Taking the Wind Out of Old Snivellus!

Sirius never imagined that he would be captured by a Slytherin woman and sent to his lifelong enemy Snivellus Old Bat.

Snape never imagined that a student would send one of his greatest enemies, second only to James Potter — Sirius Black —to his office.

God knows how many midnight dreams Snape had filled with rage, wanting to utterly destroy those two enemies!

But!

Now, the best opportunity is right in front of us.

He wanted to say something more, but then he saw that the good student had already tactfully left.

Um...

He looked down at Sirius Black again, a more wicked smile spreading across his face.

But just as Sirius was about to shout, he found his stomach churning and the world spinning before his eyes.

Immediately afterwards, his stomach began to cramp violently, causing him to grimace in pain.

"Stop pretending, Black." Snape grinned, his smug smile almost forming Nike logo. "Or are you scared?"

"Woof woof woof!" The big Black Dog rolled around on the ground, thrashing about like a live fish that had fallen into a frying pan.

"You should know that even so, I won't let you go, so why bother?" Snape chuckled villainously.

However, to Snape's surprise, the big Black Dog suddenly stopped struggling. It seemed to have seen through the meaning of life and lay flat on the floor of his office, its eyes revealing a loss of hope for life.

Snape instinctively sensed something was wrong, but another kind of venomous enemy instinct compelled him to say something.

But just as he opened his mouth, he heard a "pfft" sound.

Um...

The big Black Dog has diarrhea.

Snape's composure lasted only two seconds before he broke down, first with anger, and then... still with anger.

"Sirius Black!" he roared angrily, pulling out his wand and wielding Clean-up the big Black Dog.

Then, he quickly put the bottles of Potions back in his hand and found two more bottles of other colors—they didn't look as bright or shiny, just a very ordinary color—a yellowish-brown.

Just then, Veratia arrived at Professor Scamander's small tent.

Pabbie was playing football outside and seemed very happy, even though she was alone.

Of course, Newt and Tina, being elderly and frail, didn't seem like the type to play football with Pabbie.

Seeing Veratia approaching, Pabbie stepped forward with his front leg and passed the ball to Veratia's feet.

"Come on!" Pabbie said excitedly to Veratia, "Come play with us..."

"It's urgent, Pabbie." Veratia's expression was somewhat anxious. She quickly walked to Pabbie's side and whispered, "I found a big Black Dog on the roadside—it looks a lot like the one that sat next to you during the Quidditch Match. It wasn't in a very good mental state, so I took it to Professor Snape's Potions Class office... But I didn't expect that this big Black Dog seems to have a grudge against Professor Snape..."

"What?!" Pabbie jumped up and down, exclaiming anxiously, "Oh no! Snape is the worst! What if he uses my Black Dog friend as Potions ingredient... Oh my god!"

Although she didn't know the big Black Dog's true identity, Black Dog had been occasionally bringing it food lately. If it had been taken away by Professor Sprout and others, Pabbie might not have said anything, but the problem was that the person who took the big Black Dog away was Snape.

What good could come of it falling into Snape's hands?

What's more, the two of them have a grudge against each other...

Pabbie was genuinely scared. What if Snape killed the big Black Dog?

"Yes," Veratia chimed in, "That would be terrible! We should go save him—don't forget, you're school board member— "

"Oh, right!"

Reminded by Veratia, Pabbie also remembered his position school board member.

She raised her head and said happily, "Yes, I'm school board member —why would I be afraid of that Old Bat?! Come with me and rescue that big Black Dog!"

Having said that, she took off at full speed, heading straight for Hogwarts Castle.

Veratia followed slowly behind, seemingly in no hurry.

Pabbie ran all the way to Professor Snape's office door. Without saying a word, she stood up and kicked the office door with her two front legs.

The office door couldn't withstand such an attack from Pabbie and crashed to the ground with a loud thud.

In the Dean's office, Snape, who had just finished feeding the big Black Dog its medicine, looked up, a hint of surprise flashing in his dark eyes.

What is this Unicorn school board member doing here?

Before Snape could speak, the school board member lady at the door suddenly spoke up.

"Hey! Professor Snape!" Pabbie called out from the doorway, "Your days of mischief are over! Hand over the big Black Dog!"

