Chapter 384: Chapter 384: Trivial Matters
Riding the elevator, Alaric traveled from the ninth underground floor to the second underground floor, then walked through a long corridor and stepped into a relatively luxurious office.
Fourteen years ago, the current Minister of Magic, Ms. Bones, who was then the Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, commanded and coordinated the forces of the entire UK here, strategizing alongside Alaric to defeat the Death Eaters.
Today, this office has changed significantly.
Although it still belongs to the Director, it is no longer decorated in the old-fashioned style of the early 20th century; instead, it competes with the modern style of the Muggle world.
A massive mahogany desk, a soft executive chair, a bookshelf occupying an entire wall, a brass globe, and green plants in the corner...
If a Muggle office worker were to visit, they would find it remarkably familiar, as this is the type of decor used by their bosses and some high officials.
There is even a "computer" on the desk—of course, it has been magically modified.
If it weren't for the moving photographs on the wall and the strange magical artifacts on the bookshelf, no one would think this was the office of a senior official in the Ministry of Magic.
All of this is a result of the reform in the wizarding world promoted by Hermione.
When the door was pushed open, the previously focused and strong-willed woman lifted her attention from her work, and the automatic recording quill beside her stopped moving.
She tidied her thick curls, stood up, and approached the man.
"You're here," she said in a familiar tone. "It's so late; why don't you head home first? You still have to welcome the new kids tomorrow—I told you there was no need to pick me up tonight!"
Alaric, as usual, embraced the woman who was almost as tall as he was, giving her a gentle hug.
In fact, in his eyes, the woman before him did not seem so tall and mature; it was merely a magical illusion simulating what a typical woman at twenty-nine would look like.
The reality was that the longevity near that of dragons allowed this woman—or girl—to still appear as a youthful eighteen or nineteen-year-old.
"You know, Hermione, welcoming the new students isn't a big deal for me," Alaric said, releasing her and shrugging helplessly.
"I just want to spend more time with you all. After all, I'll be off again in a couple of days. For you, it's just a momentary change, but for me, each journey is a long farewell."
"Alright, I get it. Can't you pay a little more attention to these trivial matters?" Hermione gently touched Alaric's face, as if dealing with a spoiled child.
The elevation of life levels brought a negative impact to Alaric and his girlfriends, it became difficult for them to have offspring.
So, despite living as normally, or even more frequently, than ordinary people for a long time, none of the girls had successfully become mothers.
Many of their peers had already become parents, like Harry, who is now an Auror, and the somewhat famous herbologist Neville Longbottom, who became a father a few years ago.
The most exaggerated case was Ron; back in his seventh year, he had to marry Lavena Skitter due to an accident—almost causing them to drop out.
Now, their child was already of age to attend Hogwarts.
The two continued to chat casually while reviewing the remaining documents.
Alaric quickly skimmed through the reports, using the automatic quill to leave Hermione's handwritten notes.
It seemed he wasn't doing this for the first time.
Finally, with Alaric's help, Hermione completed her tasks for the day. Just before leaving, she suddenly brought up another topic.
"I heard you're planning to find a few helpers from that world to explore the new one with you?"
Evidently, the "world" she mentioned was that of Game of Thrones.
Unlike during their school days, the girls had matured enough to become Alaric's right-hand assistants, so he selectively shared some of his secrets with them.
For instance, he spoke about the space gate, his dimensional travels, and the Game of Thrones world.
Whether it's strategizing for the new world or building his influence across various worlds, the girls would be great helpers for Alaric.
With them around, his journey through dimensions would be much easier.
Of course, there were some fundamental secrets Alaric wouldn't share with them, like his true origin or the existence of "plot."
These secrets would remain buried in his heart forever.
However, Hermione's mentioning of this news still surprised Alaric.
"Uh... how did you find out about this...? I mean, how did you know before I even told you?"
Alaric appeared somewhat embarrassed.
"Do you think Fleur and Gabrielle would hide anything from us?" Hermione looked at Alaric meaningfully.
Since most of the girls had their own careers, even after learning about the existence of the Game of Thrones world, they hadn't truly entered that world with Alaric.
Only Fleur and Gabrielle, after announcing their retirement from the entertainment industry a few years ago, began assisting Alaric in entering the Game of Thrones world.
So, among the girls in the Harry Potter world, only they knew about Alaric's decisions.
But now, it seemed like everyone was in the loop.
Thinking of this, while Alaric didn't regret his arrangements, he felt increasingly awkward.
"Alright, I'm not blaming you," Hermione finally couldn't hold back her serious expression and laughed.
"Why so serious? I just want to know why you chose them. You know, if you really need help, any of us would be willing to put our work aside to assist you; you are the most important to us."
Hermione's gentle words touched Alaric.
"I certainly know that," he softly countered, "but the situation in the new world isn't what you imagine.
"Then are they suitable?" Hermione frowned.
"What makes that little dragon (referring to Daenerys, although she also...) and that old woman (referring to Melisandre) any better than us?
Or do you prefer those little wolves (referring to the Stark sisters)? Or is it...?"
From her words, it was evident that although they had never met, Hermione was quite concerned about Alaric's relationships in that world.
Even someone as broad-minded as Hermione occasionally expressed a hint of jealousy.
Hearing this, Alaric hurriedly cut off Hermione's line of questioning.
"You're overthinking it; I don't plan to take any of them with me," he shook his head helplessly.
"What I want to take is Daenerys's three dragons."
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