I, Hogwarts Second Time Around.

Chapter 560 A Show of Force

Dude, how many dishes did you have to drink to this extent?

Irving truly couldn't understand why this vixen dared to look at him like that.

Without a second thought, he suddenly stood up, his movements as swift as the wind, and kicked the demon away.

The fleshy, ball-like figure flew out like a cannonball, crashed into the tavern's doorpost, and then fell to the ground, bouncing twice.

"They really think they can take advantage of anyone who dares to push their luck."

Irving felt a sense of relief; he had been feeling too stressed these past few days.

Moreover, since his strength was revealed, few people have underestimated him. As a result, such embarrassing situations have become less frequent.

Sometimes he felt that he had changed a lot, which might be related to Miss Granger. Spending a lot of time with her had influenced him.

However, it is more likely that it is because he absorbed the ancient magic power remaining in the Outer Gods in those divine towers, which made him increasingly detached from human thinking. He became more and more indifferent, as if there was nothing in this world worth his attention.

"Owen, what are you doing?" Hermione exclaimed, but he raised his hand to stop her. Then Owen picked up the lump of flesh from the ground, looked at the goblin with blood spitting from the corner of her mouth and a listless expression, and said, "If you're asking for a favor, you should ask for it with the right attitude."

Then he slammed it heavily to the ground.

"I've realized I'm becoming kinder and kinder—in the past, I would have been Avada Kedavra long ago."

"puff!"

The fairy, lying on the ground like a dead dog, spat out a mouthful of blood.

He looked at Owen in horror, trembling all over.

He was able to react to the attack just now, after all, no matter how fast a person moves, they can't match the speed of Apparition. He just didn't expect that a stranger would kick him as soon as they met.

And since the other party is clearly a wizard, how could he use his feet?

"Alright—if you're not dead, get up quickly and don't waste time." Owen glanced at the fairy on the ground with disgust, then returned to his seat.

"Waaah—" The fairy clutched her chest and stood up with a sharp voice.

No one present was moved, except for Hermione, who kindly stepped forward to help.

The other Frenchmen in the tavern were all just watching the show; the wizards, who also discriminated against fairies, were delighted to see a fairy being beaten.

Sirius Black also belongs to this type of traditional wizard and doesn't have much affection for fairies.

As for Koyatl, it's good enough that she didn't make a move.

Sure enough, after Owen beat up the goblin, and Hermione used several healing spells to help him get up, he became much more docile.

"Sir," the fairy stammered, her face filled with fear, but her eyes flashed with a hatred unseen by ordinary people. "My name is Gonuk, and I was sent by the king to meet you."

"Alright, let's go then." Owen downed his beer in one gulp. "My time is precious, I don't want to miss you guys."

"Yes—yes!" The fairy named Gonuk lowered his head, clutched his stomach, and limped away.

Irving and his teammates followed behind.

"Owen—" On the street, Hermione's face was full of displeasure. She grabbed Owen's arm and said seriously, "Why—"

"Why did you beat him up?" Owen interrupted again.

"To be honest, there's no real reason, but if I had to say—well—fairies are a very arrogant race, so giving them a taste of their own medicine would be beneficial for how things unfold later. Of course, this is something I just thought of. Actually, it's just that I don't really like him."

"You—" Hermione seemed choked, "Even though it was the goblins who pleaded with us to do this, besides solving their problem, we could also discuss cooperation. The way you're doing this—"

"I never intended to work with them in the first place!" Irving confessed.

"What?"

"Grandma said that if necessary, we should seize the ancient magic controlled by the fairies—what does 'if necessary' mean? I think it's necessary right now."

"But doing that—you'll push the fairies to the mysterious man's side."

"First of all, given that person's personality, he looks down on fairies. Even if a fairy offered herself to him, he might not accept her. Secondly, so be it—killing one is the same as killing two. It's a good way to eliminate a potential threat to the wizarding world."

"There are many ways to resolve potential hazards."

"I think my method is pretty good."

"That will only create problems for the future."

"If this really causes trouble, then you can only blame yourselves for not killing them all."

