The Return to Hogwarts

"It's a reply from Amosta--"

Remus jumped to his feet, glanced at Sirius, and nervously swallowed.

The entire office was sealed off by magic, but Remus broke the seal using the trick Amostah had taught him, letting the owl, whose wings were covered in frost, in.

"Thank you, little one—"

Remus took the note from under the owl's talons and patted the owl's head.

"Hurry up, Remus, see what Blaine said!" Sirius shook his head, complaining, "I can't feel my arm anymore!"

Remus gave a wry smile, while Sirius seemed completely unfazed.

Amosta's reply was very concise, consisting of only a short sentence. Upon seeing this sentence, Remus's expression froze, and then he smiled helplessly.

wow-

Sirius, who had been tied up for most of the day, was finally free. He struggled to stand up, but after trying for a long time, he couldn't succeed and could only lie on the cot, panting heavily as he asked,

"Has Blaine confirmed my innocence?"

"Do not--"

Surprisingly, Remus shook his head and said,

Amosta only replied with one sentence—

"No time!"

Chapter 260 Unusual Concern

What exactly did Remus encounter?

As Remus Lupin left the Owl's Hut and disappeared around the corner of the stairs at the other end of the narrow corridor, Scabbers remained on Malfoy's shoulder, gazing out the door with thoughtful expression in his dark little eyes.

He knew his former friend well; to put it nicely, he was cautious; to put it bluntly, he was particularly pedantic.

Today is Christmas, a day for family reunions. Unless it's something very important, Remus wouldn't be in such a hurry to write to Amosta Blaine on this important holiday!

Crabbe, who was standing nearby, held the roasted lamb chop in his hand to Malfoy's shoulder. Scabbers leaped and landed on Crabbe's swollen palm, gnawing on the lamb chop while pondering the question.

As was his usual practice, at this dangerous moment when one wrong step could lead to certain doom, he didn't want to meddle. However, he couldn't pretend to be indifferent to the issue, because what could possibly cause Remus to act rashly at Hogwarts now?

It can only be related to Sirius Black!

Could it be that Remus has already made contact with Black and completed their 'intelligence reconciliation'?

quack!

Banban's heart suddenly raced, and in her daze, she bit into the hard sheep bone, almost knocking out her front tooth.

Inside the stinking owl's hut, a series of painful chirping sounds rang out.

But something's not right.

After a while, Scabbers, having calmed down, fell into deep thought again. If Remus really knew that he was the one who betrayed James and Lily's whereabouts back then, then the first person he would have notified would have been Dumbledore. There was no doubt about that. Scabbers knew exactly what Dumbledore meant to Remus.

But in any case, something important must have happened at school that he was completely unaware of.

This is not okay!

Banban rubbed her swollen teeth with her missing finger, and this thought popped into her mind.

Having already left the Weasley boy's side, he still lingered at the school. He could have easily erased the memories of those three unlucky Slytherin boys, but instead, he risked being discovered by Dumbledore and Blaine and enslaved them.

Banban did this not just to make it easier to steal food, but he needed to ensure that he had firsthand information. Having lived through the brutal years of war, Banban understood the importance of intelligence very well.

Dumbledore still doesn't seem to have returned, and Remus's act of writing a letter suggests that Amosta Blaine is also not at school. Under these circumstances, the danger of him going out doesn't seem so high.

After swallowing the fragrant mutton in his mouth, Banban gazed at the peaceful white world through the window for a long time before finally making up his mind.

In the festively decorated auditorium, the long tables that were originally used for meals were all moved to the wall, and a dining table that could seat more than a dozen people was placed in the center of the auditorium.

When Harry, Harry, and his companions returned the conspicuous Firebolt to their dormitory and went back down to the Great Hall, most of the seats were already filled with students who had stayed at the school, except for the four heads of the houses and Filch, who was wearing a moldy tailcoat.

"Come quick, Potter!"

Professor McGonagall stood up and waved to the three of them, her tone much gentler than during her usual lectures.

"Before Dumbledore left, he specifically instructed me to create a festive atmosphere for the children at the school!"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat side by side at the end of the table, but it was clear that the atmosphere among the three of them was not particularly harmonious, because they had just had another argument in the common room, the subject of which was undoubtedly the fire bolt that fell from the sky.

