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Chapter 1261: Underground World
🕑 Added 2024-10-12 14:49:16 +0000 UTCUnder the Invisibility Cloak, Evan, Harry, Hermione and Ron moved deeper into Knockturn Alley.
However, Malfoy had already vanished. There was only one path in this place; yet they easily lost him.
They carefully observed the dark magic shops on both sides of the alley, searching for any sign of Malfoy. Most of these shops looked scary, decorated in dark colors, and the windows displayed things that would make people feel bad or scary things at a glance.
They didn't walk fast and didn't see anyone. The whole Knockturn Alley was as silent as death.
Occasionally, a dark shadow would suddenly appear behind a window, evidence that someone was looking out at the street.
These figures did not ease the horror atmosphere, but instead intensified the tension, because each of them looked like a ghost.
"Let's go back. This place makes me feel bad," Ron said hesitantly, looking nervous.
"No, we have to find out what Malfoy is doing here," Harry insisted.
"He might have gone into a shop and we missed him," said Hermione uncertainly. "What's in the depths of Knockturn Alley?"
"Meow!" Evan called out softly as a response.
Indeed, what lay in the depths of Knockturn Alley?
This was an interesting question indeed.
Deep in Knockturn Alley, behind the dark and dirty alley, there was a mysterious Underground World hidden.
It was the dark side of the British Wizarding World and the fringe of society, filled with a large number of evil dark wizards, werewolves, vampires and other creatures that were not accepted by mainstream society, as well as species hiding there like house-elves that had lost their masters, and other thieves and swindlers who got there for various purposes.
Chaos and darkness were synonymous with this area. The laws and rules set by the Ministry of Magic, like sunlight, would never shine here.
Therefore, the Underground World was also called the Dark Zone.
Its origin was unknown, and no one knew for sure whether such a place even existed. It had always been a subject of debate.
The official statement of the Ministry of Magic was that those extremely vicious dark wizards dug a few holes deep in Knockturn Alley to hide in order to escape the pursuit of Aurors and the punishment of the law. That was all. There was no such Underground World at all.
Moreover, these things had happened a long time ago. Even if these dark wizards had not been arrested, they couldn’t possibly still be alive today.
Under the propaganda of the Ministry of Magic, most law-abiding wizards also believed that such a place did not exist.
Mrs. Weasley had specifically talked to them about this matter. She believed that the Underground World was a product of fiction, a ridiculous conspiracy theory, just like some people always said that the previous Minister of Magic Fudge liked to eat goblins, which was simply nonsense.
Fudge liked the goblins' gold, not that he actually wanted to eat them.
But in fact, only those wizards who had truly come into contact with black magic knew that this Underground World really existed.
The first time Evan heard of this place was from Sirius.
After he escaped from Azkaban, he hid for a while in a crypt that was part of the Underworld.
To be more precise, it was a tiny part.
The so-called Underground World was composed of countless interconnected burrows beneath Knockturn Alley. Some of these burrows were naturally formed, and some had been artificially dug. The creatures living within them varied greatly, ranging from human wizards to terrifying magical creatures.
The number of caves was huge, and the area they occupied far exceeded Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley above ground.
No one had ever traversed all the caves, and no one dared to claim that they truly understood this place.
In short, it was very scary there, full of all kinds of unexpected dangers. Sirius had once warned Evan and Harry not to sneak into Knockturn Alley to take risks. It was said that there were many man-eating monsters living in the Underground World, specializing in catching children...
This warning might sound a bit ridiculous, but don't doubt it—creatures that specialized in eating children’s hearts did exist in Knockturn Alley.
Those old witches lurking in the shadows, whispering conspiratorially, the dark wizards twisted by black magic, or the banshees infamous for their cruelty—they might all share such a preference. They seemed particularly fond of the bodies of adorable young boys...
The second time Evan heard about the Underground World was from Lupin.
After the war began, Dumbledore wanted Lupin to return to the werewolf community to gather intelligence and recruit other werewolves.
So, Lupin gave up his job as editor-in-chief of the newspaper and entered the Underground World, taking on a task that filled him with disgust and pain.
From him, Evan learned that the most powerful force in the Underground World right now was the werewolves.
They occupied most of the caves in the upper and middle levels of the Underground World as their main activity areas and territories.
Originally, werewolves were a minority, few in number, and not the most powerful force in the Underground World.
At least, that was the case a few decades ago.
They stayed away from wizards, relied on stealing and killing for food, often facing discrimination and persecution.
This situation changed completely after the appearance of Fenrir Greyback, the Werewolf King.
As the cruelest werewolf, Greyback's goal in life was to bite and infect as many people as possible.
He wanted to create enough werewolves to conquer the Wizarding World, so he specifically targeted children.
He believed that biting them at a young age, making them grow up away from their parents, filled with hatred for normal wizards, would allow them to become part of the werewolf army. Through his relentless efforts, this horrific plan finally succeeded.
Now, the werewolves had submitted to Greyback's brutal rule and had made the Underworld their domain.
They were active there and continued their evil deeds.
Ironically, most of the werewolves had been infected by Greyback himself.
One would think they should have hated him, but no werewolf rebelled. On the contrary, they harbored hatred toward normal wizards and those who abandoned them.
They followed Greyback's orders, spreading the terrible werewolf virus and deep-seated hatred everywhere.
Perhaps influenced by Greyback, his werewolf followers also preferred biting children, especially strong young boys. This was because infected boys would grow up to become part of their ranks, turning into powerful werewolves themselves...
So, Knockturn Alley was really not a friendly place for boys!
The third time Evan heard someone mention the Underground World was from Voldemort's daughter Delphini.
In the future he traveled to, Delphini wanted to infiltrate the Minister's office at the Ministry of Magic, and for that, she needed Polyjuice Potion.
This potion was not sold in regular stores, but as long as you had money, you could get anything in the Underground World.
She led Evan and fifteen-year-old Riddle to the Underground World, and that was the closest Evan had ever been to that place.
