"Tick ...... Tick ......"

In a dark and deep place, the hollow sound of dripping water echoes day after day. The dreary, humid air flows slowly, mixed with an indescribable stench.

Occasionally, there would be a string of voices that sounded in the darkness where the fingers could not be seen. They approached from a distance, then kicked and stomped away in stagnant water.

Those little passers-by are probably just mice.

Hardly many people come here, just snakes, insects, rats and ants living with humans in the city, adding a little bit of life to this deep and empty underground world.

Yes, it stands to reason that this place should be like this - it is dirty but calm, eerie but not dangerous, a man-made "pure land" under the bustling city.

But recently......

"Shhhh

With a chilling low hiss, a small grinding sound came from a distance, and it tended to get louder and louder.

And as the grinding sound approached, even the ground began to shake slightly, as if some behemoth was rapidly approaching in the endless darkness.

Before long, the movement slowly turned into a rumbling vibration, and the hissing sound became more and more permeable.

Finally, when a swarm of rats squeaked and were driven away, the sound that had come to an abrupt end abruptly. Then, a pair of huge eyes that shimmered with a miserable green glow suddenly appeared in the darkness.

"Don't stop, it's not there yet."

Suddenly, a voice sounded near those eyes, and it was the voice of a man. I could hear that voice was slightly old, but it was extraordinarily calm.

As soon as the words were settled, those eyes suddenly disappeared again. Then there was a rumbling sound, and a gust of fishy wind swept by, and after a moment it could be heard swaggering away.

After a long time, the original dripping sound reappeared—it still reverberated in the same rhythm as it had in the wide passage.

……

At three o'clock in the afternoon, Lady Paddev's teahouse.

While drinking black tea and sipping desserts, Maca and Hermione, who were chatting with each other, finally did not pick up the teapot that had already been renewed and poured it into the empty teacup.

Although the two had a good chat after that, as if there were countless things to talk about.

From the men and women in the teahouse, to the Hogwarts classmates and professors, to the wonders of the wizarding world as a whole, the well-informed Maca and Hermione never fail to talk about.

No matter how much we talk about it, we won't spend an entire afternoon here.

"What time is it? After drinking a belly of tea, they should almost 'get down to business', right? ”

Outside one of the teahouse's windows, a sneaky voice sounded from under the windowsill, and familiar people would be able to hear it at once—it was Ron's voice.

Immediately after, another voice came out, which seemed to be a little weak:

"Ron, why don't you forget it! Maca and Hermione are dating, and it's not good for us to peek like that...... Also, my legs are numb. ”

"Neville, can't you just hold on!" Ron said helplessly, "Your legs are numb...... Do you think I'm not numb? Look at your girlfriend Hannah, the girl hasn't shouted tired until now! ”

"Because she's already sitting on the ground!" Neville said with a bitter face, "Originally, I was going to sit too, but seeing that you have been squatting like this, I have to accompany you to hold on for a while......"

"Oh!" When Ron heard this, he couldn't help but pat Neville on the shoulder, "Hey, okay! Worthy of my good buddy! ”

But who knew that he slapped like this, but Neville couldn't squat anymore, and his body fell to the base of the wall with an "ouch".

Passers-by watched the three of them squat, sit and fall on their backs, all looking at them with a subtle look in their eyes, so that Hannah, who was sitting silently next to Neville, couldn't help but cover her face.

Although she is already very satisfied just to be with her boyfriend, she is still a little unbearable for such a shameful behavior.

"Neville, shall we go?"

"No, wait a little longer!"

Hearing Neville's complaint, but still able to refuse Hannah's proposal to leave, Ron couldn't help but say happily:

"I knew that our friendship was the strongest!"

However, Neville, who collapsed on the ground, immediately shook his head decisively.

"What friendship?" I saw him rubbing his legs in pain, and sighed, "I'm just numb and unconscious, and I can't walk if I want to!" ”

"Poof—"

A chuckle suddenly sounded from the three of them, causing Neville to turn his head with difficulty, and Hannah, who was covering her face, quickly parted her fingers and looked over.

"Hermione? Cornelian...... Ah! ”

Ron, who was still trying to squat under the windowsill, turned his head, and his legs, which were also sore, finally couldn't keep their balance anymore, and he fell to the ground in an instant.

