The heavy snow that started on Christmas has quietly gone away, and the recent sunshine is always warm and pleasant. If you walk under the sun, you can feel the warmth given by nature.
Of course, you can't open the door and bask in the sun. After all, the snow has not melted away, and the sub-freezing temperature still envelopes the earth, maintaining the coldness that should belong to this season.
Stevekey is a small town near the coast of southeastern England. This town is not too big, and because it is not close to several large ports, the construction here seems a bit insignificant.
The snow is still covered in large tracts here. If you look at it, it will be white, but it gives this chaotic town a strange sense of unity.
And in the shanty town at the back of the town, there were suddenly a few unknown people wandering around in the past few days.
"Yaxley, I think we should leave the British wizarding world! If this continues, we may not be able to keep it—"
"Shut up! Do you remember what I said? After you come out, no one is allowed to mention that thing again! Keep it rotten in your stomach, understand? Or... you want me to waste my precious magic power to patch it up for you? Amnesia spell?”
Under a simple iron scaffolding in the shanty town, two men were living there, talking to each other in lowered voices. Their bodies were about the same height, their clothes were about the same size, and their expressions showed endless exhaustion from the non-stop running.
It's just that the two of them look different. The man called "Yaxley" has a fierce look on his face, and his arms and legs are quite thick, making him not easy to mess with at first glance. The other one is relatively thinner, and his appearance is somewhat vulgar, which does not match his impressive height.
"Mulciber, it's your turn today. Go and get some food from those stupid Muggles." Yaxley waved his hand and said to the tall and thin man.
"No problem." The guy named Mulciber agreed, with a strange excitement flashing on his face.
"Looking at your face, I know what you want to do—" Yaxley frowned and said viciously, "Remember what we have to do now, and don't make any noise for me!"
"Okay, I know it well..." Mulciber said with a smile, "You can't trust my temper, and you can't trust my ability? Don't worry, Yake..."
"Don't get too close to me, think clearly before doing anything! Do you want me to believe in your ability? If you could really believe in your ability, we wouldn't be chased by those damn Aurors now like we are carrying a huge treasure Sniff it!"
"Hey! We do have a 'pocket' that can hold things, but what's in it is not a treasure..." Mulciber smiled casually, left the scaffolding, and walked casually through the snow. Walk far away.
When Yaxley heard what he said, he subconsciously turned around and glanced into the shed behind him. In the shadows of the shack's interior, a nondescript cowhide suitcase rested against the wall, looking absolutely suspicious.
When he turned around again, he looked around outside the shack and found that there was no one there, then he turned around and walked inside.
"Click-click-"
With two crisp metal collision sounds, he gently pushed the suitcase's buckle open with his thumb, then he put the suitcase down and quickly opened it.
After opening it, Yaxley lowered his head and looked inside, then stood up directly, raised his legs and stepped into the suitcase. First one foot, then the other. When half of his body got into the box, with a lift of his hands supporting the ground, the whole person was submerged into the bottomless pit of the handbag. in the box.
The next moment, an arm suddenly stretched out from the box. As I tapped my finger on the edge of the box, I saw that the suitcase suddenly bounced up like a cat whose tail was stepped on, and then closed again with a "bang".
There were clutter everywhere in this shed, but the old, old-fashioned suitcase was just lying there quietly, completely out of place. Unless you look closely, you won't even notice the suitcase itself.
…
"... The Muggles in this place are each poorer than the last, but Yaxley still wants to go to a place like this! If I had known better, I would have prepared some food first... "
Mulciber wandered around in this messy shanty town, looking here and there, but he was not looking for a target—he was just passing the time.
Even if he wanted to take action, he would not choose to be near where they were hiding, which was not conducive to concealing their whereabouts. Those Aurors were well-trained, and may not be as good as dark wizards like them in actual combat, but they all had a dog-like sense of smell during search missions.
Moreover, the Apparition Spell is not omnipotent. It is very useful for emergency escape, but it is not suitable for use in long-distance pursuits that are time-consuming and protracted. If an unlucky person is detected by Auror's tools, it is very likely that the general location of the hiding place will be deduced.