Hermione believed that since Professor Lupin had given instructions, Harry should obey them and give the broom to Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick for inspection before Professor Blaine returned to the school.

But Ron, who was particularly quick-witted at times, immediately retorted,

“It’s just a suggestion, Hermione. Lupin didn’t tell Harry he had to do it. We can keep the Firebolt and take it to Professor Blaine for him to check when he gets back. We can simply not use it until then!”

"You're taking advantage of a loophole, Ron!"

Hermione's cheeks flushed pink as she spoke huffingly.

The pros and cons of the two choices are obvious.

Harry didn't think much of it and made the choice that suited his taste better—just kidding, that was a Firebolt, and an ordinary wizard could never even dream of touching its perfectly streamlined broom handle. Even if there was something fishy about the broom, Harry was willing to keep it for a few more days.

"So--"

Professor McGonagall smiled as she watched the three young Gryffindor wizards sit down. Her gaze swept around the room, and she noticed all the young wizards were waiting for her to give her speech.

"I have nothing to say, everyone. Oh, just one thing, let's eat!"

The ethereal clinking of cutlery immediately filled the Great Hall. Harry bent down to pick up a roasted potato, when suddenly, the thumping footsteps coming from the foyer drew everyone's attention.

It's Malfoy—

He looked like he had just run for a while; his hair was wet and his pale cheeks were covered in sweat.

Harry and Ron exchanged a glance, both feeling a bit strange. However, the next second, Snape asked the question that had been bothering them.

"Why is it just you, Draco?"

Professor Snape stared at Malfoy with a suspicious look and said,

"What about Crabbe and Goyle?"

“They’ve eaten, so they didn’t come, Professor—” Malfoy answered the question in a dry voice.

puff!

Ron burst out laughing.

Crabbe and Goyle never seem to have enough to eat? That's practically unheard of at Hogwarts.

Harry immediately nudged Ron with his elbow, because Snape was staring at Ron with a chilling gaze.

Even Ron could see that this was complete nonsense, so there was no reason why Snape couldn't see it. He raised his chin, narrowed his eyes, and hid an imperceptible worry and disappointment in his dark eyes.

With few seats left at the table, Malfoy didn't have many options. After hesitating for a few seconds, he reluctantly sat down between Snape and Professor McGonagall.

"Where is Professor Lu Ping? As far as I know, he should still be at the university. Why didn't he come?"

The ripples caused by that lame joke had barely subsided when Malfoy's nonsensical question once again disrupted the rhythm of the group's Christmas dinner.

too weird!

Harry and Ron immediately turned their gazes toward Malfoy, and even Hermione, who was hesitating whether to speak with Professor McGonagall privately, blinked at Malfoy.

Malfoy actually cares whether Professor Lupin came to dinner or not?!

“I’m quite surprised, Draco?” Snape looked at Malfoy suspiciously. “I always thought you didn’t like him very much.”

"Um--"

Malfoy seemed to realize the abruptness of his question, pursed his lips, and quickly replied,

"I just mailed a letter to my father from the owl's hut, and Professor Lupin also came to mail a letter--"

Snape wanted to ask something more, but Professor McGonagall interrupted him, saying unhappily...

“This is the place for Christmas dinner, Severus, not the Ministry of Magic’s courtroom.”

After saying this, Professor McGonagall looked at Malfoy with a pleased expression.

"It's probably because he's ill again. Professor Lupin told me before that he didn't have much of an appetite, but if you ask me, Mr. Malfoy, he certainly wouldn't mind coming down for a chat if he knew how much you care about him."

Aside from the initial commotion, Malfoy generally behaved normally during the two-hour Christmas dinner, which caused Harry to lose interest in him and instead quietly discuss the information Malfoy had just revealed with Ron and Hermione at the table.

"What do you think—"

Harry chewed on his tender, juicy steak, using the candlestick to block the professors' view, and asked in a low voice,

"Malfoy said he ran into Professor Lupin mailing a letter. Could he be asking about my fire crossbow bolt?"

Hermione, who was sipping her pumpkin soup, rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"In my opinion, Professor Lupin is more concerned about the 'parchment' than the mysteriously obtained fire crossbow bolt!"

Chapter 261 Theft