Chapter 1175 Defense Association
“How are you doing over there?”
“It’s still the same, what about you?”
"It's been very busy recently. The Death Eaters and their gang of thugs are causing trouble all over the UK. The Muggle Mediation Committee needs to run around to help clean up the mess. Everyone is going crazy with them. I heard that the Minister I’m thinking about catching those guys who are causing trouble in the future and giving them a whipping meal first.”
Truman raised his glass and touched it lightly with Cedric. After drinking the butterbeer in the glass, he looked up at Old Tom across the counter, "The business in the bar seems to have been not very good recently."
"There used to be some people. Recently, thanks to Minister Scrimgeour, there are fewer and fewer customers in the store." Tom wiped the wine glass in his hand glumly. Scrimgeour caught most of the wizards who dared to come to the bar to drink. Azkaban prison.
“I’m now considering whether to close the pub or find someone else to take over.”
“It is estimated that no one is willing to take over at this time.” Truman shook his head and said, “If we don’t have the ability, we will have to close down in a few days.”
"There is nothing we can do about it. Who made the entire magical world unsafe? No one dares to run around now." Cedric put down his wine glass and said to Truman with a smile: "Okay, let's go back too, and try our best to do it tonight. Don’t linger outside, lest you get into trouble.”
“You are right, safety is the most important thing.”
Truman took out two silver coins from his pocket and placed them on the table, then left with Cedric.
As soon as they walked out of the bar, the two of them used Apparition to leave.
Looking at the backs of the two people leaving, Old Tom was mumbling something unknown.
Cedric and Truman did not go home directly, but appeared together in a remote and desolate semi-abandoned residential area outside London.
“No one is following you!”
Truman took out his wand, cast a disillusionment spell on himself, and touched his friend next to him with the wand.
"No."
Cedric shivered and took out his pocket watch from his pocket. After making sure there were no red dots on it, he shook his head and said, "However, we may be late."
They quickly walked into an abandoned house.
“Honestly, it’s quite scary to come to a place like this in the middle of the night.” Truman raised his wand to alert the surroundings to prevent sneak attacks.
"There is nothing we can do about it. They need to be careful and concealed. I heard that the Death Eaters are hunting them now." Cedric could understand Fred and George's caution.
If you don't pay attention to safety, Death Eaters may come to your door one day and cause trouble for them.
“Are those two guys hiding here?” Truman looked at the desolate ruins around him and asked with a slightly raised eyebrow.
“I’m sure not.”
Digory lit up his wand after lifting the illusion spell on his body. After looking around, he pointed his wand at the abandoned wooden door in front of him, "It's right here, let's go in!"
“Will you open 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 through it. The entrance is actually here.”
After Cedric lowered his head and glanced at the content 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 ghost place.
"Well, the entrance looks like platform nine and three-quarters, and most wizards can't find it at all." Cedric said what he knew, "In the future, some water and food will be put there, so that Others can temporarily rest and avoid danger."
“They are very cautious.”
“It’s Albert after all, that guy has always been cautious.”
This is also the main reason why Cedric is willing to join the Defense Association.
Although he supports Harry and opposes the mysterious man 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 really reliable, tell me what we are going to 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 and asked Cedric.
Cedric looked at the contents of the communication pen and said to Truman next to him: "Someone will come to pick us up later."
"Why do this? If we were told the exact location directly." Truman muttered, "Are they afraid that we will reveal his location?"
Even though he said this, Truman didn't think there was anything wrong with being cautious. After all, what they needed to face next was a group of extremely vicious dark wizards.
"I think it should be like this." Cedric put away the communication pen and said suddenly, "It should be coming soon."
At this time, there was a crackling sound in the room, and a short shadow appeared out of thin air in the safe house.
"It's actually a house elf." Truman was a little surprised. House elves are rare in the magical world.
“Gentlemen, please follow me.”
Dobby bowed slightly towards the two of them and stretched out his arms.
The two looked at each other, reached out and grabbed the house elf's arm, and were apparated away. The dark safe house fell into dead silence again.
"here it is?"
Cedric looked around, but he was not surprised by the remoteness of the surroundings. It was very much like Albert's style. Death Eaters would most likely 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 way for the two of them.
They were surprised to find a thick fog in front of them.
"This is a defensive measure. Don't rush in without the guidance of a lantern."
The two of them had been raising elves for a long time, and they came to an abandoned Muggle village.
"plz follow me!"
Dobby led the two of them towards the edge of the village, and saw Lee Jordan suddenly emerging from the void to greet them.
“The defense measures 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 also know that both mysterious people and Death Eaters are looking for us everywhere.”
"Only you?"
"They are inside, come with me. Let's wash our faces first. Although I have confirmed that you are the person, I still need to confirm whether you are controlled by the Imperius Curse."
"It is indeed safe." Truman took out his handkerchief to wipe the water on his face and asked casually, "Is Albert here too?"
“That guy is the secret keeper here. He would not appear here easily unless necessary.” Fred and George appeared out of thin air and shook hands with Cedric.
“Secret Keeper? It sounds like he is very protective of magic?”