"You're too late," Snape said menacingly, looking up at him. "I've already given him the stomach-washing medicine—though it didn't taste very good, I still doubt Gryffindor's intelligence. What kind of brain could possibly allow him to mix spider venom glands with berries and eat them together?"

"Huh?" Pabbie was stunned.

"Should I continue?" Snape said coldly. "This Mr. Black Dog —or perhaps I should call him Black, he's developed a gluttonous habit and got sick in the Forbidden Forest —so I've had to temporarily act as a veterinarian. That's the situation, Miss school board member."

"Black?" Pabbie was stunned again.

Of course she knew Black; when she was in school, the Headmaster of Hogwarts was surnamed Black.

Yes, the Headmaster everyone "likes" so much, Mr. Black. Phineas Black.

"Oh—" Snape drawled, looking down at the large Black Dog lying lifelessly on the ground, "So you're still hiding your true identity, not even daring to reveal it to your new friend. I think your Animagus should switch places with Peter Pettigrew and become a mouse..."

Upon hearing Peter's name, the big Black Dog's eyes lit up.

His eyes gleamed with ferocity, and he howled weakly yet fiercely, having no doubt that if Peter appeared before him, he would be torn to shreds.

"Look at you, still as energetic as ever." Snape's lips curled into a forced smile. "Just like when you relieved yourself in my office—good heavens, I can't believe that Sirius Black, the once-famous figure at school, has really turned into a dog..."

"You're saying he's Sirius Black?" Pabbie pressed. "The Sirius Black that Harry's been looking for? His father James Potter's friend?"

Sirius turned around and barked twice at Pabbie.

Seeing Sirius's anxious expression, Pabbie felt a little overwhelmed.

That big Black Dog?

Is he Harry's Godfather?

Good heavens... his Godfather actually... ate raw rats and live spiders...

For a moment, Pabbie even wished she had never seen that scene.

"Is he also trapped in Animagus form?" Pabbie asked again.

"Oh, no," Snape said casually, "The ropes binding his two front paws are just to prevent him from turning back into human form."

As soon as he finished speaking, Lupin appeared with a thud and stumbled over to Sirius's side.

Without saying a word, he reached out and untied the rope binding Sirius's front paws.

For a fleeting moment, Sirius suddenly stood up and transformed into a scrawny, middle-aged man.

"Remus?" he asked, somewhat incredulously.

"Padfoot!" Lupin, showing no disgust at the dirt on Sirius's body, scooped him into a tight hug. "My God, my God, twelve years! You're finally back—"

"Don't worry about me, Remus!" Sirius yelled. "Catch that traitor Peter! He's in the hands of that youngest Weasley family son, turned into a rat! I saw it in the Daily Prophet! That rat was missing a finger from its front paw!"

"Look at this, what a touching friendship!" Snape stood far behind. "I'm about to throw up..."

"Shut up, Snivellus!" Sirius weakly turned around and cursed.

Snape smirked and retaliated mercilessly.

"Oh, it seems that Black Dog has completely forgotten that I just saved his life. He even has time to bark at his savior. People say that dogs are loyal, but I don't think that's entirely true now. Just like this Black Dog in front of me, he's an ungrateful beast..."

Pabbie stared in astonishment at the three middle-aged men in front of her—she had a feeling that there was a drama unfolding before her, with three old men making a spectacle of themselves.

"What just happened?" Professor Lupin asked, keenly grasping the key point in Snape's sarcastic and complex sentence.

Snape smirked.

"Yes, let him tell us himself—tell us what he ate."

"What did you eat?" Lupin asked Sirius with concern, bending down to look at him. "Buddy—"

"The most important thing now is to catch that bastard Peter!" Sirius said, trembling. "I've waited too long for this day! Twelve years! In Azkaban!"

"He's been brought to justice," Lupin sighed. "Just the night before last, after you were bitten by the Sphinx — Harry, with our Marauder's Map, captured Pettigrew had turned into a mouse..."

Sirius was stunned.

Then he smiled with some relief.

"Hahaha, it's Harry." He covered his face and laughed happily. "My goodness, he's really great, isn't he? Just as outstanding as his father—"

"I really hope you're not blind," Snape said coldly from the side. "If you ever had any contact with Potter, you'd find that he bears absolutely no resemblance to his fat-headed father..."

