Chapter 242 Saint Mungo's Hospital For Magical Maladies And Injuries

Evan, Harry, and Hermione were excitedly discussing the future design of the store and its planning, the products that could be sold there, the prices, and more.

Lupin was alone in the house to check for any lurking dangers and hazards. In less than ten minutes, he discovered two Boggarts, a dozen nests of mice and spiders, a large group of Doxys, as well as Bundimuns.

The Bundimun is a wondrous creature that can survive and thrive with ease.

At rest, Bundimuns resemble a patch of greenish fungus with eyes. Skillful at slipping under floorboards and behind skirting boards, they infest homes.

The presence of a Bundimun is usually heralded by a foul stench of decay.

Once it appears in a house, the Bundimun exudes a secretion that rots the very foundations of the dwelling it inhabits.

"Very bad, we need to deal with these Bundimuns as soon as possible!" Lupin opened a piece of flooring, indicating to Evan, Harry, and Hermione to look inside.

Evan saw a heap of Bundimuns beneath the rotten floor, and alarmed, they hurried away on their numerous thin legs.

"Typically, cleansing spells can rid a house of a Bundimun infestation." Lupin clapped and stood up. "But here, there are too many Bundimuns, and it's not easy to act. It could have extremely serious consequences, and the place might even collapse. We need to contact the Pest Subdivision of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. They will send someone to deal with this matter."

As Lupin mentioned, the house had been abandoned for a long time, and unlike Number 12 Grimmauld Place, it was not protected by magic and was in very poor condition.

Just as they were studying how to deal with the troublesome creatures living in the store, Sirius entered.

He had replaced his wand with a new one: a beautiful black wand, made of hawthorn wood with a dragon heartstring core. In addition to the new wand, he carried a cage in his hand. Inside was a beautiful small owl, and upon seeing them, Evan exclaimed excitedly.

"I just went to the nearby owl shop and bought this owl, ready to give it to the Weasley boy named Ron," Sirius said. "He might be willing to take care of this owl. After all, because of me, he lost the rat..."

"He will be thrilled. Ron has always wanted a pet of his own."

"As long as he likes it!" Sirius smiled, placed the cage on the floor, entered the store, and looked around. "Evan, what do you think?"

"The layout is very good. It's similar to what I imagined, but it needs to be cleaned. Before you arrived, we found many Bundimuns."

"This store hasn't been used for a long time, so it's not surprising to have those things." Sirius opened the floor and looked at it. He frowned and said, "These are not easy to handle. We should go to lunch first and then visit your friend. During this time, I will tell Kreacher to clean up here."

"The Bundimuns can be handed over to me," Lupin said. "I have an acquaintance in the Pest Subdivision. He is an expert in dealing with this aspect of biology."

They chatted for a while and then returned to the Leaky Cauldron for lunch.

They then headed to visit Ron at Saint Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. This time, they did not take the Knight Bus, but Sirius and Lupin Apparated Evan, Harry, and Hermione with them.

After a loud noise, they appeared on a bustling Muggle street.

"Where is Saint Mungo's Hospital?" Harry looked around curiously. "Why didn't we Apparate directly into it?"

"When the hospital was first established, people used to do it. But as the number of patients gradually increased, the Ministry of Magic banned Apparition in the hospital, as it often led to accidents," Lupin explained. "As for the location, we are now standing at the hospital's entrance."

In front of them stood a large, old red brick department store called Purge and Dowse Ltd.

The place had a neglected and miserable air; the display cases featured a few worn out mannequins with crooked wigs, haphazardly placed and modeling fashions at least ten years outdated. Large signs on all dusty doors read CLOSED FOR REFURBISHMENT.

Near a particularly ugly female mannequin, Evan felt a strange magic.

"Let's go this way!" Sirius murmured, pushing Evan, Harry, and Hermione forward. "There are too many Muggles here. There wasn't enough space in Diagon Alley. The Ministry of Magic had trouble finding this address to build a hospital so that patients could enter and exit, blending in with the crowd."

Beside them was a commercial street bustling with Muggles, with an endless flow of people and cars, a stark contrast to Diagon Alley.

"Aren't these Muggles going to stay home on Christmas?" Sirius asked, puzzled. "Why is everyone out?!"

"Nearby is a commercial district, where people can gather, dine, shop, sing, watch movies, and much more during the holidays," Evan noticed Sirius's perplexed expression. He continued explaining, "a movie records specific actions of people through a machine, then replays them on a big screen..."

"I see, that's special Muggle magic; the effect is almost like the Pensieve!" Sirius looked around and unconsciously placed his right hand on his wand at his waist. "We'll talk about this later. The three of you should stick close to me. If anything happens, I'll act."

Seeing Sirius's demeanor, Evan doubted greatly if he truly understood what he had just said.

Indeed, apart from rare cases like Mr. Weasley's, pure-blood wizards knew very little about the Muggle world, and most had barely known about it a few hundred years ago.

Faced with the rapid development of science and technology in the Muggle world, the wizarding circle basically held a disdainful attitude.

Evan pondered collaborating with Mr. Weasley to introduce some of the most advanced Muggle machines into the magical world, which could have unexpected effects.

Unfortunately, the defensive magic of Hogwarts prohibited the operation of all electronic devices and could only be promoted in Diagon Alley.

Evan pondered the feasibility of this idea as he followed Harry towards the mannequin in the green nylon dress that he had just sensed as abnormal.

"We need to go in. Are you all ready?" Sirius asked.

They all nodded, huddling around him.

Evan saw Lupin, standing in front of him, leaning close to the glass, staring intently at the very ugly mannequin, his breath fogging the glass.

"Hello... We've come to see Ron Weasley?"

For a moment, Evan found Lupin amusing, speaking so gently through a sheet of glass as buses passed behind him and all the noise of a street full of shoppers.

The same thought crossed Harry and Hermione's minds as they looked at Lupin and Sirius in disbelief, then opened their mouths in shock when the mannequin nodded slightly and gestured with its articulated finger.

In the next moment, they advanced through what felt like a sheet of cool water, emerging warm and dry on the other side.

There was no trace of the ugly mannequin or the place it had been. They had entered St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.