Chapter 71: Harry and Lupin
Harry and Lupin walked on the bridge of Hogwarts, recalling Hode's previous words.
"Harry, don't worry, someone will help you. You can chat with Lupin for now, after all, he is a friend of your parents."
After saying that, Hode and Hermione left.
Harry didn't understand who else could help him go to Hogsmeade besides Hode.
And it was the first time he had heard that Professor Lupinwas actually a good friend of his parents!
So Harry found Lupin and asked him about things regarding his parents.
Lupin was stunned for a moment, then asked Harry to follow him out for a walk.
"Harry, I truly am a good friend of your parents. You know, I recognized you the first time I saw you, not because of the scar on your forehead, but because of your eyes."
Lupin paused and continued, "Your eyes are emerald green, just like your mother Lily's. Not only was she a talented witch, but she was also a very kind-hearted person."
As if recalling those past years, Lupin slightly raised the corners of his mouth.
"And your father James, his talent was getting into trouble, and it is said that he passed this talent on to you."
Hearing this, Harry also smiled sheepishly.
"They were great Wizards, and they were great parents. You are so much like them, and one day you will realize it."
The two stood on the bridge, enjoying the scenery of Hogwarts, chatting about the silly things Lupin and the others had experienced before.
—— Evening came
Students all returned from Hogsmeade, and Ron and Neville pulled Harry along, telling him about the things they saw in Hogsmeade.
"Honeydukes is amazing, but Zonko's Joke Shop is the coolest."
"However, we didn't go to the Shrieking Shack, which is said to be the most haunted place."
Harry said expressionlessly, "I know."
Are you guys really here to comfort me? Are you sure you're not here to show off?
Then several people came to the stairs and found many people gathered at the entrance of the Gryffindor Common Room.
"What's going on?"
"Could it be that Hode was doing some research inside and blew up the Common Room?"
"Maybe I should blow you up, Ron."
Ron turned his head and found that Hode and Hermionewere right beside them.
"Hode, when did you guys get here?" Harry asked in surprise.
"Teleportation, kid."
At this moment, Percy rushed over hurriedly.
"Let me through, I am the Head Boy! Everyone go back quickly, and then thoroughly investigate this place!"
A girl shouted loudly, "The Fat Lady is gone!"
Hearing this news, Ron smiled, "Good, her singing is too terrible."
Soon, Dumbledore and Filch walked over.
"Make way everyone, the Headmaster is here!"
Filch spoke loudly, acting like a fox assuming the majesty of a tiger, shoving all the Wizards blocking the way aside.
Dumbledore looked at the portrait torn apart like by sharp claws, then asked, "Who knows where The Fat Lady is?"
"Over here, Professor!"
The Fat Lady was staying in a portrait full of cattle, and the crowd walked towards it.
"Dear Fat Lady, who did this?"
Facing the inquiry, seeing that it was Dumbledore, The Fat Lady finally felt at ease.
"He has a Soul as dark as darkness, just like his surname! It's him, Headmaster. Sirius Black, he has come into the castle!"
After The Fat Lady finished speaking, the crowd began to whisper and discuss.
"Mr. Filch, place the castle under martial law, and everyone else go to the Great Hall."
Dumbledore looked at the crowd and began to issue orders, then seeing Hode, he said.
"Come with me for a moment, Hode."
——
"Do you know something, Hode?"
Hode didn't answer Dumbledore's question, but instead asked him.
"Do you really think Sirius is the murderer?"
"Of course I am unwilling to believe it, Sirius is someone I watched grow up, but James truly made him the Secret-Keeper."
"Then what if he wasn't the Secret-Keeper?"
Hearing Hode's words, Dumbledore stood frozen in place, and then began to analyze what if Sirius wasn't the murderer.
Then him hunting down Peter Pettigrew was simply to... seek revenge!
"Hode, do you mean Pettigrew is the murderer?" Dumbledore quickly deduced the answer.
Hode nodded, and then conjured up Scabbers, who was sleeping soundly.
"Peter Pettigrew is him, and he is an Animagus."
Looking at the rat in Hode's hand, Dumbledore felt a wave of guilt.
Because of his disbelief, Sirius had been locked up in Azkaban for a full ten years!
Dumbledore wanted to make it up to Sirius, and said firmly, "We must help Sirius."
"Of course, but don't you think it would be very interesting to let Harry and the others discover how things happened?"
Hearing this, Dumbledore thought about it and felt that he indeed needed to train Harry's discernment ability, so as not to make the same mistake as himself.
"Then let's do as you say, Hode. Since Sirius is not in danger, let them go back to sleep."
