Old Snivellus Owes Levicorpus!

Things suddenly became awkward.

However, it's not entirely Neville's fault, since even Mrs. Weasley. and Mr. Weasley sometimes can't tell who is George and who is Fred.

But this did not stop George and Fred from making an issue of it.

After all, teasing an honest kid like Neville is just so much fun.

The two brothers used to enjoy teasing Ron, but as Ron gets older, he's becoming harder and harder to tease.

As the saying goes, "old people are cunning, and old horses are slippery," and that's exactly the point.

"Sorry," Neville said awkwardly, "My eyesight isn't very good."

"Oh, it's nothing," George said casually. "We're both used to it anyway, used to being mistaken for someone else, aren't we, Fred?"

"Yeah, George," Fred chimed in with a wink.

"Alright, you two." Ginny couldn't stand it anymore and stepped in to help. "Stop bullying Neville — Neville, listen to me, you don't need to feel guilty. They're just like that. In fact, they're used to being mistaken for each other, you know? Even our parents can't tell them apart."

"Oh, that's really upsetting," Fred complained.

"Look at this, and she's supposed to be our sister?" George chimed in, "She doesn't show us any consideration whatsoever!"

At this point, Neville was well aware that Fred and George were playing a trick on him, and his feelings of guilt had long since vanished.

Being an honest person is such a disadvantage!

Over there, Sadina's melodious singing continued.

"We danced to this music when we were eighteen!" Mrs. Weasley wiped her eyes with the yarn she was knitting. "Do you remember, Arthur?"

"Hmm?" Weasley, who was peeling a tangerine and dozing off, said first, "Oh, yeah—what a wonderful tune—"

He tried to sit up a little straighter and turned to look at Lupin sitting next to him.

"Sorry," he said, turning his head towards the radio, where Cetina was already singing a refrain, "It'll be over soon."

Lupin smiled gently at Mr. Weasley. He didn't think there was anything wrong with listening to the love stories of his seniors; in fact, it was quite interesting.

Just then, Cassandra walked in, arm in arm with Harry.

At the same time, Tina ended her singing on the radio with a long, high note, and loud applause came from the radio, with Mrs. Weasley clapping excitedly as well.

"Is it over?" Phoebe said. "Thank goodness, it sounds awful."

Bill seemed to have given up on mending the relationship between his girlfriend and his mother. He turned his face away and looked out the window. In fact, he had tried many times to repair their relationship, but all his attempts had failed.

Mrs. Weasley, of course, heard Phoebe's words, and her face immediately darkened.

"She's really—" Cassandra whispered in Harry's ear, "I feel like she's making herself unhappy. Why does she always have to go against her boyfriend's mother?"

"Perhaps they're just naturally incompatible," Harry said, glancing at Mrs. Weasley's grim expression. "But then again, I don't think you're exactly the type to get along with your boyfriend's mother either."

"Oh, I don't need to worry about that," Cassandra said casually, glancing at Harry again. "Why are you looking at me like that? You started it, didn't you?"

Harry whispered in her ear, "I'll let you off the hook for now, but you'll see tonight!"

After saying that, he walked over to Mr. Weasley and Lupin and sat down on the sofa.

"Look," Mr. Weasley ladled a bowl of eggnog for Harry, "Mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship, huh? It's always been the biggest problem."

Harry scratched his chin. The biggest problem?

My mom and Veratia have a pretty good relationship, don't they?

"The mother believes her son still belongs to her, and her daughter-in-law is a challenger to her ownership," Mr. Weasley continued, rambling on. "I read this in a psychology book, which Mr. Granger recommended to me."

Mr. Granger, who was drinking eggnog next to him, suddenly spat it all over the floor.

He coughed twice, wiped his face, and picked up a Little Gingerbread as if nothing had happened.

"That makes sense," Harry nodded, then looked at Lupin and asked, "By the way, Remus, do you know someone called the Half-Blood Prince?"

Lupin seemed to be thinking about something, but after hearing Harry's words, his eyes refocused.

"Excuse me, Half-blood what?"

"The Half-Blood Prince," Harry repeated.

"What prince?" Lupin asked again.

"The Half-Blood Prince," Harry repeated, "the Half-blood, the Prince!"

"Oh, I heard you right, Harry," Lupin said with a smile. "I was just confirming the word—prince? No, Harry, there are no princes among wizards—"

"Really?" Harry raised an eyebrow. "That's strange. The Half-Blood Prince used to be at Hogwarts, Ron is using the Potions Class he used. The prince has written spells all over it—spells he invented, including one called 'Levicorpus'— "

"Oh, that spell was really popular when I was at Hogwarts," Lupin said nostalgically. "For a few months during my fifth year, people would often be held upside down by the ankles and couldn't move."

"My dad used it," Harry said. "I saw it in the Pensieve —it's from my mother's memory. He used it on Professor Snape."

Lupin smiled and shook his head.

"Yes," he said, "but he wasn't the only one who used it. Like I said, it was very popular—you know, these spells come in bursts—"

"But it sounds like it was invented when you were in school," Harry insisted.

"Not necessarily. Spells, like everything else, have their popular and unpopular periods." He looked at Harry's face and said calmly, "Are you doubting that this book came from your father? But James is Pure-blood, Harry, and I assure you, he never made us call him prince."

"Oh, no," Harry waved his hand and said, "I don't doubt my father. That Half-Blood Prince is very skilled in Potions. I know my father is quite knowledgeable in Potions— "

Lupin's expression twitched twice, as if he was trying to suppress a laugh.

"Alright," he said with a laugh, "Your dad—well, Potions aren't very good, which is something we find quite puzzling—why would your mom, who's so good at Potions making, be interested in your dad."

