Something Good to Eat

The Weasley family traveled to Egypt.

Ron was terribly nervous, but he was soon captivated by the local scenery. People here actually traveled on carpets!?

So the wizards in other countries were this different.

Ron shared everything he saw and heard in Egypt with his friends in real time through his phone. Honestly, they didn't need owls to deliver letters, and they could chat anytime, anywhere, as if they were right beside each other. Having no time difference was wonderful! Muggle ingenuity was amazing!

Indeed!

Owls had been cruelly put out of work (?

What's Wrong with Eating More?: We're going to the pyramids next!

[Admin] Yan: Woohoo! Great! Once you take a picture in front of the pyramids holding Scabbers, Sirius will be able to see it in the Daily Prophet!

Snape's Underpants: Awesome! Make sure you point Peter Pettigrew's feet at the camera!

Bug Ming: Preferably from every angle, with no blind spots!

Sirius, What Would I Do Without You?: Ideally, he should be recognizable as Peter Pettigrew at a glance!

What's Wrong with Eating More?: Don't you think you're asking a bit too much?

What's Wrong with Eating More?: [Ron horrified.jpg]

Wants to Make Friends: Um, you can do it, Ron!

Knowledge Is Power: Whether Harry's godfather can break out of prison depends on you, Ron. It's simple, just taking a picture.

Knowledge Is Power: Didn't you used to hold Peter Pettigrew all the time anyway?

Hermione Little Darling: Wow, this is the first time I've seen Hermione say so much.

What's Wrong with Eating More?: Hey! I didn't know Scabbers was Peter Pettigrew back then...

Chicken Drumstick Hero: It's okay, cutie Ron! We believe you'll overcome your fear (?)

Magpie: These people are cracking me up.

In a room where he was staying in Egypt, Ron looked at his phone, seemingly much more downcast.

Tomorrow morning, his family would head to the pyramids, and a few days after that, Harry's godfather should be able to get out! Then they could hand Scabbers over to Professor Dumbledore next term! It was a perfect plan!

With those thoughts in mind, Ron drifted happily off to sleep. Harry, on the other hand, was clearly having a less pleasant time. This summer, it wasn't just the Dursleys at home, but the equally loathsome Aunt Marge as well. She would be staying for quite a while, which was hardly good news for Harry.

His aunt didn't like him one bit, and she didn't like his parents either. After arriving, she often belittled Harry's parents. Honestly, if Hermione and the others hadn't urged him to stay calm, Harry really wouldn't have been able to stop himself from impulsively hitting her with a nasty curse.

Nobody could tolerate being insulted to their face, let alone having their parents insulted as well.

The group members knew Harry was bound to act impulsively, so they comforted him in the group every day. Harry was only thirteen, right in the restless throes of adolescence, so they often worried that he might impulsively leave home early.

That wouldn't do. Harry hadn't met his godfather yet!

The group members effortlessly slipped into the role of mothers and became deeply invested in Harry, checking on his state of mind every day and occasionally asking with concern, "Kiddo, did you get enough to eat today?"

It gave Harry a very mysterious feeling, though he couldn't put his finger on what it was. All in all, it was strange, but it made him feel very warm.

Still, most people in the group were university students, overworked graduates, or people from other walks of life. There were also middle and high school students, but given Harry's age, it was only natural for everyone to see him as a kid or a little brother.

Who wouldn't want a handsome Chosen One with red lips and white teeth as a little brother or a child?

Everyone was quite busy over the summer holidays, but some people did get bored, such as the elegant Mr. Grindelwald, up in Nurmengard Tower.

Grindelwald didn't usually have much to do anyway. He looked at the scenery and wrote letters, and now that he had this so-called phone, even the time difference was no longer an issue. On top of that, he watched the group members and fans occasionally chat about the secrets between him and Albus, and there were those drawings. Truth be told, after seeing so many, Grindelwald did think the drawings were quite good.

Look, even the fans knew he and Albus were a couple.

And so, up in the tower, besides occasionally lurking to look at those stories and drawings, and occasionally sending Dumbledore rambling messages to bother him-even though Dumbledore didn't often reply-Mr. Grindelwald was having a reasonably pleasant time.

What could one say? Only you, Mr. Grindelwald.

Summer didn't speak much in the group, so many people hadn't encountered him. Of course, if the group members knew that the Grindelwald they longed for day and night had joined the group long ago and had already added Dumbledore as a friend, they would probably explode.

Of course, Dumbledore couldn't possibly tell them of his own accord. Something like this would naturally be more interesting if they discovered it themselves.

But sometimes, Grindelwald really didn't understand what was being discussed in the other group chat. He remembered that old mess more clearly than anyone, but he really didn't know about the recent matters involving Sirius and Lupin.

But then...

The group members were a powerful force.

They were still capable of something as simple as screen-recording movies.

Compared with reading books, watching videos would let him learn about everything with maximum efficiency.

And so Grindelwald began his binge-watching journey...

