The Return to Hogwarts

The feeling was even more wonderful than he had dreamed of these past few days. With a gentle touch, the fire bolt reacted, seemingly obeying his thoughts rather than his control.

Harry flew across the stadium on his Firebolt, so fast that the stands turned into a green and gray blur. Moreover, even with his dynamic vision, he could barely distinguish the faces of the crowd on the ground when the Firebolt was at full power!

At that moment, another group of people rose from the ground; these were the Gryffindor team members who were taking off one by one under Wood's command.

Quidditch is not a game that one person can win; the entire Gryffindor team must adapt to Harry's rhythm, which has been greatly enhanced by his acquisition of the Firebolt.

However, compared to Harry's speed, everyone else was as slow as a donkey pulling a millstone.

Harry, like a meteor streaking across the sky, darted into the Gryffindor team practicing their attack formation. He 'fell' in front of Arya Spinnet, eliciting a loud scream from her. Then, Harry began to control his speed and angle, finally reaching a point where his face was five feet from the ground, his broom parallel to the ground, before rapidly rising into the air—thirty feet, forty feet, fifty feet—

"This is not a move that just anyone can make!"

Ron was incredibly excited by what he had just witnessed. He gazed enviously at the figure soaring through the air, seemingly fantasizing about one day being able to fly so gracefully.

"Couldn't he be a little more careful!"

Hermione's expression was far less pleasant. She clutched her hair, which was whipping wildly in the wind, and frowned as she spoke in a disgruntled tone.

"Harry's getting a little too excited, isn't he? This broom, in my opinion, Professor Blaine should have come down and kept an eye on it. If I'm just saying if his judgment is wrong, at least there's still a chance to make amends!"

No one paid any attention to Hermione's complaints; they were all captivated by Harry's spectacular flying skills.

"Harry, I've released the Snitch!"

Seeing that the time was right, Wood shouted to the sky.

Hearing the call, Harry swooped down again. This time, he passed between Fred and George, who were flying side by side. Before the Golden Snitch, which was as elusive as a shadow, could accelerate, Harry caught it tightly in his hand.

A sudden burst of wild cheers erupted on the Quidditch pitch, with Fred and George clapping and shouting behind them.

"One more time, Harry!"

Harry readily complied. He let the Golden Snitch slip through his fingers, first letting it circle the Quidditch pitch once, then quickly gave chase. He used an S-shaped maneuver to bypass several teammates in front of him, and finally suddenly raised his broom, sending it soaring over Katie Bell's head in a leaping arc, finally catching the Golden Snitch behind the hoop!

Under the dark sky, the white snow-capped mountains in the distance and the tall ball ring in the foreground became Harry's backdrop. He turned around on his Firebolt, raised his right hand that had caught the Golden Snitch, and looked down at the pitch like a Quidditch king!

At this moment, apart from cheers, there was nothing else discordant in the stadium.

"His flying is indeed excellent; at least, Malfoy can't compare to Harry."

Hermione clapped her hands and said calmly.

"That scumbag isn't even as fast as Hedwig!"

Ron, his palms red from clapping, cheered and squeezed his way into the Gryffindor team as they landed, intending to ask Harry if he would be allowed to try out the Firebolt later.

"In my opinion, nothing can stop us from winning!"

Wood said firmly, his tone even more resolute than when he spoke outside Professor Blaine's office.

“I bet, Harry,”

Fred patted Harry on the shoulder approvingly.

"Even those Dementors can't catch you."

This was the best training session yet. The appearance of the fire crossbow greatly encouraged the team members, and even Wood, for the first time ever, didn't criticize them at all.

"Can I try out this fire bolt, Harry?"

"Harry's roommate," Seamus said eagerly.

Quidditch is undoubtedly the most popular sport in the wizarding world. It's just that Harry's outstanding talent overshadows the young wizards of his grade. But in fact, most of them have secretly practiced Quidditch in private.

Hey buddy!

Ron glared at Seamus with displeasure.

"Harry and I already agreed that you'd have to go after me in line."

"No one is allowed to touch this broom until our match with Ravenclaw is over!"

Ron and Seamus's attempts failed, because Wood said in a stern voice.

Wood was obsessed with winning the Quidditch trophy and couldn't allow Gryffindor's best chance of winning to be jeopardized. Even if the Firebolt wasn't his, and even if it was Harry's roommate who made the request, nothing could sway him.

Faced with Wood's order to forbid it, Harry could only innocently shrug at the disappointed Ron and Seamus.

Eager to witness the power of the Firebolt, the young Gryffindor wizards skipped breakfast. After Wood announced the completion of their training, they headed towards the castle in twos and threes. Harry comforted Ron and then prepared to return to the Great Hall to find something to eat. However, having achieved his dream and passed his peak of excitement, he suddenly sensed something amiss, as if someone was watching him.

