From Azkaban to Hogwarts.

"Fantastic... Fantastic..."

Seeing his son's puzzled expression, Sirius Black's face lit up with delight. "If you had to keep it in your mouth the whole time, how long could you keep it up?"

'he…'

Harry's eyes suddenly filled with pity as he looked at his godfather...

"Can you do it in a month?"

"Don't you throw up in your sleep at night? And I still need to brush my teeth..."

Although Harry desperately wanted to fulfill his godfather's wish, this was just too outrageous—seriously, one day would be one thing, but a month…

"Brushing your teeth will be solved with magic, I'll help you. And don't worry about sleeping, I'll use magic to stick your tongue shut..."

Sirius was completely oblivious to the loving gaze of his godfather, speaking in a cheerful tone about rather perverse things.

“So for the next while, you need to keep the leaves firmly in your mouth while eating and talking,” Sirius said, pulling open a drawer and pulling a bunch of leaves from a delicate little box. “No spitting them out, and no swallowing them, can you do that, Harry?”

“This is…” Harry looked at the leaves that he vaguely recognized, his mind racing. “These are mandrake leaves?”

“Of course, of course—” Sirius happily ruffled Harry’s hair. “Mandragora leaves, the best material for Transfiguration.”

As he spoke, he pulled a book from the bookshelf, opened it, and handed it to Harry.

How to become an Animagus:

[1. For a full month (from one full moon to the next), you must keep a single mandrake leaf in your mouth continuously. You must not swallow the leaf or remove it from your mouth at any time. If the leaf leaves your mouth, the entire process must be restarted.]

...

After reading the first line, Harry immediately understood what Sirius's almost insane behavior was all about.

"Animagus?"

He pointed at himself in disbelief, "Me?"

Professor McGonagall had spoken about Animagus in class, and she had even demonstrated her own transformation abilities, but Harry had never associated the term with himself.

“Of course it’s you,” Sirius replied cheerfully. “Jaime and I became Animagus in our fifth year, and you’re also in your fifth year now. It’s time for you to learn this magic!”

“I asked you about your Transfiguration yesterday. It’s pretty good. And your other talents make me think you can handle it. James didn’t help the school win the Triwizard Tournament trophy back in fourth grade—but I dare say he could if it were held.”

'Animagus…'

The word had been lingering in Harry's ears ever since Sirius Black uttered it—just like his father learning Animagus in fifth grade?

As soon as this indescribable feeling surfaced, he immediately understood Sirius's previous crazy behavior.

"Then what should I do?"

"I'll tell you everything. The waiting afterwards might be a bit troublesome, but I'm fully prepared..."

Sirius pointed to the unclosed book, "I'll teach you everything you need to know; this is my best spell..."

“And,” he laughed, “the second day of this summer vacation is the full moon, which is really fantastic.”

-

"Just play some music for it..."

The zookeeper next to William was playing a harp, plucking out a tune, but it still managed to make the head of the huge three-headed dog in front of William droop down and eventually lie on the ground.

"What a ferocious beast..."

William looked at the dog named Louie in front of him. He had witnessed firsthand how Louie's teeth had crippled a professor who wished to remain anonymous with a single bite from Hagrid's mouth. After praising Louie, he even received a strange collection of his dog's teeth from its teething period, collected by the keeper.

"Some say it's a good ingredient for potions, others say it's a fantastic amulet—either way, it's a wonderful souvenir, isn't it?"

"That's absolutely right. I'm relieved to see that it's doing well."

William nodded. "It truly lives up to its reputation as a top-notch breeding facility; it's been exceptionally well cared for."

“That’s not something you can just ask someone as important as Dumbledore to care for,” the zookeeper said proudly. “We also have Chimeras here, but they’re too dangerous, so we can’t just take people there.”

"That legendary, dangerous, magical creature with only one recorded instance of being killed head-on by a wizard?"

There are only so many magical creatures at the xxxxx level. Even those at the xxxxx level are troublesome. The only wizard in history to kill him head-on died from exhaustion after falling off his flying horse.

"That's right... that guy has a bad temper, I don't want to be chased by it today."

The zookeeper shook his head. "That's enough for today. If Professor William wants to see anything else, I'll have to ask another colleague. He's always there feeding them and he's less likely to be attacked."

"No need. It's enough to know that the three-headed dog is healthy. Hagrid will be very happy."

“I guessed so. He really loves animals,” the zookeeper nodded decisively. “Many of our rare creatures were raised by him. He’s truly an amazing and remarkable biologist…”

William was so shocked by what he said that he didn't know how to respond. He even gave up the idea of ​​continuing to explore the place and hurriedly said goodbye before leaving.

-

"Go to Germany? Don't even think about it!"

"Not Germany, it's Durmstrang, Mom!"

"What's the difference?"

At the Weasleys' house, the twins, who had finally decided to confront their family, were glared at by Mrs. Weasley. "Isn't Durmstrang in Germany?"

"No, Mom, it's a magic school that recruits students from all over Europe, it's a very famous place!"

“Yes, very famous,” Mrs. Weasley said, deftly handling the potatoes in front of her, turning them into smooth mashed potatoes with a flick of her wand. “A famous dark magic school!”

“My family has been in Gryffindor for generations. If you go to Ravenclaw or even Hufflepuff, I won’t say anything. But if you go to Slytherin, I’ll break both of your legs.”

"It's Durmstrang, not Slytherin, Mom!"

