Vid leaned against the window, wiping away the condensation on the glass, and looked back.
He always felt that the heights of those Dementors seemed to be steadily decreasing... Were they trying to take advantage of the snow when everyone couldn't see clearly, and absorb a wave of happy emotions?
Christmas was approaching, and ordinary people didn't know about the prison breaks of Dark Wizards. The entire city was filled with a festive atmosphere, with joyful Christmas songs ringing everywhere.
This kind of atmosphere must be highly tempting to Dementors.
But before Voldemort wreaked havoc, the Ministry of Magic's control over Dementors was still quite strong.
Those creatures had been wandering on the island for nearly ten days, staying well-behaved, except for the attack on the Hogwarts express.
So Vid withdrew his gaze, and as he turned his head, he heard Harry softly ask Michael, "Are we still going to the department store?"
"We can go tomorrow morning," Michael replied casually. "I just remembered that I had heard of that Grindelwald before. But even at his most powerful, he never managed to conquer the United Kingdom."
Harry nodded, feeling relieved—he hadn't bought all his Christmas gifts yet and didn't want to hastily pick some things tomorrow to send out.
Neither of them considered Grindelwald's prison break a particularly serious matter—as if even if Hitler were to resurrect, people on the other side of the world would still lead their normal lives, not drop everything and live in dread.
If Voldemort were to make a high-profile announcement of his return, that would indeed be frightening because Harry Potter would inevitably become Voldemort's primary target.
But when Grindelwald was imprisoned, not to mention Harry, even Harry's parents hadn't been born yet. There was no enmity between them, nor a fight-to-the-death scenario.
Sitting in front, Lupin heard their conversation and suddenly realized that he might have been too tense—perhaps the attitude of those around him had clouded his judgment, making him exaggerate the severity of the matter.
Looking back carefully, it was mostly overseas wizards who reacted most dramatically when the news came in... British wizards were often slower to leave.
Lupin exhaled slowly, privately mocking himself for being less composed than the kids.
But after all, it was Dumbledore who defeated Grindelwald back then... Maybe this time, he would set his sights on the United Kingdom as his first target.
But he'd just escaped prison; whether summoning followers or doing something else, it would take time...
…
Mabel knelt on the ground, utterly at a loss, not knowing where she could go.
A pair of arms helped her up from the ground, and she heard a gentle voice by her ear: "Are you alright, child?"
In her moment of amazement, Mabel was effortlessly lifted from the ground by the other, and by the time she reflexively reached for her hood, it was too late.
—Oh no! My face has been seen!
Mabel was extremely flustered; she lowered her head, not daring to look at the kind wizard, fearing that he'd recognize her and scream.
Black mist surged at her feet but was suppressed by her.
Even if the other had shown her a little kindness... Mabel didn't want to hurt him.
At that moment, the Dementors hovering high above seemed drawn by something, abruptly changing direction and flying straight down!
"You seem familiar..."
On the street, the wizard reminisced for a moment, then smiled: "Are you one of the kids from the bookstore earlier? Where are your parents?"
Mabel: "..." Didn't recognize me?
How could that be?
Her face was plastered all over the walls... even on several days of newspaper front pages and even covered in Muggle news!
She suddenly looked up, realizing that the wizard was actually the owner of the house she'd been hiding in for several days.
If memory served, his name was Ryan Troka, a vampire who didn't drink human blood.
But back then, Mabel had only occasionally snuck into the kitchen for some food or to read a newspaper, rarely encountering the few people in the house.
At this moment, Mabel was so tense that even her hair was about to stand on end. She stared intently at Troka, watching as he grabbed her arm, looking around, seemingly searching for her non-existent "parents."
Troka lowered his head to ask: "Did you get separated from your family? Where do you live? I can take you home."
Mabel looked at this person suspiciously, wondering if he was teasing her.
Had he not seen her picture on the wall while he was looking around?
Although Mabel was slimmer now than in the picture, had her hair tied up, and wore different clothes... her appearance hadn't undergone any dramatic change. Could he still not recognize her?
Seeing that the apparently terrified girl refused to utter a word, Troka rubbed his brow in frustration.
Sigh... After all, she was to be his future student; he couldn't just leave her here alone. What if she encountered some bad people... Would he still have the face to teach at Hogwarts?
Troka thought Mabel had been chasing after her family earlier and silently rebuked the irresponsible guardians in his heart. He tried to smile and said:
"Don't worry, I'm not a bad person. How about I take you to the Leaky Cauldron? Maybe your parents will come looking for you there."
Mabel hesitated and nodded.
If this person was trying to trick her into going back... she wouldn't be entirely defenseless.
Seeing her finally respond, Troka smiled, holding Mabel's hand as they walked towards the entrance of Diagon Alley.