A Certain Magical Hogwarts

Chapter 748 Shadowless Street

A giant motorcycle speeds along Vienna's Ringstrasse.

The Ringstrasse, also known as the "Ring Road," encircles Vienna's old town like a ring.

The site of this avenue was originally a city wall built in the 13th century, which has a significant connection to the Great Ying Empire.

That's right, it was built with the ransom money from the release of King Richard I of England.

Richard I, known as the "Lionheart," also organized the Crusades, and his statue still stands at the entrance of Westminster Abbey.

He is a hero in the hearts of the British people!

The only pity is that he was born in England... a Frenchman.

Later, Richard I ended the Crusades and returned home disguised as a pilgrim. He was recognized near Vienna and became a prisoner of Austria.

Austria built a wall using ransom money.

The city walls played a crucial role during the Ottoman Empire's Battle of Vienna.

But a few hundred years later, such defensive fortifications were already obsolete.

Emperor Franz then ordered the demolition of the city walls, the expansion of the city, and the construction of this ring road, which rivals the Champs-Élysées.

At this moment, William was driving with Hermione from the southwest corner of the Ring Road towards the northeast.

William drove for three blocks and, as he approached an intersection on a main road, the car behind him started honking loudly.

A black police car, its two front wheels spinning wildly, sped out from the corner, its rear end out of control, swaying from side to side as it entered the intersection, then accelerated, chasing after the two men.

The car still had its siren on, clearly indicating that the earlier disarmament had prompted the Muggle police to give chase.

Upon seeing this, William immediately twisted the motorcycle handlebars sharply to the right and slammed on the brakes.

The motorcycle glided along the ground for a while and then stopped right behind a tour bus parked on the side of the road, completely obscuring its view.

Due to inertia, Hermione's chest pressed tightly against William's back.

William could feel a soft and beautiful sensation.

Of course, it would be better if it could be moved to the front instead of the back.

William positioned the motorcycle close to the rear bumper of the bus and then turned off the engine.

The police car sped past without slowing down at all, clearly unaware of their presence.

William simply parked the car on the side of the road, from where he could see the Golden Hall brightly lit and a performance in progress.

The Golden Hall is one of the world's most famous and oldest concert halls.

But during the day, it is just a simple red house.

It only turns into a dazzling "golden" color when the city lights come on at night.

Hermione picked up a few flyers; they revealed that Bach's symphonies were being performed.

"Now that we've settled things, we can go listen to what's going on," Hermione said happily.

William patted Hermione's head and chuckled, "Of course, we have a holiday."

Coming to Vienna and not going to a concert would be a real waste.

There still needs to be some ambiance.

The two sat on a stone pier by the bridge, with the Danube River flowing gently below them.

Hermione leaned on William's shoulder, who was holding a two-way mirror that reflected Anne's face.

"Annie, have you found Cedric?"

"Found him, I just went to his house."

Annie was now behaving exactly like Luna; she was riding a unicorn, and she pulled back, causing the unicorn to brake suddenly and stop abruptly at the door.

William strongly suspects that for every sycophant who dies, a new unicorn is born in the wizarding world.

Otherwise, their unique characteristics cannot be explained.

Only girls can approach them, and only girls can ride them.

And you still say you're not a simp!

Anne knocked on the door and was quickly ushered inside by Mrs. Diggory.

Cedric's family also lived in the village of St. Catchpol, not far from William's little house.

Annie can arrive in twenty minutes riding her unicorn.

The Diggory family was present at that time.

Old Diggory saw Anne, and before he could even finish three sentences, he started showing off his daughter.

He confidently stated that Cedric would definitely become the president of the boys' council this year.

Cedric took the two-way mirror and smiled somewhat awkwardly at William:

"Didn't you and Hermione go to Vienna?"

Why are you thinking of me so late at night instead of going to sleep?

"Did you find Mr. Grigorovich for me?"

Before leaving, Cedric repeatedly instructed William to find Gregorovich and help him make some wands.

Cedric wanted to see Grigorovich's skills.

Learn something.

"No," William shook his head. "There's something I need your expert help to identify."

William poured the slag he found in Nurmengard onto the two-way mirror.

Cedric looked at the pile of ashes and asked, "Judging from the color, it looks a lot like birch ash."

Can you smell it? Does it have any strange smell?

"Yes," William said, covering his nose. "It smells like heather."

"That's it!" Cedric said. "That's the smell of the fire dragon nerve burning."

It smells wonderful, like being surrounded by heather flowers… Ah, my favorite scent.

Cedric closed his eyes, seemingly absorbed in the moment.

"..."

"Your taste is quite unique."

William muttered to himself, having discovered yet another of Cedric's quirks.

Does he drink photinia flower tea when he has nothing else to do?

Hmm... what a perverted man.

William put away the two-way mirror, tilted his head slightly, and touched Hermione's face.

"Birch wood, fire dragon nerve...it really is a magic wand," William murmured.

"So, before we went there, a wizard had already gone to Nurmengard, which is why Grindelwald left," Hermione said.

She looked up and asked in confusion:

"But Grindelwald didn't take the man's wand; instead, he burned it."

Or did that person burn it themselves, to prevent Grindelwald from getting the wand?

"In short, Grindelwald doesn't have a wand right now." William's eyes flickered.

"He didn't take the Auror's wand either; maybe none of those wands were to his liking."

So, the most urgent task is...

"He needs to get a suitable wand!"

William quickly unfolded the map and found Vienna's wizarding commercial street.

——Shadowless Street.

……

……

Conference hall,

Representatives from various countries were buzzing with conversation.

Upon receiving news of William and Hermione's disappearance, Umbridge's face seemed to bloom with a heather flower.

She clicked her tongue and said, "It seems the two of them fled to avoid punishment."

"What crime did they commit by fleeing from justice?" Picqueli asked directly.

"Hmm... suspected of releasing Grindelwald," Umbridge said with a sweet smile.

"Who can prove it?" The French representative shook his head. "Besides, aren't you trying to extradite them?"

"Yes, but they ran away, which seems to say a lot."

“No, they left the Ministry of Magic before the Aurors you sent arrived,” Piquellie said.

"Before that, they were not suspects and were therefore free to leave the Ministry of Magic."

Perhaps they've discovered Grindelwald's trail.

"Hmph, but I demand that the Austrian Ministry of Magic..."

"Excuse me," Austrian Minister of Magic Soros interrupted abruptly.

"You are not the president of the International Federation of Wizards, you have no right to order me around."

"You..." Umbridge stood up angrily.

Soros said to an Auror, "Immediately blockade Vienna, blockade Shadowless Street."

"We must find Grindelwald... and Stark and Granger too."

After saying that, Soros left the conference hall.

……

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(End of this chapter)