The two of them chatted casually in the lively pub, as if no one else was around.
If one person talking to a painting might seem a bit strange—an acceptably strange—
Then a cat talking to a painting...
Would be even more acceptable—not!!
Even stranger!!
"What the hell kind of weirdos are all here? This boss's business is getting more and more niche.
Two days ago, a first mate and a ship's Wizard, two idiots, were enough to make one suffer.
Today, a third idiot came.
Who is this? A sailor?!"
Howl slightly turned his head and said softly, "I remember guests who come here shouldn't not recognize me."
It wasn't that he thought he was a big shot, but at least his appearance should be impressive enough.
"Mm-hmm." The man shrugged, grunting dismissively.
The next moment, the entire person flew backward, smashing through the wall.
Howl calmly snorted, a smile playing on his lips. He calmly walked towards the man.
"I remember I warned you last time, didn't I? What did Julius say your name was? Alberk... Anyway, it doesn't matter.
Last time I said, if you laugh again, I'll make sure you don't have a mouth."
"I... I didn't laugh... Sir." Blood flowed from his mouth and nose, his internal organs ached intensely, and it seemed his bones were broken too.
"But I laughed." Howl showed a smile, his hand flashing in mid-air.
A section of blood-red matter fell in mid-air, thrown by Howl onto the ground.
"Mm-hmm." Howl returned a grunt.
Then, he slowly walked back into the pub from the hole. Behind him, the shattered wall that had been broken through quickly closed and recovered, like the wall at the entrance to Diagon Alley.
"Oh... that's..." Sindel felt a bit of a toothache.
"A bit violent, right?" Howl smiled helplessly.
"It's alright... Hmm, I remember there's healing magic, so these aren't big problems. But visually..."
As she spoke, Sindel suddenly tilted her head.
"What's wrong?"
"Someone... someone is talking!" Sindel said.
"Who?" Howl's ears flickered on his head; he hadn't caught any particular sound.
"Oh... it's a girl, she looks about my age," Sindel explained.
"She has long, curly golden hair, and... Hello, it's nice to meet you, my name is Sindel." As she spoke, the girl in the painting suddenly turned her head.
"Mr. Cat, she said her name is Ariana, and she's asking if she can come in? Just to chat or something..."
"Of course." Howl nodded.
After receiving his affirmation, the figure of a girl reappeared within the picture frame.
She had golden-grey long hair in delicate braids, falling over both shoulders, and wore a dark, deep blue long dress. In her hands, she held a brown-covered book, smiling gently.
"Oh, it's you." Howl nodded amiably, then became somewhat uncertain.
He had seen this girl, and had often noticed Dumbledore's gaze briefly lingering on her. And her picture frame on the second floor could even be said to be the cleanest, most spotless item in the entire Pigs Head Bar.
And similarly, neither Aberforth nor Dumbledore had ever introduced her.
Howl felt there was a story behind this.
And he didn't know if he should interact with her without permission.
After all, he did consider the Dumbledore brothers as friends.
"You'd best consult Aberforth; I don't want him to get angry with me," Howl said with a smile, in a joking tone.
"Perhaps your suggestion is correct. I apologize; I was a bit curious at first, and this was indeed somewhat presumptuous," Ariana said softly.
As she spoke, Aberforth also walked over, his face helpless. No wonder Harry had directly taken action that day; it turned out he had learned it from here.
Just about to speak, his throat suddenly stopped.
"Ariana! How are you... you..."
"Brother." The girl in the painting smiled: "I just want to chat."
"But..."
"It's alright, do you want to join us?" Ariana, instead, extended an invitation.
Aberforth's hand trembled slightly, almost imperceptibly. He had always been reluctant to let Ariana experience the outside world too much.
By the way, when was the last time Ariana spoke?! He had forgotten. At least in most cases, she just stood quietly in the picture frame, occasionally swaying slightly.
If it weren't for today, he might have even forgotten that it was a magical painting.
Thinking this, he pulled out a stool and sat down, clasping his hands together: "Ah, chatting is good too. By the way, Ariana, how did you know a painting came today?"
"Because my room suddenly gained a door today," Ariana explained.
"Gained a door?!" Aberforth heard this for the first time.
"When two paintings are physically close, they create a connection," Howl explained. "It's like our line of sight."
"So that's how it is." Aberforth nodded.
Then, after chatting for a while longer, Ariana pursed her lips and invited Sindel to her garden.
"Ariana!" Aberforth was about to dissuade her, but then he heard Ariana say, "Brother, we're talking about the world of paintings!"
"Ah..." Aberforth withdrew his hand. "Is that so..."
Once the two girls had left, Howl said faintly, "Because you're too noisy. You interrupted the girls wanting to chat."
"Is that so?" Aberforth seemed a bit dazed, wiping his face. "It seems... it's somewhat true. It's been too long. I really haven't spoken to her in a long time, after all..."
As he spoke, he took a deep breath and poured himself another drink.
"Your family?" Howl asked. From the beginning until now, he had already had two drinks.
They hadn't chatted for long—hard liquor.
"Yes, Ariana. Our sister. Didn't he mention her to you?"
"No." Howl shook his head, and then a look of course appeared on Aberforth's face.
It seemed there was something between these two brothers.
"Didn't you either?" Howl's lips curled up.
Aberforth frowned, then said, "Nagini, could you get me some bitters?"
"Okay."
Then, Aberforth turned his gaze back. It seemed that Howl's words just now had provoked him a bit. To show that he was not the same as Albus, he began to slowly recount.
"You know, I didn't study during my school days, and one of the reasons was that someone in the family always needed to take care of my sister."
"Was she sick?"
"Sir, here are the bitters you asked for."
"Thanks." Aberforth nodded, vigorously dripping the bitters into the glass.
After taking a satisfying sip, he continued, "No, no, no. I never thought of it as a sickness. But it was indeed due to some issues that my sister, Ariana, became an Obscurial."
And at the moment those words fell, Nagini, who was leaving, suddenly trembled, then shook uncontrollably for no reason.
A moment later, the girl turned around, clutching her chest with a clenched fist: "Sir... I... I... I need to rest."
Aberforth froze for a moment, realizing what his words had contained.
"You don't need my permission," he said softly.
Nagini quickly left the pub, walking off to an unknown place.
Aberforth watched the girl's retreating back, then suddenly gave a bitter smile.
"Forget it, actually... it's not something worth remembering. Time has washed away too much. Continuing to reminisce only adds to the pain brought by fate."
"I'm sorry, I..." Howl shook his head helplessly. He hadn't intended to lead the conversation in that direction.
"Don't say such foolish things." For the first time, Aberforth bluntly felt that Howl's mind wasn't that sharp.
"Cheers!"
"Cheers!"
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