"Towels and hot water are no problem, sir!" Tom Abbott said. "I can also help get some bread and sausages, but they are cold and may need to be toasted by the fireplace. What do you want to drink?
Beer? Brandy? Or...hot coffee?"
"Brandy, coffee, and a can of tea if you can," Scrimgeour said, still looking rather ugly.
"By the way, Mr. Scrimgeour. Where is Mr. Crouch?"
At this moment, a gray-headed Tonks looked around and asked cautiously.
"What I mean is...since you arrived at the Leaky Cauldron first, Mr. Crouch should have successfully rendezvoused with you, but why didn't you see him..." Tonks' hands on her knees were somewhat agitated.
Trembling, "Did you not leave together, or..."
"Don't worry, Crouch and I will leave before you-"
Scrimgeour looked at the young witch who had just joined the Auror Command for a year, his expression softening slightly.
"You have done a very good job in decision-making and follow-up behavior below. Just a few of us are simply not enough to cope with tonight's situation. We need more help. The wizards in the Ministry of Magic are not just our Auror Command. I
Let Crouch inform—"
Before Scrimgeour could finish speaking, the door of the tavern, which was locked from the inside, suddenly made the sound of the bolt sliding.
Scrimgeour pulled out his wand, turned around quickly, and looked warily towards the entrance of the Leaky Cauldron.
"who?!"
"I, Moody-Rufus, what happened?"
As the door opened, a deep, hoarse voice sounded at the same time, like a worn-out gong vibrating.
A man appeared at the door. He took off his hood, revealing his gray hair, and limped in. Behind him was Barty Crouch, who had not appeared in the pub just now, but at this time
Tonks' attention was almost entirely attracted by the wizard who came in first.
She had never seen a face like this. It looked like it had been carved out of a piece of rotten wood.
The carver only has a vague idea of what a human face should look like, and is not very good at using a carving knife.
Every inch of skin on his face seemed to be scarred, his mouth was like a big crooked hole, and the place where his nose should be raised was missing.
The most terrifying thing about this man is his eyes: one of his eyes is small, black, and shiny; the other eye is large, round like a coin, and has a distinctive
bright blue.
The blue eye moved without blinking, turning up and down, left and right, completely unrelated to the normal eye.
The blue eyes quickly swept across the tavern, then turned and penetrated into the man's head. Tonks could only see a big white eyeball.
"Oh, thank God, Moody, it's so nice of you to come -" Scrimgeour was visibly relieved.
Moody walked over to Rufus Scrimgeour. He held out a hand, which was as scarred as his face.
Scrimgeour shook hands with him and whispered something, but Tonks didn't hear it clearly. So she chose to poke the silent Kingsley Shacklebolt next to her, and lowered her voice and asked curiously, "
Who is that wizard? I don’t think I’ve seen him in the ministry?”
"Alastor Moody. I think you should have heard of him. He just retired a few years ago——"
Kingsley said in a deep voice, glancing at Tonks who was still confused, "Do you remember what I said before? 'Mad-Eye Moody', the most outstanding and powerful senior Auror in the history of the Ministry of Magic.
, during the Wizarding War more than ten years ago, the people he arrested filled half of the cells in Azkaban. If Dumbledore is the wizard the mysterious man fears most, then Moody is the pride that all Death Eaters fear most.
Luo——”
"So, you have fought against those guys who broke into the Ministry of Magic, Shacklebolt?"
Moody's hoarse voice sounded, and the conversation between him and Scrimgeour ended, and the blue magic eye rolled out and stared at Kingsley again.
"Well, I, Mr. Crouch, Nymphadora, we were in the hall of the Ministry of Magic and happened to meet them."
"What's the opponent's strength? How many people are there? Do you know anyone?" Moody asked bluntly.
"Well -" Kingsley Shacklebolt was silent for a moment and glanced at the bar owner standing not far away.
"A private room, quietly, Tom," Scrimgeour said quickly.
"Everything should be suitable over there. I'll prepare towels, hot water, and food and drink for you—"
Old Tom pointed towards the aisle beside the bar, turned around and walked behind the bar knowingly. As a bar owner, he knew very well when to gossip and when to leave. In this situation tonight, the most correct thing to do is
Just don't ask anything.
"Thank you, Mr. Aibo. If anyone else comes later, please help me point it out."
Barty Crouch nodded and added, "Some people should arrive one after another later. Just ask them to come directly."
Everyone walked forward along the narrow passage, left the bar and entered the nearest small private room.
As usual, Mad Eye scanned the room with his magic eye, tapped the floor with his cane, and a fire lit up in the fireplace.
"It's safe here, tell me," Moody said, pulling a chair from the stove and sitting down.
Scrimgeour and others also found a sofa or chair to sit down. Kingsley Shacklebolt cleared his throat and began to talk seriously about what happened in the hall of the Ministry of Magic. Scrimgeour and Moody
Occasionally I would ask a few questions, and Crouch and Tonks would also help and supplement me from time to time.
With the crackling of the fire and Kingsley's narration, the atmosphere in the room became solemn.
"There are a total of thirty fireplaces on the left and right sides of the Ministry of Magic hall. If we follow your previous description..."
After Scrimgeour was silent for a few seconds, his face began to turn a little blue, "At least forty or fifty wizards have invaded the Ministry of Magic?! Do you know what this means? This is no joke. According to this scale, how can this be done?"
This incident may be..."
"The Wizarding War, Rufus. It's obvious that a new war has broken out."
Mad-Eye Moody spoke indifferently, with a cold expression on his mutilated and scarred face.
"Unless Crouch, Shacklebolt and the others are dazzled at the same time, we'd better accept this fact as soon as possible - Dumbledore's warning was right, Voldemort and his Death Eaters are back! In addition to facing a head-on challenge
, we have no other option.”
"The mysterious man is back? But where did he gather so many Death Eaters from?!"
Barty Crouch pinched the bridge of his nose. He felt that his head was a little swollen. This was a little too crazy.
"Of course we will figure this out later..." Mad-Eye Moody glanced at Scrimgeour and said in a deep voice, "But to be honest, I'm not too surprised. The fish that slipped through the net back then were too big.
So much more...and now so many years have passed."
"All in all, the top priority now is to recall those Aurors from the expedition and find as many helpers as possible——"
Moody frowned heavily, glanced at the room where there were still only five people, and began to look uneasy.
"Mr. Crouch, are you sure you sent out an emergency signal for help? Why hasn't anyone responded yet? Could it be that they all flew here on broomsticks?! Even if Cornelius Fudge can't come back temporarily, it's impossible.
Are all the Ministry wizards asleep?"
boom!
At this moment, the private room door was suddenly pushed open.
A strong, tall wizard hurriedly walked in from the door, holding a broomstick in his hand.
"What the hell! What happened?! Are all the fireplaces broken across the UK?!"
"Level 1 incident, Mr. Bagman. The Ministry of Magic has fallen, and the dark demonic forces are suspected to be back -"
Scrimgeour glanced at the Director of the Department of Magical Sports who rushed in, subconsciously replied, and was suddenly startled.
"Wait, you just said...what happened to the fireplace?!"