Here I Come

Squeak.

Eight steps away, the wooden side door of the bakery was pushed open, bringing out a warm aroma of Black Tea and cinnamon.

Cordelia came out carrying a rubber hot water bottle filled with hot water in one hand and a steaming paper cup in the other.

A faint smell of burning lingered in the air of the alley.

Cordelia paused, then paused again, stunned to see the girl still holding her Wand and standing there so coolly.

What happened?

"Nothing."

The black-haired girl curled her lip, her voice clear and cold.

"Just killed some stupid fool."

"Oh."

Cordelia nodded, not giving it much thought.

It's just killing someone, it's not like I've never done it before. As long as Gavin alright, that's all that matters.

Then, she quickly took three steps at a time, walked up the Stone Platform, and skillfully lifted the hem of the black-haired girl's wide haute couture Robes, stuffing a hot water bottle into her lower abdomen.

At the same time, he was still complaining:

"Didn't I tell you to sit still? Why are you using magic? Does your stomachache stop?"

On the stone steps, the black-haired girl who had just burned an adult Dark Wizard to ashes with a single move froze for a moment.

As soon as my attention returned to my stomach, a sharp, throbbing pain shot through my lower abdomen.

The girl's pale cheeks twitched slightly. She silently put her Wand back into her sleeve, then squatted down, clutching the hot water bottle on her lower abdomen.

Then, she lowered her head very meekly and obediently and drank a sip of hot sugar water from Cordelia's hand.

Seeing the beads of sweat on her forehead again, Cordelia sighed and softened her tone:

"It still hurts so much? Have some hot sugar water to tide you over, and I'll get you some Draught of Peace when we get back to school."

The black-haired girl gasped, clutching her stomach. She winced in pain, but also looked up with a mixture of pain and curiosity.

"Draught of Peace? Would that stuff work for this?"

Cordelia nodded with amusement:

"Yes, it will stop the pain after drinking it."

The girl's dark eyes lit up for a moment, and she tilted her pale face up, her gaze resolute.

"Then please give me plenty."

Rolf, sitting on the ground, gaped, completely dumbfounded.

Rolf, his knees trembling, scrambled to his feet from the cobblestones, picked up the Wand that had rolled to the corner of the wall, and instinctively reached out to thank him.

"Um, that..."

Hearing the noise, Cordelia turned around abruptly and was surprised to find someone else beside her.

"... Scamander?"

A clear look of surprise crossed the girl's cool face.

She glanced at the ashes still scattered on the ground, then at Rolf's bleeding hand, and immediately withdrew her hand from the brown sugar water.

Then, like a protective mother, Cordelia subtly stepped forward to block the black-haired girl on the stone steps, her tone perfunctory and distant:

"We'll inform the professor to handle this. Your hand is injured; go back to the school and get it bandaged at the Hospital Wing."

After saying that, Cordelia didn't give Rolf a chance to ask any further questions.

She quickly took off the large silver-gray cashmere scarf from her neck, bent down and wrapped it around the black-haired girl's neck, covering half of the girl's pale face and chin, and then pulled her up from the stone steps.

"Um... please do as you wish, we'll be going now."

After saying that, Cordelia carefully pulled Gavin into her arms and quickly walked towards the alley entrance.

The black-haired girl lifted her eyelids from the edge of her scarf and gave Rolf one last cold glance.

With a slight twitch of his sleeve, the old leather tool bag left behind by the Dark Wizard beside the stone pier at the alley entrance silently slipped into the shadow of his Robes and disappeared.

The next second, Cordelia had already helped the black-haired girl hurriedly turn the corner and disappeared into the crowd on the High Street in the blink of an eye.

In the Great Hall of the Halloween Feast, thousands of enormous Jack-o'-Lantern floated in mid-air, their candlelight casting shimmering shadows through the hollowed-out ghost faces.

Gavin sat at the Hufflepuff Long Table, slowly cutting the grilled steak on his plate.

