Snakes at Hogwarts

For a long time, snakes have always been a symbol of ruthlessness in people's perception. Those little snakes born in Slytherin are often exquisite egoists.

I can only say that this is a biased statement. In the eyes of snakes, there is not only interest, but also friendship and warmth. Perhaps because these things are extremely rare among snakes, they will doubly appreciate them. cherish.

Andros Lobach

The Autobiography of a Snake: Hot Blood among Cold-blooded Animals

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July 1991, 7, London, the very edge of the city.

Here is the dirtiest side of the city, with swarms of flying flies, swill flowing along the dirty muddy paths, and garbage piles piled up like hills.

No one wants to come here, and the citizens who occasionally pass by hold their noses and quickly leave this ghost place full of stench.

It’s hard to believe that such a dirty and ugly look could exist in a big city like London.

But it's true.

A bustling city like London generates tens of thousands of tons of garbage every day, and this garbage is temporarily piled here before being properly processed, in a garbage dump in the suburbs of London.

Of course, the so-called proper handling and temporary storage are just the rhetoric of those politicians.

In fact, these garbage have been piled up here for a long time, and instead of decreasing, their number is increasing day by day. Every few days, several new mountains of garbage appear here.

Because in 1991, London citizens were actively opposing the incineration of garbage, and efficient and environmentally friendly garbage disposal methods had not yet been invented or popular in the UK.

Anyway, there are plenty of landfills for garbage in the UK, so let’s just pile them there. This is what those politicians have in mind.

If there are not enough, then find a way to build a few more.

As for the residents who live there

Are they fools?

Otherwise, why would you live in such a ghost place?

These politicians certainly could not have imagined that while they were standing dignifiedly in front of the camera and talking loudly, behind a smelly garbage dump, a small boy was secretly looking forward.

He was carrying a tattered backpack, and his dirty black hair was growing wildly on the boy's head. He didn't know how long it had been since he had taken care of it.

The boy has a pair of yellow eyes, and the most surprising thing is that his pupil is a black vertical line, which makes people think of the eyes of snakes.

This may be the only unusual thing about him

........

Lying behind the garbage pile, Andros felt extremely lucky.

Just today, the boss of the garbage dump, "Hyena" Bill, finally decided to annex the territory of another large garbage dump in the south of the city. That night, he left his station with a group of people, and only then did Ander Ross was able to sneak into the largest garbage dump on the edge of the city, a holy place that countless scavengers think about day and night.

Yes, for Andros and other scavengers, this garbage dump that others avoid is indeed a sacred place in their hearts.

Because here, with just a little luck, you can find some valuable little things from the discarded garbage, those cute little things with different luster.

It was a good thing that could be exchanged for milk and bread. Especially for a fatherless person like Andros, if he wanted to live in this world, he could not live without such a geomantic treasure.

For as long as he can remember, Andros grew up in an orphanage in London with no idea who his parents were and no proof of their existence.

Suffice it to say, they gave him nothing but the name Androslobach.

One night ten years ago, Nancy, the director of the Feng Orphanage, heard a rapid and violent knock on the door.

When she opened the door tremblingly, there was only an infant baby left outside, that is, the little boy, Andros Lobach, who was currently lying behind the garbage pile and looking around.

The name comes from a letter on the baby's body, which is the only content on it.

The mother-in-law is undoubtedly a good person. She has worked hard to support this orphanage and treats the children as her own children. However, there are too many homeless children, and in the twentieth century In late London, there were actually many problems hidden beneath the apparent prosperity.

Between child labor, gangs, and criminal syndicates who train street children to turn them into beggars and pickpockets, London's suburbs are more dangerous than you might think.

In this chaotic place, it is not easy to sustain such an orphanage.

When Andros was a child, he was often bullied by kids who were older and stronger than him because of his different eyes.

The nature of human beings is to seek common ground and reject differences.

But gradually, no one dared to bully him.

