From Azkaban to Hogwarts.

“Back then, Fudge wasn’t the Minister of Magic…” William remained unusually calm—after witnessing the elections in the United States, this was nothing to him.

In short, the newspaper made it very simple.

First, it was our Ministry of Magic that discovered the problem. Second, there were issues with the Ministry of Magic back then, but we've already fixed them.

Chapter 308 Black at Hogwarts

The most troublesome thing in the world is cleaning up the mess, bar none.

The incident of Little Sirius storming into the school in a rage and being arrested took less than two hours, but the time spent dealing with the follow-up matters was outrageously long.

On Wednesday, William had just finished teaching a new lesson to the first graders.

"get out of class dismissed. Make sure you finish your worksheets properly," William said to the students. "Otherwise, when everyone is doing practice exercises in the next class, you'll be stuck copying from the book as punishment. Alright, everyone can go now."

The group of children, who had only recently entered the magical world, scattered almost immediately, showing none of the joking manner of the older, more experienced students.

"Percy, what's up?" Seeing that the students had mostly dispersed, he called directly to Percy, who had just arrived.

“Professor,” Percy looked a little tired but was in good spirits, “Professor McGonagall asked me to inform you to come to her office.”

"Okay, I know."

William nodded and left the classroom with Percy, adding a magic lock to it as they did so—this was a classroom specifically for self-defense, and due to equipment limitations, it wasn't open to students as an empty classroom.

“It seems you’ve been having a busy time lately, Percy,” William said to Percy. “But you should be careful to balance work and rest. I know many dark wizards who have become increasingly entangled in that path because they have to use dark magic to maintain their health due to physical reasons.”

"Yes, Professor, but you..."

Percy seemed to want to say something, but he was clumsy at expressing himself.

“It’s alright, think it over carefully, take your time,” William said, returning the gesture to the portrait on the wall. “I’m listening.”

"I still want to go there and see it after I graduate..."

“Then let’s talk about it in detail,” William laughed. “Although it’s a bit too pragmatic to say it like this, we have to admit that you’ve already accumulated some capital for yourself to squander.”

"While entering the Ministry of Magic step by step and working your way up is a good option, your talent and hard work over the years give you more reason to be capricious than others."

William lowered his voice, “To be honest, the Ministry of Magic is never short of people, so their requirements for graduates are frighteningly high—but even so, you can get in, and you don’t need anyone’s help.”

"This is the path you gave up after sticking to your choice. At the same time, you will also have to face the incomprehension of your family. In a family like yours, entering the Ministry of Magic should be the best choice in the eyes of your parents. After you make your choice, you will have to convince them."

"Is getting into the Ministry of Magic that important that it can't be delayed even by a day?"

“Of course you can, but things won’t be the same as before,” William said after making sure no one was around the corner. “Compared to other departments, we’ve always been short of hitters, but I doubt your parents would be too willing.”

"The Auror organization is reportedly facing a staff shortage and may open recruitment to the general public, but we don't need to consider that for now."

"The rest is to try to become an expert and then be specially hired by the Ministry of Magic—I don't need to tell you how difficult that is."

“Just tell me directly, being an intern is the most stable option.” Percy was unusually a little emotional.

“Of course, that’s always been the case.” William nodded and smiled. “I wouldn’t advise you to do something you’re not even sure about yourself. Such an important life decision should, of course, take all the pros and cons into account before making a decision!”

"And you, Professor? Why did you choose to take on the professorship?"

Percy remained silent for a long time before finally raising his next question just before they reached Professor McGonagall's office.

"I?"

William shook his head. "I didn't have a choice, or rather, if I had another chance, I would probably still choose the same thing."

“Think it over carefully before making a decision,” William waved to Percy. “Although there will be regrets no matter how many times you choose, it is wisest to minimize your regrets.”

-

"Professor McGonagall, Percy said you were looking for me?"

William knocked on Professor McGonagall's office door and began to inquire.

“Yes, it’s the same old story,” the vice principal shook his head. “Sirius is still in the school hospital, and he’s not in a good mood.”

'That's normal; after all, he came from Azkaban.'

However, it's inappropriate to say that. "He's still clamoring to storm into Azkaban and then move in himself?"

"yes…"

Professor McGonagall was deeply troubled by the state of her students—especially since they had fought together against Voldemort in the Order of the Phoenix.

“Let Harry go,” William suggested with a chuckle. “I remember Sirius is Harry’s godfather. Tell him that if he storms into Azkaban, Harry will be all alone and helpless again, and will be bullied by his aunt again.”

"Oh right, I remember reading in the records that Sirius Black and the Malfoys didn't get along very well, did they? Let the young master of the school board show up too..."

"Professor William!"

Professor McGonagall shouted with a serious expression, but her tone was not very angry—last year, Dumbledore had finally managed to unite the other board members to drive the Malfoy family out, and she was a staunch Dumbledore supporter.

"Well, that was just a joke, Professor, so you called me here?"

Professor McGonagall certainly didn't call him over for a joke—the idea of ​​Harry persuading Sirius was just talk. Although Sirius himself had been declared innocent, he was a prisoner who had been in Azkaban for so long, and his words and actions were extremely aggressive. How could a student be allowed to approach him rashly?

Anyway, with Professor Lupin, Sirius Black's old friend, around, there's no need to risk the students' emotions by trying to calm them down.