After all, there really wasn't much entertainment in Nurmengard. Although Grindelwald didn't particularly need it, it was still a good way to pass the time.

Especially since Dumbledore appeared in them.

Grindelwald had plenty of time, so he started with the first movie.

Hermione, on the other hand, clearly preferred reading novels to watching videos. The description also said that the novels had many details the movies lacked, so this summer, besides reviewing, preparing, and studying the material for the next school year, Hermione also made time to read the original novels.

The coming year would be her third, which should also correspond to the third book in the series, the file with the attachment titled "Oh My, My Godfather Is Back."

To be honest, Hermione had been worried about choosing her courses for next term. She wanted to study them all, but some were bound to clash. Once she saw that she would receive something called a Time-Turner, however, she stopped worrying entirely and decisively planned to choose every course-even though this year's course selection form hadn't arrived yet.

As for Hermione's fan group, it had originally been called Following Hermione the Top Student's Footsteps, but was now called Has Hermione Come Online Today?

Every day, everyone in the group wailed about why their dear Hermione still hadn't come online.

[Group owner] !: Sob... Our idol loves studying so much that she never comes online to pay attention to us poor fans...

Hermione's Front Teeth: Other fan groups either get daily livestreams or their members are as close as buddies with the person they're fans of. Look at us, we're no different from Snape's and Riddle's fans next door now, sob.

I'm Hermione's Darling~: Seriously, when will we get to see Hermione livestream for us...?

[Group owner] !: Sigh... No matter what, I really love Hermione.

[Group owner] !: And it's really amazing that Hermione chose every course on her own. Even with a Time-Turner, it's still amazing.

[Group owner] !: If it were me, I'd probably only choose some easier courses...

Veritaserum: Speaking of which, isn't next year when Hagrid becomes the professor of Care of Fantastic Beasts?

Veritaserum: I really want to ride Buckbeak just once!!!!

One Poor Student: Speaking of which, is the Daily Prophet out yet? I remember Ron and his family are going to the pyramids today!

Hermione's Secret Girlfriend: That's right! @Knowledge Is Power

Hermione's Secret Girlfriend: Hermione, Hermione~ Is the new issue of the Daily Prophet out?

Hermione was engrossed in reading the part where Sirius first appeared when she saw the message tagging her. After opening it, she remembered the Daily Prophet.

Knowledge Is Power: Maybe soon. Ron said their trip is almost over.

Speaking of which...

Hermione put down her phone and thought. Crookshanks? She had indeed been thinking about getting a pet this year, though she hadn't decided what kind. But it said here that she would adopt a cat that had never been sold. Although she didn't want to be bound by the plot, it really did sound like something she would do.

Hermione really didn't like this feeling that everything about her had been seen through. It was as if she no longer needed to think and could solve every problem simply by following "her own" thoughts. How frightening it would be if people couldn't think!

Hermione still decided to choose carefully at the pet shop later before making a decision.

Harry, meanwhile, looked forward every day to seeing either a picture of Ron's family or news of Sirius's escape in the Daily Prophet. Although he couldn't subscribe, Hermione never missed an issue, so he only had to ask her for it.

In Azkaban.

The new issue of the Daily Prophet had been successfully published, and some copies had been sent to the Aurors guarding the dangerous prisoners in Azkaban, perhaps to pass the time when they were bored. And through just such a coincidence...

An open copy of the Daily Prophet ended up outside a cell door.

Right there on the page was a picture of the Weasley family in front of the pyramids.

Ron's smile looked more like he was about to cry, in stark contrast to his two exceptionally happy twin brothers behind him.

But...

Sirius, who had not seen the world outside for a long time, looked at the Daily Prophet with dull eyes. Then, as if he had suddenly noticed something, a light came into them.

The godfather who had been imprisoned here for so long had a face as gaunt as a vagrant's, but traces of his former handsome bearing could still be made out.

Ron was holding Peter Pettigrew up to the camera. After seven years together, and with his hatred for the man who had killed his good friend and his friend's wife, Sirius recognized that damned rat as Peter Pettigrew almost at first glance! That man was still alive!!!

He could still avenge James and Lily!!!

Merlin...

The corners of Sirius's mouth lifted involuntarily.

And so, in June, Sirius successfully starved himself down to skin and bones, transformed into a large black dog, slipped past the Dementors, and escaped from Azkaban...

The news instantly swept across the front pages of every paper.

Almost everyone was terrified, except...

Harry was all smiles, and even the Dursleys didn't look quite so unpleasant to him now.

Ron could finally get away from Peter Pettigrew, and he breathed an enormous sigh of relief!

Those who knew the truth cheered and rejoiced, while those who didn't were deeply afraid. Molly and Arthur were among them; they were terribly worried that Sirius had come to silence a witness, because James's son Harry was still alive.

But their children were clearly a little too happy.

The twins and Ginny were all happy for Harry, and were just short of composing a song to celebrate for him.

Some rejoiced while others worried.

Harry looked forward more and more to the day he would leave home.