"Don't, acting must be done thoroughly, make sure not to give the game away."
Dumbledore nodded, feeling that Hode's words made sense.
—— Hogwarts Great Hall.
"The Astronomy Tower has been searched, and The Owlery has been searched too, nothing."
"Neither is the third floor."
"Thank you, after doing these things, he probably won't be in the castle."
Snape walked to Dumbledore's side and began to speak sarcastically.
"Truly impressive, breaking into Hogwarts single-handedly without leaving a trace."
"I suppose you still remember what I said at the beginning of the term, that Professor you appointed..."
"Not a single Professor at Hogwarts would let Sirius in."
Dumbledore interrupted Snape's words, and then walked to the side of Harry, who was squinting and not yet asleep, and said.
"Let the children sleep, dreams are a world that completely belongs to ourselves. Let them swim in the sea and soar in the sky!"
Harry: What is he babbling on about? Damn it, why do Hode and Hermione get to sleep in the suitcase, while they have to sleep in the Great Hall?
Especially Ron next to him, along with some other people snoring over there, almost forming a band!
Meanwhile, the two inside the suitcase.
"So that's how things happened! Sirius really is pitiful."
After listening to Hode recount Sirius's story, Hermionecouldn't help but sigh with emotion.
"So how do you plan to make Harry discover the truth of the matter?"
Hode's mouth revealed a confident smile, "Of course by relying on our Weasley Twins."
Hermione:? What does this have to do with the Weasley Twins?
Hode: "Hehe, you'll know when the time comes, but I must first put Peter in our dormitory."
Hermione: "Will Harry really find the answer?"
Hode issued a victory declaration: He will find it!
Chapter 72: Holding the Emperor Hostage to Command the Nobles
— — Defense Against the Dark Arts class.
Snape walked into the classroom with a billowing stride and closed all the curtains.
Immediately afterward, he pulled open the white screen and turned on the projector.
"Turn your books to page 394."
Snape's move left everyone baffled, especially Harry.
Harry: "Are you kidding me, why is it you again? Give Professor Lupin back to me!"
"Where is Professor Lupin?"
Facing Harry's question, Snape walked up in front of him.
"Your Professor Lupin is in no condition to teach you right now, I'll say it again, turn to page 394, Potter."
Ron saw that page 394 was precisely about Werewolves, so he said: "But we've only just learned about Red Caps."
"Silence! Now, who can tell me the difference between a Wizard and a Werewolf?"
Hearing a question, Hermione automatically activated her answering mode, reciting all the various characteristics of Werewolves.
Snape merely glanced at Hermione and continued: "Now! It seems there might be a Werewolf right here in our school!"
"What?"
"Merlin's red fishnet stockings! Who could be a Werewolf? I certainly don't want to stay around it."
Seeing his plan taking effect, the corners of Snape's mouth ticked up by a tiny fraction.
Then he walked up to Draco and said, "Malfoy, tell me who you think the Werewolf might be? Who is missing today on this night of the full moon, and whose surname even implies a wolf?"
Draco looked at Snape's expression—which practically screamed 'hurry up and say it, I've already given you the answer'—and swallowed hard.
Meanwhile, Harry also realized that Snape was hinting at Professor Lupin, because Snape was substitute-teaching today, and Lupin meant wolf in Latin.
Draco looked at Hode, wearing an expression of'should I really say this or not'.
As a result, Hode completely ignored Draco and instead slumped over his desk taking a deep snooze.
Draco put on a despairing expression and said tremblingly:
"I... I don't know, Professor."
Not hearing the answer he wanted, Snape's face darkened even further, though it was already gloomy to begin with.
"Then does anyone else know?"
Snape turned his head to look at the crowd, but not a single person spoke.
"Hmph, it seems you all fail to grasp the danger of Werewolves! Before next Monday morning, everyone will hand me a two-parchment report on Werewolves!"
Hearing this, Harry complained: "But there's a Quidditchmatch tomorrow."
Snape strode right up to Harry.
"Then I suggest you be especially careful, Mr. Potter! Even if you break your hand, you will still hand in your homework."
Then he began lecturing on various aspects of Werewolves.
The next day.
Pouring rain pelted the sky, but it couldn't dampen the students' passion for Quidditch.
Originally it was supposed to be Gryffindor versus Slytherin, but because Slytherin feared the impact of the rain, they applied for a postponement.
Thus, this match was a showdown between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff.
"Go Harry, go Ron."
Luna stood among the Gryffindor crowd, wearing a handmade lion-head decoration, and loudly cheered for Gryffindor.
