The girl standing at the door was still looking around. When she heard Hoffa's shout, her eyes widened and she saw a young man waving his arms.
She quickly walked down the stone steps and stood in front of Hoffa. She leaned on the table and looked at him from head to toe.
"Oh my god, Hoffa!?"
"It's me." Hoffa smiled.
He also looked at her. Miranda was still wearing a pair of round glasses that didn't have any degree and were purely for showing off. However, compared to last year, she had grown a lot taller and no longer looked like a little kid. Her original chestnut-colored short hair was now shoulder-length, and her white skin had turned into a wheat-colored skin. It seemed that she got tanned during the summer vacation.
Compared to the enchanting Aglaia, she had an indescribable neutral and mysterious beauty. This temperament made her always keep a certain distance from Hoffa, but she was undoubtedly one of his only two friends.
"You're tanned." Hoffa complained. "I heard that you went to New Zealand. You're really something."
"You even know this? Did Aglaia tell you?"
"She didn't tell me. I can see it." Hoffa pointed at the small wooden token hanging on her chest. "What is this? Is this a treasure that you got from the aborigines to ward off evil spirits?"
"Ward off evil spirits? This is a magic tool to prevent mosquito bites. You want to give it to you?"
"Forget it. You go out a lot. You keep it."
"I haven't seen you for two months and you've become so polite? It seems that work can really change a person. "
She squinted her eyes and smiled. She picked up the black tea beside Hoffa and drank it without hesitation. "What are you doing here? Working again? "
"Working?"
Hoffard pointed at himself in an exaggerated manner. "I'm the owner of this shop! I'm the boss! "
Miranda laughed. Black tea spilled out from the corner of her mouth. She wiped her mouth and teased. "What are you bragging about? You're not cut out for that."
Ha! Hoffa snatched the cup from his hand and asked Joseph, who was doing the accounts at the dining table in the distance, "Hey, Weasley, am I your boss?"
Joseph raised his head and narrowed his eyes at the girl with the backpack beside Hoffa. He rubbed his chin and revealed a meaningful smile. "You're not."
Hoffa was shocked.
But then Joseph said exaggeratedly, "You are the king here."
Looking at his fawning expression, Hoffa held his forehead and regretted asking him.
Miranda was laughing so hard that she couldn't even straighten her back. She held onto the table.
"How interesting … Alright, alright, Your Majesty, please arrange a guest room for me in your palace. Also, if you can, please give me a palace dinner. Okay? "
Hoffa's face turned red from embarrassment. He glared at Joseph and threw away the registration list in his hand. Picking up the lantern, he snapped, "This way!"
The two of them walked from the lobby to the second floor of the basement, which was close to the kitchen. It was where Hoffa and the other employees usually rested. The environment was much better than the upstairs.
In the clean and deep brick corridor, there were niches, cabinets, cabinets, and other items neatly arranged. Below the stone ceiling, there were a few white arched rooms.
Walking to the room at the end of the corridor, Hoffa opened the door and hung the lantern on the wall. Then, he lit the fireplace with a match.
Under the light of the fireplace, there was a marble bed, a row of wooden wardrobes, and a small painted ivory table in the room. It was very elegant and unique.
Miranda looked around. "The environment here is not bad. Did you decorate it yourself?"
"No." Hoffa grinned. "This was originally a church. Although the ceiling was blown up by the muggles, the tomb below is still relatively intact."
Miranda was stunned, then she smiled and nudged Hoffa. "You're really something. You made me sleep in the tomb. You're black-hearted."
"Alright, don't embarrass me. I only earn twenty pounds a month. I can't even pay my salary." Hoffa smiled bitterly.
"Aiya, aiya. I just wanted you to give me a free bill. It seems that I won't have that chance."
"A free bill?" Hoffa was shocked. "Are you human?"
Miranda laughed. After laughing, she put her backpack on the bed, pulled over a chair, and sat on it.
