[HP] Once Upon a Time in England

Carl said he would take her to the Ministry of Magic to see something.

She arrived as promised and waited in the hall for a while, but instead of Karl, she waited for Sirius.

"What are you doing here?" He passed by with a stack of documents, as if he was going to the legal department, and when he saw her standing by the fountain, he raised his eyebrows in surprise, "Could it be...a date? "

"Who would come to the Ministry of Magic for a date!" Hyacinth denied it categorically, ignoring the guilty conscience in her tone, "I'm here to deal with business."

"I remember you have finished all the procedures." Sirius looked at her suspiciously.

"It's a private matter."

"do you need my help?"

"No."

"Which department are you going to?"

Hyacinth couldn't write any more, she stomped her feet angrily: "Are you so busy? Hurry up and deliver your documents!"

"What are you doing so fiercely, and I'm going to a meeting." Sirius moved closer, and Hyacinth stared at him vigilantly, "Come home on Saturday, Ada misses you."

"That's your house, not mine," she corrected.

Sirius shrugged: "It's basically the same."

"——You!" Hyacinth looked at her watch, and there were only 2 minutes left before the time she had agreed with Karl. Given that her relationship with Sirius and Karl was at a very awkward stage, Hyacinth decided Don't argue with Sirius, "Hurry up, run for your life before I make a move."

This time he didn't talk nonsense, and obediently "rolled off".

"Sorry for keeping you waiting." Not long after Sirius left, Carl ran over panting, which made Hyacinth thankful for her wise decision, "I was about to slip out successfully, but Ah Milia suddenly came to tell me about work."

"You work in the Legal Department?" Hyacinth looked at him in surprise. "But isn't Amelia Burns your aunt?"

"You don't want to avoid relatives." Carl scratched his head, "Come on, let's go to the Auror Command."

"What are you doing there? I'm not an employee of the Ministry of Magic." Hyacinth was a little reluctant.If she ran into someone she knew at the Auror Command, would she still have to live?

"I'll show you something." Carl seemed to sense the worry in her heart. "Don't panic, Edgar and the others are discussing things with Amelia in the legal department. We just don't need to disturb the others."

"I……"

"Let's go!"

She can't beat Carl.The two sneaked into the Auror headquarters like thieves. Fortunately, they didn't meet anyone along the way.Finally, Carl led her to a showroom.

"This is what I want to show you." Carl pointed to a letter hanging on the wall. The note at the bottom indicated that the letter was intercepted by the Order of the Phoenix in 1981. "Whether it is a white wizard or a black wizard, they are The ciphers used in the letters are almost all obtained by shifting letters or corresponding numbers. Although letters written in this way are convenient for conveying more information, once intercepted, they are very likely to be deciphered by the enemy."

"But isn't this Muggle cryptography?"

"Yes. Messages cannot be delivered face-to-face. Most of the magic methods are only suitable for sending short messages, or used in emergencies. Long-term use of owls, patron saints and other things can easily expose one's side position, so Muggle cryptography has long been introduced into the communication between black and white parties." Karl explained, "But as you can see, the shortcomings of secret letters are too fatal."

"There are only a few codes that have been turned over and over again, and the Muggles don't seem to have invented any new methods. There is one code, but you wizards definitely don't use this." Hyacinth was thoughtful.Wouldn't it be better if the code was written in a way that wasn't numbers or letters?But how to achieve the effect of secret letter...

"Do you know Gavind Robards?" Carl told her after seeing her blank expression. "He's an Auror, and he's leading a team working on a new method of sending messages."

"Have they made any progress?"

"I heard that there are some. I don't know the specifics. These are all confidential contents." Carl glanced at other things in the showroom, "Let's go, if others see us wandering here, it's okay alright."

Hyacinth's gaze was attracted by a photo on the wall: "...the Potters."

"Yes." Karl also saw it, his eyes were a little sad, "I heard that they are very good people."

"Indeed." She walked over and found that there were photos of the members of the first generation of the Order of the Phoenix hanging there, including several faces she was familiar with: Dorcas, Caradoc, and the Prewett brothers... "He was Posthumously awarded the Order of Merlin, First Class?"

"Fabian? Yes, because he died in the line of duty." Without Carl saying, she had already seen the note on the side: Fabian died protecting his companions during the Battle of Brighton.

She bent the corner of her mouth, a little mocking and a little sympathetic: "Do you know how Gideon is doing?"

"He still plays for the Order of the Phoenix and is the captain of a small team." After Carl finished speaking, Hyacinth didn't respond for a long time. He turned his head and found that she was staring at the two photos on the wall, "You Know them?"

I don't know who arranged it, but it happened to be Marlene's next to Sirius' photo.

She didn't answer: "Let's go, I'm sorry for making you miss work for so long."

"Are you free on Saturday?" Carl asked before parting. "I'd like to invite you to the musical."

"Saturday...I have plans, sorry."

"Who asked you out before me?"

"My kids," she explained, "I'm sorry, but I have to put them first, they're still..."

"It's okay, I understand. I'm glad you're a good mother." Carl didn't show a frustrated look because of her rejection, he even looked a little happy, "Then, let's meet again next time."

"...So, they believed him?"

"Yes."

Amycus Carlo was silent for a moment: "Regulus is quite capable."

"Is there anything unusual about his behavior?" asked his sister Alecto. "What's his daily schedule like?"

"Arrive at the Ministry of Magic at nine o'clock in the morning, then start a day's work, and leave work on time at five o'clock in the afternoon."

"They sent Regulus to bind the anti-Death Eater manual." Amycus seemed ridiculous. "Did they send someone to watch him?"

"Of course—although it is nominally for his protection—his residence is arranged in the village of Ottery St. Catchpole, with the Weasleys and the Prewett brothers as neighbors, and they usually meet every day. There are four Aurors in rotation watching his every move."

"He has no free time at all?" Alecto frowned, "Then how will he report information to the Dark Lord?"

"It's not our business." Amycus hinted, maybe the Dark Lord had his own opinion, after all, when he sent them to listen to the spy report, the Dark Lord didn't mention anything about intelligence, "Your identity Didn't reveal it?"

"No."

"Very good." Amycus continued, "At 56:[-] a.m. next Wednesday, another of our nails will meet you. Please wear a dark green robe and wait under the streetlight diagonally opposite the Ministry of Magic. The secret code for your contact is 'It's almost late, why are you still standing here'."

"it is good."

"Continue to keep an eye on Regulus, paying particular attention to his relationship with the rest of Auror Command."

"Yes."

"That's it, you go. If the Dark Lord needs to summon you, he will let you know through the Dark Mark. By the way, do you remember what will happen if you don't respond to the Dark Lord's call?"

"I will die."

"Just remember."

The spy bowed deeply to the Carlos and slowly backed away from the room.

"One link after another, the Dark Lord's arrangements are meticulous." Alecto said with emotion, but Amycus mentioned another thing:

"Dumbledore hasn't responded to our request. How do you think the Dark Lord will deal with little Barty?"

"It's none of our business." Alecto returned the original words to Amycus, "If Dumbledore doesn't respond, Bellatrix will be unlucky too, who told her to offer to exchange Rozier? Little Barty's bad idea."

"What if he agrees?" Amycus cleared his throat. "Well, I was wondering... Do you think we should show Bella something? Look, now the Dark Lord seems to be I started trusting her again."

"Don't be so anxious, it looks like you have a guilty conscience." Alecto glared at him, "We haven't offended the Lestrange family!"