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Saint Petersburg, Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery.

As the largest cemetery in human history to date, Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery does not have a gate, only a giant sign that reads "1941-1945" as a boundary marker for this area, reminding people of that period of history.

Newt Scamander stood in front of a tombstone, silent.

Beside him was the gray-haired "vendor", who was also his guide for this trip.

After chatting along the way, he had already learned the old man's name and some simple information - Alexander Ivanov, a retired veteran who had served in the 20th Tank Destroyer Brigade of the former Soviet 62nd Army.

According to the regulations of the former Soviet Union, Ivanov, with more than forty years of military service, was originally eligible for a pension.

However, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, the newly established Commonwealth of Independent States was plunged into chaos in the economic, political, and social fields. The authorities simply did not have extra funds to continue maintaining and subsidizing the welfare of veterans.

The former heroes had become a social "burden". Compared to them, Ivanov was in a relatively better situation.

"The eve of Christmas last year... Well, I think you should have heard about that... Anyway, shortly after that, the mayor of Leningrad launched a general vote, and finally decided to restore the city's name to Saint Petersburg."

Ivanov glanced at the British old man next to him and introduced with complex emotions.

"As for Stalingrad, which you asked about, it was renamed Volgograd as early as ten years ago. There have been so many changes in recent years that I sometimes even have an unreal feeling as if I'm dreaming –"

"However, did you really find the person you were looking for? I don't mean to offend, but this tombstone..."

After a few seconds of pause, Ivanov turned his head and looked at the tombstone in front of the two.

Like most of the tombstones in the cemetery, this was also a nameless tombstone without any inscriptions. Most of the people buried here did not leave their names. In those days, it was simply impossible to complete archival work.

Therefore, Ivanov did not understand why Newt was so sure that he had stopped here.

"Ivanovich..."

Newt sighed and gently patted the tombstone in front of him.

In Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery, there are some tombstones that are slightly different. Perhaps in the eyes of Muggles, they look no different from ordinary nameless tombstones, but in the eyes of wizards, each of them is imprinted with magical writing.

The text that only wizards can see simply records the name of the tomb owner, date of birth and death, and cause of death.

"Novat Ivanovich, graduated from Koldovstoretz School of Witchcraft (Russian: koлдoвctopeц), severely violated the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy in Pripyat in 1986, inadvertently contaminated by an unknown curse created by the non-magical world, and after ineffective treatment, was secretly buried here with the consent of the non-magical government and himself."

"Yes, it's him. I just didn't expect to see him again in such a scene..."

Newt Scamander shook his head. Even he, who was far away in England, had heard of the disaster that happened on this land six years ago - Muggles paid a heavy price for playing with powers that did not belong to them, and according to the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy, all disasters caused by non-magical factors are unrelated to wizards.

In fact, most of the wizards living here chose to evacuate.

Traveling long distances is not a difficult thing for wizards who have no nationality or geographical restrictions.

Only a small number of "former Soviet" wizards chose to openly violate the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy and actively went to the vicinity of Pripyat to participate in the rescue and aftermath work of the non-magical world, including Ivanovich.

After that, Ivanovich had his wand confiscated for violating the Statute of Secrecy and was placed under house arrest near his home.

"So, you and this... well, Mr. Ivanovich are friends?"

Ivanov hesitated for a moment, turned his head to look at Newt Scamander with a serious expression, and asked in a deep voice.

"Yes, more than forty years ago, we fought together." Newt nodded.

In order to prevent Gellert Grindelwald from dominating the wizarding world, almost half of the wizards in Europe, America, and Asia united together. The wizarding world was divided into two distinct factions, and the war spread from England to Siberia.

Compared with the wars of the non-magical world, the disputes between wizards were more brutal and vast.

By the time the First Wizarding War was about to end, it was almost impossible to find professors over the age of thirty in Koldovstoretz School of Witchcraft, so that the magical heritage in the former Soviet Union region suffered a serious break.

As a mainstay in the resistance against Grindelwald, Newt Scamander naturally fought on this land as well.

"More than forty years ago... Fought together?"

Ivanov carefully looked at Newt's wrinkled face for a while, and then looked around at the tombstones.

After a moment of silence, the old man breathed a sigh of relief, as if he had made up his mind, reached out and took out the carefully folded twenty pounds from his pocket, and solemnly placed it back in Newt's hand.

"Well then, Mr. Scamander, I'm sorry, I can't take your money."

"Mr. Ivanov, what do you mean by this?"

Newt frowned and looked at the old man next to him in confusion.

"This is the guide fee we agreed upon before. We've only been to one place. If you think there's something wrong, we can discuss the price or other aspects more. Besides, you still have to..."

After more than half a day of conversation, he already knew that the old man's current situation was not good, and more importantly, Ivanov needed to subsidize several other veterans who had been disabled in the war, making the pressure of life even greater.

The medals that Ivanov had been selling on the stall were the only valuable things left to these veterans.

"This is not about money, this is the last bit of things we have left."

Ivanov struggled for a few seconds, sighed helplessly, and pointed to the surrounding tombstones.

"Although I don't know which battlefield you were on, I absolutely can't do this kind of... this kind of thing, charging a guide fee to comrades who fought side by side to find people in the cemetery, otherwise I may not have the face to come and offer flowers again."

After a slight pause, a look of shyness appeared on Ivanov's face, and he gritted his teeth and said.

"But... if your financial condition is still acceptable, maybe you can consider buying a few more medals. I can help you ask around more. I can help you find most of the rare medals... consider it as a guide fee, then."

"No, you may have some misunderstanding, I..."

Newt was slightly stunned and was about to refute, but the words suddenly stopped at his lips.

There was no doubt that the former Soviet veteran must have misunderstood something, but due to the limitations of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy, Newt couldn't explain the subtle differences, and besides...

Newt glanced at the text on the tombstone.

Pripyat... violation of the Statute of Secrecy...

Suddenly, the stories that Elina had told him last night flashed in Newt's mind.

After a few seconds of silence, Newt put away the banknote, nodded very seriously, looked at Ivanov and said.

"Okay, I have a few old friends I need to visit, and in the next few days, I may still need to trouble you to continue to guide me. And after these things are over, please give me a list of the medals you can collect here. I have a friend who is very interested in collecting these medals and such."