The Return to Hogwarts

Amostella wiped the sweat from his brow, tucked his wand back into his sleeve, and smiled at the two panting professors.

"I just finished cleaning up here."

“We arrived immediately after receiving Albus’s message, Amosta—”

Professor McGonagall clutched her chest as she saw Regulus Black lying peacefully asleep on a piece of green velvet. Her expression was sorrowful, and her eyes welled up with tears.

The gardens that Amosta has transformed are like a fairyland, but the atmosphere here certainly can't compare to that of a fairy tale.

Dumbledore stood with his hands clasped under his abdomen, his expression solemn. Remus's expression was not much different from Dumbledore's, the only difference being that he had a hint of guilt on his face. This was not surprising, after all, he was the only one attending the funeral lying down.

Sirius sat beside his younger brother, gazing intently at his childhood friend. His tense face twitched occasionally, as if he were trying hard to restrain himself. Kreacher, the loyal elf to the Black family, was much less restrained.

Kreacher collapsed under the table where Regulus's body lay, and judging from its barely audible sobs, it had been weeping for at least a few hours.

Snape knew Regulus when he was at Hogwarts; Regulus was his senior. However, because of Sirius Black, he didn't like this junior from his house who was a few years younger than him. Instead, they interacted more when Snape left Hogwarts to follow Mystic.

Later, Regulus disappeared without a trace, and Snape never paid much attention to it. After all, he had so many troubles of his own at the time. But he never expected that many years later, he would see Regulus Black again under such circumstances.

Regulus Black sat on the table, his face ashen, but relieved, he looked at himself with a peaceful expression.

Snape stared intently at Regulus's face, his expression blank, as if Regulus's lifeless face were a reflection of himself.

Can I find relief?

Snape asked himself the question, and the answer stung him. He turned his gaze to the stretcher, his body wrapped in white bandages except for his face. Remus, who was straining to look up at Regulus, had a gloating look in his eyes and almost burst out laughing.

"Well then, since you're here, Harry and Hermione, you two come over too, and let's see off this heroic spirit who is about to embark on a long journey—"

Amosta beckoned to a towering tree not far away. Dumbledore, who had obviously anticipated this, smiled back at it. As the others watched in astonishment, the space around the tree roots suddenly distorted, and then two embarrassed little heads peeked out.

Chapter 363 Funeral

2023-07-03

As expected, when Harry and Hermione spotted Professor Dumbledore and Professor Blaine in the crowd, they realized they couldn't hide any longer. Since Harry received the precious Invisibility Cloak at Christmas in his first year, they were the only two wizards who could see through its disguise.

"Potter, and Granger?"

Professor McGonagall looked at the two young wizards who were slowly approaching and asked in surprise,

How did you guys discover that?

“That’s obvious, Minerva—”

Professor Snape's lips curled into a mocking sneer.

Professor McGonagall was a little embarrassed that two young wizards from her own house had brazenly followed her, and even exposed themselves to the headmistress. She was about to give them a stern reprimand when Sirius Black turned around and beckoned kindly to Harry and Hermione.

“Come here, Harry. And you’re Hermione, right? Remus, Amosta, and I have all mentioned you—”

Hermione blushed deeply, extremely embarrassed, but still followed Harry closer to Sirius.

Harry went to Sirius's side and looked at him. Sirius's eyes held an inescapable sadness, but he looked much better than he had a month ago in the Forbidden Forest. He was completely different from the criminal in prison garb and with a vicious expression on the wanted poster. He was more like the young and handsome wizard standing next to his parents in the album that Hagrid had given him.

Sirius naturally put his hand on Harry's shoulder, and Harry didn't feel awkward at all, as if they had known each other for many years.

But that's not the case. Before that, the two of them had met once, but that was before the misunderstanding was cleared up.

A gentle breeze rustled through the leaves, casting dappled shadows that shifted and changed shape on the ground. Dumbledore sniffed, his voice deeper than Harry had ever heard before.

"This is the only way, Sirius—"

Dumbledore said apologetically,

“I understand your desire to give your brother a grand funeral, but as I explained to you, it is not appropriate to announce Regulus’s position to everyone in a big way and to say that he died fighting Voldemort. This involves some extremely important secrets that are not suitable for the public to know.”

"Your brother?"

Harry asked the question instinctively, but in fact, when he saw the face of the young wizard lying in front of him, he had already made a similar guess. He thought that this wizard was Sirius's son or nephew or something, after all, they looked six or seven parts alike, and he was very young.

But to die fighting Voldemort? Harry was horrified.

In the public eye, Voldemort died twelve years ago, or if he hadn't, he was no longer a threat. But Harry and his friends knew the truth was different. When he was a first-year student, Voldemort, in an attempt to regain his powers, tricked a professor at Hogwarts into stealing the Philosopher's Stone. Could it be that Voldemort has recently done something similar, and Sirius Black's brother was killed because of it?

"I have no more opinions to offer, Dumbledore—"

Sirius said

"Moreover, I think Regulus will be very satisfied."

Kreacher's wailing suddenly turned shrill, and Harry and Hermione then noticed that there was another one hidden under the table. Ugh!

"Dobby, how could you... Oh, you're not!"

