The Hogwarts Emerald

Chapter 345: I've said it before, no nesting dolls allowed
Harry had seen a large black dog frequently throughout the school year, first on Privet Drive, the day Harry ran away from home on the Knight Bus, and several times during Quidditch matches.

Harry hadn't told anyone about his worries, not even Ron.

In the magic world, seeing a black dog is called "unlucky". It's not the unlucky kind that grows red hair in old age, but the real unlucky. Many wizards firmly believe in "unlucky". They can even list a long list of people who died of "unlucky".

Today, seeing the big black dog again, Harry's heart suddenly sank while running, and an ominous premonition arose in his heart.

Near the Whomping Willow, Ron hugged the mouse that Peter had turned into again, and he kept shouting at Garlon and Crookshanks to get out of the way. But Garlon and Crookshanks had no intention of leaving, and instead stared at the mouse in Ron's arms with eager eyes.

Just as Harry was about to walk over to pull Ron up, he saw a huge, black dog with gray eyes rushing towards him swiftly.

Harry reached out to pull out his wand, but he was too slow. As soon as his hand touched the wand, the big black dog pounced on him.

The fall knocked Harry dizzy, and by the time he recovered, Ron had been dragged away by the big black dog and disappeared into the trunk of the Whomping Willow.

I don't know when it started, but the Whomping Willow also learned to judge people by their behavior. Facing Ada, the Whomping Willow was timid, but facing Harry and Hermione, the Whomping Willow attacked with heavy punches.

Finally, he met someone he could beat, and the Whomping Willow waved its branches wildly. If the Whomping Willow could speak, it would probably say to Harry: Boy, the Whomping Willow has already let you go, and you dare to come and die!

The swaying branches made Harry and Hermione look very embarrassed, and the constant waving of the branches made them feel a little desperate.

As if he understood his master's despair, Crookshanks rushed forward, and ginger-colored ball lightning appeared again. Crookshanks pressed his front paw on a knot on the tree trunk, and the Whomping Willow, which had been so arrogant just now, immediately stopped moving.

Crookshanks looked back at Hermione, then went into the hole under the tree trunk. Garlon, the follower, was also very dedicated, and he followed Crookshanks in.

Before entering the tunnel, Garlon barked at Harry and Hermione several times, signaling them to follow quickly. Worried about Ron's safety, Harry and Hermione did not hesitate and quickly went into the cave.

The secret passage under the Whomping Willow leads to the Twilight Shack (Screaming Shack). After years of renovation by Ada, this secret passage is no longer as low as it used to be.

Harry and Hermione looked at the secret passage in front of them in surprise. The ground was paved with flat tiles, and there was a torch on the wall every few steps. Whenever Harry and Hermione passed by, the torch would automatically light up to illuminate the road under their feet.

"Where does this tunnel lead to?" Hermione asked breathlessly behind Harry.

"I'm not sure... it's on the Marauder's Map, and Fred and George mentioned it, but they just mentioned it casually." Harry said, "It should also lead to Hogsmeade..."

The two anxious men moved quickly through the secret passage, fearing that if they took a step late, Ron would be eaten as dinner by the big black dog.

At the end of the secret passage is a half-open door with a sign on it. If you look closely, you will find that the words on the sign were not written at the same time.

The line "No nesting dolls allowed" below the sign must have been added recently.

The space behind the wooden door was unexpectedly clean and tidy. The air was filled with a faint medicinal fragrance, and the entrance hall was lit with soft lights, giving people a warm feeling.

Through the window, they could just see Hogsmeade, and Harry and Hermione already knew where this was.

With their wands raised, Harry and Hermione tiptoed through the hallway and saw the off-white Galleon waiting for them on the stairs. Galleon turned around and ran upstairs, and Harry and Hermione quickly followed.

A door stood wide open on the landing, and Ron's low groaning could be heard from behind it. Harry and Hermione exchanged one last look and nodded.

Harry clenched his wand and rushed in. He found that the room was fully equipped with furniture needed for living, even a piano and a guitar. Crookshanks was lying on the soft sofa, meowing at them, while Ron was leaning on the sofa, hugging his injured leg.

Harry and Hermione immediately rushed to Ron and anxiously asked him about his situation. They then learned from Ron that this was a trap set by Sirius Black.

There was no big black dog at all. The black dog Harry saw was Sirius Black!
The door slammed shut, and Sirius appeared in Harry's sight. He didn't look like a fugitive at all, with a ruddy complexion and well-fitting clothes, which was very different from the crazy image on the wanted poster.

