The Return to Hogwarts

Why aren't you all up yet?

That's because--

Ron yawned repeatedly, just like Harry had done earlier, his eyes barely open, just squinting as he rubbed his clothes.

"We stayed at the library with a lunatic until 2 a.m. last night—"

"Stop dawdling, Ron, get up!"

Hermione strode over, tossed Ron's clothes, which he had thrown on the ground, into her arms, and then kept urging Harry to get dressed quickly and come downstairs with him.

"What happened, Hermione?"

Harry and Ron, who had just hurriedly dressed, were dragged out of the dormitory by Hermione before they even had a chance to wash up.

"Just you wait, Harry, you'll be very surprised!"

As they descended the spiral staircase, Hermione smiled and answered Harry's question.

As they quickly approached the common room, Harry vaguely heard a familiar voice coming from below. After a moment of disorientation, an indescribable ecstasy welled up from the bottom of his heart. He felt it was impossible, yet he desperately wanted his guess to come true.

Eager to jump, Harry leaped over Hermione and landed on the platform. After stopping his momentum, he nimbly turned and continued jumping. Finally, he landed and saw a group of students talking to each other in the middle of the common room.

The moment Harry saw him, his face lit up with excitement, a happy smile spreading across his face. His excitement swelled rapidly inside him, and even his scalp tingled.

The man who had his back to Harry heard the sound of the landing. He slowly turned around, looked towards the stairwell, and smiled happily, opening his arms to him.

Sirius, what are you doing here?!

Harry yelled, unable to contain his excitement any longer. He rushed forward, jumped over a sofa blocking his way, and hugged Sirius tightly.

Only after Hermione and a surprised Ron came downstairs and stood beside them did the father and son release each other. Sirius, looking lovingly at Harry, who was now almost as tall as himself, reached out and ruffled Harry's messy hair.

"Isn't Christmas supposed to be spent with family?"

Sirius said with a smile, while Harry was too happy to speak, only able to grin foolishly.

Spending Christmas with family is something that should be taken for granted, but for Harry, it was a dream he hadn't been able to realize for over a decade.

Looking at the father and son gazing at each other, Hermes, who knew how hard Harry had worked, wiped her eyes with emotion, while Ron blew his nose with equal sentimentality.

“Oh, I think we shouldn’t waste any more time, Harry, Ron, and Hermione. I need you to pack your bags quickly; we still have a long way to go!”

Sirius Black ruffled Harry's hair again and said to them with a smile.

"Where are we going, Sirius!"

Harry asked excitedly.

“I remember telling you that my ancestors left me a house, and I live there now—”

Sirius pushed Harry in his wheelchair to pack his luggage.

“I had Kreacher, the house-elf who serves the Black family, the one you saw during the Quidditch finals, decorate the old house. We can spend the rest of your Christmas holidays there. By the way, Remus is there too, so we'd better not keep him waiting too long. At the very least, we need to get back for dinner!”

“Professor Lupin!” Hermione whispered excitedly.

"Should we go too, Sirius?"

Ron hadn't expected Sirius to invite him and Hermione, and he stared wide-eyed incredulously.

“Oh, what’s the problem, Ron? Molly and Arthur let me sleep in your house during the summer vacation, didn’t they?”

Sirius said with a chuckle

"Before coming here, I already spoke with Dumbledore, and he had no objections whatsoever. He just reminded you not to forget your Christmas holiday homework. I was originally planning to invite Amostella along, but he's already gone back to London—"

"Little ones, we've already missed the Hogwarts Express, and I can't Apparate with all three of you by myself. We'll have to take the Knight Bus. If you want to see your Christmas presents as soon as possible, pack your bags quickly!"

Chapter 719 The Changes in Remus

2024-01-28

Whoosh--

A screeching sound of brakes startled the Riglam Place, which was immersed in the embrace of snow. A sudden gust of wind tore apart the snowflakes floating in the air, and the vibration caused the wiring inside a rusty light tube a few steps away to become loose, causing the dim yellow light to flicker rhythmically.

"vomit--"

Harry was the first to rush off the Knight Bus. Completely ignoring Stan Sandakan's enthusiastic farewell, he squatted down in the snow, which was barely thinner than the snow on the Hogwarts field, and began to retch. Hermione and Ron, who were behind him, also bent over after getting off the bus, supporting themselves on their knees and breathing weakly.

"The wizard who designed this car should be imprisoned in Azkaban for life—"

Ron gasped for breath as he spoke in a barely audible voice.

I swear—

The cool but refreshing air made Harry feel much better, giving him the energy to observe the small square in the suburbs of London.

The small circular square was surrounded by detached buildings, neatly arranged, but all were old and dilapidated, their facades gloomy and unapproachable. Some houses had their windows completely shattered, and the walls were riddled with alarming cracks, as if they had been struck by an earthquake. Even the inhabited houses were not presentable; Harry noticed piles of garbage outside the front steps of several houses.

"--If I ever ride the Knight Bus again, let Snape poison me!"

Harry gulped down the cold air and cursed.

“I advise you to take back that oath, Harry—”

Sirius was the last to get off the bus. He was pale and panting heavily, mainly because he was carrying two large suitcases by himself.

