79 Chapter 79: New Investments

After returning from Hogwarts to Wool's Orphanage, Alaric evidently felt somewhat uncomfortable.

Of course, at Hogwarts, he could hide in the Room of Requirement, freely engage in any research he wanted, and, when bored, take a ride on the Skyraider in the air, enjoying the sensation of the wind. 

Since helping the centaur tribe, he also had a new pastime: exploring the Forbidden Forest, guided by the centaurs. 

With their guidance, the Forbidden Forest became like his backyard, allowing him to wander and collect freely.

But now, he had to stay in a small room, and his only pastime was reading.

He couldn't even use magic—although he had shown off his skills to the arrogant Slytherins at the airport last time, that was a special case. 

Now, he dared not risk using magic at Wool's Orphanage, as it could lead to expulsion. After all, his power was not yet sufficient to challenge the entire Ministry of Magic.

However, if he were already powerful enough to disregard the Ministry's rules, why should he worry about being expelled?

In any case, feeling stifled, Alaric finally couldn't bear it. 

He sought out Mrs. Cole and obtained permission to live independently—inevitably using some magical influence, but since he didn't use a wand, Trace couldn't detect it.

After that, he could finally act on his own.

However, his immediate concern was not finding a new place to live but seeking investment.

The most famous event in the financial market in 1992 was undoubtedly the British pound crisis. 

During this event, financial speculators led by Soros took advantage of the currency exchange rate discrepancies between European countries, shorting the pound and making a fortune.

Although this event occurred in September 1992, Soros had already begun preparations.

So, after leaving Wool's Orphanage, Alaric immediately flew to the United States and invested his entire fortune in Soros's hedge fund—using magical means, of course. 

How else could a hedge fund with billions of dollars allow an account with only a few million dollars to join?

After that, Alaric began preparing for his new home. He planned to establish it in a wizarding community. 

In such places, due to the concentration of wizard residents, it was difficult to detect whether underage wizards were using magic, providing Alaric with the opportunity to circumvent the Ministry of Magic's regulations and use magic off-campus.

He had two preferred locations: the first was Hogsmeade in Scotland, a bustling wizarding town near Hogwarts. 

The second choice was Ottery St. Catchpole in Devon, England, a small village where many of Alaric's acquaintances lived, such as the Weasley family, the Lovegood family, and the Diggory family.

Both locations were good, leaving Alaric in a dilemma. 

The former was vibrant, convenient for shopping, and he could return to Hogwarts at any time, almost like owning a property in a prime location. 

The latter was closer to acquaintances, and he could visit the Weasleys' George and Fred, Cedric from the Diggory family, and Luna from the Lovegood family when bored.

For this decision, he pondered all day. Suddenly, he remembered what had happened to Harry during this summer vacation.

The Weasley twins and Ron had used a flying car to rescue Harry from the Dursley family.

A car!

Alaric immediately had an idea.

Why not buy a RV and use it as his own home?

Wizards used an Undetectable Extension Charm, a spell that could expand limited space without any visible changes from the outside. 

Wizards widely used this charm for storage and homes.

Alaric was quite skilled with this charm, having a natural talent for spatial magic.

Although the difficulty increased with larger spaces, with his abilities, the space inside a RV could be expanded into a luxurious villa.

Now, he could freely choose his place of residence. 

During holidays, he could live in Ottery St. Catchpole and move to Hogsmeade after school starts. He could even travel wherever he wanted with this camper.

Moreover, he could go a step further by buying a bus and converting it into a camper—since there were three basic types of camper models, one of which was the bus camper.

Speaking of which, the other two types were truck RV and trailer RV.

Deciding quickly, he immediately went about disguising his identity and purchased a double-decker bus.

It was a Volvo Olympian double-decker bus from the Swedish company Volvo, the latest model produced by Volvo's Scottish factory starting in 1992. 

However, it was intercepted by Alaric just as it rolled off the production line.

The bus was 12 meters long, 2.5 meters wide, and 4.4 meters high. The engine wasn't important, as it could be magically modified.

Next, he had to find a place to modify the bus. Since magic would be involved, he had to find a wizarding community to avoid detection by the Ministry of Magic.

To Alaric, the best place was Ottery St. Catchpole. Not only did it house many wizarding families, but he could also find a ready-made assistant there.

That assistant was none other than the father of the twins and Ron, Mr. Arthur Weasley.

Arthur Weasley worked in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office at the Ministry of Magic, but he loved anything related to Muggles.

He even wrote the "Muggle Protection Act" and had a keen interest in Muggle technology. 

He would buy Muggle items, dissect them in a small shed, study their principles, and even cast spells on them. 

The flying Ford car that the twins and Ron used to pick up Harry was his masterpiece.

Interested in Muggle items, experienced in modifying Muggle vehicles, friendly and easygoing, and also an acquaintance—was there a more perfect assistant than him?

Thinking of this, Alaric immediately wrote a letter to the twins, asking them to relay the request to Mr. Arthur Weasley. 

Compared to Ron, Alaric had a better relationship with the twins. 

During their time at Hogwarts, they often consulted Alaric on alchemy questions, and Alaric also gave them many suggestions on the prank items they made.

Soon, Alaric received a reply, not from the twins but from Mr. Weasley.

The letter was quite enthusiastic.

 In it, Mr. Weasley expressed his long-standing admiration for Alaric and praised Alaric's behavior at Hogwarts. 

Faced with Alaric's idea of converting the bus into a house, Mr. Weasley expressed great interest and voluntarily offered to join the modification work.

In the letter's closing, he warmly invited Alaric to visit The Burrow—the name of the Weasley's home—and included the address of Ottery St. Catchpole village.

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