St. Petersburg, Piskalev Cemetery.

As the largest cemetery in human history to date, Piskalev Cemetery has no gate, only a giant sign that reads "1941-1945" as a reminder of the area's history.

Newt Scamander stood in front of a tombstone, silent.

Beside him was the gray-haired "stall owner", who was also his guide on the trip.

After a little chatter along the way, he already knew the old man's name, as well as some simple information - Alexander Ivanov, a veteran who served in the 20th Tank Destroyer Brigade of the Soviet Union's 62nd Army.

According to the rules of the former Soviet Union, Ivanov, who had been in the military for more than forty years, would have been eligible for a pension.

However, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, the hastily established CIS countries have fallen into chaos in the economic, political, and livelihood fields, and the authorities simply do not have the extra money to continue to maintain and subsidize the welfare of veterans.

The former heroes have become a "burden" to society, and in comparison, Ivanov is already in a better situation.

"Last Christmas Eve...... Hmm, I think you've heard about that, too...... In short, shortly after that, the mayor of Leningrad called a general vote to finally decide to restore the city's name to St. Petersburg. ”

Ivanov glanced at the old Englishman beside him and introduced with mixed emotions.

"As for the Stalingrad you asked, it was renamed Volgograd ten years ago, and there have been so many changes over the years that sometimes I even have a sense of unreality as if in a dream—"

"But did you really find the person you're looking for? I don't mean to offend, it's just that this tombstone ......"

After a slight pause, Ivanov turned his head to look at the tombstone in front of the two men.

Like most of the tombstones in the cemetery, it was an unmarked tombstone with no inscriptions, and the vast majority of those buried here did not leave their names, making it impossible to complete the archival work in those days.

Therefore, Ivanov's soldiers did not understand why Newt would stop here with such certainty.

"Ivanovich ......"

Newt sighed and reached out to gently pat the tombstone in front of him.

In Piskalev's cemetery, there are a few slightly different tombstones, which may seem indistinguishable from ordinary nameless tombstones in the eyes of Muggles, but in the eyes of wizards, each of them is imprinted with magical writing.

The text, which can only be seen by shamans, simply records the name of the tomb owner, the date of birth and death, and the cause of death.

"Novat Ivanovich, a graduate of the Kordos Dorez School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Russian колдовсторец), was buried in secret in 1986 in Pripyat in 1986 in violation of the International Confederation of Wizards' Secrecy Act, accidentally contaminated with an unknown curse created by the non-magical world, and after the treatment failed, the non-magical government and his own will were buried there. ”

"That's right, it's him. It's just that I didn't expect to meet again in such a scene......"

Newt Scamander shook his head, even as far away as England had heard of the catastrophe that had struck the land six years ago—Muggles had paid a heavy price for playing with powers that did not belong to them, and that all disasters caused by non-magical factors had nothing to do with wizards, as was customary in the International Confederation of Wizards.

In fact, the vast majority of wizards living here have chosen to evacuate.

Traveling long distances is not a difficult task for wizards who have no nationality or geographical restrictions.

Only a very small number of wizards from the "former Soviet Union" chose to blatantly violate the rules of the International Federation of Wizards and took the initiative to go to the vicinity of the city of Pripyat to participate in the rescue and aftermath of the non-magical world, including Ivanovic.

Since then, Ivanovich has had his wand confiscated for violating the Secrecy Act and has been placed under house arrest near his home.

"So, you're with this ...... Hmm, is Mr. Ivanovich a friend?"

Ivanov hesitated, turned his head to look at Newt Scamander with a serious expression, and asked in a deep voice.

"Well, we fought together more than forty years ago. Newt nodded.

In order to prevent Gellert Grindelwald from ruling the wizarding world, almost half of Europe, the Americas, and Asia's wizards were united, and the wizarding world was divided into two distinct factions, and the war spread from England to Siberia.

Compared to non-magical wars, the battle between wizards is more brutal and vast.

By the time the First Wizarding War was coming to an end, there were hardly even professors over the age of thirty in the Kordos Dorez School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, so that there was a serious gap in the magical inheritance in the former Soviet Union.

As the backbone of the original resistance against Grindelwald, Newt Scamander naturally fought in this land.

"More than forty years ago...... Ever fought together?"

Ivanov looked at the wrinkled Newt for a moment, and then looked around at the tombstones around him.

After a moment of silence, the old man exhaled lightly, as if he had made up his mind, and took out the carefully folded twenty pounds from his pocket, and solemnly placed it back in Newt's hand.

"Well, Mr. Scamander, I'm sorry, I can't take your money. ”

"What do you mean, Mr. Ivanov?"

Newt frowned, looking at the old man beside him with some confusion.

"This is the guide fee we agreed on before, and now we have just walked to a place, if you think there is any problem, we can negotiate more about the price or other places, besides, you have to ......"

After more than half a day of talking, he already knew that the old man's condition was not good, and more importantly, Ivanov also needed to help several other comrades-in-arms who were disabled in the war, and the pressure of life was extremely great.

The medals that Ivanov had previously sold in his stalls were the only valuable things around these veterans.

"It's not about the money, it's the last thing we have left. ”

Ivanov struggled for a few seconds, sighed helplessly, and pointed to the tombstones around him.

"I don't know what battlefield you're in, but I can't do that...... This kind of guide fee is charged to the comrades-in-arms who used to fight side by side to go to the cemetery to find people, otherwise I may not have the face to come and lay flowers again. ”

After a slight pause, a hint of shame appeared on Ivanov's face, and he gritted his teeth and said hard.

"But...... If you are financially able, you may want to consider buying a few more medals, and I can help you ask more, and I can help you find most of the rare medals...... I assume it as guide fee. ”

"No, you may be misunderstood, I ......"

Newt was slightly stunned, and was about to open his mouth to refute, but when the words came to his mouth, he suddenly stopped again.

There is no doubt that the former Soviet veteran must have misunderstood something, but due to the restrictions of the International Wizards' Joint Secrecy Act, Newt is unable to explain the subtle differences, besides......

Newt glanced at the words on the tombstone.

Pripyat City ...... Breach of confidentiality law......

Newt's mind suddenly remembered the stories Elena had told him last night.

After a few seconds of silence, Newt put away the banknote in his hand, nodded very seriously, looked at Ivanov and said.

"Okay, I still have a few old friends to visit, and I may need to continue to ask you to help guide me in the next few days. And when these things are over, please give me a list of the medals you can collect here, I have a friend who is very interested in collecting these medals or something. ”

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Sorry, this plot is not very easy to write~

I didn't write it until now, and it may still seem a little abrupt~ After all, it's just a branch line and reason, and I'm afraid that the book will be lost if I write it in too much detail, but if I don't write it, the emotional and behavioral changes will be a little inexplicable......

ε=(′ο'*)))) Alas

(End of chapter)