"...Was that an earthquake?"
Lying in the truck compartment, Sirius, who was almost asleep from petting cats, suddenly lifted his head. He exchanged glances with the two little cheetahs lying on his belly for a long time before he scratched his head and cautiously peeked outside the compartment.
Because of his position, Sirius could have launched a surprise attack on the poachers from behind, but out of safety considerations, he didn't make a move.
Even though he knew the second group were Aurors, Sirius had no intention of stepping forward to recognize them.
After all, that group of fog-covered Aurors was entirely being overwhelmed in the fight. Was he supposed to deliver himself to them?
It would be better to find a way to slip away—
Unfortunately, even though they were fighting, the formation wasn't broken, and having watched for a long time without finding an opportunity, Sirius had no choice but to return to the compartment to wait. He had not expected that this waiting would last for half an hour before he finally heard the earthquake-like "boom"—
Due to limited visibility, Sirius, who peeked his head out from the compartment, didn't see the Thunderbird flying in the sky or the beast tides underneath.
He could only see that the Aurors and Black Wizards, who were previously in a fierce battle, seemed to abandon their animosity and were now fleeing together, presenting a scene so harmonious that Sirius found it momentarily disorienting—then, he saw a wizard in black robes get pounced on by a large cat with a neck full of thorn-like sacs—
Blood splattered.
Screams, wails, and the sounds of biting and swallowing echoed. Standing on the other side of the camp, Lupin swallowed hard, holding an opened suitcase. A Kabuda, now much larger and in a blue uniform, stood on the grass at the man's feet, waving two small blue flags vigorously.
It was indicating for the upcoming "guests" to jump in.
Holding the suitcase, Lupin hesitated for a moment before placing it on the ground and stepping back two steps—he didn't want to be trampled to death by this group of animals. Although he wanted to believe William's words, it just didn't seem possible, right?
And those Aurors, too? Were they to be killed together?
Lupin's doubts didn't linger for long, as the poachers who had just been overpowered by the Aurors soon perished at the hands of the carnivorous animals unleashed by William. Of course, claiming the most kills was the massive Nundu—
This creature from East Africa brought lethal venom with every breath, so it hardly needed to attack personally. Just a roar would leave a heap of corpses around it.
Though its looks were lacking, perhaps choosing this Nundu as a second form for Animagus back then wouldn't have been bad either?
Hovering in the sky, the Thunderbird stirred up thunder with its flapping wings, sweeping away the stragglers below, and William pondered—of course, it was too late to think about this now, and William didn't really lack large-area AOE like the Nundu, for instance, the "Avada Kedavra Lightning Chain"...
So, the Horned Serpent, capable of achieving nearly perfect invisibility, obviously suited him more.
Thinking this, William descended, grabbed the truck compartment being attacked by two bird-shaped Snallygasters, ignoring Sirius's cries of surprise, and used his claws to separate the compartment from the cab, swiftly flying to Lupin's side, dumping the three cats and a dog inside into the open suitcase—
...
While William rescued Sirius from the beast tide, Audric Greaves was desperately fleeing for his life.
Looking back at the Rune Snake closely following behind him, Audric couldn't help but twitch his eye—he strongly suspected that the three-headed snake was toying with him, for even though it had several opportunities to bite his butt, it never did for some reason.
Too bizarre!
Seeing the almost annihilated poachers behind him and the still-alive Aurors around him, Audric paused in silence—
Could it be? Could the name of the Graves Family still work even in this situation?
With such thoughts, Audric followed the Aurors out of the camp, burst through the white tent cloth, and was startled by the slightly odd scene before him—it couldn't be, why was there a Niffler in gymnastics attire, dancing, and it was a full five feet tall?
Not possible, right? What had brought them here? Was this still America?
Next to him, an Auror was similarly startled by the scene, instinctively raising his magic wand. But before they could act, a few pale white bolts of thunder descended from the sky, striking them down with a crisp and tender thud. Witnessing this scene, neither Audric nor the remaining Aurors could be bothered by the oddity anymore—
Just run, for crying out loud!!
So what if a Niffler is dancing? As long as they escape this forest, they could buy two hundred Nifflers and have them dance at the Magic Congress's entrance!