Pabbie opened her mouth, intending to defend Harry, but suddenly realized that Snape wasn't insulting Harry, but rather Harry's father, James Potter.

Then it has nothing to do with her anymore, she thought.

Lupin recounted the events to Sirius in fits and starts, while Sirius listened quietly without uttering a word.

"Alright, if you two old folks want to catch up, I suggest you head over to the Headmaster's Office," Snape said coldly. "The Potions Office isn't a place for your romantic escapades, understand?"

"Let's go," Lupin said, patting Sirius on the shoulder. "Professor Dumbledore is already waiting for us in the Headmaster's Office..."

Before he could finish speaking, Sirius's expression changed.

Without saying a word, he clutched his stomach and ran out of Snape's office.

Lupin was somewhat taken aback. He looked back at Snape suspiciously, feeling that the old Snivellus had somehow added something to Sirius's Potions —just like how the Wolfsbane Potion he brewed for him always had a shitty smell.

Snape gave a mysterious smile and pointed to the door of his office.

"Come on, Professor Lupin," Pabbie said from the side. "My goodness, I really didn't expect that the big Black Dog was Harry's Godfather Black ... How did you know he was here?"

"Miss Grindelwald told me," Lupin said with a smile.

"I see." Pabbie nodded knowingly, then smiled at Lupin and said, "Oh, Veratia is the best. If she told you this, I'm not surprised."

A short while later, Sirius emerged weakly from the washroom.

He looked extremely weak; as the saying goes, even a hero can't withstand three bouts of diarrhea, and he was now experiencing that to some extent.

Now he's starting to regret it a little—if he'd known spider venom sacs weren't edible, he wouldn't have eaten them. It's all his fault for not knowing they were venom sacs; he just thought they were sweet, like a creamy, rich hot cocoa...

"How are you, Padfoot?" Lupin asked with concern, stepping forward to support Sirius.

"Thank goodness, at least he's not dead yet." Sirius sighed and looked up at Lupin.

"So what's wrong with you? Why did the Snivellus say he saved you?" Lupin asked curiously.

Sirius sighed again.

"It's all that damn Slytherin woman's fault! The one who's always around Harry!"

Pabbie and Lupin exchanged a glance, then asked curiously, "The Slytherin woman? Which one?"

Sirius paused for a moment.

Which one?!

Does Harry have... oh right, it seems there are indeed two.

"It's that one who always has a smile on her face," Sirius muttered. "She's definitely not a good person—good heavens, I sincerely advise you, Old Pal, when we meet Harry, you absolutely must tell him that this woman is no good, and make sure he stays away from her..."

"It was Veratia who notified us to come here and rescue you," Pabbie said to Sirius. "She said she saw you on the way, and you weren't doing well, so she brought you to Professor Snape so he could give you some medicine..."

"She definitely knows something!" Sirius closed his eyes in anguish. "Good heavens, Snivellus's Potions are all oily, I really suspect he spilled his hair oil into them when he was brewing Potions..."

"So what's wrong with you?" Lupin asked curiously.

"Oh." Sirius said a little embarrassedly, "This morning, I caught a Acromantula. Its venom sac looked delicious, so I ate it along with some wild strawberries..."

Lupin and Pabbie exchanged a glance, their expressions revealing a complex mix of emotions.

Pabbie felt a little guilty because she was the one who found the snakeberries for Sirius.

"So it seems Veratia really was saving you, Padfoot," Lupin earnestly advised. "I think you still have a prejudice against Slytherin. Although your family members are somewhat extreme, Miss Grindelwald is different. If you get to know her better, you'll find that she is actually..."

"It's nothing good either," Sirius said quickly.

"That's just prejudice, Padfoot," Lupin sighed. "But anyway, she still saved you."

Sirius was a little frustrated, and he didn't know what to say.

I was going to tell the truth, that when Miss Grindelwald and Harry were having a close encounter, he interrupted them with a few barks like a single dog from behind.

Isn't that inappropriate?

If you say it that way, then what was originally a valid point becomes somewhat unreasonable.

"Listen to me, Padfoot," Lupin coaxed him. "Listen to me, when you see Miss Grindelwald later, thank her, okay? After all, Harry and she are quite close..."

