Chapter 993: The Wizard's Lookout
Chapter 993: The Wizard's Lookout
Finally, tomorrow they would be off to Hogwarts.
Katrina heaved a sigh of relief as she finished packing her luggage, closing the lid of her trunk. Living here had been pleasant, but being caught between Isabelle and Albert made her feel uncomfortable. She despised the sense of being an intruder, and even more so, she detested witnessing their displays of affection right before her eyes, always leaving her in an awkward state.
Thankfully, tomorrow she would be on her way to Hogwarts, finally free from this situation.
Just then, there was a knock on the door, and the voice of the house-elf, Kara, sounded from the other side.
"Miss Katrina, dinner is ready."
She recalled that the house-elf always referred to Isabelle as 'Miss', even though the two of them weren't married yet.
There was no need to guess that it was Albert's doing.
Exiting the room, Katrina made her way along the lengthy corridor to the dining room. Looking at the sumptuous feast laid out on the table, she glanced up at Isabelle and said, "Tonight's dinner certainly looks grand."
"Since you'll be leaving for school tomorrow, we ought to have a hearty meal tonight," Isabelle replied as she helped to set the dinner on the table.
"Can we send some food over to Mom?" Katrina asked.
"There's a house-elf taking care of Mom as well," Isabelle assured her. "You need not worry about her daily life."
"We're heading to Hogwarts tomorrow. Are you going to stay here?" Katrina inquired as she took a seat at the table and picked up her cutlery. "By the way, where is that guy?"
"He seemed to have something to do and went out. He should be back soon," Isabelle replied.
Glancing at her sister, Isabelle said gently, "I'll be moving to Hogsmeade. There's a similar safe house there, which I used to live in."
"Hogsmeade?" Katrina was surprised. "Does he often visit you there?"
"Yes," Isabelle answered simply.
"No wonder you don't feel bored and even have time to write books with him," Katrina remarked, impressed by Albert's arrangements. She realized that setting up such places must have required a lot of effort and money.
"But he's always busy," Isabelle said, looking at her sister. "You could actually help him as well."
"Busy saving the world?" Katrina scoffed.
"Not exactly," Isabelle shook her head. "Albert predicted the upcoming turmoil long ago. He has been preparing to overcome the challenges ahead."
"I thought he would take you and leave the country to hide from the danger," Katrina put down her fork and waited with Isabelle for Albert to return.
"Actually, I wish he would do that," Isabelle said suddenly.
An eerie silence fell upon the hall.
Katrina looked at Isabelle, her expression strange as she asked, "You mean you didn't convince him?"
"If the situation gets out of hand, Albert will take us away from Britain," Isabelle shook her head. "He has already prepared an escape route."
"You've changed quite a bit over the years," Katrina sighed.
Just then, they heard sounds from outside, indicating Albert's return.
"Where did you go?" Katrina turned and asked. "We've been waiting for you!"
"Sorry to keep you waiting," Albert said as he kissed Isabelle's cheek.
"Then sit down and eat. The food is getting cold, and I know you don't like cold food," Katrina said impatiently.
"We don't have to get up too early tomorrow. We'll apparate directly to the train station just before the train departs," Albert said as he placed a large piece of crab on his plate and began explaining the plans for the next day.
"You're really cautious," Katrina remarked with a puzzled look. "Do you think someone might attack us at the station?"
"It's better to be careful on the way. Who knows if the Death Eaters might stop the train midway?" Albert replied.
If possible, Albert would have preferred to go directly to Hogwarts. However, as the Student Council President, he needed to make an appearance in the prefect's carriage.
Albert didn't care much about the position, but he had to consider Professor McGonagall, who had given him the role.
"Would the Death Eaters do that?" Katrina found it hard to believe that they would attempt such a foolish act.
