Dang~dang…dang!
The crisp tapping on the window cut through the quiet study. Old James turned around, already guessing the culprit.
He opened the window and the owl swooped in, dropping a sealed envelope onto his desk.
James slipped a piece of dried meat from his pocket and offered it, the owl took it with dignity, then disappeared back into the cloudy London sky.
Turning back, James picked up the envelope and his brows raising when he saw the signature.
Albus Dumbledore.
The old man clicked his tongue. "What's that old troublemaker up to now?"
He broke the seal.
My old friend James,
If this letter reaches you, please inform Garfield. I require a conversation with him on a matter of some importance. Have him meet me atop Big Ben at exactly 8 p.m. on the 15th of this month.
Your old friend,
Albus
James stared at the page… then flipped it over. Nothing.
"Not even a hint." He muttered.
Still grumbling, he headed upstairs to Peggy's room. Laughter leaked from behind the door… Peggy's bright giggle and Garfield's unmistakably smug voice.
James knocked.
"Come in!" Peggy called.
He opened the door. His granddaughter was sitting cross-legged on the carpet, with Garfield sprawled luxuriously across her lap… rounder than he'd been last week, James noted.
"My dear little princess," James smiled, "What's making you so happy?"
Peggy absolutely wasn't about to tell him that Garfield promised to reveal the name of her future husband, a world-famous hero who would ride colorful clouds to marry her.
So instead she said brightly, "I'm just playing with Garfield. Grandpa, Garfield is amazing!"
Garfield narrowed his eyes proudly.
"Of course I am. I can do magic… and sing, and dance, and rap, and drop the hottest beat in the world."
A beat dropped from nowhere.
Garfield rose… well, jiggle to his paws and began to twist his increasingly rotund little body.
"Chicken, you are so beautiful~
Ji ji ji!"
Peggy and James instantly slapped their hands over their ears.
"Garfield! That song is terrible!" Peggy groaned.
"Ah, yeah, I feel the same way," Garfield admitted, cutting off the music.
He noticed the dark-green ink on the envelope James held. The faint honey scent of Dumbledore's magic clung to it.
"Ah. A letter from Dumbledore?" Garfield asked.
James held it out. "For you."
Garfield slit it open with a claw, skimmed the contents, and asked, "What's today?"
"The 5th."
"Great, still plenty of time. I'll be back in two days."
Before either Carter could reply, Garfield opened a shimmering portal and hopped through, returning to his own High Claw Gold and Exorcism Shop in America.
He greeted Queenie casually and headed into the underground chambers.
Down below, Rin was still training. Garfield watched her silently for a few moments before slipping past to find Grindelwald.
Grindelwald looked up from Das Kapital, stood, and inclined his head.
"Good morning, Mentor."
"Grindelwald," Garfield began, "Dumbledore sent for me. If you want to tell him anything, write a letter. I'll deliver it."
At the name Dumbledore, Grindelwald's eyes flickered… hope, hesitation, regret, all tangled together.
After a long moment, he exhaled. "No. Not yet. I'm not… fit to see him."
"You disagree on many things, yes." Garfield's voice softened.
"But friends should speak face-to-face. Letters invite misunderstandings. Still, take your time. I look forward to the day you two talk properly."
"Thank you for your understanding," Grindelwald murmured. "My great mentor."
Garfield tilted his head, thinking, then produced a golden pendant etched with a web of magical runes. "I may be gone a while, take this. I cast a transformation seal on it"
"When you escape the U.S. Ministry of Magic and cross into Europe, the defensive spells will unlock. You'll see the rest then."
Grindelwald held the pendant in both hands, its gold surface catching the dim underground light.
"Thank you, mentor."
Garfield only flicked his tail in response and slipped away without another word.
They both knew the truth beneath the silence… one day, Grindelwald would escape the Ministry's custody and pursue the 'great cause' he believed in.
Garfield couldn't and shouldn't interfere with Grindelwald's path. All he could do was minimize casualties, soften the future, and build in safeguards for the world that would one day fear him.
When Garfield's footsteps faded, Grindelwald looked again at the pendant. He turned it, studying every line of the runes.
He sighed. "The cat's magic is so far beyond mine… It is a height I must spend this life pursuing."
For a heartbeat, a strange smile flickered across his lips…
Then it vanished. Grindelwald returned to his calm, scholar-like expression and continued reading Das Kapital as if nothing had broken through.
✦••┈┈••✦••┈┈••✦
Time passed quickly for Garfield… days filled with eating, lounging, and generally living a life that Grindelwald would describe as 'a waste of genius.'
The evening of the fifteenth arrived before Garfield was ready.
He was squatting in Old James's study, locked in a desperate chess battle against the old fox himself. Garfield glanced at the grandfather clock.
"Happy hours really do fly." He sighed. "Time to go to the appointment."
James didn't even look up. "It's only seven. If you want to surrender, I'll allow you to flee with dignity."
Garfield glared at the chessboard… his king surrounded, his rook doomed, his bishop already a martyr.
He lifted his chin proudly. "Lose? Me? Impossible."
"The king is the strongest piece… obviously. You wouldn't understand. Anyway… I'm leaving."
A portal bloomed under his paws, and Garfield escaped at top speed, abandoning his doomed army without remorse.
…
London at night
The streets below were nearly empty. Garfield perched atop Big Ben, tail curled around his paws, staring out at the quiet city.
"When are we going back to an era with bright neon lights?" He grumbled.
"All I can do here is play chess with an old man who's lived for a thousand years. I want fried chicken. Or heck give me a blind StarCraft match."
"Or some ass-vanguard. Something."
He stared at the clock face, still more than half an hour.
Garfield tapped his chin. "Should I swing by Newt's place? Haven't seen little Niffler in a while."
A swirl enveloped him, and he disappeared.
Garfield reappeared at the doorstep of Newt Scamander's home in a quiet part of London. He slipped in through the cat hole with the confidence of someone who had never once knocked in his life.
He padded down into the underground menagerie. Newt was tending creatures, as always.
"Newt, are you busy?" Garfield called.
"Garfield," Newt said, without looking up, "Niffler is out courting."
Garfield froze mid-paw. "Ack, thanks. That's a direct crit on single cats."
He hopped onto a nearby worktable. He grabbed a quill with his paw and scribbled a message for Niffler.
I have a job for you soon. Pay's good. Be ready.
He pressed his paw as a signature, enchanted the paper, and watched it fold itself into a tiny golden paper crane. It fluttered away on its own, seeking Xiao Hei.
He lingered with Newt for a short while… listening to the creatures, sharing snacks, exchanging gossip until the eight o'clock chime rang throughout London.
Another swirl, and he vanished reappearing atop Big Ben, where he sat down to wait for Dumbledore's arrival.
꧁𓊈𒆜༺⚜༻𒆜𓊉꧂
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