Meanwhile, Hermione stood beside Hode, shouting and cheering along with Luna, while Hode used a waterproof spell to shield both of them from the rain.
The three of them looked precisely like a family; Hode and Hermione were the parents, and Luna looked like a child.
"I mean, it's just a Quidditch match, is it really necessary?"
Hode felt somewhat helpless; he hadn't originally wanted to come, even though Dementors would be attacking Harry today.
But since Harry had learned the Patronus Charm long ago and wouldn't be in any danger at all, he really didn't want to come.
However, he couldn't resist Luna and Hermione wanting to watch, and he didn't have anything else to do, so he came anyway.
Hode watched Harry and Cedric chasing the Golden Snitchin the air, while the Dementors were drawn in by the students' joy.
The two of them chased each other high into the sky, and several Dementors, seeing this, immediately flew toward them.
"Holy crab!"
Seeing the Dementors, Harry hastily pulled out the Wandin his pocket.
"Expecto Patronum!"
A white stag protected Harry and Cedric.
"As a Chovy, play the match properly will you, what on earth is this Dementor suddenly popping out for?"
Harry muttered complaints while using the Patronus Charm to drive away the Dementors.
When Dumbledore saw the Dementors, he also put on a veteran flex.
"Expecto Patronum!"
Accompanied by a wave of Dumbledore's hand, a ten-meter-large white Phoenix flew out.
"Oh man, you're not even calling me to flex together, looks like I really need to flex hard on you."
After saying that, Hode snapped his fingers.
"Expecto Patronum!"
A white, translucent giant dragon suddenly appeared, its body directly enveloping the entire Hogwarts and wrapping everyone inside its form.
"Merlin's black lingerie! What on earth is this, is this really magic that a human can cast?"
All the students marveled endlessly at this massive Patronus.
As for the Dementors, the moment Hode summoned his Patronus, they were engulfed by it and instantly blasted into oblivion.
Dementors: "666, is nobody going to stop this smurf?"
Hode: "If you don't blast and I don't blast, when will the little fish grow up?"
Just as everyone was marveling at Hode's Patronus, Hodedismissed the magic.
The giant dragon began to dissipate, turning into white points of light that vanished into the air.
After Hode cast this Patronus Charm, even the sky cleared up completely.
Seizing this opportunity, Harry and Cedric fiercely competed for the Golden Snitch.
Finally, relying on his superior flying skills, Harrysuccessfully caught the Golden Snitch, securing victory in the match.
Gryffindor erupted into enthusiastic cheers!
"We won!"
Cedric flew over to Harry's side, "Truly brilliant, Harry. But next time, I'll win it back."
Hearing Cedric's words, Harry seemed to realize something, the corners of his mouth curving wildly upward.
"Truly delightful, Cedric, I suppose I shall never forget you for as long as I live."
Cedric: "?"
"Finally... finally I got to say it out loud! Hahahaha!"
Harry couldn't stop laughing wildly; he had been dying to say those words for the longest time.
Saying it to familiar people just didn't feel the same, everyone did that; it only felt satisfying when said to a respectable rival like Cedric.
While Harry, Ron, and the Gryffindor students were cheering on the pitch, Hode and the others had already returned to the castle.
"How was it, Hermione, wasn't I drop-dead gorgeous just now?"
Hermione: "... How does that saying go? Oh right, you flexed so hard you blinded me."
"Huh? Clearly it was super cool, alright?"
Luna tilted her head, thought for a moment, and said: "Then this is called being surrounded by flexing yet knowing nothing of it!"
Hode: "..."
"Forget it, you mortals don't understand my state of being right now. I am the only true god spawned by this era, it's completely normal for you not to understand."
Luna: "Are you sure it's not the only true flexer spawned by this era?"
Veins bulged on Hode's forehead, "Luna! It seems I really need to properly educate you."
Hearing Hode's words, Luna immediately grabbed Hermione and fled.
"Luna, why are you dragging me along to run away too?" Hermione asked in confusion.
"This is called holding the emperor hostage to command the nobles!"
Chapter 73 Marauder's Map
Autumn passed and winter came.
This Christmas, many students left the school because of Sirius Black's incident.
Except for Slytherin, after all, they thought Sirius Black wouldn't touch pure-blood people like them.
As for Hode and Hermione, they didn't go back this time. In Hermione's words, they just wanted to spend Christmas at school.
Because of the holiday, the third-year and above students who stayed at the school all headed to Hogsmeade.
Harry stood on the tower, watching through the glass as Ron and Neville left talking and laughing.
Then he prepared to return to the dormitory, and the Weasley Twins were walking this way.