"You—" Hermione was furious. She realized that no matter what she said, Owen could always find a reason to argue with her. She couldn't win against him with words.

"Aren't you going to do anything about it?" She looked at Sirius and Koyatl beside her.

"I agree!"

Hermione's gaze had barely swept over when Koyatl spoke bluntly.

Sirius Black made a few criticisms of Irving, and then that was the end of it.

What is this?

Is this considered reverse endorsement?

After that, none of them spoke.

The group wandered around the streets.

Just as Irving was about to get completely confused, the fairy in front of him finally stopped.

They arrived at an open space.

There was a carriage in front of them, and two Thestrals were resting on the ground.

On the roof of the carriage, in the driver's seat, there was a fairy.

Gonuk stepped forward and chatted with his companion in gibberish. Then the goblin became quite agitated and started yelling at them in goblin language.

Although he couldn't understand it, Irving would usually take those words as an insult directed at him.

This time, however, Hermione reacted much faster than him.

She offered a haphazard explanation in her broken, halting fairy language, only able to utter a few words.

I don't know how she managed to remember all of this in just one night.

In any case, the goblin's face immediately lit up with joy upon hearing Hermione's words, even revealing a hint of greed.

Then he beckoned the four of them to board the carriage.

With a snap of his fingers, the two Thestrals awoke from their illusory dream and prepared to depart.

"What did you say to them?" Owen asked, puzzled, from inside the carriage.

"She didn't say anything," the little witch said, still angry.

"Are you sure?" Owen suddenly leaned in close, so close that her cheek was warm from his breath. Hermione blushed slightly, especially since there were other people around. How could he be so bold?

However, this small change in her mindset caused her to lose control of her pent-up anger, and once she vented her anger, she could no longer hold back.

The little witch then turned her head slightly, creating some distance between herself and Owen, took a deep breath, and said, "It means that it was a misunderstanding just now, and we will compensate for medical expenses and such."

"Are you sure it's medical expenses?" Owen didn't believe it at all. "Didn't you see that fairy almost jump for joy just now?"

"Is your fairy language, which you've been learning all night, reliable? Don't tell me you're going to give him your entire fortune or anything like that."

After Owen said that, Hermione herself became a little unsure.

Then she did something that shocked everyone: she casually pulled a book out of the cloth bag at her waist and started flipping through it.

"Woodfa, you're just learning this on the fly, aren't you!"

Hearing this, Hermione blushed, then stubbornly looked up and glared at Owen before burying herself back in her books.

For the rest of the time, no one else bothered her.

Anyway, no matter what she just said, Owen won't admit it.

They beat up that Gonuk and his foot still hurts. It's already a miracle he didn't have to pay compensation, let alone pay them? Dream on.

And just like that, more than an hour passed in the blink of an eye.

The Fairy Kingdom is located far from Paris.

Irving didn't ask where exactly.

Anyway, Sirius Black was there; he'd already been there once. Besides, those two goblins wouldn't be so bold as to send them to Voldemort.

The scenery outside confirmed that the Fairy Kingdom was indeed located in the Alps, as the altitude was visibly increasing.

Finally, after a gust of cold wind replaced the originally warm autumn breeze and rushed into the carriage, Owen, who had fallen asleep leaning against Hermione, slowly woke up.

Well—last night, because I was explaining things to Hermione about today and preparing all sorts of things just in case, I stayed up very late. Even so, she still managed to squeeze in two hours to study a magic book that teaches goblin languages. In the end, I had to persuade her to go to sleep, otherwise Hermione would have stayed up until dawn.

"Wow—" Irving yawned and straightened up. "Have we arrived?"

Outside the window, there were already mountains.

The majestic snow-capped mountains are so close, their rugged grandeur is breathtaking, and nature is displaying its unparalleled beauty.

"We're here—" Sirius replied.

Then his gaze fell on Hermione and Owen.

A pang of envy stirred within him for the couple. He envied their boldness; in matters of the heart, he was a complete novice, constantly at a loss for words when facing someone, and yet he had no one to consult at such times. If James were still here...

