Rita's Responsible Speculation

Few wizards knew about the Half-Girl Pub, and even fewer knew what lay beneath its wine cellar.

Rita always learned of the latest developments immediately not only because her informants were spread across the British Isles, but also because she paid Tash a considerable intelligence fee every month.

Even if she was not the first to know, she was among the first.

She flew in through a broken window and was startled by the scene inside.

The second-floor ceiling had collapsed, shattering across the ground, while dozens of strips of cloth created by Transfiguration hung down from the third floor.

Nearly all of them were stained with blood, and the dark red speckles on the floor were blood as well.

She had been notified before dawn, so this must have happened during the day.

The small door leading to the cellar stood open, and the smell rising from below was quite strong.

The farther down she went, the stronger the stench became. By the time she flew through the rusty trapdoor, she felt sick enough to vomit.

Past the dim corridor lay a vast space containing over twenty cells.

The stench of excrement and urine was far too overpowering, forcing Rita to return to human form and cast a Bubblehead Charm over her head.

By the light of her wand, she saw iron chains inside the cells and rusty bowls filled with rotten meat.

Breeding illegal creatures?

If it were really that simple, there would have been no need to summon her here at this hour.

The chains were not particularly thick, so whatever had been held here should not have been large.

The iron bowls, however, were about the same size as those used by ordinary people. Fresh meat would take at least half a month to turn into