Just as Harry passed by the two of them, the Weasley Twins grabbed Harry on each side.
"Let me go, what are you doing?"
Fred: "To."
Harry:?
Then the two brought Harry to a secluded place.
"Hey, what on earth are you doing? Careful I'll take action!"
George: "Don't be afraid, come and play with the big brothers!"
Harry: Σ(°Д°;
He really didn't expect the Weasley Twins to actually be gay, and he even felt that maybe Ron was possible too...
Thinking of this, Harry hurriedly pulled out his Wand.
"Hey, don't get excited, we just want to show you something nice."
Harry: You making it like this makes it hard for me not to think that way.
Fred took out a roll of parchment and handed it to Harry.
Harry took it and looked, nothing was there, "What kind of lousy thing is this?"
Hearing Harry's words, the Weasley Twins laughed loudly.
George: "He actually said it's a lousy thing? This is the secret to our success!"
Fred: "Although we hate to part with it, we think you need it more."
Then George took out his Wand and chanted: "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
Then text appeared on the parchment: Hello everyone, Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs are honored to present to you the Marauder's Map.
Harry opened it and looked, inside was the map of Hogwarts, and many people's names were on the map, and some were moving.
Harry stared blankly at the map, and then found Dumbledore's name.
"Professor Dumbledore is in the study!"
"Yes, he often paces there. This map can show everyone."
"Where."
"What they are doing."
"Every."
"Moment."
The Weasley Twins said in unison, and then pointed to a passage on the map.
"We recommend you take this passage, which leads to Honeydukes' basement."
"Don't forget after using it, tap it with your Wand and say: Mischief managed. This way the map will disappear."
Harry looked at the Marauder's Map in his hand, deeply moved.
"Thank you guys, really appreciate it."
The Weasley Twins didn't say anything, just patted Harry's shoulder and left.
Then Harry walked towards the secret passage they pointed out, the location with the one-eyed witch statue.
——The basement of Honeydukes Sweetshop.
Harry cautiously crawled out, and then put on the Invisibility Cloak he specially brought.
Looking at the various candies in the shop, Harry could easily name common magic candies.
As well as the bustling students, Harry felt that Hogsmeade was truly fascinating.
When leaving the candy shop, Harry also casually took the candy that Seamus had just unwrapped from his hand.
Seamus: "Holy shit, what a ghost, the candy flew away by itself!"
As Harry strolled along, he found Ron and Neville standing not far from the Shrieking Shack.
"Neville, go on, let them know you are a brave Gryffindor!"
Neville: "What about you?"
Ron: "Of course I am here to back you up."
Ron tried to get Neville to go into the Shrieking Shack to take a look, and if it was safe, he would go in.
By then he could brag in front of everyone about how bravely he rushed into the Shrieking Shack.
At this moment, a voice sounded.
"Yo yo yo, isn't this Weasley and Longbottom?" Draco was walking over arrogantly.
"Draco, what are you here for? Where are your two lackeys?"
"Of course to watch you two cowards cowering in front of the Shrieking Shack, as for those two, they are still at the Three Broomsticks."
"Eh, everyone is here?" Hode and Hermione also walked over from a distance.
Hode looked at the open space beside him and said: "Harry, what are you doing? Still wearing the Invisibility Cloak, I didn't expect you to like peeping so much."
"Harry?" ×3.
Ron and the others looked around, trying to find Harry's whereabouts.
Harry whipped off the Invisibility Cloak to defend himself: "It's not, I just happened to arrive."
"Great, since everyone is here, let's go to the Three Broomsticks for a drink together!"
Ron invited everyone with a smile on his face.
"I think you just want to go see Madam Rosmerta." Hodeteased from the side.
Arriving at the Three Broomsticks.
Madam Rosmerta's appearance and figure were also quite good, still charming in her forties, no wonder Ron had a good impression of her.
Seeing several people enter, Madam Rosmerta asked with a smile what they wanted to order.
Hode waved his hand grandly, "Bring six extra-large Butterbeers first."
Ron: Follow the wealthy, food and drink without worry.
Several people sat at the table, and then Harry and Ronstared intently at Madam Rosmerta.
"She is so sexy!"
"Harry, what you said is totally right!"
Looking at the two's wretched look, Draco felt that staying with these two lowered his status a bit.
"Look at you two boars in heat, can you act more decently."
In a short while, Madam Rosmerta walked over with the Butterbeers.
Ron immediately changed his face, put on a deep look and took a sip, then nodded.
"As expected, the beer here is delicious. Back in the day, the Minister for Magic, in order to please me, invited me to drink wine that was far inferior to this."
