The workload of making the Marauder's Map was already enormous, but as the client, Eda and the twins kept adding more requirements to themselves as the developers, making the already massive project even bigger.
"Programmer" Eda didn't want to go bald at a young age, so she didn't want to fix bugs, and stubbornly refused to admit that the map had errors.
"Testers" Fred and George, on the other hand, carried forward a spirit of fearing neither hardship nor difficulty, determined to drag Eda along to check whether the map was actually wrong.
Just as the twins were hauling Eda out of the room, they were stopped at the entrance by a cat and a dog.
The pair were Crookshanks and Garlon. They should have been locked in the girls' dormitory and forbidden from going out, yet here they were at the Twilight Cottage, both looking filthy.
The cream-colored Garlon had practically turned black, covered in mud, and even his round little eyes were injured, as if he had been scratched by a cat.
Crookshanks was also dusty and dirty, though uninjured—he just had some bloodstains on him from somewhere.
Fred and George suddenly stopped, and Eda took the chance to break free from their grip. Then she saw the cat-and-dog duo blocking the way.
Looking at Garlon, who seemed like he had just finished some wild, chaotic romp, Eda's eyes were full of disdain. At this point, she didn't even care how he had escaped from the dormitory.
Garlon barked nonstop at his owner, Eda, his voice sounding anxious. He kept circling around her, rubbing his head against her legs, as if trying to get her to follow him.
Crookshanks also meowed, and after taking a couple of steps, would turn back to look at the three of them. When he saw that they still weren't moving, his cries became sharper and more urgent.
"Move aside. A good dog doesn't block the way." Eda lightly kicked Garlon, not letting the filthy blackened dog linger around her feet, and turned back into the cottage.
But Garlon didn't give up. He followed Eda into the house, leaving a trail of muddy footprints behind. Crookshanks anxiously slipped past the twins and rushed in as well.
Inside the cottage, Garlon kept trying to get close to Eda, but every time he did, he was met with her foot. After several attempts like this, with no other choice, Garlon suddenly pounced on Eda's foot, bit onto the hem of her robe, and pulled hard toward the door.
"Maybe we should follow them and take a look?" George suggested.
"Yeah, judging by how anxious they look, it seems like something really big has happened," Fred added.
Seeing how anxious and pitiful Garlon and Crookshanks looked, the twins couldn't help but feel soft-hearted. The two brothers were reminded of Buckbeak the hippogriff.
By now, the committee's hearing should be nearing its end.
Eda remained unmoved; she was growing more and more dissatisfied with Garlon's behavior. But Garlon refused to give up. No matter whether Eda smacked him with her hand or kicked him with her foot, he clamped onto her robe and wouldn't let go.
After all, people aren't made of stone. Eda finally relented and said, "Let go. I'll go with you."
Hearing this, Garlon immediately released her. After barking excitedly twice, he and Crookshanks took the lead out of the cottage. The twins followed curiously, while Eda let out a helpless sigh, quietly making up her mind.
After leaving the tunnel, the cat and dog hurried ahead anxiously, turning back every few steps to check whether the two-legged ones were following. The twins kept close behind, even turning back now and then to urge the preoccupied Eda to walk faster.
Led by the cat and the dog, Eda and the twins entered the Forbidden Forest, continuing deeper along a narrow path.
Sunlight couldn't penetrate the dense layers of leaves, making the forest dim even during the day. Following Crookshanks as he weaved back and forth, they soon strayed off the path.
As they moved deeper through the forest, there were no sounds other than snapping branches and rustling leaves. The trees grew denser, and the light dimmer. Eda and the twins raised their wands, relying on the glow at the tips to see the ground beneath their feet.
The Forbidden Forest seemed endless. Their robes became covered in dust, and in some places were torn by low-hanging branches and thorny vines. Fallen logs, roots, and stumps were everywhere—they had long since lost their sense of direction.
After walking for about another hour, Garlon and Crookshanks finally stopped. They climbed up a steep slope and stood there, anxiously waiting for Eda and the twins to make their way up.
The twins had lost their initial excitement—Fred and George now felt like grabbing Garlon and giving him a good beating.
Eda's expression was even darker. She had already guessed their destination, and even while climbing, she kept her wand tightly gripped in her hand.
When the three of them finally struggled their way to the top, they found that visibility there was much better than below. Garlon and Crookshanks stood in front of a thick cluster of branches and leaves. Looking closely, one could see that behind the dense foliage was a concealed opening.
The cat and dog slipped into the narrow entrance first, making urging sounds to call the three of them in. The twins readied their wands again and, in their usual formation, followed inside.
The entrance was very low, forcing the three of them to crawl forward in a line. Fortunately, the interior wasn't too dark, and the light from their Lumos spells was enough for them to see one another.
After several dozen steps, the space inside became much wider—wide enough for all three of them to stand upright. On the ground lay partially eaten food, which looked very familiar. Some of it came from the Hogwarts kitchens, and some of it had come from Eda.
Seeing the French-printed wrapping on the ground, Eda finally understood why her snacks had been disappearing so quickly. With a cream-colored dog stealing under the guise of guarding them, how could they not vanish fast?
A dark, shadowy figure was curled up in the corner of the pit. His build was thin, and his clothes were so worn and filthy that their original color was unrecognizable. A patch of blood on his shoulder stood out starkly.
"Sirius Black!" the twins said at the same time.
They had already suspected it on the way, but seeing Black actually appear before them still shocked them.
Black lay curled on the ground without moving. Crookshanks circled him anxiously, while Garlon kept licking his face, as if trying to wake the "sleeping" fugitive.
The twins pointed their wands at Black on the ground. The light from their Lumos spells was just enough to make his features visible.
Black's face looked haggard. Twelve years in prison, combined with more than half a year as a fugitive, had stripped away the handsomeness of his youth. His black hair was messy and filthy, and a foul odor clung to him.
"What do we do?" Fred was at a loss. "Do we take him back?"
"Or… kill him?" George's voice trembled slightly as he kept adjusting his grip on his wand.
The moment George said that, both twins felt a jolt in their hearts. Even if Black's "crimes" were unforgivable, the fact that they had so readily spoken the words "kill him"—when had they become like this?
Crookshanks, who had been circling Black, suddenly stopped. It arched its back and let out a hissing warning, its large round eyes fixed firmly on the three of them.
In the dark cave, Crookshanks's eyes shone with a frightening light.
Eda also pointed her wand at Black. There was a trace of hesitation in her heart—kill him, or not?
At that moment, the curled-up Black suddenly twitched, then slowly opened his eyes. His gray eyes were once striking, but now they were dull and empty, devoid of life.
"Lily…?" Black's voice was very weak and slurred. "Lily… James… I'm sorry…"
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