Sirius sniffed and decided to heed Lupin's advice.

However, he felt it was also necessary to make Harry realize the evil nature of that wicked woman!

"Also, I want to thank you, Miss Pabbie," Sirius said, turning to Pabbie. "You really went through a lot of trouble during that time, getting me a lot of food supplies from outside, which saved me from the pain of hunger..."

"It's nothing, Mr. Black," Pabbie nodded. "You're Harry's Godfather, I know how much you love him—good heavens, you'd eat a rat for him...I could never do that."

"Haha..." Sirius scratched the back of his head and chuckled sheepishly, "You know Harry too?"

"We're friends." Pabbie thought for a moment, then added, "Very, very, very good friends."

"Oh, I see. I was thinking of introducing you to Harry," Sirius said with a chuckle.

"But I must apologize, Mr. Black," Pabbie said sullenly. "I didn't know what a snakeberry was... Oh dear, I've messed up..."

"Oh, it's alright," Sirius said with a chuckle. "It's my fault, I shouldn't have been so greedy—"

As he spoke, Sirius thought Pabbie, the Unicorn, was quite impressive.

"If only she were human, "Sirius thought to himself. "If she were human, she would be perfect for Harry —so gentle, so innocent..."

She's on a completely different level from those wicked women of Slytherin! I chatted and laughed with her effortlessly...

They chatted and laughed all the way, and soon arrived at the Headmaster's Office.

Sirius has sharp eyes; he spotted the wicked Slytherin woman standing behind Harry at first glance.

His eyelids twitched.

Wicked witch of Slytherin! Keep your hands away from my godson!

But he ultimately didn't say those words, because it would seem somewhat "ungrateful."

Everyone was convinced that this wicked woman had saved him, but Sirius would never believe that this Slytherin woman had such a kind heart.

She definitely holds a grudge against me! Sirius thought viciously to himself.

Veratia noticed Sirius's gaze and gave Sirius a meaningful smile.

The meaning was clear—if you disturb my and your son's good time again, just wait and see.

Sirius took a deep breath and decided to look away.

He wasn't actually holding a grudge against Veratia for trying to harm him or anything; he just felt a little uncomfortable about having a major accident in front of the Snivellus (literally).

If James finds out, he'll laugh at me to death!

He looked at Harry.

Harry was so easily recognizable that he shone like a firefly in the night among the crowd.

The scar on his forehead, his messy hair, and the half-eaten Licorice Wand sticking out of his pocket all betrayed him—of course, what made Sirius immediately recognize him was Harry's face, which was almost identical to James's.

Only their eyes are different.

"Harry?" He stepped forward, trembling slightly, a little reserved and timid.

He suddenly regretted it; would things have been better if he had taken a shower before coming to the Headmaster's Office? Instead, he wouldn't be looking like a homeless person now.

Will Harry dislike me because of this?

As I was thinking this, I realized that someone had already jumped into my arms.

"Sirius!" Harry hugged Sirius tightly. "Oh my god, I can't believe it's real—"

Harry wasn't acting; in fact, he was genuinely moved by Sirius's willingness to escape from prison to come to Hogwarts to protect him.

There aren't many people in this world who are truly good to someone, at least that's what Harry thinks, especially since Sirius is his parents' good friend and his Godfather.

Even legendary wizards from a hundred years ago had an extreme longing for family affection.

"Harry," Pabbie chimed in at the opportune moment, "Mr. Black really loves you—good heavens, he even ate a rat for you, think about it..."

"Eat rats?" Harry looked at Sirius with suspicion.

Sirius turned his face away shyly, looked up at the ceiling of the Headmaster's Office, and said, "Oh, it's just that we didn't have any food for a while and ate some mice in the forest. It's nothing serious."

"And he even ate spider venom glands at noon today," Veratia said with a grin from behind. "If I hadn't discovered him in time and taken him to Professor Snape's office, he probably would have been poisoned to death."

It would have been better if we hadn't brought this up, because as soon as we did, Sirius's face darkened a bit.

Lupin cleared his throat at the opportune moment.

"Cough cough cough..."

"Do you have a cold, Professor?" Veratia asked casually.

