Storm Clouds Gathering

Yinduo clutched Hoffa's school robe. The weak flames in the tavern fireplace crackled, and the shadows on the walls swayed restlessly, forming a bizarre pattern. For a moment, the two were deadlocked.

At last, Yinduo let go and said sadly:

"Then leave. Pretend you never knew me as a friend."

"What do you mean by that?" Hoffa asked, narrowing his eyes.

"You think you're more important than anything else. Do you know what the situation outside is like right now?"

"Don't pin some grand accusation on me," Hoffa said unhappily. "You couldn't ask any student in their right mind to do this, okay? And if you really wanted to get into the school, why not find some older students? Didn't you say you had former partners?"

"Dead! They're all dead!" Yinduo waved his hand irritably.

"You're the only Hogwarts student I know. All the others are dead."

Hoffa jumped.

"Are you really that unlucky?"

"Enough. Are you going to help me see Dippet or not? Give me a straight answer." Yinduo began pacing the room restlessly.

"No," Hoffa said. "I only came to see a friend."

With that, he sat cross-legged on the bed and began restoring his magic through meditation.

Hoffa knew better than anyone how strict Hogwarts was in this era. Newt Scamander and Rubeus Hagrid—neither of those outstanding students had been spared simply because of their character. Both had been expelled for breaking school rules.

Yinduo angrily tugged at his ears, let out a mournful sigh, then flopped onto the bed and buried his head in the pillow. "You're so selfish!" he said in a muffled voice.

"Mm-hm. I'm a Ravenclaw," Hoffa said.

The Ravenclaw goblin seemed to think of something and gave a bitter laugh.

Then he got up from the bed. "Fine, fine. Get some rest quickly, then hurry back to school before it gets dark. I'll think of another way to see Dippet."

Leaving Hogsmeade still required invisibility. With the help of Milarepa's Meditation Method, Hoffa's magic quickly began to recover.

The Disillusionment Charm consumed an astonishing amount of magic.

The little magic he had could only sustain it for about half an hour.

Hoffa had never overdrawn his magic before, so he had no idea how long it would take to recover afterward.

He could only keep cycling his breaths.

Yinduo did not disturb Hoffa either. He lay sprawled on the bed as the seconds slowly ticked by.

Outside, the sky gradually darkened. Hogsmeade's streets became increasingly deserted, with fewer and fewer pedestrians. The students had long since returned to Hogwarts.

Yet Hoffa still had not awakened.

Suddenly, Yinduo's long ears perked up, as if he had heard something. He immediately returned to his original form, hurried to the curtains, and pulled them open just enough to peer out at the black night beyond the window.

After letting the curtain fall, he looked at Hoffa again, then paced anxiously around the room.

At that moment, a wisp of smoke slowly spread through the air. No one knew where it had come from, but it gradually began to rise through the streets of Hogsmeade.

Slowly, it drifted into Hoffa's room.

Yinduo's expression changed. He no longer dared delay.

He hurried to the bedside and shook Hoffa hard by the shoulders.

"Wake up! Wake up, Hoffa!" he said anxiously.

Yinduo's shaking roused Hoffa from his magic recovery. Somewhat displeased, he asked, "What is it?"

Yinduo said in a panic, "I didn't tell you this, but a group of German dark wizards has been tracking me. I'm afraid they've already reached this area."

Hoffa's face changed drastically. "Dark wizards entering Hogsmeade? Are you kidding me? Aren't they afraid...?"

At that moment, wisps of milky-white smoke drifted in through the crack in the window. Hoffa caught a faint smell of burning. The goblin immediately covered Hoffa's mouth and nose, his expression filled with terror. "Don't breathe yet. Water, quickly!"

As he spoke, he tore off two strips of bedsheet and held them out to Hoffa.

Hoffa's expression darkened. He drew his wand and gave it a flick.

"Aguamenti."

A clear stream of water burst from the wand. Yinduo soaked the strips of cloth and tied them over both his own face and Hoffa's.

"How many?" Hoffa asked gravely.

Yinduo pulled Hoffa to the window and opened the curtain a narrow crack.

"Three."

He whispered, "This mist is Poison-Pouch Leopard venom. It causes fatal neurological illness. Just a little is enough to bring down an entire village. Its only weakness is water."

His words made Hoffa's heart pound.

Outside, night had completely fallen.

The dark little town had sunk into an eerie silence.

He moved to the window and looked out. The fog was spreading upward from below, and within the thick mist, three exceptionally tall figures moved slowly. They wore pointed black hoods and carried ancient lanterns in their hands.

Two streets away from Two Brooms.

With a sudden burst of light, owls flapped away with shrill cries. The post office was blasted apart by a spell, sending rubble flying everywhere.

"He's here."

"Split up and search!"

The strange language came from the distant fog. The voices were cold and mechanical, as if robots were issuing commands in code.

Hoffa had no idea what they were saying, but he knew one thing for certain: this was very bad.

The residents showed no reaction, and there was no sound from downstairs in the tavern either.

The three figures scattered across the street. One slowly approached Two Brooms, while the other two headed in different directions.

Yinduo whispered in Hoffa's ear, so quietly it was almost inaudible, "Schmidt Rotruff. A dangerous dark wizard wanted by the British Ministry of Magic, and one of Grindelwald's most capable assistants. He specializes in magical creatures. Whatever you do, don't breathe in the smoke here directly."

Before Hoffa could speak,

a hooded man stopped in front of Two Brooms and inspected the area with his lantern.

Pressing close to the window crack, Hoffa saw a large red asterisk tattooed on the man's arm.

Hoffa's face remained expressionless, but inwardly he was frantic and terrified.

That disaster-bringing Yinduo had actually led people like this here.

Dark wizards were no joke. No one called themselves a dark wizard without the skills to back it up.

Before these three had even made a move, they had already subdued everyone in Hogsmeade. Their strength was simply not something a first-year student and a con artist goblin could contend with.

"Do you have any ideas?" Yinduo asked anxiously.

"Can't you just Apparate away?" Hoffa asked quietly.

"No. The magical fluctuations from Apparition are too obvious. The three of them would definitely notice," Yinduo whispered. "I came by boat because I didn't dare Apparate. They can follow magical fluctuations and Apparate after you. Once they find us, you won't be able to escape either."

"What the hell did you do?!" Hoffa gritted his teeth, seized the goblin by the collar, and lowered his voice. "You did this on purpose, didn't you?!"

"On purpose?" The goblin angrily rammed his head into Hoffa's. "I did it on purpose?? I deliberately went to Gringotts to swindle money, deliberately got hunted by German wizards? Why would I be that stupid? Is there something wrong with your brain? The world is about to descend into chaos, and you're still saying I did it on pur—"

"Enough, shut up!"

Hoffa rubbed his forehead and turned to look at the tall man outside, who was drawing closer and closer. His head hurt as though it were about to split open.

Gritting his teeth, he said, "We can't stay here. We need to get out of here quickly."

"Where to?" Yinduo asked.

"The secret passage is at Honeydukes. We have to get to Honeydukes."