“Slytherin at least doesn’t teach the Dark Arts, but Durmstrang does,” Mrs. Weasley said, handing the pot to Fred and the plate to George. “Don’t even think about it. Slytherin is a little better than Durmstrang!”

Seeing their mother's determined expression, the two brothers finally gave up trying to persuade her.

This time, the difficulties they faced were greater than they had imagined—their usually invincible external support, Mr. Weasley, after learning that they had acquired a shop at a neighboring school in Durmstrang, thought for a moment and advised them to give it up instead of supporting them as usual.

"This is a great fortune—I can tell you seriously, all the money in the house wouldn't be enough for you to rent a shop near Durmstrang or Hogwarts."

“But,” Mr. Weasley’s eyes were firm, “I don’t want you to go there. Many people think that dark magic is nothing special, and that I’ve only dabbled in it and will never become addicted…”

"But are you sure you can really hold firm to your beliefs in a place filled with dark magic?"

"But Durmstrang is also a participant in the Triwizard Tournament!"

"They have systematic learning and professors' guidance, which is why most students escape the negative effects of black magic. But what about you?"

“Don’t be so obsessed with money,” Mr. Weasley said, looking at his two children. “I can’t be sure if you would do something that deviates from your nature in that kind of environment. I hope you simply do what you like and don’t do anything against your conscience because of money.”

“Even starting from a street stall is better than spending your time with a bunch of dark wizards for the sake of a shop.” He looked at his two children. “Think it over carefully. I hope you will consider this seriously and not let a shop cloud your judgment.”

-

"Things are more complicated than I thought..."

In the nearest Muggle town to Ephamoni, the old headmaster placed a piece of parchment on the table.

"Even now, no one in the school has confirmed who the new principal is, and even my most reliable friend can't say who instructed those board members to hold the meeting on short notice."

"Traitor, definitely a traitor!"

Professor Gilbert's face was full of anger—they had returned to the country through clandestine channels, but had gained nothing in the meantime.

The dean, whom he considered a traitor, did not become the principal, and the students did not know who the new principal was. The entire school was barely functioning in a rather strange way.

The school has a new professor who is highly skilled in magic and explains concepts in a way that is both profound and easy to understand, but he also has no background.

Several students seem to have joined a secret organization, but reliable sources have been unable to find out what that organization is, and they don't even know its name.

The news of the snakewood fire had already spread quietly, but the blame was being placed on those who had been driven out—among the various rumors, even the least malicious ones claimed that the snakewood tree was destroyed in the accident because of their incompetence.

Family support was even less reliable—his family, the Fontana family, was also facing enormous trouble. The constant business problems were a minor issue; the real problem was that they had completely lost their influence over Iphamoni, and several ancient families were secretly beginning to test the remaining influence of the family.

"It's like they just fell from the sky—we have no idea who the perpetrators are, or what they promised to win over these traitors..."

The original plan to use old connections after returning to China is no longer feasible. The school's reforms have inexplicably received support from the Magic Congress, and the disastrous Three Kingdoms Tournament has even had a negative impact on the current situation.

The lost match, the humiliation, and the huge sum of money spent yielded no positive feedback—some tabloids even mocked that if this three-way competition hadn't exposed our educational problems, we might still be thinking our principal was doing a good job…

This was almost a direct insult—but they had no way to refute it, and after more than a dozen tabloids hyped up the conspiracy theory, the old principal's prestige was severely damaged.

“Don’t worry, Professor Gilbert. This is the enemy’s conspiracy. They seem to be watching us all the time, afraid that we will succeed in turning the tables—the more rampant they are, the more afraid they are.”

"So we're just going to stand by and watch?"

"We'll wait."

"wait?"

"Wait, wait for them to reveal their true intentions, wait for them to completely expose their plans—we must get through this summer to see who they are, what they are doing, and what their purpose is."

“Learn to wait, Professor Gilbert. Time will clear up the muddy water, and then we will know everything.”

"Are we just going to watch them ruin the school?"

“No students were injured, no professors were expelled, and there has been no unrest in the Magic Council,” the old headmaster smiled. “This is hardly a waste. Education has not been neglected, and the school is still functioning normally, so we can wait.”

"I guess this is a vacation for myself, a proper summer break... They always have their moments of impatience."

"What if those guys just refuse to make a move?"

"Then what's the difference between me and being the principal?"

The old headmaster laughed, but there was no hint of laughter in his eyes.

Chapter 498: Students Being Too Outstanding Is Also a Kind of Helplessness

Greece was a completely foreign land to William.

But "almost" means just a little short—in recent years, the Greek Ministry of Magic has been relatively weak, with limited control over the black market and smuggling. In other words, their personnel acting as enforcers are themselves involved in this activity.

'No wonder this place allows even highly dangerous creatures like Cerberus to leave the country…'

William looked at the market, which far exceeded the size of the British black market, and couldn't help but sigh—this black market was unlike the repulsive terrain around Knockturn Lane; it was so clean it looked like a legitimate place…

Dirt and disorder are actually a natural disguise. Both wizards and Muggles prefer clean environments, and making the environment extremely dirty can naturally reduce the arrival of uninvited guests—which is why the Leaky Cauldron has to be located on such a messy street.

'But it's a bit too much that it's cleaner and tidier than regular commercial streets…'

William grumbled as he discreetly surveyed his surroundings to avoid unnecessary trouble—such as small vendors selling fake medicine, fake materials, or even fake magical items.