"Because the chances of such a vow coming true are very high. Speaking of which, Hermione, what exactly did you put in your trunk? Your trunk alone weighs more than Harry and Ron combined—"

“Oh, sorry, Sirius—” Hermione blushed, “I brought a few books to pass the time—”

"Books? To pass the time? Oh, don't bother, we can solve the problem with magic."

Sirius smiled helplessly. He blocked Hermione's outstretched hand, looked around warily, and then gently tapped the two large chests with his wand. The chests trembled slightly and floated an inch above the snow.

"Come with me, you three. We'd better not let Muggles see us, otherwise Molly will definitely complain that I made Arthur work overtime during the Christmas holidays because of me--"

Sirius's joke made Harry, Harry, and his friends chuckle. They helped push the box that was floating in mid-air and followed Sirius to a wooden door with peeling black paint.

The door knocker was a large, coiled silver serpent, its menacing appearance causing Harry, who had been in a state of excitement, to frown slightly. He recalled the basilisk he had encountered when he entered the Chamber of Secrets in his second year of high school. However, he also knew that Sirius Black's ancestors were all from Slytherin House, so there was nothing more to say about it.

Come to think of it, in the past year or so, they've become less prejudiced against Slytherin.

When discussing this school, the focus is often on the issues, not the person, which is undoubtedly due to the subtle influence of a professor who came from Slytherin.

"Come in, you—"

Sirius tapped the door with his wand, and a series of loud metallic clanging sounds came from behind it, as warm air flowed out from the gradually opening crack.

“This place used to be quite messy, but it’s much better now.”

Sirius Black stepped across the threshold first, then turned around and waved to Harry and his two friends with a smile.

Since entering the wizarding world, the only wizarding family Harry had ever visited was the Weasleys. Ron's house fulfilled Harry's most beautiful fantasy of a complete wizarding family. He couldn't wait to squeeze in with Sirius, eager to see what his godfather's house was like.

A faint scent of incense filled the air, but beneath the fragrance, there was a subtle smell of decay. This was not surprising, since this house was Sirius's ancestral home, it must have been quite old, and it had been abandoned during the years Sirius was wrongfully imprisoned.

Sensing someone enter, the gas lamps hanging on the walls of the narrow foyer lit up one after another, emitting a bright glow. Harry noticed that the metal brackets connecting these lamps to the walls were rusty, but the glass shades were spotless. Moreover, the wallpaper and the carpet underfoot were equally new, especially the carpet—

The carpet beneath their feet was no ordinary carpet; the patterns embroidered with different colored threads on the cashmere carpet were constantly changing. Harry and Ron, who were initially drawn to it, stared at it for a while before realizing what these 'flowing' patterns were.

"This is the pattern of Krum using Lansky's feint to distract Lynch during the World Cup!" Harry exclaimed in surprise. "And this is—"

“A classic moment from the last World Cup!” Ron exclaimed, his eyes wide. “This rug is so cool!”

"I knew you'd like it!" Sirius smiled smugly. "This rug probably cost me two months' salary!"

Hermione raised an eyebrow, clearly disapproving of Sirius's decision to spend a hundred or two gold coins on a rug. However, the Black family's decline was a recent phenomenon; before that, they were a prestigious family in the wizarding world. Sirius, born into such a family, obviously had a different concept of money than most people.

"Just leave the box here; Kreacher will handle it later—"

"How is Kreacher?"

Hermione immediately perked up and followed Sirius, asking questions, while Harry and Ron strolled forward, mesmerized by the flowing yarn beneath their feet.

"So-so, I guess?"

Sirius's tone held a perplexing hesitation.

"Ever since I decided to change this house, it's been reluctant to appear in front of me—"

Sirius casually patted the walls on either side.

"These used to be the hangs of many portraits of the Black family ancestors. Some of them were completely damaged. I found a room to store them separately, but Kreacher wouldn't have it. He would always sneakily put the portraits back in their original places when I wasn't home. I had a big fight with him and had to give him a command to make him submit. Oh, watch out, you three—"

Hermione's arm got caught on a curtain on the wall, and Sirius immediately said nervously,

"Behind this curtain is the last portrait I can't get down, so you'd better be careful; she won't welcome any guests I bring back—"

Sirius's words caught their attention, and the two boys finally took their eyes off the carpet. They glanced curiously at the curtains and then followed Sirius to a door.

The stairs to the right of the door led upstairs. Harry glanced curiously at the slightly dimly lit upstairs before following Sirius Black inside.

"Harry, Ron, Hermione, are you all alright?"

The group walked down the stairs, past a Christmas tree adorned with mistletoe and ribbons and surrounded by several little fairies, placed opposite the bottom step. They then looked at the kitchen, which had rough stone walls on all sides but looked very clean.

There was a long table in the kitchen, big enough to hold many chairs, and Remus sat at the other end of the table, smiling at them.

Harry and his two friends wore pleasant smiles.

Compared to the summer, Remus's cheeks looked fuller, making him appear younger. Moreover, the faint melancholy in his eyes had almost completely disappeared, and the few faint vertical lines between his brows had erased Remus's refined and gentle demeanor, adding a touch of majesty.

"Not bad, Remus—"