"They think it's the person they kidnapped," Vid said.
"Then—actually?" Skeeter pressed.
Vid smiled, "If the car door is opened, remember to stay away."
His smile remained gentle, but somehow, Skeeter's heart skipped a beat, and she felt uneasy.
She rubbed her arms, turned her gaze, and deliberately asked in a skeptical tone, "Why haven't I noticed anything special about these folks? They look like ordinary people... You wouldn't be lying to me, would you?"
"If I'm lying to you, you can make up rumors about me in the newspaper."
Vid chuckled and said, "And you can report to the Ministry of Magic, saying I'm an illegal Animagus."
On the way here, he had Skeeter turn into an insect while he transformed into a Peregrine Falcon, thus allowing them to return to the ship before it set sail.
Skeeter snorted, "I'm an unregistered Animagus myself, don't you know I could end up in Azkaban?"
"That's why we both have leverage on each other, isn't this the best alliance?" Vid said, "You won't betray me, so I won't mess with you either."
"Alright then," Skeeter took a deep breath and showed a mischievous smile.
"If I really scoop a big story, the expressions on the faces of those Ministry of Magic folks would certainly be funny, worth writing another article about! But..."
She twirled the gemstone ring on her finger, glanced at Vid, and said, "If we encounter a dangerous situation, I'll be the first to run for my life."
"Of course, your personal safety is most important."
Vid dug into his pocket and then took out a parchment.
"This connects to my Friendship Book, and it has a locating function, so you can contact me anytime."
"Alright," Skeeter took it, then asked, "If there's danger on my side, can you bring Dumbledore?"
"Depends on the situation."
Vid pulled out another paper bag, opened it, and revealed something shimmering silver.
Skeeter gasped, "An Invisibility Cloak!"
"Take it," Vid handed it over, "Hide well, I think you might find it useful."
While the insect form is indeed hidden, Skeeter still needs to eat, drink, and use the Friendship Book to contact, and if necessary, revert to human form to hide or use magic, the Invisibility Cloak will keep her much safer.
This Invisibility Cloak isn't the Deathly Hallows passed down by Harry's father, but rather one Vid bought at a second-hand junk shop last holiday.
When he purchased it, the cloak lacked invisibility magic, but most of its materials were intact. Vid spent some time fixing it during his Alchemy studies, and now it's useful.
Skeeter was surprised to receive it, asking in amazement, "Really giving it to me? This thing is extremely rare and valuable."
"You're overthinking it, just lending it to you temporarily," Vid said, "But if you help me find these people's hideout, the Invisibility Cloak can be your reward."
"Deal!"
Rita Skeeter's eyes burned with determination, her plump fingers tightly gripping the Invisibility Cloak, clearly intending not to return it.
Vid watched as Rita Skeeter packed away the Invisibility Cloak and Friendship Book, transformed into a little beetle, and flew over to land on the truck top.
He cast an Invisibility Spell on himself and stood by observing for a while.
The beetle stayed on the roof for a while, seeing the two inside snoring, yet eventually couldn't contain the overwhelming curiosity, crawling towards the back compartment.
The place Vid had broken out earlier had been repaired by him, but the compartment wasn't completely sealed, and the beetle crawled around until it found a narrow seam.
For a human, it's just a gap too small to fit a finger through, but for a tiny beetle, it's already large enough.
It squeezed halfway in, took a glance, then shot out in a panic, hitting the raised part behind the car head with a light "thump."
The snoring Little Moustache was awakened by this slight sound, he opened his eyes sleepily, looking dazed, suddenly sniffed.
"What smell... Damn! Did you wet your pants in the car?!"
He was stunned, immediately kicking the sleeping Pockmarked Driver awake.
The door made a loud "bang."
The Pockmarked Driver got hit for no reason, decisively responding with a punch even before opening his eyes.
Little Moustache was unwilling to show weakness, baring his teeth and roaring angrily!
The two exchanged punches and kicks in the narrow space, making the huge cab shake and sway.
During the ship's voyage, other fixed vehicles also experience slight movement, hardly noticeable among the trucks.
Vid listened for a while, neither questioning their sleep nor the lost memory, and the argument began with wet pants soon turned into pure brawling.
Skeeter lay in the corner of the window, watching with relish; if she had a pen, she might have already begun writing feverishly.
Vid quietly left.
...
Back in London, dawn was breaking.
Pale mist covered the varying heights of buildings, and a flock of pigeons gathered, swooping over St. Paul's Cathedral.
Vid found the small museum, the glass door was already locked, and the somewhat shy girl behind the counter was nowhere to be seen.
Vid grasped the door handle, silently thinking, "Alohomora!"
The door lock clicked open, he pushed the door, seeing the elevator display screen still dark.
The elevator was locked, requiring a corresponding key or password to reopen, something Vid naturally didn't have. He drew out his spare Magic Wand, whipping it like a lash!
The iron doors squeaked and turned, opening to reveal a large gap.
He descended along the elevator shaft, discovering the elevator cables had been roughly severed, the entire elevator fallen to the bottom, serving as a barrier to the wizards.
While most alchemists' practical skills aren't great, given enough time, everyone would naturally find a way to overcome such a blockade and leave.
But at that moment, they were covered in gold powder, their consciousness drowsy, reaction notably slowed, only able to single-mindedly grapple with the iron door.
In truth, when constructing this building, it wasn't intended as a prison, nor akin to Hogwarts' millennia-old Chamber of Secret, hidden several miles deep underground.
Between the ground floor and other floors, naturally, there were stairs linking them. Yet during the upheaval, these stairs were concealed.
Vid spent some time finding the stairway disguised by illusion, reaching the bottom, and seeing another locked iron door.
He unlocked it but didn't enter, instead pointing his Magic Wand inside, softly saying, "Incendio!"