Unlike the cloudy sky outside the window of the Ministry of Magic, it was raining heavily outside the Three Brooms Bar.
In such bad weather, Allen and Leonard Knox, who had come all the way from the United States, sat at a long table full of drinks and snacks, chatting comfortably.
At this time, in the bar, because of the weather and the summer vacation, except for Allen, there were only a few customers who came to take shelter from the rain. The wizards at the construction site would only come to drink after work.
"Jessica is keen on dressing herself up and studying recipes. She is now teaching some witches how to use a magic wand to put on makeup, but then she changed her mind and wanted to become a fashion designer. I don't know why she has so many strange ideas, but she has always wanted to compile a gourmet magazine, and this has been persisting for a long time." Leonard raised his glass and drank a glass of wine. "But I don't see her getting a boyfriend …"
"It's not a bad thing to focus on work first …" Allen refilled Leonard's glass of red currant rum. "How's Ian? What's the name of the ultimate wizard exam in the United States? "
"Hmm? He's about the same age as you, but he graduated one year earlier than you. Now he has just become an Aura trainee who has been practicing for three years, "Leonard said proudly. Leonard said proudly, "Ian has been thinking about dueling with you again since you defeated him last time, so he has been practicing magic hard … But after you defeated the mysterious man for the first time … although he didn't show it in front of others …" Leonard said with some relief, "After enduring for a while, he came out on his own and has more hobbies. Now, he plays the chicken game called basketball with his neighbors from time to time. He also learned how to sing, dance, and rap."
"Speaking of which, the university that is about to be established in Hogwarts is also about to start … With Ian's magic talent, if he comes to my university, he can easily achieve more." Allen grabbed a piece of fried pork skin and put it into his mouth.
Leonard smiled because of Allen's compliment. "You are indeed the headmaster, but don't come to poach the geniuses of Iffany Academy …"
The door of the Three Brooms Bar was pushed open, and Hermione and her bodyguards came in. Hermione turned her umbrella back into a wand and cleaned it with water. Looking around, she walked to where Allen and the others were, and her subordinates sat at the door and formed a seat of their own.
After greeting Allen and Leonard, Hermione sat next to Allen. "Sorry, I'm late. Mr. Ambrosius Fromm, the boss of Honey Duke, doesn't want us to put a small obelisk next to his shop. We quarreled with him for a long time." Hermione raised her chin in annoyance and shook her fluffy hair. "In the end, I told him that if he wasn't willing, then any damage would have nothing to do with the umbrella … Only then did this stubborn guy agree."
The sound of boots tapping on the floor, Ms. Rosmerta waddled over from the counter to greet her. "Miss Granger, what would you like to drink? Is it the same as before? "
"Hello, Ms. Rosmerta. I'd like a beer with some ginger juice …" Hermione tucked her hair that was messed up by the wind behind her ear. She pointed to the door and asked, "By the way, Cheryl seems to be in trouble at the door. There's a drunkard pestering her. She's so scared that she's about to cry, but when I went over to help her, she said she doesn't need it.
What happened to her? "" The drunkard you saw is Cheryl's husband, Sean … He lost his job because of his illness … "Ms. Rosmerta shook her head." He used to be a good person, but now his personality has become a little bad. He's addicted to drinking and gambling … "She sighed and continued," That day, I saw Cheryl casting Heal on herself. She seemed to have hit me … I've tried to persuade her before, but Cheryl just gave birth to a child and didn't want a divorce. "
"Hit me?! Bullsh * t! " … "Leonard slammed his glass on the table with a loud thud. His brows were knitted together." If it were us American witches, we would have sued him until he went bankrupt … "
Allen patted the back of Hermione's hand to comfort her. He raised his head and asked, "What did Sean do for a living before this?"
"He used to work in the Bobin Family's chain of potion shops." Ms. Rosmerta pursed her red lips and smiled at Allen. Contrary to the detailed introduction just now, she only lightly skipped over it.
Hermione's face was a little red. Umbrella's potion production was good and cheap. Last year, there was a trend of monopolizing the market. Too many small workshops and small enterprises that made potions went bankrupt because of this. Annette Bobin even looked for her at Professor Horace's banquet before, but they parted on bad terms in the end … In the magic world, employees were not as guaranteed as in the Muggle world. It seemed that Sean had not only lost his job because of this, but he also did not get any compensation.