"I knew you would come to save your friend." Sirius said, his voice no longer hoarse, but became very charming, "As brave as your father, Harry."

Sirius originally just wanted to praise Harry, after all, father is the first hero in the hearts of many boys, but Sirius didn't know that his mention of James was tantamount to dancing wildly in a minefield.

Hearing about his father, hearing Sirius Black dare to mention his father, a wave of hatred rose from Harry's chest, squeezing out the fear in his heart. Harry raised his wand and pointed it at Sirius, but before he could make a move, his wand was disarmed. Not only was Harry's wand disarmed, but Hermione's wand also flew out of her hand. In terms of dueling skills, Harry is really not good enough now.

"No, Harry!" cried Hermione in horror.

"If you want to kill Harry, you have to kill us too!" Ron said fiercely. He dragged his injured leg and stood up reluctantly.

"I am happy to witness your friendship." Sirius said, "James and I were like this back then. We were both willing to die for each other."

As an excellent wizard, what should he do without his wand? Of course, he should fight in close combat and show his opponent what a close combat wizard is. That's what Harry did. Driven by anger, Harry rushed straight towards Black.

"How dare you mention him? You betrayed him! You killed him! You traitor!" Harry shouted angrily with red eyes.

After all, Sirius had just recovered from a serious injury, and was still a little weak. In addition, he was not prepared, so he was knocked down by Harry and pressed under him. Harry raised his fist angrily and hit Sirius regardless of anything.

Sirius dodged Harry's punches and said, "Are you going to kill me, Harry? Don't you like the Firebolt I gave you? I remember you loved flying brooms the most when you were a child. Your first toy broom was given to you by me..."

Sirius kept on talking about what happened before Harry was one year old, but Harry, in anger, didn't listen to a word he said and kept punching Sirius with his little fists.

Suddenly, Harry found himself inexplicably floating in the air, and getting farther and farther away from Sirius until he fell on the sofa.

In the shocked eyes of Harry, Ron and Hermione, Remus Lupin rushed into the room. Lupin asked Sirius breathlessly, "Where is he?"

With the help of Lupin, Sirius got up from the ground and said excitedly: "Remus, I found him, we found him!"

Sirius pointed to the sofa where Harry and Ron were, and Lupin also looked over. Lupin and Sirius' murderous eyes made Harry, Ron and Hermione misunderstand the two even more.

Ron struggled to move his body to stand in front of Harry, while Hermione stood in front of Harry and Ron with her arms outstretched, as if they were playing chicken.

"Professor Lupin!" Harry shouted. He couldn't understand Lupin's behavior. Did he teach him the Patronus Charm just to gain his trust? Did he take care of him for today?

Another person who couldn't understand Lupin's behavior was Hermione. The little girl screamed hysterically: "I have always trusted you so much! I have always kept it a secret for you! You..."

"Calm down, Hermione." Lupin calmed himself down and said as calmly as possible, "We can explain..."

Harry was shaking all over, not because of fear, but because of anger. Harry shouted at Lupin: "I trusted you so much, and it turns out you have always been his friend!"

"Listen to me, Harry." Lupin tried to calm Harry down. "Things are not what you think they are. Everyone has got it wrong..."

The anger of two children in adolescence cannot be easily appeased. Even Lupin cannot deal with Harry and Hermione with just a few words.

"No!" Hermione screamed, "Harry, don't believe him, he's a werewolf! Ada knows this too!"

Lupin's facial muscles twitched strangely, and he said, "I admit that I am a werewolf. But neither of us, Sirius and I, wants to hurt Harry!"

"Just as you said, little girl, Ada also knows about this." Sirius added, "She is really the most unlovable girl I have ever seen, much worse than Lily!"

The names of Lily and Ada seemed to have magical powers. The room, which had been tense and looked like a fight to the death, became eerily quiet.

Lupin first put away his wand, then took Harry's wands and walked towards them. Halfway through, Lupin suddenly stopped, put the three wands on the ground, and then pushed the wands on the ground towards Harry.

When the wand rolled to their feet, Harry and the other two picked it up cautiously, their eyes always on Lupin and Sirius. Lupin spread out his empty hands, slowly stepped back, and pulled Sirius back with him.

Lu Pingfang didn't stop until he retreated to the wall. He said, "I've returned your wands. It's one against three. I think we can talk calmly now."

"What are you talking about?" Another voice suddenly came from the other side of the door. "Are you talking about your future life in Azkaban? There's really nothing to talk about."

(End of this chapter)