Swooping Evil landed in the distant woods, gently setting down the small spherical compartment at the edge of the bushes.
Its massive wings gradually retracted as the airflow dissipated, and its slender, streamlined body also shrank, returning to its usual round shape.
Then, it flapped its plump little wings and, quite exhausted, flew over to Adam's side, letting out a weak cry.
Adam quickly pulled out some potions and a few pieces of the best-quality jerky from his small money pouch, feeding the little creature. He gently placed it back into the small leather case to rest.
This particular Swooping Evil was still quite young. Compared to the one that helped Newt traverse the Bering Strait back in the day, it was quite lacking in both experience and stamina.
After all, when Newt was young, he traveled across five continents and visited over a hundred countries to write "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them."
The Swooping Evil that accompanied him accumulated a wealth of travel experience; it even figured out over a dozen ways to avoid detection by Aurors while flying.
"Aunt Corinna, will she be in danger?" Shirley gazed worriedly at the distant manor.
Looking down from the hillside, the normally meticulously manicured courtyard was engulfed in flames, with thick black smoke billowing upwards.
The fire, like a greedy beast, was furiously devouring the wisteria-covered ornate archway. Flames crept along the eaves, distorting the stained-glass windows.
"I hope she's alright. And this looks like the Fiendfyre curse. If it were a head-on duel between wizards, very few would resort to this spell."
Adam watched the spreading fire and added, "So I'm more inclined to believe another possibility."
"These people likely haven't found any trace of her and are either setting fire to vent their frustration or to force her out into the open."
He turned and opened the small leather case again, releasing a few dark figures and commanding the Black Knights to grab snow shovels and clear the snow from the ground.
When Shirley turned back, Adam had already put away the small spherical compartment, replacing it with two camping lounge chairs. A warm, orange-red glow emanated from the small stove, and the tea in the kettle was bubbling merrily.
---
"Sit down and rest for a bit. The Black Witches and Wizards have made such a racket; the Aurors from the French Ministry of Magic will notice the situation at the manor very soon."
Adam stretched, pulled out a small blanket to cover himself, and comfortably settled into the lounge chair.
"But shouldn't we go in and check?" Shirley asked nervously in a low voice.
"No need for that."
Adam raised his left hand, intending to grab a sweet from the small round table, but accidentally knocked over a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, explaining with a wince, "Even if we rushed in now, there's nothing we could do. At most, we could try to salvage things from the manor, and we might even come face-to-face with those people."
He paused, picked up a string of marshmallows, and toasted them by the small fire, continuing, "Leaving aside how many dark wizards might be in there, they'll leave on their own when they don't find anyone. So, we just need to wait patiently."
Shirley walked over to him, half-believing, and picked up the teacup from the small round table. The warmth from the cup spread to her palms, and her anxiousness immediately dissipated quite a bit.
Under the shroud of night, the woods were utterly silent, with only the rustling sound of the Black Knights shoveling snow.
Just as Shirley was wondering why they were still shoveling snow outwards when the ground beneath their feet was already clear, Adam suddenly said, "Aren't you cold? Why don't you come sit by the fire?"
She looked at Adam in surprise, noticing his gaze fixed intently in another direction in the woods.
"How did you guess I was hiding here?" a woman's voice drifted through the air.
Shirley's eyes widened; she knew that voice all too well.
A woman in a thin nightgown emerged from the shadows, her wine-red hair fanning out behind her. Her brows bore a striking resemblance to Mrs. Anne from the other side.
Her face was pale, and her lips were blue, indicating she had been in the winter woods for a long time.
Adam took out a hand-drawn map from his left hand, lightly waved it towards the woman, and said in a low voice, "I studied the map Shirley drew and found that the entire manor's layout wasn't symmetrical."
"You see, French gardens are renowned worldwide for their neat, symmetrical, and elegant style. Such a layout would simply not exist in a noble manor."
"That leaves only one possibility – after you took over this manor, you built additional facilities not marked on the map, and this is most likely a secret passage."
Corinna stared at Adam in surprise, then turned to Shirley and asked, "Does Hogwarts teach this kind of thing now?"
"It's just a lucky guess, really, because I often explore the secret passages in the castle at night," Adam quickly responded, putting on an innocent expression, then warmly invited Corinna. "Won't you really come and sit for a bit? I truly want to thank you for looking after Shirley."
The woman silently gazed at the lounge chair beside the small fire. After a moment's thought, she walked over.
Despite being in her nightgown, her noble demeanor was undiminished, as if she were dressed for a grand ball, and she settled into the chair with elegant movements.
Shirley quickly went to pour her a cup of tea, pushing the sweets on the table closer.
It was then that Adam noticed his marshmallow was a bit burnt. He blew on it with a pained expression and, after a moment's hesitation, took a big bite.
He held up the skewer, still craving more, and eyed the remaining sweets. Shirley couldn't help but quietly remind him to mind his manners.
"It's alright, it truly seems like you two have a very good relationship."
Corinna took a sip of tea. The warm beverage dispelled the chill, and her tense body relaxed considerably.
Only after confirming she had finished her tea did Adam look up and say abruptly, "So why did you attack Mrs. Cole at the Wool's Orphanage two years ago?"
Before he even finished speaking, Corinna instinctively tried to speak, but she gasped, clamping her hand over her mouth. Still, a faint, muffled voice managed to escape: "Because... helping... others won't..."
Her eyelids fluttered violently, her facial muscles twitched forcefully, and her nails scraped streaks of blood across her skin.
After a long, gasping moment, she stared at the teacup in horror.
Adam sighed regretfully, dropped the sweet he was holding, and frowned, saying, "It seems even with Veritaserum in the tea, the effects are weakened by dilution."
"Couldn't Snape have brewed this potion in a tea flavor?"
Corinna's expression darkened further. She staggered up from the lounge chair, just about to pull out her wand from behind her.
"Avis!"
The Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans scattered on the ground suddenly transformed into a large flock of birds, flapping their wings and crashing into her.
Corinna awkwardly dodged the attacking birds, only then realizing that Adam's right hand, covered by the blanket, had been tightly clutching his wand all along.
She took a step back, and the thin layer of soil beneath her feet abruptly collapsed. A Diricawl poked its head out from the other side to observe, then turned and burrowed underground.
When she finally managed to raise her wand, she froze.
Because right behind her, a colossal creature was shaking snow from its body, and hot dragon fire erupted, instantly scorching the ground beneath its feet.
"...How could you hide an entire fire-breathing dragon?" Corinna's voice was dry.
"Just a simple Disillusionment Charm. Dragons are naturally resistant to magic. I merely cast a charm on the layer of snow covering it."
"If you looked closely, you'd notice there's still a whole tail of Norbert's sticking out. It was quite a rush, you see, I could only hold up the map just now to..."
Before Adam could finish, a black shadow darted from Corinna's side and snatched her wand.
"Like that, to distract you," Adam said, taking the wand offered by Amy the cat. "This was all meant for those dark wizards, but I didn't expect you to show up yourself."
He raised his wand, and an orange-red glow lit up its tip. The air around them suddenly grew warmer.
"Madam Corinna, even for Shirley's sake, you have at least three things to say right now."
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