Chapter 992: Shell Cottage
Chapter 992: Shell Cottage
As the Lombardons left Mrs. Padfoot's Tea House, Neville was still bewildered, his face full of confusion and uncertainty, following them out.
Kyle sat in the shop until their figures completely disappeared on the street before he couldn't help but laugh.
There was no other way; just as planting potatoes required digging holes, those scars were unavoidable traces left by the making of the Horcrux.
The reason they were lightning-shaped was mainly because Kyle subconsciously thought of Harry's forehead at that moment.
But this wasn't without its benefits; at least Mr. Lombard would be able to harvest a large number of astonished gazes the next time he went to the seaside for a vacation.
After all, not everyone could have a dozen standard lightning-shaped scars on their body, and if he were a bit more fashionable and painted those scars gold, it would be even more interesting.
Maybe Kyle could even open up a new business venture.
However, given Frank Lombard's personality, he probably wouldn't do that... Fred, on the other hand, might.
After returning to Hogwarts, Kyle immediately sought out Conna and told her about what had just happened.
"Are you going?"
"Yes, I've already promised Falkland," Kyle said, "but I still need a female companion. If you're willing, that would be perfect."
Unlike the simple dinner banquets at Hogwarts, the Christmas banquets hosted by wizarding families could basically be called Christmas balls...
Except for those who were too young, most invited wizards would attend with their dance partners, just like the ball during the Triwizard Tournament.
"Is this your way of inviting me?" Conna asked with a smile.
"Of course," Kyle replied.
"Okay," Conna raised an eyebrow, "then I agree, but I need to buy a new dress robe. My old one is a bit small now."
"You can ask Fleur for help with that," Kyle said, "although I'm reluctant to admit it, when it comes to dress robes, the French shops are indeed more professional."
"Then I'll make time to visit Shell Cottage," Conna nodded.
After Bill and Fleur's wedding, the couple moved out and now lived in a suburb of Cornwall, near the seaside.
Kyle really couldn't understand why they had chosen to settle in such a remote place.
It was truly remote; even the owls delivering newspapers might not be willing to go there.
But according to Bill, both he and Fleur considered it a lonely yet beautiful place, and they loved it.
One could only say that the aesthetics of wizards differed, and Kyle, while not understanding, expressed his respect.
Moreover, as long as they were connected to the Floo Network, it didn't matter how remote the location was.
...
After finding a dance partner, Kyle didn't think about this matter anymore. He continued to attend classes daily and take care of the fire dragons in the garden.
It had to be said that the fire dragons were growing incredibly fast.
Now, when they stood up, they were all over twenty feet tall, and the largest, Iron Belly, was even forty feet tall, looking like a large cloud when flying over the Forbidden Forest.
The Centaurs had complained many times, but no one paid attention.
It was impossible for anyone to care.
When the Death Eaters attacked Hogwarts, these fire dragons had all participated in the battle, with the most aggressive Hungarian Horntail contributing the most. From the start to the end of the war, it never stopped breathing fire, single-handedly destroying a Death Eater squad.
It even received a 'Special Contribution Award to Hogwarts' from Professor McGonagall in her capacity as Headmistress.
There was still a dragon statue trophy in the school's award showcase, the only one of its kind.
Then there were the Centaurs, who, from the start of the war, had hidden in the Forbidden Forest and never appeared... Well, not exactly, as they did come out near the end to shoot a round of arrows, a token gesture of support.
It was also possible that the Centaurs had foreseen the outcome of the war through divination and believed they should participate.
But with one group starting from the beginning and the other appearing near the end... It was clear which side Hogwarts would favor.
Headmistress McGonagall would definitely not drive the Centaurs out of the Forbidden Forest, as it was, strictly speaking, an independent entity and not part of Hogwarts.
However, she would also not refuse another magical creature from living in the Forbidden Forest, and as for territory and airspace... The Forbidden Forest didn't belong to Hogwarts, so it wasn't her concern.
So, when faced with the Centaurs' aggressive attitude, Headmistress McGonagall would generally wave them off, telling them to go to the Ministry of Magic.
