Outside Piskarev Cemetery, Newt raised his head and looked at the darkening sky.
Moscow is still a long way from St. Petersburg. In order to avoid exposing his identity in front of Ivanov, Newt finally chose to take the train here with the old man instead of taking a more "wizard" approach.
In fact, now it seems that this is actually a very lucky and extremely correct choice.
After all, strictly speaking, Ivanovich was ultimately convicted of "violating the Statute of Secrecy" by the wizard's court. As a well-known top wizard in the wizarding world today, Newt would inevitably arouse some suspicion if he was too high-profile.
"Sorry, Mr. Ivanov, I still have some things to deal with. How about we stop here today... We will meet here again at nine o'clock tomorrow morning? Of course, I will help you pay for the accommodation expenses.
of……"
Newt took out his pocket watch, took a look at it, and pointed at the "Motherland-Mother" sculpture at the entrance to the cemetery.
As he spoke, Newt took out a small pile of banknotes from his wallet and prepared to hand it to Ivanov.
Since the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the ensuing Great Depression has severely impacted the entire Russia, and even every field in the entire European country. The Piskarev Cemetery, which was once crowded with people, has become the most deserted.
place.
Few foreign tourists come here to pay their respects. There are many more interesting and historic attractions in St. Petersburg than here.
As for the residents living in this city, they almost never come here. The heavy pressure of life has long left them no time to miss the past. Just maintaining the most basic food and clothing is already a very difficult thing.
Therefore, Piskalev Cemetery has become the most secluded and safe corner in St. Petersburg.
"Mr. Scamander, you... okay, thank you."
Ivanov was about to subconsciously refuse, but then he suddenly stopped mid-sentence. After hesitating for a few seconds, he gritted his teeth and took the pile of banknotes from Newt Scamander, smiling awkwardly.
Laughed.
"I don't have any medals for sale anymore, but I will definitely find another batch for you tomorrow, and the guide fee for the next week is also included in it. As long as it's in Russia, even if I'm not that familiar with it,
city, I will definitely help you find a reliable local guide——"
All the medals Ivanov had on him had been given to Newt when he was in the cemetery.
Although theoretically, if separated and sold individually, Ivanov might be able to sell it at a higher price to other tourists, but in the old man's view, these medals can only become medals in the hands of specific people rather than
decorate.
You know, a few dozen pounds is already considered a considerable income for Ivanov now.
"By the way, Mr. Scamander, if you don't mind, I would like to ask one more question..."
After hesitating for a few seconds, the old man lowered his eyes slightly. He missed Newt's eyes and looked at the collar of his windbreaker. He pursed his lips and asked softly, cautiously, like a mosquito.
"Your friend, how many medals does he plan to acquire?"
"How many medals?" Scamander frowned and looked at Ivanov with some confusion.
"Well...that's it..."
Ivanov's originally straight waist seemed to be bending a little more, and he hesitated to explain with his eyes wandering.
"I still have many comrades, and they also have many various medals. I mean, if your friend has sufficient funds, I can actually help him ask more questions and collect more - of course, also
It doesn’t need to be too much. I know that collecting one medal of the same kind is enough. Just in case, just in case... you have more friends..."
"Funds? That friend of mine..."
Newt was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously imagined a scene in his mind of a certain white-haired little luoli being surrounded by a group of Gringotts goblins slightly shorter than her, surrounded by gold Galleons, and thought about his tone.
He replied firmly.
"Don't worry! Mr. Ivanov, besides, all my money is with her. If it is her, it will be fine."
"she?"
Ivanov glanced at Newt, then shook his head with a dumb smile.
Hey, these lucky but poor old English gentlemen.
In comparison, although he was a little embarrassed, at least he didn't have to face the terrifying female bear when he went home.
Of course, if Natasha hadn't...
Ivanov's eyes were dazed for a moment, and then he quickly shook his head and came back to his senses.
Now is not the time to be sad and reminisce about the past, he has more important things to do later.
Ivanov carefully folded the pile of pounds in his hand and put it in the lining pocket of his clothes. He patted it several times with a serious face, and then breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank you very much, Mr. Scamander. I will wait for you here on time at half past eight tomorrow."
After a slight pause, Ivanov looked around at the yellowish street lights that were gradually brightening, then turned to look at Newt Scamander, who was thinking about something, with an embarrassed smile on his face.
