"Oh? And what was he doing there?" Cassian's eyes lit up.
"That I don't know. That's for you lot to investigate. I only caught a glimpse of him from afar," Julien said, deliberately omitting any mention of Starfall Cove.
"Is that so?" Cassian stared at him for a long time, so long that Rosier impatiently cleared her throat.
"Very well. This information is highly valuable to us."
The Department of Mysteries field agent finally relented. "If you notice anything unusual, you can contact me. Do you need one of these? They're quite handy."
He pulled a small, glowing golden toad from his pocket. "This is..."
"No thank you," Julien cut him off. "If anything really happens, we'll just contact our classmate, Susan Bones."
"Ahem, that's... right. Either way works," Cassian coughed, finally looking a bit embarrassed.
"Oh, one more thing," Cassian turned to leave, but stopped in his tracks.
"Wolfgang is not just a member of the Moon Shadow Council. He is the nephew of Fenrir Greyback, the werewolf pack leader. By blood, not by bite. Which means..."
"Which means what?" Liriya pressed. Even in the North, the name Fenrir was often used by adults to scare disobedient children.
"It means he can retain his sanity during a full moon," Cassian's voice was as light as a sigh. "It means he is ten times more dangerous than an ordinary werewolf. It means..."
He paused. "In the past, the Moon Shadow Council never recruited werewolves. But now, if the Council is truly hunting for something, they have found themselves the perfect tracker."
With that, Cassian turned and vanished into the surging crowd, as if he had never been there at all.
A sharp whistle blew. A figure waved a signal flag. Then came the long, heavy sigh of the train preparing to depart, as if exhaling a breath of relief on behalf of all those saying their goodbyes.
Julien, Rosier, and Liriya exchanged a look. No words were needed; a heavy, unspoken understanding formed between the three of them.
"Let's go," Rosier gestured toward the train cars. "We have the entire school year... to figure all of this out."
"The whole school year, huh. Let's hope that's enough time," Julien subconsciously clenched his fists.
Just then, a small redhead girl slipped quietly out of the Prefects' compartment and began hurrying toward the back of the train, constantly peeking into passing compartments as if searching for someone.
What could have possibly made the notoriously shy Ginny so bold? Julien found it quite amusing, until he suddenly noticed that she was clutching the black notebook tightly in her hands.
The train slowly pulled away, gradually leaving King's Cross Station behind.
Julien found an empty compartment. Once their luggage was stowed, the three of them sat down. The scenery outside the window began to blur past.
"So," Rosier said as she slid the compartment door shut, her starburst brooch gleaming in the dim light. "The French Riviera. You really didn't find anything?"
Julien remained silent for a long time, as if lost in thought.
Outside the window, the silhouette of the Scottish Highlands began to emerge in the distance, the grey-blue mountains looking like slumbering beasts.
"I found something," he finally said. "A door. A sunken city. And a..." He looked at Rosier. "A ghost that looked exactly like you."
Instantly, the color drained from both girls' faces, especially Rosier's.
"Looked like me?" Rosier gasped.
"A ghost?" Liriya echoed.
The train plunged into its first tunnel, throwing the compartment into momentary darkness.
Julien felt a familiar, searing pain on the inside of his right wrist—the eagle-headed hound totem surfaced faintly beneath his skin, as if answering some distant call.
After a long while, the three of them were still sitting in silence.
Julien noticed that Rosier's hand was subconsciously rubbing her starburst brooch, while a single feather on Liriya's cloak was fluttering without any wind.
Clearly, both of them were still digesting the unbelievable information Julien had just shared.
Clatter! The compartment door was suddenly yanked open. A girl with bushy brown hair stood in the doorway—Hermione. Right behind her was a teary-eyed Ginny.
"I knew you'd be here," Hermione said frantically. "Julien, something terrible has happened. Harry and Ron are missing. They never got on the train!"
Oh right, Julien mentally slapped his forehead. He had known Harry was spending the rest of the summer at the Burrow, so why hadn't he remembered that the entrance to Platform 9¾ was going to be blocked by Dobby the house-elf this year? Harry and Ron wouldn't be able to get through, and they would end up stealing Mr. Weasley's enchanted Ford Anglia to fly to Hogwarts.
On the way, they'd be spotted by a bunch of Muggles, eventually crash into the Whomping Willow, and cause a massive uproar. How had he forgotten to warn them?
Wait, no, Julien thought again. Ron's old wand gets snapped by the Whomping Willow, and that broken wand is the crucial item needed to deal with Lockhart during the climax in the Chamber of Secrets. Good thing he hadn't warned them after all. Mwahaha.
"Oh no, do you think they ran into dark wizards?" Since Rosier and Liriya were still immersed in Cassian's warning and Julien's summer adventure, their minds immediately jumped to the worst-case scenario.
"Ah! What are we going to do?!" Hearing this, Ginny burst into fresh tears.
"No, no, that won't happen, Ginny," Hermione hurriedly tried to comfort her.
"Julien, tell them. Right? Julien! Julien!" Hermione was completely baffled by the rapidly shifting expressions on Julien's face.
"Don't worry," Julien motioned for Hermione and Ginny to take a seat, then leaned forward, looking Ginny directly in the eyes. "Don't worry, Ginny. Harry and Ron... they always manage to scrape through somehow, don't they?"
"Really?" Ginny asked uncertainly.
"Really. Why else do you think they call Harry 'The Boy Who Lived'?"
Hermione sat next to him, wearing an expression that clearly said, Let's see how long you can keep lying to a child.
Right at that moment, Percy and the twins burst into the compartment.
"Julien, do you really not know what happened? I remember you walking in right behind them," Percy asked anxiously, his usual stiff composure entirely gone.
Julien shrugged. He could understand Percy's panic. "I honestly don't know. As soon as I got onto the platform, I met up with Rosier and Liriya. I didn't see what happened behind me."
"It's true. We were waiting right near the entrance, and we never saw them come through," Rosier quickly confirmed.
"Look, there's no need to panic, Percy," one of the twins—George or Fred—interrupted lazily. "Even if they didn't make the train, they have other options. If it were me, I'd just nick Dad's old banger and fly it to school. For all we know, they've already crashed into a Muggle weather balloon."
Julien couldn't help but marvel at how the twins always managed to inadvertently stumble upon the truth—just like last term, when they spent the winter throwing snowballs at the back of Quirrell's head.
"What?!" Percy, who had just sat down, snapped his head up in horror. "That would be a severe violation of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery! They would definitely be expelled! Their wands would be snapped! The Ministry of Magic would—"
Before Percy could finish his apocalyptic rant, Ginny started wailing again.
"Can you maybe not show off your knowledge of Magical Law at a time like this?" George (or Fred) grumbled. "Stop terrifying Ginny. Besides, a stunt like that would definitely make the front page of the Daily Prophet!"
"Rubbish! Can you two be serious for once in your lives?!" Percy's face was purple with rage. "You can't just joke about things like that! The reputation of the Weasley family is at stake! Dad would be investigated by the Ministry—"
As arguments erupted back and forth within the compartment, no one noticed the grey falcon streaking past the window outside. It flew far faster than any owl, clutching a letter sealed with black wax in its talons as it sped toward Hogwarts Castle. It was an urgent dispatch from the Ministry of Magic.