The Hogwarts Express emerged from the tunnel and began to slow.
“Everyone, move! I can’t get my trunk down!”
“Has anyone seen my wizard hat?”
Students hurried up and down the corridor.
Trunks scraped against the floor.
Birdcages rattled.
Owls, cats, and toads added to the growing commotion.
Vincent quietly stood near the rear of the carriage.
His eyes followed a familiar figure.
Percy Weasley.
The tall red-haired prefect was forcing his way through the crowd.
One of his robe pockets bulged noticeably.
A gray rat poked its head out.
Scabbers.
Peter Pettigrew.
Vincent casually flicked his wand.
A silent Severing Charm neatly opened the bottom seam of Percy’s pocket.
Without making a sound…
Scabbers slipped through the hole and landed on the floor.
Thump.
The frightened rat immediately disappeared beneath a forest of moving feet.
Dozens of shoes narrowly missed crushing him.
Panicked, Pettigrew tried to flee.
Vincent cast another silent spell.
The wooden floor beneath Scabbers softened like wet clay.
The rat’s paws sank into it.
Squeak!
Scabbers struggled frantically.
The floor immediately hardened again, trapping all four paws.
Vincent calmly squeezed through the crowd.
As though making room for himself, he lifted a spare cauldron from a nearby luggage rack and placed it on the floor.
A quick wave of his wand—
The cauldron shrank dramatically.
Then flipped upside down over the trapped rat.
Clang.
Scabbers disappeared beneath it.
Vincent picked up the miniature cauldron.
He placed the lid on top.
A Transfiguration spell fused the lid seamlessly to the pot.
Only a few tiny air holes remained.
Inside…
Scabbers thrashed desperately.
Vincent quietly cast Reducio once more.
The already cramped interior became even smaller.
The rat could barely move.
Satisfied…
Vincent slipped the tiny cauldron into his pocket.
Only then did Percy finally notice.
“My rat!”
“Has anyone seen my rat?”
He looked around frantically from the front of the carriage.
No one paid much attention.
In the chaos of everyone preparing to disembark…
Vincent simply walked away.
Cool night air greeted him as he stepped onto the platform.
The heat and noise of the crowded train instantly faded.
Hundreds of first-year students gathered beneath the lantern-lit station.
Towering over them all stood Hagrid.
Nearby, Julianne spotted Vincent.
She hurried over.
“Where did you disappear to?”
“You vanished the moment the train stopped.”
“And…”
She lowered her voice excitedly.
“I saw what happened with Malfoy.”
“That was amazing!”
Then she noticed the bulge in his pocket.
“What are you carrying?”
Vincent smiled.
“Potion ingredients.”
“I need to speak with Professor Hagrid.”
Without waiting for another question…
He slipped through the crowd.
Behind him…
Neville and Seamus climbed down from the train.
“Neville!”
Julianne pointed toward Vincent.
“He even knows Hagrid personally!”
Her voice was filled with disbelief.
Vincent walked behind the giant.
Then lightly tapped Hagrid’s enormous coat.
Hagrid turned.
He blinked.
For several seconds…
He simply stared.
“It’s me.”
“Vincent.”
Realization dawned.
“Oh!”
“Merlin’s beard!”
“I almost didn’t recognize you!”
Hagrid scratched his beard awkwardly.
“Your hair’s about the same colour as the fur on your little tail.”
Vincent decided not to question that comparison.
Instead…
He asked the question that had been bothering him for weeks.
“Harry told me you collected a package from Gringotts before school started.”
“Professor Dumbledore asked you to retrieve it.”
“Why?”
Hagrid immediately froze.
“You’ve gone straight for the difficult questions.”
He lowered his voice.
“This ought to stay secret…”
Then he sighed.
“But if it’s you…”
“…I suppose it’s alright.”
He gently tapped the ground with his pink umbrella.
A discreet Muffliato-like silencing charm surrounded them.
