Place de la Bastille.
A tiny Occamy was coiled around the branches of a lush linden tree. It flapped its wings, rapidly expanding from the size of an earthworm to the thickness of a python. A flat mouth, attached to a black head, poked out.
A Niffler, head swaying, dangled precariously, half its body suspended in mid-air, the other half comfortably nestled within the Occamy's mouth. It glanced around cautiously, then relaxed, its eyelids slowly drooping.
After only five seconds, it was overcome with drowsiness. It relaxed further, and a foul-smelling gas erupted from its body... The Occamy's eyes widened, it sneezed violently, and spat the stinking Niffler out.
The Niffler crashed into a branch, rubbed its head, shook off the saliva, and finally woke up completely. It pulled a gold pocket watch from its pouch, gazed at it adoringly for a minute, and, after much internal debate and agonizing reluctance, placed it on the tree trunk.
It tapped the watch strap, and soon a young man and woman emerged.
"Thank you. Here's your tip!"
William pulled out a worthless oversized glass ball and generously tossed it to the Niffler.
"This is a South African diamond, the kind the Queen of England wears on her crown. Treasure it well and don't let anyone see it."
The Niffler nodded, quickly stuffing the ball into its pouch. It made happy rumbling noises, its tail wagging so rapidly it resembled a tiny electric motor.
It longed to leave that stingy old Newt! If only he could stay locked up forever.
"We've arrived," William said, glancing through the leaves at the square in the distance. The bronze column in the center of Place de la Bastille was quite prominent.
William turned to Hermione, chuckling softly, "Hermione, have you ever considered acting? Your impromptu performance just now was brilliant."
"You weren't bad yourself," Hermione replied with a playful wink. "You could be the leading man in my film."
In the split second before Apache closed the door, Hermione had glimpsed the green flames in the fireplace, the telltale sign of Floo Powder.
Then, glancing around, she saw the sleeping passenger opposite them and the newspaper resting on his chair. On the front page, their pictures were plastered alongside a bold headline: WANTED!
Hermione instantly sensed danger.
In a flash of inspiration, she devised a brilliant escape plan and launched into her masterful performance. Although William hadn't seen the newspaper, he wholeheartedly cooperated with her act. He hadn't expected the French Ministry of Magic to be audacious enough to issue a warrant for their arrest. It was utterly insane.
Later, while inside the Louvre, realizing Apparition was blocked, William had to find a place without cameras, the restroom. As for why it was the women's restroom, well, Hermione had simply pulled him in there! William was a consented participant!
Once inside, they hid in the Time-Turner, had the Niffler store it in its pouch, and then had the Occamy shrink itself and fly out through a crack under the door.
The entire escape had been flawless!
So, the little creature Newt had given them did prove useful after all.
"By the way, Hermione, what did you write on the parchment you left behind?" William asked, unable to contain his curiosity.
"Nothing much, just something random," Hermione replied with a mysterious smile.
"What it says doesn't matter. If the Aurors actually went to the Louvre, the note has probably been destroyed," Hermione said regretfully. That piece of parchment was quite a souvenir.
Seeing William's curious gaze, Hermione quickly changed the subject. "How are we getting to the pub?"
"Since we're wanted criminals now, let's use Polyjuice Potion," William said. Whether for theft, arson... or attacking the Ministry and robbing Gringotts, it was the essential potion for any wizard!
Polyjuice Potion was eternally reliable!
Hermione nodded slightly, and they both returned to the Time-Turner.
Ten minutes later, a man and a woman walked towards Place de la Bastille.
The renowned Place de la Bastille was named after the Bastille prison. During the French Revolution, the Bastille was demolished, and the square was built on its ruins.
In the center of the square stood a conspicuous bronze column, commemorating the July Revolution of 1830, which once again overthrew the monarchy.
The two walked slowly, like tourists on a stroll.
Hermione looked down at the witch she had transformed into and said, exasperated, "William, just how much of Costa's hair did you take?"
"Not much, just a few strands," William explained. "What? Don't you like this look?"
"It's not that... I just think you seem to like it quite a bit. I've transformed several times, and it's always her!" Hermione muttered, pouting.
Suddenly, Hermione extended her hand. "Give me all of Costa's hair!"
"Oh." William pulled out five or six strands of auburn hair.
After pocketing the hair, Hermione cheered up again. She asked curiously, "Who have you transformed into this time?"
William lowered his voice conspiratorially. "Tom Riddle."
"Who?" Hermione gasped. "You-Know-Who...?"
"Yes. Didn't I tell you? Tom was resurrected and then died again. Dumbledore took his body. But I took a lot of his hair."
Tom's resurrection was a fact. Judging from what he had done at Hogwarts, he would definitely cause trouble in the future. He was a powerful schemer. William couldn't just sit back and do nothing.
He kept Tom's hair, thinking it might come in handy to use the Polyjuice Potion against him at a crucial moment! If all else failed, he could even stage a scene where a "Horcrux" reunited with Voldemort... That would be quite entertaining! Voldemort might prioritize killing his own Horcrux first. That's what a true master manipulator, a true cunning strategist was like! (leans back dramatically)
And now, William was preparing to strut around the Hog's Head Inn wearing Tom's face. Just as his life mentor, Lu Xiaobo, had said: "Venturing out is risky; it's safer to use an alt account."
Tom was William's number one disguise.
In fact, William had not only collected Tom's hair, but also Minister Fudge's. Fudge had a habit of hugging people tightly as a gesture of warmth. This was remarkably similar to Soviet leader Brezhnev. When Brezhnev met with other leaders, he would, to demonstrate his enthusiasm, engage in a 'kissing trio': first a kiss on each cheek, then a passionate kiss on the lips. At the time, world leaders were exasperated by this. Fruebel even created the "Brotherly Kiss" mural on the Berlin Wall.
As for Fudge, he would first shake hands, then pat the person on the shoulder, and finally embrace them tightly. William had been subjected to this enthusiastic embrace several times, and had taken the opportunity to snag some hair.
Fudge was a typical politician. All signs indicated that he was becoming increasingly wary of Dumbledore. William's hair-snatching was a precautionary measure.
"You... you're so wicked!" Hermione commented.
"I'll take that as a compliment!" William said shamelessly.
Hermione beamed, and, with Costa's face, gave him a seductive wink.
"Of course!"