"???"
The Zhu Xian Sword?
Wasn't this the wizarding world? Why did it suddenly feel like an xianxia novel?
After a moment of stunned silence, Edward gave a firm nod.
"I want it."
The old witch's face broke into a satisfied smile. "Alright then! We'll have them delivered to Mr. Grindelwald in the next few days."
Her smile looked utterly sincere.
Edward had to admit—even though these elderly wizards and witches were incredibly outrageous, their actions had genuinely been in his interest. Sure, it was mostly because of Grindelwald, but still, that was a debt he had to acknowledge.
"Thank you all."
"All for the greater good!"
A few minutes later—
Two people, a cat, and a dog returned to the chapel. Edward looked at the inscription beneath the cross and wrote in his notebook:
"December 8th, 1991.
The tomb of the great Godric Gryffindor, one of the four founders of Hogwarts, was excavated. Fortunately, no serious damage was done. May he rest in peace in heaven."
After a pause, he added:
"And if not...every debt has its creditor. Don't come looking for me."
—Recorded by: Edward.
It took nearly five hours to get from Hogsmeade to Godric's Hollow by Knight Bus. But to return?
Just a quick enlarging charm, and then Apparate—they were back in seconds.
"Come on, let's grab a hot butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks before heading back to Hogwarts."
"Miss Lilith wants some too!"
Susie mumbled, "I want to try it too."
"Sure."
Just as they arrived at the entrance of the Three Broomsticks, they spotted Aberforth Dumbledore staggering out, reeking of alcohol and barely keeping upright.
Both of them were startled. Isn't the Hog's Head enough for him? Why's he drinking here too?
Sensing their gazes, Aberforth rolled his eyes and grumbled, "Who doesn't want to drink in a place that's warm and clean? I'm no exception."
Without waiting for them to respond, he continued, "Don't ask why I don't just clean up the Hog's Head. It's the same reason the Leaky Cauldron is always filthy—you're students, you wouldn't understand. Just like why I'm always carrying an old goat around…"
The two were so taken aback by his rant that they didn't know what to say.
Then suddenly, Aberforth paused and muttered in confusion, "Huh? Where's my goat?"
He began turning in circles, looking around anxiously.
"I was holding it just now! Where'd my goat go? Did you see it?"
The two looked around and quickly noticed a trail of hoofprints leading away from the Three Broomsticks. It was obvious the goat had taken the chance to sneak off while Aberforth was drunk.
He saw it too and staggered in that direction, only to slip and nearly fall flat on his face.
Edward quickly stepped forward to catch him.
"Sir, maybe you should go rest at the Hog's Head. We'll go look for your goat."
Aberforth blinked blearily at Edward, then nodded.
"Alright. That goat's been with me for years. My old pal…shouldn't have gone far. It won't leave Hogsmeade. Thanks, kids."
"No problem. Let's get you back first."
Edward helped the old man all the way back to the Hog's Head, which somehow looked even dirtier than before. Aberforth waved him off and wobbled over to the bar, muttering, "Next time…you come drink here. Free."
With that, he collapsed onto the counter and started snoring.
Edward turned to Lilith.
"Lilith, you and Susie stay here and keep an eye on things. Audrey and I will go find the goat."
Lilith blinked.
"Eh? Isn't this sort of job more suited for Susie?"
Both Edward and Audrey paused.
She had a point.
They glanced at Susie, who looked back innocently.
"Never mind. It's Susie's first time in Hogsmeade. Wouldn't want her getting lost."
They held hands and walked out together.
"We'll be back soon."
Susie thought to herself: If you two want to go on a romantic walk, don't blame it on the dog. This place is tiny—I'm not getting lost.
"Sigh…so boring."
Lilith looked around and sighed.
This frozen wasteland didn't even have a single rat to catch. Ugh—
"Huh?"
She suddenly spotted a bottle of butterbeer on the bar. With a light leap, she landed on the counter and carefully sniffed at it, hesitating—should she take a sip?
Just then, several people entered the bar.
"There's a pub here too—come on in!"
Seven or eight tall witches and wizards stepped inside.
"Ugh! This place is filthy."
"What kind of bar is this?"
"Should we go somewhere else?"
"Forget it. We'll just stay."
"Hey! Bartender! A hot butterbeer for each of us!"
"Bartender?"
The only response was Aberforth's thunderous snoring.
"Huh?"
One of them noticed Lilith crouched on the counter.
"There's a cute little cat here."
"Does the bar keep her?"