"The rain outside was too heavy just now. I noticed that Miss Granger was wet when she came in …" Noticing the silent atmosphere, Ms. Rosmerta chuckled and cleaned up Hermione's robe. "I'll go to the kitchen to get some drinks for Miss Granger and the guards."
Ms. Rosmerta chuckled and winked at Leonard who was at the table before turning around and leaving. This made Leonard, an American wizard, blush a little.
"Don't mind it, Mr. Knox. That's Ms. Rosmerta's style of doing things." Allen's words pulled Mr. Leonard's attention back.
"She reminds me of Mrs. Klein …" Leonard no longer leaned on the sofa. His back left the sofa and he sat up straight. Pushing the wine glass and plate in front of him forward, he narrowed his eyes and the wrinkles at the corner of his eyes deepened. Then, he realized that he had lost his composure and coughed twice. "That's right … Allen, there are some things that are not suitable to be said in the meeting. Actually, I think … Hmm …" Then, he realized that he had neglected Hermione's existence. His fingers kept spinning the wine glass as he frowned awkwardly, not knowing whether he should continue or not.
Upon seeing this, Hermione understood that he had something to talk to Allen privately. Considering that it was inappropriate for her to speak in her presence, she immediately stood up. "I'll go see if Allen needs any help. I'm sorry, Mr. Knox. Please wait for me for a while before we talk about the business between the umbrella and the U.S. Ministry of Magic."
Leonard understood that Hermione had seen through his concerns. His skinny fingers with distinct joints stopped moving as he twitched the corner of his lips awkwardly. "Uh, I'm sorry, Miss Granger. You don't have to …"
Hermione smiled and said, "It's alright, Mr. Knox. I understand. I actually have some problems with the reconstruction of the Hogwarts. I'll need to talk to Allen privately later. You guys can talk first."
"It's alright, Hermione. Leonard is just doing it out of habit …" Allen also pulled Hermione back and looked at Leonard who was much older than him. "Is it related to the previous Wizard Union meeting?"
"Allen, you know … Filius and I are also old friends. He has mentioned you many times in our communication. He said that you're his proudest disciple … For Filius' sake … Hmm … I think, uh, I'm not the representative of the United States of the International Union of Wizards and Wizards here …" Leonard's sitting posture moved forward again. He lowered his head to adjust his posture before raising it again to say to Allen, "I have to remind you in my personal capacity as your friend. Perhaps the British Ministry of Magic and your Family Harris have their own considerations … But from my personal point of view, I have to remind you that it's best for you to restrain yourself a little in the future."
Upon hearing what the other party said, Hermione no longer cared about being polite. After Leonard's words left his mouth, she immediately asked, "Mr. Knox, did you get any news? Is it because we were too ostentatious before? "
"Miss Granger, in fact, this has nothing to do with your behavior being ostentatious. The most essential problem is that … your many actions during this period of time have made almost all countries feel threatened. Just after this meeting, when I was invited to meet with the German representative in private, he spoke of the United Kingdom in a very fearful tone … But I rejected him. However, I think the representatives of many countries have participated in their private meeting."
Hermione bit her lip. Her hands, which were placed under the long table, clenched her magic robe tightly. The worry in her heart surged out like a tide and drowned her. She knew far more than what Allen had seen on the surface. Everything that Allen did was to break the confidentiality law in the future. If so many countries were already hostile to them now, once they really broke the confidentiality law in the future …
"In fact, before I came here, we had a lot of internal disputes about the position of the International Union of Wizards and Wizards. The reason why we maintained a neutral attitude at this meeting was that Minister Harris put forward some conditions that made us profitable. Those of us who supported the United Kingdom were able to win …" Leonard pushed the big glasses on his pointy nose so that he could see more clearly.
"Let me do it, Mrs. Rosmerta. You take care of the others first." Allen waved his hand and floated the butter beer with ginger juice that Mrs. Rosmerta had prepared for Hermione to stop her from approaching. Then he asked casually, "The people in the United States who don't like us … If it's convenient, can you tell me their reason?"
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