"Thank you, Miss Grindelwald," Sirius said awkwardly. "Thank you for saving my life."

"You're welcome, Mr. Black," Veratia said with a smile. "Harry is also a good friend of mine, his Godfather, which means he's someone I... someone I respect. It's what I should do."

You mean to say that his Godfather is also your Godfather, right?

That's what you wanted to say, right?

Sirius was gritting his teeth inwardly, but he still had to put on a happy smile on his face.

Good heavens, he was a little sad now, if Harry really fell into the hands of this wicked woman...

I dare not think about it.

Prongs, I'm so sorry!

Sirius let out a soft woof and cried in his heart.

"You really should thank Miss Grindelwald for saving your dog's life."

Not far away, a sinister figure spoke in a strange tone. When Sirius looked up, he only saw a swaying expanse of black seaweed.

"Old Snivellus, you should wash your hair," Sirius retorted sarcastically.

To everyone's surprise, Snape wasn't angry at all, and even had the energy to retaliate.

"Oh, so this is the Gryffindor glory you're so proud of, is it?" he retorted leisurely. "I wish you could learn a thing or two from your godson and have him teach you what manners are."

"Alright, Severus, Sirius," Dumbledore said, stopping the two old enemies' verbal sparring. "I'm glad you've been exonerated, Sirius— "

"Thank you, Professor Dumbledore," Sirius said, straightening his back. He then greeted the professors, "It's a pleasure to meet you all, Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, Professor Sprout."

The three professors smiled and nodded at Sirius, especially Professor McGonagall, who was genuinely pleased to see Sirius standing there unharmed.

"The Daily Prophet once told me that when we found you, they wanted to have an exclusive interview with you," Professor Dumbledore continued. "They wanted to interview you about your journey over the years, and why you suddenly had the idea to change your Secret Keeper at the last minute..."

"It was indeed my oversight," Sirius said softly. "It was my fault; I shouldn't have made that suggestion."

"Oh, it's nothing," said Professor Dumbledore. "Now that it's all over, there's nothing more to say— Peter is now at large, what are your plans?"

"Dumbledore!" Phineas Black's portrait called out from behind, "We agreed, we made a pact, that my good great-grandson would stay at Hogwarts..."

Upon hearing Phineas's words, Snape showed extreme disgust.

"Make that Black Dog Black a professor?" Sirius glanced at Snape. "Fine, are you planning to get the whole school into the habit of barking at everyone they meet?"

Actually, Sirius originally wanted to refuse the suggestion, since he was used to being free.

But since this suggestion displeased the old Snivellus, Sirius felt that he had to stay at school for a while no matter what, just to put the old Snivellus's arrogance to rest!

He ignored Snape and was about to agree when he suddenly felt something was wrong.

"Wait a minute, my dear great-grandfather." Sirius looked at Phineas's portrait suspiciously. "Didn't you think I was Black's traitor? Why do you suddenly seem to think of me as your good great-grandson?"

"Because your godson is Harry Potter!" Phineas said, puffing out his chest as if it were some kind of immense honor—something that would make the Black family's ancestral graves glow with green light.

It should be said that ever since Phineas learned that Harry Potter's Godfather was his great-grandson, he felt that his pride had suddenly swelled up countless times.

Regardless, he acknowledged Harry's indelible contributions to suppressing the Goblin Rebellion and destroying the Ashwinder Party.

Now, the most hopeless descendant of the Black family home — Sirius who ran away to Gryffindor —has actually taken the legendary wizard Harry as his godson. This is...

Is this also part of your plan, my dear great-grandson?

"Oh, that is indeed an honor in my eyes." Sirius chuckled and patted his clothes.

He turned back, intending to pat Harry on the shoulder, but then suddenly withdrew his hand.

He was so dirty that Sirius was afraid he would soil his godson's clothes.

"Then you'll serve as a Defense Against the Dark Arts for the time being." Professor Dumbledore quickly found a suitable job for Sirius.

It should be said that this position did indeed need someone, and it wasn't just Dumbledore randomly put in – because Lupin, for reasons known to only a few people, always had a few days each month when he wasn't feeling well and needed to take leave, which is where Sirius had to fill in.

"Black and Lupin, birds of a feather flock together," Snape muttered to himself.

