Hogsmeade Village, Barrel Cottage.
At that moment, ranks of Aurors stood guard around the place. Even Director Scrimgeour of the Auror Office stood at the cottage entrance, wand in hand.
Auror Montgomery stood on tiptoe against the dilapidated windowsill, desperately squinting as he tried to peer inside through the cracks in the glass.
The window was filthy. Dust had stuck together in a thick layer, blocking even the cracks.
"Boss, they seem to have disappeared!"
Montgomery turned to tell Scrimgeour.
A few members of the Cabin had just arrived and entered the cottage right before their eyes, yet they seemed to have vanished without a trace or a sound.
Scrimgeour gave him a resigned twitch of the lips. "I believe that, as an Auror, a measure of composure and wisdom are valuable qualities. Anton told us that the 'dimension' occupied by the ritual magic and the physical 'dimension' of this house aren't in the same place."
"I understand!" Montgomery's expression turned peculiar. "Anton told me that if you knock the wrong way, you can't get in."
Just then, the wooden door of Barrel Cottage behind them creaked slowly open.
A girl with pure golden hair and a pair of gold-rimmed glasses without lenses stepped out.
It was none other than Hannah Abbott, the Cabin's resident housekeeper.
"You can let those Muggles in now."
Following Scrimgeour's gaze, she looked into the distance, where more than thirty Muggles stood nervously to one side, looking remarkably like they themselves had while waiting outside the examination room not long ago.
The Muggles were loosely divided into three groups, with no conversation between them.
Seven had been recruited by the Cabin Members. They belonged to the Cabin Knights and were outstanding programmers in the Muggle world. They looked refined and scholarly, and every one of