Hearing Ron's words, several people rolled their eyes in unison.
Hode: You are too extravagant for me.
Then the voices of Professor McGonagall and Fudge came from outside.
"Shit, I can't let Professor McGonagall see me!"
Just as Harry happened to put on the Invisibility Cloak, McGonagall and Fudge walked in.
"Oh, respected Lord Hode, I didn't expect to meet you here."
As soon as Fudge saw Hode, his heart wanted to die, but he still had to face Hode.
Then came the scene just now: Fudge lowered his head lower than the seated Hode's head, and then frantically curried favor with him.
Hode waved his hand, Fudge understood tacitly, and immediately pulled McGonagall away, intending to talk in the next-door Hog's Head.
Seeing McGonagall leave, Harry took off the Invisibility Cloak.
"Hode, why does the Minister for Magic listen to you so much?"
Ron asked with an envious look, he dreamed of being like Hode, having the Minister listen to him, that would be too cool.
Hode put on an expert's look, stroked his non-existent beard and said.
"Very simple, you have enough strength to destroy the entire wizarding world, and he will naturally listen to you."
Ron: Then you might as well not say it.
——Returning to the dormitory.
Hode threw the unconscious Peter into a corner of the castle.
"The good show is finally going to start."
Chapter 74: Find Professors for me and make sure they are good ones!
The holiday ended, and the students all returned to the school.
In the dormitory at night, Hode and Hermione were now both sleeping in a suitcase.
Now only Neville and Ron were sleeping.
Meanwhile, Harry crawled under the covers and used the Lumos Charm to start studying the Marauder's Map.
Soon, Harry was surprised to find on the map that Peter Pettigrew, who had been betrayed and murdered by Sirius, had actually appeared on the map.
Harry thought the map might be too old and therefore broken, since even dead people were appearing on it.
But remembering what Hode had once said, Harry decided to go and take a look.
Then Harry followed the map to search the castle for Peter Pettigrew.
Harry watched his name intersect with Peter Pettigrew's name, but he didn't find anyone.
Just when Harry thought the map was indeed broken, Snape suddenly appeared.
"Look, our great The Savior is wandering around the castleat night. Are you afraid that Sirius won't be able to find you?"
With a gloomy face, Snape continued, "Perhaps you think your strength is sufficient to defeat Sirius and prove that you are a well-deserved The Savior?"
As he spoke, Snape snatched the Marauder's Map from Harry's hand and chanted, "Reveal your secret."
Immediately after, text began to appear on the map.
"Greetings, gentlemen. Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs present their compliments to Professor Snape..."
Before Snape could finish reading, Lupin suddenly snatched the map away.
"What are you doing here? Bathing in the moonlight, out for a walk?"
Snape sneered sarcastically while reaching out to take the map back.
But Lupin put the map behind his back, pulled Harry, and said, "This is probably just a prank product. I'd better take it back and study it. Harry, come with me."
Then the two quickly moved away from Snape.
Arriving at the Defense Against the Dark Arts classclassroom, Lupin spoke in an angry tone in front of Harryfor the first time.
"I don't know how you got this map, but you didn't even think about handing it in. Have you ever thought that if Sirius got it, he would be able to find you!"
It was Harry's first time seeing Professor Lupin angry, and he was somewhat at a loss.
"Your parents gave their lives for you, and now there is a murderer at large while you are wandering around late at night! I won't help cover for you anymore. Go back now, don't walk in circles, I can see you."
Lupin tapped the map in his hand.
Harry nodded, then prepared to leave dejectedly, but suddenly thought of something and said,
"Professor, I think that map is broken. Earlier it showed a person on it, but I know he is dead."
Lupin froze, then asked, "Is that so? Who was it?"
"Peter Pettigrew."
Hearing this name, Lupin shook his head in shock.
"Impossible!"
"But I saw it... Good night, Professor." After saying that, Harry left.
Leaving Lupin frozen in place.
Lupin opened the map, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!"
He was one of the creators of this map, and he knew very well that the Marauder's Map could not be wrong.
And when he saw Peter Pettigrew's name, he seemed to realize something.
If... if Sirius wasn't the Secret-Keeper, but Peter Pettigrewwas...
Thinking of this, Lupin hesitated no longer and immediately set off for the Shrieking Shack.
But what he didn't know was that a small portal was above Lupin, and an eye was watching all of this.
This was a magic casually conjured up by Hode, suitable for silent observation.
Harry returned to the dormitory, tossing and turning, feeling more and more that something was wrong no matter how he thought about it.