In any case, it was inevitable that Black would become an assistant instructor for the Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Even if Snape wanted to object, he had no reason to do so.

After all, Black isn't a fugitive anymore; he's transformed into a hero who would risk his life for his friends.

"I'll find another opportunity, "Snape thought to himself, but he still felt a little regretful because he couldn't subtly hint to his classmates in class that Lupin was a Werewolf.

But that's alright, there's still a long road ahead, he thought to himself.

"Alright, I think you all need to go back and catch up, or take a hot bath," Dumbledore said with a smile. "After all, life on the streets isn't easy. Sirius, as the Headmaster of Hogwarts, I'm glad you've been exonerated and are back in the light of day—but more than a decade in prison might have made you out of touch with life. You should get used to life outside during this time."

"Yes, Professor," Sirius said happily.

He planned to go back to the abandoned classroom on the second floor to sleep, because he used to always go there when he had nothing to do.

After he applied to Dumbledore, the Headmaster gladly granted his request.

After leaving the Headmaster's Office, Sirius whispered a few words to Harry before leaving with Lupin.

Harry had wanted to talk to Sirius about his father, James, but he also knew that Sirius needed to clean himself up, eat something, and then go to Madam Pomfrey's Hospital Wing.

"Thank you, Veratia," Harry said gratefully to Veratia. "If it weren't for you, my Godfather might be dead..."

"Oh, it's nothing." Veratia smiled faintly, looking down at Harry. "So, this is how you thank me? Not even a hug?"

"Is this okay?" Harry looked up at Veratia hesitantly.

Veratia reached out and ruffled Harry's messy hair. "You just hugged your Godfather, whom you've never met before. Aren't you going to be stingy with a hug for your old friend?"

Hmm... Harry thought about it for a moment, and it does seem to make sense.

Besides, it's not like I haven't hugged him before when I was replenishing mana.

With that thought in mind, Harry opened his arms and hugged Veratia.

It's very soft and moist.

"Thank you, Veratia." Harry felt a little intoxicated; he didn't want to leave this warm and cozy embrace.

"Good boy." Veratia leaned down and gently kissed Harry on the cheek.

Back in his dorm, Harry was still thinking about the kiss.

Oh my god, Veratia is so wonderful!

If Harry hadn't been thinking about taking more than his share, he might have been lost in Veratia's sweet kiss.

"You're back?" Ron said with a grin. "Good heavens, look at that smile... wait, you have lipstick on your face!"

He pointed to Harry's cheek.

"Is that even a question?" Ginny chimed in from the side. "It must have been Miss Grindelwald who kissed you, right? I remember she really liked you, even going so far as to sit on the Gryffindor bench as Slytherin —tell me, how far have you two gotten?"

"Don't talk nonsense." Harry wiped his face haphazardly. "Ahem, it was just an accident, um—by the way, my Godfather has been found, Sirius, he's going to be an assistant professor for Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"Cool!" Ron's thoughts were indeed swayed, and he said happily, "Then we won't have to worry about the Old Bat when Professor Lupin needs something—"

Before saying this, Ron glanced around warily.

Fortunately, this is Gryffindor Common Room, and Snape is not there.

If it were, that would be a bad dish.

"However," Harry said to Ron, "I think Professor Snape isn't too happy because Sirius ... has a very good relationship with my dad."

"I get it!" Ron exclaimed, slapping his thigh. "Sirius was partly responsible for hanging Professor Snape upside down to look at his Sirius, wasn't he? Or perhaps— Professor Lupin was partly responsible too, which is why he's targeting them both like this!"

(Those who think Harry shouldn't think this way can go and argue with @jk_rowling on X.)

"But I still feel that this behavior is not quite right," Harry said with a shrug.

"Why?" Ron asked, biting his Licorice Wand.

"My mother's memories tell me that my father—" Harry stopped there and didn't finish his sentence.

If it were just for that reason, Harry wouldn't be so emo—but the Peter incident clearly proves one thing: his father is indeed as arrogant and conceited as Snape said, otherwise he wouldn't have rejected Dumbledore the Secret Keeper and chosen someone else instead.

