Just as Sirius was feeling deeply confused, unusual ripples suddenly appeared on the surface of the lake, spreading outward in concentric circles. Immediately after, something completely astonishing happened.
The water broke as a colossal, horizontal glass bottle slowly rose from the depths. Moonlight struck the glass, refracting into a cascade of shattered silver light. The bottle was absurdly large, standing at least three stories tall.
Sirius's canine jaw dropped wide open. What on earth was this thing?
The bottle floated away from the water and landed steadily on the shore. It made very little noise, almost as if an invisible hand had gently set it down.
Then, something even more bizarre occurred. A crack suddenly appeared on the surface of the bottle. Wait, no, it was an entrance.
Sirius could not help but crane his neck forward. Only then did he clearly see that there was an actual wooden ship inside the bottle. The ship itself looked perfectly normal, but being sealed inside a giant glass bottle made the entire sight feel exceptionally absurd. He began to wonder if he was hallucinating, trapped in some bizarre dream.
Shifting the focus back to Tin, the cat was just about to step into the Ship in a Bottle when his world suddenly spun upside down. Something had bound his left hind leg, hoisting him into the air, completely inverted.
"Meowl!" Tin let out a miserable shriek, his four paws kicking frantically in the air.
Judging by the sensation, he did not even need to look to know who was responsible. It was that detestable, stupid bird!
Sure enough, Cinder's silhouette appeared in the doorway a second later. The bird flew over to Tin, perched on a stand formed entirely of shadows, and tilted its head to study the suspended undead cat.
Tin twisted his neck frantically to glare back, his eyes brimming with absolute fury. He had gone a full three days without provoking the bird!
Cinder remained completely unmoved, leisurely preening the feathers on its wings before turning its gaze past Tin. The bird had long since noticed the suspicious black dog hiding behind the nearby tree.
"Alright, alright," Maurise muttered, rubbing his temples in exasperation as he disembarked and saw the scene unfolding. "Cinder, put Tin down."
Cinder obediently complied. Tin dropped from midair, landing steadily on his paws. He shook out his ruffled fur and shot Cinder a vicious glare.
'Just you wait!'
But Cinder paid him no mind whatsoever, keeping its gaze firmly fixed behind the cat. At the same time, Sirius noticed the leaping flames dancing within the bird's eye sockets. He hurriedly shrank back behind the tree trunk, not even daring to breathe. Had he been spotted?
It did not matter anyway. He was in his Animagus form, so no one could recognize his true identity.
Tin also sensed that something was amiss. Following Cinder's line of sight, he spotted a small segment of a black tail poking out from behind the trunk. He immediately recognized his newly recruited lackey. What was this dog doing here so late instead of going home?
"Meow?" Tin called out curiously.
Realizing he had been exposed, Sirius stopped hiding and trotted out from behind the tree, heading toward Maurise.
He had already checked the Gryffindor common room earlier and confirmed that Peter was not with Ron. That rat could be hiding in absolutely any corner of Hogwarts by now. Although Sirius had no idea where this bizarre ship came from, it was undoubtedly an excellent place to hide something. He needed to find an opportunity to sneak inside and search it. The student standing in front of him might just be his breakthrough.
Maurise looked at the approaching black dog and asked Tin with a hint of confusion, "Is this your friend?"
A dog of this size was truly a rare sight. Did it belong to one of the students? No, judging by its hygiene, this must be a stray, he thought. However, its eyes were remarkably clear and looked highly intelligent.
Hearing this, Tin proudly tilted his head upward. "Meow."
"It is your lackey?" Maurise's expression turned a bit peculiar.
Tin nodded. Then, his eyes lit up as if an idea had just struck him, and he meowed excitedly at his master.
Maurise paused. "Are you saying you want me to turn him into an undead creature?"
"Meow! (Yes!)" Tin Can raised his tail high, his eyes brimming with anticipation. Since he could not defeat Cinder in a fight, recruiting more muscle was the logical next step. His master always spoiled him and would surely agree.
Maurise burst into laughter. "This dog is still alive, so I cannot convert it into an undead creature. You are oversimplifying things."
While he did not mind getting Tin another playmate, this request was a bit much. Tin Can became visibly disappointed.
Maurise stroked his chin and crouched down to look at the black dog. "I bet you can understand what I am saying. So, tell me... do you mind dying?"
"?"
Sirius nearly choked on his own saliva. What did he mean, 'do you mind dying'? Was that even a question a human would ask?
Seeing no reaction from the dog, Maurise shook his head slightly. It seemed Tin's wish could not be fulfilled for the time being. He could hardly just murder the dog and force it into an undead conversion. That would be wildly inappropriate.
Maurise stood up and dusted off his hands. It was getting late, and it was time to head back to the castle.
Sirius hesitated for a moment before stepping forward and nudging the boy's leg with his head. Maurise looked down at him in surprise. "What is it?"
The black dog lifted his head and barked once toward the Ship in a Bottle.
Maurise raised an eyebrow. "Do you want to go inside and take a look?"
Sirius nodded quickly. He had only barked to test the waters, completely unprepared for the boy to guess his intentions so accurately.
Maurise suddenly felt that something was off. Why would a random stray dog want to enter his Ship in a Bottle?
Wait a second.
He narrowed his eyes and directed his mental perception toward the black dog. A few seconds later, his suspicion was confirmed. The corners of Maurise's mouth curled up into a faint smile.
An Animagus. This filthy, massive black dog standing before him was actually a wizard in disguise.
How interesting. He immediately asked, "Who are you? You are an Animagus, right? A professor or a student?"
Sirius completely stiffened. How was this possible? Had he been discovered? However, he quickly forced himself to calm down. The way the boy phrased the question meant he probably had not confirmed his true identity yet.
Using his paw, Sirius scratched two words into the dirt: Guess who.
Maurise looked down at the crooked letters in the dirt and chuckled. "Quite humorous, aren't you?"
Sirius breathed a sigh of relief internally. He was safe for now.
"A professor, then?" Maurise pressed.
Sirius nodded without a shred of hesitation. Whatever it took, he needed to bluff his way through this first.
Maurise watched him, nodding thoughtfully. He was not entirely surprised. Even though Professor McGonagall was the only officially registered Animagus at Hogwarts, who really knew? Hogwarts was a place full of hidden talents. There were plenty of highly capable individuals lurking around.
Well, he might as well play along and guess.
Maurise first looked down to confirm the animal's gender.
"Male," he noted. "Among the male professors at Hogwarts, the ones capable of becoming an Animagus could be..."
He paused, sweeping his gaze critically over Sirius.
"Professor Lupin? No, it would only make sense for his Animagus form to be a wolf. Professor Flitwick, then? That is not right either. The size difference is far too drastic. It surely cannot be Hagrid..."