"...The last time I went on a mission and brought back that Centaur who was smuggling prohibited magical creature eggs, he has been released now."
Harry heard a rough female voice vaguely talking about something.
"When I caught him, he threatened me, saying he'd make me pay once he got out. So I cast a Dancing Feet Spell on him right then and there, making his four legs dance for a full hour until he collapsed from exhaustion."
Another light-hearted voice chimed in. The person speaking seemed very close, right above his head.
"I've never seen a Centaur before! I've always heard that the largest Centaur herd in the Wizarding World lives in the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts. But I've never gone in to see them. Professor Dumbledore never lets us sneak in every year. I used to think Centaurs were all horse-headed humans, just like this."
Harry frowned tightly. He felt his whole body was ice-cold. The two women talking by his ears helped clear his muddled mind a little, and he struggled to open his eyes.
"Hi! He seems to be awake, Tonks!"
Tonks lowered her head, locking eyes with Harry, who had just woken up with his head resting on her lap, and flashed what she thought was a very friendly smile.
The moment Harry opened his eyes, a giant horse face came into view!
Not the kind of horse face used to describe a long face, but a literal, real horse face!
That horse face had trendy bright-pink curly hair, widened eyes, and was giving him a terrifying smile.
Staring at the bizarre creature, Harry's face went blank. His gaze gradually became more and more hollow. This relentless series of shocks assaulted his brain, leaving his mind completely empty, and it shut down again.
Finally, his head tilted to one side, and he passed out once more!
"You scared him, Tonks!"
The female Auror Flora, wearing an eye patch, noticed Harry's condition and couldn't help but cry out in alarm.
Only then did Tonks remember that her face was still transformed into a horse face. She hurriedly restored her appearance and patted Harry's face anxiously.
"Wake up, Harry! If Shacklebolt finds out I scared you unconscious again, he'll scold me to death!"
But Harry showed no signs of waking up. His subconscious seemed to have already realised that something was wrong today, and he would rather stay unconscious than wake up and face all this misfortune.
Tonks even tried using the Reviving Spell on Harry, but that was the counter-curse for Stupefy. Unfortunately, Harry hadn't been knocked out by Stupefy, so the spell had no effect.
"Maybe he needs some hot cocoa. Usually, when someone is frightened by Dementors, this stuff works really well."
Desperate to fix her mistake, Tonks tried anything she could think of, bringing a cup of hot cocoa to Harry's mouth. As a result, she accidentally failed to hold it steady, and some of it spilled onto Harry's hair!(TN: Typical clumsy Tonks.)
"Look at the mess you've made, Tonks!" Flora screamed.
"I-I-I didn't mean to! I'm sorry, Harry! Good thing it isn't too hot! I'll help you clean it up with a Cleaning Charm right now!"
...
Sherlock was completely unaware of the painful ordeal Harry was currently experiencing.
He and Kingsley were still in the case investigation room, studying the matter of those living dead.
"What the Dementor said might be a clue," Sherlock said thoughtfully. "You just said that the Dementor leader indicated they could feel something terrifying had arrived on the island of Great Britain?"
Kingsley nodded.
"That's exactly what it said."
"Something that can make Dementors feel terrified..." Sherlock shook his head. "This is truly unimaginable, especially since it's not a native magical creature of Britain. Even today, there are still many unknown dark creatures in the Wizarding World. Conservatively estimated, the magical creatures we have discovered account for only about eighty percent of all species. Dark creatures are similar, meaning at least twenty percent remain unknown to us."
Kingsley was silent for a moment. After a long pause, he sighed.
"The most critical thing is that we have no way of knowing this creature's behavioural patterns. It seems to have no qualms about consuming souls. Whether it's a Muggle or a Wizard, they're all targets. Whether there will be more victims, who they will be, and where they will appear, we have no idea."
Sherlock also fell silent. This was indeed the most difficult part; not only did they not know what species the other party belonged to, but they couldn't even determine its modus operandi.
Just as the room fell silent, the door to the investigation room was suddenly pulled open from the outside.
An Auror with tea-brown hair and thick eyebrows, looking as sharp and tough as an old lion, walked in.
"Mr Scrimgeour." Seeing who it was, Kingsley immediately lowered his head and addressed him respectfully.
The man who had arrived was the Head of the Auror Office at the Ministry of Magic and the leader of all Aurors in the British Ministry of Magic — Rufus Scrimgeour.
