Chapter 284: New Home

The summer vacation began as scheduled.

John sat on the train home, sitting together with Hermione.

They talked about matters of the Muggle world.

"Moving?"

Hearing John's words, Hermione asked, surprised.

"Hmm, this is the result of the discussion I had with my parents a few days ago."

"After all, my family's address was known to the Death Eaters, and lately those Death Eaters have been burning, killing, and looting everywhere; that place is unsafe, so we plan to move to a new residence."

John nodded and said, pulling out a map of London.

"Here—it's right here, No. 5 Grimmauld Place."

"Grimmauld Place?"

Upon hearing John's address, Hermione was instantly taken aback.

"Yeah, it's right next to the Order of the Phoenix, not far from our original home."

John flashed a peace sign and smiled.

"I found the landlord there through a real‑estate agent, rented it for a year in advance, and can move in with just a suitcase."

"Living there is far safer than living next to King's Cross Station."

"Someday I'll invite Sirius, Lupin, and the others over for a visit."

Listening to John's words, Hermione understood his thinking.

He basically wants to use the Order of the Phoenix as a bodyguard; if a Black Wizard causes trouble nearby, the Order's Warning Spell would be faster than any Muggle alarm system.

And regardless of who the family is, the Order would rush over to help at once.

"Inviting them over as guests is just a way for you to get them to watch your house for free,"

Hermione bluntly exposed John's ulterior motive.

"Look at how you put it—calling it 'helping watch the house' is really just neighborly mutual aid!"

John said with a look of grievance.

"But John, have you considered that Voldemort's top target is the Order of the Phoenix."

"If you settle your aunt and uncle there, they could also be caught in the crossfire."

John had, of course, taken that into account.

But the Order is protected by the Red‑Bold Loyal Spell set by Dumbledore as a Confidential Person; Voldemort could locate it only if Dumbledore were dead.

Otherwise the Order would never be discovered.

Even taking a generous assumption that the Order were truly targeted,

the No. 5 Grimmauld Place he chose is six buildings and a road away from No. 12.

Even if Voldemort launched an attack on the Order, the parents at No. 5 would have ample time to evacuate.

As for why he doesn't simply use the Red‑Bold Loyal Spell to protect his own home,

it's because his parents are Muggles and still need to operate within Muggle society.

He can't have the nearby neighbors constantly seeing his parents appear from a non‑existent location, can he?

"Don't worry, living there will be at least as safe as the station area."

"They've already moved there; shall we find time during the summer break to go, and then we can all head to the Order together?"

John suggested, and Hermione had no objection, nodding.

When John's parents were attacked last time, she wrote them a letter saying she was waiting for the holidays to visit them.

Hermione seems more concerned about his parents than John right now...

"Is the house near the station empty now?" Hermione asked suddenly.

"Hmm, we'll move back once the Voldemort issue is resolved."

"I see..."

Hermione's tone was hesitant, as if she were pondering something.

"What's wrong?" John asked, puzzled.

"Nothing... nothing's wrong," Hermione said, immediately waving her hand as if everything were fine.

"?"

John stared at her in confusion, saying nothing.

Hermione turned her face to look out the train window.

Stare—

John shoved his face right up to Hermione's, staring at her.

He stared until Hermione's face turned bright red.

"Move aside..." Hermione said, blushing as she pushed John away.

But John persisted, leaning in to keep staring at her.

Finally, Hermione couldn't stand it any longer and spoke.

"I just... the place being empty is fine... we, we aren't afraid of the Death Eaters... we... could go live there..."

"Huh?!"

Those words startled John.

"Do you mean... the two of us, living together...?"

John asked tentatively.

"... I mean... separate rooms! Separate rooms!!"

Hermione's face flushed from John's blunt remark, and she loudly emphasized.

"Sss…." After getting Hermione's confirmation, John inhaled sharply, then his mischievous hand hugged Hermione's waist.

"Miss Granger, you're playing with fire…"

Hermione's mind had already ignited, and being teased like this by John she could no longer stand it.

"Die!!"

She thrust a fierce elbow straight under John's ribs; John let out an "Aaa—" as he was elbowed away, clutching his stomach and curling up like a shrimp.

"Cough cough… you go all out…"

"…Deserved!" Hermione snorted, turned her head away and ignored John.

Because of Voldemort, the Ministry of Magic now, besides hunting the Death Eaters and maintaining social order,

also dispatches an Auror Squad to garrison Hogwarts, and during holidays escorts students by carriage between Hogwarts and the Muggle World.

And once in the Muggle World, they are responsible for staying with Harry and others to ensure their safety.

Basically, it's close protection throughout the whole journey.

Harry seems rather averse to this, because there's always someone following him.

John, however, displayed such extraordinary power back then that they thought there was no need to assign anyone to bother John, so they didn't.

After learning this, John regretted not doing it earlier; had he known, he would have pretended to be sweet and tricked a bodyguard.

But that wouldn't work; even if he pretended to be sweet, people would probably just ignore him…

Then, because of this incident, John and Harry's reputations also hit their peak.

When they stepped off the train, people around cast looks of awe, curiosity, or avoidance toward them.

John didn't react much, just glanced over the crowd.

After giving a distant nod to his brothers, he pulled Hermione away from the station.

Both of their luggage were in weightless expansion bags, so they didn't need to haul any baggage.

"Mom, Dad, Uncle, Aunt, we're back."

This time home, all four parents came to pick them up.

Seeing the two children emerge hand in hand, they exchanged smiles and then greeted them.

"Welcome back, children."

They each gave each other a hug, then got into the sedan together, heading toward Grimmauld Place.

Today they plan a small gathering at the new home and have invited Hermione's family for dinner.

Honestly, when John looked at the Order of the Phoenix not far away and then walked into his new home, the feeling was rather strange.

The place John rented isn't a whole building like the Order of the Phoenix.

Instead, it was finely converted into an apartment building, one unit per floor; John rented the third floor, a bit smaller than his former home, but sufficient.

"Honestly, before entering, I was quite worried it would be as pitch‑black as the Order of the Phoenix's décor…"

Hermione, looking at the new home's bright, open layout, light oak floor, and cream‑white walls, couldn't help but giggle and say.

"Come on, that's the Black Family's décor, not the uniform style of Grimmauld Place."

John said wordlessly beside her.

John chose a floor plan with a larger living‑room/kitchen area, while the bedroom and guest room were smaller, though the lighting was excellent.

The advantage is the airy, spacious view; the drawback is it can't accommodate many people.

There are only three rooms, so if Hermione's family comes to stay overnight,

John would have to begrudgingly squeeze in with Hermione for the night.