"That's right, because Professor Lupin happened to become a former striker," Professor McGonagall said without even trying to laugh—everyone in the wizarding world knows that the management of strikers is relatively chaotic, and there are even cases of purebloods receiving salaries without working, so it's perfectly normal for a few more wizards to appear in those names.

“So, during the time the minister is visiting Hogwarts to see Sirius, you'll be in charge of keeping an eye on Black…” Professor McGonagall shook her head. “If Professor Lupin were also in charge of the whole time, I doubt anyone would be fooled…”

'You know it's a lie...'

Although William knew the truth about it, he still found it outrageous.

Chapter 309 Harry and Black

Harry swears he has almost never seen such a terrifying face.

The sallow skin clung to the bone structure of his face, yet it bulged out, making him look like a damp skull.

Unfortunately, the head on which this terrifying face was located was completely bald, which made the face look even more horrifying and the skull-like appearance even stronger.

The sudden surge of fear almost made him forget that he was still wearing the Invisibility Cloak, but fortunately, he realized the problem a second before he subconsciously pulled out his wand.

However, the calls from the face on the bed did not stop; the eyes in those deep-set sockets stared intently at him, as if the invisibility cloak did not exist at all.

"James... is that you?"

His voice was urgent and filled with barely suppressed joy. Then, Blake himself suddenly struggled to get up from the bed, and the bandages used to secure him were pulled straight up, making the bed creak under the strain.

Damn it!

Harry heard angry shouts from the other side, and then, as if under some kind of spell, the bandages that had been reinforced by magic snapped apart all at once.

In an instant, a loud noise filled the room. The sharp sound made Harry instinctively raise his hand to cover his ears, but he still managed to cast the Bubble Head Charm on himself and then fell to his left side.

Just as he collapsed, footsteps could be heard outside, and the next moment, a stun spell was cast blindly inside.

Following the incantation, a figure rushed in, and another stun spell struck Blake, who had barely managed to free himself from his bandages.

The figure who rushed in stood up and began to check the surroundings. Only after finding that the windows and other places were not damaged did Harry lower his guard slightly. It was then that Harry saw the other person's face clearly—it was Lupin.

"Feel sorry…"

He stood beside Sirius, then waved his wand, continuing to restrain him with the bandages, before carefully pulling the blanket over him.

Harry then remembered Ron's words—Sirius was extremely aggressive; he had spent twelve years in Azkaban!

'So… that's why Professor Lupin needs to stay in the hospital to watch over him? He was clearly framed…'

The thought crossed Harry's mind, and for a moment, he felt ashamed of being frightened...

It was clearly... but I...

Just as he was feeling guilty for judging people by their appearance, his eyes met another pair of eyes—Professor Lupin staring at him, as if he could confirm that he was right there.

"Is that you, Harry?"

“It’s me… Professor.” Harry instinctively removed the hood of his Invisibility Cloak, revealing his head.

“It really was you…” Lupin laughed, some of the sadness on his face lessening. “He’s a bit scary, isn’t he? He wasn’t like this before…”

Harry didn't know how to answer for a moment, but Lupin didn't seem to need to answer either.

"Mrs. Pomfrey shaved his head, which I would say is a good thing," Lupin said, looking at Sirius lying there. "You have no idea how bad his hair was, it was so dirty and messy. I bet the last time he got his hair done was in Azkaban."

"He's gained some weight, but he's even more frightening... To be honest, I almost didn't recognize him. He was once considered even more handsome than Jaime... Hmm, you look a lot like your father... Sorry, I..."

Lupin was speaking incoherently; this was the first time Harry had ever seen the professor so out of control, but for some reason, he really wanted to hear him continue.

"Twelve years have passed...this guy..."

"Are you here to see him, Harry?"

Lupin abruptly asked, and Harry nodded instinctively.

“Just as audacious as James…” Lupin shook his head, but without any intention of blaming him. He looked at Harry and suddenly fell silent, his eyes unfocused, his thoughts seemingly drifting off somewhere.

Just as Harry was about to say something, Lupin suddenly snapped out of his reverie, looked at Harry intently, and his serious expression made Harry freeze in place.

"this…"

No... I can't...

He uttered fragmented words, barely forming sentences. After a long pause, Lupin looked at Harry and said, "Harry, I know this shouldn't be... but... I hope you can talk to him... at least see him when he's lucid..."

"Yes, Professor."

Harry had intended to say that this was why he had come, but the words that came out were these low, somber sentences.

Lupin raised his wand, and bandages flew out, binding Black, who was already tightly bound, even more securely. Then he looked at Harry and said, "Come here, Harry, stay with me. He's a bit emotionally unstable, and I need to keep him under control."

After confirming that Harry was standing firmly beside him, Lupin picked up his wand and released his stun spell.

Harry stared nervously at Sirius's face, but after the spell was broken, Sirius didn't look at Harry at all, staring straight at the wand that had cast the spell, and then fixed his eyes on Lupin.

“Let me go, Lupin,” Sirius stared at Lupin, his voice icy cold. “I dreamt of James. James told me to kill that traitor.”

"And then I just watched you get imprisoned in Azkaban for murder?"

Lupin stared at Sirius, showing no sign of backing down.

“You can’t keep me in, Lupin, you know, even Azkaban couldn’t keep me in, let alone…” Sirius turned his head with difficulty, “This ordinary school infirmary… James!”

If Harry hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have believed that a person's emotions could fluctuate so much. The bandages that Lupin had thickened were creaking under the strain—but now there was no magical force to cut them off.