"I'm really sorry, sir. I'm going to have to visit some old friends' homes soon. If you don't need me for anything else, I'll go first."
"Huh? It doesn't matter, I am the same...I also...have something I want to ask about."
Newt Scamander took a deep breath and subconsciously tightened the piece of parchment in his hand that recorded the current address of Ivanovich's home - this was something he asked his friend in the Ministry of Magic to do.
Information that is easy to find.
The two old men, who had their own thoughts, nodded to each other absently and separated under the street lamp.
"Well, Mr. Scamander, see you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow, Mr. Ivanov."
…………
At night in St. Petersburg, the air is fresh and cold.
"Hey, old man, what I brought back today is good news! Didn't you expect it?"
Ivanov raised his head, looking past the dilapidated wall and landing on the high-rise of a building in the distance.
It was an apartment building for soldiers who were on duty at a nearby military base.
This five-story building was once filled with soldiers and their families. But since the collapse of the Soviet Union and its formal dissolution, they have been hastily moved to other parts of the vast country to be stationed. In just a few
In the past month, this building has been empty, with only a few people who can't find a home still living here.
At this moment, the entire apartment building was immersed in a kind of aging darkness, with only a few dim lights coming from the windows, as if stubbornly telling the people around that there were still people living here.
Ivanov skillfully found the location where the wall collapsed and stepped over it. Although he only stepped over a hurdle that was less than knee high, he actually found it very strenuous - just like getting through the enemy on the battlefield forty years ago.
Like barbed wire.
He walked in from the front door of the apartment and came to a door on the third floor under the faint moonlight. Just as he was about to knock on the door, a hoarse female voice came out of the room: "Ivanov, is that you?
?”
Ivanov opened the door and walked in.
The only light in the room came from an old kerosene lamp. In the dim light, Ivanov saw the old picture frame hanging on the wall, the dinner plate with cracked edges, the rusty heating rack, and the person standing on the dining table.
The hostess was groping in front of him to pour water for Ivanov.
Her name is Sonia. She is the wife of Ivanov's old comrade-in-arms Yuri Zhirkov.
Ivanov's old comrade-in-arms Yuri participated in the Great Patriotic War and several subsequent wars, large and small.
The cold winter in Stalingrad decades ago failed to kill him, the great disarmament during the Khrushchev period did not knock him down, and even poverty, disability, and illness could not make him succumb.
But just last year, when news of the collapse of the Soviet Union spread across the country on the radio.
Yuri Zhirkov, who was shocked to hear the bad news, fell into a ditch on the roadside and never woke up.
In 1991, this was a hurdle that many people could not overcome.
The history of this country is like being cut in two by someone, like a red sausage.
After the death of Yuri Zhirkov, the life of his wife and children became a problem. Fortunately, Ivanov and several other comrades often helped them. But then life became more and more difficult, and several other comrades also lost their lives one by one.
the source of life.
In the end, Ivanov, who could barely be regarded as a low-level non-commissioned officer, was actually one of the better-off groups - his Natasha could not stay with him until the end of the war. In that era, love was too extravagant.
.
Because of this, Ivanov, who has no family and nothing to worry about, naturally faces much less pressure to survive.
"By the way, where is little Zhirkov? Why didn't you see him?"
Ivanov asked while taking the cup from Sonia.
"He's gone to work." Sonia struggled to hold the table and sat down opposite Ivanov. Her face was haggard, but her voice was raised unconsciously. Parents are always proud when talking about their children:
"He works as a loader at a train station, fifteen kilometers away from here, and needs to be on duty at night... It's not easy to find a stable job now, but fortunately Valkyrie is very strong... just like his father."
Yes, what a great young man, strong and tenacious. Ivanov saw in him the shadow of his comrades when they were young.
Unfortunately, times have changed, and the difficulties of the current situation have made personal efforts futile.
In this country where the economy, politics, and people's livelihood are in complete chaos, even a good boy like Zhirkov, who goes out early and comes home late, and works hard, can only maintain the minimum living expenses for him and his mother in today's world.
food and clothing line.
Ivanov took a sip of the water in the cup with emotion and frowned subconsciously.
It was cold and had a slightly sour taste... It reminded him of the bad days when he was hiding in trenches and ruins decades ago.
Then, he instantly realized that this glass of water was saved by Sonia with great difficulty using a rain collector.
