Childhood Friend

The breeze outside carried the fragrance of sunshine and wild grass.

Beneath the plane tree stood a girl with a wild tangle of dark golden-brown hair that fell to her waist. Her eyebrows and eyes were very pale. She wore earrings made from Airship Plum and a necklace strung with Butterbeer corks.

"How did you know I was in the study? The front door and my room are in the other direction." Matthew was curious about the girl calling to him from beneath the study window.

"I saw Wrackspurts fly into that room, so I guessed you'd be there." The little girl's voice drifted like a song.

"Wrackspurts?"

Luna said dreamily, "Wrackspurts... They're invisible. They fly into your ears and muddle your brain."

"Matthew, the Thunderbird Egg you gave me is about to hatch a Thunderbird Baby."

Luna suddenly remembered why she had come. She opened the cardboard box in her arms. Inside was a pure-gold Thunderbird Egg.

By now, the Golden Egg was covered in cracks. Through them, a few feathers were faintly visible.

Matthew examined the Golden Egg closely and said, a little surprised, "That really wasn't easy."

He had found the Thunderbird Egg on a Dark Wizard and given it to Luna as a birthday present. More than six months had passed since then, and Matthew and Luna had tried all sorts of ways to hatch it, but none had worked.

Luna said cheerfully, "I wrote a letter to Grandpa Newt, and he told me to rub sunflower pollen on the egg every day. If I keep doing that for three weeks, it'll hatch."

Matthew asked in surprise, "Newt Scamander? The Magizoologist who wrote Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them?"

Luna nodded. "Grandpa Newt used to submit articles to The Quibbler. I asked Dad for his contact information and sent him a pair of Airship Plum earrings."

That was so like her...

Just then, something stirred inside the box. The cracks in the Golden Egg rapidly widened. Through them, Matthew could see a little life struggling desperately inside the shell, and he could even faintly hear it calling out.

A moment later, an eagle-shaped beak pecked through the Golden Egg, and a tiny Thunderbird squeezed its way out.

Delighted to see the Little Thunderbird hatch, Luna pointed to the plane tree by the wall and said,

"We should build it a home up there."

Matthew hesitated. "Why build a nest for it here? I'm starting school next week, so I won't be able to look after the little thing."

Luna tilted her head toward Matthew and said with a bright smile, "I think it'll like it here. I can come visit every day."

Matthew gazed into her pale eyes, tucked beneath crescent-shaped lashes, and said gently, "All right."

The following morning, London, Charing Cross Road in Westminster.

With a rush of stirring air, Matthew appeared outside the Leaky Cauldron.

A person had appeared out of thin air, but the passersby nearby paid him no mind.

He entered the pub. The bar stood straight ahead. It was hot, noisy, dim, and shabby.

The moment Matthew stepped inside, the hubbub fell silent for an instant.

Old Tom was wiping a glass behind the bar. He waved at Matthew. "Hey, Black! You're here. Want a drink?"

Matthew nodded with a smile. "A Butterbeer, please."

Butterbeer in the Wizarding World was a non-alcoholic drink, suitable for all ages. It was more like a soft drink.

Old Tom poured Matthew a Butterbeer and said, "This one's on me. Thanks for the Itch-Cure Potion."

Then Old Tom cautiously glanced around and whispered to Matthew, "Someone's got their eye on you."

With that, Old Tom went back to wiping the glass. Matthew gave him a puzzled look, but Old Tom acted as if he hadn't said a thing and kept polishing.

Matthew silently took a sip of Butterbeer.

Someone had their eye on him? He thought carefully about everyone he'd crossed.

That was quite a list...

He was a descendant of the Black family, but his grandfather had been struck from the family tree.

After he was sorted into Slytherin House, trouble had never been far away. Quite a few students in Slytherin were the children of Death Eaters, and his parents had been killed by Death Eaters. As a result, bullying at school came in a steady stream: extortion, ostracism, and intimidation.

Fortunately, Matthew had some talent for magic. While his peers could only manage a few prank spells, he had already become adept at using a number of offensive and defensive spells.

So, in his first year, he took down the students in his year who had been giving him trouble. By his second year, no one in his year dared provoke him.

Slytherin valued strength, though, and once he had established himself, he gained a few followers.

He drained the rest of his Butterbeer, then headed into the little courtyard behind the pub.

There was only a trash can and some weeds. After making sure no one was around, Matthew took out a bottle of Dark Green Potion and swallowed it. A mildly irritating sensation spread through his mouth and down his throat, eventually turning into a nauseating taste. It was awful.

His whole face scrunched up in an instant. Something seemed to writhe beneath his skin. His eyes, nose, mouth, and ears began to melt, and his entire face kept changing shape.

Then his bones began to shift as well, and strange sounds came from all over his body.

A moment later, Matthew had become a red-haired man with a thin face and a sinister gaze.

He tried a few expressions and movements, getting used to his new body.

Matthew took out his wand and cast a Transfiguration Spell on his clothes, turning them into a well-fitting black wizard's robe. Then he tapped a certain brick above the trash can twice with his wand.

The brick he had tapped began to tremble, and the surrounding bricks moved with it. Before long, the wall had formed a broad archway leading to a winding cobblestone street that disappeared into the distance.

Diagon Alley was bustling. Every shop window displayed all kinds of magical curiosities: strange Alchemical Products, the limbs of unknown creatures, brightly colored fur, and even eyeballs the size of a head.

Matthew first made a round of Diagon Alley, then turned into Tumbledown Alley. He needed to sell off a batch of potions.

The alley was poorly lit, its entrance near Gringotts. Though it adjoined Diagon Alley, its surroundings were entirely different. The moment he stepped into the alley, he caught a faint, sour stench. Moss covered the corners, much of the wall plaster had fallen away, and the dirty water on the ground was plain to see.

The street was dim and cluttered, and every wizard there gave off a hint of danger.

In a corner on the right side of the street, a short, fat wizard with a scraggly beard was squatting. When he saw Matthew, his face lit up. He stood and shook his short, bandy legs.

He first sneaked a look around. Seeing that no one was paying attention, he muttered, "I've been waiting ages. Thought you weren't coming! Got the whole lot?"