This Hogwarts is not normal

Chapter 1345 Glutinous Rice Dumplings

A faint humming sound permeated the entire bottom space, emanating from the spherical device.

“This is…” Hermione’s voice trembled slightly.

"Prometheus 3: The New Century"

Her eyes widened suddenly. "Project Rainbow Bridge—that's the new Prometheus of the Beaufort Project that you and the Muggle governments of various countries proposed? That controlled nuclear fusion reactor?!"

Vincent nodded slightly. "That's right. This is Unit 3, an improvement on the first prototype. The energy for the living area, training area, laboratory, control center, and other areas here all comes from it."

Hermione looked at the quietly floating spherical device. "Can it keep operating forever?"

Vincent tapped a projection screen, which immediately displayed data charts such as temperature, pressure, and energy output. "Hmm... the output power is currently stable. If nothing unexpected happens, it can operate for at least twenty years."

Hermione was slightly shocked.

Although she had learned about the Beaufort Project proposed by him and various Muggle governments more than once, none of it had given her much of a sense of reality. But when a real controlled nuclear fusion reactor appeared in front of her, she suddenly felt like she was dreaming.

Nearly unlimited, zero-carbon emission, safe and economical baseload energy can fundamentally solve the energy crisis, climate change and geopolitical energy conflicts of human civilization...

She looked at the device radiating a warm white light, at the flowing magic circuits on its surface, and at its mysterious and elegant posture as it floated on the ring-shaped base. Suddenly, she felt that the man beside her was truly remarkable.

Let magic and technology come together, and make the impossible a reality.

Vincent.

"Ok?"

“You really are…” Hermione’s eyes sparkled. “So amazing.”

Vincent smiled and shook his head. "Why are you suddenly bringing this up?"

Hermione thought for a moment, "At Hogwarts, we learned how to use magic to conjure fire or make objects fly, but what you're doing is taking the whole world a step further."

After a brief silence, Vincent softly said, "Thank you, but you're exaggerating. I don't even know how far I can go."

Hermione looked at him intently, took his large hand, and said, "You will succeed. No matter what happens in the future, I will always be with you."

Vincent didn't say anything, but simply pulled her tightly into his arms.

After visiting the bottom, the two took the elevator up.

Through the elevator glass, you can see them passing through layers of circular corridors.

Hermione gazed silently at the empty metal doors, the living quarters awaiting activation, the training grounds yet to be entered, and the dormant laboratory…

Suddenly, she turned to Vincent and asked, "Will this place be full of people in the future?"

“Maybe.” Vincent thought about it seriously. “The succession will need to bring in fresh blood sooner or later. You know the situation here in Europe. It’s all old men and their families. It’s almost become a family business.”

Hermione chuckled. "There are quite a few students at school who want to join your Preeminent Society. Even Gabrielle sent me a message asking if I knew if you had any membership requirements."

“Gabrielle?” Vincent’s mouth dropped open. “How could she…”

Hermione's expression became somewhat subtle. "You know, she has always admired you."

With a "ding," the elevator stopped on the first basement floor.

Vincent pretended to sniff the air around him. "I think I smell something."

He looked at Hermione's slightly uneasy face. "Gabrielle is too young. I won't let the child join the Order of the Preeminent."

Hermione smiled broadly. "I knew it! Where are we going next? I don't want to go back to school yet."

Vincent looked out at the spacious corridor outside the elevator, a mysterious smile playing on his lips. "I'll take you to see a little guy."

"Little one?"

"Mmm." He took her small hand and walked towards the elevator they had come from. "You'll really like it."

Back on the ground, the two walked out of the villa and came to the side and rear of the building, where there was a natural stone slope surrounded by a dense Scottish pine forest.

There was a large cave entrance in the woods, more than twenty meters wide, and the sounds of the night stopped outside the cave entrance.

Moist air wafted out, carrying a faint smell of sulfur.

Hermione wrinkled her nose. "What's this?"

“Its home.” Vincent led her into the cave. “Come with me.”

The cave is also a natural karst cave, much more spacious inside than at the entrance, with stalagmites and stalactites extending from both above and below, some of which are almost connected.

As the two went deeper, spotlights cast soft light from above.

The cave walls were damp everywhere, with water droplets slowly sliding down the stone walls. In some inconspicuous corners, you could see some metal devices, which seemed to be used to regulate temperature and humidity.

Upon reaching the center of the cave, Hermione couldn't help but hold her breath.

There lurked a huge creature, a massive fire dragon, larger than any she had ever seen, its entire body covered in iron-gray scales that gleamed with a cold, eerie light in the soft glow.

Its sharp bony spikes extend from its neck to its tail, and its huge head rests on its front paws. Its eyes are closed, and its nostrils occasionally exhale smoke with sparks as it breathes.

Hearing the noise, it opened one of its deep red eyes and looked toward the cave entrance.

It saw Vincent, blinked its eyes, and let out a low gurgling sound from its throat, as if complaining or whining.

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"Awake?" Vincent walked over and reached out to touch its big nose. "Did you sleep well?"

The fire dragon grunted again, sounding like it was answering "no".

“Uh…” Vincent turned to look at the several empty bamboo baskets scattered around it, each as tall as an adult. “You’ve finished eating?”

The fire dragon blinked its big eyes, its gaze innocent and aggrieved.

Hermione stared in disbelief at the scene, not daring to get too close. "That's... Gringotts' Ukrainian Iron Belly?"

"Ah."

"It...it's following you?"

“It’s been following me ever since we left Gringotts.” Vincent patted the dragon’s head lightly, then withdrew his hand. “I was going to release it back into the reserve, but it wouldn’t leave.”

He pulled out a glutinous rice dumpling wrapped in a large lotus leaf from the Le Maire ring; it looked bigger than his head.

The dragon's eyes lit up instantly, and it almost impatiently opened its mouth, waiting for him to unfold the lotus leaf.

The giant dumpling was swallowed whole, making a satisfied gurgling sound from its throat.

Vincent took another one and handed it to Hermione, saying, "Here, it has a very good temper."

Hermione mechanically took the dumpling, staring blankly at the dragon's deep red eyes that were gazing at her expectantly.

She took a deep breath, opened the lotus leaf, and tossed the dumpling over.

The fire dragon caught it precisely, swallowed it whole, and continued to gaze at her, its eyes showing more affection.

Hermione took a few steps closer and saw the expectation in its eyes. "What's its name?"

Vincent said in a serious tone, "Sticky rice ball."

"What?" Hermione thought she had misheard.

“Sticky rice balls,” Vincent repeated. “It likes to eat these.”

Hermione glanced at him, then at the fire dragon.

“You…” she began with difficulty, “you named a Ukrainian iron belly that could raze an entire village to the ground… Glutinous Rice Dumpling?”

Is there a problem?

"Of course there's something wrong!" Hermione's voice suddenly rose. "How does it resemble a glutinous rice ball?"

Upon hearing its own name, the fire dragon let out another gurgling sound, as if in response to her.

……

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