Early the next morning, Lin Ze came to the office, and Mia arrived early. Of course, there were also a lot of notebooks for our daily paperwork in the office.
Mia was sitting at his workstation, with the manuscript he brought back from Knockturn Alley's warehouse spread out in front of him. He was holding a quill pen in his hand, and seemed to be making some notes.
"How was the talk?" Seeing Lin Ze appear outside the partition of her desk, she raised her eyelids and asked.
"Fortunately, I finally learned something." Lin Ze patted the parchment with the address of Kensington on the table.
Mia picked it up, took a look at it, nodded, and continued to flip through the manuscript in his hand.
Lin Ze walked outside Ben's desk and shouted.
Ben poked his head out of his partition.
"Help me ask where Frank·Longbottom is now."
"Longbottom? They were discharged from the hospital some time ago. For this reason, major newspapers chased St. Mungo's and squatted at the door for a long time. It can be seen from that newspaper that Longbottoms was dissatisfied with those reporters."
"Let me think about it... They seemed to have been asked this question when they were being interviewed... Please wait a moment and I will look for that issue of the newspaper."
Finally, Ben found that newspaper, and Frank and Alice said they would go to Alice's natal home in the countryside of Wales to help Alice recover from some of his psychological trauma.
Lin Ze Write down the address and set off directly.
Wales It is not warm in April in the countryside. The grass has sprouted green buds. The hillside in the distance is shrouded in mist. The sheep are scattered on the slope like white sesame seeds scattered all over the ground.
Alice's house is not big.
A single-story stone house with a slate roof, a crooked wooden bench under the porch, and a few woolen threads wrapped around the legs of the chair.
There was a row of clay flowerpots placed on the windowsill, filled with an unknown variety of dwarf shrubs, full of the atmosphere of life.
Lin Ze walked to the door, raised his hand and knocked.
There was a rustling sound inside the door, and then footsteps.
After the door opened, Frank·Longbottom was standing at the door, wearing an old sweater, with the sleeves rolled up to his forearm, holding a rag in his hand, and a small piece of flour on his face.
He is much better than when he was in St. Mungo's. He is a little thinner, but his complexion is generally pretty good.
Seeing Lin Ze, he was stunned for a moment.
"Mr. Lin?"
"Mr. Longbottom, I'm sorry to bother you."
"No interruption, no interruption." Frank stepped aside to open the door.
"Come in, Alice is baking bread, it will be out of the oven soon."
Lin Ze bent down and entered the door.
The house is not big inside, but it is very cozy.
There was a fire burning in the fireplace, a row of tin cans on the stovetop, the oven on the stovetop was steaming, and the air was filled with the smell of butter and wheat.
Alice was standing behind the stove, wearing a floral apron around his waist, dragging a baking pan out of the oven.
When she heard the door knock, she raised her head.
Her complexion is much better than that of St. Mungo's. Although she is still thin, the light in her eyes is much brighter than before.
"Mr. Lin." After she recognized Lin Ze, she showed a shy smile.
"You came just in time, the bread has just been baked."
"Then I'm welcome." Lin Ze sat down at the table.
Frank went to the cupboard and took three plates and cut a pot of black tea.
Alice Cut the toasted bread into thick slices and put them on a plate. Next to them are butter, honey and a jar of homemade hawthorn jam.
The three people sat around the table. Lin Ze picked up a piece of bread, broke it open, dipped it in honey, and took a bite.
Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, the sweet aroma of butter and honey mixes in your mouth, it's warm and perfectly ironed.
He had to admit that this was more than one level better than the pea soup in the Ministry of Magic cafeteria.
"How are you recovering?" Lin Ze asked.
"It's much better. Alice's short-term amnesia no longer attacks frequently." Frank glanced at his wife.
"The doctor said that after two or three months of rest, I should be able to fully recover."
Alice lowered his head and stirred the teacup without saying anything.
Lin Ze thought about his words and said, "I came here to ask some questions about Longbottom family."
Frank put down the bread in his hand, and the expression on his face changed slightly.
"Longbottom family?"
"To be precise, it's one of your elders Longbottom family." Lin Ze said the name on Fearn's list.
"Casa·Longbottom."
Frank's expression visibly stiffened.
Alice also stopped stirring the tea.
The room was quiet for a few seconds.
"Casa·Longbottom..." Frank repeated the name.
"How well do you know him?"
Lin Ze waited patiently for Frank to organize the language.
Alice said softly from the side, "I'm going to turn down the heat a little so that the bread doesn't burn anymore." She got up and walked towards the stove, her steps were very light, but her back was obviously tense.
"Longbottom family, I actually don't know much about the past. I only heard the name Casa from my grandfather when I was a child. He should be considered an ancestor hundreds of years ago." Frank finally spoke, his voice lower than before.
"When my grandfather was alive, he would occasionally mention this person when he drank too much, but every time he mentioned it, my grandma would cough next to him, and then my grandfather would stop talking."
Lin Ze noticed that Alice froze slightly in front of the stove for a moment, but she did not look back.
"What did your grandfather say?" Lin Ze asked.
Frank turned the tea in the cup twice, as if reminiscing.
"My ancestor... was very capable. He lived for a long time, an abnormally long time." He paused.
"My grandfather's original words were, 'Casa ancestors come back with different faces every few decades.'"
"Then when was the last time he appeared?"
"When my grandfather passed away, probably more than thirty years ago, a stranger came to the funeral, wearing black clothes. He stood on the outside of the crowd and did not come in." Frank recalled.
"My father recognized him, and they exchanged a few words outside the cemetery, and then the man left. When my father came back, he looked very ugly. When I asked what happened, he just said, 'Don't ask, it's not our business.'"
"What's your father's name?"
"Algie·Longbottom, by You-Know-Who..."
Okay, Lin Ze nodded. The modern Longbottom family is really loyal...
"Mr. Lin." Alice suddenly turned around. Her face was paler than before.
"I know what you want to ask, but Frank really doesn't know much about Casa. Their family's rule is that some things are only passed down to the eldest son, and Frank's father passed away too early, so not everything that should be passed on was passed on."
Frank was stunned for a moment and looked at his wife.
"Alice, how did you..."
"When I married Longbottom family, your grandma held my hand and told me something." Alice took off her apron, folded it and placed it beside the stove.
"She said, 'If anyone asks about ancestor Casa in the future, don't say anything, as it will cause unnecessary trouble.'"
The fire in the house crackled.
Lin Ze stood up and bowed slightly towards the two of them.
"Thank you both, this information is very useful to me."
"Mr. Lin." Frank stood up and hesitated before speaking.
"Casa ancestor... did he do something bad?"