Chapter 413
Invitation Letter from Hogwarts
Chapter 413 Invitation Letter from Hogwarts
As soon as the end of get off work time came, Lockhart jumped up impatiently, and Gar took off his hospital uniform at lightning speed. In less than three minutes, the two ran out of the hospital.
Disapparating back home is certainly convenient, but using this kind of magic can easily leave strong magical traces, and the Auror elites of the Ministry of Magic have mastered some special detection spells.
Moreover, using magic in a place where Muggles gather is likely to violate the Statute of Secrecy. The Ministry of Magic will immediately send out a letter and send someone to check. Then they will be surprised to find that there are two fugitives wanted nationwide, and then they will summon the Aurors and the more than one hundred Dementors...
Thinking of such terrible consequences, Lockhart and Gar immediately gave up all shortcuts, firmly stopped themselves from taking risks in using magic, and behaved exactly like ordinary Muggles.
"Let's take a taxi, it's faster this way!"
Lockhart habitually stood on the side of the street and stretched out his hand, but was immediately pulled back by Gar.
"No, no, no, let's take the bus!" Gar's brows were filled with caution and consideration: "Think about it, if we run into those Dementors... there are more people and more targets, and it will be easier for us to escape."
Lockhart withdrew his hand and said admiringly, "You are right. You are very thoughtful."
The two arrived at a nearby bus stop and waited in the cold wind for more than ten minutes before finally seeing the late bus.
Lockhart ran to the bus first, but found that there were no seats on the bus. He thought about it and stood next to a middle-aged woman. When the other woman looked at him, Lockhart showed his signature bright smile.
The Muggle woman looked at him critically as if he were a psychopath, moved further into her seat, and looked away with disgust.
Lockhart: "..."
He looked at his reflection in the car window. His blond hair wasn't as bright as before. His once handsome face had small eyes, a crooked nose, protruding teeth, and dark skin due to the magic...
He became gray and a little ugly.
His smile was no longer charming...it looked vulgar instead.
Lockhart almost shed tears, deeply regretting that he had not learned the art of human transfiguration well before, resulting in him becoming such a horrible appearance.
He complained to Trocca in a low voice: "Stupid Muggles with no vision... If it were in the past, my fans would fill up an entire street."
Gal, who was squeezed by him when getting on the bus, sneered and said, "It's a pity that now they all know your true face. You have no fans anymore!"
Lockhart's face turned green, and he angrily accused him: "We are all companions, how can you poke my scar like this?"
Gar snorted, "We are all companions, and you want to grab a seat from me?"
The two glared at each other with disgust and turned their eyes away at the same time.
Not far away, Mabel, who was standing next to the car holding onto a seat, pulled her hood down a little and looked down at the dirty iron underbody of the car.
[Dementors... Hogwarts... Muggles...]
Yes, these two guys must be wizards too.
Since her escape, Mabel has never encountered a wizard again. She doesn't know whether the Ministry of Magic has sent people to hunt her down, nor does she know what happened to Hayley, Luke and the others.
After discovering these two people discussing topics about the wizarding world in the hospital, Mabel subconsciously followed them.
Although he is a wizard, he still works in a hospital and has to take the bus. It seems that his magic level is not that good...
Mabel felt that the other party should not be a threat, but for the sake of caution, she just followed the two people from a distance and did not let them see her face.
The bus slowly stopped, and Lockhart and Gar, who had been standing all the way, finally got off.
Just as the car door was about to close, Mabel hurriedly jumped out of the car.
Lockhart and his companion quickly became wanted criminals, but they still maintained the usual wizarding attitude of ignoring Muggles and did not pay any attention to the little girl behind them.
The streets were very quiet.
When getting off the car, Lockhart saw that his companion's shirt was spread out and both of his trouser pockets were bulging. He thought of something and his face turned pale.
Lockhart took two quick steps and caught up with Gar. He grabbed his arm and asked, "Did you steal blood bags from the hospital again?"
Gar immediately covered his pocket, his eyes wandering, and he said guiltily: "This is expired blood, it should be destroyed! I just changed the method of destruction..."