After Cordelia's kind offer of Draught of Peace that afternoon, plus three large cups of piping hot Brown Sugar Ginger Water, the excruciating cramps deep in my lower abdomen finally subsided.

For some reason, the advice he was used to hearing in his past life, "drink more hot water," was being implemented even more thoroughly by a young lady from a Pure-blood families United Kingdom family in this life.

For a moment, he felt a little confused.

Before going downstairs, Cordelia even stuffed a flat hot water bottle, which had been enchanted with Constant Temperature Charm, into the inner pocket of his Robes.

On the right side of the Long Table, Rolf was staring blankly at the lamb chops in front of him.

His left hand was wrapped in a white bandage from Madam Pomfrey, his right hand held Quill, and on the table in front of him lay a yellowed old Parchment.

"Hogwarts Girls' Appearance Observation Ranking"

The tip of the Quill pen hovered in mid-air, hovering above the line [2. Cordelia Rowle], moving back and forth up and down.

Just as Justin and Ernie returned from washing their hands in the Lavatory, they sat down and witnessed this scene.

Gavin, who was standing nearby, had already seen it, but he didn't say anything.

Justin's expression changed slightly, and he quickly reached out and grabbed Rolf's wrist:

Why are you still thinking about her?

Rolf was taken aback. "What?"

Justin gestured with his chin toward the Slytherin table next door.

Over there, Draco Malfoy, his face grim, was stabbing the roasted potatoes on his plate with a silver fork.

"Draco Malfoy," Justin said in a low voice with a strange look, "He turned back into a man a long time ago, wake up!"

Rolf's lips twitched, and he pulled his arm back:

"It wasn't Malfoy, it was another girl."

Justin stared suspiciously at the Quill hanging above the second-place finisher:

"Another girl? Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

Justin was still a little uneasy. After hesitating for a moment, he muttered to himself:

"Then... it can't be another boy who drank Potions and turned into one, can it?"

Gavin, who had just brought the Pumpkin Juice to his lips, paused.

Just blind-fire, huh?

Rolf's mind flashed back to the scene in the narrow alley that afternoon—

The dark-haired girl, pale-faced and clutching her stomach, squatted on the stone steps. She had been given a hot water bottle and hot sugar water, and while gasping for breath, she asked blankly if the Draught of Peace would work. It was clear that this was her first time experiencing menstruation.

"I'm 100% sure it's not."

Rolf shook his head firmly, his tone absolutely certain:

"Drinking Potions won't make it that realistic."

Gavin placed the Pumpkin Juice back on the table expressionlessly and silently cut a steak.

Ernie pushed the plate in front of him, glanced at the bandage on Rolf's hand, then at the Parchment, his expression serious:

"How come you've already set your sights on another girl? And you even want to put her second in the rankings?"

"Yeah, right." Justin chimed in, his face full of skepticism. "Are there any girls prettier than Miss Rowle at Hogwarts? Of course, Luna doesn't count; that's just your own bias."

Rolf shook his head and sighed:

You don't understand.

He placed the Quill beside the paper, lowered his voice, and recounted how he had gotten lost in Hogsmeade Alley during the day, encountered the scarred Dark Wizard who attempted to kidnap him, and how the black-haired girl on the stone steps had burned him to ashes in two seconds with a single, eerie blue flame.

Justin and Ernie's smiles vanished instantly.

"One move? Blue Flame?" Justin, as if listening to a story. "Really?"

"Dark Wizard?" Ernie frowned, immediately bending down to examine Rolf's bandaged left hand. "Are you alright? Did you report this to Professor Dumbledore?"

Rolf shook his head and comforted him:

"I'm fine. Madam Pomfrey examined me; it's just a superficial injury. I've already spoken to Professor Dumbledore."

Then, as if remembering something, he suddenly turned to look at Gavin beside him and lowered his voice, saying:

"But Gavin, that scarred guy today seemed to know my grandfather. You and my grandfather seem to be very familiar with each other. Do you know why?"