No matter how much they grumbled about this old Auror behind his back, in front of him Kingsley still had to show proper respect. After all, he was his direct superior.
Scrimgeour nodded and turned his gaze to Sherlock.
"Cavendish is here too."
"He is highly knowledgeable about dark creatures, so I asked him to help examine the situation."
"Yes, I've always known about his talent in this area. After rejecting his applications to join combat missions several times, I didn't expect that just over a year later, he would resign."
Scrimgeour and Sherlock looked at each other. Sherlock shrugged.
"Sorry, Director. Being a Professor at Hogwarts is my ideal. Working at the Ministry of Magic is just a way to make a living."
"Although I don't like hearing it, that's obviously your honest opinion."
Scrimgeour pushed the door wider and invited three Wizards inside.
"You don't need to investigate this case anymore, Shacklebolt. Guests have arrived to take it over."
Sherlock and Kingsley looked together at the three Wizards who entered.
There were two male Wizards and one female Witch.
The two Wizards both had stiff, coffin-like faces and wore standard robes different from those of the British Ministry of Magic. They looked serious and unsmiling, like two exceptionally rigid men.
And Sherlock actually recognised the Witch.
She was also wearing a black robe with a wide hood covering the upper half of her face, leaving only a little silver-grey hair visible beneath it.
It was that strange German Witch — Hilke — whom Dumbledore had asked Sherlock to escort into the Forbidden Forest to visit the graves at the end of the Hogwarts school year.
Kingsley looked at the three newcomers in surprise.
"Who are these people?"
Scrimgeour introduced them.
"These two are Aurors from the German Ministry of Magic, Andre Henry and Aethelrich Haas, and this lady is an Unspeakable from the Department of Mysteries of the German Ministry of Magic, Vera Hilke."
The first two Aurors did not particularly surprise Kingsley, but upon learning Ms Hilke's identity, his expression immediately became serious.
Unspeakables.
This was a profession regarded as one of the most mysterious in any magical government.
Within the British Ministry of Magic's Department of Mysteries, there were an unknown number of Unspeakables. They were responsible for researching the most incomprehensible subjects in the Wizarding World, and no one truly knew what kind of people they were.
This was actually the first Unspeakable Kingsley had ever seen during all his years working at the Ministry, and not even one from his own country.
Scrimgeour glanced at the six living dead lying on the beds before continuing.
"The culprit in this British incident actually escaped from Germany. These three are here because of that matter, so the case is no longer under our jurisdiction. Go and focus on handling Black's case."
Kingsley stared at the two German Aurors. He wasn't the sort of person who liked arguing over technicalities. Since someone else was already taking responsibility for the matter, he wouldn't ask further questions.
"Then do I need to complete any handover procedures?"
"They know more about the culprit than you can imagine, so nothing is necessary. Leave it to them."
Kingsley nodded and prepared to leave with Sherlock.
As he passed Hilke, Sherlock offered a polite greeting.
"We meet again, Madam."
Hilke appeared to give a slight nod in response.
After Kingsley and Sherlock left the investigation room, he asked in surprise,
"You know that German Unspeakable?"
Sherlock shrugged.
"We only met once at Hogwarts. She seemed to have relatives buried in the Forbidden Forest, and Dumbledore asked me to guide her."
Kingsley sighed softly and nodded.
"It's good that we don't have to worry about this matter. I have a feeling the things involved here are not simple."
"Even if it's troublesome, it has nothing to do with us anymore."
Sherlock put a hand on his shoulder, and the two walked towards the Auror Office together.
"You have to treat us tonight. Take Harry and me out for a good meal."
Kingsley smiled.
"I should thank you properly."
"Don't thank me — make up for Harry's birthday."
"Those two things don't conflict."
In the investigation room after they left, Hilke stood silently to one side without moving, while the other two German Aurors, Henry and Haas, had already stepped forward to examine the victims.
"Confirmed. It is that thing. The first five victims were Muggles, while the most recent victim is a Wizard. That means its power is growing stronger, and its appetite is becoming larger and larger," Haas analysed coldly.
Henry added seriously,
"Its movements are too fast, and we can't determine why it didn't flee to that island but came to Britain instead."
At that moment, Hilke finally spoke her first sentence, her voice cold and ethereal.
"Its destination is Hogwarts."