The mother and two daughters hurried out of the castle, where the once-clear sky had become overcast, with rolling dark clouds, lightning flashing, and thunder rumbling.
In the sky outside the castle's main gate, a golden figure streaked across the heavens, radiating brilliant light as lightning fell like rain.
"It really is Mia." Astoria looked up, the Snow Fox already trembling in her arms.
Even from such a great distance, she could clearly sense the Thunderbird's immense pressure.
"Damn it, how many people has the Dark Lord sent?" Mrs Greengrass's face darkened, but when she saw the Thunderbird continuously releasing lightning in the sky, she grew worried. "If even Wayne's Thunderbird can't handle them, could he have come personally?"
"Screech!"
Astoria shared this concern. Rolling up her sleeve, she was about to use her last resort to call Wayne back when a clear cry echoed from the sky.
A melodious song followed, lifting the spirits of all who heard it.
Then, flames shot towards the sky, dispersing the mass of dark clouds.
"Is that... Fawkes?" Watching the fireball that had replaced the sun, Astoria halted the magical power she was about to activate.
There were only two Phoenixes in all of Britain. Ho-Oh wouldn't fight Mia, leaving Fawkes as the only possibility.
Crack!
The storm grew more violent. Silver snake-like lightning turned darker, eventually revealing faint red arcs. The fireball exploded violently, unveiling the Phoenix's true form.
Silver lightning was manageable, but Fawkes dared not confront this red variety directly.
Mia had already pounced forward, only to be repelled by a spell.
Mrs Greengrass brought her two daughters to a high tower. Using the vantage point, they clearly assessed the situation outside.
Dumbledore was maintaining a transparent protective barrier, using spells alongside Fawkes to restrain Mia. He remained in a passive defensive position, his expression resigned.
Near him lay several hooded corpses and two giants.
"Mia! Stop!" Recognising Dumbledore, Astoria didn't understand what misunderstanding had occurred, but still called off Mia.
Though puzzled why her mistress ordered her to stand down, the Thunderbird obediently returned to the castle rooftop, its sharp eagle eyes still fixed on Dumbledore and Fawkes.
"Professor, why were you fighting Mia?" Astoria shouted, her wand pressed against her throat.
Dumbledore offered a wry smile.
"Perhaps my timing was unfortunate?"
A quarter of an hour later, in another tea room within the castle, Dumbledore explained why he had fought Mia.
As he had said, his timing was truly unfortunate.
Rowle and others had planned to try diplomacy before force. The several Death Eaters and two giants outside the castle were an ambush meant to prevent Mrs Greengrass from escaping.
But how could they evade Mia's watchful eyes?
When Astoria took action inside the castle, Mia swiftly intervened. The combination of superior strength and surprise attack allowed her to almost instantly eliminate the enemies outside.
Only the two giants required additional lightning strikes, but precisely at that moment, Dumbledore happened to Disapparate outside the castle.
Although Mia recognised him, his appearance at such a delicate moment led her to treat him as an unwelcome intruder, attacking without hesitation.
Dumbledore was already reeling from the sight of the corpses littering the ground when he was ambushed. Had it not been for Fawkes saving his master, he would have suffered a severe blow.
Discovering that his attacker was actually Wayne's Thunderbird left Dumbledore unable to fight at full strength, fearing he might injure Mia and incur Wayne's wrath later.
After hearing this, both Astoria and Mrs Greengrass wore extremely peculiar expressions.
Wasn't this just terribly unlucky?
"Perhaps I should have come earlier," Dumbledore chuckled ruefully, shaking his head. "I could have helped you deal with these minor troubles."
"Since you called them minor troubles, there was no need to trouble you," Mrs Greengrass replied respectfully. Though Dumbledore hadn't been able to lift Astoria's curse initially, he had helped alleviate her pain and delay the curse's progression.
"Mr Dumbledore, is there something you came here for?" Mrs Greengrass inquired.
The old wizard's expression turned grave. "There is indeed a matter requiring Miss Greengrass's assistance."
His gaze settled on Astoria, and the young girl stared at him in astonishment. "Me?"
"Sirius has been attacked," Dumbledore said solemnly. "He encountered the Basilisk bred by Voldemort. Though he narrowly escaped death thanks to carrying defensive artefacts, he was petrified and bitten by the Basilisk."
"I attempted to use Fawkes's tears to counteract the venom, but the effect was limited. It seems Voldemort has modified that Basilisk, making its venom more potent. Even with St Mungo's treatment, we can only ensure Sirius doesn't die, but he remains unconscious."
"I originally intended to seek Wayne's help, but he's not in Britain, so I can only place my hopes in you."
Dumbledore spoke earnestly, "Miss Greengrass, do you possess any of Ho-Oh's tears or its nirvana ashes?"
Astoria nodded. "Wayne left me some, Professor. Which do you require?"
"Would you accompany me to St Mungo's?" Dumbledore asked. "Severus is there as well. It would be better to let him decide."
"Of course," Astoria agreed without hesitation. She handed her Snow Fox to Daphne before addressing Mrs Greengrass, "Mother, I'm going with the Professor."
"Let's all go," Mrs Greengrass decided after a moment's thought, concluding that travelling as a trio would be safest. Even if Voldemort appeared, wouldn't Dumbledore be right there with them?
Without delay, the group prepared to leave.
Mrs Greengrass tossed a handful of Floo Powder into the fireplace.
Dumbledore stepped forward first. Before entering the flames, he noticed that day's copy of the Daily Prophet on a nearby stand, its open page displaying a particularly eye-catching headline:
"Volcanic Eruption in Japan Destroys Majority of Muggle City"
...
"Really, it had nothing to do with me."
