Not there yet?
Listening to the muffled thunder, Mundungus looked up somewhat puzzled at the sky overhead, as usual.
Is it going to rain?
Feeling helpless, he shifted his already stiffened bow-legged legs, and leaned slightly toward the tree trunk behind him. With the current temperatures in northern Greece, if anything were to fall from the sky, it should be snow, but... does snow come with thunder?
Doesn't seem like I've seen it before.
When people are bored, they tend to let their minds wander uncontrollably until a shrill cry interrupted his thoughts, ringing warning bells in the man's mind. Mundungus instinctively ran forward several meters before he finally thought to look back.
What the hell is that?
Looking at the colossal figure perched atop the tree trunk behind him, Mundungus's eyelids began to twitch wildly.
When did it appear? There was no sound until... no, just the thunder?
But fortunately, someone didn't have that annoying sense of humor. The big bird flapped its wings, accompanied by the dull rumble of thunder as it landed on the ground. The massive golden shadow began to contract, and William, wearing a light gray robe, inexplicably felt a sense of relief as his feet touched the ground.
Though he yearned for the sky, the feeling of solid ground was still better.
Especially since he had just flown from Scotland to Greece, over three thousand kilometers, in winter. Even though his Animagus form could resist the wind and snow, he felt a bit stiff.
"...How are things going?"
Noticing Mundungus nearby, who was sporting a shocked comic face, William reached out and stuffed two small creatures trying to fight on his neck back into his pocket. Earlier, he had been flying above the clouds, and as long as he didn't foolishly chase airplanes, there was no worry about Muggles seeing. So, he let Norbert out to warm up by the fire.
And later, while looking for a landing spot... thinking of this, William pulled out a struggling Kabuda, rummaging through its pocket for quite a few things until he finally grabbed a clump of air.
"Crack—"
The next moment, the "air" shattered suddenly, and a grayish-white rune stone burst into powder with a crisp sound in his hand.
Engraved with Ancient Runes, a talisman stone for phantom disguise, it could be used by drawing its magic with Ancient Magic, helping objects to vanish. Although its effect is worse than even the poorest invisibility cloak on the market, and it only allows two or three uses, the advantage lies in being usable by those without ancient magic talent once activated.
Also, although it's currently rather mediocre, there's still room for improvement, and it's much more portable than an invisibility cloak.
But the biggest problem now is... once activated, it's invisible along with the stone itself. Every time he puts it into Kabuda's stomach, it takes half a day to retrieve, yet Kabuda refuses to learn proper organization...
Oh well, it seems he'll need to increase its strength.
For some reason, Kabuda suddenly felt a chill along its spine while contemplating spitting into Norbert's feed at midnight.
"Sir, just now that was..."
Mundungus spoke with a slight tremor in his voice, still staring at the now empty tree trunk, replaying the scene of William flapping his wings and landing in his mind. It's terrifying... was that a Thunderbird? Can Animagus forms become magical creatures? Is this something ordinary people can do...
Wait, um, William really isn't related to "ordinary people," is he?
"What's the matter?"
"No, no, nothing, please follow me. Our Starry Sky Travel Group's camp is not far ahead."
Mundungus took out a flask from his pocket and sipped lightly. His face uncontrollably twitched, and the man instantly grew over ten centimeters taller. The robe, which seemed overly broad, now fit him perfectly.
"Cough, cough, cough, cough... Sir, this way."
After a series of consecutive coughs, Mundungus's voice completely transformed, becoming that of the Starry Sky Circus's owner... or rather, strictly speaking, the former owner, Toby Drake.
"...You still haven't directly taken over the circus?"
William raised an eyebrow. Although he had been supplying Polyjuice Potion to Mundungus, such a large quantity was obviously for selling. He thought Mundungus could control it with his original identity. Now it seems he might have overestimated?
"Yes, sir... to become the leader here requires a werewolf identity, but... you understand, don't you?"
Mundungus's voice was slightly uneasy. His meaning was clear—currently the Starry Sky Circus is the largest werewolf sanctuary in Europe, deserving a name change to Werewolf Circus. To ensure empathy, it is best, at least, for their leader to be one of them.
But obviously, Mundungus really doesn't want to be bitten by a werewolf, even though the Wolf Poison Potion production line is mature.
Werewolves are a minority group, but just most of the United Kingdom's werewolves can form a formidable battle squad for Voldemort. It's conceivable that the number of lycanthropy patients in Europe is not small, most bitten in social retaliation by other werewolves.