"You know your grandfather?"

Gavin frowned.

Dark Wizard? Knows Newt? Wants to capture Rolf?

Could it be--

Deepwater Group?

Isn't that a bit too arrogant? They dare to come to Hogwarts.

Dumbledore people look down on you.

Gavin pursed his lips, suppressing his urge to complain.

It's a pity I was too impulsive at the time and didn't capture the other person's soul. I'll see if there are any clues in that bag later.

But these things cannot be revealed to Rolf.

He could only shake his head silently and ask:

"I'm not sure, could you elaborate?"

Rolf hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice and said:

"He recognized me in the alley, and he knew I was the family's Secret Keeper. Before he died, he even used a black iron plate to send a message back."

Secret Keeper?

Newt actually chose Rolf as his Secret Keeper?

That's interesting. Entrusting the lives of the whole family to Rolf, and then putting the key in the "safest" Hogwarts.

That's a really clever plan.

Unfortunately, Newt didn't know that Hogwarts wasn't as peaceful as he imagined.

Almost every year something goes wrong.

The Dark Wizards here come more often than the parents.

However, compared to Hogwarts, which currently has Dumbledore in charge, since the scarred man had already sent the message back before his death, Newt outside is now a more worrying figure.

Gavin paused slightly as he cut the steak, and raised his eyelids:

"The message got back. Is your grandfather alright?"

"He's safe." Rolf nodded confidently.

Gavin gave him a strange look:

"Are you sure? With your grandfather's personality, even without the Dark Wizard causing trouble, he'd never be truly safe, would he?"

"Normally it's fine. My grandma always says that his needle is always teetering on the edge of danger, but today it's really nothing."

As Rolf spoke, he pulled a slightly worn brass Pocket Watch from the inside pocket of his coat, snapped the cover open, and handed it to Gavin.

"Look."

Gavin glanced down at it.

The brass Pocket Watch had no numerical markings on its dial; instead, it was engraved with a ring of handwritten status terms.

[Safety][Travel][Reserve][Injury]--

And at the very top, outlined in red paint, is the sign of [Deadly Danger].

The dial features five brass hands of varying lengths, each engraved with the initials of Scamander family member.

At this moment, the four hands representing Newt and his family are all obediently stopped on the [Safe] mark.

"It's similar to the Weasley family's clock. My grandfather had it made into a pocket Pocket Watch so that the family could easily check each other's situation when they were in the wild."

Rolf closed his Pocket Watch and put it back in his pocket, then patted the inner pocket containing the letter on his chest:

"And after reporting back to Professor Dumbledore at school that afternoon, I borrowed his Owl to write an urgent letter home. My grandfather just replied before dinner, implying that as long as I didn't speak up, even if the other party knew it was me, they wouldn't be able to break into the house, and that I shouldn't worry."

At this point, Rolf's expression suddenly became extremely strange, and he looked at Gavin, uttering each word carefully:

"Furthermore, my grandfather drew three horizontal lines at the bottom of the letter—he told me that from today onwards, I must stay with you and never leave your sight."

"?"

He also told me not to come home for Christmas this year, and that I should go wherever Gavin went.

Gavin's hand, holding the knife and fork, froze in mid-air as he stared at him expressionlessly.

"... Didn't your grandfather ask for my opinion before making any decisions?"

"My grandfather said you're a good person and would never stand by and watch someone die."

Gavin's lips twitched.

Newt Scamander, are you just going to bully honest people like this?

Rolf looked sincere, and as he spoke, he bent his knees and moved himself and his plate about half a foot to the left, his elbows almost touching Gavin's sleeve.

"By the way, Gavin, where are you going for Christmas this year?"

"It's not decided yet." Gavin moved his plate an inch to the side.

"It's alright, even if you go to Azkaban, I'll go with you."

Gavin looked at him expressionlessly:

"... I might actually go."

"Yes, I believe you."