Since this apartment was abandoned, the water and electricity have been cut off. If people living here want light, they can only buy the cheapest and most smoky kerosene to make lamps; if they want drinking water, they can only collect rainwater; as for
It is impossible to turn on the heating in winter. If you stay in such an environment for a long time, your body will be damaged.
In fact, Ivanov has discovered that Sonia's physical condition is worse than when he last came. The scene of Sonia groping for the cup in the dim light just now reminded Ivanov of a disease——
Night blindness.
Ivanov didn't know the specific cause of night blindness, but he only remembered that it seemed to be related to malnutrition.
Thinking of this, the figure of the British veteran appeared in front of Ivanov's eyes.
The appearance of Newt even gave Ivanov the idea that maybe the brothers who died in the Great Patriotic War and even in subsequent wars were the lucky ones. They died with their ideals in mind, and at least
In people's eyes, they are the real heroes, while other veterans who are still alive are only regarded as burdens.
Ah, yes, the British veteran named Newt Scamander.
Ivanov finally remembered the purpose of his trip. He took his hand out of his pocket and placed several flattened pounds in front of Sonia. Then he placed a third-class Medal of Valor issued by the Soviet Union.
Placed next to the pound.
Sonia did not lower her head to look at the things on the table, but touched two things on the table one after another. When her hand touched the sharp-edged surface of the third-class medal of valor, her face clearly showed confusion.
look.
The last time they met, Sonia personally handed the medal to Ivanov and asked him to sell it for a good price.
But now Ivanov has returned the medal to himself. Where did the money come from?
Soon, she figured out the whole story: "Ivanov, you sold your medal, right?"
"Haha, you have to know that my medal is much more valuable than the one you have. Mine is a second-level medal of valor, while your husband's is a third-level medal."
"That's not the problem. No, I can't accept the money. You'd better help me sell my husband's badge."
Sonia pushed back the badge along with a few pounds.
"No, Sonia, you must keep it. This is proof of Yuri's bravery in destroying a Tiger tank alone. You should leave him with Valkyrie, or give it to him when Valkyrie's child is born.
, instead of trying to sell it.”
The moment Ivanov said this, he felt a little regretful——
Yes, the Soviet Union has disintegrated. In this new world of market economy, everything has a clearly marked price. A combat hero's lifetime of glory and sacrifice can be packaged away - usually in US dollars, and the price is still high.
Not expensive.
Buyers only care about whether there is a legendary story behind the medal, because it will become an excellent conversation piece at their tea party. The sacrifices and prices paid for this medal are considered unimportant.
How could the wife of a recipient of the Patriotic War Medal 2nd Class think of selling it if she wasn't really desperate?
But on the other hand, Ivanov did not do this temporarily.
It is difficult for the youngest generation in Russia to understand the generations of Ivanov and Ivanovich. This is not because they were influenced by capitalism or communism, nor is it because of the age gap between them.
Even if ordinary people of the younger generation reach Ivanov's age, their pursuits will be very ordinary.
Soup, vodka, a warm home, a kind wife and healthy children.
——But what Ivanov and the others want is a strong motherland.
Did the Soviet Union collapse?
This seems to be an undoubted problem. But in Ivanov's opinion, it is not the case. He has always believed that the motherland has not fallen, she is just... too tired. She just needs to rest.
One day she will stand up again, yes she will!
When that day comes, what will we use to tell the younger generation what kind of people their parents are like?
Are we going to hand over the right to speak to those capitalists?
Then they will say that in Chernobyl we were forced to go up to Chernobyl because the political commissar held a gun to it; they will say that in Berlin it was the Americans who replaced the flag on the Reichstag; they may even say that it was the Soviet Union
Started World War II.
People grow old easily, and even great countries cannot survive forever.
But the medal is not easy to change. Every corner of it contains courage and glory. In the hands of capitalists, its value is only a small amount of US dollars, but in the Soviet Union...or in the hearts of the people of the former Soviet Union, it is priceless.
, at least it can tell the younger generation, parents, and even further ancestors what kind of people they were -
They were once eagles spreading their wings over Ukraine;
They were ghosts dormant among the ruins of Leningrad;
They were the grim reapers who emerged from the flames of Stalingrad;
They had been giant bears charging on the Kursk hills;
They were Pripyat’s unyielding back;
them……
——Definitely not a burden to this country!
"Sonia, keep it. There is still some money, and you need it more than I do."
"But, your medal..."
