The gilded bells jingled in the nighttime sea breeze, and twelve floating pumpkin lanterns bathed the deck in an orange-red glow.
A werewolf, clad in an elaborate silver-gray costume, stood at the center of the stage, using wolf claws to beat the leather drum beside him. With each muffled thud, colorful jellyfish emerged from the deck's crevices.
Twenty-five werewolves dressed in grass skirts danced joyfully to the music. At this moment, the audience seemed to have completely forgotten the usual ferocity of these creatures on stage. They accompanied the song and dance, twisting their bodies recklessly—
Now, it was the turn for those with peripheral tickets to envy them.
"Move aside! You lot—"
For the third time, Malfoy tried to push through the crowd, but to no avail. He cursed irritably, but the next moment, his voice was drowned out by the sudden blare of an organ. The vibrant jellyfish flooded the crowd, and the bewildered Draco suddenly noticed that his target was heading his way.
Great, now he just needed to bypass this group of werewolves... Malfoy grumbled irritably, carefully skirting around the werewolves' swinging claws. Even though their claws were coated in a layer of colorful sugar, he couldn't bring himself to trust them.
After a hard-fought struggle, the boy finally squeezed his way to Daphne Greengrass's side.
"Did you need something?"
Looking at the thoroughly disheveled Malfoy in front of her, Daphne couldn't help but ask—she had noticed him for a while but hadn't expected he was coming for her. After all, although their relationship hadn't exactly soured this term, it wasn't particularly good either...
After all, given Malfoy's usual character, he didn't miss many opportunities in the Slytherin common room to loudly disparage others, which naturally included the often spotlight-stealing Harry... Of course, most of this was directed at Harry Potter.
"Oh, I wanted to say..."
Draco opened his mouth dazedly, his mind too chaotic to find the right words momentarily.
But the next moment, the loud noise of fireworks erupted; the green fire snake, circling the cabin since its appearance, suddenly shot into the sky, causing a commotion among the crowd. Malfoy stumbled and awkwardly fell into the girl's arms.
"Hey, where do you think you're touching?"
A toy magic wand extended from behind Daphne, and the spiraling confetti smeared all over Draco's face. Astoria, a bit annoyed, crossed her arms as Draco blushed and tugged away the silk streamers. He also took the opportunity to whisper in Daphne's ear, "I heard you joined that person's fan club?"
"What fan club... oh."
The girl first showed some confusion, then a hint of realization began to appear on her face. Her gaze toward Malfoy softened a bit, as if seeing a fellow participant at an event. She gently patted the boy's hand, "Well, but it costs two Galleons to join the support club—"
"?"
Where did the capitalist come from?
By this time, Draco realized the girl probably misunderstood something. Before he could explain, an abrupt silence swept over the crowd. The sound of werewolves beating the drum abruptly stopped. Draco, a bit puzzled, looked around. Unlike him, the faces of the two girls were full of excitement—
"Is... Norbert coming out?"
"Probably?"
What Nor...
"Roar—"
As if to answer Draco's inner confusion, the deck, which had gradually closed, suddenly split open with a giant crack, and a menacing black Fire Dragon emerged from beneath. Its sharp claws scraped against the steel, creating piercing noises, while its scorching Dragon Flame shot into the sky.
"Fire Dragon!"
Draco instinctively exclaimed, seeing the Fire Dragon's dramatic entrance. He subconsciously thought it had escaped from the circus, after all, a Fire Dragon escaping the circus wasn't anything new—last Christmas even...
Wait...
Wasn't that circus also called the Starry Sky Circus?
"Don't worry, we know it..."
Daphne's face brimmed with barely concealed excitement, yet she still turned to comfort the terrified Draco. But the next moment, a shadow suddenly enveloped them, and the pitch-black Fire Dragon spread its wings, sweeping up Astoria, who was watching the spectacle from the side—
"... Uh, is this part of the act?"
Draco had calmed down now, curiously asking as he looked up at the Fire Dragon taking off.
"...Probably?"
Daphne uncertainly wrinkled her nose; she didn't know of such a program. That afternoon, they had chatted quite a bit with the staff; the Fire Dragon wasn't supposed to grab the "blonde wavy-haired" Beast Tamer on the edge of the stage before the prince made an entrance...
...
"Did they change the script?"
Lupin moved his gaze from the bewildered Beast Tamer in the crowd to the Black Dragon almost blending into the night sky. Seeing the crowd starting to become restless, he adjusted the crown on his head—he knew he needed to make an appearance now no matter what—
"Let's go, Silver."
Gripping the sword in his hand, Lupin nudged the Hippogriff beneath him. The next moment, its silver wings unfurled. Accompanied by stirring music, the prince of tonight's performance made his official entrance. Simultaneously, a somewhat urgent voice suddenly came through Lupin's ear.
"Something's... wrong, calm it down—"
"Fletcher?"
Lupin recognized the voice instinctively. He glanced down to see a short man at the ship's bow, frantically waving at him.
"Remus, quickly calm the Fire Dragon, this wasn't in the plan—"
Mundungus's voice was anxious, sweat dripping down his temples. Watching Mr. Greengrass approaching, he helplessly went to meet him, "Sir, this is actually a surprise performance. Your daughter will not be harmed; everything's under control..."
True nonsense—
Listening to the voice in his earpiece, Lupin sighed a bit helplessly as he refocused on the sky. There, in the night, the Fire Dragon hovered mid-air flapping its wings, spewing Dragon Flame around, setting half the sky ablaze.
"Neigh—"
At about fifty meters from the Fire Dragon, Silver didn't want to go any further. After all, Hippogriffs had always been part of Fire Dragon's diet.
"Alright..."
Lupin sighed helplessly. He knew performing with Fire Dragons was unreliable—even though he'd spent several days with William and knew this Fire Dragon's intelligence wasn't lower than that of a five- or six-year-old child, nonetheless, an accident occurred—
Wait a moment.
The man's gaze sharpened slightly, bypassing the Fire Dragon in the sky and looking into the night sky illuminated by flames behind it—
Was that... a silhouette?