Rolf clearly didn't take those words to heart at all; he had already made up his mind.

Listen to Grandpa, you can't go wrong, just follow his advice.

Justin was standing nearby, finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the school and Mr. Scamander had made all the arrangements.

Immediately afterwards, his gaze returned to the Parchment on the table, staring at the "2" for a full three seconds, his expression becoming quite interesting:

"Wait a minute. She saved your life?"

"Right."

"He burned an adult Dark Wizard to ashes in one move?"

"Right."

"And then you only ranked them second?"

Rolf immediately pulled the Parchment an inch into his pocket, and pressed his left index finger firmly onto the first line of the name [1. Luna Lovegood]:

"I will repay her for saving my life in other ways; Luna is special."

Justin rolled his eyes speechlessly, then stroked his chin and began to ponder:

"A beautiful Asian woman with long black hair? Are you sure it's not Cho Chang from Ravenclaw? She went to Hogsmeade today too."

"Absolutely not." Rolf shook his head firmly. "She's much prettier than Cho Chang, and very aloof."

Ernie, who was standing nearby, put down his fork and raised an academic question:

"Even more aloof Miss Rowle?"

In Hufflepuff's daily observations, Cordelia towards all living beings except Gavin basically represents the highest standard of Hogwarts' indifference.

Rolf paused, carefully recalling the scene, trying to explain the subtle differences to his two roommates:

"I can't quite put my finger on it... Miss Rowle looks at people with a kind of detachment, as if to say, 'Leave me alone.'"

"And that girl's eyes were coldly pure, like—"

Rolf paused,

"It's like looking at trash."

Gavin's fingers tightened around the knife.

Justin stared at Rolf silently for two seconds:

"You actually like this?"

"It's not about liking," Rolf shook his head seriously, "It's more about being awestruck and appreciating. I still think Luna is the most beautiful, but she's also very beautiful, in a different way."

As Rolf picked up his Quill again, preparing to write down his name for second place, Gavin, who had been silent all along, finally couldn't sit still any longer.

"Wait a moment."

We can't let him write that down.

Gavin knew all too well the power of such lists to spread in boys' dormitories.

If an Asian girl of unknown origin suddenly appears at number two on the School Beauty Ranking, even surpassing Cordelia, with Justin's big mouth, within two days, all the curious boys in the school will be asking around about this person.

He still needs to continue his cultivation; if he attracts a crowd to lie in wait and search for him, wouldn't he be asking for trouble?

This trend must be nipped in the bud.

Is this girl really as pretty as you say?

Gavin put down his knife and fork, and shamelessly sulked himself:

"Maybe it was just that the alley was backlit, and you were dazed from the fall, so you just mistook it for something else."

Rolf immediately turned around and looked at Gavin with a look of regret that said, "You're so ignorant."

"Gavin, that's because you didn't see what she looked like then."

Gavin's lips twitched; he truly couldn't see his own reflection.

Rolf added with utmost sincerity:

"Seriously, if you were there, you would have seen that look of utter contempt, I've never seen it on any other girl."

"..."

So--

Is it possible that it wasn't a girl?

Just then, Justin, who was standing next to him, suddenly narrowed his eyes.

His gaze lingered on Rolf's face for a second before abruptly shifting to Gavin:

"Wait a minute. Rolf, you just said that Miss Rowle came out later, wrapped a scarf around her, and walked away with her?"

"Yeah, they look like they know each other very well."

Justin leaned forward, his eyes fixed intently on Gavin.

"Gavin, do you know this girl?"

Then, Justin seemed to notice something and began to ponder, stroking his chin.

"Something's wrong, something's very wrong. I've noticed you've been very silent since just now, and—"

Justin suddenly seemed to have thought of something more.

"Black hair, black eyes, Asian, knows Cordelia, and even the way she burned people to ashes is exactly like you in the newspaper... That girl couldn't be—"

Gavin's back stiffened slightly, and his heart skipped a beat, a rare occurrence for him.