"To be honest, I'm puzzled too." Harry nodded vigorously.

But he wouldn't say that Veratia was partly to blame for his parents' marriage.

When Lily was hesitant, it was Veratia who helped Lily make up her mind and get together with James.

Of course, we can also credit Harry, since Veratia brought Lily and James together so that Harry could be born safely.

Otherwise, Veratia probably wouldn't care who James is.

"But one thing is certain, at least this Half-Blood Prince— " Lupin thought for a moment and then couldn't help but chuckle as he said, "Is most likely a student of Hogwarts."

Harry's face darkened.

"Look at what you're saying, it's as if you haven't said anything at all," he said.

"Hahahaha—" Lupin laughed heartily, "But I really don't know who the Half-Blood Prince is—at least none of the four Marauders are. Your father and Sirius are Pure-blood, while I'm Werewolf. Even if we're going to give him a nickname, it should be Half-blood Wolf King. And Pettigrew? He's very insecure—perhaps you could ask Severus?"

"Alright." Harry shrugged. "I was just curious. I won't ask Professor Snape; I don't want him to use this opportunity to deduct points from Gryffindor."

"That's something Severus would do," Lupin nodded.

He even wondered what James would do if James knew Snape had deducted points from Harry because of this.

Old Snivellus, he deserves to Levicorpus!

Just then, the door opened again, Sirius returned to Grimmauld Place, Number 12.

As soon as he entered the house, Sirius looked around. When his gaze fell on Lupin, he opened his arms, laughed, and walked over to hug Lupin.

"Old Pal!" he said with a grin. "You know what? The Auror had a major success today—they captured the Werewolf Fenrir Greyback!"

Upon hearing Sirius's words, Lupin's pupils contracted sharply.

Then, he plopped down on the sofa.

"Great, great—we've finally caught him!" Lupin murmured.

"Finl Greyback?"

Hermione, who had somehow wandered over there, heard the name and asked curiously.

"Haven't you heard of him?" Lupin asked, turning his head.

"No," Hermione answered truthfully.

"I've heard of it," Neville said, raising his hand. "When Grandma used to scare me, she'd say Greyback is coming for you, and then I'd stop crying—"

"My mother used to scare me with Greyback too!" Draco suddenly interjected.

"We are too," the Weasley family children said in unison.

It's clear that pure-blood wizard families like to use Greyback as a tool to scare their children.

When a child cries in the middle of the night, mentioning Greyback is much more effective than mentioning the Dark Lord.

So, you're targeting children?

"Let me explain."

Lupin for a moment, then smiled.

"Fenrir Greyback is the most ferocious Werewolf in the world. His mission is to bite and infect as many people as possible, creating a vast horde of Werewolf to defeat the wizards Greyback specializes in children, saying he bites them when they are young, then takes them away from their parents, cultivating their hatred for wizards."

He paused for a moment, then said again, "It was Greyback who bit me."

"What?" Hermione asked in surprise, "Was it during your time?"

"Yes. My father offended him," Lupin said. "For a long time, I didn't know Werewolf who attacked me was."

I even felt sorry for him, thinking he couldn't control himself. By then, I already knew what it was like for someone to turn into a wolf.

He glanced at Hermione: "But Greyback wasn't like that. He approached his prey during the full moon to ensure the attack succeeded. It was all premeditated, all to create more Werewolf."

"That's what I admire about you, Remus," Harry said wistfully. "You suppressed those impulses; in reality, you only have a tiny, insignificant problem."

Lupin patted Harry on the shoulder.

"You know what, Harry? I've always thought you're just another James. He used to say to people, 'This is my furry little problem,' to the point that many people thought I had a disobedient rabbit."

At this point, Lupin couldn't help but chuckle and said, "Speaking of which, your mother only found out what really happened after she started dating your father. I remember she even asked me where the rabbit went."

Harry thought about it and realized it was something his mother would do.

Just then, Mr. Weasley came over with a bowl of eggnog.

"Who wants some eggnog?" he asked with a smile.

"I'll order, sir," Hermione said, stepping forward with a small bowl.

Ron also stepped forward with his bowl, but was stopped by Mrs. Weasley.

"Did you know?" Sirius handed the eggnog to Ron, "In Italy, children even get a little wine with their meals—"

"But this is Britain," Mrs. Weasley said sternly. "My child is not yet an adult, and I will not allow him to drink!"

Eggnog, also known as egg wine, is the most representative drink of Christmas. It is made from eggs, milk and rum.

Although it's a Christmas drink, it does contain alcohol. However, most families wouldn't stop their children from having a little eggnog to add to the festive atmosphere.

But Mrs. Weasley clearly didn't think so.

"Actually, the age at which people can drink alcohol in Britain is much younger," Hermione whispered to Harry.

It's clear that she's different from Phoebe; at least she wouldn't raise her voice to argue with Mrs. Weasley.

But Ron still found an opportunity and, taking advantage of Mrs. Weasley's inattention, sipped the eggnog in one gulp.

"One day, I'll drink my fill of Firewhisky," he whispered to his two Twins brothers.

"Mom!" the Twins exclaimed in unison, "Ron said he'll drink his fill of Firewhisky someday!"

Ron was stunned. He never expected that his two older brothers would betray him so quickly.

No, you two—

"Ronald Weasley!" Mrs. Weasley roared. "Even if you're an adult! I won't allow you to drink! Never!"

"I didn't!" Ron retorted. "Fred and George made it all up!"

But Mrs. Weasley was no longer looking his way; she had gone back to directing the House Elf to prepare the Christmas ingredients.