Hogwarts: Bourne Returns from Warhammer

Chapter 91 Christmas Gift
April 12, the weather was sunny.

At five o'clock in the morning, Bourne opened his eyes habitually. After washing, he prepared to go for morning exercises. He planned to have his last breakfast before the Hogwarts holiday, and then go to Hogsmeade village to catch the train back to London. Grandpa Horace said he would wait for him at the station.

But when he ran into the castle gate from the Black Lake with the panting Ruth, and then walked into the banquet hall and canteen next to it, he saw an unexpected person appear here.

"Grandpa Horace, why are you here?"

Bourne was a little surprised and ran over, but still obediently hugged the old man whom he had not seen for a long time.

At this time, for the first time, the former Head of Slytherin House was sitting next to the long table commonly used by Gryffindor. He was wearing a full waxed hunting suit and was holding a half-eaten bacon sandwich in his hand. The house elf Momo also followed him. She was so excited that she shed tears after seeing her little master whom she hadn't seen for months.

Bourne also hugged Momo, and finally he urgently woke up the little Khan, who was still sleeping soundly until just now, wearing a nightgown and using the thick hair of Rus as Simmons and quilt, so that he could perform for Momo. After a very exciting show, he finally managed to persuade the house elf who was too emotionally explicit.

At the same time, he also inevitably noticed that two large suitcases with "S" marks were stacked on top of the long table, as if Horace was going on a long trip for some reason.

Seeing that Bourne was slightly lost in thought looking at those boxes, Horace immediately smiled and said: "Bourne, hurry up and eat something. We have to rush to Hogsmeade in a while, but it's not going to London by train. Remember to customize What about the broomstick? Let’s go to the broomstick factory today.”

Bourne asked with some surprise: "Grandpa Horace, how do we get to the broomstick factory? Did you also bring a broomstick so that we can fly there together later?"

As far as he knew, his uncle usually liked a comfortable life and had no interest in things like riding a broomstick. Bourne had never seen Horace's broomstick before when he lived at home.

A smile appeared on Horace's face, as if his plot had succeeded, and he said slyly: "I told you in advance, what kind of surprise is that? Get ready, I guarantee you will be very satisfied with my arrangement, this will definitely be a surprise for you An experience of a lifetime.”

Because it was a holiday today, many little wizards were sleeping in. They were going to get on the train in Hogsmeade Village and then have something to eat on the train.

There was no one in the banquet hall, but after Bourne had breakfast, he changed into a set of the same oil-wax hunting suit that Horace specially prepared for him.

Since he had already communicated with Professor McGonagall and Principal Dumbledore, Professor Slughorn did not need to say any more greetings. He took Bourne directly out of Hogwarts Castle and walked all the way down the mountain to Hogwart. nearby, but they did not enter the village.

Horace took out a tourmaline table lamp with a copper base and a green lampshade from the suitcase. It looked like an antique.

"It is a home-type door key that I applied for from the Ministry of Magic. The movement during transmission is slightly smaller, and the side effects during transmission are also slightly lighter."

Horace placed the portkey on the ground.

"Now, listen to my command and let's touch this lamp together."

"Attention, countdown, three, two, one."

When Horace counted to "one", he immediately stretched out a finger to touch the lampshade of the desk lamp, and Bourne stretched out his finger in a similar manner.

Then, Bourne felt as if he was thrown into a washing machine and began to spin rapidly around the desk lamp. The strong centrifugal force suddenly made his body parallel to the ground.

However, because of the magic on the door key, his fingers were still firmly stuck to the lampshade.

Several times the acceleration of gravity was exerted on him in an instant, just like the gravity overload experience usually only experienced by fighter pilots and astronauts.

Of course, for Bourne, this level of gravity overload is not so much a test as it evokes some nostalgia for the past.

However, this nostalgia only lasted a few seconds, because the experience of gravity overload soon gradually weakened.

As Horace just said, this tourmaline desk lamp is a home version of a door key registered by the Ministry of Magic. Although its transmission distance is limited, the transmission experience (dense fog) is much better than ordinary door keys.

