One week ago, two hours after the explosion in Knockturn Alley.
At this moment, only a perfectly spherical crater remained at the site of the incident. Members of the Ministry of Magic stood in small groups, their faces troubled.
The surrounding area had already been cordoned off by Aurors from the Ministry of Magic, so there weren't many onlookers.
Of course, it wasn't entirely empty; some reporters, for instance, were eager to get firsthand information and secure the next day's headline in The Daily Prophet.
At the center of the incident, a vortex formed in the air, and the next moment, two figures appeared.
One of them, Kingsley Shacklebolt, an Auror from the Ministry of Magic, wore a purple robe, had dark skin, and a solemn expression.
The other was tall and thin, with a face full of wrinkles. His silver hair and beard were long enough to tuck into his belt, and he wore a grey-white robe. Behind his half-moon spectacles, a pair of bright, sky-blue eyes sparkled.
"Dumbledore, I apologize for disturbing you, but my Reversal Charm is completely unable to reconstruct the situation at the time of the incident," Kingsley said.
"All we know now is that an adult and a child came to Knockturn Alley, then a group of people tried to rob them. During the fight, someone used a Killing Curse, and the person who was attacked suddenly turned into a cat-headed human… Have you discovered anything?"
After speaking for a long time, Kingsley looked up and noticed Dumbledore's gaze was fixed on mid-air.
"Hush!" Dumbledore said softly. "Kingsley, calm down. The more eager you are, the more likely you are to miss the truth. Look there, that is the center point of the entire arc."
Saying this, Dumbledore drew his wand, which had many circular nodes in the middle, and gently pointed it at the air.
A white orb of light appeared in the air, then the orb gradually emitted circular waves that expanded outwards, eventually fitting perfectly with the entire curved ground.
A "sphere" with a diameter of over ten meters appeared in this space.
Kingsley's pupils flickered uneasily, and he involuntarily swallowed: "Nothing is left in the area covered by this sphere… My goodness, what kind of magic is this?!"
Dumbledore shook his head: "I'm sorry, I don't know either."
After speaking, he flicked his finger, brought the tip of his wand to his mouth, and blew gently.
"Trace Flash—"
A large amount of golden mist spewed from Dumbledore's wand tip. Soon, this golden mist enveloped the entire space.
Subsequently, the chaotic golden mist began to gradually form various shapes, finally recreating the entire scene of Knockturn Alley.
This was the Reversal Charm; the mist it emitted could form scenes from the past.
Unfortunately, due to the magical fluctuations that had occurred here, even Kingsley, one of the best Aurors, was unable to recreate the past.
Fortunately, he found Dumbledore.
As the mist flowed, two figures, one large and one small, appeared from the alley entrance. Although their faces were unclear, Kingsley recognized them as the perpetrators of this incident.
Soon, seven more figures appeared in the golden mist; they surrounded the two, seemingly attempting a robbery.
Then, the golden mist evolved to show the robbers' first attack. Under Kingsley's shocked gaze, the man who was attacked batted the spell away with one hand.
Batting away a spell with one hand?!!
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow, also a bit surprised. This method of countering a spell… was a bit too unique.
Then the man seemed to be saying something to the child, while simultaneously snapping his fingers, fending off many incoming spells…
The Reversal Charm continued to recount what had happened, and Kingsley grew more and more alarmed as he watched.
A bat, a snap, and being knocked down by a spell, the child's magical outburst, and finally transforming into a cat-headed human form…
As the golden mist continued its depiction, Dumbledore and Kingsley soon saw the man draw a "huge" wand and lightly tap it in the air.
Subsequently, all the golden mist forming the current scene began to collapse, finally dissipating abruptly, creating a layer of golden ripples that shimmered brilliantly in the sunlight.
The spell ended!
"Dumbledore, what… what was that exactly?" Kingsley muttered, somewhat bewildered and numb.
Dumbledore shook his head gravely: "I don't know either. It looks like it might be ancient magic. That kind of huge wand is not used by modern Wizards."
"Those people from Knockturn Alley said he blocked the Killing Curse, but that wasn't a Killing Curse, was it?" Kingsley asked Dumbledore, somewhat lost, seeking confirmation.
