"Monster!!!"
With a scream loud enough to shatter glass, chaos swept through the entire church hall within seconds.
The soldiers frantically fired at the massive creature inside the church, while the prisoners on the ground clutched their heads and fled in panic.
Scorching bullets clanged against the wings, producing metallic sounds. Hoffa slammed his enormous claws onto the ground. As electric currents rolled through the hall, countless stone pillars and hands emerged from the floor, seizing all the shooting soldiers, including the female doctor.
Hoffa spread his wings, sweeping the church's statues, benches, and chairs into disarray. Then, lowering his head, he lifted the palm-sized woman before him and asked with great interest, "What did you just say? How did magic come about again? Repeat it for me."
Under the gaze of such a colossal creature, the woman was on the verge of fainting. Her teeth chattered, and her entire body trembled uncontrollably.
"Speak. If you don't, I'll crush you."
Hoffa threatened.
Death holds immense intimidation for some people. The woman gritted her teeth and stammered, "Magic... magic... ma..."
"Hmm, keep going."
"No... no... no..."
The stone hand tightened slightly.
"Ahhhhh!!!"
With a scream, accompanied by violent convulsions and trembling, a foul-smelling liquid flowed from the woman's pants. She rolled her eyes and fainted.
Hoffa sneered at the sight. "Is this all? So arrogant... I thought you'd be tougher."
People scattered in all directions, screaming. Seeing his goal achieved, Hoffa retracted his transformation, standing before Adebe Gosak. He tore off the professor's shackles and said, "Professor, I've come to take you away."
However, the screams agitated Adebe Gosak. He clutched Hoffa's arm and shouted, "Bach... Bach, how did you end up here too? How did you get here? How did you get here?!"
Hoffa froze. The professor's condition seemed worse than he had imagined.
"Let's go! Hurry!" Adebe Gosak shouted incoherently. "Take Miranda and leave quickly! Never come back! Never come back!"
Hoffa shook the professor's shoulders hard, shouting, "Professor! Professor! I'm back. Everything's fine now."
"Bach... leave here... they'll catch you... take Miranda... leave quickly!" the old man muttered, his mind clouded.
"Professor! Professor!" Hoffa called out, but Adebe slowly closed his eyes, falling asleep in his arms.
"Professor Gosak has suffered greatly," said a man.
Most of the chanting prisoners had fled after Hoffa's thunderbird transformation caused the chaos. However, a man in his fifties remained by Adebe Gosak's side.
"Who are you?" Hoffa found him familiar but couldn't recall his name.
"Bach, don't you remember me? I'm Rainer, the school doctor at Hogwarts," the man said sadly.
Hoffa's expression changed—Rainer, the school doctor. He vaguely remembered the man who had treated him multiple times at Hogwarts.
"Doctor Rainer, how did you end up here?" he asked.
"A year ago, Gosak took us to the Muggle world to investigate the source of the sleeping sickness. Unexpectedly, during the investigation, we fell asleep ourselves. When we woke up, our magic was gone. We've been imprisoned here, forced to recite strange things day and night. If not for the thunderbird, I would've thought Hogwarts was nothing but a dream," Rainer said sorrowfully.
Hoffa stared blankly at the sleeping Adebe Gosak, feeling an overwhelming heaviness in his heart.
"Is there still hope, Doctor Rainer?"
"Perhaps... but everything is changing too quickly. Traditional methods are failing one by one. Bach, the fact that you can still transform into a thunderbird means you've made more progress in restoring your magic than we have. Tell me, what should we do?"
Hoffa's heart stirred as he glanced at the sleeping professor's faint smile. He asked, "Do you know Professor Gosak's hometown?"
"Hometown?"
"Yes, where he lived with his son."
"If I remember correctly, it should be Heligoland Island," Rainer said after a moment of thought. "Yes, Heligoland Island."
Hoffa carried the sleeping Gosak. "Let's go there together."
Two days later, Hoffa, carrying Adebe and accompanied by Rainer, arrived at Heligoland Island in the southeastern North Sea. As they disembarked from the boat, they saw five-meter-high waves crashing against the dock. The sky was shrouded in dark clouds, merging with the distant lead-gray horizon.
The landscape was both familiar and unfamiliar to Hoffa. He had been here once in his first year, through the Pensieve. Yet, with time's passage, those distant memories were like sandcastles on the beach—long since washed away.
They passed through bands of colorful sandstone and reached the island's only village. Though called a village, the island was deserted—just like most villages Hoffa had seen on his journey—abandoned and eroded.
Nature had reclaimed the land, with animals and plants occupying the area. Most striking were the scattered violets, dancing gently in the wind.
Unexpectedly, the tranquil surroundings calmed Adebe Gosak. The tension that had plagued him slowly drained away, and he relaxed on Hoffa's back.
"Home..."
He mumbled.
Seeing the professor finally a bit clearer, Hoffa was overjoyed. "Professor, is this your home?"
"Yes, Bach."
"Where is your house? I'll take you there."
"Go to the island's heights... there's a house where I used to live," he whispered.
"We're almost there, Professor. It's safe now—no one will force you to recite those things anymore," Hoffa comforted gently.
Adebe said nothing.
When they reached the island's high point, they found a relatively well-preserved old building. It had a small courtyard, with rusty signs creaking in the wind.
"Gosak House... This is it, Bach."
Rainer pushed open the wooden gate of the courtyard for them.
The building was locked, but Hoffa merely gave a slight tug, and the rusted iron lock snapped open. Pushing open the door, he was met with the sight of an old, rustic German-style living room. There was a fireplace, a recliner, and several tattered sofas. Of course, all the furniture was covered in thick dust and cobwebs.
