"???"
What the—so Susie, the reason you've been hanging around Sirius so much lately…was because you were researching this?!
Susie nodded seriously. "Don't worry, nothing bad will happen."
"How can you be so sure…?"
"Because when the time comes, I'll have Edward do a divination first. I'll only proceed if he confirms it's safe."
Edward: Thanks for having so much faith in me!
Audrey clicked her tongue. "Oh Susie, I have to say—if you were human, you'd definitely be smarter than most people."
Susie wagged her tail. "No, I'm still far behind Miss Lilith."
Lilith immediately raised her head proudly. "That's right!"
Dumbledore watched them with a gentle smile, then clapped his hands lightly and said:
"Alright, everyone! Then…see you again in twenty-eight days."
"Goodbye!"
"Goodbye, Professor Whitebeard~"
"Farewell, sir."
———
4:30 P.M.
The two of them arrived at the Room of Requirement.
They first double-checked the contents of their respective leather pouches (the suitcases). After making sure nothing was left behind, they patiently waited for the time to come.
Lilith mimicked them, checking the contents of her little pendant: it mostly held trinkets she had grabbed from the wizard crackers during the Christmas feast, along with her dried fish, dried mice, and a few prank props.
"Lilith, those mice…where did you get them?"
Lilith swished her tail and said proudly, "Miss Lilith is the cleverest kitty! She's the bane of mice! No matter where they hide, I can catch them all!"
"Then why didn't you just eat them on the spot?"
"Because I'm saving them to roast! They're delicious when roasted!" She blinked her big eyes. "Edward, Audrey, when the time comes, Miss Lilith won't forget you!"
Both of them waved their hands in unison. "No, no, they're all yours."
Edward looked at the little creature, feeling conflicted. If Lilith really advanced to a Witch and turned into a human…and still gnawed on mice every other day… just imagining it was absurdly funny!
"Alright, get into the pouches now. Only ten minutes left."
"Okay~ see you in a bit."
——
Meanwhile, in the cemetery behind the Godric's Hollow chapel.
Two tall, white-haired, white-bearded old men silently approached and stopped in front of the Dumbledore family grave—none other than Albus and Aberforth.
Albus Dumbledore, the greatest white wizard of the century, now stood with a swollen red nose, one eye ringed with black, and fresh bruises across his face. Clearly, he had just taken a serious beating not long ago.
Aberforth stood beside him, face cold and stern, glaring fiercely at him. "Albus, you'd better think this through—if this doesn't turn out the way you imagine, I really will kill you!"
Dumbledore forced a thin smile. "You know I'd never joke about something like this."
Aberforth clenched his fists and stared at their sister Ariana's tombstone. After a long moment, he let out a long breath and spoke in a trembling voice:
"Then…let's begin."
Each conjured a shovel, and after another long silence, it was Dumbledore who finally dug the first spadeful of earth.
Godric's Hollow was bitterly cold. The cemetery soil had long since frozen rock-hard, but the brothers didn't use magic. They dug by hand, one scoop at a time—because Ariana had died due to magic.
The two of them dug from dawn till dusk.
Even though both were wizards with excellent physical strength, they were over a hundred years old. After hours of back-breaking labour in the freezing wind and bitter cold, they were utterly exhausted.
When they finally unearthed the deep-buried coffin, both men were drained, hungry, and shivering from the cold.
Yet they forced themselves to stay alert, working together to lift the uncorrupted coffin out. Then they fell into another heavy silence.
"Are you sure you want to open it?" Aberforth asked.
"Yes."
Dumbledore gently ran his blistered, bloodied hand across the coffin lid and muttered, "I have to see it with my own eyes, one more time."
"But…we confirmed it back then, over and over—Ariana was dead. We put her in the coffin ourselves and buried her. Why do you think she might have come back?"
"She wasn't a witch…she was an Obscurial."
Aberforth's suppressed emotions exploded again. "Even so! Even if she was—look at someone like Voldemort. He had Horcruxes prepared in advance, and even then, coming back to life was nearly impossible. How could Ariana possibly…?"
Everything in him screamed that it was impossible!
But still…a faint glimmer of hope stirred in his heart. Even though he had beaten his brother every time Albus came to him about this, Aberforth knew deep down: his brother would never joke about something like this.
