Tonks was sitting at the dining table of the Hog's Head Pub, eating clean and hygienic Aberforth's secret grilled ribs, while cursing Cyrus in her heart: "Damn Dawlish, he made me spy again!"

She had never hated her Metamorphmagus abilities as much as she did now.

"I want to go out for a walk, too. I haven't been to Hogsmeade since graduation."

She cut the grilled steak with her knife and fork angrily, then stuffed it into her mouth and chewed it hard, as if she was cutting Cyrus' body and eating Cyrus' flesh and blood.

She planned to sneak out for a walk in the afternoon after this meal. Anyway, the goblin stayed in the bar every day and never went anywhere, and Cyrus often came back at night.

But just as she was thinking this, another wizard, wrapped up tightly, pushed open the door and walked into the bar.

Such attire was not conspicuous in the Hog's Head Inn. The reason why Tonks noticed him was that after he entered the bar, he immediately glanced around the bar and then walked towards the goblin with a very purposeful look.

Now Tonks was fully alert.

The newly appeared wizard was tall and thin. He sat opposite the goblin, ordered a glass of fire whiskey, and said casually, "Have you been waiting for a long time?"

"Have you been waiting long?" the fairy repeated the greeting angrily.

Just by listening to his voice, Tonks felt like there was a raging fire in the goblin's throat. "I've been waiting here for more than a month! You tell me 'sorry for waiting'? If you don't plan to cooperate, then get out as soon as possible! But we will let you know the consequences of playing tricks on us!"

"Don't be angry, sir." The new wizard laughed softly. Although he lowered his voice, his tone was still arrogant. "It is very risky to cooperate with people of your status. We need to consider it carefully."

He paused, took a sip of wine slowly, and then continued, "There are different voices in the organization. Most people think there is no need to cooperate with you. After all, the treasure of the great goblin Lanlock has long disappeared, and you are too greedy."

Speaking of greed, he felt even more disgusted with the short partner in front of him.

"We are greedy? It is you wizards who have taken away so many of our goblin treasures—"

“We provided the materials ourselves and also spent money to build it.”

"The ownership of an object always belongs to its creator!" the goblin said with gritted teeth, so much so that even Tonks could imagine how hideous his wrapped face looked.

"That's why I say you are greedy."

The ownership of the fairy treasures that they spent their own money to make does not belong to them. The fairies shamelessly asked for a large number of magic wands without paying a penny. At this time, they did not mention the issue of ownership.

'Humph, if I ever gain control of the Ministry of Magic, I'll destroy you all first. It would be best if Gringotts was controlled by wizards themselves!'

However, the wizard did not continue to debate with the goblins. After all, they just wanted to use the goblins as a sword to chop down the bloated organization of the Ministry of Magic. They did not really intend to establish a friendly cooperative relationship with them.

Tonks was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, and even her ears unconsciously turned into rabbit ears, but she couldn't hear clearly what they were talking about.

After a while, she saw the two men standing up, and the atmosphere between them didn't seem as tense as it was at the beginning. The tall wizard took the initiative to pay the bill to Aberforth, and then walked out of the Hog's Head with the short goblin.

'Are you leaving?'

Tonks could no longer sit still and quickly took a big gulp of butterbeer to swallow the grilled ribs that filled her throat. She wiped the grease off her mouth with her sleeve and jumped up. In two or three steps, she rushed to the door of the bar. Then she paused with a troubled look on her face and turned back.

"Damned Dawlish, he's not here at this time, and he's just messing things up!" She was so anxious that she hurriedly wrote a line of words and threw it in front of Aberforth behind the counter, "Bartender, bartender! If my companion comes back, show him this!"

After she finished speaking, she pushed the door open and walked out. The broken door of the Hog's Head Bar, which had long been unable to bear the weight, began to shake violently back and forth, making a harsh "creaking" sound, which made the other customers in the bar shiver.

“Young people nowadays can’t even drink a little bit of alcohol…” An old wizard with all his teeth fallen out shook off the goose bumps on his body, shook his head, and continued to watch the new episode of “The Quibbler”.

This newspaper is still interesting! After Tonks left, Aberforth was silent for a while and retreated into the kitchen. A faint silver light lit up and then flickered like a star in the sky. - Cyrus cast a human footprint spell. He could easily find Tonks's trace without the help of any objects. Among the glittering golden particles, a row of clear footprints extended to a more remote path.

He quickly followed the footprints and his figure gradually disappeared into the lush bushes. Not long after he left, several dark figures appeared behind him and followed Cyrus' footsteps into the dense forest.

Each of these dark shadows held a wand in their hands and were fully armed. They did not look like ordinary dark wizards, but an organized armed force.

It seems that they have been eyeing Cyrus and Tonks, two "Aurors" from the Ministry of Magic for a long time.

Cyrus followed the footprints all the way to the end of the road. Here, the way forward was swallowed up by the wilderness and time. Wild grass and dead branches and leaves buried the road, and the footprints came to an abrupt end.

"Flew away, or Apparated?"

Cyrus waved his wand gracefully like a conductor, and the magic made the scene here flash back, and the old scene from a few hours ago appeared in front of Cyrus:

Two men in black robes, one tall and one short, walked here. The tall and thin wizard threw down a tattered wand as if giving alms - it looked crudely made - and the goblin was very dissatisfied with it, but didn't say much.

"Go to the ruins." The tall and thin wizard said softly, and then his body was stretched out like a piece of gummies, and quickly spun and shrank into a black dot.

"Snap"

A green light pierced through the black spot! "Avada Kedavra!"

(End of this chapter)