From Azkaban to Hogwarts.

"Those...bird snake eggs?"

"It's probably fake. The ones that didn't sell are most likely counterfeit. Only the ones that were sold are genuine. Maybe after we've been fooled, they'll say they're not waiting anymore, or ask why that guy isn't here yet, and then offer us a discount or a package deal."

"That's about right."

William nodded approvingly—it was a good thing that his student wasn't so bad at this.

"What a huge scam... After they pulled this off, I almost thought someone was really coming to cause trouble..."

"Yeah... No wonder the professor always says that not all liars are the same. Look at that guy on the street... he's really good at forging... Hey, professor?"

How much does this replica laurel wreath cost?

William squatted down there and asked the vendor.

"What counterfeit? Made by fairies. Ten Galleons. If you can't afford it, leave."

"It's too expensive, I don't want it."

William shook his head decisively.

"Exactly, ten Galleons, why don't you just rob them?"

The students chimed in—ten Galleons for a handicraft? Are you kidding me…

However, to their surprise, William pointed directly to the mat below, "I really want this thing, will you sell it for five hundred Galleons?"

'Five hundred? Has the professor gone mad?'

However, to their surprise, the vendor who had previously been indifferent suddenly smiled and said, "I make a living this way, I really can't sell it..."

"Go find another one. I believe you have the ability. Five hundred and fifty Galleons is the highest I can get. If you don't sell it to me, I'm leaving."

The vendor gritted his teeth, "You're ruthless... I'll sell it, and the laurel wreath is yours..."

“Okay, let’s go withdraw the money together. Don’t even think about exchanging it on the way. I’ll check at the Wizard Bank later,” William waved his hand, pulled a bag from behind the vendor, and handed it to the student. “They should all be this style. They’re quite exquisite. One for each of you as a souvenir—we should go now.”

"Only one will be delivered, and it's very expensive, sir..."

Chapter 500 Persuasion

"Blake, you're a complete bastard!"

These days, there's been a constant, intermittent commotion at 4 Privet Drive, but the Dursleys seem oblivious, as if the arguments across the street don't even reach them.

They were a respectable family and disdained...

Okay, that's not true. The truth is that they really enjoy gossiping about their neighbors and tirelessly discuss what they overhear.

However, the people living next door are the kind of people they hate the most. To be precise, one of their most disliked children lives there. But occasionally, when they are sure that the other family members and the other neighbors can't hear their complaints, the male head of the household will still make some kind of comment.

"Such a big family... not one of them is willing to work hard. They hardly went out during the entire holiday. I suspect their house is full of all kinds of garbage."

Vernon muttered irritably, "Trash should stay with trash."

Summer vacation has been over for more than half a month, and that family has hardly come out at all. If it weren't for the monthly payment still being sent, he would have almost forgotten about that damned agreement he signed back then.

"Fortunately, although that guy moved next door, at least no more weirdos have come to this yard."

"Yes, that's true."

Penny responded with some hesitation.

But their conversation was quickly interrupted by the sound of glass being tapped.

"owl!!!"

Vernon screamed and grabbed whatever he had on hand, trying to give the long-eared owl a good whack, but it nimbly dodged him. A letter drifted down, and the owl hooted in displeasure, leaving some other souvenirs on the table before flying away in a flash.

"Damn bastards, none of those weirdos are reliable. Didn't they say they would never, ever bother us?"

Vernon waved his arms, venting his frustration, while Penny picked up the letter, glanced at the envelope, and froze on the spot.

“Tear up that damn letter, Penny.”

"I want to see..."

To Vernon's surprise, his wife rejected his suggestion for the first time, so he shook his head and went to find tissues to deal with the damn owl droppings.

While he was grumbling and searching for tissues, Penny had already quickly opened the letter and started skimming through it.

"He's coming."

"Who?"

"Dumbledore."

Vernon turned his head and felt that the name was somewhat familiar.

Penny grew nervous as she spoke, “He’s coming to visit us to talk—well, to talk about Harry.”

-

"It's all because of your stupidity, Bigfoot! Now that Dumbledore is coming, let's see what you're going to do!"

Lupin cursed angrily as he read the letter.

He was one of the best-tempered professors in the castle, but he hadn't stopped swearing all week—ever since he found a mandrake leaf in Harry's mouth.

As one of the people who witnessed his friend's entire self-study process, he hasn't stopped cursing Sirius Black for days.

Without consulting anyone, or even keeping it from him, he secretly began teaching Harry the Animagus Transfiguration spell—if he hadn't noticed that Harry's voice seemed hoarse for so long, he might not have discovered this until the first step of the spell was completed.

