The Hogwarts Emerald

Chapter 103 Old House Renovation

It was unknown how long the Shrieking Shack had been abandoned. The slightest movement in the house would stir up a cloud of dust, making people feel uncomfortable. The doors and windows sealed with wooden boards had not been opened for years, and there was a strange smell in the house.

Over the years, rumors of hauntings have spread like wildfire, and the dilapidated Screaming Shack is indeed a good place for hauntings. The "remote" mountain village and the long-abandoned old house all tell people: Want to see a ghost? Come to the Screaming Shack!

Ada, who has always been very curious, was bewitched by this and foolishly went looking for all the information about the Screaming Shack, wasting her limited life.

Unexpectedly, plans cannot keep up with changes. The original intention was to explore a secret passage that I had never been to, but who knew that behind the secret passage was the Screaming Shack! This should have been a good thing. After searching for a long time, I finally found it without any effort.

This could be considered a "double happiness", but the Shrieking Shack was just famous and there were no ghosts at all. Ada was happy for nothing and naturally felt disappointed.

"What should we do now?" George waved his hand to disperse the dust in front of him, "Should we go back?"

"There's nothing to see here, everything is shabby." Fred walked around the room, stirring up dust with his footsteps. Ada and George could only wave their hands.

"If you keep walking back and forth, I'll break your legs!" George said angrily, "Ada, why don't we go back first? I feel like my lungs are going to explode."

Ada's mind was working very quickly, with countless inspirations and ideas popping up in her mind. Ada had never studied the laws of the British wizarding world, so she was not sure whether this approach was feasible.

"Ada, what are you thinking about?" Fred waved his hands in front of her eyes. "Let's go back."

"If you really don't want to leave the haunted house, we can find another one during the summer vacation." George said, stretching out his right hand to pull her up.

"What do you say? How about I clean up this place?" Ada stood up and walked around the room like Fred just now. The dust that had just fallen to the ground was flying around the room again.

Fred spread his hands and walked around the room. He said, "This place is not small. It will be very difficult to clean up. Besides, you have a room in the basement, so what do you need here for?"

“I don’t know what Ada is going to do, but the haunted rumors about the Shrieking Shack are about to start up again,” George said with a smile.

"As you know, I came from..."

Fred raised his hand to interrupt Ada and said, "Stop! I know your background, just tell me what you want to do!"

"My idea is very simple. I want to own a house of my own," said Ada, with her hands behind her back. The obsession of buying a house is in Ada's bones and cannot be changed.

It is very difficult for Ada, who has nothing, to buy a house. She does not have an underground vault in Gringotts to rely on, so she has to plan everything on her own.

Although the shed is dilapidated, it can be used for living if it is repaired properly. This will save a lot of money. Moreover, the villagers will not disturb the people living here because they are afraid of the rumors of haunted houses, so they can have peace and quiet.

Now, the problem facing Ada is how to obtain the ownership of the Shrieking Shack. The house has been vacant for many years, and no one has ever mentioned the owner of the house. Even if she wants to buy the house, she doesn't know who to find, not to mention that Ada can't afford so many Galleons now. Although Ada has no money, this house has never been taken care of. She can live in it secretly and worry about the money later. What's more, this is a "haunted house", and such houses usually can't be sold at a high price.

"You can live in the Burrow. Mum also said that the Burrow is your home!" Fred said loudly. He felt a fire in his chest and he was very angry now.

"I can't live in the Burrow all my life. It's only a matter of time before I move out, just like Bill and Charlie did after a while." Ada explained. She was very grateful to the Weasley family for treating her as one of their own, but she really couldn't live there for the rest of her life. After all, the children had to be independent when they grew up.

George's tone was also bad. Ada's words made him feel very alienated. George said, "It's different. Bill is an adult. How old are you?"

Ada silently raised four fingers. The white fingers were very dazzling to the two brothers. They were one year younger than Ada. No, only half a year. The twins would not admit the one-year difference.

The twins knew that what Ada said was right, but they just couldn't accept it. Fred muttered, "We won't help you. We're willing to clean it up. You have to clean it up by yourself. You'll be exhausted!"

After saying that, the sulking twins left the shed without a word and went back into the tunnel. Ada walked around the room again and put away the materials before leaving. She already had a renovation plan worth 1,000 Galleons in her mind, but she didn't have that much money, so the renovation plan had to be put on hold for the time being.

On the way back to the castle, the twins walked very fast in front, with no intention of waiting for Ada. Ada followed behind, but did not chase the twins. Ada thought that they were just unable to change their ways for the time being, and they would be fine in a few days.

Ada thought to herself that it was really difficult for her to clean up such a house by herself. The house was extremely dirty, and it would be a big project to clean it up, but Ada had already thought of who to ask for help, and she would not let this matter out.

After returning to the castle, Ada went straight to the kitchen. She didn't go to find food, but to find help. The house-elf Winnie was the helper Ada thought of.

House elves were conquered by wizards in ancient times. After birth, every elf was educated to obey the orders of their masters unconditionally. They were slaves of ancient and wealthy wizard families, and being driven out of the house by their masters was the most shameful thing for them.

There are many house-elves in Hogwarts. It is because of them that the castle is kept clean and the meals are delicious.

Ada would not regard herself as Winnie's master just because Winnie called her "Miss" a few times, so this was not an order, but a request. Ada asked Winnie to help her tidy up the Screaming Shack.

When the house-elf Winnie knew that she could help Ada, her expression was very happy, and her eyes as big as tennis balls were full of joy. The only bad thing was that she had to go to the Shrieking Shack.

Even though she was a little scared, Winnie would definitely go, as the servility of house elves was deeply engraved in their bones. Ada also knew this, and she repeatedly assured that the rumors there were all rumors, and that she would go with Winnie and would not let Winnie go there alone.

At dinner in the auditorium that night, the twins were still upset. Not only did they not speak to Ada, they didn't even look at her and sat far away from her.

This situation confused everyone, because Ada and the twins had always been together before, and everyone could always see the three of them together. But what happened now? After the Christmas holiday, why did the three of them "part ways"?

Angelina and Alia had question marks in their eyes. Sitting next to Ada, they also wanted to know what happened between the three of them and how it turned out like this?

Thanks to the book friend Qinglian Daoge for the reward
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(End of this chapter)