bacchusnovels Chapter 407 May God bless her
Chapter 407 May God bless her
Chapter 407 May God bless her (End of this volume)
Sean stood in the doorway, smiled, and said, "Mr. Potter, I need to speak with Professor Lupin. Could you please leave now?"
Harry glanced at Lupin, seemingly wanting to say something, but ultimately nodded, turned, and left the office.
As he closed the door, he glanced back and saw Lu Ping's retreating figure as he packed his bags, looking exceptionally...lonely.
So, only Lupin and Sean remained in the office.
Lupin gave a wry smile. "Phillips, did you come to see me off?"
Sean didn't rush to answer, but his gaze kept sweeping back and forth over Lupin. "Yes," he finally spoke, saying softly, "but it's not just about seeing you off. There are some things I want to talk to you about, about your future."
Lupin lowered his head and gripped his suitcase tightly. "To be honest, I don't have any plans. Nobody wants to hire a werewolf."
Sean shook his head, pulled a money pouch from inside his wizard's robes, and handed it to Lupin. "You're wrong. How about a thousand Galleons a month? I need a teaching assistant. If that's not enough, twelve thousand will do. I guarantee you won't find such a generous reward anywhere else."
Lupin raised his eyes, his gaze falling on the money bag, his expression puzzled. "Phillips—what do you mean by this?"
Just as Sean and Lupin were discussing their work, Harry outside encountered an unexpected person at the corner of the corridor.
Professor Dumbledore.
He suddenly remembered something very important... Professor Trelawney's prophecy.
"Professor Dumbledore—yesterday, during the Divination exam, Professor Trelawney became very—very strange," Harry said hastily.
"Really?" Dumbledore asked. "You mean it's stranger than usual?"
"Yes, her voice was low, and her eyes darted around. She said that Voldemort's servant would meet him before midnight, and that the servant would help Voldemort make his comeback." Harry looked up at Dumbledore. "Then she suddenly returned to normal, completely forgetting what she had said. Professor, could she have made a real prophecy?"
Dumbledore looked slightly surprised. "You know, Harry, I think it's quite possible," he said thoughtfully. "Who would have thought? That would mean she made two real prophecies. I should give her a raise."
"But—" Harry was puzzled. Why was Professor Dumbledore's reaction so calm? "But—I stopped Sirius and Professor Lupin from killing Pettigrew! If Voldemort comes back, it's my fault!"
“No,” Dumbledore said softly, “didn’t the Time-Turner teach you something, Harry? The causes and effects of our actions are always so complex and unpredictable. So predicting the future is very difficult—Professor Trelawney is a living example, may God bless her. You spared Pettigrew’s life, which in itself is a very noble thing.”
"But if he helps Voldemort make a comeback—" "You gave Pettigrew his life," Dumbledore interrupted him calmly, "you sent Voldemort an assistant who owes you a favor. A wizard saves another wizard's life, and there's a certain connection between them. If I'm not mistaken, Voldemort won't like his servant owing Harry Potter a favor."
"I don't want anything to do with Pettigrew!" Harry exclaimed angrily. "He betrayed my parents!"
"That's the deepest, most elusive magical connection, Harry. But believe me, one day you'll be glad you saved Pettigrew's life."
Harry couldn't imagine that day would come. Dumbledore seemed to read his mind.
"I know your father very well," Dumbledore said gently. "I know him well, both at Hogwarts and later."
Harry, I believe he will save Pettigrew too.
Harry looked up at Dumbledore, a mix of emotions swirling within him.
Apart from a handful of people, no one at Hogwarts knew the truth about the night Sirius, Buckbeak, and Pettigrew disappeared. As finals approached, Harry heard many different versions, but none came close to the truth.
Malfoy was quite annoyed by Buckbeak's affair and concluded that Hagrid had secretly sent the hippogriff away.
He also felt that he and his father had been tricked by a hunting ground guard, which was an utter disgrace.
Percy Weasley offered many insightful observations on Sirius Black's escape.
"If I join the Ministry of Magic, I will definitely propose a plan to strengthen law enforcement!" he solemnly swore, raising his arm.
Despite the bright sunshine and relaxed atmosphere, Harry knew he had accomplished an almost impossible task—rescuing Sirius Black—but he remained quite depressed in the days leading up to finals.
Not only Harry, but all the students in the Defense Against the Dark Arts class were heartbroken by Professor Lupin's departure.
"I wonder who they'll send next year," Simon Finigan said dejectedly.
"Maybe he's a vampire," Dean Thomas mused.
What weighed heavily on Harry's mind was not only Professor Lupin's resignation,
He couldn't stop thinking about Professor Trelawney's prophecy, wondering where Little Pettigrew had gone and whether he had joined Voldemort's side.
However, what made Harry feel most depressed was the thought of returning to the Dursleys.
For about half an hour, he had a wonderful time, and he once thought that he could live with Sirius Black—his parents' best friend.
That was the only "home" Harry could imagine.
However, although the lack of news about Sirius meant he was well hidden, Harry still felt immense pain at the thought of his once-happy home now destroyed.
On the last day of the semester, exam results were released.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione all passed all their subjects.
Harry was surprised to find that he had passed Potions class as well.
He suspected that Dumbledore might have intervened to prevent Snape from deliberately failing him. Snape's attitude towards Harry over the past week had greatly shocked him.
Harry had thought that Snape's dislike for him had reached its limit, but the facts proved time and again that Snape's hostility was becoming more and more obvious.
Whenever he saw Harry, the corner of his thin lips would twitch unnaturally, and his fingers would constantly flex and extend, as if he wished he could strangle Harry.
Percy achieved a high score on the Ultimate Wizarding Exam (NEWT), while Fred and George scored 0 on their Common Wizarding Level Exam (WL).