She even helped them come up with a reason—saying that someone was illegally breeding dragons.
At first, the Centaurs did go to the Ministry, but Kyle had a dragon breeding permit from the protected area, so the Ministry had no jurisdiction.
Even the Ministry of Magic doesn't interfere, so the school can't do much either.
Keer had already removed most of the alchemy mist, leaving only the outermost part near the castle.
After all, the students still had classes, and it would be distracting if they suddenly saw a dragon taking flight not too far away.
Hagrid was a regular visitor here, coming almost every day and often bringing Keer things.
Unicorn hair, fire salamander tails, or phoenix feathers—these were things he picked up during his patrols in the Forbidden Forest.
There had been times before, but they weren't very useful. At most, Hagrid would collect some unicorn hair to weave a cushion or mend a bedsheet.
Now that the school had an alchemy class, these items became much more valuable. Hagrid would bring an empty bag with him whenever he went to the Forbidden Forest, and only come out when it was full.
This bountiful harvest had been going on for several months.
As usual, Hagrid handed over the bag in his hand to Keer and asked, "The Quidditch match is coming up soon, right? Who do you think will win?"
"Of course, Gryffindor," Keer replied without hesitation. "This year's players, every single one of them, none can match Ginny.
"Let's put it this way, as long as Gryffindor can drag the match past half an hour, even if their Seeker goes back to sleep, they'll still win."
Ginny was a Chaser on the team, and she was just like him back then, holding the Snitch and dominating the game. No one could stop her.
But he had opponents back then, like Harry and his Firebolt, which were quite challenging. Ginny, however, was different.
There was no one from Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff who could match her, not even the famous Slytherin boxing team, who had started following the rules.
But thinking about it, due to the war, Slytherin had endured a lot of ostracism. If they didn't behave now, they would surely be beaten up.
With all these factors, this year's Quidditch match would undoubtedly become Ginny's solo scoring show.
"That's true," Hagrid nodded. "The Weasleys are all incredibly talented, even the mischievous Fred and George have achieved great things.
"I've been to their shop, it's really good... It would be even better if that plate didn't bite me." Hagrid subconsciously touched his beard.
"Do you need me to reserve two seats for you?" he asked. "Of course, the seats might not be too close to the front."
"No need," Keer shook his head. "Conna's new dress robes have arrived, and I plan to go to Shell Cottage with her this weekend."
"Dress robes?"
"To attend the Longbottom family's Christmas dinner," Keer explained.
"Oh, I remember now," Hagrid patted his arm,
"A few days ago, Neville also sent me an invitation letter. I'm still hesitating whether to go or not... You know, many wizards aren't very welcoming to half-giant hybrids."
"Was it Neville who invited you?"
"No, it was Frank. He invited me on behalf of the Longbottom family," Hagrid said happily. "I'm so glad he's finally come to his senses... You're truly amazing, Keer, truly."
Keer didn't say anything.
He was genuinely surprised that Frank Longbottom had invited Hagrid to the Christmas dinner.
Indeed, many wizards were reluctant to associate with anything related to giants, so usually, only those with very close relationships would invite Hagrid to formal occasions.
Frank Longbottom and Hagrid had both been members of the Order of the Phoenix, so it wasn't strange for them to have a good relationship. What surprised Keer was that none of the other Longbottoms had objected.
"Then let's go together," Keer said. "Do you need dress robes? I heard there's a shop in France that made dress robes for giants before. I can ask Fleur to inquire for you."
"No need," Hagrid waved his hand. "The dragon hide coat you gave me before is great. I've never worn it."
As he said this, Hagrid subconsciously glanced at the autumn bees in the sky.
The main reason was that when he wore the dragon hide coat, the autumn bees would treat him as one of their own.
And when facing their own kind, autumn bees tended to be a little impolite... Hagrid had experienced it once, and the memory was still fresh.
Seeing that Hagrid had made up his mind, Keer didn't say anything more.
...
