Chapter 880: Magic and Science (Patreon)

Hermione and Ginny were not to be blamed. They’d been helping Evan study and design a broom recently.

Evan was mainly responsible for the core components, and the main body of the broom was entrusted to the two of them.

They’d been currently studying the broomstick handle, comparing the actual objects, and drew a lot of sketches. Hermione had flipped through almost all the books. Ginny was also talented in drawing. They’d been preparing to design a very thick, big and black one. This job was very exhausting.

They’d been studying it very late last night, and it was understandable that they were not up now.

The door seemed to be unlocked, and anyway, no one else would have gone in at night.

If Evan came to Hermione at night, he usually didn’t go through the door...

He wondered whether to go in and call them out. He’d never seen her lie in bed so late.

If Hermione wasn't awake, he could tickle her. Evan knew which part of her body was the most sensitive.

Before he could act, there was a rush of footsteps inside.

The doorknob in the shape of a serpent turned and the door opened. Hermione was standing there with sleepy eyes in her pink pajamas.

She ran over barefoot, with messy hair, half asleep.

The loose pajamas were only tied with two buttons in the middle, covering important parts. The pajamas slipped slightly, revealing the white underwear...

This look was so lovely and attractive that one couldn’t help but kiss her.

"Good morning, Evan!" She rubbed her eyes, her long eyelashes trembling slightly.

Because she was too sleepy, her body was swaying slightly.

"Good morning, Hermione, we’re leaving!" said Evan, stepping forward to help her.

"Don't … Ginny’s watching!" Hermione pushed him away and said softly, "We'll be right out."

At the moment the door was closing, Evan saw Hermione blushing and Ginny peeping at them not far away.

She curled up into a small ball, and most of her head was buried in the quilt, showing only bright eyes.

There was a voice in the room, Ginny seemed to be asking something, and Hermione was explaining.

Evan returned to the kitchen and discussed the newspaper with Lupin for a while.

It took five minutes for Harry to come down with Ron, Fred, and George, who had changed into their clothes.

Mrs. Weasley brought the food and urged them to move faster.

"Where will they hear Evan and Harry?" said Fred, putting the toast in his mouth.

"I heard that the Ministry of Magic has a secret courtroom underground, and they guard it with Dementors," said George.

"Fred, George, don't scare them!" said Mrs. Weasley unhappily. "There’s no secret courtroom at all."

“The hearing’s on my floor, in Amelia Bones’s office. She’s Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and she’s the one who’ll be questioning both of you," said Mr. Weasley, finishing his coffee.

“Amelia Bones is okay, Harry,” said Tonks earnestly. “She’s fair, she’ll hear you out."

"We’ve seen her before. Remember?" said Evan. "Just the Christmas shortly after Peter Pettigrew was caught, they came to the school ward to investigate and they wanted to award us the Order of Merlin."

Harry nodded, remembering the tall, friendly looking witch standing next to Fudge.

In addition to Fudge, Crouch, and Bones, there was also a woman. He couldn’t remember what she looked like, he only remembered that she was wearing a set of pink clothes and looked like a large, pale toad.

"Now there are a lot of people paying attention to this matter, Fudge won't do anything to you two, he can't explain why Dementors have been to Muggle inhabited area," said Lupin gently. "He may make a fuss in other areas, you have to pay attention. Especially you, Harry, don't lose your temper, be polite and stick to the facts."

Harry nodded again, not knowing what to say. There had been a mess in his head.

“The law’s on your side,” said Lupin quietly. “Even underage wizards are allowed to use magic in life threatening situations. And as long as the facts are true, Fudge has no right to restrict the media's right to freedom of speech."

Just then, Hermione and Ginny ran down in a hurry. Hermione's hair was wet and softer than before. She had apparently cleaned it up carefully, which made her look different.

Indeed, Hermione had just unloaded the more than 20 thick books she’d been usually carrying on her body and arranged her hair, and she became very beautiful and amazing.

Harry looked up at them. Something very cold trickled down the back of his neck; for a moment he thought someone was putting a Disillusionment Charm on him again, then he realized that Mrs. Weasley was attacking his hair with a wet comb. She pressed hard on the top of his head.

“Doesn’t it ever lie flat?” she said desperately.

"I don't think so!" Harry shook his head. His hair was always messy like Hermione’s.

When everyone had breakfast and there were still ten minutes to six o'clock, the group was ready to leave.

"How do we get there?" Ron asked. "Through the Floo Network?"

“Ron, how many times should I remind you that this house is not connected to the Floo Network?"

In order to keep it secret, a lot of spells had been cast on 12 Grimmauld Place, and the level of safety was about the same as that of Hogwarts.

"I usually Apparate to the Ministry," said Mr. Weasley. "But I think it’s best we arrive in a thoroughly non-magical fashion today… it makes a better impression, given what Harry's being disciplined for."

Only Hermione had never been to the Ministry of Magic. Evan walked behind with her, telling her about the Ministry.

Fred and George were discussing plans to "visit" Percy's office for a while. Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Mr. Weasley were talking about Muggle transportation because they were going to take the Underground train in a moment.

Harry tried to tell them what he knew, but he didn't know much.

The Dursleys had never taken him on the Underground train, but at least he knew how to buy tickets through automatic ticket machines.

They walked along the almost deserted run-down streets. But when they arrived at the miserable little Underground station they found it already full of early morning commuters.

As ever when he found himself in close proximity to Muggles going about their daily business, Mr. Weasley was hard put to contain his enthusiasm.

“Simply fabulous,” he whispered, indicating the automatic ticket machines. "Is that the tool that can automatically sell tickets? Wonderfully ingenious! What do they call this machine?"

“They’re out of order,” said Harry, pointing at the sign.

"Really, what a pity," said Mr. Weasley, beaming fondly at them. Judging from his appearance, he seemed to be planning to get this thing back to study it.

Mr. Weasley's preference for Muggle items was very strange, and his research angle was very weird. He didn’t even know the type of plugs, but he could skillfully repair the engine of a car.

Evan also wanted to try if using Reparo or some other Repairing Charm would work on the machines, and whether magic could repair a machine made by science.

If so, it would be a brand-new discovery.