Hogsmeade Village, The Hog's Head Inn.
The flickering flames cast shifting shadows across every face as people stared at Harry's raised hand, their eyes bewildered.
Harry's wrist was glowing.
Oh, no—more precisely, it was the gold watch Harry wore on his wrist.
"Throw that watch away, Harry!"
Sirius's expression changed drastically. He roared as he stepped forward, intending to tear the watch off Harry's wrist.
Many people in the bar were shouting the same thing.
From last night until tonight, people had endured far too many upheavals in a single day. Everyone's nerves had been stretched to the breaking point, leaving them incapable of rational thought.
"Wait, Sirius!"
Dumbledore barked sharply. He strode forward, pushed Sirius aside, and lifted the hand on which Harry wore the watch.
His sharp gaze pierced through the cloudiness in his blue eyes as Dumbledore stared at the watch on Harry's wrist.
The gold watch was changing. It seemed certain conditions had been met, triggering the magic within it.
"If I remember correctly, Harry—"
Dumbledore asked gravely,
"this watch was a gift from Amosta, wasn't it?"
Before Harry could respond, Sirius froze, as did Severus.
That was right. Amosta had given this watch to Harry. They all knew that.
So that meant it wasn't dangerous?
Harry blinked, then nodded.
That was indeed what had happened. At the end of his third year, Professor Breen had given him this gold watch.
Quite a few people knew about it, though he had never told Professor Dumbledore. Then again, Professor Dumbledore had always known everything, so it was not particularly strange that he knew this.
Everyone gathered around, curiously watching Harry's wrist.
The gold watch continued to shine as it underwent complex magical changes.
It slipped off Harry's wrist by itself, and with a crisp click, its shape