"Nobody's perfect, Harry." Ron didn't take it seriously at all. "You have to think of it this way: memories are selective, and so is your mother—you only saw one fragment... Think of it this way, Harry, if your son didn't know about your relationship with the Dark Lord and saw several fragments of memories—the first being you casting the Cruciatus Curse on him, the second the Killing Curse on Quirrell, and the third the Killing Curse on Voldemort —what kind of person do you think your son would think you are?"

You know what, Harry actually thinks Ron has a point...

"If you say it like that..." Harry's eyes lit up.

"Yes, man," Ron earnestly advised Harry. "So I suggest you seek information from multiple sources, such as asking the professors, Mr. Black, and Professor Lupin, his two closest friends, to find out what kind of person your father really is—only by seeking information from multiple sources can you get a comprehensive picture of him, man."

"What are you talking about?"

Hermione carried Jack down the stairs and asked them both with a grin.

"We were talking about Harry's father," Ron answered truthfully. "I suggest Harry not just rely on Professor Snape's description, but perhaps ask Professor Lupin and Mr. Black, two of Mr. Potter's close friends. What do you think, Hermione?"

"I think Ron is right, Harry," Hermione nodded and said, "The human form is a circle, not a straight line with only two ends."

"Okay." Harry nodded, agreeing with his friends.

After spending the night in the Common Room, Harry yawned, closed the books he had borrowed from the library, and went back to his dormitory.

He still found nothing; there was absolutely no way to break the Dark Magic Curse.

But that makes sense. If it were that easy to find, then the Defense Against the Dark Arts wouldn't have the problem of curses.

Harry was woken up very early the next morning by something hitting him.

Hedwig and several owls, carrying a long package, threw something at his face.

"Oh crap!" Harry opened his eyes. "I wish you could throw it more accurately, Hedwig, so I could get a new nose!"

Hedwig chirped twice and flapped her wings.

"What's wrong?" Ron asked, opening his sleepy eyes and getting up.

"The package," Harry said succinctly, "Just hit me in the face."

Ron immediately got out of bed.

Unwrapping gifts is an essential part of the experience, and you can't help but taste them.

"Cool, what's this?" Ron asked with a grin. "I think... it looks like a flying broom, don't you think?"

"Have no idea."

Harry answered, tearing open the package, and a beautiful, Winky flying broom rolled onto his bed.

"Absolutely amazing!"

Ron exclaimed in shock and jumped off the bed to get a closer look.

His hands trembled as he touched the perfect broom handle.

"I can't believe it," he said in a hoarse voice.

That was a Firebolt, the lifelong dream of every wizard who loves Quidditch and flying.

To ordinary Muggle, this broom is like Lamborghini or Ferrari—

Yes, in this era, Koenigsegg didn't exist yet, and Bugatti hadn't yet had its brand glory revived by Volkswagen.

Harry picked up the Firebolt, and it truly Winky like a dazzling jewel—he could even feel it trembling, as if yearning to be piloted by Harry and soar into the sky.

But since they were in the dormitory, he couldn't just ride on him like that, so he let go.

To Harry's surprise, the Firebolt was suspended in mid-air without any support, and the height above the ground was just right for him to ride on it.

"What a perfect masterpiece!" Harry exclaimed, his eyes following the gold serial number at the very top of the flying broom all the way to the perfectly smooth, streamlined tip.

"Who gave it to you?" Ron asked quietly.

"I don't know," Harry said, shrugging.

Ron tore open the packaging paper of the Firebolt.

"Oh, it's your Godfather," Ron said with a smile. "Look, it even has Black's signature—I know the Black family home is one of the Pure-blood families, and they're very wealthy, but a Firebolt like this is indeed quite valuable..."

"This is way too expensive..." Harry remarked. "Maybe I should have Sirius return this broom..."

"There's nothing I can do, Harry," Ron said regretfully. "Once sold, no returns or exchanges—unless it has a malfunction, but you know that's impossible."

"But that's such a waste of money..." Harry said, shaking his head.

"But he means well, Harry," Ron advised. "You mustn't hurt your Godfather's feelings..."

"Um."

Harry stroked the broom; he couldn't wait to go for a ride.

"However," he suddenly thought of something, "Aha, now that I have a new broom, I can give you my Nimbus 2000, Ron."

Ron, as if he had heard something incredulous, immediately reached out and shook Harry's shoulders. "Is this true? Harry? Is this true?"