"Ha, I have no use for keeping those things, and I don't have children."
When saying this, Ivanov tried to look relaxed.
Sonia thought for a while, then nodded guiltily: "Thank you, Ivanov, thank you."
Only then did Ivanov really feel at ease.
He knew that there were many diseases that seemed very serious, but in fact only required a few nutritious meals or a period of normal work and rest to make the body recover quickly. The money Ivanov gave Sonia was not worth mentioning.
It's a huge sum of money, but it can help her get through the next period of time, such as buying some meat or finding a doctor...
In short, at least Ivanov won't have to worry about her for a while in the future.
After sitting for a while, Ivanov stood up and left.
Newt Scamander gave him a total of eighty-five pounds, which was not a small sum.
Ivanov divided the money into many parts and prepared to help a few more old friends.
These people live not close to each other. If Ivanov still wants to go to the old place to meet Scamander on time tomorrow morning, then he may have to hurry up. Besides... he also needs to help Newt.
Go collect some more medals.
When leaving the apartment, Ivanov saw in the dim light that there seemed to be some colorful graffiti on the wall of the corridor. The graffiti was not in Russian letters, but in English. It was colorful and made Ivanov very irritable.
These graffiti look like the handiwork of young people. After 1991, the history of this country seems to have been cut in two.
The first half seems to be full of dictatorship and tyranny, while the second half is full of light and hope. Against this background, some young people take destructive actions as if they are declaring their determination, as if this can erase the reality of this country where they were born.
Ivanov raised his chin contemptuously, as if he didn't want to lose his momentum in front of these graffiti from the Western world and strode forward - compared to the pampered British, French and Americans, the Soviet Army will always be the first.
one.
Slowly, Ivanov, with a large sum of pounds in his arms, felt as if he had returned to forty years ago.
They tensed up and fired in all directions.
The tanks, reinforcements, flares, and artillery were defeated by them. Then they crowded forward with the next charge.
He strode forward, and his stiff spine seemed to slowly relax. Time seemed to have returned the youth that had been taken away from him. At the same time, what returned to his body was the belief that had long been worn away by time.
Ivanov walked forward step by step, imagining that he was once again wearing a Soviet military uniform and walking on Red Square. In fact, he was walking in a world flooded with colorful graffiti.
He took one step firmly, one step, and another...
Until the lonely figure disappeared at the end of the mottled corridor.
…………
And at the same time, on the other side.
As a wizarding family, Novat Ivanovich's family was not easy to find.
With Ivanov's help, Newt tried to find out Ivanovich's address from non-magical government departments.
But at this point in time, Russia is rebuilding its government, and the efficiency of various departments is appallingly low - this is true for both the non-magical and magical worlds. Everyone's energy is devoted to sharing the little bear meat left.
During the feast.
Fortunately, Newt still has several reliable acquaintances in the former Soviet Union's Ministry of Magical Internal Affairs.
Moreover, for some reasons, Novat Ivanovich himself can be considered a "celebrity" in this land.
In addition to being told to be cautious, news about the Ivanovich family was quickly obtained.
What's even more fortunate is that Novat Ivanovich's children and their family also happen to live in St. Petersburg, which saves Newt Scamander the trouble of traveling back and forth to find his way.
After separating from the former Soviet veteran, Newt followed the road signs and headed to Ivanovich's former residence alone.
When Newt knocked on the door of the majestic-looking single-family building, the sky had completely darkened.
The moment the door was opened, Newt saw the person who opened the door and was sure that he had found the right place.
He confirmed the identity of the person who opened the door from his profound facial features, tall figure, and overly sharp eyes - yes, that was Novat's son. He was almost exactly the same as Novat when he was young.
"Who are you looking for?" The person who opened the door had a smile on his face.
Newt nodded slightly and asked with a smile: "Is this the home of Novarte Ivanovich?"
The smile on the face of the person who opened the door disappeared.
He looked at Newt Scamander carefully, frowned slightly, and shouted something behind him.
Immediately afterwards, Newt saw a woman behind him carrying a little girl under ten years old upstairs. After confirming that the little girl had left, the other party opened the door and welcomed Newt in.
In the living room of Ivanovich's mansion, Newt formally met the son of his old friend.
His name was Yermak Ivanovich, and he was a Soviet wizard, now, of course, a Russian wizard.
What's worse is that Newt doesn't feel any of the relaxation that visiting an old friend's home can bring.