Following the direction from which the strange feeling came, Harry turned his head and immediately showed a surprised expression.

"what happened?"

Hermione, who had always distrusted the Firebolt, immediately noticed that something was wrong with Harry. She followed Harry's gaze and when she saw two figures on the bottom step of the stands, Hermione's delicate eyebrows unconsciously lifted.

It's Crookshank, sitting on the stands looking this way. And it's not all alone; next to it is another dog about the same size as Crookshank.

"Crookshank, you've slipped away from Hagrid again?"

Hermione, realizing what was happening, immediately ran over happily.

Ron was the last to spot the two small animals by the pitch. The moment he saw Crookshanks, his face darkened. He followed Harry reluctantly, muttering to himself as he went.

"Last time it was that cat named Lennie, and this time it's a dog I don't know where it came from. This beast is quite good at making friends. Why can't it give Banban a way out?"

Harry and Ron arrived below the stands, where Hermione had already taken Crookshanks into her arms and was affectionately stroking its furry head.

Ron watched all this with a cold eye, while Harry, whose attention was not on Hermione and her cat, kept staring at the little black dog crouching on the steps.

really weird.

Harry wondered why the dog looked so familiar. And the way it looked at him... Hmm, relief?

Chapter 286 Luck

2023-05-08

"Oh, Crook Mountain!"

Hermione ruffled the ginger cat's head, looking a little guilty but still smiling. "How have you been at Hagrid's lately, Crookshanks?"

Meow--

Crookshanks licked his paws and rubbed his furry face against Hermione's hand.

Seeing that Crookshanks showed no sign of blaming her, Hermione felt even more upset. She took a deep breath, as if gathering her courage, and then turned to look at Ron.

“Ron, I think it’s time for Crookshanks to go back to living in the castle. You can’t.”

Hermione stopped mid-sentence, because Ron had clearly understood what she meant, and his face immediately turned very ugly.

"What do you think—"

Harry stared at the slightly uneasy little black dog and said slowly,

"Where did Crookshanks find this dog?"

Because of Crookshanks, the atmosphere between Hermione and Ron became somewhat awkward. Neither of them answered the question immediately. After a long while, Hermione finally blew her nose and, suppressing her emotions, said...

"It's hard to say, Harry. Maybe Hagrid thought Tooth was a bit lonely, so he found him somewhere."

“Maybe we can ask Hagrid,” Harry suddenly said.

Ron and Hermione were both watching Harry, surprised by his reaction. The little black dog crouching on the steps seemed reluctant to go to Hagrid. It turned around and prepared to run away, but in its current state, it was obviously not as agile as Harry. As soon as it jumped down the steps, Harry grabbed it and pinned it down, making it unable to move.

Harry tossed the Firebolt tucked under his arm to Ron, then grabbed the black dog and ran toward Hagrid's hut at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Ron and Hermione were a little puzzled, but seeing Harry's decisiveness, they could only follow him.

The tightly closed door of the hut said it all. Harry looked a little disappointed, but he still looked around unwillingly, and finally found Tooth Tooth playing with a goblin in the meadow to the west of the hut.

"Hey, Fang!"

Harry called out loudly, and upon hearing his call, Toothbrush immediately stopped fiddling with the unfortunate goblin and ran over happily with its tongue lolling out.

"Where's Hagrid?" Harry patted Tooth's head. "Did he go patrolling the Forbidden Forest?"

Ya Ya shook her head, her eyes fixed on the direction of the school gate.

"Looks like Hagrid's gone out—"

Ron and Hermione then rushed out from behind and, seeing what was happening, Ron shrugged indifferently.

“You seem quite concerned about this dog, Harry?” Hermione asked, a little puzzled. “Is there something wrong with it?”

"I can't say, Hermione—"

Harry was silent for a moment, then he turned the black dog's head around, frowned, and stared into its eyes before speaking.

"But I feel like I've seen it somewhere before, um, it gives me a very familiar feeling."

"Perhaps it's just your imagination, Harry—"

Ron toyed with the firebolt Harry had tossed him, his longing gaze sweeping over the broom's smooth ash shaft and perfectly trimmed branches, and casually remarked...

"Or perhaps you've seen it in Hogsmeade. You know, the villagers there like to keep dogs, both for hunting and for guarding their homes—"

“You’re right, Ron.”

Harry pursed his lips and put the terrified Sirius on the ground. They were now on the Hogwarts campus, and if Harry found any clues and started yelling, Sirius couldn't be sure whether Amostal would arrive faster or the Dementors guarding the school gate would. Those terrifying creatures wouldn't listen to his explanations.

"So what do we do now, Harry? Are you going to leave it here, or take it back to the castle?"

Hermione asked.

"Let's forget about it—"