Chapter 155: Turbulent Times

"Welcome to the Knight Bus, an emergency bus for witches or wizards in distress. Just hold out your wand and get on the bus, and we'll take you anywhere you want to go. My name is Gibbs Shunpike, and I'm your conductor."

On the Knight Bus, a thin middle-aged conductor said his speech and welcomed Sherlock and Snape onto the bus.

"What are your names?" Shunpike looked at them and raised his eyebrows.

The wound on Snape's face had healed by now, and he had brought a variety of potions with him. As long as he was still alive, he could guarantee that he would not die, not to mention the bruises.

"John Watson." When Sherlock introduced himself, he did not forget to glance at Snape and asked him to give himself a pseudonym.

Snape obviously noticed Sherlock's gaze, and with a cold and gloomy look on his face, he said a name.

"Tobias Prince."

"Oh, John and Tobias, so where are you two going?" Thunberg didn't notice the little movements between Sherlock and Snape. He just felt that the relationship between the two people in front of him was a little strange.

"Cockworth." Sherlock said.

Thunberg recalled this place after a while.

"The fare is 16 Sickles per person, 1 Galleon and 15 Sickles for two people. Of course, if you need two cups of hot cocoa, you can pay 6 more Sickles, or if you want a hot water bottle and a toothbrush, you can add 4 more Sickles."

Snape still had a cold face and didn't say anything, while Sherlock asked for a cup of hot cocoa. His body was very tired and needed some calories.

When it came to paying, Sherlock and Snape stared at each other, and no one took out the money at the first time.

The two looked at each other for a long time, and finally Sherlock took out his purse, counted out two Galleons and two Sickles, and muttered.

"Okay, I owe you this. The fare is my medical expenses."

When they entered the car, they saw the driver, an elderly wizard, sitting in the driver's seat.

There were no seats in the car. Behind the window with the curtains drawn, there were six beds with brass pillars. This was exactly what Sherlock wanted. He was mentally exhausted and wanted to find a bed to lie down.

However, after the car started, it was proved that Sherlock's desire to rest was purely his own fantasy.

A huge bang sounded, and Sherlock, who had not just sat on the bed, flew backwards. Fortunately, there was a soft pillow behind him, so he did not suffer any physical injuries.

They were driving in the wheat field at this time, but they were not walking on the path in the field, but directly passing through the field. The wheat growing in the field seemed to come alive. Before the car ran over them, they jumped to both sides of the car and made way for the car.

Sherlock's hot cocoa was also brought over by Thornpack. The car was still moving at high speed. He sat on the bed and didn't dare to drink it directly.

The Knight Bus didn't drive forward with wheels at all. It was more like a rabbit. It jumped after running a certain distance. Every time it jumped, the surrounding scenery changed.

Snape's mood seemed a bit complicated. He was lying on the bed next to Sherlock and staring out the window in a daze.

When the car landed, Sherlock dared to take a sip of hot cocoa and chatted with the conductor Thornpack.

"Where are we going next?"

Thornpack, who was reading a newspaper, had a sad face.

"Send Mr. Shipka to Wales. Now it is the hardest hit area for those people. I hope there will be no trouble."

Sherlock saw the front-page headline of the Daily Prophet in his hand through the corner of his eye.

"Four Aurors Died! Fierce Battle in Denbighshire!"

"It's getting more and more chaotic recently." The wizard on the other bed interrupted their conversation.

Sampark looked a little pale.

"Even the Daily Prophet has begun to change its tone. In the past, when something like this happened in Wales, their editors would definitely criticize and scold those people in the report, but now what are they saying? We need to think more about ideology and reflect on the future of wizards through constant unrest. What do they want to do?"

The wizard sighed.

"What are you thinking? They feel that the Ministry of Magic can't hold on any longer. Dumbledore is hiding in Hogwarts and hasn't come out. They feel that the magic world may change."

"Dumbledore is still doing something. The number of people in the Order of the Phoenix who have died over the years is not less than that of Aurors."

"When will this end? I originally wanted my son to take over my job in the future, but now it seems that being a ticket seller is not safe at all." Sunpark said worriedly, "Last time we picked up that man's men. I didn't even dare to ask them for the fare, nor did I dare to report the matter to the Ministry of Magic. Ern was so scared that he almost drove the car into the sea that day."