No way?

How come Justin, that idiot, suddenly got it all today?

Is he really Seer?

Justin slammed his hand on the table.

"Is that your distant cousin?!"

Gavin: "..."

Rolf and Ernie both froze, turning to look at Gavin.

"Cousin?!"

"Yes, that's possible!"

Three pairs of eyes instantly lit up dramatically, fixed intently on Gavin's face, adopting a stance that they wouldn't let him finish the steak until they got a clear explanation.

Gavin met the three men's gazes, and in just half a second, he calculated the accounts in his mind.

Instead of letting these three guys go and ask Cordelia, or inquire all over the school about that mysterious girl in Cordelia's haute Robes gown, it's better to just fill the hole by following the ladder Justin offered.

"That's right, I didn't want to say it, but you guys still found out."

Gavin, without batting an eye, picked up Napkin and wiped his mouth, looking like he was saying, "I really can't do anything with you guys."

"That's my distant cousin from the East, studying in the China wizarding world. She happened to be in the United Kingdom with her elders these past few days and stopped by Hogsmeade on the way, which is how we ran into her."

This explanation is full of loopholes and cannot even withstand close scrutiny of basic cross-border travel logic.

However, as soon as he finished speaking, all three people across the table believed him.

Not only did they believe it, Ernie and Justin even showed relieved expressions on their faces, as if to say, "Oh, that makes perfect sense now."

After all, it's hard to explain why a 13 or 14-year-old could casually burn an adult Dark Wizard to ashes with blue flames if he were just some random passerby.

But once the premise of "Gu's relative" was mentioned, the slight suspicion on their faces vanished instantly.

Rolf, recalling the ashes in the narrow alley that afternoon, where not even a bone fragment remained, couldn't help but swallow hard and whispered:

"Gavin, what's your cousin's social standing like back in your hometown?"

Gavin didn't even lift his eyelids, and casually made up a story:

"An average person, barely able to protect themselves when going out."

In fantasy worlds, killing dozens of people a day is quite normal in the East, so it must be similar in magical worlds.

The area across the table fell silent instantly.

Rolf, Justin, and Ernie's forks froze in mid-air as they exchanged a silent glance.

A single blue flame could reduce an adult Dark Wizard to ashes in two seconds; in the East Gu family, that would only be considered "barely able to defend themselves"?

The East is simply too terrifying!

Rolf swallowed hard, turned to look at Gavin beside him who was slowly eating his steak, and suddenly the three deep horizontal lines at the bottom of his grandfather's letter flashed through his mind.

He suddenly realized.

What is foresight?

No wonder Grandpa ignored Dumbledore and insisted on having him stick with Gavin.

If even a distant cousin who could barely protect herself could easily turn Dark Wizard to dust, then what level must Gavin, who came to the United Kingdom alone to study, be at?

Without saying a word, Rolf moved himself and his plate more than half a foot to the left.

Gavin paused, looking at Rolf with displeasure.

What are you doing?

Rolf, however, remained resolute, having already made up his mind completely.

From now on, even if Gavin goes to the bathroom, he'll come with him!

Rolf stared at Gavin's face for two seconds, then suddenly slapped his forehead:

"No wonder... Gavin, look at me again."

What are you doing?

"Take a look at me first."

Gavin, exasperated by his antics, finally lifted his eyelids and gave him another cold look.

Rolf shuddered, immediately turned to Gavin, and excitedly said to Justin:

"Yes, that's it!"

Justin paused, then asked, "Which one?"

"If you strip away 80% of that remaining patience, that's exactly how she saw me back then!"

Justin turned his head, carefully examined Gavin for a moment, and nodded in deep agreement:

"They are indeed relatives."

Rolf was overjoyed and immediately grabbed his Quill and aimed it at the second-place position:

"Great! Since she's your cousin, she should definitely be second!"

Gavin pressed his temples and couldn't help but remind him:

"If you put her second, Cordelia will drop to third."