"That's strange. I thought you were doing an internship at Saint-Mango Hospital."
Miranda rolled her eyes. "Did you quarrel with Aglaia again?"
"No." Hoffa immediately denied. "Am I that kind of person?"
"As expected."
Miranda rolled her eyes. "Without me being the peacemaker, you first graders would never interact with each other."
Hoffa thought that Miranda really misunderstood. The only reason he wasn't in Saint-Mango was because he offended Aglaia's mother.
At that moment, there was a knock on the door. Hoffa went over to open the door. It turned out that Chef Leon had prepared dinner. He handed the tray to Hoffa and winked at him, as if hinting at something.
Hoffa quickly took the silver tray from his hand and pushed him away.
He put the tray on the painted table and opened it.
It was filled with four exquisite dishes: lamb tripe with meat, fried rice balls, bacon sandwiches, corned beef, shellfish, and ice pear slices.
Huo Fa sighed. What were these fellows thinking? He hadn't even enjoyed these things before.
Miranda didn't find it strange. She picked up her fork politely and said as she ate, "Speaking of which, I sent a letter to Aglaia some time ago. She replied that she wanted to invite you to her birthday party. Then I sent her a letter, but she ignored me. Do you know what happened? "
"She …"
Hoffa thought that the girl was probably grounded by her mother and was now locked in the closet.
"You can ask her yourself tomorrow."
Hoffa changed the topic. "By the way, why did you want to stay here? This is too much of a coincidence. "
"Where else would I stay?" Miranda shrugged and ate a slice of ice pear.
"The Broken Cauldron is closed, and so are many Muggle hotels. I couldn't find a place to stay, so I asked around and heard that there was an underground hotel on Strand Street. The environment was average, but the food was free, so I came. "
After a pause, Miranda sighed. "But I didn't expect this hotel to be yours."
Hoffa frowned. "Wait, you said the Broken Cauldron is closed?"
"You don't know?" Miranda picked up the lamb tripe. "It's about Helzburg."
"What?" Hoffa frowned. "The closing of the Broken Cauldron is related to Helzburg?"
"Helzburg is one of the main industries of the fairies. After Helzburg was destroyed, Gringotts announced its closure. London's wizard market is paralyzed, and 90% of the shops in Diagon Alley are closed. "
"What?" Hoffa was shocked. These days when his business just started, he had been dealing with Muggles, so he didn't know anything about the wizard news. "You mean, Gringotts closed?"
"That's right. I heard from the grapevine that half of the fairies died in Helzburg. It's already not easy for Gringotts to not close down. "
Miranda swallowed the food in her mouth.
"Now, gold coins have depreciated by half. Many wizards have started to use Muggles' pounds. I'm afraid that before the war is over, the wizard financial system will collapse first. "
Hoffa's mouth was slightly open as he listened to the conversation. He didn't know why, but the words of the man riding the dragon came to his mind again. This month, he tried his best to keep himself busy, to enrich himself, to not think about that matter. But now, he could no longer ignore this problem.
After thinking for a while, Hoffa walked to the door and locked it.
With a dignified expression, he said, "Miranda, I want to ask you something."
"What is it?"
"What kind of person is Grindelwald?" Hoffa asked directly.
Miranda was eating her rice ball. When she heard this, it was as if someone pressed the pause button on a video. The rice ball was placed in front of her mouth, but she didn't eat it for a long time.
After a while, she put down the food. "What did you say?"
"What kind of person is Grindelwald? I mean, you've seen him when you were young, right?"
"Why do you ask this?" Miranda stopped eating. She put her hands flat on the table. "I want to know the reason."
Sitting opposite her, Hoffa told her in detail about his summer vacation meeting with the dragon and what he had seen and heard in Helzburg.
Miranda listened without saying a word. After listening to Hoffa's story, the expression on her face became more and more serious, and her eyebrows knitted deeper and deeper.
