great-warnovel Chapter 184 Elizabeth
Chapter 184 Elizabeth
Chapter 184 Elizabeth
Hogwarts finally arrived in London. Its journey was quite slow; if the wizards had ridden brooms from Dover, they could have made the round trip in an hour.
But there's nothing we can do about it; this castle wasn't designed to be mobile, and the fact that it can move slowly is already a magical feat.
Moreover, it must be kept as stable as possible, otherwise Potions class will turn into an explosion class due to the extra shaking, and some students will feel dizzy and vomit. They might even conjure up a herd of bison to trample them to death while practicing spells.
Standing downstream on the Tais River and looking out, the massive ruins of this city still tell the story of what happened back then.
The nuclear bombs in London were not only airbursts, but also those that were taken to the ground by wizards and detonated. Therefore, even in terrains other than Godric's Hollow, the remnants here are still quite terrifying.
A thick fog, mixed with radiation and fairy curses, permeated the city, revealing only the ruins of some relatively tall buildings. Surprisingly, the river water was crystal clear.
"Without human intervention, the Tayz River finally turned emerald green."
"This is the first time I've come back here in decades."
Standing at the edge of the castle, Dumbledore and Hermione gazed into the distance.
"After the Industrial Revolution, Muggles greatly increased their destructive power against nature, with London bearing the brunt. Back then, this river reeked of sewage and industrial wastewater, which were dumped directly into it. There were even wizards in Diagon Alley who were responsible for purifying the air to prevent the death of some vulnerable magical creatures."
"The fairies complain every day that the stench is seeping into Gringotts’ underground and that the non-stop electric drills are practically drilling their skulls open."
"This city was the pinnacle of humanity in that era, but at the same time, it probably caused the fairies to become utterly disillusioned with humanity."
Hermione listened quietly, finding it hard to imagine how Muggles, who had no supernatural powers, could build such a huge city, something that didn't exist in the borderlands.
Towering bacon-like structures and roaring steel behemoths—they use the power of technology to enable ordinary people to move mountains and fill seas, to soar through the skies and dive into the depths of the earth.
"Let's get a little closer. This city is too big; Hogwarts' radiation absorption range can't cover it all," Dumbledore said, and the castle continued its unhurried advance.
But suddenly, a group of Muggles rushed in from the edge of the city.
They were dressed in rags, and some of them were carrying a simple sedan chair, with tattered cloth forming a curtain, trying to create an impression of nobility.
They rushed to the castle, shouting and waving their nearly rusty rifles and spears, signaling the castle to stop.
"?" Dumbledore waved his hand, stopping the castle's movement.
"How come there are Muggles here? And judging from their appearance, they seem to have lived in this area for a long time."
This distance on the outskirts of the city is nothing to wizards, but for Muggles to stay here for too long can easily cause deformities and cancer. Most of the people shouting and courting death below have ugly appearances and dirty bodies covered with tumors. Even in other parts of the continent, you rarely see so many Muggles with such severe cancer.
"Is this their territory?" Hermione asked with interest; these Muggles seemed to be more severely insane.
They even dared to challenge the mountain-like Hogwarts.
"Let's go down and take a look," Dumbledore said with a smile, also becoming curious about these strange people.
Most of the Muggles who remained in England should have gathered in Malfoy Castle, while the rest should have been attached to the wizarding communities.
The castle's sudden stop drew the attention of the teachers and students, and many ran to the iron fence to watch Dumbledore and Hermione fly down.
As they got closer, Hermione realized that these Muggles weren't fearless. They watched in horror as the two descended like gods. Some even dropped their weapons and bowed to them, but were immediately pulled up by their companions, who pointed their weapons at them warily.
"Who is your leader, and why are you blocking our way?" Dumbledore asked as slowly and clearly as possible.
Decades later, these Muggles' English has likely developed a rather heavy accent, and it's hard to say whether they can understand it. In fact, there are quite a few new students like this every year, and some children can't even speak English. These extra tutoring sessions are basically handled by Professor Quirrell, who is fluent in several languages and very good at teaching children.
"Wizard! Leave our country!" Among the leading group of "savages," a man who looked strong and powerful, with half of his face almost rotten, spoke in a strange English accent, his voice menacing.
"He knows we're wizards," Hermione reminded him.
Many Muggles even regard wizards as devils or something else; those who can clearly recognize wizards are already a minority.
"Your country? Where is it? Who is your king?" Dumbledore asked curiously.
"The land beneath your feet! The great! The invincible! The British Empire on which the sun never sets!" he proclaimed proudly.
"You heretics! Destroyers! Get out of our land right now!" he said with hostility, not caring that any one of the people in front of him could turn him into fireworks in an instant.
The white wizard and the little witch exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise in each other's eyes.
Although only fifty years have passed, for Muggles whose books and traditions have been almost completely severed, the name of this country is almost a legend. The older generation has long since died out, and the new generation will not remember this meaningless name.
But these Muggles, who didn't seem very bright, could recite it fluently, as if they had memorized it countless times.
"I can confirm that both George VI and Churchill died in the nuclear explosion," Dumbledore said softly.
"In the decades that followed, there was no news of Muggles forming a British government-in-exile."
"Who is your king? How can you prove that you can represent this country?" His expression became slightly more serious.
Britain has a long history on this land, and even wizards are accustomed to referring to their homeland by its name. Dumbledore has even met with the King and the Prime Minister, and he cares a lot about the significance of this legal system and legitimacy.
The hunched man hurried over to the palanquin carried by his retinue and shouted in a strange, booming, official hymn: "Welcome! By the grace of God, Queen Elizabeth II, Head of the Commonwealth and her other territories and possessions, Protector of Christianity!"
The Muggles next to them were pretending to play simple instruments such as bagpipes made of leather, producing crooked and noisy sounds.
"Alright, it's fine to just say that title yourself, but don't say it out loud and embarrass yourself," came the old man's dissatisfied voice from inside the sedan chair.
Another Muggle used a long wooden pole to lift the tattered cloth on the sedan chair, revealing the true face of the person inside.
It was an old woman with a full head of white hair and a hunched back. She wore a simple crown decorated with stained glass pieces and cast from copper ore, dressed in layers of gauze "garments" made from who-knows-where, and leaned on a strange scepter, quietly watching the people from Hogwarts.
"Elizabeth?" Dumbledore looked at the person in the sedan chair in disbelief.
"Is it really you?!" So many years have passed, he can only guess now.