"Before Black is caught, Harry, you should stay in the Gryffindor common room every night, and never sneak out of the castle at midnight to find Hagrid, or, break into the Forbidden Forest!"
Hermione glared at Harry sternly, her bushy brown hair framing her worried face. She was clutching a thick book titled Hogwarts: A History in her hands, as if it was a shield against any danger.
"You talk as if we didn't take you with us when we went to see Hagrid."
Ron retorted, his freckled face turning red with annoyance. He glanced at Hermione with a bit of displeasure, feeling that she was being too bossy and nagging. He was holding a piece of toast with jam, which he had snatched from the breakfast table before they left the Great Hall.
Harry didn't intervene in Ron and Hermione's argument, although his eyes only fell on the photo in the Muggle newspaper, which he had found in his dormitory. It showed a gaunt man with long black hair and a wild beard, who had a crazed look in his eyes. The caption read: Sirius Black: The Most Wanted Man in Britain. He felt a few strange gazes looking at him, the owners of those eyes were the same as Ron's 'Pure Blood Heirs', they had already known Black's purpose of escaping from prison, but they didn't publicize it in the school because of the warning from their families.
"I know–"
Harry interrupted the argument with a dull voice, tearing his eyes away from the photo. He folded the newspaper and stuffed it into his backpack, hoping that no one else would see it. He knew that Black was after him, and that he had to be careful.
Black's horror reminded Harry of the place that Professor Watson had taken him to during the summer vacation, which made Harry realize that the wizarding world was not only beautiful and magical, but also had the darkness and filth that the Muggle world had.
"I'll try to stay in the castle after dark."
Harry said, trying to sound calm and reassuring. He didn't want to worry his friends, or to let them know how scared he was.
Harry's performance satisfied Hermione, who nodded approvingly, while Ron seemed very surprised, but he also knew that this was not something to joke about, he shrugged innocently and didn't say anything, burying his head to deal with the rest of his breakfast.
The first class of the third year this morning was the herbology class shared by Hufflepuff and Gryffindor.
Because the conversation at breakfast delayed a little time, this resulted in Harry and the other two having to run all the way to Professor Sprout's greenhouse, which was located at the edge of the school grounds. They had to cross the large lawn, where they could see the Quidditch pitch, the Black Lake, and the Forbidden Forest in the distance.
Harry felt a pang of longing, as he remembered the times he had flown on his broom, or explored the forest with his friends. He hoped that he would be able to do those things again soon, without having to worry about Black or the Dementors.
On the lawn of the schoolyard, the first-year freshmen were learning how to control flying brooms under the guidance of Madame Hooch, the flying instructor. She was a strict and stern woman, who had short gray hair and yellow eyes, like a hawk. She was blowing her whistle and shouting commands, as the students tried to mount their brooms and lift off the ground.
Harry looked at the younger wizards who were swaying in the air ten feet above the ground, and couldn't help but recall the situation when he first touched the flying broom in his first year. At that time, he made Malfoy suffer a big loss in front of everyone, when he had caught the Remembrall that Malfoy stole from Neville. He was also invited by Professor McGonagall to join the Gryffindor Quidditch team as a Seeker, the youngest in a century. He felt a surge of pride, as he remembered the thrill of flying and catching the Golden Snitch.
"I hope Black can convince Wood–"
The past good memories made Harry feel better, and Harry muttered softly, as he neared the greenhouse.
"Harry!"
Just then, Ron, who was following him like a bodyguard on his left and right, suddenly stopped and pointed in a direction and exclaimed.
He had spotted Hagrid, the half-giant gamekeeper towards his hut.
"Oh, I'm going to see what's going on!"
Harry said, feeling a sudden curiosity and excitement
After looking around to see if anyone was paying attention to him, he bent down and ran towards Hagrid's hut, which was a small wooden house with a pumpkin patch and a vegetable garden. He hoped that he could get there before the class started, and that Professor Sprout wouldn't notice his absence.
"You just promised us, Harry!"
Looking at the quickly disappearing figure, Hermione shouted angrily. She felt frustrated by Harry's recklessness and impulsiveness. She couldn't believe that he would just run off like that, without thinking of the consequences.
"It's daytime, Hermione, not night!"
Harry didn't look back, just waved his hand. He knew that Hermione meant well. He didn't think that anything bad would happen to him in broad daylight, and he trusted Hagrid.
Ron shrugged innocently again and followed Harry, while Hermione, stomping her feet in anger, sneaked a glance at the thin and long gold chain exposed under her collar, looked around guiltily, and ran towards Hagrid's hut with her bulging backpack. She didn't want to leave Harry and Ron alone, and she also wanted to see what was going on.
Bryan pushed open the window of his bedroom, squinting his eyes against the cool breeze in the morning, and the fatigue of not sleeping all night gradually left his body. He felt refreshed and energized, ready to face the new day.