The complete transmission process lasted about seven seconds before Bourne's feet touched the ground again.

"As expected of the Slughorn family," Horace looked at Bourne with a smile and praised.

Horace was very satisfied that Little Bourne did not suffer from dizziness, vomiting or other adverse reactions when using a door key like some weak wizards.

Bourne looked around and found that the place where their grandfather and grandson arrived using the portkey was on the side of the road at a road intersection. There was a road sign with a crossbar on the top standing next to it, but only the writing on it was bare. contour.

Not far behind them, parked was an old dark green Muggle car that looked very dated. It was also a convertible with two large suitcases piled on the back seat.

"Momo has already brought our luggage here for us," Horace explained to Bourne while leading Bourne towards the car: "When you learn to apparate when you are 17, we can do it without a portkey. Come on a trip that just comes and goes.

Hey, that's authentic. "

Walking to the side of the classic car, Horace asked Bourne to sit in the passenger seat, while he expertly started the ignition, shifted gears, stepped on the clutch, and started driving.

"This Duesenberg was when I was young and wrote to Newt Scamander - the uncle of the little wizard Theseus you knew, who is now the Career of Magical Creatures class at Hogwarts. Substitute professor - let him buy me a Muggle automatic carriage from America."

Horace proudly showed off to Bourne: "Fasten your seat belt, this Muggle carriage is going very fast. It is said that the Muggle craftsmen hid dozens of horses in the car, although I never found it. No trace of the Stretching Spell.”

After saying that, he lightly stepped on the accelerator pedal, and Duesenberg started to "speed" at a speed of seven or eight miles.

Several times, listening to the abnormal "buzzing" noise coming from the engine, Bourne wanted to help Horace change the gear that had not been changed since the start.

However, he still resisted the urge to take action, because experience told him that correcting the driver's driving habits could easily displease the machine spirit.

"Little Bourne, now you know why I asked you to put on a hunting suit. How exciting it is to drive around!" Like an experienced driver, Horace only controlled the steering wheel with his right hand and leaned his left elbow on the car door.

Fortunately, there weren't many people on this road. Otherwise, if he were driving a left-hand drive car on the right and in the opposite direction, he might not be able to drive very far and get into a traffic accident. Unknowingly, accompanied by the hum of the engine and the popping sound of the exhaust pipe, they arrived at a village inhabited by dozens of families.

"We're here," Horace stepped on the brakes, remembering to change the gear to neutral, and then turned the key to turn off the engine.

Horace took Bourne with him and entered the village on foot.

There is a small square in the center of the village, with a war monument-like building in the center. There are several shops, a post office, a bar, and a small church along the street. The stained glass radiates like jewels across the square.

When the grandfather and grandson walked past the monument, it suddenly became no longer an obelisk with names engraved on it, but a statue of three people: a man with unkempt hair and glasses, and a man with long hair. , a beautiful and kind-hearted woman, and a baby boy sitting in his mother's arms.

"This is... Harry Potter and his parents?" Bourne looked at the sculpture and found that the man's face was very similar to his roommate.

"That's right," Horace nodded, sighed, and then said with a depressed expression: "This is a monument to commemorate their family. The ruins of their family still stand at a corner of this street, where they once stood. The home of Lily, James, and little Harry. Godric's Hollow."

It turned out to be the case.

Byrne remembered what Professor Binns said in the History of Magic course: In Britain today, except for Hogsmeade, where only wizards live, other large-scale wizarding settlements are actually mixed with wizards and Muggles - in other words In short, those places are some "semi-wizard settlements".

(This would also explain why the sculpture changes when the wizard passes by, and why there is a church in the center of the village.)
Among such semi-wizard settlements, the most famous place is Godric's Hollow.

This village in the southwest of Britain is the birthplace of Godric Gryffindor, the four great founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and the place where the wizard goldsmith Bowman Wright created the first Golden Snitch. .