Harry blurted out Dobby's name, but he immediately realized that the house-elf in front of him was not Dobby. Although he couldn't distinguish the subtle differences between their facial features, he could at least tell that this house-elf was probably much older.

"It is Kreacher, the loyal servant of the Black family—"

Sirius explained to Harry.

Regardless, Sirius Black was the last surviving direct descendant of the Black family, and his approval meant something different to Kreacher. After hearing Sirius's assessment, old Kreacher cried out, pounded the ground, and muttered incessantly.

Hermione, however, felt a pang of pity upon seeing Kreacher's tearful state, and upon hearing the word "servant," she pursed her lips, as if she had something to say.

“I think you still don’t understand the situation, Harry—”

Sirius put his arm around Harry's shoulder and gave a sad smile.

“Regulus Black was my younger brother. He had done some wrong things in the past, and after realizing his mistakes, he decided to do something to make amends for them. He paid for it with his life. This wasn’t a recent thing; he had been dead for many years.”

Harry nodded, and based on what Dumbledore had said earlier, he had a basic understanding of the situation.

"--I didn't know the situation before and thought he had always been a staunch follower of Voldemort. After I escaped from Azkaban, with the help of Amostall, I found out the truth about his death. Although it was too late, I still hope to give Regulus a dignified funeral."

It's Professor Blaine again.

Hermione and Harry couldn't help but steal glances at Professor Blaine, whose expression was somber, their minds unconsciously replaying every little detail since they had met him.

This is a particularly magical wizard. It seems that everything can be connected to him, and he himself seems to be omnipotent, always able to solve all difficulties.

The funeral began, and everyone stood in a circle around this unknown hero.

Everyone's faces were solemn. Starting with Dumbledore, everyone expressed their admiration for Regulus' courage to correct himself and to rebel against Voldemort when he was at the height of his power. Those who had known Regulus Black would also reminisce about the past. Even Snape, who regarded Sirius Black as his mortal enemy, said a few dry words.

Amostella waved her wand, and dazzling white flames erupted from Regulus's body and the table around it, leaping higher and higher until they obscured the remains. Wisps of white smoke rose into the air, and in a daze, the crowd seemed to see a handsome young man with a defiant smile standing in mid-air, waving to them.

When all this was over, the setting sun had disappeared, leaving only the tragic red clouds stubbornly guarding the boundary between the sky and the earth.

Snape strode away immediately after the event; the occasion had been quite frustrating for him.

“Potter, Granger, because you've been tracking the professor’s actions,”

When they emerged from the Forbidden Forest and stood on the shimmering shore of the lake, Professor McGonagall's cold voice showed no mercy.

"After you return to the castle, you will need to go to Filch and await his orders!"

Professor McGonagall was always impartial and incorruptible, and Harry and Hermione had already anticipated this possibility. However, Harry still felt a little uncomfortable being penalized and put in so many people, especially in front of the headmaster, while Hermione was so ashamed that she wanted to cover her face and jump into the black lake a few steps away.

"Personally, I believe this punishment is entirely appropriate."

Dumbledore's silver beard fluttered in the wind. He noticed Harry secretly observing his expression and uttered this witty remark.

The crowd chuckled, even Sirius Black, whose face was grave, twitched at the corner of his mouth.

"I don't think it's a big deal--"

Sirius patted the embarrassed Harry on the shoulder, his eyes full of admiration.

"If I have time, I'll share some of the fun things we did back in the day using James's Invisibility Cloak!"

"Please don't make me regret my decision, Sirius—"

Dumbledore said with a hint of helplessness,

"You must understand that the responsibility of a professor is not just to impart knowledge; often, you need to lead by example and provide proper guidance to children."

"professor?!"

Harry's mind went blank for several seconds before he understood what Professor Dumbledore and Sirius were talking about. He first looked incredulous, but then looked at Sirius with delight as he smiled and looked down at him.

Just as you guessed, Harry—

Sirius nodded, giving an affirmative answer.

“Some people—” Amosta, who already knew about this, shook his head and chuckled, “always lack the ability to learn from the mistakes of those who came before.”

Chapter 364 New Professor

2023-07-04

Anyone who has studied at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for a few years knows that in this school, once something is known by more than one person, it will spread throughout the entire school at varying speeds, depending on how sensational it is.

The news that Sirius Black would be replacing Professor Lupin as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor for the young wizards for the next few months had been known to over 70% of the young wizards within half an hour of the dinner party starting, after Harry and Hermione had learned of it. The remaining 30%, mostly fifth and seventh year students, were about to face the two most important exams of their lives and were making the most of their time to study!

Sirius Black, just two weeks ago, was a notorious fugitive and the first wizard in history to successfully escape from Azkaban.

Last school year, Hogsmeade and the school gates were garrisoned with so many Dementors to control him, but unexpectedly, in just half a month, the roles of criminal and hero were reversed. Peter, who once held the Order of Merlin, became a criminal, while Sirius Black, who had spent twelve years in Azkaban, became a courageous hero. And now, he has even become their Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

"Damn it, what did I miss?!"

On the long table in Gryffindor, Ron howled to the sky, filled with frustration.

On the night of the final battle with the werewolves, Ron missed the magical time travel due to his serious injuries. And now, in the short time it took to go back to his dorm to get his fire crossbow, he has missed something so important again.