This trip abroad was an entirely different experience from the last one.
Last time, he had been like a stray child, forced to figure everything out on his own.
This time, the moment he left Hogwarts and arrived in the Ministry of Magic's main hall,
a wizard who had been waiting for a long time approached him.
The wizard handed him a small military knife, greeted him amicably, and left without any hesitation.
Cypher, holding the knife, did not stop the wizard who had inexplicably handed it to him from leaving.
What he held was an enchanted Portkey.
All he had to do was find a quiet, private corner and wait for the activation time. Then he could leave Britain directly.
And so, after several relays,
Cypher easily arrived at the Strait of Gibraltar.
At a different time but in the same place, he watched the cargo ships still flowing endlessly even amid war.
Cypher could not help sighing at how things had changed.
From here on, there would be no Portkeys to help him.
However, a ferry at the small dock nearby that specifically crossed the strait could carry him part of the way...
Cypher did not know where Newt was now.
At the edge of the city, Cypher held a parchment map showing the distribution of wizard camps. He painstakingly found the gathering place Newt had mentioned among the tiny print.
When he saw that the gathering place stretched across more than half the continent, Cypher fell silent.
He fell even more silent when he learned from a vendor that there were no quick means of travel such as the Floo Network between the camps.
Cypher did not trust Portkeys made by outsiders, either.
Helplessly, Cypher looked back at what might have been the most prosperous city