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After Denton left, Lechi grabbed a quick dinner, showered, and changed into his pajamas. He headed up to his room, which looked exactly as he'd left it before the Christmas break—tidy and untouched.
He popped open his trunk and let his owl out. "Sorry, Wangcai. Tough luck being cooped up in there."
He'd named the owl Wangcai mostly because he was too lazy to think of anything better. He scratched the bird's head and served up some owl treats, which the bird tore into immediately. A moment later, Lechi cracked the window, and Wangcai took off into the night.
Back at his desk, Lechi started mapping out his summer study schedule. It was a habit, much like his journal. He didn't write daily anymore, but every few days he'd still churn out several pages. Once finished, he crawled into bed. Between the train ride and the travel, he was wiped out and ready to crash.
Outside, a full moon hung high in the sky.
Beneath London, the lights were still burning bright.
"Do we seriously have to have every meeting at night?!" Annabel Godwin groaned, running her hands through her hair.
"It's been a year, Annabel. Get used to it," her colleague, Rory Emerson, said calmly as he sipped his coffee. "Take a break while you can. Meeting number eleven starts in a few minutes. Our department—Accidental Magic Reversal—is the hardest working crew in the Ministry. We're top of the charts for meeting hours."
Another colleague chimed in, "Even the Aurors are on shifts now, and here we are, full staff. Higher pay, higher responsibility, I guess. At least we're more experienced than those guys."
The senior investigators traded complaints, venting their frustrations. Annabel sighed and downed her bitter coffee.
A wizard hurried into the briefing room a moment later. "Alright, everyone. Good news and bad news. The good news: this is the last meeting of the day. The bad news..."
"We've got a major situation."
The room tensed instantly.
"Three werewolves just surfaced in Bourne County, right on the border of Pro and Surrey. They attacked two Muggles and split up. Kingsley Shacklebolt is already leading an Auror team to the scene. The Ministry wants our department on-site immediately to wipe memories and assist the Aurors in the hunt."
The investigators stood up at once. "This isn't a meeting, it's a deployment," Rory muttered, heading for the door.
Annabel followed, her heart racing. The border of Pro and Surrey was far too close to home—her sister Elena's home. It was a full moon, and three feral werewolves were a nightmare for Aurors, let alone defenseless Muggles.
"All units, move out! Field teams deployed, everyone else on standby for backup!"
They threw on dragon-hide jackets and enchanted trench coats. Annabel managed to snag the patrol route for Pro County, specifically the Maple District.
"Let's go!"
Tap. Tap-tap.
The sound of glass clicking woke Lechi from a light sleep. He looked toward the window and saw Wangcai hovering outside, beak rapping against the pane.
He rolled out of bed and opened the latch. "Wangcai? You're back early."
Usually, the owl stayed out all night and crashed during the day. That was why Lechi had locked the window. Groggy and confused, Lechi shut the window and turned back toward his bed, ready to pass out again.
But Wangcai wasn't having it. The owl flapped onto Lechi's head and gave his cheek a sharp poke with its beak.
"Ow! That actually hurt, Wangcai!"
The sting jolted Lechi awake. He was about to scold the bird when he heard something from downstairs.
Hum...
Clatter.
Scrape, scrape.
Lechi frowned. Was Denton or his mom looking for a midnight snack? But the noise was too chaotic—like someone was tearing the kitchen apart. He could hear it clearly from the second floor.
Wangcai flew down to his pillow, hooked its talons into the fabric, and pulled it back to reveal Lechi's wand. Then, the owl nipped at his hand again.
A chill ran down Lechi's spine. He understood exactly what the owl was trying to say.
That wasn't his parents downstairs.
Someone was in the house.
Lechi grabbed his wand and eased his door open, stepping out into the hall.
"Where is the food? Where is it?!"
Pant... pant...
"I didn't kill anyone... I didn't... it was Chapman!"
"I just... need to eat!"
In the kitchen, a gaunt werewolf was frantically ransacking the cabinets. The beast's instincts were slowly eroding whatever human consciousness remained. Once the potion Chapman had given him wore off, he would lose himself completely. Right now, he just wanted to find food and get out of this house.
Lechi cast a silent Muffliato on his own feet and crept down the stairs.
Reaching the bottom landing, he peered into the living room. It was a wreck. He spotted three deep, jagged claw marks ripped into the fabric of the sofa.
Lechi's stomach dropped. He knew what he was looking at.
A werewolf.
As if to confirm his fear, a muffled, guttural howl echoed from the kitchen.
Lechi took a steadying breath and peeked around the corner. Moonlight streamed through the kitchen window, illuminating a distorted silhouette hunched over the counter, savagely tearing into a raw, uncleaned fish from the sink.