The next morning, Kai Adler found a very familiar box resting neatly on his doorstep.
Wasn't this the same box they had abandoned on the roadside yesterday?
He had assumed it lost to the night, yet here it was—clean, unscathed, and returned. Neatly placed atop it was a folded letter, sealed with an unfamiliar crest.
Someone had gone out of their way to return it.
He stepped forward, brow furrowing slightly. The envelope was made of thick cream parchment, the handwriting elegant and refined—"Dear Wizard."
A vivid image flashed in Kai's mind: the moonlit street, the red-eyed butler, and the boy with cold blue eyes and a cane.
Them.
That man wasn't human. That much was clear. And now… he even knew where Kai lived.
Kai broke the seal and opened the letter. The content was brief and impersonal: the box had been specially returned, with no mention of last night's events, no reference to the traffickers, no subtle plea for help.
Kai arched an eyebrow. Tactful. They knew better than to push him.
He had already refused. If they dared press him again, he would ignore them entirely.
Still, even if they were clever enough to return the box without a word, it changed nothing.
He had no intention of getting involved. His range of activity was largely confined to the magical world—especially Hogwarts in the coming months. No one would be foolish enough to attempt a kidnapping there… right?
His fingers clenched around the parchment.
With a flick, the letter burst into flame in his hand and disintegrated into fine ash, carried off by the wind.
As long as Hermione was under his protection, nothing would happen to her.
And as for the lives or deaths of others—well, they weren't his concern.
He picked up the box and strode toward the door, whistling to himself.
What would the Grangers be cooking today?
CRASH! BANG! CLATTER!
A sudden cacophony erupted from inside.
Kai froze mid-step. His brow twitched.
What in Merlin's name is that creature up to now…?
He shoved the door open.
As expected, the ground floor of the house was a disaster. Chairs overturned, the table knocked flat, and ceramic shards of what had once been a tea set glittered across the floor. The furniture had been upended in what could only be described as an airborne rampage.
Coiled against the ceiling beams was a massive creature—its iridescent purple scales catching the morning sun, avian head tucked nervously into its serpentine body.
"Luna!" Kai shouted. "What sort of nonsense are you up to this early?!"
At his voice, the Occamy raised her head, eyes wide. But her body was too large for the space, and with a sudden jerk, her beak slammed into the ceiling with another loud BANG.
A new wave of creaking and crashing followed from upstairs.
Kai pinched the bridge of his nose.
Every single morning…
As the enormous creature slithered in a panic, trying to get closer, Kai quickly held out a hand.
"Stop! Don't move!"
The Occamy halted instantly, shrinking back as though chastised.
"I told you to stay put. Can't I leave you alone for one night?"
The creature's head, easily larger than Kai himself, ducked guiltily.
Kai sighed. "Behave, or I'm sending you back to Nurmengard to keep that old fossil company."
At that, Luna quickly shook her head, coiling in submission. It was cold in Nurmengard. No sun, no treats. Not nearly as fun as here.
"Come here."
With a relieved trill, the Occamy leapt toward him, rapidly shrinking mid-air until she was small enough to wrap delicately around Kai's wrist like an ornate silver-violet bracelet.
Kai looked around at the destruction with a sigh.
He raised his hand to cast a repair spell—but hesitated.
Then, remembering his promise to Hermione, he reached into his robe and drew his wand: white ashwood with a unicorn hair core.
He flicked it experimentally.
The magic resisted him.
Even a simple Reparo felt sluggish. The flow was stiff and unnatural. Kai frowned deeply.
That old wandmaker tricked me, he thought. This isn't just resistant to Dark Magic—this thing barely casts anything!
Still, relying on his massive magical reserves, he forced the wand to work. The room gradually began to reassemble itself as if rewinding in time—though at an abysmally slow pace.
By the end, Kai was panting.
That simple spell had consumed nearly as much power as conjuring a Fiendfyre Curse.
Unacceptable.
He grit his teeth. "That bloody wandmaker has some explaining to do. And if he doesn't give me one, I'll burn his shop down."
Just then, a cheerful voice called from outside. Kai's frown eased immediately.
First things first—breakfast.
After the meal, Hermione dragged Kai to the backyard.
She eyed him with suspicion.
"What exactly happened last night? My dad said you brought me home… and…" She hesitated, then blushed faintly. "You came out of my room."
Kai raised an eyebrow, amused by her expression. She was trying to look stern, but her cheeks were pink.
"I ran into two Muggle traffickers," he said. "When I turned around and saw you were gone, I tracked them, took care of it, and Apparated you home. You'd been knocked out with a sleeping potion, so I put you straight to bed."
Hermione narrowed her eyes. "You didn't do anything… inappropriate, did you?"
Ah, there it was—the suspicious stare of a teenage girl.
Kai raised both hands, deadpan. "I swear. I tucked you in and went straight home."
"Hmph. Good. Consider yourself sensible."
With that, the interrogation ended.
A moment later, she tilted her head. "Hey, I heard a lot of noise coming from your house this morning. What happened?"
"It's Luna."
Kai lifted his wrist, showing off the coiled Occamy. Hermione's eyes lit up instantly.
Without hesitation, she pulled a mealworm from her pocket.
In a blink, Luna abandoned Kai and coiled around Hermione's arm instead, nibbling her treat happily as the girl giggled in delight.
Kai watched, scowling slightly.
"You keep those in your pocket just for her?"
Hermione rolled her eyes. "First of all, she is a lady. And second of all, stop calling her 'Little Cutie.' Her name is Luna."
"Fine, fine. Luna it is."
He'd only called her that because she was such a menace he hoped the name might charm her into behaving. But once Hermione had found out, she'd put her foot down and named the creature after the Roman goddess of the moon.
A poetic name, Kai had to admit—but it was hard to associate the divine moon with the chaos gremlin that had nearly brought down his ceiling that morning.
As the girl and the Occamy shared an almost magical bond in the sunlit garden, Kai let out a small huff.
"You take her today. I've got something to handle."
"Where are you going?"
"To find a wandmaker… and possibly wring his neck."
Hermione blinked. "What?"
"Nothing serious. I'll be back soon. You know I can Apparate."
She waved him off, completely absorbed in Luna's antics. "Alright, go on."
Kai watched her for a second longer, then turned and stepped outside.
He was just about to Apparate when—
POP.
A tall figure appeared before him, robes billowing.
Kai stopped short.
"Professor?" he said, surprised. "What brings you here?"
But Dumbledore didn't smile.
He studied Kai with piercing blue eyes, long fingers clasped behind his back.
Then, in a quiet voice, he asked:
"Did you kill someone last night?"