The next day, on the weekend, after an early breakfast, they Apparated to Cornwall from Hogsmeade while the students were discussing Quidditch.
"I still don't understand..." Kyle furrowed his brows slightly as he looked at the vast beach and the scattered pebbles, "How can such a place be romantic?"
"I don't understand either." Conna replied, "Maybe it's just beyond our comprehension... I mean, Bill and Fleur are quite unique in their ideas."
She recalled the first time she met Bill.
Back then, his attire and appearance stood out from those around him. His long hair was tied in a ponytail, and he wore fan-like earrings and dragon hide boots, resembling a cowboy from Muggle movies.
She couldn't help but wonder what Kyle would look like if he dressed like that...
Hmm... that wouldn't be bad, and she had never seen Kyle with long hair before.
Conna stared at Kyle's face, deep in thought, and suddenly, she couldn't help but laugh.
"What are you laughing at?"
"No, nothing, really." Conna blushed, shaking her head repeatedly in denial.
"How strange." Kyle didn't pay much attention to it and continued, "Anyway, if it were me, I definitely wouldn't choose a place where even owls don't come."
"So, where would you choose to live?" A cold, emotionless voice came from behind them.
"Dorset County would be nice... Devon is also a good choice, of course. But it also depends on your preference, or we can discuss and choose a place that everyone likes..."
Kyle stopped mid-sentence, suddenly realizing that this question wasn't from Conna.
When he turned around, he saw Fleur with an expression that was half anger and half mockery.
Her expression was strange, as if she had heard something interesting in the midst of her anger.
Oh, and beside her, Bill was winking and nudging her.
"How did you get here?" Kyle asked,
"I should say it's fortunate that I came." Fleur dragged out her words, "Otherwise, I wouldn't have known that you look down on our Shell Cottage so much.
"Speaking of which, are you even a wizard? Or is it that wizards aren't allowed to Apparate, use Floo Network, or use Portkeys?"
"Don't talk nonsense. I don't look down on Shell Cottage at all." Kyle explained, "Besides, we Apparated here this time, so how can I not be a wizard?"
"But you just said that owls don't come here."
"Owls indeed don't come..." Kyle hesitated, "I mean, don't you get bored of looking at those stones every day?"
"Then don't you get bored of looking at Conna every day?" Fleur retorted.
Kyle shook his head without hesitation, "No."
"Neither do I!" She kissed Bill provocatively.
"..."
Kyle felt like he had been kicked, but he couldn't find the right words to respond.
He was just complaining about how remote this place was! Fleur raised her eyebrows triumphantly and pulled Conna, who was about to speak for Kyle, and walked away.
"Ignore him, come with me. The dress robes in that shop are really good."
Conna was pulled away by Fleur.
Bill walked up and patted Kyle's shoulder.
"Sorry, Fleur... well, she didn't mean it."
"It's fine, I know." Kyle waved his hand, "And it was me who suggested this place first."
"So, have you really decided to settle down in Dorset County?"
Bill asked curiously, "I've heard that the wizards there aren't easy to get along with. Or did you and Diggory plan to go there together?"
He remembered that Kyle, Fred, George, and Cedric Diggory from the other side of the village were good friends and inseparable at school.
"No, it's just an idea." Kyle said, "I'm not sure how the wizards in Dorset County are, but there's a great neighbor nearby, and it would definitely be interesting to live there... Oh, but it requires some courage."
"It requires courage?" Bill frowned, pondering the meaning of this statement. What did it mean to need courage to be someone's neighbor... Surely it couldn't be a Death Eater.
"Speaking of which, did you receive the invitation from the Longbottoms?" Kyle didn't want to dwell on the topic and proactively changed the subject.
"My mother received the invitation." Bill wasn't particularly curious, and seeing Kyle's question, he replied, "The invitation is for our whole family. Fleur and I will go together."
...
The two of them talked as they walked towards Shell Cottage.
Just like its name, from a distance, their cottage indeed resembled a giant shell, and it looked quite beautiful.
...
(End of Chapter)
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