After finishing lunch in an awkwardly silent atmosphere, Wanda consciously picked up the dirty dishes and headed to the kitchen.
Harvey and Hermione were left sitting on the sofa in the living room.
Hermione sat at the very edge of the sofa, keeping as far away from Harvey as possible. She deliberately turned her head, staring blankly out the window, giving off a strong "stay away from me" vibe.
Harvey wanted to find a topic to chat about, but seeing her icy demeanor, he had no choice but to pick up the remote and turn on the TV.
He happened to catch a CBA reporter broadcasting live news from Times Square in the center of New York.
[Following the end of this globally watched alien war, we can see that many skyscrapers in New York have suffered severe damage, with some buildings still billowing thick black smoke...]
[Architectural experts are warning people not to approach these high-rises, which could collapse at any moment...]
[It is worth mentioning that five heroes bravely stepped forward during this brutal war and successfully saved the world...]
[And one of these heroes is Mr. Tony Stark, the Iron Man we are all most familiar with.]
[However, at 2:00 AM last night, Ms. Pepper Potts, the current CEO of Stark Industries, held an emergency press conference, announcing to the public that Iron Man is currently recuperating from injuries and refusing all interviews...]
Hearing the name Iron Man, Hermione couldn't help but ask, "This Muggle seems to be very famous?"
Harvey thought for a moment and said, "Iron Man's fame is equivalent to that of the white-bearded old man in the wizarding world. You could say he's renowned far and wide!"
Hermione pursed her lips and said displeasedly, "You should use an honorific. Headmaster Dumbledore deserves respect."
"But I think calling him 'white-bearded old man' sounds more badass..." Harvey suddenly met Hermione's death glare and quickly changed his tune, "Alright, alright, the great Professor Dumbledore."
Seeing that Harvey finally corrected himself, Hermione shifted her gaze away.
Looking at the devastated, ruin-filled scenes of New York on the TV was truly heartbreaking.
She said with a face full of remorse, "We really should have stepped in to help earlier. Too many innocent civilians died because of this war."
Harvey's tone grew serious: "That kind of thinking is very dangerous. Have you forgotten the reason the Statute of Secrecy was created?"
"It was precisely because wizards arbitrarily interfered in wars between Muggles, which led Muggles to deeply hate wizards."
"This antagonism between Muggles and wizards grew increasingly fierce during the Middle Ages, even escalating to a point where neither side would rest until the other was dead."
"Do you think those wizards who were burned alive by Muggles weren't innocent?"
"If the Statute of Secrecy hadn't been established back then, the ultimate consequences would have been unimaginable!"
With Hermione's knowledge, she actually understood what Harvey was trying to express, but she just couldn't bear to see innocent civilians dying tragically.
"Perhaps we shouldn't have come to this world at all."
Harvey rested his arms on the back of the sofa, adopting an authoritative posture as he spoke:
"If you want to pursue the highest realm of magic, it can only be achieved by stepping into a broader world—unless you're willing to live an ordinary life."
"But how fortunate are we to have come into contact with magic? It would be a damn shame not to give it our all."
Hermione curled her lip. "Is increasing your power the only thing you care about? What's wrong with living an ordinary life?"
"Most people are born ordinary, but those with dreams, even if born ordinary, still yearn for greatness!"
Harvey delivered a highly philosophical line, then tilted his head to look straight at her: "To be honest, the only thing I care about is you!"
Hermione turned her head away with a look of utter disgust. "Stop telling 'the truth', go tell it to your student."
"Uh... a student is just a student, but you're different. You're the girl of my dreams..."
"Ew~ Gross!" Hermione got goosebumps from such cheesy, sweet-talking lines.
As they chatted, Harvey suddenly remembered that he hadn't checked on the physique-enhancing potion he brewed.
"Oh right, I just remembered something I haven't taken care of yet. You stay nicely at home, and don't go running out in a fit of pique tonight."
"I'll take you back to Hogwarts in a few days."
Hearing the news that she could go back, Hermione didn't even care if Harvey was just making empty promises, clamoring as she chased after him, "Can't you just take me back to school right now?"
Harvey didn't reply, leaving behind only a dashing silhouette as he walked away.
Since this secluded estate in the suburbs was merely a backup safehouse—one of his "three burrows"—he hadn't built a secret underground laboratory here.
So Harvey had moved everything from his original laboratory into the estate's underground garage.
When he left the first-floor living room and took the elevator down to the underground garage, he was surprised to find his test subject missing.
"What's going on? Did Steve run away?"
Harvey looked alert, thinking to himself: Could S.H.I.E.L.D. agents have secretly infiltrated the estate?
"This isn't magical at all, the Muggle-Repelling Charm hasn't failed, has it?"
Unable to figure it out, Harvey carefully inspected the entire three-hundred-square-meter garage.
Finally, he noticed that the Devil's Snare in the corner was tightly coiled into a human shape.
"Hah, so he got caught by the Devil's Snare!"
With a thought, Harvey cast the Wand-Lighting Charm, conjuring a dazzling white light source out of thin air.
The dim garage, which had all its lights intentionally turned off, was instantly as bright as day.
When the dark green Devil's Snare was hit by the white light, the tightly coiled vines immediately unwound with a rustling "swish, swish, swish" and shrank back into the corner.
Steve, who had nearly been squeezed to death by the Devil's Snare, was finally saved, dropping to the floor and gasping heavily for air.
"Huff... Who are you? Why are you holding me prisoner?"
Harvey couldn't be bothered to explain things to a Muggle. He simply waved his hand, casting 'Stupefy' to knock Steve unconscious once again.
After dealing with this unstable factor, Harvey walked over to his lab bench.
And then—
"Shit! Where's the potion I brewed?"
Looking at the completely empty pewter cauldron, Harvey was dumbfounded.
Unwilling to give up, he searched all over the lab bench and the potion preparation station, but there was still no trace of the physique-enhancing potion.
Finally, Harvey locked his suspicious gaze onto the unconscious Steve.
Yesterday, when he moved the laboratory, the potion was perfectly fine sitting right there in the cauldron.
But after just one day, the potion magically vanished?
Logically speaking, Wanda wouldn't dare sneak into his laboratory, nor did she have the time.
After all, Harvey hadn't given her a moment's rest last night, fucking her brains out.
Hermione had been unconscious last night as well, so it couldn't have been her who stole the potion.
Then—
There is only one truth!
With a dark expression, Harvey cast Rennervate on Steve.
Steve opened his eyes and woke up, only to find Harvey glaring at him with malicious intent.
"You wouldn't happen to be one of those evil wizards from the legends, would you?"
Filled with rage, Harvey pointed at the cauldron on the lab bench and demanded loudly: "Answer me! Did you steal and drink the potion in the cauldron?"
Steve followed the direction Harvey was pointing and realized:
"I drank it. When I woke up, I was dying of thirst, so I took a risk and drank that whole pot of unidentified red liquid."
"You drank it all!?" Harvey was so furious at Steve's matter-of-fact tone that he actually laughed.
"Very good. It seems no one ever warned you that it's best not to touch things that don't belong to you!"
At this moment, Harvey was so pissed off he wanted to hack Steve into eight pieces, throw him into the cauldron, and boil him alive!