The Return to Hogwarts

Of the four houses, one was indifferent, and two hoped Gryffindor would lose. This atmosphere of watching the game was far from friendly to Gryffindor. However, Gryffindor, known as the House of Courage, was not afraid of such a scene. Most of the young wizards in the house were shouting at the top of their lungs, hoping that their team could feel their determination to support them.

"Oh, sorry, Remus--"

Hagrid came up the steps from behind the stands. He spotted a seat behind Hermione and Ron, so he tiptoed carefully past Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick, but accidentally bumped into Professor Lupin, who stumbled and almost fell off the stands.

"It's alright, Hagrid—"

Remus rubbed his aching shoulder and smiled wryly. Just as he was about to ask Hagrid why he was so late, a small black dog suddenly popped out from Hagrid's messy hair that was draped over his shoulders.

The moment their eyes met, Remus recognized the little black dog's true form. He opened his mouth in surprise, only to receive a slightly smug look in return.

At that moment, Hermione, drawn by the commotion behind her, turned around and saw Sirius perched on Hagrid's shoulder.

"How did you bring it here, Hagrid? Where is Crookshank?"

"I'm catching goblins with Tooth in the vegetable garden. It's not like I'm bringing it along, Hermione."

Hagrid poked the little black dog's cheek with his finger and said in an annoyed tone,

"I was just about to leave when this little guy ran towards the sports field. It took me a lot of effort to catch him and keep him inside. But after only a few steps, he jumped out of the window, and no matter how much I tried to shoo him away, it was no use."

Remus gave a wry smile. He had heard Amostella mention that Sirius lived in the Forbidden Forest, but he never imagined that he had become so close to Hagrid.

"Oh, damn it!"

Ron suddenly let out a regretful cry, and the young wizards in the stands nearby all showed the same reaction. Professor McGonagall clenched her fists and held them to her chest, so nervous that she held her breath.

"What just happened?"

Watching Harry rapidly increase the distance from the base of a pillar, Hermione asked anxiously.

"Harry almost caught the Snitch, but the Ravenclaw beater hit the Runner at Harry, interrupting his attack!"

Ron said angrily.

The pace of the match was extremely intense. Less than twenty minutes into the game, the score between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw had already reached 80 to 0. Moreover, Ravenclaw's Seeker seemed to have found a way to deal with Harry. She had given up on competing with Harry to see who could catch the Golden Snitch first and was simply flying around Harry with all her might, trying to distract him.

"Despicable act!"

Hermione realized what Cho Chang was up to and said angrily, "Why can't we just have a fair match!"

"Your statement isn't entirely objective, Hermione—"

Remus glanced at Sirius and said with a smile,

"Miss Cho Chang's choice is very wise, isn't it? She can't possibly outrun Harry with his Firebolt."

That being said, Cho Chang's approach was clearly unpopular, especially among the young Gryffindor wizards. They could accept being defeated head-on in a tournament, but strategy and tactics were seen as no different from conspiracies and tricks.

"Harry, now is not the time for you to play the gentleman!"

On the field, Wood yelled at the hesitant Harry, "If you need to, knock her off the broom!"

“I understand, Wood!”

Harry responded guiltily, then turned his head and saw that Cho Chang was still not far behind him. The wind made the beautiful Asian girl from Ravenclaw's hair fly wildly, and she had obviously noticed Harry's gaze. In the golden sunlight, she smiled at Harry.

In that instant, Harry's heart skipped a beat, and an inexplicable feeling of suffocation rushed into his mind, making the hand holding the broom handle feel slightly numb!

This feels really strange!

Harry thought to himself, but now it was the game, and he didn't have time to worry about why he felt a little disappointed when he looked away from Cho Chang's smiling face. He forced himself to focus on the game.

He certainly couldn't do what Wood suggested and knock Cho Chang off the broom. If it were Malfoy, he wouldn't mind doing that.

But he had to get away from Qiu Zhang; if he let her keep staring at him like that, he wouldn't be able to do anything in the game.

After a brief moment of thought, Harry had an idea. He pressed down on the broom handle and swooped down to the ground at top speed. Sure enough, Cho thought he had seen the Snitch and wanted to catch up quickly.

Everything in their vision blurred as the two plummeted through the air at an exaggerated speed. When they were about thirty feet from the ground, Harry suddenly snapped the broom shut and, after a brief deceleration, shot back into the air. Cho was caught off guard by this and her feet slid across the lawn for quite a distance before she regained control of her body.

And that's exactly what Harry wanted to see. Otherwise, with his flying skills, he could have easily halved the braking distance!

Harry shot upwards like a bullet, and while Cho was still controlling his broom, his gaze swept across the entire pitch, and then he saw the Snitch glittering in the sky above the Ravenclaw side of the pitch.

The world fell silent. The only sound Harry could hear was his own heartbeat. When his fingertips touched the cold metal ball, Mrs. Hooch's whistle rang out across the stadium, and Harry finally heard the jubilant sound that shattered the clouds!

For two whole months, the young Gryffindor wizards had been holding a grudge over their loss in the last match due to the Dementors' intrusion, and their frustration was finally released at this moment.

Many people surrounded Harry to express their excitement. Harry looked around and found Ron and Hermione struggling to push forward at the back of the crowd, as well as Hagrid standing there like a wall. At the same time, he also noticed the little black dog on Hagrid's shoulder.

The little black dog behaved very strangely. It sat on Hagrid's shoulder, patting him with its two front paws like a person, and its eyes were glistening with tears.

