapter 907: Suffering the Cruelest of Beatings
The day after Christmas, Albert slept in, his intentions of getting up early squashed by the after-effects of over-exertion. Every inch of his body ached, as if he was suffering from severe post-fever symptoms.
"Aren't you getting up?"
Isabelle lifted her long hair and leaned down to kiss Albert's forehead.
"I'm all sore. I don't want to get up. I plan to lie in bed all day," Albert said lazily. "Why don't you join me? We don't have much to do today, do we?"
"Aren't you supposed to go back today?" Isabelle asked, seemingly in a good mood.
"I can always go back tomorrow," Albert replied without hesitation.
Isabelle found it a bit amusing to see Albert acting like a child who didn't want to get out of bed. She teased him gently, "Alright, if you want to lie in, you still need to get up and eat something first. Then we can lie in together afterward."
"Fine, there's always a price to pay for showing off," Albert mumbled. "Also, we shouldn't have gone to the hot springs yesterday. We should have done a cold compress instead."
"Isn't there a potion that can fix this?" Isabelle asked. "Or maybe a spell that can help?"
She fetched the 'Healing Handbook' from beside the fireplace in the hall and quickly flipped through it, searching for a cure. However, it was clear that there was no solution to be found.
"Never mind, let's forget about it," Albert gestured for Isabelle to stop fussing. If there had been a way, he would have used it on himself already. "Perhaps, like with nearsightedness, there just isn't any magic available to treat this condition yet."
Isabelle put down the book with a sense of loss. "You're right, maybe we should ask Mom to rewrite a medical book. This one seems outdated."
Eventually, with Isabelle's help, Albert managed to get dressed again.
Although the temperature in the British winter could drop below zero degrees Celsius, it wasn't as cold as one might imagine due to the temperate maritime climate.
After a nutritious breakfast prepared by the house-elves and a soothing massage to ease their sore muscles, Albert decided to crawl back into bed. He pulled Isabelle along to keep him company, figuring that there wasn't anything urgent to do, and snuggling in the warm bed with a good book was quite appealing.
Watching movies or TV would have been a better option, but such things didn't exist in the wizarding world, so they had to settle for listening to the radio.
However, the wizarding radio didn't offer much in the way of interesting content, and Albert eventually turned it off.
The two of them chatted idly about all sorts of random things.
For instance, there were certain common senses in the wizarding world that Albert was still unfamiliar with, as he hadn't been part of this world for long.
He enjoyed being held by Isabelle as she told him about various aspects of the wizarding world, while his quill took notes of their conversation.
"Are you planning to turn these notes into a book?" Isabelle guessed Albert's intention.
"Yes, I think Muggle-born wizards need a book like this to help them integrate into the wizarding world. Perhaps this will become the first book they read before entering this world," Albert explained. "In fact, someone should have written it a long time ago, but due to the wizards' disdain for Muggles, they deliberately ignored this need. Just like how books introducing the Muggle world are never popular in the wizarding world, unless they intentionally vilify Muggles."
"You see things clearly," Isabelle didn't deny it. As a naturally born Legilimens, she could see through people more easily than Albert. "Many people in this world only see what they want to see."
Whether it was the Muggle world, the Ministry of Magic, or people in general, they were all like that.
"Your clever little brain works differently from ours," Isabelle said as she ruffled Albert's hair affectionately. "But you're right, those Muggle-born wizards could use a book about the wizarding world."
Isabelle spent the day with Albert, chatting and relaxing. By the end of the day, most of the content for a book tentatively titled 'Miscellaneous Common Sense of the Wizarding World' was taking shape. All that remained was to interview more pure-blood wizards to make the book more comprehensive.
For some reason, Albert suddenly felt that writing a book in the wizarding world seemed like an easy feat.
The next day, a still-sore Albert returned to Grandpa Luke's home with Isabelle, intending to spend the rest of the Christmas holidays with them.
"So, you danced with too many girls and now you're feeling the consequences?"
In Nia's opinion, Albert deserved to be sore from dancing with so many girls. So, she had been taking the opportunity to 'massage' his shoulders by patting them vigorously, giving him a strange sense of relief from the soreness.
This situation didn't sit well with Nia.
However, Albert wasn't fazed. He quickly found a solution by promising to dance with Nia once his soreness subsided, and he would keep dancing until she was satisfied.
Nia finally returned to her usual sensible and adorable self, helping Albert massage his sore muscles and listening to him talk about the Hogwarts Christmas ball.
"It's so beautiful, like a fairy tale ice castle," Nia said as she flipped through the photos of the Hogwarts Great Hall in the album. She couldn't help but ask, "When can I go to Hogwarts?"
"Probably on June 24th. The relatives of the champions are invited to watch the final, and I'll take you on a tour of the entire Hogwarts castle," Albert replied.
"Will Mom and Dad come back?" Nia asked suddenly.
"They told me through the two-way mirror recently that they've already found a school over there. You'll be able to move there during the summer vacation," Albert said. "How's your language study going?"
"It's passable. I think I can communicate without any problems," Nia replied in the foreign language she had been learning. Although she was still a bit awkward, with more practice and communication, she would become fluent in no time.
"Not bad. It seems our family has a talent for languages. I've heard this is one of the most difficult languages to learn," Albert said with a smile.
"When will you dance with me?" Nia asked suddenly. "And will it be in a ballroom or in the trunk?"
"At home," Albert said gently. "You can choose your favorite tunes, and in the meantime, stretch your body over the next few days to avoid overexertion like I did."
"Um, can you make a package for me that can hold a lot of things?" Nia asked hesitantly after a moment's pause. "I was actually thinking of asking for that as a birthday gift."
"Of course, consider it an early Christmas present for next year," Albert didn't refuse. He had been planning to make something for Nia's protection anyway, especially since she would be going to a new place where she didn't know anyone.
Although Australia might have been a better choice, she needed to learn to be independent...and he couldn't take care of her forever...
Albert casually flipped through the latest issue of the Daily Prophet and came across an interesting article:
"Flying Youth—A Spring for the Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports?"
"Looks like those three idiots' scheme worked," Albert continued reading the article.
According to the report, the Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports had eaten a piece of chocolate sent by a fan in his office. His assistant noticed something was wrong, and despite the abundance of talented witches and wizards in the Ministry, they were at a loss for what to do. Finally, someone suggested sending him to St. Mungo's, bringing an end to the commotion.
(End of Chapter)
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