Hogwarts Wasteland: The Witch from the Borderlands

Chapter 82 Summer Vacation is Coming to an End (Eighth Update Since Release)

Although the attempt to seek redress in Malfoyburg was unsuccessful, it did not dampen the lively atmosphere on Cliff Street.

Because Hermione successfully performed the Ghost Pact ritual, the radiation in Godric's Hollow decreased significantly. Without knowing whether this was permanent, the pioneers urgently organized manpower to conduct several more explorations.

The cellars of many wizarding houses were opened, and a large amount of valuable materials were brought back. These materials may not have been of high value originally, but fifty years later, these pre-war items could be sold in Malfoy for much more valuable goods.

Potion ingredients, food, clothing, metals, and even rarer high-grade processed goods were all found. Unfortunately, the Potter mansion was too close to the explosion point and was completely destroyed. Mr. James did not find the portrait he longed for. The only thing he found was the original formula for the Potter family shampoo, which was in a beautiful box, but its commemorative value outweighed its practical value.

Everyone was in high spirits, and Cliff Street was as lively as if it were Christmas. They even organized a small but enthusiastic Quidditch match after discovering that the flying broomsticks they had brought back were still usable.

The location is above the sunken pit in the middle of Cliff Street, using an antique broom that should have been phased out decades ago, and the Golden Snitch is even more heavyweight, the world's first Golden Snitch, a true antique.

It's worth mentioning that Score and his original body have completely separated. Score has become an independent spirit with a contractual relationship with Hermione. The world's first Golden Snitch, in addition to serving as Hermione's external energy core, also retains the functions of a Golden Snitch. It can still fly swiftly like an ordinary Golden Snitch and spontaneously evade the Seeker's pursuit.

In the end, James, as the Seeker of the Red Team, narrowly defeated Harry, as the Seeker of the Blue Team. In front of Harry, James used his height and long arms to win the Golden Snitch, which made his son so angry that he couldn't eat dinner that night.

Of course, after the match, the Golden Snitch was returned to Hermione; it was her rightful prize. If it weren't for her...

Cliff Street is still a long way from developing the Valley Ruins. Now, when she walks down the street, she receives respectful glances from everyone. People greet her warmly, and even Muggles will enthusiastically give her a roasted sweet potato. After all, life in Cliff Street is better overall, and everyone is a beneficiary.

But everyone was informed that if anyone asked, the official line would be that their expedition team used splendid stone magic to make a limited exploration of the valley, venturing deep into the dangerous radiation center.

Then Jaime, as the keeper of the secret, casts the Faithful Charm to ensure that no outsider can find the secret.

The purpose of this was to protect Hermione. After all, the reproducibility of ghost rituals is not high, and they require sufficiently precious objects as the core. The effect of absorbing radiation energy is actually just a side effect of making a pact with ghosts. Even if Hermione were to separate the ritual into one that simply absorbs energy, she would still need something of conceptual value, like the "world's first Golden Snitch," to be able to contain the frenzied radiation energy and convert it into more stable pyroxene energy.

But these are things that only those within the family know. So far, the only known place in the world capable of controlling and absorbing radiation in the environment is Hogwarts. All wizarding factions have therefore tried to curry favor with Dumbledore, hoping to one day popularize this technology.

If news spreads that the radiation in Godric's Hollow has been cleared, Hermione will become a new Fragrant Rascal. However, unlike Dumbledore, who possesses great power, nobles like those in Malfoy Castle, who are ruthless and predatory, will not hesitate to use various methods to get her to speak.

Fortunately, no one is idle enough to physically explore Godric Valley. Although the fog there is thinner, those who do not live here cannot tell much difference.

Life gradually returned to normal. Two large barrels of unopened Wizard's Golden Brew were auctioned off for an astronomical price in Malfoy Castle. A large portion of the Galleons obtained were used to purchase potion ingredients for Lily to use.

