#850 - Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom
Just as the entire British wizarding world was in an uproar over the Azkaban breakout, Anduin was also caught up in a whirlwind of activity. Aside from dealing with official business from the Ministry of Magic, the sudden surge in business at Silver Spark Bank alone took up a lot of his time.
In less than a day, the protective charms at Silver Spark Bank across the country became highly sought after. The wizards seemed to be taking revenge on someone, snatching up any protective alchemical items they could find, and in huge quantities, clearly not just for their own use.
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Faced with this situation, Anduin naturally understood what was going on, but he didn't really care. Trying to play the game of hoarding and price gouging in front of him wouldn't be so easy.
You see, the primary condition for scalpers to make money is that the seller has limited production capacity. Only if Silver Spark charms were to run out of stock would these people have a chance to raise prices and make a killing.
But when it comes to production capacity, Anduin has never been afraid of anyone. So, as the protective charms in Silver Spark Bank were being snapped up like crazy, Anduin immediately notified the alchemy factory, ordering all the lathes to start producing protective accessories at full capacity.
Anyway, there's no such thing as having too many of these items right now. If they can't sell them all domestically, they can still ship them abroad. The news probably hasn't fully spread yet, and in a while, the charm business abroad will probably explode as well.
After dealing with all of this, it was already late at night. However, as soon as Anduin returned to his residence, he saw Harry and Sirius, who had arrived uninvited.
"Hmm? How did you two end up here?" Anduin asked, looking at them in confusion. Although the fireplace in Sirius's house could directly connect to his place, the other party would usually contact him using the communicator first if there was anything, and it was late at night.
"Isn't it all because of the mess you stirred upβ¦" Sirius rolled his eyes. He knew quite a bit and was aware that Anduin was involved in the Death Eaters' escape.
Of course, he phrased it very vaguely, so Harry next to him didn't pick up on anything. Harry also took the initiative to step forward and explain, "It's like this, Uncle Wilson, we had just heard about the Death Eaters' escape, and then a group of Aurors came to our door."
"They said that because my godfather and I have significant connections to the Death Eaters, we are likely to be targeted for retaliation, so they need to monitor and protect us around the clock."
Anduin nodded slightly upon hearing this. He was aware of this matter. When discussing with Fudge and the others earlier, he had brought up the issue of protecting the Death Eaters' enemies. You see, there are far too many people in the current wizarding world who have grudges against the Death Eaters.
Just take the members of the Order of the Phoenix, for example, all of whom are enemies that the Death Eaters would love to eliminate. So, during the discussion, Amelia suggested providing some protection to these people, as well as leaders in the Muggle world.
Of course, there also needed to be a distinction in treatment. For those wizards or families who only had some old feuds with the Death Eaters, the Ministry of Magic would simply give them a reminder to be careful.
As for those wizards who had directly opposed or even fought with the Death Eaters, they would be given more practical help and advice, such as asking them to live together in a concentrated area, or having the Ministry of Magic provide them with some protective equipment for self-defense.
As for Harry and Sirius, who had a blood feud with the Death Eaters, the Ministry of Magic would have to treat them as a priority. Close protection was the bare minimum, and after Harry went to school, they might even deploy standing guards outside the school.
"Those Aurors are so annoying." Sirius curled his lips with an impatient expression. "They're just some Death Eaters. It's not like I haven't fought them before. Do you think I'm afraid of them?"
"So? And then? You still haven't explained why you're here, have you?" Anduin glanced at Sirius speechlessly, then looked at Harry.
"It's just that Godfather found the Aurors annoying." Harry explained with a chuckle, "Godfather wanted to drive them away, but the Aurors refused to leave. In the end, Godfather couldn't take it anymore and compromised, saying that he would move in with me at your place for the rest of the summer. Only then did the Aurors give up."
"Uncle Wilsonβ¦" Harry said excitedly, "I didn't expect mentioning your name to actually work. As soon as the Aurors heard that we would be staying with you, they immediately felt relieved, but they insisted on watching us come over here before they would leave."
"I seeβ¦"
Anduin nodded understandingly, but Sirius quickly added with a touch of arrogance, "I'm just bringing Harry here to avoid the Aurors. I'll take him back tomorrow. I won't cause you any trouble."
"Should I thank you for that?" Anduin rolled his eyes, then shook his head and said, "Forget it. It's probably going to be chaotic outside for a while after those Death Eaters escaped. It's really not safe for you to live alone at Grimmauld Place, Number 12. You might as well just move in here."
"Not safe?" Sirius frowned. The reason he didn't take the Death Eaters seriously at all was because he understood Anduin. Since he chose to release those Death Eaters, he certainly wouldn't let them cause chaos. But now that he said this, could it be?
"Are you referring to those Death Eaters lurking in the shadows?" Sirius reacted quickly and immediately understood that Anduin was referring to more than just those who had escaped from prison.
"And those families who are still stubbornly supporting Voldemort in secret." Anduin was planning to use these Death Eaters to catch more fish, so how could he let them go?
"And it's not just you." Anduin was worried that Sirius would refuse, so he added, "I'm also planning to call the Longbottoms over. It's been a long time since you've seen Augusta, hasn't it?"
"Will Neville be moving in too? Yay!" Harry's eyes widened with excitement upon hearing this. Sirius couldn't bear to spoil the mood, so he nodded in agreement.
The next day, when the Longbottoms walked out of the fireplace, Sirius suddenly stared in surprise.
"Frank? Alice? You⦠you?"
It turned out that the Longbottom family that appeared was not just Augusta and her grandson Neville. They were also accompanied by two middle-aged couples, who were none other than the long-lost Frank and Alice Longbottom.
At this time, the two of them, apart from having gray hair and slightly weathered faces, were completely indistinguishable from normal people, and their eyes revealed clarity and peace.
"Black, long time no see!" Frank looked at his old friend with a happy smile on his face. "Alice and I were only discharged from the hospital two days ago. I originally told my mother not to notify you, because I wanted to give you a surprise, but I didn't expect the opportunity to come so quickly."