"You'll expose us!" Lockhart said angrily and fearfully.
"That won't happen. Some Muggles are also stealing blood..." Garl weakly defended himself, and then immediately said confidently: "You also have to eat every day, so do I have to starve?"
"Don't quibble! You can obviously eat normal food!" Lockhart said, "and your uncle even bought you a live chicken!"
"Who can drink that little bit of chicken blood? I can't bear the thought of drinking human blood." Gar licked his lips and suddenly looked at Lockhart: "In order to avoid being exposed, how about you draw some blood for me to drink?"
Lockhart immediately stepped back, covered his neck, and shouted, "Don't even think about it!"
"Okay... okay... don't react so strongly." Gal said, "I was just joking."
Lockhart snorted, but after two seconds, the two of them walked together.
He needs Gal's rich experience in mixing in society, and his current residence is also in Gal's uncle's house; at the same time, Gal also needs his magic to cover their tracks and avoid being found by the Ministry of Magic.
If they hadn't been helping each other, they wouldn't have been able to escape for so long and still lead a relatively normal life.
The two quickly arrived home, and after entering the door, they saw Gal's uncle, Ryan Troka, sitting in front of the fireplace, holding a letter in his hand with a sad face.
"Uncle Ryan, what happened?" Gar asked nervously, "Is the Ministry of Magic going to send someone to search?"
"Silly child, why would the Ministry of Magic send a letter in advance to inform them if they were going to send someone to search?"
Ryan Troka said helplessly: "Besides, the last time I contacted your father was more than ten years ago. They would never have thought that you would hide here with me - this is a letter from Hogwarts."
"Hogwarts?" Lockhart, who was changing clothes at the door, turned around in horror and asked, "Were we discovered by Dumbledore?"
Ryan Trocca: "..."
How did these two people, who are so timid, dare to escape from Azkaban?
The world is so magical.
"Dumbledore is not as omniscient as you think," said Ryan Trocca. "He just invited me to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts."
Lockhart's face twisted slightly. "That course has a new professor?"
"Yes, the previous professor reportedly had some family matters and submitted his resignation to Dumbledore right after the vacation." Ryan Troca sighed.
"Resign?" Lockhart was stunned. "Just resign? Not dead? Not in jail?"
"Of course not." Ryan Troka gave him a strange look and said, "That professor didn't do anything bad. I heard he did a good job... If he was just a professor, how could he go to jail?"
"Listen to me, Uncle Ryan!" Gar said seriously, "That course at Hogwarts has been cursed. No one has ever been able to do it for more than a year. Now there are even three professors in two years! The curse must have become stronger. You must not go!"
Lockhart nodded silently with sadness - yes, if he had known this truth earlier, he would not have gone from being a world-famous best-selling author to a fugitive who is in danger of his life every day. "I don't really care about curses. There are many professors who, like Professor Abigail, left their posts safely after working for a year."
Ryan Trocca said calmly: "As long as I work hard, don't break the law, and don't hurt others, the Ministry of Magic can't send me to prison for no reason."
Lockhart sat on the sofa silently, holding his chest, feeling as if he had been hit by several arrows.
He didn't want to say a word.
Gar was silent for a moment and asked, "Uncle Ryan, do you want to go?"
Ryan Trocca sighed and said, "You know, as a vampire, this opportunity is very rare... Only Dumbledore would hire someone like me as a professor regardless of my status."
He looked around his house—the television, the carpet, the fireplace, the kitchen with an oven, a coffee maker, and a humming refrigerator.
The Daily Prophet, placed on the dining table, was the only object in the room that had any connection to the wizarding world.
Ryan Trocca said: "Gar, Muggle life is great, but... I don't want to stray too far from that world."
Gar asked in confusion: "Since you want to go... then why are you still worried?"
"If it was the old Hogwarts, I would accept this invitation without hesitation. But..."
Ryan Trocca sighed: "I heard that Dumbledore is training a large army in the school to oust Fudge - I don't know what the consequences of getting involved in such a dispute will be - so I am still hesitant."
Lockhart was drinking tea and almost spit it out when he heard this.
