harry potter book of crimes

When you want to get to know someone, the most effective way is of course to go directly to that person and get along with them.

But what if that person is someone you can’t easily reach?

In fact, this is not complicated. You only need to ask other people around the other person. As long as you are good at listening and analyzing, and try to summarize the impact that person has on the surroundings, you can indirectly gain some details.

.

After all, no matter how good a person is at hiding and disguising, his true colors will always be revealed at some inadvertent moment.

However, sometimes the problem is that people around the other person may not be willing to share their opinions of that person with you. So, what should you do when you are at the end of your rope?

Don't lose heart, give someone around him a shot of Legilimency!

"...Well, at least I won't be so mean."

Maka shrugged, took out an empty potion bottle from her sleeve, corked the bottle and put it back in the bag on her waist.

Before the potion bottle is stuffed, you can see an inconspicuous word written on the label of the bottle - "Veritaserum".

"What's your full name?"

"Marius Semens Augustine."

"I didn't ask you."

Volatile Veritaserum has this shortcoming, and it is easy to cause accidental injuries as soon as it is used. Macca waved his hand and directly sent a stun spell to the young master Augustine, letting him lie down on the spot and sleep.

But compared to Marius's quick effect, Miriam, who was a little closer to Maka, only had her eyes a little straight. It can be seen that her strong will gave her good mental resistance.

Unfortunately, the effect of Veritaserum is not just magical, the accelerated physical exhaustion is also constantly consuming her perseverance.

After a while, she finally trembled her red lips and uttered a sentence:

"My name is Miriam."

…

As a child, Miriam lived in a wealthy and happy family.

She was born in London, England, in the 1970s, and her parents were both Muggles. Although her parents were the type of people who valued their career over their family, they could not be said to have neglected their children for the sake of work.

Even though the company of the family is indeed less, they will take little Mirian to the outskirts of the city for picnics on their rest days every week.

On weekdays, before she reached school age, she grew up gradually under the care of a kind maid.

Thinking about it now, that was probably the happiest time she had ever spent in her life.

There are delicious meals when she is hungry, and fresh juice when she is thirsty. Even though her parents can only see each other in the morning and evening every day, as a child, she is still satisfied.

What's more, she also met a boy about the same age as herself in a small park near her home.

Although the boy's clothes were not as bright and bright as hers, they were still clean and tidy. Moreover, the boy's personality was also very sunny, and he could always bring laughter to her heart in the rainy days of London.

Yes, that boy seems to be called "Asaph".

However, just one day before her seventh birthday, Xiao Mirian's parents suddenly disappeared out of thin air.

That's right, it "disappeared".

In fact, even she herself did not notice the mysterious disappearance of her parents at first. Even when she realized that she was the only one left in the family, she never had any doubts about this situation.

Even the maid originally employed by her family seemed to have forgotten her job and never appeared again.

But in this situation, how can little Miriam, who has just turned seven, live alone?

After all the food at home was eaten, she tasted hunger for the first time. Then, she slowly began to lose strength, and it was extremely difficult to even lift the corners of her mouth.

As a result, this cheerful girl who was originally full of energy soon lost her former liveliness.

Facts have proved that even a 7-year-old child will want to struggle when he realizes that he is in a desperate situation.

Little Miriam suddenly understood vaguely that she had to go out and leave this empty home.

"Asaph? Asaph..."

When she struggled to support her body and opened the door to the street outside, her genius had just dawned. And she didn't even know how many mornings it was.

Little Miriam didn't know who to go to, so she could only choose a name that was most familiar to her and call it out. Even if she shouted weakly, it was probably better than not calling at all.

"Asaph...Asaph!"

She could not meet that sunny boy with a fair face.

Maybe the other party is in the park now?

Just like in the past, he was there waiting for her to play together... although she didn't even know when the boy came to the park every day.

Unfortunately, it seems that she will never know this answer...

As her ankles softened, little Mirian suddenly fell down on the slippery ground. Her palms and cheeks that touched the ground felt cold, which almost covered up the pain after the fall.

Oh, did it rain again last night? I wonder if Asa didn’t bring an umbrella again today...