"Swissbroom's headquarters is in Diagon Alley, but their company's factory is in Gedric's Hollow. Thanks to Arthur sending me a letter yesterday, otherwise I would have been planning to go to King's Station in London to wait for Little Bourne today. You, and then I’ll take you to Diagon Alley to customize a broom..."

Horace rambled on.

It is obvious that although Bourne writes home every week, the left-behind old man still has a lot to say to his precious grandson.

When the grandfather and grandson walked through the small square in the center of the village, turned onto a cobblestone path, and walked not far, they came to a small red brick courtyard with an enlarged stone broomstick carved on the outer wall. door.

There must have been a Muggle Exorcism Charm cast here. Because Bourne saw that the passerby in front of him not only didn't even glance at the stone carvings on the wall, he didn't even notice this building, which was very different from the surrounding bluestone buildings.

And just when the grandfather and grandson walked to the door of the small courtyard, the door made of discarded angle irons suddenly opened inward.

"Hi Humphrey!"

The neatly dressed Horace stretched out his hand and shook hands with a smiling man standing under the door lintel. The man was also neatly dressed, with hair wax on his hair, which shone brightly in the early morning sun.

After shaking hands, the man named "Humphrey" immediately politely let Horace and Bourne into the small courtyard.

But when he walked in, Byrne realized that the inside of this "small" yard was much larger than it looked from the outside.

"Dean Slughorn, this must be your grandson, Mr. Bourne Slughorn," Humphrey smiled and nodded at Bourne, and then continued to say to Horace: "I have accepted We have received the letter of introduction from Director Weasley. He has explained your request to us. I have arranged for the craftsman on duty today to suspend his previous work and specially make a broomstick for this little Mr. Slughorn. customized services.”

Horace responded with a smile: "As serious and rigorous as ever, if you were still studying at Hogwarts, I would definitely give Ravenclaw House five points for this."

Humphrey Alton also graduated from Hogwarts. After all, there is only one wizarding school in the UK, Hogwarts.

While Horace and Humphrey were chatting, Bourne took a look at this "small" courtyard that was not small at all: it covers an area of ​​about half the size of a football field, half of which is a small red brick building, and the other half. It is a semi-open-air processing place with a simple iron roof.

Under the roofs of those iron sheds, a dozen goblins wearing uniform work clothes were all busy in front of small iron-making furnaces.

Even from a distance, when the iron-making furnace discharges molten iron, you can feel a trace of heat in the small courtyard; from time to time, there will be some tinkling and clanging sounds.

Through Humphrey's introduction, Bourne also knew why there were so many goblins sweeping across the company's factories.

Firstly, this is because Sideswipe's products, including broomstick pedals, frames and tree hoops, are all made of "fairy iron", a metal that only fairies can refine.

They do have better stability than the metal accessories produced by Wizards themselves, and perform better in poor environmental conditions.

Secondly, it is because every wizard factory now has to follow certain "labor requirements." Depending on the size of the factory, a certain number of goblins must be hired. The reason is that the Ministry of Magic has reached an agreement with the goblins, and this agreement is also an important means for the Ministry of Magic to maintain the stability of the goblin community.

"Lately, production of some of our high-end products has been low because the goblin workers who make their custom iron parts are on strike - striking in protest at the slightest provocation."

As for the goblin workers, although they are indeed inseparable, Humphrey's words clearly show strong dissatisfaction with them.

"However, there is really nothing we can do these days. After all, the international situation has become very complicated now, and the Ministry of Magic cannot push goblins to those who worship or sympathize..."

As he spoke, Humphrey seemed to realize that he had said too much. Humphrey wisely stopped talking halfway through.

But he is indeed right. The world situation has indeed changed so much recently that even Principal Dumbledore "secretly" left his loyal Hogwarts without notifying anyone. .

Everyone knows what the reason is.

After all, the Christmas gift sent by Emperor Su Shun may be a mixed blessing to the British Muggles, but it may only be a bittersweet thing for the British wizards.

　I am very hesitant to use this chapter. I actually have two versions, but I have to choose this one. I feel that day should not be forgotten.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)