Why did the map specifically show Peter Pettigrew's name?
Why was it this Peter, who was murdered by Sirius and hailed as a hero by the world?
Harry couldn't figure it out, but eventually fell asleep anyway.
——The next day.
As Harry, Ron, and the others came out of the Divinationclassroom, they ran into Hode and Hermione holding Scabbers.
"Why are you guys here?"
Hode tossed Scabbers to Ron and said, "Here, returning this to you. I don't need it anymore. Also, Lupin wants you and Harry to go near the Whomping Willow; he has something to find you for."
"Professor Lupin?" × 2
Harry and Ron looked puzzled, but went anyway.
"Hermione, a grand cheesy melodrama is about to unfold. Do you want to watch?"
Hearing Hode's words, Hermione put on a curious expression and said, "Since you're orchestrating it, I definitely have to watch."
Harry and Ron arrived near the Whomping Willow.
"Where is Professor Lupin?"
Ron asked while stroking Scabbers.
Although Ron already had a new pet, having followed him for so many years, he naturally still had feelings for it.
Now that it was recovered after being lost, Ron couldn't help kissing Scabbers's face a few times.
"I'm glad Hode let you come back. I'll keep raising you until you die of old age."
But Scabbers struggled frantically, as if afraid of something.
"Scabbers, what's wrong with you?"
"Woof!" A bark startled the two into turning around.
A huge black dog was glaring fiercely at the two of them, or rather, at Scabbers in Ron's hand.
Harry hurriedly pulled out his Wand, but the black dog didn't give Harry the chance.
With a massive leap, it knocked Ron down, then grabbed his clothes in its jaws and dragged him toward the tree hole of the Whomping Willow.
"Ron!"
Harry finally got his Wand, but the black dog was very fast and pulled Ron in all at once.
Seeing this scene, Harry ran over without a second thought.
But the Whomping Willow suddenly moved, its branches lashing out and nearly hitting Harry.
With no other choice, Harry could only deal with the Whomping Willow first.
"Petrificus Totalus!"
Struck by Harry's petrification spell, the Whomping Willow indeed stopped, but quickly recovered.
Harry dared not use too powerful a spell, so he used the petrification spell again, then took the opportunity to crawl inside.
Inside the tree hole was a pitch-black passage. Harry used the Lumos Charm and then ran quickly.
All the way to the bottom of the Shrieking Shack, Harryopened the trapdoor and came out.
He saw Ron lying on the ground hugging Scabbers, trembling with his Wand in hand.
"Ron! How are you? Where is that black dog?"
"Harry, that dog is... is Sirius! He is an Animagus!"
"What!"
Harry turned his head to look, and a bearded, disheveled, emaciated middle-aged man was looking at them.
That was precisely Sirius Black!
Without saying another word, Harry aimed his Wand at Sirius.
Suddenly, a red light knocked Harry's Wand away.
Several people looked over, and the newcomer was indeed Lupin.
"Professor Lupin, you hit the wrong person! Look, he is Sirius!"
Ron shouted loudly.
Lupin didn't say anything, but instead turned around, smiled at Sirius, and then embraced him.
Seeing this scene, Ron was completely dumbfounded.
"What the hell, Dumbledore, get me some good Professors!"
"Three years! Why are they all bad? All three Professors are fucking villains!"
Chapter 75: The Truth of Everything
"Why? We trusted you so much, yet you are in cahoots with Sirius!"
Ron looked at Lupin with anger.
"No, Ron, calm down."
Harry comforted Ron, then looked at Sirius.
"You aren't the murderer who killed my parents, right?"
Hearing Harry's words, Sirius instantly burst into tears.
"...I, no... I caused your parents' deaths, it was my own doing..."
"Expelliarmus!"
Snape suddenly appeared, then knocked Sirius's Wandaway.
"Ah! The taste of revenge is so sweet, I've always looked forward to catching you with my own hands!"
Snape's tone was filled with joy; he could finally avenge Lily.
"Severus..."
"Shut up!"
Lupin had just started speaking when he was interrupted by Snape.
"I've always told Dumbledore that you were helping an old friend sneak in, and now there is finally hard proof."
Hearing his good friend being talked down to by Snape, Sirius couldn't sit still.
"Impressive, Severus. But your clever brain got it wrong after all. Hurry up and get lost, Remus and I still have things to resolve."
Sirius arrogantly mocked Snape, "You'd better go back and play with your Potion."
Snape poked the tip of his Wand against Sirius's neck.
"I want to kill you, but the Dementors really miss you!"
Hearing this, Sirius recalled bad memories in Azkaban.
