"Mr. Union Director, someone just used the portal in the hall above... It looks like they came in from outside, do you think?"
"Don't worry about coming in and out. Most of the people they come in now are people who come to investigate. For example, those Aurors and strikers from the British Ministry of Magic... In short, no matter who comes, it has nothing to do with us! Besides, Well, they have to spend money to come in anyway - but whose money it is, obviously it’s not that important!”
In the underground vault of Dark Spirit Pavilion, there are many fairies coming and going at the moment. They were either riding in minecarts, wandering along the tracks, or gathering together in twos and threes to complain about the hardships of the world.
And even the goblin guild leader of the Darkling Pavilion Wizards Guild seemed a little bored at the moment.
There is no way, due to the repeated turbulence of the black market, the originally bustling business place of Darkling Pavilion has become increasingly deserted. And the fairies of Darkling Pavilion, who have suddenly lost a lot of income, have become sullen every day recently, and their motivation to continue working has become less and less.
So, when the fog began to gradually shroud the entire black market, the head of the Goblin Guild of Darkling Pavilion simply brought all the goblins into the underground vault.
Because he felt that instead of staying up there, which was both dangerous and unprofitable, it would be better to disguise the buildings on both sides of the entrance passage as if they had been attacked, and give priority to avoiding the limelight for the time being.
"Yes, yes! We just need to wait for them to put in the ticket money of three silver coins per person!"
The other goblin standing next to the guild leader said shrilly, holding a thick cigar in his hand and trimming the guild leader's opening.
Having said this, he suddenly raised his head and flattered the union leader:
"To be honest, I actually quite support that Haierbo - they are all wizards anyway. Since he can help us reduce the population of wizards, maybe when the next International Wizards Federation conference starts, we goblins can also fight for it. We have reached a senatorial quota! Then I will definitely support you, Mr. Trade Union Chairman, to be elected!"
"Counselor?"
The goblin union leader then shook his head.
"Let Gringotts get involved in this kind of thing! Don't forget, our duty at Gringotts since ancient times is to handle underground affairs... Of course, I am still happy to see some wizards die!" Maybe all the heirs to a big treasury here will die, and when the claiming period is over, we will have an extra income."
Even at his current age, he will definitely not be able to wait until the end of the claiming period, but he still feels excited when he thinks about the increase in the book amount of Darkling Pavilion in the future.
"But if that's the case, why don't we directly cooperate with that Haierbo?" The goblin who was cutting a cigar suddenly asked in doubt when he heard this.
"No, that's not necessary," the union leader said, waving his hands, "It's enough if the two of them don't help each other! After all, even though the troubles caused by Haierbo are quite popular, MacLean of Hogwarts is also He is not someone to be trifled with... We should not act rashly without knowing the outcome!"
…
Hermione didn't know that she had guessed it right before - the collapse and damage of the Darkling Pavilion and the gallery outside the passage were indeed a disguise created by the goblins.
Of course, whether it was a disguise at this moment didn't seem to be that important to her.
"Ron, don't go too far away! And Ginny, you too... Although I can't tell whether this is the source of the fog, it doesn't look like a safe place here, so everyone should be vigilant."
Now the four of them had left the ruined Darkling Pavilion and came to the street outside. The old street lamps on the street were still emitting light, but under the influence of the gray fog, the magic hanging lamps that were not very bright became obviously dimmer.
In this way, walking on this not-so-wide street, Hermione felt as if she might see dark wizards rushing out of the dark alleys at any time and making a surprise attack on them.
However, after the four of them walked cautiously on this street for a while, they realized that not even a single figure was seen, let alone a dark wizard!
It must be said that there are quite a few shops along the street in this black market, and in the alleys behind the shops, there are countless old and new buildings that look like residential buildings.
But what about people
"I suddenly felt that coming here to find someone was not a smart choice..." Hermione said with a little regret, "I thought the black market was just a shopping street about the same size as Diagon Alley. But it turns out, this is bigger than Diagon Alley." Both Alley and Knockturn Alley combined are many times larger..."
As he said this, he couldn't help but shake his head.
