great-warnovel Chapter 373 The Interlude of a City
Chapter 373 The Interlude of a City
Chapter 373 The Curtain Falls on a City
"Have you heard? Hogwarts is going to do something big!?"
Rumors, of unknown origin, circulated among the residents of New Hogsmeade.
"The fairies' construction speed is too slow to meet the housing needs of the refugees in time, so they are preparing to use an unprecedented magic to create a city!" The narrator exaggeratedly gestured, but still could not describe the size of the entire city.
"How novel! If you think fairies are slow, I don't think wizards are that fast either!" Besides humans, fairies were also drinking in the pig's head bar. Protected by laws, they were not discriminated against, but they couldn't help but be stared at.
This is a respected fairy craftsman; many houses in the city, including the Pig's Head Bar, were built by him.
"I admit that wizards' and fairies' magic each has its strengths, but when it comes to forging and construction, you are definitely not as good as us!" he patted his chest.
"Look at this city! We've already tried our best!"
"But the city council is demanding that we complete the entire city's construction in three months, and then use the remaining three months to build the World Cup stadium! How is that possible!"
He slammed his fist on the table: "Even magic has its fundamental laws! We don't even have two hundred people in total. Even if we drain all our magic, we can't conjure a city overnight!"
Abufoss refilled his cup with a refilling spell: "You'll have to fix the table yourself if it gets broken."
The old witch then stopped.
"However, I don't believe wizards can do better than us. Your transfiguration magic is hard to maintain for long. Even if Dumbledore and those two children, along with all the professors, were to conjure up a city, it would probably turn back into a pile of stones in less than a week!"
"This is a delicate task; there's no room for carelessness!"
Goblins are always stubborn, but his perception isn't entirely wrong. Wizards' own architecture is always wildly imaginative, not to mention compared to goblins, it's not even as exquisite and meticulous as Muggle architecture.
"I've heard that it's not just the city center and Quidditch stadium, but also the planned port, underwater city, and widened waterways."
"And the agricultural areas that extend north into the Forbidden Forest, they're all going to be built all at once!" The male wizard, drinking his wine, continued recounting the information he had gathered.
"Although not all professors are participating, it's said that the most skilled Transfigurations from the Order of the Phoenix have been called back."
"He's definitely going to study a top-tier transformation magic!" He spoke with such conviction that no one could find a point of contention, so they simply accepted his words.
"If it's true, that's a good thing," someone chimed in.
"It's not a solution to let so many people sleep on the streets all the time. Hanges Square is almost turning into a refugee camp."
"We're already working overtime to finish this!" The old hag jumped up and down on the stool.
"That's 100,000 people! 100,000 people! We've already provided housing for 20,000 of them!"
"Relax, old man, we didn't mean to belittle you. We're just curious what big things Hogwarts might do." Good-natured laughter filled the tavern as everyone clinked glasses and asked Aberforth to bring another round of drinks, which earned them a scolding from the old man.
The news of Dumbledore's departure was well concealed, and after the initial days of chaos, the city returned to a peaceful and pleasant life.
The presence of house-elves meant that the influx of refugees did not significantly disrupt the operation of public facilities. The gold coins moved from Gringotts in Malfoy Castle were also re-accounted for, and with magical protection, most of them did not suffer much loss; they simply changed the location of their Galleons deposits.
During this process, some people suggested covering up these staggering amounts of Galleons, since the city had collapsed and the nobles were almost all dead, so it wouldn't matter if they didn't acknowledge the bad debt. However, most people in the city council felt that this was not the right thing to do, as it would deal a devastating blow to the reputation of New Hogsmeade.
For most people in Malfoyburg, apart from the houses collapsing and being homeless for a while, nothing else seemed to have a significant impact. The furniture and valuables that were still usable in their homes were gradually inventoried and sorted out over the next month and delivered to each family at Draco's behest. Money in the bank could also be withdrawn as usual from the Wizarding Bank in New Hogsmeade.
Although the shops have changed, the suppliers behind them are still major brands, mainly Beauxbatons. Even the work can almost perfectly replace the jobs in Malfoyburg.
Hogsmeade is in dire need of everything, and it desperately seeks out skilled workers from the outer city residents who possess at least one trade.
Painters, broom makers, administrators, Aurors, barrier maintainers—from ice cream and confectionery makers to independent potion makers and herbalists, the nobles have spent decades recruiting talent. If residents of the outer city don't have a reliable livelihood, they probably can't even afford the annual head tax.
After arriving in New Hogsmeade, they quickly resumed their old ways under the organization of the city council, making the new city bustling with activity at an extremely rapid pace.
The majority of the migrants living in the shantytowns outside the city had no savings, no property, no skills, and were less obedient. They were originally the most troublesome group, yet they made up the majority of the population.
With Maria's werewolf patrol team and the law enforcement team composed of Soviet prisoner soldiers, they weren't afraid of them causing trouble, but leaving these people idle wasn't a solution either.
Professor Sprout simply organized most of them and took them outside the city to reclaim wasteland, so that the city could become self-sufficient.
The agricultural population needed will be considerable. They will build farms and ranches outside the city. In any case, the area of the weather circle is large enough, and it can be extended with the expansion spell. By spreading these people out, the possibility of trouble will be greatly reduced.
Professor McGonagall also assigned Quirrell a new task: organizing Muggle literacy classes outside of school. She invited many experienced Muggle teachers from Godric Cliff and other settlements to teach these wild Muggles who couldn't even recognize all the letters, so that they could integrate into city life as soon as possible. The nobles wouldn't accept these people, but the new Hogsmeade could treat them as equals.
As for Hermione, Professor McGonagall, and others, just as rumored, they were conducting research on the new magic invented by Dumbledore.
All the members of the Order of the Phoenix who were skilled in Transfiguration came: James, Sirius, and Moody. It is said that Moody once turned a dark wizard into a stinky one and made him run wild. Even Harry, who had mastered the Animagus, wanted to recruit him.
In the hall on the fourth floor where the core of the radiant stone was stored, a large group of people, almost representing the highest level of transformation skills in the magical world, gathered together to practice this super-large-scale magic.
After all, this was no small matter. A mistake could turn Hogsmeade into a ruin like Malfoy Castle is now. They had to ensure that this amazing feat could be completed smoothly and perfectly by Easter a month from now.