Harry would have stopped if he hadn't been so close to completing the first step.

But now, Harry has almost completed the first step, and has also learned most of the theoretical knowledge through Sirius's one-on-one instruction. It would be a shame to stop now.

"What do we do now? If Dumbledore finds out you taught Harry such dangerous magic, you'll be sorry!"

Lupin grew angrier as he spoke, and Dumbledore's letter rustled as he waved his arm. Sirius didn't dare utter a word, as if Professor McGonagall had come to scold him in person.

"What should we do... Harry's already learned this much, and he's learning very quickly. He should be able to complete his transformation by this summer vacation..."

"Still talking, still talking!"

Lupin now regrets it; he feels he should have stopped it sooner, but now…

-

"I don't think I need to make any preparations to receive a crazy old man. I don't need to wear my suit at all!"

Vernon complained, but he still had to change his clothes at his wife's urging.

After a tense wait of about half an hour, there was a knock on the door.

A tall, thin man in a black travel cloak appeared at the door. He ignored Vernon's extremely impolite gaze. "This should be it. It's been a long time since I was last here."

"However, let's assume that you have already warmly invited me into your home, since you seem to have been prepared for my visit."

He nimbly stepped over the threshold and closed the door behind him.

"Blake, you...!!!"

Lupin's almost roaring voice could be faintly heard from next door, which brought a smile to Dumbledore's face. "I think you should remember the agreement and receive the monthly allowance for Harry's living expenses, both past and present."

“Yes…” Vernon found some strength to object when money was mentioned, “I’m not overly greedy, but rather—”

“Greed often leads us to lose more,” Dumbledore interrupted him sternly, “so say no more, my dear friend. Ah, this must be Petunia, you must have received my letter.”

The conversation ended pleasantly about ten minutes later.

Dumbledore indicated that Harry's monthly allowance would be increased appropriately, and that the Dursleys would continue to acknowledge this as Harry's home.

After reiterating everything, Dumbledore calmly left. Amidst the Dursleys' eager anticipation of his departure, he walked straight out and knocked on the door next door…

"I knew it... a madman is a madman!"

-

“I just came from next door.”

Dumbledore glanced at Sirius Black, who was trembling nervously at the door, and Lupin, whose expression wasn't too good. "Looks like you two had quite a lively time..."

"Ah, it's alright, though it can be a bit noisy sometimes."

Given that Sirius was so nervous that he dared not speak, Lupin had no choice but to bite the bullet and go to meet him—damn it, he would never have been so unsure of himself, even when he was with Professor McGonagall!

Not long ago, he suddenly remembered something important—after the mandrake leaves had been held in place for a month, they needed a long period of spell maintenance until the thunderstorms arrived, and by the time Harry had almost finished, summer vacation was only less than halfway over…

After he asked out of curiosity, Sirius Black's answer was—"Then we'll find an excuse to get Harry to go help Hagrid, because the Thunderbird from Hogwarts hasn't been returned yet, so we won't have to wait long..."

'Sending him to school would be tantamount to telling Dumbledore that Harry is secretly learning Animagus techniques, wouldn't it?'

With that in mind, he had to tell Sirius how flawed his plan was… albeit by yelling…

"No matter what, I am very pleased to see you living here happily."

Dumbledore nodded and looked at Harry. "Good morning, Harry. You seem to be having a very good time."

"Yes, Professor, I'm very happy."

Harry tried hard not to look at the game console hidden next to the TV, and also tried to cover the mandrake leaf under his tongue so as not to give anything away.

"That's great! May I come into the living room?"

"Of course, of course!"

Sirius finally snapped out of it and turned to call out to the kitchen, "Dobby, is the wine ready yet?"

"Of course!"

The little elf responded happily, saying that although it had helped tidy up and hide most of the things in the house that were not related to studying, it did not feel tired at the moment.

Soon, the wine was opened, and everyone sat on the sofa with a glass in front of each person, even Harry had a glass with the bottom of it emptied.

“This is much better than the treatment I received at Malfoy Manor.”

Dumbledore laughed. "It's clear you're getting along very well, which is something to be very happy about."

“This counts as a home visit,” Dumbledore said, raising his glass. “Also, I need Harry and me to do something.”

"Get something done?"

"Yes, it's something that Harry has to do in person to get things done."

Dumbledore smiled. "Although there were some difficulties in coordinating things, we still managed to get most of the previous tasks done."