The Big Black Dog in the Cave

Dementors are terrifying.

But no matter how terrifying they are, they can't do anything to Vincent.

Perhaps realizing this, they suddenly stopped spinning, and the black holes of their large faces closed as they surrounded the train.

The search for Sirius Black was the same as before.

"Ah—"

Draco's screams could be faintly heard amidst the sound of raindrops hitting the carriage roof.

Then, the Suanni Patronus appeared.

They were beaten badly, bruised and battered.

Vincent's heart was calm, even a little amused.

It was strange to see the past again from a different perspective.

Unlike the memories in the Pensieve, this was the real world.

He could still suppress the idea of changing the past, but if something unexpected happened...

Vincent stood up, shaking his head and chuckling self-deprecatingly.

Hogsmeade Station was in the distance; it was time to slip away.

The train hadn't come to a complete stop when he Apparated to a small cave in the village.

The light from the tip of his wand dispelled the darkness.

It was pouring rain today, so his old friend Mr. Burke was naturally not there.

The small cave was actually quite large, perfect for passing the time.

Compared to the frequently cleaned exterior, the interior environment was very natural.

There wasn't much dust, but the number of spiderwebs and small creatures was far beyond imagination.

They were all shy, hiding deeper when they saw Vincent.

Dimming the light on the tip of his wand slightly didn't help, as they were creatures that liked dark and humid places.

"Tap, tap—" hurried footsteps sounded from outside.

Running over in such heavy rain, he must have had an appointment with a client.

His school robes became looser, and his figure was slightly elongated.

Vincent, in a black robe and hood, walked back, wand in hand.

But when he arrived, it wasn't Mr. Burke who entered the cave at all, but a large black dog.

Its frame was as large as an adult, but it was so thin that you could see its ribs.

The big black dog's eyes were very wary.

Vincent noticed it was leaning to the left.

Looking down, he saw that its left front leg was injured.

He squatted down, trying to reduce his threat as much as possible.

But his experience with big dogs failed.

The big black dog bared its teeth, as if it was about to pounce and attack at any moment.

It was raining outside, and it was injured, so it seemed unwilling to leave.

Vincent reached into his robes.

The biscuits that Gu Gu had left over were soaked, but they could be restored with magic.

Carefully approaching little by little, he placed a few biscuits a few meters away, then slowly retreated.

"Woof—" the big black dog growled softly, as if issuing a warning.

An ordinary person would be best off getting away from this situation as quickly as possible.

But Vincent was a Wizard, and a Wizard who was worried about how to pass the time.

Its frame was very large, but it was so thin that you could see its ribs; it must have been bullied a lot.

You had to be patient with such a big dog.

The man and the dog faced off like this.

The big black dog became more and more fierce, even straightening its front leg in pain and barking loudly.

Vincent's eyes under his hood stared directly at it.

He had expressed the greatest goodwill, but it seemed to have been bullied so badly that it was unwilling to trust strangers.

"Hmm..." He suddenly looked down at his clothes.

This was Hogsmeade, and whoever bullied this big black dog would definitely not be a Muggle.

It must be a Wizard, and a Wizard wearing black robes.

The tip of the Alder Wand pointed at his chest, and the hood and black robes transformed back into school uniform.

His height also shrunk, returning to its original size.

The big black dog stopped growling, bending its two front legs as if startled, and half-crouched on the ground.

Vincent guessed right.

This gloomy image of Snape was indeed unpopular everywhere.

"You must be hungry, right?"

He pointed to the biscuits on the ground, "Eat, they're low in oil and salt."

The big black dog raised its injured left front paw and took a cautious step.

Its expression was still fierce, but the fact that it was no longer enduring the pain was a good start.

It walked faster and faster, sniffing the biscuits before eating them.

This was the foundation for building trust.

Vincent smiled and shook the remaining small half-bag.

"Woof—" The big black dog's growl wasn't as hostile as before.

But even so, it didn't plan to come over.

Everything seemed to be back to square one.

Vincent had no choice but to carefully approach, half-squatting.

With each step he took, the big black dog would growl.

The fact that it didn't retreat proved that trust existed.

The distance became closer and closer, and the growl became quieter and quieter.

Animals are sensitive and can instinctively distinguish between kindness and malice.

Vincent squatted in front of the snarling big black dog, reached into the bag, and took out a biscuit.

Its cloudy yellow eyes glanced at it, then widened and glared back.

No attack, a very good situation.

Vincent held the biscuit to its mouth.

The big black dog put down its raised left front leg and hesitantly opened its mouth.

A slimy tongue licked away the biscuit.

The second piece, the third piece...

During the feeding process, Vincent took the opportunity to stroke its head.

It half-crouched and took a small step back, without growling.

Finally, a good trusting relationship was established, and the next few pieces were fed while petting it.

The big black dog, tired of standing, lay completely on the ground, allowing Vincent to gradually increase the strength of his hand.

After eating the last biscuit, it nudged away the hand pressing on its forehead with its nose.

"You're really realistic." Vincent reached into his school robe, pretending there were more biscuits inside.

The big black dog turned its head away, extremely proud.

It couldn't even be fooled, probably because it was often deceived.

Vincent awkwardly lifted its left front paw.

No resistance, everything he had done before was worth it.

"Episkey—"

The tip of the Alder Wand lit up with a warm, light blue light, resting on the wound that looked like it had been cut by a sharp object.

The big black dog glanced at it, then turned its head away again.

Trust can collapse in an instant, and it takes twice the effort to rebuild it.

Vincent succeeded, successfully making it believe in humans again.

The wound was deep, and the healing speed was slow while minimizing the pain.

More than ten minutes later, the Alder Wand moved away from the front leg.

The big black dog tried to stand up, but was pushed back down forcefully.

"Not healed yet."

The warm, light blue light started from its nose and swept over it very slowly.

Its body was covered with various sizes of wounds, and small creatures such as fleas and ticks were everywhere.

The black short fur was severely dry and matted with dandruff from ringworm infections.

The big black dog only resisted symbolically a few times, and then let Vincent clean its body with magic.

"So, it's a male..."

"Woof!"

"Oh, someone's got a temper, huh?"

Its long, black tail swished, splashing Vincent's face with rainwater.

Vincent put away his wand and grabbed its head, rubbing it vigorously.

Even though he was slightly germophobic, the skinny, emaciated black dog quickly collapsed, exhausted.