Chapter 768
White Bridge Hotel
Chapter 768 White Bridge Hotel
Salina looked at Wade, her tense expression easing slightly, and said:
"The judges are Mr. Gilbert Fontana, the principal of the Ilfamoni Magic School, who is highly regarded for his expertise in ancient runes and magical theory."
"Next are Terence Murray, the alchemy professor from Hogwarts, and Clarence Abdullah, the alchemy professor from Vargadu. You should be very familiar with the former, and the latter can represent the highest level of the African alchemy school."
"In addition, there is Ms. Serafina Picqueli, who once served as the president of the Magical Congress of the United States. She has extensive private research on the properties of magical plants in North America and their application in alchemy, and holds multiple patents."
"Finally, there's Mr. Silas Hawthorne, the director of the Congressional Department for the Preservation of Magical Buildings. He specializes in spatial magic expansion techniques, so you'll probably have more in common with him."
Just as Salina finished introducing the last judge, the car made a slight braking sound, causing everyone to sway.
"Here we are."
Salina opened the car door and stood by the door. After the three of them, including Wade, came out one by one, she said politely, "The White Bridge Inn is a wizard-run establishment. I hope you all have a smooth journey ahead."
She didn't exchange any pleasantries, nor did she wait for a complete response. While Wade and the others were still looking up at the hotel, Salina had already returned to the car, which quickly disappeared around the corner, leaving only a trail of exhaust fumes behind.
"It feels like we'll eat people if we run too slow..." Wade muttered. "Is this how the Magical Congress of America has always operated?"
“I think this lady is rather special?” Remus said gently. “I’ve worked with some American wizards before, and most of them are more enthusiastic.”
"Enthusiastic? It should be called rude."
Moody, who was also considered by others to be far from "polite," snorted and said, "A bunch of self-important fellows, but I must say, they're better than our bunch of weak Ministry of Magic officials."
“Let’s go, let’s settle in first.” Lupin led the way toward the White Bridge Inn: “I’ve heard of this inn before, it’s as famous as the Leaky Cauldron.”
The so-called White Bridge Hotel appears to have completely collapsed. The windows are broken, the locks on the metal doors are completely rusted, and the sign above the door frame that reads "White Bridge" is reduced to a single screw that creaks in the wind as if it might fall down at any moment.
The three of them, including Vader, did not show any unusual expression. They were all used to the methods used by the wizarding world to hide themselves. In other people's eyes, Hogwarts was still a desolate ruin with nothing in it!
Lupin tapped the metal door with his wand, then pushed it open, and the group went inside.
Unlike the dilapidated Leaky Cauldron or the cozy atmosphere of The Three Brooms, the hotel's interior is spacious and bright, with a high ceiling in the lobby that prevents any feeling of oppression.
This place looks like a high-end hotel for ordinary people, except that the guests dining inside are rarely dressed as Muggles and have distinct characteristics of the magical world.
An elderly witch wearing a dark gray cloak sat in an armchair, a steaming teacup in front of her, and the book on the table turned a page automatically every now and then;
Near the window, at a small table, sat two very well-dressed male wizards. One had a scar on his face and was squinting as he smoked; the other had his head down, intently looking at a very cute squirrel puppet in his hand.
The man eating heartily was a merchant who looked travel-worn, reeking of potion, and the box beside him was covered in dirt.
Beside the straight-trunked fiddle-leaf fig tree, a wizard whose face was obscured was curled up, almost completely wrapped in a cloak, sleeping on the table.
Behind the counter sat a tall, thin wizard, dressed in a slightly outdated brown robe and wearing glasses. He looked up from behind the high counter when Vader and his companions entered.
"Good afternoon, gentlemen." The hotel owner's voice was flat, with a slightly slow tone: "Do you have any reservations?"
"No, book us a triple room."
Lupin stepped forward and placed the three men's identification documents on the table, seemingly unintentionally shielding Wade slightly behind him from the boss's overly direct scrutiny.
The boss slowly glanced at the documents, paused slightly, then looked up again, turned around, and glanced at Wade behind Lupin. "Ah... reservations... you actually have them."
The boss slowly flipped through a thick register, making a mark on it with a quill pen.
“That’s right, it’s a long-term rental room arranged by the Auror office.”
His gaze swept over the three men again, lingering for a moment on Moody's scarred face. He glanced at the blindfold on Moody's face but didn't ask any questions. Instead, he took out three brass-colored long-handled keys.
"Third floor, at the end of the corridor, quiet, good view... Would you like dinner provided? It's already included in your prepayment."
"No, thanks."
Lupin took the key, thanked him, and the three of them went up the thickly carpeted stairs.
As he stepped onto the stairs, Wade paused slightly and turned his head to look.
He felt someone was watching him; the gaze was so strong that it was impossible to ignore.
But when I turned around, the smokers were still smoking, the diners were still eating heartily, and people were reading, sleeping, playing games... Everyone seemed to be in the same state as before.
Moody, who was behind him, did not urge him on. Instead, he squinted and looked in the direction that Wade was staring at.
A moment later, the three of them stopped and went upstairs to their room.
……
The rooms in all hotels are almost identical, differing only in cleanliness. And with the cleansing spell, a wizard's hotel can always be kept spotless.
As soon as Lupin opened the door, he saw their suitcases placed in the center of the room floor, each with an airport luggage tag on it.
Moody immediately stepped forward, scanned the surface of the box with his magic eye, ran his fingers around it, and said, "There are no signs of tracking magic or curses... at least the surface is clean."
"I think that even if they were to do something, they wouldn't do it superficially."
Vader opened his suitcase. The interior was neat and orderly, and all the items were arranged exactly as Fiona had arranged them. There was no sign of them being moved or missing. Even the slight fixing spells inside looked as if Vader himself had cast them.
However, what Vader noticed was not the surface marks, nor the magic depicted, but rather a more Muggle-like approach—
On each item, there were marks that only Vader himself knew—minor scratches, buttons on clothes, stitch marks, patterns on the bottom of mouthwash cups, and so on, and the locations of those marks.
To make it easier to remember, the various symbols he memorized could be connected to form a capital "G".
Although the binding spell that Vader cast on the suitcases wasn't very strong, the jostling of luggage during airport transport alone wouldn't change their positions unless someone broke the spell or reached inside to rummage through them.
At this moment, almost all the symbols that Vader remembered had been noticeably shifted.
(End of this chapter)