Tia did live in the subway station for a period of time, but John, who followed the Aurors there to investigate, did not get many clues about her.
Fortunately, in the process of searching for witnesses among the homeless people, they got some unexpected gains in hindsight.
"...Yes, I'm sure that boy should be a little wizard, because I did see the wand in his pocket - his wand was longer than ordinary, and the pocket was too shallow to hide it completely. I Come to think of it, that kid seemed a little sneaky at the time... Hey! Auror, don't touch me, I've said everything I need to say, and I haven't done anything illegal... at least not recently!"
An elf disguised as a human dwarf said shrilly, and perhaps because the vice-captain Kroger's actions were somewhat rough and unkind, he also made the other party a little annoyed.
But judging from the guy's final grunt, Kroger's actions were probably not without reason.
"What happened next?" John didn't pay attention to Kroger's demonstrations and persecution against the other party, and then asked, "Where did that boy go?"
"How do I know?" the goblin spread his hands, "I still have things to do! It's not like those lazy werewolves who have nothing to do all day long and will waste their precious time on a little kid running around without a clue. ? Where did he go after that? It’s none of my business!”
At this point, the goblin snorted angrily, as if he felt that being pestered by the Aurors was a waste of time.
But for the elf who believes in "time is gold galleons", he might actually think so!
Of course, Deputy Auror Captain Kroger was not interested in knowing what the other party was thinking.
"It's none of your business?" Kroger narrowed his eyes, looked down at the short goblin in front of him, and said rather maliciously, "Recently, there have been several more documents involving the private circulation of fake Galleons on the captain's desk. The case used improved leprechaun gold coins. I heard that those fake galleons were leaked from the hands of the leprechauns in New York... I now feel that those cases are related to you? "
"What fake Galleons... what do you mean! I didn't do it! I'm a serious goblin!" Upon hearing what Kroger said, the goblin's eyes widened and he couldn't help but defended loudly, "And ... I've only met the boy you're asking about once by chance. I... really don't know where he went! Instead of staring at me and asking questions, you might as well go find those vampires and werewolves. They are the bosses here, aren’t they!”
"Yeah?"
Kroger's eyes wandered back and forth on the other party for a long time, until he saw that the other party was trying his best to defend himself again, and then he shook his head and said:
"You should be lucky that I'm investigating another case now, but I've already remembered you, so be careful next time."
After saying that, he pulled John and another Auror member towards the other side of the platform aisle, leaving only the goblin standing in the corner with a face full of gnashing teeth, but he could not get angry. In the end, he was He put on his hat and left alone.
Here, John turned around and glanced at the little back a few more times, and couldn't help but whisper:
"Is that goblin really a participant in the case of forging gold galleons?"
"Probably," Kroger shrugged and said as he walked. "The only ones who can improve the leprechaun gold coins that will disappear in a short time into fake galleons that can be effectively circulated are the goblins. And you should You know, those goblins have always been united and do everything together. Since that guy was hanging out in New York just now, even if he was not directly involved in the production of fake galleons, he was at least one of the spreaders... Of course, right now, with us It definitely doesn’t matter what we have to do, so let’s let him go for now.”
At this point, he raised his hand and patted John on the shoulder, and then turned around and said:
"But speaking of which, his last words just now reminded me."
"What?" John asked quickly.
Kroger turned to him and smiled.
"'Local Snake'."
…
Speaking of the so-called "local snakes" in the New York wizarding world, like the goblin, many wizards will immediately think of the vampires and werewolves that have come with the wind since the beginning of the American colonization wave. Even during that period, there were more vampires and werewolves seeking to take root in America than there were wizards coming here, including the establishment of the original order in the American magic world, which was also said to be related to them.
However, just like the Muggle world on the surface, as more and more humans came to the Americas, the territory of a group of humanoid magical creatures, headed by vampires and werewolves, was repeatedly squeezed, occupied, and covered up. , after all, this place, like Europe, has become a human world.
Until now, the descendants of those original vampires and werewolves are still the so-called "local snakes", but they have long since changed from the surface to the "underground".
"Even the situation of those guys has become like this, John, how many people will remember the former 'residents' of this continent?"
In the increasingly dark subway tunnel, Kroger said casually while walking leisurely.
Beside him, John frowned as he listened.
"You mean-"
"Yes, those 'aboriginals'!" Kroger smiled, "In fact, no one who really knows their existence dares to ignore them easily, right?"
After he finished speaking, John, who seemed to have recalled something, couldn't help but nodded.
Yes, it's different from some situations on the Muggle side. In the American magical world, the "natives" who once lived on this continent really fought a fierce battle with the "invaders" from Europe. It's just that compared to Muggles, the specific time when wizards and intelligent magical creatures from the two places had already communicated with each other was earlier than the time of Muggle colonization... much earlier!
"Oh, here we are, right here!"
John was recalling what he had learned in the history of magic class at school, when he suddenly stopped when he heard Kroger say something. Then, he saw that the other party had raised the magic wand in his hand, silently reciting a spell in front of a wide open human defense door and waved it gently.
The next moment, with a flash of fluctuation, the door closed silently, and then opened automatically. But what was displayed in front of John again was no longer the dark and deep tunnel before, but an ancient underground cave that sloped downward and was bottomless.
"Hey," Kroger chuckled dryly, "I hope they'll be friendly tonight."