Thus, the group continued sprinting past the Niffler, not even noticing the two people squatting on the ground.
It wasn't until they exited the forest that Audric seemed to come to his senses, instinctively checking behind him to find it completely empty. Neither a three-headed snake was hanging off his bottom, nor any magical creatures were in sight. Behind him, the dark forest was eerily silent.
"...Where did they go?"
"D-don't know."
His deputy, clutching his shriveled right arm, also blinked in bewilderment.
Since he couldn't raise his arm at all, he was fortunate not to be struck by lightning upon seeing the Niffler.
"...Should we go back and check?"
After a moment of silence, Audric proposed an idea that sounded highly reckless.
"...Boss, have you ever watched Muggle movies?"
"N-no, what's the matter?"
"There's a kind of horror film, where the typical plot is that the protagonist has clearly escaped but still insists on going back to face death, and then..."
"Let's go."
Audric didn't hesitate for long. Compared to a little curiosity, he could still distinguish the importance of life.
But just as the group of Aurors were ready to leave with their magic wands, there was a rustling sound in the woods. Then, under their somewhat bewildered gaze, two tidy figures emerged from the bushes.
"Ah, you haven't left yet, that's convenient—"
Audric saw the younger boy give him a very gentle smile. He instinctively held out his hand, which was taken by the other. "Let me introduce myself, William Richard, from Hogwarts. Oh, and this here is our Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor—"
...
...
"... So, you're from Hogwarts, sent to discuss collaboration with Ilvermorny regarding the Triwizard Tournament?"
Sipping the hot ginger tea in his hand, Audric tried to kickstart his somewhat stalled brain. He stared at the overly young boy in front of him, his tone carrying a hint of inquiry, and the use of honorifics placed him in a pretty low position. "And those just now... fellows, they're all..."
As he spoke, the man instinctively glanced at the little briefcase at William's feet, his eyelid twitched.
William didn't conceal his identity or his experiences during this period. Looking at the incredulous man in front of him, William smiled, his eyes narrowing slightly. "This... Mr. Graves, everything I've said is, of course, true, and all you need to do is investigate—"
Saying this, William raised his hand and drew a circle towards the Aurors not far away, "I suppose finding out the truth shouldn't be too difficult, right?"
"...Of course."
Audric nodded, not knowing what to say, but the next moment, William seemed to think of something. He gestured towards Lupin, who nodded, reached out, and opened the briefcase, then fished out a man with every limb broken.
Seeing Fern lying on the ground, barely more alive than dead, Audric's eyelid twitched again.
He felt like his eyes were about to cramp.
"This one, you should know?"
William's face still carried a "kind" smile. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a prepared potion, pouring it into the man's mouth.
"Cough, cough..."
First, there was a wheezing sound like a bellows, then Fern woke up with a bewildered expression, his face pale as ash. His gaze first swept over the two strangers in front of him, then he locked eyes with the utterly shocked Audric for quite a while—
"... It's you, cough, cough."
Fern gasped, a faint blue light flickering in the depths of his leaden pupils.
"...Do you know me?"
Audric was stunned; the other's tone seemed very familiar with him... So, was his previous speculation true?
"Ha, the second young master of the Graves Family, who wouldn't know you?"
Fern's mouth curled into a mocking smile. He seemed to realize he wouldn't last much longer, and his expression became more and more wanton, "Just now, if it wasn't for those damn things, you all would have been my captives tonight. Heh heh, the young master of the Graves Family, just thinking about how much you're worth on the market—"
"Who are you really?"
"Cough, cough, I..."
Fern's words weren't finished, but the next moment, the light in his eyes suddenly went out. The next moment, his head tilted to the side with a crack, and he died just like that.
"?"
"He..."
"He's dead."
William said an obvious statement, and Audric's eyebrows furrowed tightly uncontrollably, "So, the 'Unnamed Purger' who's been hunting down these poachers all this time, is that you, you all?"
"Obviously."
William nodded, neither denying nor needing to deny—it was hard to believe these poachers could be this rampant without someone backing these beasts.
The young master of the Graves Family in front of him was clearly a very good bait—
So, Audric suddenly found the smile on the boy's face in front of him growing even wider.