In a luxurious villa far away in the Eastern Hemisphere, Wayne looked quite aggrieved as he faced Sakura and Tomoyo.
"But the timing is rather too coincidental..." Tomoyo massaged her temples in frustration. "We'd just reached the volcano, you went to take a look, and then it erupted..."
Sakura nodded vigorously. "Wayne, you weren't testing some new magic to control volcanoes, were you?"
Wayne crossed his fingers. "I swear on Merlin's name, I haven't been researching or mastering anything like that."
Before he could finish speaking, Sakura hugged him and quickly covered his mouth. "I just think it's too much of a coincidence, I'm not doubting you."
Tomoyo also took the young man's hand and said softly, "That was originally an active volcano, so its eruption isn't strange. Let's go to the temple tomorrow to pray and ward off any bad luck."
Wayne shook his head repeatedly. "I don't like those things, let's just forget it."
"Alright." Tomoyo didn't press further. "So, where would you like to go tomorrow? This country is quite small, and there aren't many interesting places left."
"Let's go to Mahoutokoro. I heard there's a palace there entirely carved from warm jade."
"The Hall of Enlightenment," Tomoyo explained to Wayne. "Although Mahoutokoro doesn't have a sorting ceremony like Hogwarts, all students must undergo baptism in the Hall of Enlightenment before enrollment to gain intellectual enhancement."
"Can it really improve wisdom? I don't believe it." Wayne scoffed at this.
Sakura made a pained face. "It's just a spell that can keep you mentally sharp for a week, but the side effects are severe. After it wore off, I felt completely drained and took a full month to recover."
Tomoyo nodded with similar apprehension - that was an experience she never wanted to relive in her lifetime.
Wayne thought this sounded more reasonable. If Mahoutokoro possessed technology similar to Ravenclaw's Diadem that students could use, they would have long become the world's top magical school.
"Then we'll go to the school tomorrow." Tomoyo arranged Wayne's itinerary. "Although Mahoutokoro rarely allows outsiders to enter, if it's Wayne, there definitely won't be a problem."
The young man smiled politely. "If they don't let me in, I'll just blow up your school."
Sakura rolled her eyes. "Mahoutokoro isn't Durmstrang."
After chatting for a while longer, Sakura and Tomoyo left Wayne's room to get an early rest and recharge their energy.
If only one of them had been here, Wayne wouldn't have lacked a hugging pillow tonight - this was how it had been in the previous days when Tomoyo hadn't arrived yet.
Unfortunately, when both were present, they became more reserved.
After a comfortable bath, Wayne turned off the lights and lay in bed thinking about the daytime volcanic eruption.
Wayne hadn't actually lied to Sakura and Tomoyo earlier, as he truly didn't master any spells to control volcanoes.
He had merely secretly tested the effects of an anti-gravity spell.
Who would have thought that such a gentle prod would hit that volcano's G-spot, making it erupt so spectacularly...
However, among the minerals that appeared after the volcanic eruption were many valuable materials. He had collected large quantities of sulfur stones and crystalline lava for future use on his floating city.
Maybe he should practice the anti-gravity spell at a few other vents?
Wayne pondered this—they were going to erupt eventually anyway. He was just moving the schedule forward, feeling completely unburdened.
No sooner thought than done. He abandoned sleep and flew out the window, searching for active volcanoes according to the map's markings.
Throughout the night, Wayne visited over 30 active volcanoes, constantly moving between them to collect materials.
The successive volcanic eruptions also triggered earthquakes in multiple areas. Countless buildings collapsed overnight, and the department responsible for natural disaster management had gone mad.
"With over thirty active volcanoes erupting simultaneously, is this the end of the world?"
Wayne knew nothing of this. He had been busy all night, only returning at sunrise, laden with treasures in the dawn light.
When Sakura and Tomoyo woke up and saw the news on television, they were equally astonished.
"So many volcanoes erupting at once, and there were earthquakes too? Sakura, did you feel anything?"
"No." Sakura looked equally bewildered; she had slept quite soundly last night.
"I set up a barrier around the house so that it wouldn't affect us." Wayne, who hadn't slept all night, remained remarkably energetic. "When are we going to Mahoutokoro?"
"We can go soon." Tomoyo produced an invitation. "I wrote to Headmaster Koga last night, and he warmly welcomes your visit."
After breakfast, Sakura and Tomoyo made their preparations, and the three of them set off for Mahoutokoro.
Since Wayne had never been there before, they couldn't Disapparate directly.
They first went to the shrine at Tomoyo's family home and used the fireplace to travel to a small izakaya at the foot of Mahoutokoro's mountain.
Then Wayne flew the two girls up to the mountain peak.
As the mist gradually cleared, a cluster of white buildings was revealed, almost blending into the snowy mountain.
Headmaster Koga stood at the entrance with several professors. Spotting the trio landing nearby, he quickly approached, a smile on his face, and bowed deeply to Wayne.
"Mr Lawrence, your esteemed presence is a great honour for all the staff and students of Mahoutokoro."
After he spoke, the professors behind him also bowed deeply, almost exceeding ninety degrees.
It was very sycophantic and very characteristic of this country—worshipping strength.
After Wayne's battle with Grindelwald, Koga bitterly regretted that last year at Hogwarts, he had only focused on flattering Dumbledore, and hadn't tried to ingratiate himself with Lawrence.
"Hello, Headmaster Koga."
Wayne answered distractedly, not even looking at him, his gaze fixed on Mahoutokoro's buildings.
With his keen eyesight, he recognised that these structures were almost entirely made of jade.
Wayne's eyes nearly turned red with envy.
Damn...
Obscene wealth!