The Return to Hogwarts

Harry walked over and glanced at the pile of scattered parchment on the table in front of Remus, covered with various tables and diagrams that Harry couldn't understand.

"And you, how's your business with the fairy?"

"call--"

In front of these people, Remus didn't need to hide much; he shrugged with a wry smile.

"All I can say is that it's much more troublesome than being your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor!"

Chapter 720 Family Banquet

2024-01-29

"what's wrong?"

Harry immediately inquired with concern, noting that Remus, like Sirius, was a good friend of his father and had taken good care of him during the six months Remus taught at Hogwarts.

Harry's most advanced white magic skill—the Patronus Charm—was taught to him by Remus. To this day, young wizards consider Remus to be an excellent Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. While his lessons may not be as innovative as Professor Blaine's, they are more engaging and easier to understand than Professor Blaine's.

Hermione and Ron also turned their gazes away from their surroundings and focused on Remus.

Remus was about to say something more, but after leading Harry and the others into the basement, Sirius Black, who had been sitting there, returned, carrying three packaged gifts.

"It's all boring stuff, we can talk about it later, Harry—"

Remus paused, smiling gently, "I think you might be more interested in the Christmas presents Sirius has prepared for you—"

"I was planning to send the things to Hogwarts--"

Sirius Black handed out the three gift boxes to Harry and his friends, saying with a grin,

"But since I'm planning to invite you here for the holidays, I might as well give you the gifts in person."

Last Christmas, Sirius Black was still suspected of murder, but he still didn't forget to prepare a Christmas present for Harry. The Firebolt he gave Harry was the best flying broomstick. Apart from Harry, no other young wizard at Hogwarts had such a good flying broomstick.

Although Ron had somewhat anticipated Sirius's lavish spending, he still gasped and widened his eyes in surprise when he opened Sirius's gift box.

"My God, this is—"

“A set of pure gold Gobbles—” Sirius smiled at Ron. “I heard from Harry that you are very good at this kind of game, Ron.”

"Oh, I... well, it's just—" Ron's cheeks were glowing with excitement as he stammered, "practice makes perfect—"

Ron said modestly, but it was obvious to everyone that he was very pleased with the gift.

"A dagger."

Harry then unwrapped his gift; Sirius had given him a beautifully crafted, delicate knife, the handle of which was engraved with countless magical corridors. Harry held the knife up to the light, examining it closely.

Why did you give me this, Sirius Black?

“This dagger is no ordinary weapon, Harry—” Sirius had anticipated Harry’s suspicion.

"This is an extremely powerful alchemical tool. It can break many magical barriers. If you want to enter a certain place and 'Alohomora' doesn't work, you can try using this—"

Then Harry became content.

"As for you, Hermione—"

Sirius scratched his head, looking somewhat troubled.

“I’m not very experienced in giving gifts to girls, but I think you certainly won’t refuse a magic book. You can’t buy this at Flourish and Blotts. I found it in the Black family’s library.”

"Thank you, Sirius—"

Hermione looked at the book, "Saving You from the Brink of Death," with great interest, and nodded her thanks to Sirius.

Dinner proceeded in a very pleasant atmosphere. Aside from the delicious food, Sirius made an exception and allowed Harry and his two companions to sample a few glasses of his father's prized whiskey. Although Remus was not very supportive, he didn't say much on this delightful day.

"Speaking of which, Remus, what trouble have you gotten yourself into?"

The whiskey Sirius brought was nothing like the butterbeer Harry had drunk many times before. After just one small glass, Harry felt the world begin to spin, but he didn't dislike the dizzy feeling. His godfather and Remus were by his side, so even if he lost his mind, there was nothing to be afraid of.

Harry, slightly drunk, wore a languid smile as he spoke to Remus, who was discussing the champions' performance in the first event of the Triwizard Tournament with Hermione.

"It's about product promotion--"

Remus clearly didn't want to bring work pressure to them.

"The fairies wield considerable influence in the European magical world, and our promotional efforts here are progressing very smoothly. Many wizarding families and organizations are very interested in the alchemical tools developed by Amosta, and we have already begun supplying them. However, the situation with the Magical Congress in the United States is very complicated. The sales permit we submitted has been stuck there and cannot be approved. They are asking us to provide a safety performance analysis of the product, which I have already..."

Remus seemed to realize that if he continued, it would become a long-winded discussion, so he shook his head and changed the subject at the opportune moment.

"Don't worry, it'll all be resolved, Harry. So, Hermione, do you have any ideas about the second event of the Wars of Champions?"

When Hermione finished explaining what clues the golden egg from the first match held, deducing from the mermaid, Sirius and Remus were both greatly impressed by her quick wit.