Her consciousness began to become hazy, and the floor tiles in front of her eyes turned into large gray objects. Even the opposite street that happened to be reflected in the puddles was mixed together, fading slowly like a dream.

The color.

Dad will be angry if he sleeps on the floor... Well, dad... who is it?

When this question flashed through her mind, her eyes completely fell into darkness.

In fact, even now, it is hard for Miriam to believe that she would wake up at that time. But no matter what, she still woke up.

The moment she opened her eyelids, Xiao Mirian's vision was still blurry. It wasn't until she raised her hand to rub her eyes that everything in front of her really came into her mind.

"Asaph!"

Although she could still feel her weakness, she could see an acquaintance when she opened her eyes, and that sense of security was undoubtedly extremely important to a little girl.

"Oh, Miriam, are you awake?"

Asa, who had just been sitting on the edge of the bed opposite and dozing off, immediately jumped out of bed and ran to her, looking at her back and forth.

"Ah, yes..." Little Mirian blinked, and her long eyelashes immediately became a little more lively, "When did I fall asleep? Where is this place?"

Little Asaph probably heard these two questions, but he had no time to pay attention to them. He turned around and rushed out of the room.

"Grandpa Raven! Grandpa Raven! Miriam is awake—"

Listening to the shouts in the corridor gradually getting away, little Mirian, who was suddenly left in this strange room, shrank down and wrapped the quilt tighter around her body.

Only then did she have time to take a quick look at the room.

This is a very simple decoration... no, it can actually be called a simple multi-person bedroom. There are four beds, two old wooden desks, and a half-open grille window.

Looking out the window from her, the blue sky was divided into pieces by the diamond-shaped grille in front of the window, and some clouds floated quietly between the grilles to places that could not be seen.

Judging from the fact that nothing can be seen outside except the sky wall, this room is at least on the third floor. Because looking out from the attic of her home, the scene is similar to this one.

Of course, the sky in London is gray most of the time. It is not easy to see such a fresh blue color.

"Tuk-tuk."

Little Mirian, who was hunching her neck and staring out the window, was interrupted by two gentle knocks on the door. She timidly turned her head and looked towards the door.

"Miriam, this is Grandpa Raven, he was the one who saved us a few days ago!"

Compared with Asana's excited expression, Xiao Mirian's face was more filled with fear.

In a blink of an eye, she saw an old man coming in behind Asaph. The old man was sitting on a wheeled chair and was pushed to the foot of the bed by an uncle.

And the old man slumped on the strange chair was not only as skinny as wood, with hands like bird claws, but even his eyes seemed to have a gloomy and cold aura.

When she saw the other party, there was only one word in Xiao Mirian's mind - scary!

"Oh, don't worry, Grandpa Raven is a good man."

Seeing the confusion on Xiao Mirian's face, Asa finally remembered how he felt when he saw this old grandfather for the first time.

Indeed, that was definitely not a good start.

However, he had no one to comfort him at that time, but now Miriam can be comforted by him?

"Don't worry, didn't I just say it! It was Grandpa Raven who saved us - otherwise, not only would I die, but you would also starve to death on the roadside!"

Unlike little Miriam, Asaph has witnessed the death of his relatives since he was a child, and he also understands some of the meaning of death.

When Old Ewan saved him from a certain life crisis, from being on the verge of death to regaining his life, it was like an incredible miracle.

"Good guy?"

Little Mirian clutched the quilt tightly, still hunching her neck and glancing in the direction of Old Youn again.

"Well, it happens to be lunch time, why not eat something delicious first!"

Old Youn suddenly smiled, his wrinkled skin moved, and his skinny face actually gained a touch of kindness.

…

"...Later, I stayed there with Asaph."

After hearing what Miriam said, Maka counted the time in her mind and soon understood something.

For example, at that time, Voldemort was reaching the peak of his power. At that time, the activities of Death Eaters were quite frequent.

It was during those years that Dumbledore's Order of the Phoenix came into being.

It seems that the destruction of Miriam's family happened to happen during the worst time before the Order of the Phoenix was founded. To be able to survive under such circumstances can only be said to be very lucky.

"So, what about the days after living there?" Maka then asked. (To be continued)