These potion ingredients, after being processed by the master, are transformed into more valuable potions and sold, earning even more Galleons. It can be said that Lily is the cash cow of Cliff Street, its core competitive advantage.

Of course, this is essentially leeching off Lily. After all, Mrs. Potter became a Potions Master through her own talent and hard work, and she doesn't owe Cliffside a single penny. However, Lily is very willing to support her husband in rebuilding Godric's Hollow, and the members of the Reconstruction Committee will not let Lily work for free. Instead, they will cooperate with each other on a profit-sharing basis, although to outsiders, Lily is still losing money.

Recently, Harry, Ron, and Neville, under the strict tutelage of "Professor Mum," have been preparing large quantities of anti-radiation potions. A significant portion of these potions have been distributed to the Pioneer Team members. They will combine these potions with inducing sprays to spread them throughout the valley, further neutralizing the radiation. Perhaps it won't be long before everyone in Cliff Street can move back to their ancestral homes.

However, there is still a long way to go. The raising of crops and edible animals cannot be directly moved to the ground, and people do not yet have experience in dealing with the changeable climate of the open environment. All of this needs to be adapted to gradually.

As for Hermione, she has already learned how to make Polyjuice Potion, but it takes a month to brew this potion each time, so she will probably only have one chance to try it completely during the entire summer vacation.

During this time, Sirius Black and Lupin visited the Potters for Harry's birthday, accompanied by the Longbottoms, who had previously gone to the Arctic on business. They showered Neville with kisses and hugs. As for Ron, Madam Molly simply confirmed that the boy didn't need her to send him howling letters and then left him to his own devices.

This was Hermione's first time meeting a werewolf, but Lupin was a gentle, humorous, and knowledgeable man. Although he looked a bit down on his luck and his face was excessively pale, he was doing quite well thanks to the help of his good brothers.

With Lily regularly providing him with the best, even custom-made, improved wolfsbane potion, he can now control his transformation on the night of the full moon, something that wild werewolves, who are no different from stray dogs, would never even dream of.

In this chaotic world, there was a period when werewolves were rampant and lacked effective organization and control. The spread of werewolves reached a point where everyone was in danger, and Lupin was infected during that time.

Even today, many werewolves still roam the wild, eager to attack any sentient living thing. As for wizards, they prefer to infect rather than kill them outright, as if making others suffer the same fate as them gives them more pleasure.

It was precisely because of this heinous behavior that, for a considerable period of time, werewolves in the wild were subjected to a three-way struggle by wizards, Muggles, and goblins, which barely managed to curb the momentum.

Most of the werewolves under Voldemort's control were recruited during that time.

Lupin and the others brought another piece of news: "I heard from Dumbledore that he has finally found a candidate to be the professor of Defense Against Wizardry, and this professor will also serve as the Head of Slytherin."

"Mrs. Pomfrey can finally take a breather. It's hard on her at her age, having to manage a bunch of energetic young men."

"But who exactly is it that can be accepted by both Dumbledore and those nobles at the same time?" James asked, cutting his steak, a rare delicacy.

"Ha, you'll find out soon enough, I think you'll all love him." Sirius winked at Lily and Hermione.

Before the war, young wizards would receive letters from owls before the end of the holidays, informing them of the textbooks and equipment to be prepared for the new school year. However, now that the owl post office is gone and Muggle families can hardly afford to prepare these things, this step has been skipped. To find out about the new professors and textbooks, they have to wait until the start of the school year.

However, Harry and his friends didn't care about that. No matter who the professor was, they wouldn't miss a single class. What they were looking forward to most was the trip to Malfoy Castle that their mother had promised before the holidays ended.

As September 1st drew closer, their hearts grew increasingly restless, and they made frequent mistakes when preparing potions. Seeing this, Lady Lily knew that it was impossible to force them to calm down, so she decided to pack up and set off for Malfoy Castle for shopping the next day!