New York, United States.
Inside the shack in the slums, Sirius lay curled up beside the stove, dozing.
Harry had just finished reading a letter. He set the parchment down on the battered coffee table to his left, then picked up a golden egg from it and began studying it.
This was the clue for the Second Task of the Five-Wizard Tournament.
Last time, the two of them had recklessly tried to kidnap the Scourers' leader, the fourth Salem, only to nearly wet themselves when a group of Obscurus suddenly appeared.
If the squad of wizards tailing them had not stepped in to save them, grass would probably have been growing over their graves by now.
Afterward, word of their situation had officially been sent back to England. When Draco learned what had happened, he mailed Harry the golden egg containing the clue.
Some time later, Sirius woke up. He opened his great canine jaws in a yawn, then looked at his godson.
"Woof, woof!"
Harry's grasp of dog language was fairly good by now, and he more or less understood what his godfather meant. He sighed and nodded.
"All right, I'll stop being stubborn. I really don't have time to work it out anymore. I could spend that time practicing spells specifically for the task."
Having said that, Harry stopped agonizing over it.
He put down the golden egg, picked up the letter again, and flipped straight to the back before casting a simple "Finite Incantatem" with his wand.
Lines of text appeared on it, all detailing his good mate Draco's explanation of the secrets within the golden egg.
Harry had been too proud before, wanting to solve it with his own intelligence and ability, but several days had passed without the slightest progress.
After reading the last of