"I'm not tired after squatting for so long, and it's hard for you!" Marca, who was standing next to Hermione, smiled and said, "Hermione and I just talked about the new library in Diagon Alley, and we're going to go there - how about it, and are you still interested in going with us?" ”

"Of course I want to go!" Ron didn't feel dirty, so he simply rolled over on the spot and lay on his back, "But...... Maca, is there a magic potion that can relieve leg numbness? ”

The numbness in the legs of him and Neville is nothing more than the poor blood flow after squatting for a long time, even if they are left alone, they will recover on their own after a while. Maca just took out a small bottle and gave them a sip, and soon the two of them were standing up lively.

Immediately, Ron raised his hand and waved:

"Let's go!"

……

A few minutes later, in the backyard of the Leaky Cauldron Bar, five figures appeared together in a spatial distortion.

When Dermaca knocked open the courtyard wall and entered the crowded diagon alley, Ron suddenly reached out and stopped Neville and Hannah behind him.

"What's wrong?" Hermione looked at him quizzically.

In fact, it wasn't just Hermione, even Neville and Hannah looked at him with puzzled expressions.

"Huh?" Ron smiled and said, "We'll take a look here and we'll be back later...... You and Maca go first! Don't wait for us. ”

Speaking of this, his meaning is already very clear, this is to carry out the "voyeurism" to the end!

"You came along, does it still make sense?" Maca waved her hand and said, "Don't probe your brain like a fool in the back, let's go shopping together!" ”

With that, he and Hermione took Neville and Hannah and walked forward. Ron hesitated for a moment before he hurried after him.

“…… It's still a 'date'! ”

Ron knew a little about the relationship between Maca, Hermione, and Luna, but the complex relationship between the three of them was beyond Ron's comprehension.

In fact, even they themselves are hard to tell, let alone a friend like Ron.

And the meaning of this date is not really what was done at all, but mainly a mutual statement between Hermione and Luna.

Since the beginning of this "Seeker Showdown", the two girls have officially changed from a "stalemate" to a "competition". Although they are still good friends, they probably won't compromise with each other like before.

Of course, as far as the current situation is concerned, I am afraid that the real competition will not be fully implemented until the Helbo incident is completely over.

It was precisely because Maca finally understood the thoughts of the two after Luna said the word "date", so she took Hermione out for a stroll today without any scruples.

"Huh? Is this what you call a library? Doesn't that look good? ”

A short time later, Maca led the four of them to the front of a store next to Ollivander's wand shop, and he first glanced inside the store before looking up at the sign above the door.

The reason why Ron says "not very good" is because the sign looks so ordinary.

"This is the old Barty opened," said Maca casually, "after resigning, he thought a lot about it at home alone, and finally tidied up the private library at home - little Barty was very fond of reading when he was alive, and it is said that he read many of the books here." ”

It can be seen that on the sign is a large brass key, the one that is quite familiar, the one that died under his hands, Barty Crouch Jr., hanging around the neck.

It was because little Barty pulled out the key before he died, that the old Barty, who was locked up and almost died of thirst, was almost saved.

After Maca used the meditation basin to let him see his son's final performance, this old man who had been tough all his life finally stiffened his always straight back.

"The 'Bronze Key Library'...... It's a simple and brutal store name! Ron shrugged, but then said in surprise, "You just said 'Old Barty'?" Was it Barty Crouch, the last director of the Department of International Magical Exchange and Cooperation at the Ministry of Magic? ”

"yes!"

Maca nodded.

Back then, Barty Sr. was known as the most promising person to become the Minister of Magic, and because of his clear attitude towards Voldemort, he once won a lot of prestige.

However, in the end, he resigned gloomily because of his son, and was instantly reduced from a high-ranking official of the Ministry of Magic to a commoner.

"Come on! Go in and have a look...... I heard that Barty Sr. also adopted two children, a boy and a girl, both of whom were ordinary Muggle orphans. Looks like he's figured it out completely......"

Although there is no third person in the world who can understand the meaning of the name "Bronze Key", at least Barty Sr. has taken the first step after the loss of his son.

The past is not so important to others.

"Mr. Crouch? I've come to see you...... Mr. Crouch? ”

"Sir, are you an acquaintance of Grandpa?"

A teenage girl stood by the door and asked timidly.

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