Wade strode out of the fireplace to find a man who resembled a monkey fiddling with bones, eyeballs, and shells. On the table in front of him were two glasses and a bottle of rum.
It was a very small bar, with only four or five tables in total. The walls were adorned with the grotesque heads of a Three-headed Dog, and the ceiling was decorated with countless live bats.
Hearing the sound, he lifted his eyes to glance at Wade, then his gaze settled on Lupin.
"Long time no see, Remus." The man grinned happily and said, "I hear you've made a fortune recently. Looking to buy anything?"
"Thanks, Acosta." Lupin nodded and said, "I'm not buying anything today, just using your fireplace as a transit point."
"Alright then."
The man's smile instantly vanished, and his backside, which had been about to rise, settled back down. He said listlessly, "Just this once. Next time, don't bring kids into my shop."
Lupin chuckled, not bothered by his attitude. After letting Wade grab his arm, he said, "Get ready, we're Apparating!"
With a *CRACK*, a loud bang echoed through the bar, and the two newcomers vanished like phantoms.
Acosta lazily leaned on the table, continuing to handle the gooey eyeball in his hand.
This eyeball came from a Dragon and was as big as an adult's fist. Acosta held tweezers, slowly peeling off a layer of membrane from it.
With a *BANG*, the bar door suddenly swung open, and light spilled in from outside. Acosta instinctively shielded his eyes.
"Why are you all so ill-mannered?" Acosta loudly complained, "Buddy, we're not open during the day."
"Sorry, I have something I absolutely must buy."
A hooded figure, cloaked in a robe, walked in. He lifted his head, revealing a pale face.
As soon as Acosta saw him, he smiled.
"Ah, if it's you, of course I can make an exception. But in exchange, you have to tell me how you escaped from Azkaban... Garr."
Garr's mouth twitched, revealing an expression that was a mix of crying and laughing.
...
Lupin took Wade and Apparated into a forest. The surrounding trees were lush and green, and noisy sounds could be heard in the distance.
"Who is that Acosta?" Wade asked curiously, "He looks like a..."
"...Like a Dark Wizard?" Lupin chuckled, "Actually, he's a Vampire. His bar doesn't serve ordinary people, and most wizards don't even know about it. Only unpopular Werewolves, Vampires, or Dark Wizards like us can buy hard-to-obtain items from him."
Wade nodded thoughtfully, "Is he your friend?"
"Not exactly... this way." Lupin said as he led Wade through the forest, "I've helped him out a few times, and he's taken a few jobs for me."
"Like a mercenary?" Wade asked.
"Something like that, but I never help with killing or cursing. I just occasionally help people break curses or disarm certain magical traps," Lupin said calmly.
Even in his hardest times, he never chose to fall into corruption, though he did sometimes question if his persistence was still worthwhile.
He knew very well that if he lowered his standards even a little, he could live much better than most.
Now, talking about those days of struggling to survive, Lupin could speak of them lightly, as if they were nothing, even finding them quite amusing.
After passing through the forest, Wade saw the wizarding camp. Tents of various sizes were distributed in a relatively orderly manner. Many people were moving in and out of the site, and some seemed to have just arrived, struggling to set up their tents.
"Come with me, Wade, our tent is over there."
Lupin led Wade further in, saying as they walked, "Strictly speaking, this is still Muggle territory. A Muggle family lives right outside the camp—I really don't understand why the Ministry of Magic doesn't just cast a spell to send them on vacation or to visit relatives—in any case, no magic is allowed here, Wade."
Before he could finish his sentence, Wade saw a wizard who seemed to be driven crazy by tent poles and screws. He secretly looked around, then pulled out his wand, subtly waving it while concealed by his cloak.
The tent immediately stood up, various small parts quickly moved into place, and a hammer swiftly nailed all the screws.
The wizard nodded in satisfaction, then pulled a huge snakeskin bag from his pocket, reached inside, and pulled out a large handful of shamrocks, piling them all on top of the tent.
Next, a child was seen lying on a toy broom, flying slowly just above the ground, giggling.
Presumably his mother, a red-haired woman, chased after him from behind, grabbed the child, and yelled, "Kevin! I told you to stay in the tent! No running around!"
The child burst into tears, and the woman shouted in an even more agitated voice, "Samuel! Samuel! Come deal with your son!"
A Ministry of Magic official, seeing the child fly out, was about to intervene. But hearing the red-haired woman's shouting, he didn't dare approach, standing hesitantly in place, craning his neck to look.
Wade looked at Lupin: "No magic allowed?"
Lupin chuckled, "Well, it's 'no magic allowed openly.' Once more people arrive in a couple of days, I'm afraid the Ministry of Magic won't be able to control it even if they wanted to."
"So, they should just make the nearby Muggles leave temporarily," Wade said blandly. "A Muggle-Repelling Charm isn't that hard."
Hearing the disdain and dissatisfaction in Wade's tone, Lupin smiled helplessly.
The Quidditch World Cup was in full swing, and the final in a few days might attract wizards from all over the world. Yet, the Ministry of Magic still had the Muggle caretaker of the camp, Robert, standing at the entrance collecting fees.
Wizards couldn't voluntarily obey the Ministry of Magic's "no magic" rule. Poor Robert saw various strange phenomena every day, and then had his memory and perception constantly altered by the Confundus Charm and the Obliviation Charm.
Actually, many people had complaints about this, but the Ministry of Magic's reason was: Robert's family playing the role of fee collectors would make the site appear more normal, avoiding attracting the attention of other Muggles.
Whether this reason made sense or not, the Ministry of Magic—or rather, the high-ranking officials led by Fudge—never listened to other people's opinions anyway.
After passing through many tents, Wade finally saw their destination—
A tent that looked as big as a two-bedroom apartment stood majestically, appearing very conspicuous but without obvious "magical traces."
The top of the tent was decorated with imposing lion statues, and many gold and red silk decorations hung around it, clearly very "Gryffindor." The lion looked incredibly realistic, almost as if it was about to open its mouth and let out a mighty roar.
Without a doubt, this was Sirius and Harry's masterpiece.
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