Wentworth's tears dropped one by one onto the coarse little ragdoll in his hand. He didn't know how long he'd been sitting there before he finally wiped his face dry and murmured to the doll:
"I've changed my mind. I'm taking you with me, to see the whole world."
No sooner had he spoken than a warm hand gently rested on his shoulder.
He didn't need to turn around to know who it was.
Sure enough, Dumbledore's voice followed softly behind him:
"Wentworth, it's time. They're nearly here."
At that moment, Wentworth heard the faint call of swallows beyond the room's walls, rising and falling like a distant tide.
He remained silent for a moment, then slowly nodded.
A soft pop echoed through the room, and in the next second, both Wentworth and Dumbledore vanished into thin air.
When they reappeared, Wentworth looked around in shock, Dumbledore had brought him to a Muggle airport.
He turned to Dumbledore in confusion, but the old Headmaster only gave him a kind smile.
"I'm sorry, Wentworth," he said gently. "I can't return to Europe with you, not yet. The Japanese wizarding world is on the brink of a great storm, and as President of the International Confederation of Wizards, I must stay."
"This is a Muggle airport. You can fly back on your own, I doubt it'll pose much trouble for you. But mind yourself. No more causing a stir. I allowed you to seek justice for Yukina, because what her family did crossed the line."
"But I won't tolerate indiscriminate killing. Do you understand?"
Wentworth gave a silent nod, then asked hoarsely:
"And… Yukina?"
Dumbledore's expression showed a flicker of concern, though his voice remained composed.
"I've already sent Newt ahead with her. She's on her way back to Britain. You'll see her when you return."
Wentworth stood quietly for a long time before nodding once more, slowly.
With great care, he tucked Yukina's ragdoll into his coat, turned around, and without another glance, walked toward the terminal.
He gave the airport a brief scan. To his mild surprise, the Japanese terminal was divided by destination, domestic and international.
Naturally, he headed toward the international departure hall.
But soon he noticed something else: even within the international hall, the space was divided into four zones—Europe, Asia, the Americas, and Others.
At that, Wentworth silently cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself and slipped toward the Europe section.
Boarding a plane unnoticed was child's play for him. But just as he approached the European terminal, he spotted something odd: several people in strange clothing moving briskly in his direction.
There was something about them, an aura Wentworth recognized. They had the bearing of Aurors.
He stopped in his tracks, watching quietly.
Sure enough, after entering the European terminal, the group began to move about casually, but Wentworth could tell they were subtly casting enchantments around the area.
A quick glance revealed Anti-Disapparition Jinxes and Revealing Charms woven into the space. If he'd taken one step earlier, he would've triggered them, and revealed himself.
Now the group began moving through the area, pretending to mill about, but in truth, they were watching every Muggle in line.
Wentworth kept a neutral expression but scanned the area carefully. As expected, scattered throughout the European terminal were several suspicious figures, likely wizards, positioned to monitor the crowd.
He didn't need confirmation. These people were definitely from the Hachiya, the most powerful magical family in Japan. Only they could mobilize this many wizards so quickly.
He knew brute force wouldn't work here. Even if he got past the terminal, they could easily force the plane to land or prevent it from taking off.
Just as he began scanning for weaknesses in their setup, a single word crackled through the airport's loudspeaker:
"Beijing."
The name sent a jolt through Wentworth's mind. Without hesitation, he turned and headed toward the Asia terminal.
Inside, he entered a washroom and removed the Disillusionment Charm. When he stepped out, he no longer looked like Wentworth.
He was now Su Xinghe, his Muggle identity from a former life.
Just then, a group of Chinese passengers, black-haired and dark-eyed, hurried past. Wentworth caught a glimpse of one of their tickets.
Without missing a beat, he joined the end of their group, following them toward the gate.
He kept to the back of the line. But soon enough, it was his turn at check-in.
The attendant took his ticket, and suddenly frowned.
Wentworth's heart skipped a beat.
"Didn't we already check someone in for 11A?" the woman asked her colleague. "How come this one says 11A too?"
Wentworth calmly raised a finger.
Another attendant leaned over, glanced at his ticket, and laughed.
"Come on, sis, look again, this is 17A!"
The first woman blinked, looked again, and found the seat number had indeed changed to 17A. She quickly apologized.
Wentworth waved it off as though it didn't matter.
Expressionless, he boarded the plane.
As he took his seat, he worried briefly that someone else might already be assigned to 17A, or that another late passenger might arrive with a duplicate ticket.
But he reassured himself. They were Muggles. If anything happened, a few Memory Charms would suffice.
Meanwhile, the Chinese flight crew was wrapping up their preparations.
One of them, Han Meimei, was a seasoned flight attendant who frequently worked the Japan route. Over time, she'd become quite familiar with the Japanese ground staff.
Just before takeoff, Meimei overheard something curious: a Japanese ground agent had mentioned that a passenger's ticket had changed from 11A to 17A in the blink of an eye. Laughing, the agent chalked it up to her eyesight failing with age.
But Han Meimei made a mental note of it.
When no one was watching, she quietly made a call.
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