What does it matter?

Rolf didn't even look up, his tone remarkably calm:

"Anyway, it was your own cousin who took her place. Even if Cordelia finds out and is unhappy, she'll definitely come after you, not me."

Gavin stared at him silently for two seconds, then spoke expressionlessly:

"The fact that Australia has 42 million kangaroos while Jamaica has only 3 million people means that if kangaroos invade Jamaica, each person will have to fight 14 kangaroos."

Rolf's pen, which had been hovering in mid-air, paused, and he looked up blankly:

"What's the meaning?"

"It means you're too selfish."

Gavin shook his head, looking at him with utter disappointment.

You don't care about anything, you only care about yourself.

Rolf blinked, still not understanding what kangaroos had to do with rankings.

Ernie, standing nearby, suddenly frowned and pressed his hand against the edge of the Parchment:

"Wait a minute. But she's not a Hogwarts student."

Gavin perked up and immediately replied:

Yes, that's right.

You can't be on Hogwarts' list unless you're a student of Hogwarts.

Finally, someone who respects the rules stepped forward.

Rolf glanced down at the title at the top of the list and hesitated for a moment.

Then, he picked up his Quill and with two quick strokes crossed out the words "Hogwarts" in the title, adding the words "I've seen it" above it.

He pushed the Parchment toward Ernie.

Ernie lowered his head and reread "My Ranking of Girls by Appearance," then nodded in satisfaction.

That's fine.

Gavin looked at Ernie, expressionless.

Are you playing?

He'd only ever seen product managers do this in his past life: directly modifying requirements documents to pass compliance reviews.

I never knew you were this kind of person, Macmillan!

But Ernie, completely unaware, had already picked up his knife and fork again and continued eating his Mashed Potatoes.

"What's her name?" Rolf turned his gaze back and asked with great interest, "She's your cousin, you must know her name, right?"

Gavin closed his eyes and slowly uttered two words:

Gu Wen.

Is this in English?

"Chinese."

Does she have an English name?

"... No."

He hadn't had time to write it yet.

"Oh, how do you write that in Chinese?"

Rolf couldn't write Chinese characters, so he simply pulled out a small piece of blank Parchment from the side and pushed it in front of Gavin:

Write it down for me to see.

Gavin just wanted to end this absurd execution as soon as possible. He took the Quill and casually wrote the two characters "Gu Wen" on the paper.

Rolf was overjoyed. He placed the small piece of paper beside him, held his breath, and began to copy the second-place entry on the list stroke by stroke.

This young man who grew up in France obviously had no knowledge of square calligraphy. He could barely draw an outline of the character "Gu". When he got to the lower part of the character "Wen", his pen tip became more and more crooked, and he forced the bottom parts to look like four knotted earthworms.

Gavin watched for a while and suddenly realized that it was a stroke of genius that he hadn't made up an English word.

Let those people search through these two oracle bone characters.

Rolf carefully compared the lists, then held them up with both hands for Gavin to review:

"Is this correct?"

"Yes, yes, very standard."

Having received Gavin's confirmation, Rolf put down the paper with satisfaction, then with a swift and decisive movement, changed the "2" in front of Cordelia's name to a "3".

Justin, who was standing nearby, leaned over, patted Gavin on the shoulder, lowered his voice, and looked at him with a loyal expression:

"Don't worry, you agreed even without me telling Cordelia."

Gavin's eye twitched, and he put down his Napkin and stood up.

He drank three large cups of Brown Sugar Ginger Water and Draught of Peace in the afternoon, and now he wanted to go to the first-floor Lavatory on the side of the Entrance Hall to avoid these two lively characters who were still studying the strokes of "Gu Wen".

As soon as he pushed the bench aside, Rolf, who was sitting on the right, reflexively put down his fork and stood up abruptly.

Gavin paused, turned to look at him:

What are you doing?

"Whatever you do, I'll do!" Rolf said matter-of-factly.

"I'm going to the restroom."