The brothers' feelings for Ariana were very different. Albus was steeped in guilt, haunted by his reckless actions that had led to her death. But Aberforth…he had truly loved her. He had raised her himself, even giving up his education to care for her.
"Come on, we're just one step away."
Dumbledore took out a set of tools he had prepared in advance and began prying open the coffin nails, one by one. Aberforth stood nearby, staring blankly, lost in a daze.
——
Clunk, clunk, clunk…
Half an hour later, all the nails were removed.
Without hesitation, Dumbledore pushed open Ariana's coffin lid.
By the faint moonlight overhead, he could see everything inside the coffin:
There was no body.
No remains.
No Ariana.
Only a scattering of white feathers, stained with faint yellowish oil and grime, messily covering the bottom of the coffin.
———
[Backlund—Empress Borough]
Edward returned once more to the small villa he hadn't seen in nearly a month.
The moment Audrey emerged from the pouch, she wrinkled her nose. "Ugh, the air in Backlund really is terrible."
Then, a sudden idea struck her. "Say…what if we assigned a dozen or two wizards to cast wind-related spells every day to blow away the polluted air—wouldn't that improve Backlund's air quality?"
"Uh…sure, and the people living downwind of Backlund will be eternally grateful to your ancestors for eight generations…"
"Screw you!"
Audrey gave him a light punch. "Anyway, I'm heading home now~"
"Alright, and make sure you focus when you get back."
She pouted. "I know, I know."
Just as she was about to turn and leave, she suddenly took off the Resurrection Stone ring from her finger and handed it back to Edward.
"Here, this belongs to you."
"Hmm, why don't you just keep it?"
Audrey shook her head. "I'm safe staying home all day—I don't need it. You need it more."
Edward looked into her eyes for a moment before reluctantly accepting the ring.
"Alright then, goodbye~ Come on, Susie."
Susie wagged her tail at Lilith. "Goodbye, Miss Lilith."
"Mm-hmm~"
Once Audrey had walked far enough away, Edward instinctively cast several cleaning spells around the house, then turned to Lilith and said,
"Lilith, I'm going out for a bit."
"Okay~"
She was sprawled comfortably on the sofa, tail swaying lazily.
Edward waved his hand, and his figure twisted and vanished. The next second, Lilith—who had been playing the obedient little cat—suddenly sprang to her feet, darted toward the window, opened it skillfully, and leapt out.
——
[St. Samuel's Cathedral]
Edward arrived just as the congregation was dispersing from the day's gathering. People walked out in twos and threes, no distinction between rich and poor, all with smiles on their faces.
Such was the power of faith.
Believers provided an anchor for the gods, and the gods, in turn, gave them hope—especially since gods did occasionally respond. How could ordinary people not believe?
After greeting Bishop Electra, Edward returned once more to the side library.
He lit the candles, sprinkled the essential oils, arranged night vanilla and moonflowers favoured by the Goddess, and then brought out the suitcase.
Inside were not just modern machines and electronic devices, but also a wide variety of technical manuals, an enormous supply of food, gasoline and diesel, and even several fighter jets.
Edward suddenly hesitated.
If he handed all this over to Stiano…who knew what the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery might evolve into?
If he truly figured it all out, he couldn't even begin to imagine how dramatically the world might change.
"Well…the Goddess will probably take that into account."
Probably.
That cunning old fox wouldn't let herself get the short end of the stick, would she?
Edward placed the suitcase on the floor, stepped back, and began chanting softly:
"I pray for the power of the night;
I pray for the power of secrecy;
I pray for the Goddess's grace;
This suitcase contains the offerings I bring to "You" on this return.
The items listed have mostly been acquired.
Night-vanilla, flower of the Crimson Moon—
Please deliver my prayer to the Goddess.
Moonflowers, blossoms of the Crimson Moon—
Please deliver my prayer to the Goddess."
The candle flames flickered, and the light in the room grew dim and uncertain.
Whoosh—
With a sudden gust of wind, the suitcase vanished.
A moment later, words formed from dust on the ground:
"Very good. Well done."
Well done?
Holy crap, the Goddess actually said "well done" to me?!
Edward nearly teared up on the spot and was ready to pledge his eternal loyalty.
Wait a minute…
Am I…emotionally manipulating myself here?
I spent my own money, ran around the world, even broke into a military base—of course it was exhausting!
———
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