After having breakfast with Hermione and seeing her off to the Granger couple's home, Albert used Apparition to return alone from Australia to his home on the other side of the globe.
However, what greeted him at the door was not his wife's warm embrace.
"You smell like another woman." Katrina looked at him with faint disdain.
"Go take a shower first."
Isobel appeared behind Katrina with Alice in her arms. She scrutinized Albert from head to toe and muttered softly, "You don't look as good as you used to. I never expected Miss Granger to be such a wild girl."
"I'll go shower first, then." Albert walked away awkwardly.
"He deserves it." Katrina was both angry and distressed. "From now on, I'm making him get up early to train every day."
"I'll help you keep an eye on him." Holding Alice, Isobel headed toward the living room.
Katrina watched Isobel put Alice back in the cradle and sit down to continue her breakfast. "You're not waiting for him?"
"Knowing Albert, he definitely had breakfast with Miss Granger before coming back."
"You shouldn't indulge him." Katrina was deeply upset.
"Maybe we'll hear the whole story later." Isobel was actually quite curious about how Hermione Granger had lured Albert in.
Albert did not give them that chance. After showering and changing out of the clothes that "smelled like another girl," he bade farewell to Isobel and the sour-faced Katrina, then Apparated straight to the Wizard Village.
It would not grind to a halt without him, but there were certainly problems piling up that needed him to deal with them.
The situation was much as he had expected. The moment Shanna received word, she came to report the issues that had accumulated over the past few days.
"Things are progressing much faster