Although Yermak asked his wife to make tea for Newt, since the two sat down opposite each other on the chairs in the reception room, except for a few simple greetings and introductions, they drank tea in silence almost without saying a word.
The atmosphere in the entire living room was very subtle, and the other party's vague caution made Newt feel uncomfortable all over.
There was no doubt that Newt's visit seemed unwelcome.
Even when the other party didn't take the initiative to speak, Newt also wanted to avoid provoking topics related to Novat first.
Newt Scamander moved his eyes away from "Little Ivanovich" and began to observe the furnishings in the room quietly. Soon, his attention was attracted by a picture frame hanging above the stove.
Already.
There is an exquisite medal hanging in the photo frame. There is a red drop-shaped thing on it, like a dripping blood. On this drop of blood, there are three staggered dotted lines, marked α, β, and γ respectively.
Suddenly, Newt felt "Little Ivanovich" pull out his wand, but it didn't seem to be directed at him.
Snapped!
With a crisp snapping sound, the photo frame with the medal turned over, revealing the gray bottom.
Newt frowned, looked away from the picture frame, and shifted his gaze back to "Little Ivanovich" who was putting away his wand.
Yermak didn't seem to care about the extremely rude behavior just now. He lightly dusted his clothes and spoke in a neutral tone: "Newt Scamander, the famous magical animal expert in the wizarding world. You
What are you doing here?"
Newt put the tea cup on the table and showed a kind smile:
"Your father Novat Ivanovich and I are old friends. I don't know if Novat has ever mentioned it to you... Although we haven't seen each other for many years. In fact, I originally wanted to come and meet my old friend today...
…”
"Since you can find out here, I think you have already been to Spicamyuf Cemetery, right?"
"Yes."
"Then your goal has been achieved." Yermak raised his eyebrows and said calmly.
"But I still don't know what happened. Everyone is keeping secrets about Novat's affairs. I can only come here to find out what happened. What happened six years ago and why..."
Yermak Ivanovich waved his hand somewhat roughly and interrupted Newt impatiently.
"There's really nothing to say. The story is very simple - there was a nuclear leakage in Chernobyl. The wizards believed that this was the fault of the Muggles themselves and wanted them to solve it themselves, so they ordered all wizards in the Soviet Union to evacuate.
, you are not allowed to interfere in this matter. But my father violated the ban, and blatantly. The end result was that he got 'radiation sickness', and his wand was taken away for violating the Wizarding Secrecy Act."
"Radiation sickness?"
"Yes! In other words, let's change it to a name you can definitely understand - Sorcerer's Sorrow."
"..." Newt didn't answer.
He knows about the Sorcerer's Sorrow, which is an unsolvable curse - he doesn't know how to prevent it, and he doesn't know how to cure the cursed person. The wizards heal the cursed person and restore their vitality, but the result is that the latter is even more painful.
.
Although it has long been known that the Soviets paid a huge price in that catastrophe, they were all seen from the newspapers. It was only today that Newt had a real sense of the word "huge price" through the news of the death of his old friend.
.
Newt picked up the tea cup and took a sip. The slightly bitter tea did not calm him down.
He thought for a while and then said: "Your father... the last time we fought side by side was against Grindelwald. He was very brave. He was a very remarkable person."
"Amazing man?" Yermak sneered.
"He did all this just because a bunch of imbecile Muggles couldn't clean their own asses. Do you know what he gained as a result?"
Yermak pointed at the medal that Newt saw just now and snorted coldly:
"A thousand rubles in compensation and a broken medal. To be honest, I really don't know if the broken metal is a trick used by the Muggle government to play on us. Oh, by the way, there is also the Wizengamot Judgment."
"And do you know what the price he paid? He ignored the rules of the wizarding world! He resigned from his stable job at the Kodos Dorez Magic School without permission! He even abandoned his own family without saying a word.
!
"And all this...just for a bunch of stupid Muggles!"
"You call him a great man?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, I really didn't know that in your British dictionary, the definition of great is to abandon responsibility!"
Yermak's sudden excitement made Newt wonder what to do. Newt Scamander's hand lingered on the ear of the tea cup awkwardly, but he didn't know whether to put it on the table or pretend to be nonchalant.
Pick it up and take a sip.
At this moment, the door of the living room was suddenly pushed open.
Newt saw the little girl who had just gone upstairs standing at the door.