"Can we pet her?"
"Aww, I've always wanted to keep a cat as a pet, but my family insisted I raise an owl for delivering letters."
"Same here! That's why I didn't even bring mine to Hogwarts this time."
"What? That's kind of cruel. I even brought my toad with me."
"Emily, what are you doing?"
"Shh—"
A girl with long pale blonde hair tiptoed toward Lilith, reaching out her fingers to pet her. She didn't notice the mischievous gleam that flashed through Lilith's eyes. Lifting her head, Lilith let out a soft, sugary meow:
"Meow~"
In the shadows, Susie lifted a paw to her forehead.
—
A few minutes later—
Aberforth awoke amidst a noisy commotion. Still groggy, he stared in confusion at the group of boys and girls entangled in a heated scuffle. They were shouting furiously, on the verge of drawing their wands and hexing each other.
"Hey! What do you lot think you're doing?"
"Silence!"
Aberforth was furious. He drew his wand and pointed it at them.
"If you're drunk, then get the hell out!"
The brawling students all froze and looked around in confusion.
Wait...why were we fighting again?
Was it... over that black cat? Or over who Viktor Krum likes more? Or maybe who performs better in class?
But none of those were serious enough to actually start throwing punches, right?
"Well? What are you waiting for? Get out!"
Aberforth bellowed again. The group scrambled and shoved their way out of the bar in a panic.
"Bloody hell! Where'd that lot even come from?"
He looked around at the mess they had made in the bar, irritated. With a wave of his wand, the broken tables and chairs repaired themselves. Then he turned his head—and spotted a little black cat sitting on the bar, staring at him with bright blue eyes.
"Hmm...Where'd you come from, little one?"
He hiccupped.
"You want a drink too?"
"I don't think she does, Mr. Dumbledore."
Edward and Audrey stepped in, leading the old goat behind them. Lilith immediately leapt onto Edward's shoulder and bit his ear.
"Edward! Miss Lilith was almost bullied just now!"
Susie: Pretty sure you were the one bullying them...
She quietly stepped out of the shadows, startling Aberforth.
"Merlin's beard! I didn't even notice there was a dog hiding over there!"
He turned to the two students.
"I remember you. You came by yesterday, right? Hogwarts students?"
"Actually, after you got drunk and lost your goat, we brought you back first, then went out and found it for you."
"Uh..."
Aberforth scratched his thick beard.
"Is that so? Don't remember...But thanks anyway. Want a butterbeer? On the house."
"No, thank you."
Audrey added with concern, "Sir, please don't drink so much next time. The roads are icy—it's dangerous."
A trace of warmth flashed in Aberforth's eyes.
"Got it, little one."
The moment they stepped out of the Hog's Head, Lilith eagerly asked, "Where did you go to find the goat? Why did it take so long? Was it fun?"
Audrey scooped her up into her arms.
"It was terribly boring. Good thing Miss Lilith didn't come along."
Lilith looked sceptical.
"Really?"
"Of course. We just walked in circles through the snow around the village. Cold and dark the whole time."
"Hmm, that does sound boring."
Audrey suddenly gasped, "Oh! Could it be that Miss Lilith already knew it would be boring, so she chose not to come with us?"
"Huh?"
"Wow! Miss Lilith is so smart! Able to predict the future!"
Lilith immediately nodded without hesitation.
"That's right! Miss Lilith can foresee everything!"
Satisfied, the little one didn't ask any more questions.
——
When the two returned to the Great Hall at Hogwarts, they found Professor McGonagall waving her wand as several students helped decorate the room.
Edward couldn't help but ask in surprise, "Professor McGonagall, are we decorating for Christmas already?"
McGonagall turned and replied, "Oh, of course not. This is to welcome the Durmstrang Institute of Magic tomorrow."
Durmstrang?
Wasn't that one of the three major schools from the Triwizard Tournament?
Edward suddenly remembered—Cedric had mentioned something about this before.
But why were they coming here now? Had the Triwizard Tournament been moved up?
"Um, will any other schools be coming, Professor?"
"No."
McGonagall shook her head.
"Durmstrang alone is more than enough trouble…Oh—my apologies, that was inappropriate."
Only Durmstrang?
Given the timing—and the fact that their headmaster was a former Death Eater—it didn't take a genius to figure something fishy was going on.
———
[Note]: It's a shame we missed our powerstone goal for two days in a row. As usual, no Extra Chapter tomorrow. I like to keep my Sundays free.
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