"How are things going over there?"
"Still the same as always, how about you?"
"It's been very busy recently. The Death Eaters and their gang of villains are causing trouble all over the UK. The Muggle Mediation Committee needs to run around to help clean up the mess. Everyone is almost mad at them. I heard that the Minister is considering catching those troublemakers and giving them a beating first."
Truman raised his glass and clinked it with Cedric's. After finishing the butterbeer in the glass, he looked up at Old Tom across the counter and said, "Business in the bar seems to have been slow recently."
"There used to be some people here, but recently, thanks to Minister Scrimgeour, there are fewer and fewer customers in the store." Tom wiped the wine glass in his hand gloomily. Scrimgeour arrested most of the wizards who dared to come to the bar to drink and put them in Azkaban prison.
"I am now considering whether to close the pub or find someone else to take over."
"No one is willing to take over at this time." Truman shook his head. "If you don't have some ability, you will have to close it in a few days."
"We can't help it. The entire wizarding world is unsafe. No one dares to run around now." Cedric put down his glass and said to Truman with a smile, "Okay, let's go back too. Try not to stay outside at night to avoid getting into trouble."
"You're right, safety is the most important thing."
Truman pulled two silver Sickles from his pocket, placed them on the table, and left with Cedric.
As soon as they walked out of the bar, they both used Apparate to leave.
Looking at the two people's leaving backs, Old Tom muttered something.
Instead of going straight home, Cedric and Truman appeared together in a remote, desolate, semi-abandoned residential area outside the suburbs of London.
"No one is following us!"
Truman took out his wand, cast an incarnation spell on himself, and touched his friend next to him with his wand.
"No."
Cedric shuddered and pulled his pocket watch out of his pocket. After making sure there was no red dot on it, he shook his head and said, "But we may be late."
They walked quickly into an abandoned house.
"To be honest, it feels creepy to come to a place like this in the middle of the night." Truman raised his wand and watched his surroundings to prevent any sneak attacks.
"There's nothing we can do about it. They need to be careful and hide. I heard that the Death Eaters are hunting them now." Cedric could understand Fred and George's caution.
If they don't pay attention to safety, the Death Eaters might come to their door at any time and cause them trouble.
"Could those two guys be hiding here?" Truman asked with a slightly raised eyebrow, looking at the desolate ruins around him.
"I'm sure not."
After Digory removed the Disillusionment Charm on his body, he lit his wand, looked around, and pointed his wand at the abandoned wooden door in front of him, "It's right here, let's go in!"
"Push the door and go in?"
Truman looked at the door in front of him that was covered with dust and cobwebs, frowned slightly and asked.
"No, just go straight through. The entrance is actually here."
After Cedric looked down at the contents on the communication pen, he passed through the wall next to the door and appeared directly in a hidden room.
"Is this the so-called safe house? It is indeed very safe." Truman looked around and couldn't help but complain.
To be honest, he didn't think anyone could find such a damn place.
"Well, the entrance is very similar to Platform Nine and Three Quarters, and most wizards can't find it at all." Cedric told what he knew, "I will put some water and food here so that others can temporarily rest and avoid danger."
“They are very cautious.”
“It’s Albert after all. That guy has always been very cautious.”
This is also the main reason why Cedric is willing to join the Defense Association.
Although he supports Harry and opposes the You-Know-Who and the Death Eaters, it does not mean that he is willing to risk his life to join those unreliable resistance organizations and then lose his life inexplicably.
"That guy is indeed very reliable. Now what should we do now?" Truman looked up and down at the safe house in front of him with the help of the light from the tip of his wand, then turned his head to ask Cedric.
Cedric looked at the contents of the communication pen and said to Truman beside him: "Someone will come to pick us up later."
"Why would they do that if they just told us where he was?" Truman muttered. "Are they afraid we'd reveal his location?"
Although he said this, Truman didn't think there was anything wrong with being cautious. After all, they would be facing a group of vicious dark wizards next.
"I think that should be the case." Cedric put away the communication pen and suddenly said, "It should be coming."
At this moment, there was a crackling sound in the room, and a short shadow appeared out of nowhere in the safe house.
"It's actually a house-elf." Truman was a little surprised. House-elves are rare in the wizarding world.
"Gentlemen, please follow me."
Dobby bowed slightly to the two men and held out his arm.
The two looked at each other, reached out to grab the house-elf's arm, and were Apparated away. The dark safe house fell into silence again.
"here it is?"
Cedric looked around and was not surprised by the remoteness of the surroundings. It was very much like Albert. The Death Eaters would probably not be able to find this place no matter how hard they tried.
"plz follow me!"
The house-elf took out a blue lantern from somewhere and walked in front of the team to lead the two.
They were surprised to find a thick fog ahead.
"This is a defensive measure. Don't go in without the guidance of the lantern."
The two of them and the elf didn't walk for long before they came to an abandoned Muggle village.
"plz follow me!"
Dobby led the two men towards the edge of the village, and saw Lee Jordan suddenly appear from the void and greet them.
"Welcome to the Defense Association headquarters."
"The defenses here are really tight." Cedric sighed softly.
"Since the Defense Association's base was completed, Albert has further improved the defense measures here." Lee Jordan said with a smile, "After all, you know that both the You-Know-Who and the Death Eaters are looking for us everywhere now."
"Are you alone?"
"They are inside. Come with me. Let's go wash our faces first. Although I have confirmed that you are your real selves, I still need to confirm whether you are under the control of the Imperius Curse."
"It's safe indeed." Truman took out a handkerchief to wipe the water off his face and asked casually, "Is Albert here too?"