"You're saying that it was Grindelwald who controlled the dragon and destroyed Helzburg? And he asked you to find him? "
"Yes. Tell me, is it him?"
After thinking for a while, Miranda shook her head. "I don't know. The last time I saw him was seven years ago. My memory of him is very vague."
"Then why is he looking for me?"
"Maybe he saw that you have some talent in shapeshifting. He looked for me because of my talent in curses." Miranda speculated.
Hoffa rubbed his head. It was as if there was a mass of chaos floating in front of him, making him unable to see anything clearly.
After thinking for a long time, he asked again, "Can't you describe it? His general image. "
Miranda's face flashed with a hint of struggle, but in the end, she said, "I can't answer you, but there's someone who can."
After saying that, she sighed softly. She lowered her head and took off her glasses. The fire in the fireplace twisted without any wind, and then the light in the whole room dimmed.
When she raised her head again, the lines on her face were very blurred and unfamiliar. The mental force field around her had completely changed, from gentle and indifferent to very fierce and cold.
"Long time no see. Bach. "
The figure sitting opposite Hoffa said lightly.
Seeing him, Hoffa sat up straight, his nerves tense. "Must you answer me, Mille Ghoshak?"
"Professional matters should be left to professionals, shouldn't they?"
Mille opened his mouth, revealing a mouthful of cold Sparkle teeth. The light of the fire dimmed again, and the silver cutlery in front of him trembled. Under the weak light, Hoffa could only see half of the other party's face hidden in the darkness.
He saw Mille again after a year, the dark personality who had posed a great threat to him in the first grade.
His energy was not as strong as before, but it was sharper.
"I'm not looking for a fight." Hoffa pressed his hand on the table, and the trembling cutlery calmed down.
"Oh, what are you good at other than fighting? Tell me. "
Mille also put his hand on the table and leaned over. The distance between the two was less than a centimeter.
"You're not good at anything other than fighting, Bach. Even if I tell you about Grindelwald, you can't do anything. "
"Why?"
"Gelert Grindelwald is a charming man. He has all the charm you can imagine. He is a leader, a representative, and his existence even exceeds his own meaning …"
"Don't flatter me."
"Only the stupidest person would think that the truth is flattery."
Mille's voice was like a demon's whisper. "He can do anything he wants. Because there will always be people who are willing to stand on his side, just like my pathetic father. "
"And the reason he can do this, I think, is that he has a deep understanding of the world and is calm enough. And this is something that you have never possessed. "
Hoffa fell silent. If Grindvall was really as Miller had said, he could do anything he wanted and had already destroyed Helzburg, Hoffa would not be able to do anything.
Then what would he do to the Hogwarts? The one-month deadline was up, and he did not choose to look for him. Of course, he would not choose to look for him, but what should he do …
A mocking laugh came from across the table.
"You're afraid. Hoffa Bach. I can see your deepest fears. What exactly happened in the past year that made you so unconfident? "
The blurry "boy" sneered mockingly. "I doubt that you are still my match."
"Enough."
Hoffa interrupted him. "Go back."
"What do you think I am? Someone who comes and goes at your beck and call? Do you think that momentary passion can defeat the eternal truth? "
Mille climbed onto the table and inched closer to Hoffa.
Hoffa's face was slightly pale. His mental force field covered the surroundings and compressed Mille's mental force field bit by bit.
Suddenly, Mille reached out and hugged the back of Hoffa's head. She gritted her teeth and whispered in his ear, "Only symbols can defeat symbols, idiot."
After saying this sentence that was completely incomprehensible, Mille let go of her hand and plopped back into her seat. She lowered her head.
Hoffa supported himself on the table in a daze.
Smack!
The flames in the fireplace became bright again.
The lines on her face became gentle again.
Miranda looked at Hoffa's pale face that was close to her and was slightly stunned. She suddenly laughed and said, "What, are you going to kiss him? “
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