The Isle of Man is an island covering 572 square kilometers, located between Great Britain and Ireland.
In some contexts, it is grouped together with Great Britain and Ireland as the British Isles.
FGeographically speaking, it lies roughly at the center between England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland.
The night view of Port Douglas, the capital of the Isle of Man, is always captivating…
At eight o'clock in the evening, once darkness had fully swallowed the sky, the watchman stationed in the sheltered lookout tower sent out a signal, indicating that a ship was entering the harbor.
It was a luxury passenger liner from Rotterdam, arriving after stopping at Le Havre, London, and Dublin.
As usual, the harbor pilot set out in a small boat to guide the liner safely into port…
The ship moved forward steadily as its iron anchor was lowered, the bow struts were released from their stays, and the liner eased into the narrow entrance of Douglas Harbor.
Once the vessel came to a stop, groups of passengers disembarked one after another, chatting excitedly as some of them curiously took in the harbor's nighttime scenery.
The Isle of Man has long been famous for its natural landscapes.
The island is home to a large number of historical sites dating back to the Victorian and Edwardian eras, making it a popular destination for tourists from all over the world and supporting a thriving tourism industry.
Of course, its tailless cats and black-faced sheep are also renowned far and wide.
...
Among the many travelers, a young couple went largely unnoticed.
They were very young, likely not yet adults.
The boy carried a maturity and worldly calm far beyond his years, while the girl, under the cover of night, looked slightly pale and somewhat frail.
"We might need to stay at that Muggle hotel first," Jon Hart said quietly. "To be honest, I don't even know whether there are any wizards on the Isle of Man."
"Mhm, just do whatever you think is best," Astoria Greengrass nodded.
"Come with me," Jon said, taking the initiative as he led Astoria away from the harbor and into a narrow alley.
Jon had already decided to take Astoria away from Greengrass Manor while recovering in the Hogwarts Hospital Wing.
First of all, Greengrass Manor wasn't safe…
There was only a single house-elf left there now, and Jon didn't believe Hod alone was capable of properly ensuring Astoria's safety.
Since Voldemort and the Death Eaters were aware of his relationship with Astoria, there was a strong chance they would use her to threaten him.
They hadn't made a move yet only because Aurors were still monitoring the manor…
But the "protection" they provided wouldn't last forever.
The moment their vigilance slipped, Astoria could be placed in danger at any time.
Secondly, staying in a manor filled with so many painful memories would undoubtedly have a negative effect on Astoria's state of mind…
Even though the Curse of Blood was already showing faint signs of resurfacing, Jon still hoped to delay that moment for as long as possible.
As for choosing the Isle of Man, that had been entirely a spur-of-the-moment decision on Jon's part.
Back when he was investigating signs of giants along the west coast, he had once suspected that Voldemort might be hiding the giants on the Isle of Man, located between Britain and Ireland.
He had later mentioned this possibility to Dumbledore as well.
As a well-known tourist destination, the island's scenery was genuinely beautiful.
A trip like this might help Astoria recover, even if only a little, from her gloomy mood.
And so, Jon brought Astoria to London and joined a Muggle tour group bound for the Isle of Man.
Throughout the entire journey, they made no use of any magical means of transportation.
Like an ordinary Muggle couple, they simply set out on their trip.
This minimized any chance of being discovered by the Death Eaters.
After all, using wizarding transportation would leave records within the Ministry of Magic, and at this stage, everyone knew just how deeply the Death Eaters had infiltrated it.
Especially after the Ministry, under tremendous pressure, had been forced to release seven notorious Death Eaters just days earlier—Bellatrix Lestrange, Lucius Malfoy, Antonin Dolohov, and others…
A sense of fear now hung over the entire wizarding world.
It was no different from the days of the First Wizarding War.
...
Under normal circumstances, giants weren't difficult to track down…
Their habits meant they preferred to dwell deep in mountainous regions, and this small island in the Irish Sea didn't have many areas that could truly be called "mountains."
But with a wizard's help—especially one as powerful as Tom Riddle—the situation became completely different.
Jon knew full well that the Dark Lord could easily use spells to conceal those giants, making them impossible for Muggles and even other wizards to detect.
At the same time, Jon was equally certain of one thing: any use of magic would inevitably leave traces behind…
The Isle of Man wasn't small, but it wasn't all that large either.
At a Muggle travel agency, Jon had already booked tours covering nearly every part of the island, even if it was only so he could probe for magical traces while ostensibly sightseeing.
Before long, they arrived at the Muggle inn they had arranged in advance.
The innkeeper was a plump, middle-aged woman who greeted the two travelers with warm enthusiasm.
Astoria's attention was immediately drawn to a white "Isle of Man cat" perched on the counter…
What made these cats so distinctive was their complete lack of tails.
Where a normal cat's tail would be, there was only a small indentation.
After getting the owner's permission, Astoria happily crouched down and began playing with the little white cat.
Jon didn't interrupt her.
After quietly completing the check-in process, he gave her a few brief instructions…
Then he returned alone to their room.
He opened his suitcase and took out an empty portrait whose surface was even larger than the suitcase's cross-section.
Hanging it on the nearby wall, he drew his wand and lightly tapped the frame.
"Headmaster Black…"
"Headmaster Phineas Black…"
"Phineas Nigellus Black!"
After calling out several times using different forms of address, the old headmaster in the portrait finally appeared, albeit rather belatedly.
"This is absolutely awful!" Headmaster Phineas Black shouted at Jon. "I spent an entire day being rocked back and forth—I nearly threw up! It's completely unbearable inside a portrait like that!"
"Sorry, Muggle passenger ships are a bit slow…" Jon explained, silently grumbling to himself about the fact that a portrait could actually get seasick.
"Forget it, no need to explain. I forgive you," Phineas Black said with a helpless shake of his head, before adding,
"Now then—what message do you want me to pass on to Dumbledore?"