Because most of those who bullied him were retaliated against.

Unlike these little brats who don't understand anything, Andros's thin body hides many secrets.

First of all, there is a 11-year-old soul hidden in his 21-year-old body.

Yes, Andros is a time traveler.

But it was very unfortunate that he time-traveled into the body of an orphan that no one wanted. In order to make his life better, he had to scavenge in the garbage dump at a very early age, just like what he is doing now.

Fortunately, there is another secret in his body, and Andros has mastered a very mysterious power.

As early as very early on, he often found that strange things happened around him, such as toys disappearing from other people's hands, suddenly broken glasses, sheets that spontaneously ignited for no reason, or his uncontrollable hair.

Many times, he has just cut his hair short, but when he wakes up the next day, he will find that his hair has returned to its original length.

Gradually, Andros discovered that there was a strange power in his body. Perhaps it was the benefit brought by being a time traveler. He found that he could simply mobilize this mysterious energy in his body.

Although it is not as powerful as an arm, it is not a problem to make some small objects float or fly towards or fly towards you in the air, or to make some small objects disappear out of thin air.

With this ability, Andros became a being that the children in the orphanage did not dare to mess with.

However, Andros, who was lying behind the garbage dump, was in no mood to worry about the mysterious energy in his body. For him, making his current life better was the most important thing.

Andros raised his head and carefully observed the surrounding situation. He walked very lightly and groped forward bit by bit.

The first rule of thumb for safe scavenging here is to never make any noise.

Those local dogs raised by "Hyena" Bill have really eaten people.

As the owner of this garbage dump, "Hyena" Bill has been using a very bloody method to warn the scavengers who step into this place.

Every month, one or two unlucky people are caught by Bill's men, and these people have only one fate, which is to be eaten alive by Bill's captive local dogs.

This is also the origin of his nickname "hyena". This animal that is active on the African savannah mostly feeds on carrion.

It’s hard to imagine that something like this existed in London in the late [-]th century, but it was what it was.

As the boss of this area, Bill needs to use such a bloody way to prove his dominance over this area.

Anyway, they are just a few scavengers who can't survive. In a place like this, no one will care about these things.

What, you mean the police?

Sorry, the police won't come to this place at all.

Their law enforcement scope does not include this smelly garbage area.

This is also the reason why Andros is so careful now, because once he is caught, even if he can play some tricks, I am afraid that his life will be decided here.

He didn't expect Bill to have any kindness towards an 11-year-old boy, let alone that kind of thing rarely appeared in this smoky wasteland.

Perhaps due to the benefits of this pair of eyes that are different from others, Andros has very good vision at night and can see the surrounding environment clearly even in the dark.

In this invisible wasteland, this is his greatest advantage.

Andros has secretly scavenged here many times, but fortunately, he has never been caught.

Coupled with the mysterious power in his body, Andros would always return home with his trophies without any danger.

However, this is no reason to relax your vigilance. You can succeed many times, but if you fail once, you will be finished.

Thinking of this, Andros walked lightly and slowly walked around the first few garbage piles. These outermost garbage piles had been visited by countless visiting scavengers, and there was nothing valuable anymore. thing.

His goal tonight was the center of the garbage dump, a restricted area that he usually did not dare to go to. This was the place that "Hyena" Bill strictly guarded, and it was also the place with the most treasures.

In fact, "Hyena" Bill's manpower has always been limited, and there is no way to completely control this area, so whenever new garbage is delivered, Bill will always instruct his men to pick out the most valuable ones and pile them up immediately. On his private property, there is a large core area surrounded by barbed wire among the garbage.

That is the holy and forbidden land for scavengers.

With the cover of the night and his familiarity with the terrain, Andros quickly bypassed several patrol teams. Compared with the daily patrols, tonight was undoubtedly a lot looser. He could only see it from a distance. Several groups of horsemen were patrolling among the garbage piles with flashlights.

