Niccolo Hawthorne slowly set down his wineglass. His expression showed no obvious change, but faint veins had risen on the back of the hand resting on the table.
Beside him, Kingsley Shacklebolt instinctively shifted slightly, his sharp gaze sweeping across the hall as his Wand silently slipped into his palm.
Lila Piquery had already hurried over to the panicked woman. She firmly held the woman's trembling shoulders with both hands, looked into her eyes, and said:
"Calm down, miss."
Lila's voice was exceptionally steady, ringing clearly through the silent hall:
"Take a deep breath... Don't be afraid. You're safe now. Tell me, what happened?"
At the same time, she gave the Aurors a meaningful look.
Grom sharply flicked his Wand, and the red curtains instantly drew back to either side, their hems swaying violently.
There was no one behind the curtains.
No Boggart, no corpse or bloodstains, nor any terrifying sight.
There was only a low coffee table, two chairs, and a half-finished drink on the table.
Everyone looked toward the woman in the yellow dress.
She stared at Lila, trembling all over, her pupils filled with pure terror that seemed ready to spill over. Only after a long while did she manage to speak:
"I... I was watching a movie just now, but, but the image suddenly changed! I don't know... I don't know what happened, and then I saw this..."
She tossed out the Streaming Mirror hidden in her palm. The small round mirror began to enlarge in midair, and by the time it landed, it was over two meters across. A clear, crazed roar came from it:
"Wizards are real!"
The image showed Times Square!
Neon lights flickered beneath the night sky. With gigantic electronic billboards behind him, a Muggle man in a jacket and jeans stood