"Even if Fred and George are really here, the possibility of us finding them is really slim! Rather than wandering around, I think we might as well go back to the entrance and wait!"
"Oh, that's a good idea," Ron immediately nodded in agreement, "Ginny, Luna, how about you go over there and guard? The four of us are running around in the streets and alleys together. After all, it's inefficient. It’s very easy to miss them.”
However, Ginny was obviously not willing to go to the Darkling Pavilion to guard the passage.
"Why don't you go?" She pursed her lips and said, "Don't make me wait in the same place, I can't wait!"
"Sh-"
The two of them were talking, but Luna on the side raised her index finger to her mouth and gently signaled them to stop talking. Then, she tilted her ears and seemed to hear something.
Seeing this, Hermione also concentrated on listening to what was going on around her, but found that she heard nothing.
After a moment, she saw Luna tilting her head in confusion, and couldn't help but ask in a low voice:
"Luna, what's wrong?"
"Well..." Luna blinked her big gray eyes and said with some confusion, "I seemed to hear someone talking just now, a female voice... But the voice was too blurry, and I couldn't hear what she was saying clearly. What."
"Female?" Hermione frowned and thought for a moment, then said with a puzzled look on her face, "Why didn't I hear it... Then did you hear where the voice came from? Also, what age did that voice sound like? ?”
Luna heard this and shook her head hesitantly.
"No, I don't know." She said, "It seems to be nearby, but it seems very far away... The voice is very vague, and it seems to be quite young... It's very strange."
Although it was unclear who the "female voice" Luna heard came from, or even whether she heard it wrong. But when she thought that the only person they were looking for was Mrs. Weasley, Hermione felt that it might be better to ignore that voice.
After all, who knows if it is the effect of some dark magic that lures others into taking the bait
"Anyway, as long as it doesn't sound like Mrs. Weasley's voice, then leave it alone!" She thought about it for a moment, then waved her hands and said, "Let's move on! Ron, Ginny, wait. If we go back in a circle from here, we can leave a code mark of the Order of the Phoenix at the entrance. This should prevent us from passing by your parents and brothers... "
It is undoubtedly a very unwise thing to act separately in such a seemingly dangerous place. Therefore, she always asked everyone to stay together, instead of choosing to search separately, which was obviously more efficient.
However, because the people in the black market had either escaped from here or had already hid in places they thought were safe and private enough, Hermione and the four of them walked in the streets for a long time without seeing anyone.
The entire black market seemed to have turned into a ghost town filled with fog and deserted.
Just when the four friends thought that they would keep searching in this oppressive and dead atmosphere and finally find nothing, suddenly, they heard a strange sound coming from far and near.
"Click, click, click, click—"
When the four heard the sound, they all turned their heads and subconsciously looked in the direction of the sound - obviously, this time the sound was not something that only Luna could hear like before.
"It seems...it came from the main road just now?"
Ron was the first to speak this time, and he was seen looking at the other end of the alleyway behind him. The fog and darkness made it impossible for him to see anything no matter how hard he tried.
"Hermione, are we going to take a look?" Ginny looked a little hesitant.
On the other side, Hermione saw Ron and Ginny looking in her direction and nodded calmly.
"You have to go take a look," she shrugged, "don't you?"
It could be seen that she was actually a little worried about what it was and whether it would put the four of them in danger. But who can guarantee that the noise was not made by the person they were looking for
With this in mind, Hermione took the other three people and walked back quickly. They walked very fast, but they were also very alert, trying to keep their steps as light as possible so as not to attract other people's attention.
But as they got closer to the main road, they finally heard what the noise was.
"... It should be a carriage!" Hermione lowered her voice and quickened her pace as she spoke, "And... we may not be able to catch up."
Sure enough, when the four people hurriedly ran back to the street and took a look outside, they found that nothing could be seen outside, only the sound of the horse's hooves kicking and the friction of the wheels rolling on the brick road gradually faded away. .
"Are we... still going to catch up?"
"No, no," Hermione immediately shook her head, "No matter how much you think about it, there is no way Fred and George will pass by here in a carriage."