“Yes, the Red Loyalty Spell is the most powerful protection magic currently known.” Fred introduced, “No one can find the hidden place unless the secret keeper allows it.”
“When Albert got married, he used the Fidelity Charm to cover the entire manor.” Lee Jordan reminded.
“As expected of Albert.” Truman sighed softly, “If it can be further promoted, I guess everyone won’t have to worry about the threat of the mysterious man.”
"It's difficult. After all, it is a very advanced magic, much more difficult than the Patronus Charm." George shook his head and said, "We have also learned it, but we haven't learned it yet."
“You must have been exposed to 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. He can only teach you many advanced things. It depends on when that guy comes back from his post-marriage trip."
“That guy is still traveling?”
“After all, he was targeted by the Death Eaters, so he probably won’t return to England for the time being.” George wouldn’t even blink an eye when he lied, and letting others know Albert’s whereabouts would do them no good at all.
“By the way, this thing…”
"This is…"
After noticing that George handed over a silver metal card, Cedric was stunned for a moment and guessed what it was.
“After reading the contents on the card, just keep it in mind. You will be able to see the entrance later.”
"If you don't get the permission of the secret keeper, you won't be able to find the mysterious man even if he comes." George seemed to have thought of something and reminded him, "You should know that the name of the mysterious man cannot be said randomly."
“What is the specific reason?”
Truman, who was born into a Muggle wizarding family, still didn’t understand some of the secrets of the wizarding world.
"Once the name is spoken, the mysterious person will immediately lock the specific location of the speaker through a spell, and can immediately apparate to find the nearby person." George explained, "Although the Red Loyalty Curse can block them, But other protective magic around here may completely fail, so we only call him the mysterious man."
“I don’t think many people would dare to call the mysterious man by his first name.” Cedric handed the silver card to Truman.
"We all know, but we have to prevent any possible accidents." George explained, "No one wants to put us in danger because of some people'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 should I say it?
It’s not quite what they imagined.
Truman asked doubtfully: "Do you live here?"
"Of course not. We live elsewhere. Come with me. This is just the entrance to the hidden stronghold." George explained to the two of them. "In order to prevent someone from invading here, Albert has prepared several lines of defense. Even if he is really attacked by the mysterious person, Keeping an eye on them can also buy us enough time."
"Of course, I don't think that situation should happen. After all, this place is protected by the Loyalty Curse, but everything may be unexpected."
After speaking, George took the two of them to the hall and entered the real headquarters of the Defense Association through the secret passage under the carpet.
“Why do you...this place is simply...”
Truman looked at the concrete underground base, his mouth wide open in surprise and speechless.
“This door is so narrow!”
Looking at the entrance that can only accommodate one person, Cedric asked curiously: "Is this to prevent invasion?"
"Yes, if someone tries to invade our headquarters, they will be attacked head-on at the first opportunity." Fred nodded, "Actually, I don't think these things will be useful, but it is undeniable that seeing these things will It makes people feel safe.”
“You’re right.” Cedric agreed with Fred’s words.
"The room next to it is the guard room. There are many black magic detectors in it. There is a similar room in the headquarters, which is responsible for monitoring all safe houses." George paused and continued, "Of course, that room is not open to the public. .”
After passing through the front hall, they came to a spacious and long narrow corridor with various wooden doors on both sides and a spacious hall at the end.
“This looks a bit like the Great Hall of Hogwarts.”
"Yes, it is modeled after the hall of Hogwarts." Fred nodded, "However, it was built in a hurry, but I think it should be enough to accommodate nearly a hundred people training in defense against the dark arts."
“How on earth did you build this place?”
Truman once again asked his doubts. He had long noticed that the place was made of cement, and it was obviously built recently.
"This place is actually much smaller than you expected. It was purely expanded by Albert using the Traceless Stretching Spell. As you can see, there are many things here that are imperfect and can only be completed slowly by relying on other members."
"I feel like I have joined an amazing organization." Truman sighed softly: "When will the meeting start? And we all have our own jobs. Is it like the dark arts training of the Ministry of Magic?"
"Albert is still compiling our special book, and will teach you more combat skills at that time. After all, what we need to face in the future will be those evil dark wizards, and we can't do it without some self-defense skills." Lee Jordan To signal them to calm down,
“I thought you all joined the Order of the Phoenix.” Cedric said suddenly
"Yes, we have all joined the Order of the Phoenix, but that does not prevent us from joining another organization." Fred shrugged, "After all, it is all to resist the mysterious man."
"Albert believes that Harry and the mysterious man will eventually have a battle. He believes that Harry and the members of the Order of the Phoenix alone are not enough. More supporters are needed to win the final victory of this war." George explained to the two of them. road.
“It seems that Harry won in the end!” Cedric was very satisfied with this. No one wanted to face a losing outcome, and this news could increase everyone’s confidence.
"Of course." Lee Jordan said matter-of-factly: "That day is not far away. Before then, what we need now is to gather more like-minded partners."
“Are we going to fight and fight against dark wizards?”
“Perhaps in the future, but certainly not now. After all, we are all rookies. Even if we really want to go to the battlefield, we still need to undergo rigorous training instead of dying in vain. Such sacrifices are meaningless.”
(End of this chapter)