Chapter 19

"Tell me, what happened?"

After lifting the curse on Alex and waking him up, Murphy asked about what had happened before.

"Mr. Parker, I'm sorry!" Alex Wood cried bitterly; he seemed to have been scared quite badly, "He tortured me, I, I'm sorry..."

It took a long time for Alex to calm down and tell Murphy about his miserable experience today.

The process was about the same as Murphy had guessed; that bald wizard—named Paped—suddenly grabbed him when he was ready to come back after buying materials, returned to the barn with him, and then tortured him with the Cruciatus Curse, forcing him to reveal Peter Parker's name.

Then he also forced him to call Murphy.

After listening, Murphy patted Wood on the shoulder and handed him a cup of hot chocolate, "Forget it, this isn't your fault."

Wood was clearly the kind of standard ordinary wizard who had never thought about needing to fight, so his combat ability was almost zero; facing a dark wizard who could use the Cruciatus Curse on people at will, he had absolutely no ability to resist.

Moreover, facing a wizard, it was very difficult to keep a secret; even if he had resisted the Cruciatus Curse, the other party might have Veritaserum or be able to use Legilimency.

Being forced to say a fake name was all, Murphy wouldn't blame the other party for this.

"However, this place can no longer be used."

Although the one who came this time was a fool and didn't discover Murphy's core secret, when he went back, he might bring a few partners with brains.

Even Malfoy might directly report a false crime and let the Aurors move out; by then, his violation of the Wizarding Secrecy Act and selling potions to Muggles would not be able to be hidden.

Thinking of this, Murphy threw a bag to Wood, "Feeling better? If you're fine, help out and pack up everything here."

After everything was packed, Murphy checked the barn one last time to confirm that no useful traces were left, drew his wand and waved it, and several barrels of prepared gasoline were sprinkled inside and outside the barn under his command.

Then, "Incendio!"

After the flames completely engulfed the barn, Murphy grabbed one of Wood's arms, "Clear your mind. Apparition!"

Murphy brought Wood to the old Durkheim Manor, "You can't go to Diagon Alley anymore, and don't even go home recently. That guy has already remembered your face and knows your name; if you continue to appear in the wizarding world, you will be found by them sooner or later."

Alex was panicked, "Then, what should I do? Can I report it to the Aurors? They will protect me, right?"

Murphy looked at Alex in surprise, "Are you Harry Potter, or is your dad the Minister of Magic?"

Alex was confused, "What?"

"Forget it, how many Aurors are there? For a small person like you, unless there is solid evidence, it's impossible for them to move out specifically for you."

"Then what should I do?" Alex was distressed and began to regret accepting this job.

"I can protect you," Murphy said, "That guy was beaten half-dead by me and shouldn't dare to come and trouble me again."

But Malfoy might not necessarily be the same.

But Alex didn't need to know this point.

"Really?" Alex breathed a sigh of relief; if Mr. Parker could defeat that dark wizard, then there was indeed no need to worry about safety issues by following him.

"But, there is a prerequisite," Murphy said, "You need to say goodbye to the wizarding world for a while. I don't have the time to follow you around at any time, so you will only be safe if you temporarily leave the wizarding world. I have some power in Muggle society and will guarantee your life here."

"No, no, no, no, I haven't been in contact with Muggles, they will find me, I will be burned to death..."

Alex hurriedly shook his head.

He had grown up in the wizarding world since he was a child and had never lived in Muggle society; leaving the wizarding world for Muggle society felt to Alex like throwing an African native into the London metropolis, filling him with panic.

"Burned to death my ass! It's the twentieth century, big brother, who would burn you to death? Forget it, I don't care anymore, do whatever you want, if you want to die then go back, I won't stop you."

Alex hesitated; thinking of that terrifying bald dark wizard today, thinking of the pain of the Cruciatus Curse, he wavered, "How, how long will it take? How long until I can go home?"

"Short as one or two years, long as three or four years, it won't be too long," Murphy said.

By then, perhaps he would have the power to contend with the Wizarding Secrecy Act, and perhaps he wouldn't need to be sneaky anymore.

"So long?" Alex wrinkled his face bitterly, and after a while, he asked aggrievedly, "Then, can I write a letter to my mother?"

"Nonsense! Go write it quickly! By the way, don't reveal any news about me, and don't say you were threatened, lest the old lady worry. Just say you went traveling, it's less trouble."

"I, I'm not stupid!"

"Heh."

In Muggle society, you've already been tricked into going to northern Myanmar to have your kidneys cut out, and you're not stupid?

This wave, lost a Muggle barn, but kidnapped a wizard back, it seems... not a loss?

But how to buy materials in the future became a problem again.

There were only a few potion shops in Diagon Alley, and the amount of materials he needed was huge; no matter where he bought them, he might be targeted.

Hogsmeade?

To be honest, Murphy only knew a few wizard gathering places.

Although the original body was from a wizarding family, his parents had gone in long ago, and he hadn't enjoyed any intelligence benefits at all; Murphy's understanding of the wizarding world was in some respects not even as good as Alex's.

Thinking of this, Murphy found Alex, who was preparing to write a letter, "Besides Diagon Alley, where else can I buy large quantities of potion materials?"

"This... Knockturn Alley?"

Oh?

Murphy really hadn't been to Knockturn Alley to stroll around.

It was said that dark wizards were rampant there, and he didn't have any special needs, so naturally, he didn't need to deal with such a dangerous place.

But since it was a lawless place, it must be difficult to be controlled by official forces—like the Aurors; for Murphy now, it might be safer than Diagon Alley.

After all, people like Malfoy were just clowns, and what Murphy was truly worried about was the official authorities finding out about his violation of the Wizarding Secrecy Act.

Perhaps he should find time to go to Knockturn Alley and see.

In addition, perhaps he should open a potion shop to cover his tracks.

Being discovered by Malfoy this time was an anomaly; even if he bought materials in Knockturn Alley in the future, there was no guarantee he wouldn't be watched or investigated.

If he could have a potion shop and buy materials in the name of the potion shop, many things would be much easier to explain.

As for the location, he would choose Knockturn Alley as well; the supervision intensity was much smaller than Diagon Alley, and there probably wouldn't be many customers, which was very suitable for him who just wanted to put up a front.

Do it if you want to.

Murphy gave Alex an instruction, "You stay here and don't move around, I'm going to buy some oranges... cough, anyway, you stay here for now, wait until I find you a place before saying anything else."

"If anything happens, call my pho..."

Thinking about it, it seemed there was no landline installed in the old house, and this brick phone felt a bit ominous; every time he answered it, it was never a good thing, Murphy almost had a shadow.

"Forget it, hold it in if anything happens. Wait until I come back before saying anything."

Alex: "?"

(End of chapter)