As for Lupin—his relationship with Tonks is progressing rapidly, and the two may even have secretly married.

But Lupin was actually no better than him; he had virtually no experience and was completely passively accepting the situation.

Besides that, he had no other friends.

Suddenly, the carriage shuddered slightly, and then its speed decreased significantly.

And everyone could feel a downward falling sensation.

A few minutes later, the carriage came to a steady stop on the ground.

"Phew—" Irving was the first to get out of the car.

Then he carried Hermione out of the car.

He was in such a hurry because the proportions of the fairy's carriage were very disproportionate.

Although the carriage was under a wireless stretching spell, it was not crowded.

However, because fairies and humans have different proportions, the Infinite Stretch Spell only stretched the space in the carriage, not modified it.

The seat was too close to the ground, which was very uncomfortable.

If it were just him and Hermione in the carriage, that wouldn't be a problem; the little witch could lie down against the back door. Or she could turn around and lean against him, with her legs flat on the bench.

Unfortunately, there were two extra third wheels – Koyatl and Sirius.

"There doesn't look like any sign of construction here." Koyatl jumped off the carriage and looked around.

This is halfway up a snow-capped mountain.

A small, flat area.

Yellowed weeds grew on the ground, and the landscape was desolate as far as the eye could see. No matter what, there was not a single man-made thing to be found.

"This is fairy magic," Sirius Black explained as he got out of the car. "The entrance is right before your eyes."

Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking...

The two fairies stretched out their slender arms and gently waved their fingers toward a spot in the open space.

Then the space in front of them rippled like the surface of a lake.

It slowly revealed its true form.

A well with a pavilion immediately appeared in front of the four of them.

Oh—no—it can't really be called a well—it's more like a reservoir. The wellhead wouldn't be built that large, and the reservoir is surrounded by a classical Tempietto-style building. It's somewhat like a pavilion.

It consists of a dome at the top, an archway, columns, and a pedestal, presenting a texture that is heavy at the top and light at the bottom.

It is simply an architectural style that was popular during the Renaissance period.

The design is typical of early Christian shrines built for martyrs, with the lower colonnade of the church featuring Doric columns, giving it a heroic feel.

"Please—please come with us," the fairy Gonuk said timidly.

The other fairy took a cloth bag out of her pocket.

He then snapped his fingers, and the pocket immediately floated up and grew larger, like a giant mouth, swallowing the carriage. It then shrank back down and returned to his hand.

The four of them climbed the steps and arrived at the reservoir.

Led by Gonuk, they entered the pool.

Then, as if Gonuk had activated some mechanism, the bottom of the reservoir suddenly trembled and then slowly sank.

"It's an elevator!" Koyatl said with some surprise.

As for Irving, he had already guessed it.

Sirius had told them before that the fairy kingdom was underground.

"Very few other races are qualified to enter the Fairy Kingdom," Gornuk said softly. "Only those invited by the kingdom are eligible to enter."

"Other fairies are not qualified to bring people back to the kingdom."

"Oh—" Owen responded, "No wonder your fairy kingdom has stood for thousands of years. It's because it's well hidden, and not many outsiders know the true location of the kingdom."

"Yes, yes." Gonuk nodded, and when he spoke of the kingdom, the fear in his eyes for Owen faded considerably, replaced by pride and awe. "Our kingdom is not only geographically hidden, but also a guardian of knowledge and magical power. For thousands of years, we fairies have built this safe and prosperous underground world with our extraordinary understanding and manipulation of metals and gems, as well as the wisdom passed down through generations."

Our technology is extraordinary, our wisdom is far-reaching, and our civilization transcends the surface.

"Heh—" Owen sneered.

He couldn't be bothered to discuss civilization with this caveman hiding underground.

Once a biological viewpoint is formed, it is very difficult to change unless a major event occurs or a severe blow is suffered; otherwise, it will not change in the slightest.

Saying too much will only waste your breath and increase the other person's dislike for you.

As the elevator slowly descended, the surrounding light gradually dimmed.

At that moment, the floor tiles beneath their feet lit up.

(End of this chapter)