"That guy is the secret keeper here. He won't show up here unless it's necessary." Fred and George appeared out of nowhere and shook hands with Cedric.
"Secret-Keeper? Sounds like a pretty powerful protection magic?"
"Yes, the Fidelius Charm is the most powerful protective magic known so far," Fred introduced. "Unless the Secret Keeper allows it, no one can find the hidden place."
"When Albert got married, he used the Fidelius Charm to cover the entire manor," Lee Jordan reminded.
"You are worthy of Albert," Truman said softly, "If this can be promoted further, I guess no one will have to worry about the threat of the mysterious man."
"It's difficult. After all, it's a very advanced magic, much more difficult than the Patronus Charm." George shook his head. "We have also tried to learn it, but we haven't mastered it yet."
"You must have come into contact with a lot of advanced magic with Albert, right?"
"Will Albert teach us himself?"
"I don't know, but I think it should be like this. A lot of advanced stuff can only be taught by him. It all depends on when that guy returns from his post-wedding trip."
"That guy is still traveling?"
"After all, he's been targeted by the Death Eaters, so he probably won't return to England for the time being." George lied without blinking an eye. It would do them no good to let others know Albert's whereabouts.
"Oh, this thing..."
"This is… "
After noticing George handing him a silver metal card, Cedric was stunned for a moment, then he guessed what it was.
"After reading the contents of the card, just remember it in your mind. You will be able to see the entrance later."
"If we don't get the permission from the secret keeper, we won't be able to find the mysterious person even if he comes." George seemed to have thought of something and reminded, "You should know that the mysterious person's name cannot be spoken casually."
"What is the specific reason?"
Truman, who was born into a Muggle wizard family, still doesn't understand some of the secrets of the wizarding world.
"Once the name is spoken, the You-Know-Who will immediately lock onto the specific location of the person who spoke through a spell, and will be able to Apparate immediately to find the nearby area." George explained, "Although the Fidelius Charm can stop them, other protective magics outside this area may be completely ineffective, so we only call him the You-Know-Who."
"I don't think many people would dare to address the mysterious man by his name." Cedric handed the silver card to Truman.
"We all know this, but we have to prevent any possible accidents," George explained. "No one wants us to be put in danger because of someone's stupidity."
"Is this the headquarters?"
Cedric and Truman stopped and looked at the newly renovated house in front of them. They were both a little surprised. How to say it
It's not quite what they imagined.
Truman asked in confusion, "Do you live here?"
"Of course not. We live somewhere else. Come with me. This is just the entrance to our hidden base." George explained to the two of them. "To prevent anyone from invading here, Albert has prepared several lines of defense. Even if we are targeted by a mysterious person, it will buy us enough time."
"Of course, I don't think that kind of situation should happen. After all, this place is protected by the Fidelius Charm, but everything could be unexpected."
After that, George led the two to the hall and entered the real headquarters of the Defense Association through the secret passage under the carpet.
"How come... this place is simply..."
Truman looked at the concrete underground base, his mouth wide open in surprise, unable to speak.
“This door is so narrow!”
Looking at the entrance that could only accommodate one person, Cedric asked curiously, "Is this to prevent invasion?"
"Yes, if someone tries to invade our headquarters, they will be hit head-on at the first opportunity." Fred nodded. "Actually, I don't think these things can be used, but it is undeniable that seeing these things will make people feel safe."
"You're right." Cedric agreed with Fred.
"The room next to it is the guard room, which has many dark magic detectors. There is also a similar room in the headquarters, which is responsible for monitoring all the safe houses." George paused and continued, "Of course, that room is not open to the public."
After passing through the antechamber, they came to a wide and narrow corridor with various wooden doors on both sides and a spacious hall at the end.
"It looks a bit like the Great Hall of Hogwarts."
"Yes, it is modeled after the Great Hall of Hogwarts." Fred nodded. "However, it was built in a hurry. But I think it should be large enough to accommodate nearly a hundred people for Defense Against the Dark Arts training."
"How on earth did you build this place?"
Truman asked again the question in his mind. He had noticed that cement was used here, and it was obviously built recently.
"This place is actually much smaller than you expected. It was expanded purely by Albert using the Traceless Extension Charm. As you can see, many things here are incomplete. We can only rely on other members to slowly complete them."
"I feel like I have joined an amazing organization." Truman said softly, "When does the rally start? And we all have our own jobs. Is it like the dark magic training at the Ministry of Magic?"
"Albert is still compiling a book for us. He will teach you more combat skills. After all, we will have to face those evil dark wizards in the future. We cannot do without some self-defense skills." Lee Jordan signaled them to calm down.
"I thought you all joined the Order of the Phoenix." Cedric said suddenly
"Yeah, we all joined the Order of the Phoenix, but that doesn't stop us from joining another organization." Fred shrugged. "After all, we're all fighting against You-Know-Who."
"Albert believes that Harry and You-Know-Who will eventually have a battle. He believes that Harry and the Order of the Phoenix members alone are not enough, and more supporters are needed to win the final victory in this war," George explained to the two.
"It seems that Harry won in the end!" Cedric was very satisfied with this. No one wanted to face a failed ending, and this news could increase everyone's confidence.
"Of course." Lee Jordan said as a matter of course: "That day is not far away. Before that, what we need now is to gather more like-minded partners."
"Are we going to fight and confront dark wizards?"
"Maybe in the future, but definitely not now. After all, we are all rookies. Even if we really have to go to the battlefield, we need to undergo rigorous training instead of dying in vain. Such sacrifice is meaningless."