Carrying Adebe on his back, Hoffa walked over to the fireplace. Beside it was an old recliner, but unlike the other objects around, which were layered in dust, this particular recliner was spotless, as if frequently used.
Hoffa had no time to dwell on why. He carefully placed Adebe onto the recliner, then went outside to gather some firewood and lit the fireplace. Meanwhile, Laina went to the well outside to fetch some water and rummaged through the house for kettles to clean.
As they busied themselves, Adebe lay quietly on the recliner, watching Hoffa.
When Hoffa finally lit the fireplace, Adebe suddenly reached out and called, "Hoffa, come here."
Adebe rarely addressed Hoffa by name. Startled, Hoffa quickly knelt beside the recliner, holding the professor's hand. "Professor."
"Hoffa, how are you and Miranda?" Adebe asked gravely.
Hoffa was momentarily stunned. "Miranda went out. She may not return for some time."
"You didn't have a fight, did you?" Adebe asked again.
"No," Hoffa replied.
"That's good." Adebe sighed in relief. He gently stroked Hoffa's hand and said, "You two should never go to the Ministry of Magic again. Don't return to Hogwarts either. Find a quiet place and live in peace. Two years ago, I was too harsh, always trying to prove something—for the family, for my career. But look at me now." He shook his head, grasping Hoffa's hand tightly. "Promise me, Hoffa. Don't follow the path of Nimon, and don't follow mine either, okay?"
(Nimon was Adebe's son and Miranda's father, who passed away at a young age.)
Hoffa looked into Adebe Gorschak's earnest eyes. There was no doubt—this was the clearest he had been in days. Hoffa moved closer, kneeling beside him, and whispered in his ear, "Professor, I'm looking for Miller."
Adebe Gorschak froze, his expression turning despondent as he lowered his head.
"I don't know anyone named Miller," he said.
Hoffa grew anxious. "Professor, I need help. I need help finding Miranda. I also need help defeating the Half-Blood King. The only one who can give me the help I need is Miller. Please, tell me where he is."
Adebe's expression changed several times—there was helplessness, regret, and despair. In the end, he weakly waved his hand, speaking wearily, "Bach, if you want to find her, check her room. I don't know where she left her power. If you find her, take her away. Take her away…"
As he spoke, he suddenly seemed to see something, his voice rising in frantic cries: "Nimon! Nimon! Get them out of here! Don't stay in this damned place! Hurry and leave!! Nimon!!"
Hearing Adebe's shouting, Laina rushed in from outside. He carried a cup of water to Adebe Gorschak's side, feeling his forehead and checking his eyes. After a moment, he sighed, "Bach, Professor Gorschak may not have much time left."
"What?"
Hoffa was shocked. "How could this be?"
Laina looked at the delirious Adebe, his heart heavy. "Wizards are creatures of the mind. Controlling extraordinary power requires extraordinary mental strength. But not everyone can wield that power stably. At some point in life, many are thrown off by the beast they ride—and then devoured by it."
Hoffa gazed at Adebe with sorrow. Whether in reality or in dreams, this man had, in a way, been his mentor. Seeing him in this state, Hoffa couldn't feel anything but grief.
"I will take care of the professor. You go do what you need to do," Laina said.
Though reluctant, Hoffa knew that now, more than ever, he had to find Miller. He stood up and gave a small bow to Laina. "Please, take care of him. At least until Miranda returns."
Laina nodded. "I promise."
With that reassurance, Hoffa left the fireplace-lit living room and began searching through the ancient, dilapidated mansion.
One by one, he pushed open the doors to the rooms. Most contained only broken furniture and meaningless debris—shattered globes, splintered wooden beams, moldy clothes and fabrics, rusted utensils, and decayed furniture. Even worse, most rooms were empty, filled only with dense cobwebs and thick layers of dust.
When he reached the second floor, a faint draft of wind passed through a half-open door. His heart stirred. He pushed the door open and stepped inside.
The door, nudged by the breeze, slowly closed behind him.
Unlike the other rooms, this bedroom was distinctly different. The most striking feature was a small bedframe—a child's bed. Surrounding it, the walls were covered in peculiar murals painted with oil. Upon closer inspection, the murals depicted flowers, wands, Quidditch, self-portraits, and various other elements. Among them, a particularly eye-catching image showed a beautiful little bird standing in a flowerbed, happily playing with a young child.
Though the murals had faded with time, they still radiated an energy as vivid as the day they were painted.
In his dreams, Hoffa had learned nearly everything about Miranda—except for this place.
He gently traced his fingers over the painted walls, a faint smile appearing on his lips. It felt as if he had traveled through time, seeing the short-haired girl crouched by the wall, covered in paint, lost in her art.
Perhaps it was just his imagination, but he swore he could still smell Miranda's scent in the room. That faint violet fragrance sent his thoughts drifting far, far away, back to the decades trapped in nightmares. Almost unconsciously, he placed a hand on the small bed.
As he touched it, something felt off. There wasn't a single speck of dust on the bed—just like the recliner downstairs. He hadn't thought much of it before, but now, the more he pondered, the more unsettling it became. Could someone still be living here?
A breeze from the window swept through the room, and in that moment, everything around him darkened rapidly. Hoffa sensed something and immediately tried to stand up.
But before he could move, two translucent arms gently draped over his shoulders.
Hoffa's breath nearly stopped as he stared at the hands now resting on his chest.
"Missed me, brother-in-law?"
A voice chuckled behind him.
A shiver ran down Hoffa's spine before a surge of joy overwhelmed him. He instinctively tried to turn around.
But the arms held his head firmly in place. The voice behind him whispered, "If you look at me, you'll die. I swear, Hoffa Bach, I will snap your neck."
(End of Chapter)
Want to read the chapters in Advance? Join my Patreon
https://patreon.com/Glimmer09