About eighty yards away, a broken wooden plank bobbed in the surging waves. It was only wide enough for a child to lie on. A large black dog clung to it, its soaked fur plastered against its body, outlining its gaunt ribs.
It kept its upper body on the plank as best it could, its front paws locked onto gaps along the edge. Its hind legs kicked through the water while its head faced the patrol boat, adjusting its position according to the direction of the wake.
The magical fluctuations within it surpassed those of many adult wizards in Bella's senses. That was not a state any normal magical creature should possess.
This was no black dog at all, but a wizard using Animagus Transformation.
Bella knew that dark, violent magical aura all too well. Combined with the intelligence the Shadow Society had gathered earlier, she quickly guessed the black dog's identity. That was right—he was her nominal cousin, the infamous and dangerous murderer, Sirius Black!
Bella withdrew the magic from her eyes and turned toward the dark wizard. "It's only a beast. Ignore it. Speed up and turn in. Have Norway prepare for the handoff. Lord Madara is still waiting for us in London!"
The dark wizard nodded and withdrew into the hatch.
Bella stood at the stern and watched for a little longer. As the vessel accelerated again, the black dog swiftly became nothing more than a dark shape bobbing amid the rain curtain.
Bella withdrew her gaze and turned toward the hatch. The iron door behind her shut with a dull thud as the wind pressure forced it closed.
The ship continued northeast. Rain covered the stretch of sea between the stern and the plank. The black dog gradually blurred into a moving speck against the gray