A black cat opened its eyes from within the bright mist.
The mist here was unlike any mist a wizard had ever seen.
It wasn't that the surrounding scenery was shrouded in cloud-like vapor, but rather that the cloud-like vapor had not yet formed the surrounding scenery. The ground the black cat stood on seemed to be white, neither hot nor cold, just a presence, a flat, empty something.
It looked back, and a large, dilapidated Victorian building stood there.
Around the large Victorian building, a run-down street gradually extended outward.
The street wasn't long originally, only reaching near the black cat's feet. Now, however, it completely enveloped the Victorian building, and blurry shops even appeared.
The black cat gazed with mild curiosity for a while, then turned to look at its own fluffy chest.
There was a tuft of silver-white fur and a rune stone with a blurry outline.
Aside from that, there was nothing else.
The black cat was visibly disappointed.
The Resurrection Stone hadn't been brought in. Why was that?
If items couldn't be brought into the Borderland, why was the blank rune still there?
If the Borderland allowed items to pass through, why not the Resurrection Stone?
The black cat felt intensely curious, and it knew that perhaps someone could answer its questions.
So it set off. As it ran with agility, the small tuft of silver-white fur on its chest grew larger. This wasn't because there was more silver-white fur, but because the black cat itself was growing larger.
Time in the Borderland seemed to slow down. An unknown amount of time passed.
Perhaps because the black cat had walked far enough, or perhaps because it had stayed long enough.
It saw several wooden houses. These wooden houses looked different, but they all shared a common feature: they had a small door.
Sometimes a few words were written on them: [Knock for Good Luck], and sometimes it was written directly: [Reserved for the Lucky Black Cat].
Doubt arose in the ink-dyed, cloud-embroidered Cat Sidhe's mind. What were these?
What were these houses?
What had it done to encounter a place where more wizards gathered, even though there were no wizards in these houses?
Even stranger, what did these words mean?
Lucky Black Cat—was it the one it was thinking of?
The ink-dyed, cloud-embroidered Cat Sidhe shook its head and passed by in confusion.
After another period of running.
It arrived at a small cottage.
Smoke could be seen puffing from the chimney, and beside the wooden wall was a front yard full of blooming flowers.
The ink-dyed, cloud-embroidered Cat Sidhe vanished, and a black cat naturally stepped into the front yard, naturally passing by several special objects placed in front of the yard.
—A rusty sword, some colorful plants, a beautiful scepter.
The black cat walked into the garden. Copper-bottomed flowerpots hung from some upright pumpkin vines.
Curled ferns and vines hung from the flowerpots. As the black cat walked under them, they once again tried to groom the black cat's fur.
Looking around, looking around, the black cat arrived at the wooden door. It raised a paw and knocked, ignoring the small door below and the "Reserved for Black Cat" sign.
It was a wizard, not a real cat.
The door creaked open. Facing it was a pine tree hung with colorful lights. Under the lights was a fluffy orange rug, and on the rug were round stools and a plush toy of a black cat.
"Green, so glad to see you."
Helena said with pleasant surprise.
The black cat leaped onto a round stool. A teapot floated over and poured steaming pear juice into the round cup in front of the black cat.
The black cat's whiskers were blurred by the steam, and its ears twitched.
Lady Helena was even more energetic. Before, she wouldn't have said such things.
"You found us again. It seems we've been connected by threads again."
Ravenclaw was playing a special kind of chess with Helena. Sean recognized it at a glance as U-No-Poo Wizard Chess.
How did U-No-Poo Wizard Chess get here?
"You lost. It seems Ravenclaw's wisdom doesn't always work."
Helena smiled triumphantly because Rowena's knight had slapped her own king flying. The king screamed and fell to the ground, headless.
"What a failed king, even his own knight wanted to kill him..."
Rowena sighed.
"I'm more curious about who made such Wizard Chess? Making wizards play a game based entirely on luck?"
"Who knows?"
Helena stole a glance at the black cat and waved her arm lightly, packing up the chess pieces.
"Victory is so difficult because luck is on your side, dear Helena."
Rowena said with unknitted brows.
"So, my student, dear Mr. Lucky Black Cat, what question can't be answered even in memory?"
The black cat had already jumped around the chessboard. It was certain now; this was U-No-Poo Wizard Chess.
"You look confused. This chess set was brought by Helena."
Rowena Ravenclaw said.
"Teacher Ravenclaw, can items travel freely in the Borderland?"
The black cat asked.
"No, they cannot."
Rowena said.
"Then..."
The black cat's tail stopped wagging.
"Look at your blank rune. Is it really a blank rune?"
Rowena smiled mischievously.
The black cat hurriedly looked at its soul Horcrux.
"Isn't it shaped like a kitten?"
Rowena's smile grew even brighter.
The black cat rubbed its eyes with its paws, surprised to find that the blank rune had indeed changed shape.
"You trust her too much!"
Helena interrupted Rowena, and at the same time, the blank rune returned to being a stone slab.
"That's not funny."
The black cat seemed to understand something, curling up and looking at its blank rune.
"She loves to tease people... isn't it annoying..."
Helena sat beside the black cat.
"Green, let me tell you. If you firmly believe an item exists, it will be brought to the Borderland."
The black cat's ears twitched.
"So, if you waver, the Borderland will confiscate your magic."
Helena explained slowly.
"I understand, Helena."
The black cat's guess was confirmed.
He couldn't help but think of the rare description of the Borderland in the original book:
"Harry wished he was clothed. The wish had barely formed in his mind when robes appeared a short distance away. He took them and put them on: they were soft, clean, and warm. How strange, they just appeared like that, the moment the thought occurred to him..."
What a wondrous place.
Perhaps the most magical place of all.
A wizard's wisdom and emotions flow naturally here, turning into bizarre balls of mist;
A wizard's magic completely transforms into the power of belief. When a wizard believes in themselves, with firm faith, magic is born from it.
"How do I believe?"
The black cat discovered the final question.