He was actually a little hesitant to accept something so valuable—but a broom, a flying broom, no less...

And it's the Nimbus 2000...

"Of course it's true," Harry said with a grin. "I can't exactly ride two broomsticks, can I?"

Ron was instantly overwhelmed with immense joy. He was speechless for a long time. When he finally came to his senses, he shook his head and said, "My God, I even have the urge to call you Godfather..."

Hearing Ron's silly remark, Harry couldn't help but burst into laughter.

He pulled the box containing the Nimbus 2000 from under the bed and pushed it in front of Ron.

"Remember, Ron," Harry said, patting the box. "I'm giving you your Christmas present early this year—don't ask me why I didn't give you one at Christmas."

"Thank you, Harry," Ron said, deeply moved.

He arrived at the Great Hall in high spirits at breakfast, still holding the Firebolt in his hand.

"Good heavens, Potter!" The students all gathered around. "What—what kind of broom is this?"

"Firebolt." Harry chuckled and hovered the Firebolt to the side.

"Blood mother hell!" the Weasley twins cursed in unison, uttering a vulgarity from Ron. "Merlin, those are Firebolt— "

Harry happily showed off his Firebolt, while Veratia wrinkled her nose and cursed him inwardly as a spendthrift.

but...

If I had known it would make Harry this happy, I would have bought him Firebolt a long time ago...

Veratia thought to herself.

But then she remembered the empty vault that Gellert had moved into...

With a snap, the spoon broke in her hand.

Cassandra continued eating her breakfast without showing any emotion, but her mind was filled with thoughts of the first time she had given Harry the flying broomstick—

Harry was just as happy as he was now, excitedly showing off the broom to his friends Gareth and the others...

Thinking of this, Cassandra's expression softened.

"I'll go back to my vault during the Christmas holidays," she thought.

It's time to give Harry the present I bought for her, so let's do it this Christmas.

Harry didn't look towards Slytherin, but instead looked up at the Faculty Table.

Sirius had changed his clothes, sat in the Faculty Table. Although he looked thin, he still exuded an elegant and graceful demeanor.

Noticing Harry's gaze, Sirius smiled slightly and raised the cup in his hand towards Harry.

Harry returned his smile.

When school ended at noon that day, Harry found Sirius and thanked him.

"It's nothing, Harry," Sirius said with a chuckle. "You're the best Quidditch player ever—I've always wanted to buy James a good broom, but unfortunately I wasn't the head of the Black family home back then, and now I finally—"

"Finally become the head of the Black family home?" Ron asked tentatively.

"Finally, I've outlived them all," Sirius said happily. "I even told my mother's portrait about it—she was furious, and her furious curses echoed throughout the entire Black family home."

Ron leaned back tactically, filled with awe.

So filial, so incredibly filial!

"You should know what kind of people those Black are, those who have 'forever pure' engraved in their family motto." Sirius looked at Hermione beside him and said to her, "Miss Granger, right? Moony told me about you, and he said you're the smartest little witch he's ever met."

"Moony?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Oh, Moony was his nickname," Sirius said without hesitation. "We all had nicknames back then, like James was Prongs, I was Padfoot, Pi..."

When Peter was mentioned, he suddenly fell silent.

Everyone was very sensible and didn't ask any further questions.

"I heard you got your hands on that map?" Sirius asked with a smile. "The Marauder's Map —right? I heard you found that traitor using the Marauder's Map."

"Yes," Harry replied, "At first I thought Peter was an older student, but it turns out he's Ron's mouse—and they sleep together all the time..."

Ron looked terrified, waving his hands and shaking his head repeatedly.

"Merlin, Harry, stop talking, stop talking..."

"Hahaha." Sirius laughed heartily. "Nobody would have guessed he'd turn into a mouse and hide for twelve years—but did you show this map to old Snivellus?"

"Old Snivellus?" Hermione and Ron exchanged a glance.

"Oh, that's the nickname James gave Snape." Sirius even seemed to be getting excited when he mentioned James. "He really dislikes the nickname, but we don't care—if you show him the map, it'll be cursing him; it's something we made specifically for him—how about it, interested in joining me to put that old Snivellus's arrogance to rest?"

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