"Dumbledore wants to oust Fudge, but does he still need to train an army?" he asked in astonishment.
He meant the question sincerely, but Ryan Trocca heard the answer.
"Yeah...you're right...Dumbledore doesn't need it at all."
Ryan Trocca looked at the letter again and finally made up his mind: "I'll write back to Dumbledore right away - there's a pizza in the oven, you can help yourself."
Ryan Trocca hurried upstairs to the study. After watching his back disappear down the stairs, Gar took out the blood bag he had stolen from the hospital from his pocket, bit open a hole in it, and sucked the blood carefully.
He didn't dare let his uncle see him drinking human blood, otherwise he would definitely be scolded.
Lockhart went to get the pizza, put it on the table, set the tableware, stuffed the napkin, and was about to eat dinner while reading the newspaper, but he found that the stack of "Daily Prophet" on the table was missing.
"Gar, you took all the papers?" Lockhart asked.
"what?"
Gal, who had secretly hidden the remaining blood bags, didn't hear clearly and asked in confusion.
"The newspaper! The newspaper is gone!" said Lockhart.
"I didn't take it...go ask Uncle Ryan!" said Gal.
"Forget it then..." Lockhart said angrily, turning around and turning on the TV.
A photo of a girl with thin cheeks and cold eyes appeared on the screen.
The news anchor is introducing the girl on the screen -
"It is reported that Mabel Roland, who killed several adults, is on the run in the UK. This girl is extremely dangerous, so don't get close to her... Anyone who can provide valuable information and assist the relevant departments in capturing Mabel Roland will receive a reward of one thousand pounds..."
"He killed so many people at such a young age." Lockhart murmured, "How terrible..."
……
The scary girl was currently sitting cross-legged in the attic of Troka's house.
She didn't dare turn on the light, and read the contents of the newspaper word by word in the faint light of the street lamp outside the window.
There were many unfamiliar words, and Mabel found it very difficult to read. She read and guessed while reading, and read all the recent newspapers.
None of the reports mentioned Haley or the other children by name, but she saw Rita Skeeter in the corner of the news.
Can we find Rita Skeeter and ask her for information?
But Mabel didn't know where the newspaper's editorial office was...and the reporters weren't always at the newspaper.
Mabel's fingers ran across the lines of the newspaper, finally stopping at another familiar name.
[Shocking release! The latest work of genius alchemist Vid Grey - Communication Pea, brings you a new level of communication! ]
[Say goodbye to tedious handwritten letters and expensive two-sided mirrors. Communication Pea allows you to easily keep in touch with anyone at any time and anywhere! Even if you are thousands of miles apart, you can still talk directly! ]
[Lightweight and portable body, sleek and beautiful design, multiple trendy colors, stable and efficient connection! This is an epoch-making product and a bridge to future life! ]
[To celebrate the launch of new products, Aslan Magic Workshop is launching a limited-time promotion. The quantity is limited, first come first served! ]
[How to buy: From December 12, the Communication Pea will be sold in 23 countries at the same time! Consumers can go to the following places to buy: London, UK: 118 Diagon Alley, Aslan Magic Workshop; New York, USA...]
……
Vader sat in the closet space, working on a new golem.
Under the effect of Transfiguration, the clay flowed and rolled from bottom to top, gradually forming a short human figure.
He had a not-too-many amount of sparse, dry hair that stuck to his scalp, making him look very unkempt; his eye sockets were sunken and his complexion was pale, and although he was still a dead object, his round eyes seemed as if they would roll around at any moment.
It had a hunched back and was wearing clothes that looked like a torn sack. It looked like a homeless person on the street, or like a large rat walking upright.
Vader tapped his wand, causing his nose to turn up slightly, before nodding.
This is pretty much the same as he remembered...
"Ding-ling-ling... Master, you have a visitor."
The golden bell hanging on the wall rang a few times and spoke.
Vader stopped making the golems, tidied up the closet space, and went downstairs.
At this time, Harry, who heard the doorbell, opened the door and shouted in surprise: "Remus!"
Remus Lupin, looking exhausted, stood at the door carrying a suitcase and looked at them with a smile.
(End of this chapter)