"Although the possibility is small, we must be prepared. Who knows what crazy things the Death Eaters might do?" Albert said, lost in his own thoughts. "If I were a Death Eater and wanted to assassinate a particular student on the train, I would disguise myself as a trolley salesperson. When the trolley approaches the target, I would wait for them to lower their guard while buying something, then draw my wand and cast the Avada Kedavra curse. Afterward, I would disapparate in the chaos."
"You're so scheming," Katrina remarked, but she had to admit that Albert's plan had a high probability of success.
Indeed, one could never be too cautious.
"It's better to be safe than sorry. This world is full of clever people," Albert said, and then he turned to Isabelle. Understanding his unspoken request, Isabelle began to explain the duties of the Student Council President to the two of them.
Compared to Katrina, who diligently performed her prefect duties, Albert, who mostly just went with the flow, evidently needed to hear this.
"By the way, who's in charge of the Advanced Dark Arts class this year?" Katrina asked after Isabelle finished her explanation.
"Unfortunately, Advanced Dark Arts this year is probably doomed," Albert replied.
"Theory of Magical Defense?" Katrina repeated, her tone dubious. The title alone was enough to explain why Albert believed that Advanced Dark Arts would be a disaster this year.
"You guessed it," Albert said, his tone flat but laced with disdain. "Apparently, the book discourages the use of any offensive defensive spells. Moreover, Umbridge isn't a qualified professor, so don't expect much. I assume she'll just read from the book like Lockhart did."
"That's terrible," Katrina mumbled. "I'm worried about my Advanced Dark Arts grade now."
She wanted to achieve good grades like Isabelle.
"Your Dark Arts skills are not bad. I can help you make up for any gaps later," Isabelle reassured her. "Of course, you can also come to me for help. Although I'm not as skilled as Albert, helping you get an 'Outstanding' shouldn't be a problem."
Isabelle had trained specifically for revenge in the past, and Albert had taught her a lot since then. Even encountering a Death Eater would not be a problem for her.
"This has to be kept confidential. I don't want a crowd of people coming to me for tutoring," Albert agreed. "I need you to help me research 'Theory of Magical Defense'. I plan to have everyone take turns asking Umbridge questions."
"You're such a troublemaker..." Katrina shook her head, a hint of amusement in her voice.
"I just wanted to give her some entertainment and, at the same time, test the quality of education at the Ministry of Magic." Albert smiled mischievously. "Actually, I asked Dumbledore to not enroll me in her class, but unfortunately, he refused."
"You seem to really dislike Umbridge?" Isabelle was surprised to see Albert expressing such obvious disdain for someone.
"Indeed, she's a despicable person." Albert waved his wand, and a piece of parchment appeared out of thin air. As he reached out to catch it, the parchment doubled, and he handed one copy each to Isabelle and Katrina.
The parchment contained a detailed expose of Umbridge's misdeeds.
"I see, no wonder you hate her."
Isabelle was already aware of some incidents, such as the warning letters for violating the Statute of Secrecy and the fiasco with the title of Youth Representative for Wizenagamot. But she had no idea Albert had obtained such comprehensive information.
Katrina, after reading the parchment, was appalled. She couldn't believe there was such a shameless person, and what shocked her the most was the attack on Harry Potter using Dementors.
"Even though there's no evidence, it's most likely her doing." Albert nodded. "Her motive was probably to curry favor with Fudge, and in fact, she became the Undersecretary because of this incident."
"Disgusting." Katrina shared Albert's disdain for Umbridge.
"Some of her actions are not entirely wrong. Otherwise, how do you think she climbed to such a high position? Political struggles can be ruthless." Albert checked his pocket watch and then turned on the radio, tuning it to the Wizard's Lookout. Soon, Sirius Black's voice filled the room.
"Welcome to the Wizard's Lookout. Today, we will be discussing a topic that is of great concern to everyone—the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts. As we all know, Hogwarts has a tradition of changing the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher every year... Let's welcome our guests today, former Hogwarts professors Lupin and Moody..."