He looked out of the window, and admired the view of the small and quaint village of Hogsmeade, the only all-wizarding settlement in Britain. Although it was still early in the morning, the hardworking local villagers of Hogsmeade had already started their day's work. Across a few houses, he could clearly hear the footsteps and the sound of wooden wheels on the stone slabs on the commercial street. He could also hear the chatter and laughter of the customers and the shopkeepers, who were exchanging greetings and news, and the occasional cry of a child or an animal.
The hillside in the distance was still shrouded in a hazy white mist, but the mist was quickly melting under the increasingly dazzling sunlight. A house standing on the gentle slope with a hint of mystery was looming in the mist.
Bryan, who had sobered up a lot, withdrew his gaze and turned to look at the half-blood giant who was sleeping on his bed, with a hint of helplessness in his eyes.
Late last night, Bryan, who had escaped from the Ministry of Magic and Dumbledore, dragged his tired body back to his temporary residence in Hogsmeade, but unexpectedly found that Hagrid, who was drunk, was lying next to a trash can in another alley. He had seen him stumbling and mumbling, with a bottle of Firewhisky in his hand and tears in his eyes.
"That gray hippogriff, Draco, did he forgot all my advice from last year, he should be grateful that Buckbeak didn't go for his neck–"
Perhaps because Hagrid, who had giant blood running in his veins, had a different physique from normal wizards, the sobering potions that Bryan concocted couldn't make Hagrid fully awake, so he had no choice but to let Hagrid stay in his small and shabby room for one night.
After retrieving the Daily Prophet from the mailbox, Bryan returned to the dark and narrow living room, flipping through the newspaper while eating alone. He had paid a subscription fee to the newspaper, and had asked the delivery owl to bring it to him every morning. He wanted to keep up with the news and the events in the wizarding world, and to look for any clues or hints that could help him in his commissions.
"Black escaped with serious injuries, Elite Auror of the Auror Office, John Dawlish, was wounded bravely, and is currently recovering at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries."
Bryan spread raspberry jam on the soft and yellow toasted bread, then rolled it up and put it in his mouth. When his hungry stomach felt the filling of food, the comfort feedback made Bryan sigh with relief. He bought the bread and the jam from the bakery, and toasted the bread with his wand. He wanted to have a simple and quick breakfast, and to save his time and energy for more important things.
"Elite Auror Dawlish?" Bryan chewed the bread while rolling his eyes, recalling when he had injured this guy named Dawlish last night.
Knock knock knock–
The knocking on the door outside the hall suddenly brought Bryan back to his senses. His penetrating eyes saw through the walls and found out who the visitor was. He walked quickly to open the door, looked at the warm smile of Remus Lupin, squinted his eyes, and asked calmly,
"What, is there any emergency in the school? And, how did you figure out that I live here?"
Although he was still wearing the washed white, patched wizard robe, Lupin's complexion was much better than two or three weeks ago, which finally made him look more like an energetic middle-aged wizard, rather than a beggar who had no next meal.
"Don't be nervous, Bryan." Remus said gently, "Everything is normal in the school, and Harry's side is also fine. -Um, won't you invite me in to talk, Bryan?"
"I'm just afraid you'll find it not decent enough here–"
Bryan, who knew that Potter's father had cuckolded Professor Snape, and that Lupin had been James Potter's friend, so he had a bit of coldness in his tone, but he still turned around and walked back to the living room, inviting Remus in.
Lupin, who had lived a difficult and dirty life as a werewolf for half his life, was accustomed to the wizards' resistance and disgust. He was not offended by Bryan's slight coldness. He only felt a bit strange. The last time they met, Bryan was very cordial to him and spoke politely. It was probably because of the huge bounty of fifty thousand galleons on Sirius Black's head.
As a werewolf, Lupin's manners and etiquette were already considered elegant and noble. He walked into the house and stopped at the junction of the hall and the living room, smiling at Bryan who continued to eat. He noticed the newspaper on the table, and the headline about Black's escape.
"Actually, it was Albus who told me you live here."
"Oh, really, then did Headmaster Dumbledore kindly tell you how he knew I lived here?"
He was not surprised that Dumbledore could figure out where he lived. Hogsmeade was under his eyes. If he couldn't figure out even this, then Albus Dumbledore wouldn't be feared by so many people.
"Rosmerta, the owner of the Three Broomsticks pub, is a friend of Albus–" Remus said gently.
Bryan rolled his eyes, choked by the dough in his throat, which meant that as soon as he rented the house here, Albus Dumbledore knew the rent for the house.
"Actually, I came here for another reason as well–"
Remus pointed to the bedroom and said, "He hopes I can help bring Hagrid back to school."
Bryan put down his fork, raised his eyebrows, and smiled mockingly, "Is that all?"
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