The results have finally made some progress.
Thanks to their outstanding performance in the Quidditch Cup, Gryffindor won the House Cup for the third consecutive year, which meant that the end-of-term party would be held in red and gold decorations, and the Gryffindor table would be the most lively, with everyone celebrating.
Harry temporarily forgot about returning to the Dursleys' house the next day, and ate, drank, and chatted with everyone, immersing himself in the brief joy.
The next morning, as the Hogwarts Express pulled out of the station, several people sat in the carriage looking out the window.
"I still can't believe you didn't tell us about the time-tamper," Ron said angrily. "We're your friends, you know."
"I promised not to tell anyone," Hermione said seriously, then turned to look at Harry, who was gazing at Hogwarts as it disappeared behind the distant mountains. He knew he would have to wait two whole months to see the school again.
"Oh, cheer up, Harry!" Hermione said.
"It's nothing," Harry said quickly, "I was just thinking about the holidays."
“Yes, I was thinking about it too,” Ron said. “Harry, you absolutely have to come stay at my house. I’ll talk to Mom and Dad and let you know. Don’t worry, I’ll call—I mean, phone, Ron,” Hermione corrected. “Seriously, you should take a Muggle studies course next year.”
Ron ignored her and continued, "There's the Quidditch World Cup during the summer holidays! How about it, Harry? Come stay with us, we'll go together! Dad usually gives us receipts."
This suggestion cheered Harry up considerably. "Great! I bet the Dursleys will be happy to let me go, especially after what I did to Aunt Maggie—"
Harry was in a much better mood and played a few rounds of Wizards Kill with Ron and Hermione.
When the witch with the food cart came by, he bought a large lunch, but it didn't have any chocolate in it.
As evening approached, something truly made him happy.
"Harry," Hermione suddenly called out, staring behind him, "what's outside your car window?"
Harry turned his head and saw a small gray thing moving up and down, appearing and disappearing, outside the window.
He stood up, looked closely, and saw that it was a small, thin owl carrying a letter that seemed too big for it.
The owl flew unsteadily, swaying from side to side as the airflow outside the car window blew against its back.
Harry quickly rolled down the car window, reached out and grabbed it, feeling as if he had caught a thief.
He carefully pulled it into the carriage. The owl dropped the letter on Harry's seat and began to flutter excitedly around the carriage, clearly pleased with itself for completing its task.
Hedwig clicked her tongue in displeasure and frowned haughtily, while Crookshan sat up, her large yellow eyes following the little bird intently.
Upon seeing this, Ron quickly carried the owl to a safe place.
Harry picked up the letter and saw it was for him. He tore open the envelope and exclaimed, "Sirius!"
"What?" Ron and Hermione asked excitedly, "Say it out!"
The letter read:
Dear Harry:
I hope this letter arrives before you meet your aunt and uncle.
I don't know if they are used to owl messengers.
Buckbeak and I hid.
I'm not going to tell you exactly where it's hidden, in case someone else catches the owl.
I have some doubts about its reliability, but it is the most suitable one I could find, and it seems eager to take on the task.
I believe the Dementors are still looking for me, but they couldn't possibly find me here.
After a while, I plan to go up north with two friends so that some Muggles can see me there, and that will lift the castle's guard.
"I was in such a rush when we met last time that I didn't have a chance to tell you something: the Firebolt was a gift from me." "See! I told you it was from him!" Hermione said smugly.
“Yes, but he didn’t curse it, did he?” Ron said. “Ouch!” The little owl chirping in his hand pecked at his finger, as if it were a sign of affection.
"I also want to apologize for something. Did I scare you when you left your uncle's house last year? I just wanted to see you one last time before you went up north, but I probably frightened you."
"I've also included something with you; I think it will make your time at Hogwarts next semester even more enjoyable."
"If you need me, just let me know. Your owl can find me."
I will write to you again soon.
Sirius Harry eagerly examined the envelope and found a piece of parchment inside.
He quickly scanned it and immediately felt as if he had drunk a hot butterbeer in one gulp, his whole body warm and his heart filled with satisfaction and joy.
I, Sirius Black, Harry Potter's godfather, hereby grant Harry permission to visit Hogsmeade this weekend.
"Just show this to Dumbledore," Harry said happily, glancing at Sirius's letter.
"Oh, there's another line," he murmured again.
"I think your friend Ron might be willing to adopt this owl. It was my fault that he lost that mouse."
Ron's eyes widened.
The little owl was still hooting excitedly.
"Adopt it?" he said skeptically, examining the owl closely. Then, to Harry and Hermione's surprise, he handed it to Crookshanks to sniff.
"What do you think?" Ron asked the big cat.
Crookshan meowed twice.
"It's good enough for me," Ron said cheerfully. "It's mine now."
Harry read Sirius's letter over and over again, tirelessly.
At the other end of the carriage was the carriage reserved for Slytherin.
A man and a boy are staring at each other, wide-eyed.
Finally, the boy couldn't take the atmosphere any longer and stammered, "Professor Phillips, you haven't forgotten about the home visit?"
"Of course." Sean slowly popped the chocolate into his mouth to replenish his energy, and then said earnestly to the boy in front of him, "Mr. Malfoy, I'm going to tell your mother about all the good things you've done this semester."
"Good job...?" Malfoy lowered his head and swallowed.
"Hmm," Sean crumpled the chocolate wrapper into a ball and stuffed it into his pocket, "Aside from you dressing up as a Dementor to scare Mr. Potter, there are indeed a few things worth mentioning this semester. Like your grades in class..."
Malfoy's face immediately turned very tense.
As the train gradually picked up speed, the scenery outside the window quickly changed from a busy station to a vast field, with a few white farmhouses occasionally flashing by and disappearing into the distance.
(End of this volume)