Thinking about it, I am afraid that there will be many scavengers tonight who have the same thoughts as him. He needs to be more careful. When he came to a garbage dump outside the barbed wire fence, Andros looked around carefully.

After making sure there was no one around, he raised his hand and pointed it at the barbed wire fence in front of him.

Immediately afterwards, something unscientific happened. The bottom of the barbed wire fence in front of Andros began to bend and deform, gradually turning into an arched passage for people to crawl through. It was as if a pair of invisible hands lifted the barbed wire fence from the soil. Pulled out.

Without wasting any time, Andros climbed over quickly, and then used the same method to change the barbed wire fence back to its original appearance. This was not the first time Andros had done this since he was able to mobilize the power in his body.

He moved towards several garbage dumps not far away. The things here were much better than outside. Most of them were all kinds of original metal parts. These things were picked out by Bill's men from the garbage piles outside. , and then were piled up here waiting for the scrap companies to send special personnel to purchase them.

And now, these treasures are cheap for scavengers like Andros. Walking among these valuable treasures, Andros even saw a few seemingly complete car engines and car casings that had no time to cut open. However, the thing was too big for him to take away.

Trying to move his eyes away, Andros looked in another direction. This time his target was those small parts, for example, those cute little yellow ones.

The second rule of scavenging is to take as much yellow metal as you can.

Whether it's copper pipes, copper rods, copper wires or copper plates, you can always make money with these things.

Under the cover of the night, Andros listened carefully to the movements around him, but he quickly stuffed the treasure he was interested in into his backpack.

The night here is not peaceful. From time to time, there will be a few loud barks and a few louder screams in the distance.

I think tomorrow night, the eaten bodies of a few unlucky people will be hung on the barbed wire fence nearby.

There are many scavengers here tonight, but not everyone is as lucky or cautious as Andros.

Without thinking much, Andros continued the work in hand. He moved quickly and soon his backpack was bulging.

Time to retreat.

Rule [-] of the Scavenging Code: Run when you’re full, don’t hesitate.

Andros stood up without hesitation and slipped out along the way he came. The backpack was heavy, but he didn't seem to be affected too much. His years of scavenging allowed Andros to skillfully mobilize the energy in his body. With their strength, it is not too difficult to make them hold up the backpack to reduce its weight.

Of course, this is only temporary and cannot last too long. Mobilizing this mysterious power for a long time can cause retching, headache, and even fainting.

Don't ask how Andros knew. It was a rather unpleasant memory, and it had long since become blurry. Andros only vaguely remembered that a very strong boy bullied him, and he was riding on top of him. Hitting his body violently.

Andros couldn't remember anything about it after that, and strangely enough, he never saw the boy in the orphanage after that day.

Forget it, what's the use of thinking about it now, getting back safely is the most important thing now.

Following the familiar route, Andros quickly returned to the barbed wire fence where he came in. After opening a larger dog hole, Andros successfully slipped out.

Including what he earned from this trip, he has almost saved up to two hundred pounds. Andros thought quite proudly. For people living here, two hundred pounds is already a huge sum of money. payment.

What should I do with this money?

Forget it, now is not the time to think about that.

After walking out of the garbage dump, Andros's expression became even more nervous. A child, a bulging backpack, and a dark night. He could guess what kind of chemical reaction these three would produce even if he didn't want to.

Tonight, there were not only many scavengers who ventured into the garbage area to scavenge, but also many homeless people wandering outside ready to enjoy their gains, and Andros was undoubtedly the fattest sheep to slaughter.

In order not to be slaughtered as a fat sheep, Andros decided to take a different path, that is, the sewer.

That's right, it's the sewer.

This dark, smelly and complex underground pipe can stun anyone, even the homeless homeless man is unwilling to take a step closer there.

However, today is destined to be an unusual day.

Just when Andros pinched his nose and lifted the manhole cover of the sewer as usual, he actually saw a pair of yellow eyes in the sewer, looking straight at him.