In the early morning, Karl woke up in the Dean's office at Gryffindor.
Last night, Professor McGonagall confiscated his mace, but still wasn't entirely at ease. To ensure Hagrid wouldn't be ambushed, she brought Karl here to rest.
Karl got up, stretched, and then transformed the bed back into a sofa.
"Chirp~"
Fire Treasure flew out of the fireplace flames, happily greeting Karl.
"Good morning, little cutie, we have big plans today, are you ready?"
"Yi Ya!"
Fire Treasure held up two fiery maces, looking super cute—no! Super fierce!
"What big plans do you have?"
Professor McGonagall walked out of the lounge, giving Karl a warning look. "Don't you dare bother Hagrid."
"Minerva, don't worry, I was just playing around last night."
Karl showed a well-behaved smile. "Today, Sharpe and I agreed to visit his family's Magical Menagerie."
"Is that so?" Professor McGonagall expressed doubt.
"Of course! If you don't believe me, I can swear, if I'm lying, then let Cedric, mmph—"
Professor McGonagall kneaded Karl's cheek, smiling helplessly. "What does Cedric have to do with it? When you swear, can you please not involve other people?"
"Mmph," Karl escaped Professor McGonagall's grasp. "Hmph! We're good brothers, he won't mind, just like I don't care if he swears on Sharpe or Stebbins."
Professor McGonagall: —.
Goodness! You don't lose out on anything!
"Alright, you can go play, but you must promise not to cause trouble, understood?"
"Received!"
Karl gave Professor McGonagall a reassuring look, then went to the fireplace, grabbed a pinch of Floo powder, and threw it in.
After the emerald green flames rose, he stepped inside. "Diagon Alley! Leaky Cauldron!"
In Diagon Alley, Karl quickly found the Magical Menagerie after leaving the Leaky Cauldron.
Sharpe was looking around at the entrance, seemingly having waited for a while. Upon spotting Karl, he smiled and waved.
"Here! Karl!"
"Hey! Sharpe, Merry Christmas, even though it was yesterday."
"Of course, but we've already exchanged blessings with gifts, haven't we?"
Karl followed Sharpe into the Magical Menagerie. Since it was still early, there weren't many customers.
There was only one Witch shop assistant, and countless cages filled with magical creatures.
For example, purple toads, poisonous snails, and even a group of black rats with bald tails?
Karl: (,)
"Can these even be considered pets? Will anyone really buy them?"
He walked around the shop and felt that, besides cats, ravens, and Puffskeins, there weren't many normal pets.
As for rabbits—well, although Karl liked them too, they usually appeared on the dining table.
The extra-large rabbit he received last Christmas was given to Tonks, and it's said to be growing ridiculously large now.
Sharpe's expression was hard to describe. "Actually, quite a lot of people buy them. After all, everyone's aesthetic is different. There will always be perverts—ah, no! I mean customers with unique tastes!"
"Meow!"
Just then, a large ginger cat leaped onto the top of a cage, scrutinizing them from above.
"Oh? This little thing looks quite peculiar! What happened? Did it run into a tree?"
"Its name is Crookshanks, and it's always looked like this. It only arrived here recently."
Hearing Sharpe's words, Karl looked at the large cat a few more times. He hadn't expected it to be Hermione's future pet.
Hmm, with that expression of being both crying and laughing, and looking like it's ready for an emergency assembly, no wonder it stayed in the shop for two years with no one showing interest.
After a simple breakfast, Karl waved goodbye to Sharpe.
He left Diagon Alley through the Leaky Cauldron and returned to the Muggle world.
This wasn't Karl lying to Professor McGonagall, after all, he really did visit the Magical Menagerie.
It was just a small deviation in the perception of how long he was there, not a big problem.
Karl returned to the White Sand Street Orphanage, transformed into a Cougar, and wandered around inside.
Although some people should still remember him, there weren't many traces of Karl left here.
The money he had originally intended to exchange for Galleons remained untouched due to Professor McGonagall's care, but this time he spent it all.
After the hired people delivered a large amount of clothes and food to the orphanage entrance, Karl turned and left.
Goodbye, I've found my home again. I wish you all can too, and find people who love you.
Late at night, a purple triple-decker bus appeared out of thin air in Grimmauld Place.
After Karl got off, it immediately vanished.
"Phew~ This Knight Bus is really something else. I bet a lot of people get motion sickness and throw up. Why isn't there a safe and comfortable mode of transport in the Wizarding World?"
Karl grumbled as he searched for his destination.
Relying on the faint moonlight and dim streetlights, he quickly arrived at houses 11 and 13.
"Found you, Number 12 Grimmauld Place, the House of Black."
Karl drew his wand and tapped it lightly. Invisible magical ripples spread outwards, and then a house with grimy walls and broken windows appeared.
Walking up the cracked stone steps, Karl extended a hand wreathed in black mist, completely corroding the already dilapidated front door into dust.
"Is anyone home? I'm coming in~"
"Yi Ya!"
Fire Treasure appeared above Karl's head, holding a ball of flame to illuminate the way.
As they surveyed the eerie and old room, a small figure appeared with a faint pop.
"Who are you? How did you enter my mistress's house! Get out immediately! You—!"
"Hmm?"
Under Karl's dangerous gaze, the old House-elf closed his mouth, beginning to tremble.
Because he saw terrifying black mist, bearing the aura of death, spreading wantonly behind the young Wizard. This dreadful feeling reminded him of the Dark Lord.
"Is your name Kreacher?"
Karl walked up to the House-elf, his eyes glowing with an eerie green light.
"Yes, I am Kreacher, a slave of the great House of Black."
"Alright, I'm here to take a box, the one Regulus Black entrusted to you."
Upon hearing this, Kreacher's eyes widened suddenly. "You—how do you know?"
Karl extended his hand to him. "You don't need to know that. Just give me the box."
"No! Kreacher cannot! That is the box the young master exchanged his life for! The box he told Kreacher to guard! Kreacher will not give it to you!" The House-elf let out a shriek and then knelt on the ground, banging his forehead against the floor. "Kill Kreacher! Kreacher has not fulfilled the young master's command! This is an unforgivable sin!"
"Levicorpus! Langlock!"
Karl immediately hung Kreacher upside down in the air, stopping his self-harming behavior, and at the same time sealed his mouth because he was causing quite a headache with his noise.
"Listen, Kreacher! Although I wouldn't mind just setting this place on fire, out of respect and admiration for Regulus, I can make a deal with you."
"As long as you agree to give me the box, I will help you retrieve Regulus's body from the cave and bury him in the House of Black's graveyard."
"Moreover, Regulus and I have the same goal: to destroy that box."
"Most importantly, you don't want your young master to become an Inferius, struggling painfully at the bottom of the lake, never finding peace and release, do you?"
In the eerie room, surrounded by terrifying black mist, Karl, with his eyes emitting an eerie green light, spoke thus.
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