Of course, it wouldn't be that big of a deal if he just apparated abroad.
"...How long will I have to wander around in England?" Mulciber complained in a low voice.
Yes, from the beginning he proposed escaping to other countries. He believed that as long as he was not within reach of the British Ministry of Magic, he would be able to escape from the tracking of the group of Aurors.
In fact, his idea was correct. If the Aurors of the British Ministry of Magic wanted to pursue him across the country, they had to obtain a series of permissions, which would take a lot of time. By the time they obtained the relevant approvals, with Mulciber and Yaxley's methods, it would be too late.
However, this idea does not apply this time.
Yaxley's judgment was correct, because the big event that Voldemort and Grindelwald were both buried in Hogwarts has been settled, and the Ministry of Magic in most other countries no longer worries about causing unnecessary trouble. If Death Eaters fled to other countries, the Ministry of Magic in those countries would be happy to be accommodating.
Or, in fact, other countries are particularly willing to capture a few Death Eaters, which will give them an advantageous bridge to dialogue with the British Ministry of Magic.
Yaxley is very politically savvy and is somewhat aware of the conflict of interests between these countries, so he is very sure that his group will never escape from the UK. The current situation in the British Ministry of Magic is not stable, and this will be one of the breakthroughs for them to achieve their ultimate goal.
Not long after, Mulciber, who was thinking and muttering as he walked, walked all the way south. After passing through the snow-covered fields, he soon arrived at the main area of the town of Steveki.
At first glance, the buildings here are much better than the shanty towns to the north. The main body of the house is made of brightly colored red bricks, with a large number of neat cobblestones embedded in the outer walls, which look a bit bright against the snow. Fresh and tidy.
The population of this town is not large, but the place is relatively large. Almost every household has a spacious yard. Most of the ground in the courtyard has been shoveled with snow, and the fine gravel makes them look quite pleasing to the eye.
Occasionally, there are elderly people from several families basking in the sun leisurely in the yard, the newspapers in their hands being shaken by the old men. It is a beautiful scene in the town with leisurely farming in the countryside.
Mulciber just walked on the street, and the torn wizard robe was obviously a bit eye-catching. When he passed several houses, the old men and women gave him curious and strange looks.
It's not that he doesn't have the opportunity to change into less conspicuous clothes. After all, it's easy for a dark wizard to get some Muggle clothes. But how could fanatical pure-blood advocates like them be willing to wear Muggle clothes? He would rather his wizard robes were uncovered than wear Muggle clothes.
At this time, whenever someone noticed Mulciber, Mulciber would also turn his head and look at the other person. He was looking for a suitable house to attack so that he could go in and "get" something later.
No, to be precise, he was waiting for those stupid Muggles to deliver it to him.
"... Well, this house is barely passable. There should be some entrances." Mulciber looked at a relatively exquisite house and compared it with the lowest standard in his heart.
Both he and Yaxley came from noble pure-blood wizard families, and even when they were on the run, they would never want to treat their "noble" stomachs badly.
With a flick of his sleeve, the wand slipped down the sleeve and into his palm, followed by several spells in a row. The Muggles who had seen him before had been cast an amnesia curse, and the middle-aged woman at the door of the house in front of him had been given an Imperius Curse as a greeting gift.
"Help me prepare lunch."
Mulciber said casually, without stopping, he opened the half-open door and walked in. Look at his calm and unhurried momentum, as if he is the master here.
A smile from the bottom of her heart flashed across the face of the woman who had been cast by the Imperius Curse, as if she had fallen into some kind of boundless happiness. After another reply, she followed him back to the house. went.
This is the frightening soul-stealing curse, one of the three unforgivable curses, and the most difficult to guard against black magic. The person who is under the curse will obey the spell caster's words, and if the power reaches a certain level, even the smile on the face will sink into the heart, making no trace of it noticeable.
This Mulciber is the dark wizard who has the most profound research on the Imperius Curse among the Death Eaters. The Ministry of Magic employee who was jailed this time has always been controlled by him.
The next second, the door of the house closed silently, and the courtyard returned to calm again. Under the sunshine, it seemed as if nothing had ever happened.