The radio broadcasted Sirius Black, Lupin, and Mad-Eye Moody's evaluations of the "Theory of Magical Defense"...
"I dare say, when Umbridge teaches, she will probably just read from that book and lecture to the students. This book can't teach much useful knowledge and is only suitable as supplementary reading material..."
"I completely agree. I just skimmed through it, and it actually discourages the use of any offensive defensive spells. What nonsense!"
"...As an Auror, I can tell you that this is like gently persuading a Dark Wizard not to do evil and reminding them that using Dark Magic is illegal..."
"...It would be better to teach something practical. If you don't believe me, go ahead and read that book yourself!"
...
Lupin also predicted that if Umbridge's teaching methods were followed, many students might not learn any useful knowledge in Defense Against the Dark Arts.
...
"I totally agree with Professor Lupin's assessment. I think time will prove everything, but the ones who will suffer the most are the fifth and seventh-year students, as their academic performance will be severely affected."
...
"As far as I know, although Professor Lupin is a werewolf, he was one of the most well-liked Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers in recent years. Am I right?"
"Yes, even though we were shocked to learn the truth later on, Professor Lupin was still very popular at Hogwarts."
Fred and George also joined the broadcast as guests, although their voices were altered, and they used pseudonyms. Nonetheless, Albert recognized their voices instantly.
The twins recounted the unfortunate fates of the Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers from their first to sixth year.
...
"Finally, let us send our silent blessings to Professor Dolores Umbridge, wishing her good luck in teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts this year and hoping she won't be troubled by curses anymore."
The atmosphere in the hall turned peculiar. The McDougal sisters turned to Albert, suspecting that he had something to do with today's broadcast. After all, the information about Umbridge that they had received earlier could be heard on the radio now.
"Don't you think these broadcasts are quite useful?" Albert's lips curved up. "At least now we all understand the situation we're facing."
"If Umbridge hears this, she'll probably go crazy!" Katrina suspected that Albert was up to something.
"I don't think she'll find out, and even if she does, it doesn't matter." Albert didn't seem too concerned about Umbridge. After all, once they arrived at school, a bunch of people would be waiting to 'welcome' her.
After turning off the radio, everyone returned to packing their luggage. Although the house-elves were more than willing to help, Albert wasn't used to letting others pack for him, as his trunk contained many important items.
As for Isabelle's plan to move to Hogsmeade, it didn't cause much trouble. The only thing that made Albert a bit helpless was Isabelle's current obsession with researching beauty potions. She seemed to be very concerned about maintaining her youthful appearance.
It could be said that women had a certain obsession with their looks, and the more beautiful they were, the more they tended towards such vanity. Even the two American witches were no exception.
Especially after the possible discovery of a youth potion, they had thrown themselves into that research with even more fervor.
However, genius was no match for cheating.
After Albert repeatedly assured her that he would help with the research later, Isabelle finally picked up the half-written Defense Against the Dark Arts manuscript again.
"How long do you think this chaos will last?"
Isabelle turned to Albert and asked as she soaked in the hot spring pool.
Katrina, feeling awkward, had left in a hurry when Albert came to take a bath, unable to bring herself to join them.
"At most three or four years." Albert speculated. "If it doesn't end by then, I'll take you away from Britain."
"Do you think it's possible for people to stay forever young?" Isabelle asked.
"It's possible. After all, there's the existence of immortality." Albert had answered this question many times before. "I don't really care about it, though."
"You're lying. Men always prefer young and beautiful women." Isabelle humphed and poked Albert's chest. "Moreover, I believe this research will be well-received by young ladies. I've already agreed to the plan to open a beauty shop in Britain."
"Are you going into business with Katrina?" Albert was a bit surprised.
"Of course not. I can find other helpers, too." Isabelle pouted. "We plan to gather everyone's strengths to push this big project forward."
"Then I can be your Potions consultant." Albert smiled. "But before that, we still need to deal with the immediate trouble at hand."
(End of Chapter)
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