"Ah~ I seem to sense the scent of fear. Yes, the Dementor's Kiss, that taste is simply unimaginable! They say the scene is unwatchable, but I'll still try to watch the whole thing!"
Lupin: "Severus, don't be like this."
At this moment, Harry snatched the Wand from a dumbfounded Ron and shouted at Snape: "Expelliarmus!"
A beam of red light instantly struck Snape, and the powerful impact blew him away.
Snape: What the f*** kind of Expelliarmus is this?
Afterwards, Snape passed out.
"Beautiful! As expected of James's kid, it really runs in the family!"
Seeing Harry beat up Snape, Sirius felt that James must be smiling comfortingly up in heaven.
"Tell me who the Secret-Keeper really is!"
Hearing this, Sirius found that Harry was really like Lily, equally meticulous.
"It's Peter Pettigrew, he is the real murderer who killed James and Lily."
Finishing his words, Sirius snatched Scabbers from Ron's hands.
"Hurry up and reveal your true form, Peter!"
Sirius hit Scabbers with a Wand, and then Scabbers began to rapidly grow larger and transform.
Soon, Scabbers transformed back into Peter Pettigrew, an ugly-looking fat man.
Watching Sirius and Lupin pointing their Wands at him, Peter understood that his cover was blown.
Thus, he decided to play the emotional card.
"Remus, Sirius, my old friends."
Saying this, Peter stepped forward wanting to hug them both.
But the two of them immediately pushed him away.
Seeing that they showed no mercy, Peter could only turn around and hug Harry.
"Harry, look at you, you're just like your dad James, he and I were best friends..."
"How dare you still talk to Harry!"
Sirius grabbed Peter and threw him out.
"You actually brought up James in front of Harry!"
"You betrayed James and Lily to Voldemort!"
Sirius and Lupin surrounded Peter from left and right.
Peter hastily argued: "I didn't mean to! You really don't understand the terror of the Dark Lord. Sirius, if it were you, what would you do?"
"I'd rather die than betray my friends!"
Taking advantage of Sirius talking, Peter immediately scrambled to Harry's side again.
"Harry, James wouldn't want me to die! Your father would forgive me!"
The two of them pulled Peter away again.
Sirius: "You should understand, even if Voldemort didn't kill you, we would kill you!"
"Wait!"
Harry suddenly spoke, and Sirius and Lupin looked at Harry in puzzlement.
"Harry, he is the murderer who killed your parents!"
"I know, but we need him to clear your name."
"Harry..." Sirius looked at Harry with emotion.
He didn't expect Harry to be so clever and calm at such a young age.
"Clap—clap—clap! Truly wonderful. Harry, you did pretty well this time, not letting anger cloud your mind."
Hode suddenly appeared with Hermione, and applauded to praise Harry.
"Hode?! When did you guys arrive?"
Hermione replied with a chuckle: "We came a long time ago, and have been watching until now."
Hode added another sentence: "Old Dumbledore has been watching you guys too."
Finishing his words, Dumbledore also appeared from the other side.
"Headmaster Dumbledore!" Sirius looked at Dumbledorein disbelief.
"Sorry, Sirius, it was my fault for not giving you enough trust, causing you to be locked up in Azkaban for a full twelve years."
"No, Professor, it was me being too clever by half, thinking that Voldemort wouldn't pay attention to cowardly Peter, and that's why I made him the Secret-Keeper. It was me who harmed them..."
Dumbledore patted his shoulder, "I think they certainly won't blame you, and Harry won't either."
"That's right, Sirius, this isn't your fault, it's all Peter's!"
Harry also walked over to comfort Sirius.
"Thank you, Harry."
The two of them hugged tightly together.
"Alright, save the sappiness for later, staying in such a small place and you don't even feel cramped."
Hode interrupted this heartwarming scene, then used magic to turn Peter back into a rat and threw him to Dumbledore.
"I've already spoken with Fudge on that side, when the time comes you guys just make a trip there, go through the motions and it'll be resolved," Hode said casually.
"Thank you, Hode. Thanks to your reminder, I discovered the truth of the matter."
Harry thanked Hode, but Hode merely waved his hand, then took Hermione's hand and walked out of the Shrieking Shack first.
"Sorry everyone, I also need to deal with Peter and Severus first."
Finishing speaking, Dumbledore also took Peter and the unconscious Severus and left using Apparition.
The remaining few people looked at each other.
Finally Ron spoke up: "Would someone mind supporting me? I can't move my foot."
"OK, I've got it." × 2
Harry and Sirius said in unison.