The golden mist of the Reversal Charm could recreate scenes but not sounds or colors, so he couldn't be sure it was the Killing Curse.
He couldn't be sure…
Dumbledore looked at Kingsley and patted his shoulder: "Kingsley, don't deceive yourself. You and I both know that the trajectory of that person's wand movement was the Killing Curse."
Dumbledore's words broke Kingsley's last bit of stubbornness. His brows furrowed, and he continuously mumbled indistinctly to himself.
Dumbledore looked directly at Kingsley: "More than one person can resist the Killing Curse, can't they? This has happened before.
And perhaps that person was a cat; cats have nine lives, right?"
To stabilize his old friend's state, Dumbledore even cracked a small joke, a smile appearing on his face.
Kingsley also realized at this point that he had lost his composure. He shook his head, and just then, an Auror approached from behind.
"Captain Shacklebolt, new information has come from the Ministry."
Kingsley took a deep breath, composed himself, then looked at the newcomer: "Speak!"
"This man is the same person who was flying over London twelve days ago. At that time, he injured several people from the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes and disarmed them before disappearing."
Kingsley nodded with a grave expression, then looked at Dumbledore and whispered: "How should this matter be handled?"
Although Kingsley, as an Auror, served the Ministry of Magic, as a former member of the Order of the Phoenix, he preferred to seek advice from Dumbledore at this moment.
"That's your business." Dumbledore's eyes flickered, but he did not give Kingsley the answer he wanted.
Kingsley sighed. If Dumbledore was unwilling to get involved, then he already had a rough prediction for how things would proceed.
To minimize major issues and resolve minor ones.
After all, the current Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, as the first Minister for Magic after You-Know-Who, could secure his place in history simply by maintaining the Wizarding World's ecosystem and implementing commercial and public-benefiting policies.
Regarding this mysterious and powerful suspect, he would certainly not want to conduct too many investigations, let alone inform the public.
… …
… …
Howl hadn't expected to eat an entire rack of lamb for this meal. To be honest, it was a bit excessive for a human. But then he remembered he had been asleep for a week, and it seemed reasonable again.
As for Harry, he ate his meal with some trepidation. Uncle Howl kept glancing at him from time to time, seemingly brewing something in his mind, which made him a little scared.
Today, Howl didn't appear overly refined; he just casually combed his mane, wore a simple shirt, and draped a wide-collared robe over it.
Harry had previously seen a crescent moon and skull symbol on the back of this robe, and he thought it might be related to Mr. Lucifer's pirate past.
However, what still puzzled Harry was… were there still pirates these days?
In any case, the meal ended amidst his various random thoughts.
Just as Harry was about to clear the dishes, Howl waved his hand, and all the plates automatically floated up and landed in the kitchen sink.
"Harry, sit down," Howl gestured.
Harry took a deep breath and sat down nervously.
"Given your excellent performance at work recently, I have some ideas, and I wonder if you'd be willing."
Harry clutched his trousers under the table, looking intently at Howl: "Uncle Howl, just tell me. I'm definitely willing."
As long as he didn't have to go back to Dursley Family, he was willing.
Although it was all work, at Dursley Family, he would be scolded while working, played with by Dudley when not working, and still not get enough to eat.
It was different at Moonlight Fortress; he worked every day, chatted with Mr. Lucifer, and could even play with Meteor. It was so much fun.
Oh, he named the flying broom Meteor. Their relationship had warmed up quickly recently, and Harry had become very good friends with it.
"That's good, but I must tell you. Participating in magical research can be very dangerous," Howl said with a smile.
"Ma… magical research." Harry didn't react immediately, then his face showed difficulty: "But I… I don't know anything."
Howl gently stroked his cat whiskers, not minding at all: "Don't be silly, kid, of course there'll be onboarding training."
"Onboarding training?"
Howl nodded: "That's right, it's about learning some magic."
Harry immediately stood up, his face flushed, and said loudly: "Willing, I… I… I'm certainly willing!!"
It made the child stutter.
But it was no wonder Harry was excited; the feeling of powerlessness a week ago in Knockturn Alley had prevented him from sleeping well all week.
If Mr. Lucifer hadn't made him prepare an Energy Potion for himself every day, he probably wouldn't have been able to hold on.