An Outrageously Extravagant Carriage

An Outrageously Extravagant Carriage—readers whose brains hadn't saved this, please save it! ❤︎

At nine o'clock the next morning.

There was a knock on Brook's front door right on schedule.

Brook opened the door.

A man in slightly ill-fitting Muggle clothes stood outside.

His striking red hair was particularly eye-catching.

The man said cheerfully, "At last we meet, Brook. I'm Arthur Weasley."

"Hello, Mr. Weasley. Please, come in."

Brook stepped aside, ushered Arthur into the house, and poured him a cup of tea he had brewed in advance.

"There was quite an argument at the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office over your case yesterday. Oh, right, I'm the supervisor there."

Arthur picked up the teacup and took a sip.

"Thank you for your help," Brook replied.

Arthur waved a hand, showing no intention of taking credit.

"It had nothing to do with me. They were arguing until their faces were red and their necks thick, then Bronte said that your House Elf belonged to Hogwarts, and then..."

At this point, he could barely suppress the curl of his lips.

"Complete silence. The director made the decision on the spot. Bronte was sent off to Plymouth, and I doubt he'll be getting any holidays anytime soon."

Brook nodded.

This Mr. Weasley was quite interesting.

What he meant was:

First, he was making it clear that he had little say in such decisions at the Ministry and was not involved in making them.

Second, Dumbledore's name carried considerable weight, so Brook could use it first if he ran into trouble in the future.

Finally, he was hinting that Director Hopkirk had a forceful style and had pushed through this decision herself, so it would be best to show some appreciation.

Their conversation then naturally shifted to Hagrid's batch of materials.

Nearly a third of the materials had already been sold successfully.

The British market was now nearing saturation, so the remaining stock could only be shipped elsewhere for sale.

The first payment had also been smoothly deposited into Hagrid's vault.

From this moment on, in terms of liquid funds alone, Hagrid was already comparable to those old-established families.

After discussing Hagrid's affairs, they returned to the main matter.

As required by the Office, Brook's house needed to be fitted with magic to prevent magical traces from leaking out.

But if that were all, Arthur would hardly have come in person.

After all, he and Molly had already bought tickets to Romania.

Their trip had been forcibly postponed because of Brook's business.

"I'll put Protego Totalum, Obscuro, Repello Muggletum, and the like on the house. But it'll take at least ten hours. If you have something to do, go ahead."

As he spoke, Arthur circled the house and inspected it.

"Can I watch and learn from the side?"

Brook would definitely move again in the future, and he would feel more at ease casting such spells himself.

"Of course. They're all quite common spells. There's a book in the Hogwarts library called Home Life and Habitats. Its spells are very comprehensive. You can borrow it and have a look when you have time."

Arthur waved his wand.

"Obscuro!"

This spell made the house difficult to see clearly from the outside.

That way, passersby would not notice the magical work being carried out.

Over the following hours.

Arthur carefully cast each spell while patiently explaining the finer details of the casting.

He also taught Brook a few small tricks he had summarized through long practice.

Brook listened with complete focus, memorizing anything he did not understand for later.

By the time Arthur had finished setting up all the magic, night had quietly fallen.

Brook had wanted to invite him to dinner as thanks.

But Arthur smiled and declined. "Molly has definitely already made dinner. Another time, if there's a chance."

"All right, then." Brook nodded in understanding.

He then handed Arthur a heavy bag of Gold Galleons. "I'll have to trouble you to smooth things over at the Office for me."

Arthur did not refuse and accepted it readily.

Brook did not actually have to pay this money.

After all, he spent most of his time living at Hogwarts, and the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office rarely had the chance to interfere with him.

But as the saying went: no gifts for small matters, and who would handle the big ones for you?

With such an opportunity delivered right to his door, he naturally had to seize it.

In the days that followed, Brook fully entered retirement life.

Every day, he hoed the ground and planted flowers and grass.

When he got tired, he lay in a rocking chair, drank tea, and listened to music.

Naturally, Hermione was never absent from it all.

The little girl had finally reached the height requirement—over 1.4 meters, provided she wore thick-soled boots.

So she dragged Brook straight to the amusement park.

"Brook, Brook, I want to try everything fun!"

Seeing Hermione's excitement, Brook truly could not bear to refuse her.

He would risk his life to accompany the young lady.

Drop towers, pendulum rides, roller coasters—Hermione did not spare a single one.

Her screams of "Aah! Aah!" pierced the sky and left Brook's eardrums buzzing.

But the little girl's favorite was still the carousel.

The golden wooden horse she loved most—the one she would wait an extra round for just to ride.

As the music began, the carousel slowly turned.

The smile never left Hermione's little face.

Brook simply stood to the side and watched quietly.

And of course, there had to be ice cream at the end.

The two of them spooned away at an extra-large deluxe ice cream boat.

Enjoying the warmth of the ice cream.

Time quietly slipped by, and before they knew it, Christmas Eve had finally arrived.

Brook unusually got up early.

At ten o'clock, he crawled out of his warm bed and began washing up.

He stood before the mirror and carefully examined himself.

His features were refined, his bearing exceptional, and his handsome appearance was comparable to that of all the esteemed readers.

"Tsk, tsk, I got even more handsome!"

Not long after, a carriage slowly appeared before Brook's door.

The carriage had a unique design and was extraordinarily luxurious.

Yet the pedestrians passing by ignored it entirely and hurried on as usual.

A House Elf with long rabbit-like ears, whose skin folds looked capable of crushing flies, stepped down from the carriage in a neat formal suit.

It lightly knocked on Brook's door a few times.

The moment Brook opened the door.

The elderly House Elf immediately bowed respectfully to Brook.

The angle was so precise it seemed to have been measured with a ruler—exactly ninety degrees.

"Master Brook Bursted, I am Morti, the family steward. The master has ordered me to take you to the manor."

Brook frowned slightly. "My surname is Lott. Don't get it wrong next time."

"Understood, Master Brook. May we depart now?"

Morti maintained his respectful demeanor.

"We can."

Morti respectfully led Brook to the carriage.

Rather than a carriage, it looked more like a mobile house.

No horses or other magical creatures pulled it.

Its body was finely crafted from rare Laurel Wood.

Silver threads formed intricate inscriptions across its surface, giving off a gentle moonlight.

A magical creature fashioned from gold was set into the roof.

Brook did not recognize it.

The door handle was also made of pure gold and carved into the shape of a griffin.

Rubies were set into the griffin's eyes, each no smaller than five carats.

The interior of the carriage was even more outrageously extravagant.

It had clearly been enlarged with an Undetectable Extension Charm, making it even bigger than Brook's home.

The carpet was white as snow, without a single trace of another color.

When Brook stepped on it, it was incomparably soft, as if he were walking on clouds.

A small, exquisite table stood in the center of the carriage, its surface made of smooth jade.

Crystal wineglasses and silver cutlery rested upon it, alongside all kinds of snacks and fresh fruit.

The temperature inside was also exceedingly comfortable.

Looking at the carriage, Brook already had a clear idea of the situation.

Mine. Mine. It's all mine.

ԅ(¯﹃¯ԅ)