This scene was so strange that Harry rubbed his eyes, almost thinking he was dreaming, but it was true, the dog was behaving just like a human, celebrating his victory.

Chapter 289 Resurrection from the dead?

2023-05-12

The defeat in the last match was a huge blow to Gryffindor, so when they defeated Ravenclaw this time, the young wizards acted as if they had won the Quidditch Cup. Harry didn't even have time to study the little black dog's illogical and human-like behavior before he was surrounded by his classmates and taken back to the castle. Now, they needed a celebration to mark this victory.

Fred and George disappeared for two hours, and when they returned, they were carrying a huge pile of butterbeer, pumpkin soda, and several large bags of Honeydukes candy.

How did you get these?

Angelina Johnson asked as George tossed the peppermint toad candy into the crowd.

“With a little help from Moonface, Wormtail, Bigfoot, and Prongs,” Fred whispered into Harry’s ear.

"The secret passage has been opened?"

Harry looked surprised. He thought that Professor Blaine had sealed off all the secret passages marked on the Marauder's Map since the last time they went to Hogsmeade through the secret passage. At that time, he had informed Fred and George of this news, hoping that they would not provoke Professor Blaine.

"It's been a while now—"

George leaned closer and said in a slightly sentimental voice, "Professor Blaine is such a good person, isn't he? He was probably afraid that the young wizards would go crazy from the boring lessons, so he specially left some ways for everyone to have some fun."

"I'm sure you haven't forgotten--"

Hermione, who was chatting and laughing with Ginny, overheard the conversation between the boys and said in an annoyed tone,

"Professor Blaine's 'eyes and ears' are everywhere in the castle."

"But he was out on errands today and wasn't at Hogwarts. Many young wizards saw him at breakfast!"

Ron said with a grin.

Professor Dumbledore has left Hogwarts, and Professor Blaine is also not at the school today. If Sirius Black wanted to cause trouble, this was the perfect opportunity.

Although he was curious about what the two of them had been doing, the thought that popped into his mind made Harry's heart, which was excited about winning the game, flutter slightly.

It can't be such a coincidence, can it? Sirius Black's information couldn't possibly be that accurate.

Harry realized he was being a bit of a worrier, so he put the thought aside, raised his glass, and approached Seamus, who was respectfully squeezing through the crowd to stand before him.

As soon as the warm beer went down his throat, the slight, imagined unease he had just felt completely vanished from his mind.

Just then, the portrait of the Fat Lady opened, and Percy walked in looking displeased. He ignored the messy lounge, instead grabbing a bottle of Butterbeer and raising it at Harry before downing most of it in one go.

"What's wrong, Percy?"

Ginny covered her mouth and chuckled, "Isn't your girlfriend willing to pay you ten Galleons?"

Upon hearing Ginny's question, Percy's face darkened even more, and he said sullenly,

"Penelope said she was willing to make the bet with me because she didn't know Harry had the Firebolt. She threatened to break up with me if I brought it up again."

A sudden burst of laughter near the fireplace drowned out all the jubilant noise in the common room.

A steady stream of young wizards joined the celebration, and the common room was bustling all day long, even during lunch and dinner.

It was nine o'clock in the evening. Harry, who had drunk a lot of beer and soda, collapsed weakly on the sofa. Ron was not much better off than Harry. He was squatting on the floor, leaning on the coffee table, his eyes were glazed, and drool was seeping from the corner of his mouth. Only Hermione was in relatively good condition. She occupied a coffee table by herself and was engrossed in reading a book called "Family Life and Social Habits of British Muggles".

Harry stared at the delicate candlelight hanging from the ceiling for a long time, his eyes starting to sting. He lowered his head and rubbed his eyes, wondering if he should stop. But then Colin, a second-year student, suddenly appeared, snapping photos with a camera, which made his eyes hurt terribly.

It's time to rest.

As Harry thought this, he stood up, ready to greet Ron, but his movements froze as his gaze swept over the doorway behind the Fat Lady, his face flushed with alcohol and filled with confusion.

The noise in the room suddenly and strangely disappeared. Harry tilted his head and stared at the little thing crouching at the entrance of the hole. He thought Colin's flash was making him hallucinate, so he blinked and looked again. But it turned out that what he saw was real.

The little creature at the entrance of the cave blinked its eyes and stared at him, its gaze full of seduction.

"Ron?"

Harry called softly.

"I might have had too much butterbeer, but I think you should take a look at the doorway yourself."

Ron mumbled a few words. He tried to look up, but his drowsiness and numbness thwarted his attempt. He didn't even have the strength to ask Harry what he wanted him to see.

Harry stared intently at the cave entrance, afraid that if he looked away, the little thing would disappear from his sight.

"Hermione?"

Harry then called on another of his friends to help confirm, since this matter was crucial to Ron and Hermione's friendship.

"Oh, what's wrong?" Hermione said, a little agitated by her interruption. "I still have 422 pages left to read!"

Even so, Hermione followed Harry's gaze and looked over. Then, her expression was similar to Harry's, as if she had seen a ghost.

As if time had stood still, Harry and Hermione, who had unconsciously stood up, stared blankly at the mouse posing preening itself at the doorway, both feeling as if they were in a dream.

“I think you’d better take a look at what that is, Ron.”

Hermione no longer mentioned her book, which she had to finish by Monday, and her voice trembled as she made the same request to Ron as Harry.