The second competition will most likely take place beneath the Black Lake. The warriors will have one hour to find their most precious treasures that were taken away, or they will lose them forever.

Putting aside the inevitable obstacles in the search, Hermione still hasn't figured out how to survive an hour underwater.

"Actually, this isn't difficult at all --"

Sirius and Remus exchanged a glance. Sirius raised an eyebrow and said slowly.

"Oh, don't say that, Sirius!"

Hermione tensed up immediately, covering her ears, unwilling to hear another word.

"I have to figure out a solution myself!"

"All right--"

Sirius shrugged helplessly and had no choice but to give up.

Harry, his friends, and Sirius hadn't seen each other for a while, and the last time they met Remus was during the summer holidays, so they had endless things to talk about.

They described in detail the spectacular Christmas ball the previous night, especially the magnificent ice castle created by Professor Blaine and Professor Dumbledore, which greatly impressed Sirius and Remus. Sirius also shared his experiences as an Auror over the past six months, including thrilling chases against dark wizards and lawbreakers, which thoroughly captivated the naive Harry, Harry, and Remus!

Harry and his friends were also very curious about Remus and the goblins' alchemy workshop, and they agreed to take a day during the Christmas holidays to visit Diagon Alley together.

The delightful dinner party lasted until midnight. Finally, in high spirits, Sirius led the three dizzy little ones on a tour of the house, from the basement all the way to Sirius's bedroom on the fifth floor.

Hermione discovered that even though Sirius had advertised a thorough cleaning of the house, some unpleasant things remained.

For example, a row of dried-up house-elves' heads hung on the side wall leading upstairs. Had the three of them not seen far more horrifying sights in the corridors of Hogwarts' kitchens, they would have been horrified by these heads. Sirius clearly hadn't wanted them there; he'd done so out of consideration for Kreacher's feelings, though he always said he was very impatient with them.

Overall, the old house was quite satisfactory, especially for Ron, who seemed particularly envious of the house Sirius inherited.

Compared to this place, our houses are like broom sheds—

As Ron walked up the steps, he said sullenly.

“I don’t think so, Ron—”

Sirius let out a burp.

"I think Arthur and Molly's house is wonderful; it feels like home. Staying there always reminds me of when I lived with James—"

Sirius patted Harry on the head.

"That is--"

Just as Harry was about to ask what his father's house was like, Hermione suddenly covered her mouth and pointed to the sign on the door next to her.

"Ah, yes--"

Sirius's gaze followed, he paused for a moment, then smiled.

“Yes, Hermione, that’s Regulus’s room—”

Chapter 721 The Gradual Truth

2024-01-30

No entry without the express permission of the person in question — Regulus Arcturus Black.

“Regulus?” Ron frowned, staring at the words on the nameplate on the door. But a few seconds later, his brow relaxed. Indeed, Harry and Hermione had told him about it. Ron looked at Sirius Black. “He’s yours.”

"Yes, he's my brother. He doesn't seem very friendly, does he?"

Sirius smiled and nodded, looking at the words on the plaque.

"Actually, before I went to Hogwarts, Regulus and I were very close. He always liked to follow me around, pestering me to take him to that Quidditch shop in Diagon Alley that sells flying broomsticks. Oh, and you don't know, Harry, Regulus, like you and your dad, is a Seeker—"

"But Regulus is no match for Jaime at all—"

Remus, standing behind the crowd, smiled and spoke with a look of reminiscence in his eyes.

"Oh, that's true--"

Sirius didn't seem to care what Remus said. The chilly rooftop quickly faded the flush on Sirius's alcohol-induced cheeks, and he continued to smile as he looked at Remus.

"I've always suspected that Regulus's later strained relationship with me wasn't solely because I went to Gryffindor, which is Slytherin. Perhaps it also had something to do with James; he lost to James so many times in tournaments, he must have hated James intensely, while I was friends with James—"

Harry saw the sadness behind his godfather's smile, and he also remembered the story of Regulus.

When they attended Regulus's funeral, Sirius told him and Hermione that his brother had once followed Voldemort, but later he had a change of heart and decided to do something to atone for his mistakes, and then he paid for it with his life.

However, Sirius didn't say what Regulus had done to lose his life last time. Before Sirius was imprisoned in Azkaban, he still thought his brother was Voldemort's accomplice. It was only with Professor Blaine's help that he found out the truth.

There must be a very complicated and convoluted story behind this, because at the funeral, Dumbledore apologized to Sirius, saying that he could not let Regulus's true position be known to the public, and that Regulus's death involved some extremely important secrets of Voldemort himself.

"I'm sorry, you three—"