"I'll go too!"

Rolf's expression was extremely serious.

My grandfather said I can't leave your sight for even a moment.

Gavin paused for a second.

He's currently in a female body beneath that male Transfiguration, so he can't very well let Rolf follow him into the men's Lavatory Stall.

Gavin looked at him expressionlessly:

"I went to college."

Logically speaking, now that things have come to this point, a normal person should have sat back down.

However, Rolf didn't even frown, and nodded without hesitation:

"Then I'll wait for you outside."

Gavin: "..."

Let's go.

Rolf even stepped aside slightly, indicating that he was ready to stand guard.

Gavin, too lazy to argue with him any longer, turned and walked towards the side door of the Great Hall.

Rolf immediately followed, like a dutiful Personal Guard, staying steadily half a step behind him.

At the dining table, Justin and Ernie looked up and watched Rolf's Gavin as he followed Gavin to the door to guard him, even when Gavin went to the toilet. Their forks slowly came to a stop in mid-air.

The two looked at each other, their eyes revealing a complex and indescribable expression.

Although it hasn't happened again recently, what happened a couple of days ago still left them feeling uneasy.

Ernie whispered to confirm:

"He wouldn't be taking advantage of the situation—"

Justin hesitated for a moment, then thought for a moment and replied:

"Not sure, let's see."

As soon as the two reached the entrance of the Great Hall, Harry sullenly put down his fork at the Gryffindor table across the aisle.

Meanwhile, the third-grade students around them were all excitedly discussing the Sweets and Zonko's joke toys they had bought in Hogsmeade that day.

As the only unlucky guy in the entire grade who didn't get a guardian's signature and had to spend the whole day alone in the empty castle, Harry felt increasingly miserable as he listened. He pushed aside the bench and left early by himself, heading towards the Entrance Hall.

"Harry, wait for us!"

Ron and Hermione, seeing this, exchanged a glance, then, ignoring the half-eaten Pumpkin Pasty left on their plate, quickly grabbed the bag of Sweets they had brought back for Harry from the corner of the table and hurriedly got up to chase after him.

Outside the castle, the night wind of late October carried a fine drizzle across the Overgrown Grasslands along the shore of Black Lake.

At the edge of the Forbidden Forest, the Whomping Willow that usually lashes out wildly with the slightest breeze is now standing motionless in the rain.

At the base of the tree trunk, on a hidden knot, a thick, withered branch was firmly pressed against it.

Splash!

A wet, black nose peeked out from the muddy, watery Root Passage.

Immediately afterwards, a large, thin, black dog with clearly visible ribs emerged from the tree hole.

He had spent all the Galleons he had taken out over a month ago to buy Harry Firebolts, and now he had to spend his days fighting with stray cats for trash cans in the Back Street of Hogsmeade.

The icy rainwater trickled down the tangled black fur, and the stomach, which had been empty for many days, convulsed and let out a mournful cry.

Sirius, squatting in the mud, licked his chapped nose. Incredibly, his mind flashed back to the sizzling Roasted Sea Fish and hot Buttered Potatoes he had eaten on the North Sea Island.

To be honest, life outside...

The food here is really not as good as what you'd Azkaban.

The big black dog shook its head violently, desperately trying to shake off this decadent thought along with the rainwater.

He couldn't delay any longer; if he didn't kill Peter before he starved to death, he was afraid he might actually swim back to Azkaban to freeload.

He had been lurking in the Dust of the Shrieking Shack for two days and two nights, finally waiting for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of the Halloween Feast.

At this moment, all the students and professors of the entire school are gathered in the brightly lit Great Hall to enjoy a grand meal.

The Gryffindor Tower on the Seventh Floor was deserted.

That was the perfect opportunity for him to storm into the boys' dormitory and bite that damned rat Peter Pettigrew's neck off.

The big black dog shook the mud off its fur, raised its head, and stared intently at the brightly lit castle in the distance through the rain.

"Peter, I'm here."