Sirius Appears

Today is Saturday, the Quidditch final between Ravenclaw Gryffindor.

It's almost holiday time, and almost no one subscribes to the Daily Prophet when they get home next Monday.

In order to keep Harry Potter calm, it's almost 11:30 now, and the game is about to start, but Harry Potter still doesn't know that his godfather has appeared in the Daily Prophet.

Ryan and Hermione sat in the furthest seats, ready to watch the game.

Not far away, a figure caught Ryan's attention—it was Sirius Black!

He sat at the very front, watching Harry eagerly as he prepared on the ground.

Perhaps to conceal himself from others, he was completely wrapped in a black wizard's robe that could hide him entirely.

But Ryan can still see the difference in him now.

In this morning's the Daily Prophet, Sirius's face was thin and haggard, surrounded by messy, long, black hair.

Now, Sirius's hair is short, he looks clean and tidy, and his cheeks are fuller, which makes him look younger and closer to the photo of him in the Daily Prophet when he was still at Hogwarts.

With a command from Madam Hooch, the two teams on the field soared into the sky together.

Throughout the match, in addition to the players' excellent performance, another tall figure also attracted the attention of other spectators.

Whenever Ravenclaw scores a goal or Harry Potter directs the players, he lets out a wolf-like howl.

This prompted commentator Lee Jordan to mention the suspicious, unknown senior student.

However, Professor McGonagall showed no reaction whatsoever, even though she usually places great importance on discipline during matches.

Today, Professor McGonagall seemed lost in thought, her attention completely Quidditch. Some speculated that this might be related to Slytherin's loss of the Quidditch Cup.

Regardless of winning or losing, Slytherin will only be second place. Professor McGonagall's long-cherished wish—that Slytherin would never win the Quidditch Cup —has already been fulfilled, so she doesn't care.

But only Ryan knew that it was because of Sirius, one of her former favorite students, had arrived.

His occasional wolf howls and Harry's striking resemblance to James Potter on the field reminded her of the past.

If another tall decadent young man and a short rat-faced young man came, and Harry's clothes were changed to Gryffindor's clothes, she might become even more distracted, and might even fall off the high platform.

The match ended quickly, and after facing Voldemort, Harry felt that his observation and reaction skills had improved significantly.

He even saw the Golden Snitch's presence at the very beginning of the match.

If it weren't for the constant interference from the Weasley Twins, he might have already obtained the Golden Snitch.

However, Fred and George were not Slytherin students, so they dared not and would not attack Harry directly, which allowed Harry to obtain the Golden Snitch after 20 minutes of the match.

Harry flew above the crowd, hearing a strange sound in his ears.

He clutched the small golden ball tightly, its wings flapping hopelessly between his fingers.

Then he sped toward Roger, tears blurring his vision. He grabbed Harry by the neck and buried his face in his shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably.

Dennis and Woody bumped into Harry, Harry felt two large chunks of something pressing down on him.

Then came the voices of Phoenix, Henry, and now-known goalkeeper Ero: "We won the trophy! We won the trophy!"

The Ravenclaw Team hugged each other as they descended, their voices hoarse from shouting, and finally returned to the ground.

Waves of sky-blue supporters surged over the barriers and onto the court.

Countless hands rained down on their backs.

Harry felt surrounded by noise and human bodies coming one after another.

Then he and the rest of the team were lifted onto the shoulders of the crowd.

He saw Hagrid waving a sky-blue wreath—"Great Harry, truly great!" He was no longer crying like he had yesterday (after learning of Voldemort's existence), though his eyes were still red and swollen.

Jonny, unable to get through the crowd, jumped up and down like a madman, forgetting all dignity.

Ron and Draco were pushing their way in front of him, too excited to speak, their faces beaming with smiles.

Harry walked toward the stands, where Dumbledore stood waiting, holding the enormous Quidditch Cup.

Harry took the trophy from Roger, who was sobbing, and raised it high. Then a wolf howl suddenly rang out, almost causing Harry to drop the trophy.

Harry looked closely and saw a guy wrapped in a black robe. Judging by his height, he should be a seventh-year student. Could it be the goalkeeper, Ero, or a friend of Dennis and Woody?

They're in seventh grade now, and the thought made Harry's heart skip a beat.

Yes, this is their last game. Next school year, captain Henry, Beater Woody and Dennis, and Ero, whose name I've only just learned, will all be gone.

Harry could only suppress his reluctance, put on a smile, and walk towards the Trophy Room amidst the crowd, leaving behind their glory.

They weren't going to take it back to the lounge; since it was going to end up here anyway, they might as well leave it here now—it was the best display of their honor.

Just as Harry was about to return to his Ravenclaw bedroom, a commotion nearby caught his attention.

"Boy! Give me this rat!" the man in black robes said in a frenzied tone.

"It's Ron!" The man in black pointed his wand at him.

Just as Harry was about to pull out his wand to stop them, wands began to appear from all around. They were Ravenclaw, no, and students from other houses as well.

"What are you planning to do! Don't point your wand at the Weasley family kids!"

Percy and the Weasley Twins were especially furious, having already lost the game.

What are you doing?

"Put down your wands!"

At that moment, Professor McGonagall approached. She looked anxious, assuming that the Slytherin had started a fight because of Ravenclaw's victory.

"Oh, Sirius, what's this?" Professor McGonagall asked in an unusually friendly tone, much to everyone's surprise.

"He's trying to steal my Scabbers!" Ron said indignantly.

"Is he Sirius?" Draco exclaimed in surprise, then stared at the rat perched on Ron's shoulder. Ron had already clung to it tightly, and the rat was frantically trying to burrow under Ron's neck.

"A rat? Could he be—" Professor McGonagall looked surprised and took out her wand.

"Yes, he is the traitor!" Sirius pulled off his black robe, revealing his distorted face.