Ian's bloodshot eyes fixed on the Horned Serpent Necklace, feeling the rough pendant press into his palm. Without looking back, he strode away and went straight to the room the International Dueling Tournament had prepared for its contestants. Jessica, who was sulking, was not there; in any case, she had a place to live in Hogwarts Floating City.
Ian did not even want dinner. He simply sat on the sofa, staring blankly at the Horned Serpent Necklace in his hand. Time seemed to crawl. Only three hours and seventeen minutes after he had obtained the Portkey did he finally feel it stir. It was as if a hook had suddenly snagged him in the stomach, and he vanished directly from the room.
When he appeared again, Ian, clutching his wand and on high alert, landed in a courtyard paved on all sides with stone mosaics. After looking around, Ian began using magic to try to determine his location, only to discover that it had been blocked by a magical screen.
"No need to be nervous. I'm here..." A gentle voice drifted over. The large clusters of Violet in the courtyard garden parted, revealing Graves standing in the yard.
"Thank goodness, Gangdufushi! You're still alive!" Ian, somewhat stunned, came back to himself and rushed forward excitedly to embrace him. Then he looked him up and down, and seeing that the other man did not appear to have suffered any injuries, he let out a long breath. "It's wonderful that you're safe. I was worried those Umbrella people might do something terrible to you."
"Harris did indeed want to capture me. We exposed Harris's evil experiments to the eyes of the world, and they already hate me to the bone." Graves turned back and gave Ian's shoulder a half-real, half-illusory hug. "Please