Bellatrix stepped forward, tapped the door handle with his wand a few times, and then hooked his hand and flew out a brass key from the crack in the stone on the side.
Sure enough, the cellars of rich people are so plain and simple.
Bellatrix Pushing the door open, a cold wind rushed out from inside, carrying an old musty smell.
Lin Ze followed her in. Inside was a stone staircase sloping downwards, with several automatically lit oil lamps embedded in the walls on both sides.
After walking up about twenty or thirty steps, a large underground space suddenly opened up below. It was surrounded by stone walls and there were a lot of old furniture and dusty debris piled in the corner.
"They are in the small room at the end, but let's make sure that those two people are not in good condition." Bellatrix said.
"You didn't do anything to them, did you?"
"It's nothing wrong. I just left in a hurry a few days ago and didn't leave any food for them."
Lin Ze rubbed his eyebrows and motioned for her to continue leading the way.
The two came to an iron door.
Bellatrix pushed open the iron door.
It was indeed a small room inside, and the oil lamp on the wall was dim.
There was a thin mattress spread in the corner, with two people half sitting and half lying on it.
Frank·Longbottom was sitting against the wall, and Alice was leaning on his shoulder. Both of them were covered with the same old blanket.
Their faces were very poor, their eye sockets were sunken, their lips were white, their hands and feet were tightly bound by chains, and there were demon-forbidden runes painted on the ground.
Hearing the sound of the door opening, Frank raised his head, narrowed his eyes alertly, leaned forward unconsciously, and took Alice behind him.
"Mr. Longbottom, don't be nervous, I'm here to pick you up."
Lin Ze directly erased the runes on the ground and broke the chains between the two. After doing this, he held the wand between his fingers, raised his hands, and tried to make himself not look like a bad guy.
"Who are you?" Frank's voice was hoarse, as if there was sand stuck in his throat.
"Lin Ze, Special Operations Team's, Auror."
Frank's eyes relaxed, but he still didn't move. Until Bellatrix came out from behind Lin Ze, his expression changed instantly.
"You--"
"Oh, we meet again, Mr. Longbottom." Bellatrix smiled sweetly and waved to him.
Alice was awakened by the sound. After seeing Bellatrix, his whole body started shaking like chaff. He let out a vague sob from his mouth and kept shrinking into Frank's arms.
Lin Ze quickly stepped aside to block Bellatrix: "You go out first."
"Why? I still want to catch up with my old friends." Bellatrix pretended to be aggrieved.
"Now, immediately, immediately, get out." Lin Ze pointed at the door.
Bellatrix pursed his lips and walked away, looking back three times.
Lin Ze turned around and squatted down, trying to keep his voice as low as possible. "Mr. Longbottom, I am Auror Office. Bellatrix is now under my control and will not hurt you anymore. I am here to take you away."
Looking at Frank's confused eyes, Lin Ze took out his Auror medal and put it in front of Frank's eyes.
The silver badge flashed under the dim yellow oil lamp, and the words "Department of Magical Law Enforcement" were clearly visible on it.
Frank stared at the badge for a while, then looked up at Lin Ze's face.
Although his eyes were still wary, his tense body was obviously relaxed.
He opened his mouth, "Are you really Ministry of Magic?"
"Of course." Lin Ze nodded.
"You can call me Lin."
Frank looked at Alice beside him.
Alice was still huddled next to him, like a frightened rabbit, his fingers tightly clenching Frank's skirt, his knuckles were frighteningly white.
"She... she is in a very bad state now... During this time she... has been tortured by that crazy woman..."
Lin Ze glanced at the direction of the door. Bellatrix was holding the door frame and looking inside. When he saw him looking over, he smiled and shook his finger at him.
Lin Ze took a deep breath and felt his temples pounding.
"Get out and don't appear in front of Longbottoms!"
Bellatrix curled his lips and moved back, the heels of his boots clicking on the stone floor, and he was still mumbling, "I didn't go in, so I can't even take a look... This little mouse... is really vicious!"
Lin Ze ignored her and turned to Frank and said, "I'm sorry, I have to give Mrs. Longbottom a Calming Charm first. Her condition can't stand the torture anymore."
Frank hesitated for two seconds, lowered his head and whispered something in Alice's ear.
Alice didn't respond, but just loosened his grip on his clothes a little.
Lin Ze slowly clicked the wand on Alice's head. As the spell lit up, Alice fell softly into Frank's arms, and his breathing gradually calmed down.
Frank raised his head and nodded towards Lin Ze: "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Lin Ze put the wand away, "Let's go out first. This place is eerie. It's easy to have nightmares if you stay here for a long time."
He stretched out his hand to help Frank lift Alice up, but Frank stood up supporting the wall and held his wife in his arms.
His steps were a little wobbly, but he could still stand firm.
Lin Ze didn't say much and held up his wand to lead the way.
The two of them walked up the stone steps. Bellatrix poked his head at the door. When he saw them coming up, he immediately stuck to the wall, pretending to be "I'm very good".
After leaving the cellar, the bright light outside made Frank squint his eyes.
He hugged Alice tightly and suddenly stumbled and fell forward.
Fortunately, Lin Ze had quick eyesight and quick hands and used "Levitation Charm" to stop the two of them from falling.
It is estimated that they did not take in food for too long, coupled with the psychological pressure during this period, the couple fell into a coma.
However, the two people's coma is a good thing for Lin Ze, so that he is not afraid that Bellatrix's safe house will be exposed.
Lin Ze thought for a while, took out his communication badge and contacted Amelia.
"Amelia, it's me. I need your help with something. I found Longbottoms. They are not in good condition right now and need to send St. Mungo's. Can you arrange for a reliable person to come and pick them up? I will send you the address. I have some things here that are not convenient for me to leave."
There was silence on the other end of the line for a few seconds.
"Frank and Alice? Are you sure?"
"OK."
"I'll go there myself." Amelia said.
"Okay, the address is..."
Lin Ze finished reporting his address, stuffed the badge back into his pocket, and turned to look at Bellatrix.
Bellatrix was squatting next to the rose garden, poking a passing beetle with a dead branch, humming a tuneless tune, as leisurely as a lady on vacation in the countryside.
"Do you usually live here?" Lin Ze asked.
"Occasionally." Bellatrix didn't even raise his head.
"As you know, I used to work for Dark Lord, but I was actually quite busy and didn't come here very often."
Good guy, you have the nerve to say...
"Okay, take me out, put them down, and let's go back to Rodna."
When Bellatrix heard that he was going to find Rodna, he immediately jumped up from the ground and said, "Let's go!"