FicWad

Hermione looked cross, and gave a pointed look at her watch, as Harry entered the newly rebuilt Three Broomsticks. He shrugged, though he knew that would likely only infuriate her, and ordered chips and a butterbeer at the bar, before heading to the table. When he got to the table it became clear the others had waited on him to order their meals, and he felt a frisson of guilt. "Sorry, got tied up in the Bestiary. And with the wards, I'm the only one left that can go in and check on things." Harry took the seat across from Hermione, as it was the one closest. Probably not the best strategy as she couldn't elbow him to push him back to the point, but then again he was running low on bruise paste.

But just as Harry began to grin, he felt her foot settle on top of his, and she smirked in return. "The major here has been offering great advice on lead abatement. Turns out we'll have to replumb the whole building, and remove all old electrical wiring."

Major Carson spoke up, "Unfortunately, the materials cannot even be recycled in a Wizarding fashion. We tried separating the welds from the pipes, but lead in the presence of magic migrates and pits the copper pipes from the inside. And you really don't want to see the effects magic has on galvanized material over time."

"PVC has tested to be magic neutral, so we'll use that for all waste pipes, except for the labs and reinforced in the bathrooms." He smirked a little, "Beauty potions mixed give quite the lethal cocktail."

Harry asked, "Is there someway to charm materials safe?"

Hermione shook her head violently, but was beaten to the punch by Carson. "No charm or transfiguration can handle such a wide variety of material except for a incinerating charm, and that would risk releasing deadly gases, and far more severe consequences if the system were to be damaged or break down."

Hermione added, "Hogwarts' drains were made of concentric pipes of stone, clay, and metal. The architects have several ideas they'll discuss with us later, but our primary focus will be on the Civil Engineers retrofit of the building, as that has the more demanding timeline."

Major Carson nodded, "Two of my Structural Engineers are working with the architects on completing the design specs. Some architects get too caught up in their art, and forget practicality." He shrugged, "We have a team finishing stripping the structure on its current site, and with some good weather and magic we should be established onsite within the week."

Madam Rosemerta herself came by with a large order of chips with tiny pots of mayonnaise and ketchup, and enough forks for all at the table, along with Harry's butterbeer. "So what would you like to eat?" Harry gave her a grateful smile, and made a mental note to add 5 galleons to the bill.

oOo
Another short bit.. Soon Harry will learn coming on time means he knows who's at the meeting.. :)