The little girl looks less than ten years old. Her voice is milky, but extremely determined:
"Grandpa is not a bad person! Grandpa is an amazing hero!"
Irina Ivanovich's appearance caught him off guard. He opened his mouth in shock at first, and then his voice suddenly became stern: "Irina, we have discussed this topic many times. Your grandfather is not
What a hero. Now, be obedient and go back upstairs."
"No dad!"
The little girl shouted with a louder voice: "Grandpa, he is a hero. He saved many innocent people. I saw it said in the book that without their efforts, more people would die! Even the whole of Europe would die.
Reduced to death!"
"If I had known better, I shouldn't have let you read those Muggle books."
Yermak said: "Your grandfather is a wizard, his world is the magical world, and the people he saved are just Muggles."
A very old-school speech - Newt thought in his mind, the person in front of him was the person that Elena said needed to change. But what little Elena said next made Newt raise his eyebrows.
"But, grandpa saves all people!"
"...You will understand after you go to magic school. Anna, take her back to the room."
Yermak Ivanovich hesitated for a moment, then waved his hand angrily, raised his voice and gave instructions to the woman standing behind Irina. However, before he could finish his words, someone suddenly appeared in the living room.
There was a deafening bang.
Then he immediately exclaimed: "Damn it! Irina!"
The woman was knocked aside.
The furniture in the reception room began to shake violently, and the flame in the stove made a crackling and explosive sound, and then suddenly burst into flames, and the fire began to spread toward the surroundings, like an angry giant beast.
Yermak immediately pulled out his wand, and the tip of his wand emitted a blue light, limiting the surging fire.
He turned to Irina and shouted: "Irina, calm down!"
Loss of control is a phenomenon caused by children with magical talents who are emotionally excited when they have not been trained. To solve this kind of loss of control, the simplest way is to divert the children's attention so that they no longer want to think about things that make them emotional.
Fortunately, Newt has several "friends" who are very good at solving this problem.
Newt raised his cuffs slightly, and a little guy that looked like a dragonfly, but was red in color, had three pairs of legs, two small horns on its head, and structures on both sides of its tail similar to airplane tail fins, flapped its wings and flew out.
The "red dragonfly" flew several times around Irina Ivanovich.
Along with a burst of inexplicable magic fluctuations, Irina, who had been full of anger just now, suddenly couldn't help but yawned, and a look of sleepiness quickly appeared on her face. The flames on the edge of the fireplace and the strange noises in the living room also appeared.
Gradually dissipated.
The woman who was knocked away just now stood up again.
Seeing that she was okay, Yermak Ivanovich breathed a sigh of relief and ordered her to take Irina upstairs again.
Soon, the door to the living room was closed again, and only Newt and Yermak were left in the room.
There was another long silence.
Newt could feel the complicated emotions in Yermak's heart from the way he looked at him.
"Sir, I must thank you."
Yermak spoke, his tone much softer than before: "I heard about your reputation in the field of magical animal research, but I didn't expect magical animals to be able to do such things... How did you tame them?
?”
"He's my friend." Newt smiled.
As he spoke, Newt took a little water from his teacup and put it on the cup and saucer. The "red dragonfly" circled flexibly in the living room, and finally landed on the cup and saucer, taking small sips with his mouthpart.
Tea.
Yermak sighed and put his tea cup aside. He took out a bottle of wine from the cabinet and shook it at Newt. Newt waved his hand, so Yermak took out another cup and looked after himself.
I poured myself a glass.
Yermak took a sip, then stared at the clear and transparent liquid in the cup, and said slowly:
"That day, the news from the Ministry of Magic arrived first, and the Muggle government's broadcast was delayed by about half an hour. When the order from the Ministry of Magic came, my father immediately started to pack his luggage and prepare to evacuate, but... when the Muggle government's telegram
When the news came, he still left - went directly to Chernobyl through the Floo Network, and became one of the first people to rush to the nuclear contaminated area."
"Other people say that people who went to Chernobyl used shovels to fight atoms. There is also a joke that the machine came to the roof of Chernobyl to work for five minutes, and then it broke down. But the Soviets drank
I put some vodka on it and did it for two hours - I couldn't laugh, I really couldn't laugh."
Yermak drained the wine in his glass and poured himself another glass.