Listening to their conversation, Sherlock silently finished the hot cocoa in the cup. He could hear that the current situation in the magic world is not peaceful.

Trelawney had not yet spoken the prophecy of the savior, and Voldemort and his Death Eaters were in the limelight in the magic world, almost competing with the magic department. Even mainstream newspapers such as the Daily Prophet showed signs of changing their tone.

He and Snape came back at a very bad time. Not only did they have to think of a way to go back, but they also had to stay alert at all times to ensure their own safety.

The sky outside gradually darkened.

Sherlock gradually got used to the bumps while lying on the bed. He slept with his eyes closed for about two or three hours before he was woken up.

"You two are here."

After asking for a hot towel from Thunberg and wiping his face ("Eleven Knuts, thank you for your patronage."), Sherlock and the pale Snape got out of the car.

This is a gray city. The most conspicuous thing is that you can see several large chimneys anywhere in the city, and even at night, they keep billowing black smoke.

The city is located on the bank of a dirty river. There are many fried fish and potato chips wrappers scattered near the river bank. The river water is so dark that no signs of life can be seen in it.

A typical industrial city with an extremely bad living environment. If you just live here, you probably won't be in a good mood every day.

Snape seems to be a little carsick. His physical condition doesn't look good, but his spirit is extremely strong.

"Let's go, let's go find you at this time first."

"What do you want to do?" Snape looked at him and asked.

Sherlock sighed.

"Even if you want to see her, you can't be like this now, right? An old man in his thirties, crying and screaming at a little girl who is not yet an adult, can scare people to death."

"Let's go find you now, pull out a few of his hair, and use the polyjuice potion to make you return to youth, and then go to see your dream lover, so that it won't seem abrupt."

Snape pursed his lips and had no objection to Sherlock's arrangement.

Then he led the way and the two came to Snape's hometown, a shabby Muggle alley called Spider's End.

There were rows of shabby brick houses in the alley, and the windows on the houses looked dark and lifeless in the night.

The dirty river was right next to Spider's End. The fishy smell from the river was not very strong, because the alley itself was already smelly enough.

Snape took Sherlock to the last two-story house at the end of the alley, and the two stopped there.

"You come or me?" Sherlock asked.

Snape stood outside the door, as if he was reluctant to see this house.

"You come."

Sherlock looked at him and raised his eyebrows.

"Don't you want to take a sneak peek at your parents again?"

"Shut up! Do your thing! I live in the room on the far left of the second floor now!" Snape's voice was low, but his tone was very bad.

Sherlock was already used to his attitude. He shrugged and pointed at the leftmost window on the second floor, and stretched out his hand.

The area of ​​magic control expanded outward. Snape's room was within ten meters of Sherlock. He could clearly sense the young Snape sleeping inside.

At this time, Snape was only seventeen years old, his hair was not greasy, and he was not only young, but also handsome.

But Sherlock was not in the mood to appreciate Snape's sleeping face.

He turned a book on Snape's desk into a pair of small scissors. This simple transfiguration, even without a wand, Sherlock could directly use control magic to complete it.

Then he controlled the scissors and quietly cut off a few strands of hair from the young Snape's head, then lifted the transformation, controlled the strands of hair to pass through the gap in the window, and finally floated into his hands.

The whole process took less than three minutes. Snape just watched Sherlock stretch out a hand, and hair flew out of the room on the second floor.

But he had no mood to care what weird magic Sherlock used. He was so excited that his heart seemed to jump out of his body.

Sherlock handed him the hair and watched him put it into the Polyjuice Potion.

"Should we go find Lily now or wait until the next morning."

Snape obviously couldn't wait any longer, and he walked out of Spinner's End impatiently.

"Go now."

Sherlock looked at him and couldn't help but sigh and shook his head.

Snape, who was originally arrogant and indifferent, was no different from a normal person when facing the person he liked.

After knowing him for a year at Hogwarts, Sherlock had actually been quietly muttering in his heart whether his heart was made of stone. Now it seems that it turned into stone only because the person who deserved it to beat was dead.

Lily Evans's home is near Spinner's End.

After walking a few steps out of the alley, he came to a yard with a two-story single-family house in it. This is the Evans family.

Snape stared at the house in front of him in a daze. When he actually arrived at Lily's door, he began to hesitate.