Go Run a Tab with Death!
Asking for a room was naturally for safety reasons.
This place looks like a shady business.
The reason is simple:
Have you ever seen a shop that doesn't have its front lights on?
Have you ever seen a store with so many empty rooms?
In the words of the Far East witch, Sister Phoebe: This is an outright rip-off!
From a safety perspective, what the two did... was perfectly fine.
You could even praise them with a comment, "Highly vigilant!"
Besides, William and Hermione certainly wouldn't sleep in the room.
William's Safety Watch had been expanded with a great deal of space using Undetectable Extension Charm.
The room layout is basically the same as the house in Ottery St Catchpole.
They usually sleep there.
This is true even when crossing the Adriatic Sea.
As for Cregan's image... this is far away in Albania, and his problematic lifestyle couldn't possibly reach France.
It's impossible to investigate him by double-regulation.
Well, William and Hermione didn't consider his image at all.
Taking the blame is no big deal.
These days, the three heroes of the night: the scapegoat, the cuckold, and the sucker... you have to have at least one of them, right?
Don't look down on these three heroes; some people pursue them their whole lives but can never attain them.
For example, Professor Snape: if Lily were still alive, would he be willing to be the one to take over her situation?
Of course I would.
He could immediately treat Harry like his own son, adding 100 House Points every day.
They might even allow Harry to keep his surname.
However, the first thing Professor Snape would probably do every morning was knock on Harry's door and say in a sarcastic tone:
Potter, my dear son, Daddy loves you!
William waved his wand, and all four wizards were bound with ropes and stored inside the Safety Watch.
Since Cregan was made the scapegoat, we should at least give him a gift in return.
These four wizards are just there to boost his sales performance.
William and Hermione didn't rush to their room; instead, they found a table and sat down.
After the battle, everyone knew that these wizards were not to be trifled with, so they abandoned any thoughts they might have had.
William asked for a newspaper. He was shocked when he glanced at it; he almost spat out his tea.
The title reads:
The Venice dragon crash!
The post also included a photo of William and Hermione together, with a menacing Hungarian Horntail standing beside them.
As everyone knows, there's no such thing as Photoshop in the Wizarding World, so this picture must be real.
The content is even simpler:
What exactly happened with the white dragon in Venice? Venice is a city most people are familiar with, but what's the story behind Venice white dragon? Let's find out together...
The flavor is too strong; it's obviously from a veteran marketing account.
William and Hermione were flipping through the newspaper, listening to the gossip.
Old Tom, a chatterbox who couldn't sit still, held a glass of wine to his lips with two fingers, took a sip, and mumbled, "I wonder if those people are still alive."
"I suspect he's in Elphias Doge. That Theon guy, he's always so arrogant. Just a few days ago he said he was going to break all three of the Stark' legs."
I was even planning to crowdfund his boat ticket to Venice. But I guess he's already gone.
Wait... whose three legs were broken? William was completely bewildered.
William and Hermione exchanged a strange look, then continued to listen patiently. They quickly grasped the gist of it.
It turns out there was a male witch who had been missing for several days and then suddenly reappeared.
He recruited a group of wizards to capture the Runespoor deep in the Albanian Forest.
They've been gone for a day and a night, and no one has returned yet.
"What's that wizard's name?" William asked.
"He said... his name is Ron," an old witch replied.
William frowned. This Ron must be Peter.
Wormtail really loves Ron deeply; he uses Ron's name when he goes out to do bad things.
If Ron finds out, he'll probably be so angry he'll jump out of his hospital bed.
"Boss, I'd like to ask you about someone."
William waved his wand, and a bag of Galleon flew over and landed in front of the counter.
Old Tom might have misjudged the dolls, but he always had a keen eye for money. He wiped the table and pulled Galleon into his sleeve.
He beamed, his face full of wrinkles, like a blooming chrysanthemum.
"You asked? My memory is pretty good; I remember most of the places I've stayed at."
William took out an envelope and handed it over.
Old Tom held the envelope and examined it carefully for a moment.
"It was indeed sent from here. Let me think, it seems to have been sent by that witch named Bertha Jorkins."
She said she wanted to send it to Venice, so she borrowed my seagull.
Where is she now?
"They've been missing for several days."
"Disappeared?" William's heart sank.
"That's right. That day at noon, I noticed she hadn't come downstairs, so I went to knock on the door."
"No one answered, so I opened the door and found he was gone," Old Tom said quickly.
"The same male wizard disappeared along with them. I suspect he kidnapped them."
William nodded slightly. "Do you know the exact location of the Runespoor that Ron mentioned?"
Old Tom quickly shook his head, indicating that he didn't know.
He actually knew about it; having lived here for so many years, he had occasionally encountered tourists and heard them mention the location.
But when a group of wizards went to capture them, they all disappeared, and Old Tom wasn't about to get involved.
Just then, the door opened again.
A wizard, covered in mud and water, entered. His face was scarred, making him look even more ferocious.
"Oh, thank Death, Theon, you're back!" Old Tom jumped to his feet.
"What happened? Why are you all alone?" he asked anxiously.
Everyone looked at Theon, curious about what had happened.
They went out in search of the Runespoor, but now only Theon has returned alone.
"They're all dead! They were all killed by that dark wizard named Ron!"
Theon closed the door, wiped his face—covered in mud—and sat down, still shaken, cursing:
"Good bastard, that despicable Ron, I curse his sons to be born without a penis!"
They even lied to Laozi, saying that the Runespoor was a coward, a useless creature that was afraid of even wizards.
Little did anyone know, she was laying eggs, and she was incredibly ferocious.
"We were fighting the snake and were almost subdued when Ron suddenly attacked us again."
Seeing that things were going badly, I ran away.
Everyone fell silent and began to curse Ron along with Theon.
Theon ordered a jug of wine and drank it down in large gulps.
The truth, of course, was not like that. They discovered the Runespoor was very powerful, so they withdrew and forced Ron to pay more.
Ron readily agreed.
Theon discovered that the kid was very rich, so he secretly suggested that they take care of the Runespoor first, and then kill the kid.
In the end, the snake and Galleon belonged to them.
Unexpectedly, Ron launched a surprise attack during the battle.
Only Theon was clever enough to run relatively fast.
But I can't say it like that to everyone. It's a Rashomon-like situation.
"Excuse me, could you tell me where the Runespoor is?" William said. "I have a friend inside; I suspect something happened to him."
Theon's face was contorted with rage; he was in a bad mood and was about to refuse when William pulled out a bag of Galleon.
He swallowed his words back.
Hey, another rich guy has arrived!
Theon glanced at William and Hermione, assessing their respective strengths.
Two against one...
With his abilities, he estimated that he could still win.
He readily agreed.
Old Tom slightly raised his eyelids and immediately saw through Theon's intentions.
However, he didn't remind Theon:
In a mere instant, the two wizards had taken down four people.
Old Tom had long disliked this Theon, who often ate without paying... Go on credit, go on credit, go to Death's side and buy on credit!
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Thank you to "Ace101" and "Jimo Piaoxue A745" for their generous donations.