His voice was cold, but there was a hint of loneliness:
"My father's last days... were very painful. Acute radiation sickness, his whole body was necrotic. This kind of disease cannot be cured with spells, it will only make him more and more painful... Finally, people from the Ministry of Magic came
, announced at his bedside that he had violated the Statute of Secrecy, and took away his wand as he lay dying."
"The Muggle government awarded him a medal - the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Accident Participant Badge. But after the collapse of the Soviet Union, a large number of the same medals came to the market, making this medal suddenly worthless."
Yermak laughed, shook the bottle, and his voice was full of sarcasm:
"This is what he paid for with his life. Is it really worth it?"
Newt didn't know what to say, so he could only say: "Your father is a great man."
"Yes, of course he is amazing. He is my father, and I was so proud of him. But in the end he abandoned the magic world, abandoned me, abandoned Irina...so I will never forgive him,
forever."
Yermak's voice no longer contained resentment, but was replaced by deep pain and helplessness.
"……I'm very sorry."
Newt suddenly felt a little confused and opened his mouth, not knowing what to say.
After another long silence, Newt Scamander looked around the messy living room and the living room door leading to the upstairs room. After thinking for a while, he took the initiative to break the silence and changed the topic.
"Speaking of which, your daughter's magic talent is quite good. She will definitely become the most popular student in the school!"
"School? Huh..."
Yermak Ivanovich grinned, with a hint of sarcasm on his face.
"Kodos Doriz Magic School will never forget her father's betrayal. Irina is now eleven years old, but now August is almost over, and she has not received the school's admission notice - you should know
What does this mean?"
"Mr. Scamander, please don't forget that 'Wizard's Sorrow' is contagious! Irina and the children of the 'traitors of the magic world' are a plague in the eyes of most people. You
Do you think that the noble and decent Kodosdorez Magic School would allow such a cursed child to enter their school?”
"How could this happen! Ridiculous! It's been six years!"
Newt frowned tightly and looked at the white marks burned by the high temperature on the edge of the fireplace.
"This child has such a good magical talent. If he can't go to school, it would be too..."
"Haha... There is no old guy like Albus Dumbledore here. Is it possible that I can still let Irina go to Hogwarts to study? Is there any other way? I can only teach one by myself.
Teach Irina, as for the future..."
Yermak Ivanovich smiled bitterly, put down the bottle in his hand, and sighed.
"Wait, what did you just say?"
At this moment, Newt Scamander was suddenly stunned.
"I can only teach Irina by myself..."
"No, no, it's the previous sentence - yes! Of course! Hogwarts, Hogwarts... if, well, let me think about it... if it's Hogwarts this year... maybe...
…”
Newt's mind flashed to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry re-employment contract lying on his desk.
If he agrees to the little witch's request, then as a formal professor and the former principal and current vice principal of Hogwarts, he will naturally have the right to add a few names to the list of students at Hogwarts this year.
only……
"Really? Is there anything you can do? Mr. Scamander!"
Yermak Ivanovich stood up abruptly, looked at Newt with an excited expression, and spoke incoherently.
"Irina is very obedient! She is really a good child! By the way, her English is also very good, and she is also very familiar with the awkward spells. When her father was still alive, she would often take test questions from the school.
Teasing Irina with the teaching materials.”
"I...I'm not sure either..."
Newt clenched his fists in confusion, and subconsciously avoided Ivanovich's expectant gaze. He also stood up and picked up the gray hat on the table. As if someone had cast a tongue-stopping spell, he hesitated.
said.
"I'll try my best...I'll give you a reply in a few days..."
If it was just Irina, maybe... maybe, relying on their friendship, Dumbledore could make an exception and do him a small favor, but - in this case -
Newt recalled the file shown to him by the Ministry of Magic official who helped him track down the Ivanovich family.
[1986, ‘Large-scale leak case in Pripyat’]
[Storage time: permanent]
[Crime: Violating the "International Confederation of Wizards' Statute of Secrecy", ignoring the evacuation orders of the Wizengamot Court and the International Confederation of Wizards and Magic, seriously affecting the teaching recovery work of the Kodos Doriz Magic School, causing the death of many wizards...]
[Number of wizards involved: 231]
This is...
More than two hundred families...
After walking out of the door of the Ivanovich family, Newt raised his head and looked at the completely darkened sky. He stamped his feet distractedly on the sparsely populated bluestone streets of St. Petersburg, feeling confused and irritable in his heart.
The magical world, or this world...
And what happened to the laws they once believed in and protected...
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