Hogwarts on the tip of the tongue

The next day, early morning.

Alexei woke up early as usual.

Glancing at the dark street outside the window, the man's eyes paused for a moment on the opened letter on the bedside. The back of the letter was covered with four vertical and one horizontal strange marks. If nothing else, it should be some kind of counting method.

Compared with the traces on the back and the information revealed by the strange folds of the paper, the text written on the letter paper is extremely simple, with only one meaningless sentence - [These comrades can be trusted, Alexei. . 】

Of course, there is also a neat signature of Makarov and the seal of the Nikolaev Shipyard.

"It seems that everything yesterday was not a dream." Alex shook his head mockingly, "The silly boy Frank actually turned into a wizard and killed four agents from the United States by himself, and also told I said that the wizarding world is going to invite me to interview as a cashier and salesperson in a potato store. Even in my dreams, I have never been so funny and crazy."

Alexei sat up from the bed. His wife beside him had already gotten up, and the slightly mushy aroma of toast came from the kitchen.

The snow and rain outside the window for many days finally stopped. Alexey felt as if he was back to the time when he first joined the institute decades ago, full of energy, excitement and curiosity about the unknown.

The middle-aged man got dressed, stuffed the letter on the bedside into his arms, stood up and walked straight to the kitchen. Looking at his wife who was still busy as usual, a touch of tenderness appeared in his eyes, and he walked over and hugged the woman gently. .

"Natasha, I'm unemployed. The Budeker Institute of Nuclear Physics...has been closed down."

"I heard from Katyusha next door that if it doesn't exist, there won't be any. Anyway, the institute hasn't paid wages for a long time."

The woman stiffened, then relaxed quickly. While continuing to look at the milk boiling in the small iron pot in front of her, she asked calmly, "Then what are you going to do next? It's actually good to rest at home for a while."

"Huh? How do you know that the institute has not paid wages?! I'm not..."

"I'm not a fool, Alexey. There are so many people around here cursing the government for arrears of wages. How can you be the only one who can still get a normal salary and go home every month? Besides, you can't change it anyway." Can you please give me the envelope with your salary?"

"Natasha, I..."

Alexey was slightly startled, and stuttered for a rare moment.

Natasha turned back, glanced at her husband, stretched out her fingers and pressed Alexey's lips.

"Okay, just sell those medals. Anyway, I already thought it was troublesome to polish them... Don't hinder me here. Please go back to your position. Comrade Alexei, you can return it later." You have to go out to work – keep your voice down, Lova is still sleeping, don’t wake her up.”

"Yes, yes, as ordered, sir."

Alexei replied with a smile, no longer tough and capable outside,

The middle-aged man sat obediently at the dining table, waiting for his wife to bring hot milk and toast to him.

In another hour, his ten-year-old daughter Danilova will get up. Fortunately, in this chaotic and confusing era, Moscow schools are still a quiet haven for the time being... Although, sooner or later, the depression will spread there. .

"It might be a little late today. I'll go look for a job and see if there's any work for me..."

Standing at the door, Alexei hugged his wife gently, closed the door and walked out along the street.

When he reached the corner and left the intersection that could be seen from the window of the hut, Alexei took the initiative to stop for the first time, breathed a sigh of relief into the cold air, and looked around, as if he was looking for someone. figure.

"Good morning, Mr. Alexei."

"Good morning, Frank."

As usual, Frank suddenly appeared in the street next to him in a gray cloak, as if he had been standing there all along, with a bag of soft bread under his elbow and a sausage in his mouth, vaguely greeted him.

"Oh, I thought you were going to sleep a little longer today."

Frank tried hard to swallow what he was chewing in his mouth, and said with a slight embarrassment, "So, do you want to go to the Budeker Institute of Nuclear Physics first, or go directly to us? By the way, would you like a piece of bread? This is sent from the house elves. Although it may be a little cold, it still tastes good..."

"There is no point in going to the institute anymore. They burned all the documents last night."

Alexey sighed softly, shook his head and followed Frank forward, asking curiously.

"Did you just say...elf?"

"Well, a house elf, a magical creature usually found only in ancient wizarding families."

Frank waved his hand, casually broke off a piece of soft bread and handed it to Alexei, while explaining nonchalantly.

"Destiny is a very complex and huge organization. Let alone house elves, you may be able to see live elves later. Well, it may be different from what you Muggles imagine. They are all similar He is about the height of a child, and looks like a little old man, roughly this tall. Of course, Miss Theresa is also this tall."

As he spoke, Frank thought for a moment and gestured towards his waist.

Alexey nodded thoughtfully and carefully observed the surrounding environment. It was still a familiar street. There were bookstores, cinemas, fish shops, and bakeries on the roads with people coming and going. It was hard to imagine that he would suddenly see a Strange magical creatures.

"So, the Miss Theresa you are talking about...is also a goblin?"

"That's not true. The eldest lady is a witch. In fact, these goblins in the Destiny Group were rescued from Gringotts' prison by Uncle Miles not long ago. It is said that they were all due to internal struggles. A wretch who was executed secretly.”

"Gringotts?"

"Well, this is the magic world's bank."

"You wizards actually have your own bank?"

"There is only one such bank, Gringotts Wizarding Bank, but it does not belong to wizards to be precise...Gringotts is run and controlled by goblins, at least for now, but it may not be known for sure after a while. ”

"Oh? Yes, interesting."

Alexei glanced at the young wizard in front of him who was leading the way. After hesitating for a few seconds, he spoke earnestly.

"But, Frank, shouldn't your information be classified as confidential? Is there anything wrong with you telling me directly like this? I mean, if there is a leak, it will be very troublesome for you, right?"

"It doesn't matter. Even if I don't tell you, the eldest lady won't hide it when you take the initiative to ask me later."

Frank turned his head, responded with a bright smile, and replied confidently.

"Besides, a determined liar like you wouldn't leak the secret, right?"

A strong-willed...liar? !

Alexey raised his eyebrows inexplicably, not understanding what Frank meant.

However, before he could ask clearly.

"right here."

After taking a few steps forward, Frank suddenly stopped and said, "Here we are, the Bolshevik Hammer Tavern."

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Chapter 1!