Chapter 77. The Professor Fallen on the Streets
"Professor Fawkes!"
Lynn stared in shock at the old man lying on the ground, his disheveled silver hair and stained trench coat making him look like a beggar, with a few pennies given to him by passersby in front of him.
Fawkes, who was lying down and resting with his eyes closed, heard the voice and opened his eyes in surprise to look at Lynn.
"Belok, what are you doing here?"
Lynn spread his hands helplessly.
"It's a long story. I was tricked by a house-elf. He brought me here and insisted that I find something. As soon as I entered this small town, my magic disappeared."
Professor Fawkes shook his head with a sigh.
"I'm even more unlucky. My travel plans hadn't even started long before I arrived here, and now my magic has vanished. My plan to stage a magic show on the street is ruined. I don't know if it's lucky or unlucky that I'd run into you here, Belloc."
Lynn frowned slightly, looking at him strangely, first sizing him up, then circling him.
He suddenly asked,
"How much was the first sum of money you gave me?"
Fawkes looked at him with a smile, as if he knew what he was up to, and answered fluently.
"Twenty-five Galleons, and then I got five hundred Galleons from Gringotts for you."
"What did I serve you when you came to my house?"
"German dark beer, or rather, I tricked you into buying it."
"Where is your home in England?"
"608 Queen Street, Lisbon, Northern Ireland. Don't forget to go there and get the dark magic materials; you'll need them."
Seeing that he answered fluently, Lynn breathed a sigh of relief.
"Professor, don't you always call me Lynn? Why are you suddenly calling me by my last name?"
Fawkes blinked and smiled.
"We've been apart for a while now, and it feels a little strange to see you again."
Lynn stared at him for a moment, then shook her head.
"If I didn't know this place could steal wizards' magic, and if you didn't answer all my questions, I would have almost suspected you were an imposter."
Fawkes shrugged, seemingly unconcerned about Lynn's suspicion.
"It's good to be so vigilant, just like I told you before, don't trust anyone easily."
"But how did you end up like this?" Lynn was still quite surprised by Professor Fawkes's current state.
"Even if you can't make a living with magic in this small town, what happened to all the money you earned before? Where did it all go?"
Professor Fawkes got up from the ground, brushed the dust off his clothes, and picked up a few coins.
"I'll explain it to you in detail later. Do you have any money, Lynn? I haven't eaten for over a day, let's go get something to eat."
Ten minutes later, at a fast food restaurant.
Professor Fawkes was wolfing down his third hamburger.
Lynn was sipping his iced cola, taking small sips. He was always cautious when he was alone, but now that Professor Fawkes was around, he felt more relaxed.
"So, Professor, how did you end up like this?"
Professor Fawkes seemed to have enjoyed his meal. He wiped his mouth with a napkin, let out a long sigh, slumped into his chair, squeezed the entire packet of ketchup into his fries, and ate them one by one.
"When I first arrived here, I did have some Muggle currency, but the sudden disappearance of my magic panicked me. After realizing that even leaving didn't restore my magic, I didn't dare do anything rash and had to seek help from the outside world.
On my first day here, I went to the Muggle post office and mailed a letter. To get it to the recipient as quickly as possible, I spent all my money. A place like this couldn't be unknown in the British magical world; we must have stumbled upon it by mistake.
Just wait, we should have news soon."
Lynn nodded; encountering Professor Fawkes under these circumstances reassured him considerably.
He glanced aimlessly at the fast-food restaurant and saw a lame old man wearing a beret and leaning on a cane walk in.
He didn't pay much attention; it was lunchtime, and the restaurant was still quite crowded.
"Shall we stay here for now?"
"Do you have enough money?"
Lynn calculated in his mind.
"If we're frugal, we can live here for at least two weeks. Even if we run out, I have some Galleons here—real gold. If all else fails, we can exchange them for pounds."
Professor Fawkes shook his head. "That would be too much of a loss."
"If it really comes to that, there's nothing we can do. We can't just starve and wander the streets forever."
The lame old man seemed to be heading to the restroom. His legs looked very weak, and when he reached Lynn's table, he suddenly slipped. Lynn reached out to help him catch him.
"Be careful, sir,"
Smith said apologetically.
"Thank you, child. I'm sorry to disturb your meal with your grandfather."
Lynn and Professor Fawkes simultaneously narrowed their eyes.
Lynn smiled without changing his expression and said, "It's alright. My grandfather always taught me to be helpful. Do you need my help?"
Smith waved his hand.
"It's alright, it's an old ailment of mine, so I won't trouble you."
After saying that, he let go of Lynn's hand and limped into the restroom.
Lynn and Professor Fawkes exchanged a glance.
"Something's not right with him."
Professor Fawkes nodded as well.
"His words just now had a probing tone."
"Are we being watched? Has someone in this city recognized us?"
Professor Fawkes stood up.
"But whatever, let's get out of here first."
Lynn also got up and quickly left the fast food restaurant.
After Smith came out of the restroom at the perfect time, he was shocked to find that the person who had been sitting where Lynn and Smith had been was gone.
Sensing something was wrong, he also left the fast food restaurant.
Smith didn't go straight back to the church. He wandered around, first going to a familiar convenience store, then sneaking out of the back door of the convenience store. After making sure no one was following him, he headed towards the church.
Lynn and Professor Fawkes hid in a corner, observing the front of the convenience store for a long time, but only saw the old cripple go in and not come out, knowing they had lost him.
However, this also proved one thing: the old cripple was specifically looking for them!
Lynn rubbed his chin with his fingers, pondering.
"There's a high possibility that there are more than just the two of us wizards in this city; that cripple is clearly with another group of wizards." "
They must be involved in the disappearance of magic! At the very least, they should know something!"
Thanks to Ice Shard K for the 100 coins, and to Alexius I for the 100 coins.
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(End of Chapter)