HP: Azkaban's Outstanding Graduate

Sagras nodded slightly: "Your time is very precious, and it is meaningless to waste it on pursuing the illusory twelve gates of excellence."

As he spoke, he reached out his hand, and a thick magic book, almost heavy enough to be used as a shield, floated lightly down from the towering bookshelf and landed steadily in his palm.

“I know you have a wide range of knowledge and have mastered a lot of magic,” he said, handing the book to Hermione, “but I hope you will also pay attention to their depth rather than their breadth.”

"Without a deep understanding of the nature of magic and the principles of magic, you will find it difficult to reach the threshold of creation."

What he handed over was none other than the book that every new student at Hogwarts would buy upon enrollment—"The Theory of Magic."

"You mean...creating your own spells?" Hermione instinctively reached for the book in Sagrais's hand, asking incredulously, "I can do that too?"

“Why not?” Sagres looked at her matter-of-factly. “As far as I know, Professor Snape created more than one spell while he was still a student.”

“Professor Snape?” Hermione’s voice rose an octave in shock.

“That’s right.” Sagres nodded calmly. “Putting aside his character, Professor Snape was indeed a genius in the fields of spells and potions.”

Hermione nodded reluctantly, but curiosity compelled her to press on, "And you, Professor, when you were studying..."

“Of course, so do I,” Sagres said frankly. “But doesn’t it sound a bit disrespectful to directly declare oneself a genius?”

"You've always been an arrogant and conceited fellow!" A cold voice rang out without warning.

Snape emerged silently from the shadows of the bookshelf, clutching an ancient book with a somber cover.

His face was as somber as the cover of the book he was holding, clearly having heard Sagres's comment about "putting aside character."

"Is there something wrong with my character in your eyes, Sagres?"

He practically squeezed those words out between his teeth.

"Absolutely not!"

Sagres turned around, a flawless smile on his face.

Perhaps their voices were too clear in the quiet library, because Mrs. Pince peeked out from behind a bookshelf in the distance and gave them a stern look several times, silently issuing a warning.

Snape snorted, tossed aside his robes, and turned to leave.

Only after the black-robed figure disappeared behind the layers of bookshelves did Sagras turn around, lower his voice to Hermione, and add in a serious tone, "What I mean is, Professor Snape has absolutely no 'character,' because I received a lot of 'special treatment' from him when I was in school."

His tone was unusually teasing.

Hermione couldn't help but burst out laughing, quickly covering her mouth with her hand and her shoulders trembling slightly.

After a while, Hermione finally stopped laughing and looked curiously at the thick book that Sagrais had been holding.

"Professor, what is that book you're holding...?"

“A book about the application of transfiguration in ancient ritual magic,” Sagres said, glancing down at the book in his hand, a hint of regret in his voice. “Unfortunately, many of the core materials recorded in it have been lost, and I’m afraid there will never be a suitable substitute.”

His tone returned to calm, and Hermione nodded understandingly, her eyes revealing regret for the lost knowledge.

Sagres said no more. He nodded to Hermione, then steadily held the heavy ancient book in his hands and turned to walk into the deep, quiet jungle of bookshelves in the library.

He still tried to find any remaining clues related to it.

Chapter 223 Marauder's Map

Time quickly passed to the second Hogsmeade Week, and the castle was filled with joyful excitement.

The students were excitedly discussing Honeydukes' new candies, Three Brooms' Butterbeer, and Joko's Joke Shop's prank props.

Although Harry's mood wasn't as heavy as before, the familiar feeling of loneliness returned as he watched his friends flock to the gate.

Surprisingly, Ron and Hermione also stayed.

They walked up to Harry, and Ron scratched his red hair, saying in a deliberately casual tone, "Hey Harry, actually... well, there's not much to see. Percy was right about one thing: Hogsmeade is just so-so, a mess, and too much sweets will give you a toothache."

Hermione nodded vigorously beside her, clutching several thick books in her arms, trying to use studying as a cover: "That's right, and I happen to have a few papers to finish, the library is much quieter."

Harry felt a surge of warmth in his heart as he watched their clumsy attempts at comforting him, and his eyes even welled up with tears.

He knew they had given up the trip to be with him.

This kindness deeply moved him, but it also made him feel even more guilty.

“Thank you,” he said, his voice trembling, “but…it really doesn’t have to be like this. You should go, have fun. I…I can go to Hagrid’s, or…”

“Don’t be silly, Harry,” Hermione interrupted him, her tone firm. “We think we’re fine here.”