The bustling platform suddenly became distant.
Only Hagrid’s voice remained clear.
“Someone planned to steal summat from Gringotts.”
“Professor Dumbledore wanted it moved somewhere safer.”
Vincent frowned.
“But Quirrell died.”
“Voldemort fled.”
“Who else would try to rob Gringotts?”
Hagrid visibly shivered.
“You-Know-Who…”
“You said his name again…”
He glanced around nervously before continuing.
“It wasn’t You-Know-Who himself.”
“It was one of the Aurors.”
Vincent’s eyes narrowed.
Hagrid nodded grimly.
“While the Aurors were investigating us…”
“Professor Dumbledore quietly investigated them.”
“Using Legilimency…”
“A Pensieve…”
“And a fair bit of careful questioning…”
“He discovered something strange.”
“One Auror involved in Quirrell’s capture had… dark thoughts that weren’t his own.”
“They kept urging him to visit Vault Seven Hundred and Thirteen.”
“To remove what was inside…”
“And take it out of Britain.”
Vincent immediately understood.
Mental corruption.
“The professor believes it was You-Know-Who’s influence.”
“Probably the same kind he used on Quirrell.”
“But Aurors generally have much stronger mental discipline.”
“He couldn’t possess them directly.”
“He could only influence them.”
Hagrid sighed.
“Unfortunately…”
“Some Aurors come from old pure-blood families.”
“Families where a few ancestors once supported Grindelwald.”
“People already dissatisfied with the way things are.”
“They’re more vulnerable to that sort of temptation.”
“So Professor Dumbledore had me move the package before anyone could act.”
Vincent slowly absorbed the explanation.
Voldemort’s influence had spread farther than he had expected.
No wonder…
Once he returned to power…
The Death Eaters had expanded so quickly.
Hagrid suddenly smiled.
“But thanks to you…”
“The worst of it’s over.”
Vincent blinked.
“Me?”
“Aye.”
“You.”
“After we secured the package…”
“Professor Dumbledore went straight to the Ministry.”
“He met Rufus Scrimgeour.”
“The Head of the Auror Office.”
“Every Auror was ordered to report in.”
“They all had to review their recent memories using specially prepared Pensieves.”
“A handful of corrupted Aurors were discovered.”
“But Professor Dumbledore still wasn’t satisfied.”
“So…”
“He went to Albania himself.”
Vincent listened carefully.
“You-Know-Who’s influence only pushed people to move things out of Britain.”
“It never actually revealed where he was hiding.”
“But you…”
“You told us.”
“You saw where he came from.”
“You heard what was said.”
“You mentioned Albania.”
“Professor Dumbledore concluded that a bodiless soul would eventually return to the place it knew best.”
“So he searched the forests there.”
“He also cast powerful protective enchantments to confuse anyone trying to track You-Know-Who.”
“Even if corrupted Aurors slipped through the investigation…”
“They’d have a difficult time finding him.”
Vincent couldn’t help smiling.
The butterfly effect had changed far more than he expected.
This time…
Dumbledore wasn’t reacting.
He was taking the initiative.
That bought valuable time.
Time Vincent intended to use wisely.
The Horcruxes.
They have to be destroyed before Voldemort regains his strength.
He looked back at Hagrid.
“Is Professor Dumbledore at Hogwarts now?”
“I need to tell him something important.”
Hagrid scratched his beard.
“He should be.”
“When I last heard from him in August…”
“He was still in Albania.”
“He wanted to narrow the search even further.”
“Maybe even trap You-Know-Who somehow.”
“I don’t know whether he managed it.”
“But he said he’d return before the school year began.”
“If you can’t find him…”
Hagrid smiled.
“Go to the Headmaster’s office.”
“If he’s away…”
“Leave a letter in the office fireplace.”
“He’ll get it.”
Vincent nodded thoughtfully.
That would save him a great deal of searching.