The jingling bells at the door roused a group of mysterious, hooded figures inside the bar.
They looked up, their eyes narrowing at Garfield before they quickly buried their faces in their hands.
No one knew what they were thinking.
Garfield recognized the bar owner immediately.
It was Aberforth Dumbledore, the younger brother of the old bee, Albus Dumbledore.
Garfield flew to the bar, feigning ignorance, and casually ordered, "A glass of milk, please."
One of the customers, perhaps with a low threshold for laughter, could not help but spit out his drink.
Garfield raised a paw, instantly binding him with magic, then tossed him out through the bar's broken window.
Shards of glass flew everywhere, but Garfield silently used a repair spell to restore the window to its original, filthy state.
Two silent spells instantly made those around Garfield abandon any hostile plans.
The silent casting of spells, and the fact that they did not see Garfield use a wand, made them realize they could not afford to mess with him.
The others cowered like frightened birds, while Aberforth merely curled his lip in disdain.
A bunch of weaklings.
They always acted so high and mighty, but now they were scared like this by Garfield's spells.
Embarrassing.
Aberforth thought for a moment.
It seemed he might not be a match for Garfield either.
He remembered what the old goat had said before he died, no, before they parted ways.
Garfield was like a god.
You could never beat him.
He had been a little resentful back then, but now?
So what if he could not beat him? He was not stupid enough to fight him.
Once Grindelwald was dead, he would avenge himself.
Actually, Aberforth Dumbledore did not harbor the same resentment as before.
His family's current state was not entirely his brother Albus's fault.
In the wizarding world, death for various reasons was commonplace.
It was just that when it happened to his own family, he could not see things clearly.
He could not think straight.
Aberforth brought Garfield a glass of hot milk.
Garfield floated on the bar counter, controlling the milk like a silver thread, slowly bringing it to his mouth.
The magic straw automatically replenished the milk, so he did not have to suck hard.
The bar was already sparsely populated due to the commotion.
Garfield's slow drinking of milk made the atmosphere even more eerie, causing some people to leave.
Seeing that there were fewer and fewer people, Garfield decisively stared at the few who refused to leave.
"Do you not think this place is a bit of an eyesore?"
The other customers looked up at Garfield.
Those who knew what was good for them left immediately, while a few lingered.
Garfield, who always prided himself on winning people over with virtue, decided to have a good talk with them.
He raised his paw and bound them with magic.
He opened a portal and set the destination to the Forbidden Forest.
The location was random.
He threw them in.
Garfield did not intend to take their lives.
He released their restraints the moment they landed.
The restraints disappeared.
The portal closed.
The few furtive wizards looked at each other and huddled together.
"Oh my god, that scared me to death."
"I almost thought I was going to die."
"Lord Grindelwald's mentor is too powerful."
"There was no chance to fight back at all."
"No wonder Lord Grindelwald calls him his mentor."
"What about our mission to monitor Hogwarts and Dumbledore's brother?"
"Let us inform Lord Grindelwald first. Explain the situation. Then wait for his instructions."
"Good idea. I feel it is not safe here. Let us leave."
"This is the Forbidden Forest, full of dangerous magical creatures. It is naturally not safe."
A series of wild beast roars echoed from somewhere in the deep forest.
They exchanged glances, turned into wisps of dust, and flew into the sky.
Not long after they left, a strangely shaped magical creature appeared in the same spot.
It sniffed around their location and then showed a look of disgust.
It raised its head and roared twice to express its dissatisfaction, then strode away and disappeared.
✦••┈┈••✦••┈┈••✦
After getting rid of those people, Aberforth walked to the entrance of the pub with a helpless smile and hung up the closed sign.
"I say, Your Majesty, you chased all my guests away as soon as you arrived. And some of them have not even paid yet."
Garfield pulled out a gold brick with a cat paw imprint.
"Take this. And do not come here to insult me again."
Aberforth said, "I will not be moved by such vulgar things."
Despite saying that, his hands were busy. He quickly stuffed the gold brick into his pocket.
"You are pretty quick with your hands. How many years have you been single?"
Aberforth instantly understood Garfield's meaning and revealed a smug expression.
"I was single before I was sixteen. Hehehe."
This dog food caught Garfield off guard.
So what if he had been single for two lifetimes?
So what if he was a cat in this life?
At least he had felt plenty of warm embraces and seen plenty of dark seafood.
Hmph.
He was experienced.
Looking at Garfield's reluctant expression, Aberforth leaned closer.
"Animagi can turn people into animals, and maybe even animals into people. I think if you are not afraid, you can try it."
Animagus again.
Garfield thought for a moment and rejected the entire plan.
Animagus was indeed a good method, simple and safe, but it was not long lasting.
Animagus transformations over a long period would change your mindset.
It would gradually turn you into the animal you had become.
Traveling through countless worlds, there were always safer ways.
Becoming a god seemed possible.
A true god who could create life.
Life and death were interconnected.
Perhaps death could achieve this, but Garfield thought that, given her personality, she would probably find it more fun to be an orange tabby.
As for turning himself back into a human, death certainly would not be happy about that.
"No. Animagus is an alternative. I told you, I am doing quite well in my cat form right now."
Aberforth began to reason with Garfield.
"The cat form is certainly nice, but can you understand the joy between adults?"
Garfield glared at Aberforth.
"That is enough. Believe me or not, I will turn you into a dog. Permanently."
Faced with Garfield's anger, Aberforth decisively raised his hands in surrender.
"Okay, fine. Forget I said anything. If you want to learn Animagus magic, I suggest you go find my brother."
"Although I do not want to admit it, his magical skills are indeed much higher than mine."
"And he is very good at teaching."
Watching Aberforth praise his brother so enthusiastically, Garfield asked him curiously, "Were you not always on bad terms with your brother?"
"You are actually speaking up for him now."
Aberforth shrugged. "I just wanted to tell the truth. You have finished your milk. Do you want another one?"
Garfield looked down at his milk and nodded.
"Another one, please. Oh, by the way, I met a centaur tribe in the Forbidden Forest. If you are interested, I can put you in touch."