Morning at Knockturn Alley

Alicia almost thought Ivan was going to try to fool her again, but then she followed his finger and saw that a narrow passageway had been created in the flat wall. More importantly, her previously hazy memory was becoming clearer.

"That's some magic!" she exclaimed. The tunnel had been right in front of her the whole time, but she hadn't noticed.

"If it's not magical, there's no way to hide it from You-Know-Who…" Ivan began.

"Have you decided what we should do next? Who are you going to let into this safe house?" Alicia asked.

Ivan hesitated for a moment, then said, "Let's get some rest today. I'll get everyone together for a meeting tomorrow morning!"

"You're going to tell everyone where the safe house is?" Alicia asked, frowning at Ivan's ineptitude.

Although these wizards were usually very obedient, it was hard to predict what they were thinking.

"I know some people are not always reliable, and that is why we need to get rid of the unstable elements as soon as possible!" Ivan explained.

However, Ivan's words only served to further confuse Alicia. Even if they gathered everyone together, how were they going to confirm who was suspicious?

Yvonne did not wait for Alicia to ask. "Of course I have an idea!" she said confidently. "It would be so much easier if they were all there!"

Isiah looked at Ivan suspiciously. She had said nothing, but twice Ivan had guessed what she was going to say and given her an answer.

"Telepathy? You were reading my mind?" Ivan's reaction was so obvious that it didn't take long for Alicia to understand what was going on. She reached out and pinched Ivan's cheek. "What a nasty bit of magic!"

"Sometimes it works, though, doesn't it?" Ivan said, grimacing.

"I can't deny that. By the way, when did you learn to do this?" Alicia asked Ivan curiously.

Legilimency was an extremely special spell that usually required one to have the necessary talent to master it. Therefore, there were very few Legiliments in the entire wizarding world, and only a few well-known ones. Therefore, under normal circumstances, no wizard would deliberately guard against this.

"At Hogwarts, of course," said Ivan, rubbing his sore cheek.

Alicia did not ask any questions, but repeatedly ordered Ivan not to read her mind.

Ivan nodded and assured her. He was well aware of how annoying Legilimers were, so he would not read the minds of his family and friends unless they agreed to do so.

And this particular offence was just to show Alicia what he could do.

"Since you're planning to meet up with Dougatt and the others again tomorrow, we can all get together tonight!" Alicia said with a smile.

Ivan, of course, would not refuse, as he had been so busy dealing with Knockturn Alley that he and his mother had had very little time alone together.

Not to mention the fact that he had to put on an act in front of the Dark Wizards, which was why he did not immediately summon them.

After re-entering the underground fortress, Isiah asked Ivan to sit in the living room, then went into the kitchen to prepare dinner.

She had not cooked for a year, as Dobby the house-elf was in charge.

Fortunately, Alicia had moved her magical kitchenware to the house, so her skills did not deteriorate.

They ate and talked, tacitly avoiding all the annoying topics except the interesting and enjoyable ones.

It was not until late at night, when Ivan went out to call Dobby, that he became the third creature to know the location of the safe house.

It's too big a place to live without house-elves…

… .

"Sir … wake up, sir!"

Early the next morning, Yvonne was woken by a soft cry.

When Ivan opened his eyes, he was in darkness except for a pair of large, round eyes resting on the edge of the bed.

Ivan snapped his fingers, and the room lit up, revealing Dobby standing by his bed.

"Is it morning already?" Yvonne asked, finding it inconvenient to live underground when one could not tell the approximate time by the sky.

"It's ten o'clock. The mistress asked me to call you…" Dobby squeaked.

Ivan immediately got out of bed, washed up, and went to the living room, where Alicia was waiting.

"Why are you up so late? Did you not sleep well last night?" Alicia asked with concern.

"No, I slept very well… so I rested a little longer." Ivan grabbed a sandwich from the table and stuffed it into his mouth. He then looked at Alicia and asked vaguely, "Where are Dougatt and the others?"

"I've asked Walker to inform them. They should be here any minute now," said Alicia, looking at the clock on the wall.

"Are you going to pick them up yourself?" asked Alicia.

Yvonne shook her head. It would be demeaning.

After swallowing the food in his mouth, Ivan asked Dobby to get a piece of parchment and write down the location of the underground fortress.

"Show them this and they can come in! But remember to burn the note after you've read it…" Ivan urged.

As a Secret-Keeper, he had many ways of getting people into the safe house, such as revealing information, writing on paper, or simply bringing people in.

Alicia solemnly put the note away and left.

Ivan ate his breakfast alone, his head aching as he thought about how he would deal with the Imaginators later and how he would complete the task of tidying up Knockturn Alley.

Dobby, meanwhile, was wrestling with the weasel under the carpet, carrying a broom over his shoulder. When Ivan had finished eating, he put down the broom in a hurry and began to clear the table, taking the bread they had left for breakfast.

The truth is that Ivan and Alicia never minded Dobby being served food together, but whenever the subject was brought up Dobby would scream in terror — he didn't think he deserved the honour …

Ivan shook his head at the sight of the house-elf rushing about, but he didn't try to persuade her otherwise. Instead, he headed straight for the meeting room…