Just then, two identical heads with mischievous smiles peeked out from behind the corridor pillars—it was Fred and George Weasley.

They strolled over, mimicking Percy's serious demeanor.

"Hey, you poor little imprisoned creatures!" Fred chuckled and patted Harry on the shoulder.

“And two loyal jailers!” George gave Ron and Hermione an exaggerated salute.

"Why didn't you go to Hogsmeade?" Ron asked, raising an eyebrow in surprise.

"Oh, well, we just haven't set off yet," Fred said mysteriously.

“After all, we can go anytime we want,” George chimed in, with a hint of boasting.

"There's no need to wait until Hogsmeade Week."

"It doesn't require anyone's signature or permission."

"Leave whenever you want."

"Anytime, anywhere".

"Do whatever you want."

"So what are you all doing standing here...?" Ron frowned, looking confused.

“Oh, my dear brother,” Fred said mysteriously, “sometimes a great prank requires a little… special tools.”

He and George exchanged a knowing glance.

George pulled a square, seemingly empty old parchment from his pocket.

“Harry,” he said solemnly, placing the parchment into Harry’s hand, his voice low, “after much deliberation…”

"We all agree that you might need it more than we do..."

"It's time to entrust it to you."

"Consider it... an early Christmas surprise."

Harry stared in bewilderment at the blank, badly worn parchment.

"What is this? An old parchment?"

“It’s not just a simple old parchment.” George shook his head, a proud smile on his face.

"It's the secret to our continued success!" Fred's eyes gleamed.

"It was also our guiding light during countless nighttime outings!" George added, a hint of nostalgia and pride on his face.

“That doesn’t sound good.” Hermione frowned warily.

"Don't worry at all."

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Weasley twins present you with an exclusive treasure: the Marauder's Map!" they announced in unison, as if announcing a priceless gem.

"Marine Map?" The trio looked bewildered. "What's that?"

“You’ll find out soon enough,” Fred grinned. “Shall we do it, George?”

“I’ll do it, Fred,” George nodded.

"Look closely, you three. You only have one chance. Don't cry if you miss it."

George took out his wand and tapped it on the parchment. "I solemnly swear that I will not do anything good."

As the incantation was recited, it was as if invisible ink was rapidly flowing and outlining on the parchment.

Intricate lines and tiny characters spread out like a spider web, instantly covering the entire parchment—a detailed map of Hogwarts Castle and its secret passages leapt off the page.

Even more amazingly, countless tiny ink footprints were moving, each labeled with a name: Snape remained motionless in the cellar, Filch and his cat Mrs. Norris patrolled the third-floor corridor, Dumbledore paced in the Headmaster's office...

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were so shocked they couldn't speak, their eyes wide open.

"This is...this is amazing!"

Hermione murmured, forgetting her earlier worry about "danger," "a powerful magical artifact."

Fred pointed proudly at the map: "Look, these are all the secret passages in the castle! The one under the Whomping Willow leads somewhere unknown; the one behind the One-Eyed Witch statue leads straight to the Honey Duke's cellar! And this one..."

He began to explain in detail the secret passages that only the two of them knew.

“Harry, precisely because we know you can’t go to Hogsmeade, we feel that you are the most suitable owner for it right now.”

"You've been keeping this from me all this time?! I'm your own brother!" Ron exclaimed incredulously.

“Precisely because you are our dear little brother, Ronnie,” Fred said with a grin, putting his arm around Ron’s shoulder, “that’s why we can’t let you go astray.”

“After all, the Weasleys have enough of us two for pranks,” George said, blinking.

Ron remained silent, fuming.

Harry, who had been staring at the map, suddenly pointed to a name on it and said with some doubt, "But this map doesn't seem as amazing as you guys say. Look, Sirius Black is dead, but his name is still on it."

"what?"

The group immediately crowded around, their eyes focused on where Harry was pointing.

"This is Professor Lupin's office!" Hermione frowned deeply after seeing the location.

The map clearly showed that next to Professor Remus Lupin's name, another ink dot was slowly moving, and the name marked on that dot was like a needle, piercing their hearts:

Sirius Black

The smiles on Fred and George's faces vanished completely, replaced by an unprecedented solemnity.

Fred's voice was hoarse: "The map... the map has never been wrong, Harry. It never lies."

"This is impossible!"

Harry cried out, "He's dead! The newspapers said so! The Ministry of Magic took the body away! Didn't you all see it?"

As soon as the words were spoken, everyone felt a chill run from the soles of their feet straight to the top of their heads, and the hairs on their bodies stood on end.