Mysterious Journey

Chapter 652: Bournemouth and the Safe House

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Somewhere in Dorset, England. With a crack of Apparition, four figures, one adult and three children, appeared in a secluded corner of the street.

Of course, "secluded" was relative. This seemed to be a small street branching off from a main road, lined with ordinary Victorian yellow-brick houses, decorated with seashell and wave-like frosted stone.

Aileen looked up at the shop signs on the street and the light blue street sign next to the lamppost.

"Oh, is this... Bournemouth?"

The air carried the unique salty scent of the sea, and the surrounding architecture and environment perfectly embodied the fusion of classic Victorian architecture and seaside art deco, not to mention the large "uuth" on the street sign.

Without a doubt, this was Bournemouth, the most famous seaside tourist destination in the entire United Kingdom.

"Indeed. Is there a problem, Miss Kaslana?"

Dumbledore nodded happily, carefully examining the surroundings as he explained gently.

"The England national team's training ground is in Studland Bay, across the water... I believe Muggles call it that – the long and vast Jurassic Coast is perfect for concealing a Quidditch pitch without attracting the attention of Muggles... after all, we want to avoid situations like those in Charing Cross Road and Diagon Alley as much as possible. The expansion of the non-magical world and its activities have been rapidly increasing at an alarming rate in recent decades, which has become a major headache for various Ministries of Magic.

"Therefore, when choosing locations for large, long-standing facilities, the magical world has to choose places that are far from Muggle settlements, spacious, and unlikely to attract attention even if they lack certain elements."

"Well, that sounds reasonable, but..."

Aileen glanced at the tourists in swimwear passing by on the main road not far away, and replied thoughtfully.

A summer seaside training camp was indeed an irresistible and enticing perk.

But adding Newt Scamander's secret residence to the mix created a strange sense of dissonance. After all, this was one of the most visited seaside towns in the UK, and it didn't seem like a suitable farm for raising animals. "But... it seems a bit cramped here, not like Newt Scamander's home?"

As if guessing what Aileen was thinking, Dumbledore smiled slightly, took out three small golden squares resembling Chocolate Frog cards from his pocket, and with a gentle wave, sent them floating into the hands of Aileen and the two younger girls.

"Here, read what's on these first. These are the 'keys' Newt prepared for you to enter his home. Without these, even if you searched every inch of Bournemouth, you wouldn't find the entrance to Newt's house."

"What is this? A Fidelius Charm?"

Aileen raised an eyebrow, examining the card with a hint of suspicion.

Well, it was a Chocolate Frog card.

More precisely, it was a Newt Scamander character card, but unlike the ordinary cards Ron collected, the edges and background of this card seemed to be made of an unknown pale gold substance like gold leaf.

Another difference from the common Chocolate Frog character cards was the line written at the very end.

[After resigning from his positions as Headmaster of Hogwarts and in the Ministry of Magic's Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, the famous Magizoologist Newt Scamander and his wife, Tina Goldstein, now live in Dorset.]

"In this world, there's more than one way to protect a magical safe house with spells... This is a more peculiar and ancient means of magically enhanced protection. Many old wizards prefer to use this method to live in seclusion. Look!"

Dumbledore said with a smile, pointing to the row of ordinary Victorian houses in front of Aileen.

The next moment, as if ancient plants had suddenly returned to the city, countless vines, branches, flowerbeds, and shrubs grew wildly from the ground, completely engulfing the houses they had seen just seconds before.

After a brief blur of the surrounding environment, it was as if all the streets and houses were mounted on wheels, the entire world rapidly receding from Aileen and her companions, replaced by a vast field and a strange house that seemed to have grown directly from a giant ancient tree.

"This... this is..."

Aileen's eyes widened involuntarily as she stared in astonishment at the changes around her.

She didn't feel any magical fluctuations, nor did she experience the slight discomfort of spatial teleportation like when Apparating – to be precise, she hadn't moved at all, the world had moved.

As for Luna Lovegood and Hannah Abbott standing beside her, they were completely dumbfounded. The two little girls gaped in unison, unable to utter a sound of surprise, simply staring blankly at their surroundings.

"Alright, don't be too surprised. Magic is much more vast than you can imagine."

Dumbledore patted Aileen on the back, and said softly.

"If you're interested in all of this, you can try asking Newt later to see if he's willing to tell you some of the secrets behind it – don't look at me, I don't know this magic, either, and I don't think he does. Perhaps only Newt would spend so much effort studying these magics, after all, he has so many wonderful creatures to take care of…"

"Now, let's go inside quickly. Newt should already know we're here."

As they spoke, the door of the house that resembled a giant ancient tree opened not far away.

An energetic old wizard opened the door and came out.

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