The two of them hoisted Ron up, with Lupin following behind, and the few walked toward the exit direction.
"Sorry for biting you, does it hurt a bit?"
"A bit, you almost tore my leg off."
Hearing Ron's words, Sirius defended himself.
"I was aiming for Peter, generally speaking I'm very gentle when I turn into a dog, James even advised me not to turn back at all."
Sirius paused, and continued: "A long tail is nothing, but fleas are deadly."
Hearing Sirius's complaints, Harry and Ron were both amused.
After coming out, the group saw Hode operating a cellphone there.
"How about it, for the part where Harry beats up Snape, should we add a laser-eye special effect for Harry?"
"Don't do that, what if Professor Snape sees it and gets mad!"
"What are you guys doing?" Harry asked curiously.
"Turning what you guys just did into a video, I plan to post it on Douyin then, you guys are guaranteed to go viral."
Chapter 76 Sirius
Sirius: "Including that part just now where Harry hit Severus?"
"Of course."
"Post it, everyone has to see it."
Harry: Do I have to die?
"Let's stop chatting for a moment, Hode, save my foot."
Ron's wails interrupted their conversation, wanting Hodeto treat him first.
Hode just took one glance and said, "There's no saving it, let's amputate."
Ron: Σ(°Д°;
"Hode, stop teasing me, I have elderly parents above and a sister below..."
"Alright, you really can't take a joke."
Hode snapped his fingers, and Ron's foot quickly returned to normal.
"Woohoo, wearing straw sandals, it feels like flying!"
Seeing that his foot was better, Ron started hopping around cheerfully.
Sirius watched this scene with a smile, then fell silent for a moment before speaking to Harry.
"You know, when your parents had you, they asked me to be your godfather..."
"I know."
Sirius didn't dare look at Harry, instead looking up at the sky as he spoke.
"I understand if you want to live with your aunt and uncle, but if you want a different kind of home..."
"Live with you?"
"Just a thought, I'd understand if you didn't come."
Harry immediately said, "Of course I'm willing, you're my godfather!"
Hearing Harry's words, Sirius finally dared to look at Harry, and then the two embraced once again.
"Hode! It's the full moon!"
Hermione pointed at the sky and said.
Several people looked up, and the moon, previously obscured by dark clouds, finally appeared.
Lupin also reacted, but it was too late; his body began to transform.
Actually, Snape had come here just to deliver the Wolfsbane Potion to Lupin, but because of these events, Lupin hadn't drunk the potion.
"I almost forgot about this."
Hode patted his head, immobilized Lupin, and then took out a bottle of bright red Potion and fed it to Lupin.
Soon, Lupin's Werewolf body began to change back to its original state, and his sanity recovered as well.
"I, how did I... I've changed back!"
"Hode-brand Ultimate Wolfsbane Potion, drink it and you can completely turn back into a human."
Hode shook the empty bottle in his hand, revealing a confident smile.
Sirius, who had originally been worried about Lupin, also felt at ease.
"He really is amazing, much better than that Severus. He calls himself a Potions Master, humph."
Sirius engaging in his daily routine of dissing Snape.
"Thank you so much, Hode! I never thought that one day I could completely turn back into a human, I..."
"Just a small matter, well, you guys chat slowly, we'll head out first."
With that, Hode and Hermione vanished.
"He really is amazing."
Sirius couldn't help but sigh with emotion; during his escape, he had also seen the news about Hode turning into a dragon.
At the time, he was wondering whose fake news it was, but later he found out that they were truly awesome.
"Yeah, Hode has helped me a lot." Harry similarly sighed with emotion.
Meanwhile, Lupin was admiring the moon; it had been a very, very long time since he had appreciated the full moon like this.
He secretly resolved to properly appreciate every future full moon.
"Alright, you guys should head back to school too, I'll stay in the Shrieking Shack until I gain my freedom."
——The Next Day
Dumbledore brought Harry and Lupin, holding Peter Pettigrew in hand, to the Shrieking Shack, and then several people headed to the Ministry of Magic.
This was Harry's first time coming to the Ministry of Magic, and he looked around with great curiosity.
Meanwhile, Sirius held Harry's hand, introducing him to various things about the Ministry of Magic.
Along the way, the group faced no obstacles.
Because Hode had long since told Fudge the whole story, having him clear Sirius of his charges.
And he had also posted yesterday's events on Note, and now several thousand people had liked it.
Arriving at the Wizengamot.
The Wizarding World's highest court, composed of about fifty people, and the highest authority, the Chief Warlock, was none other than Dumbledore.
The members of the Wizengamot all wore plum-colored robes, with an exquisite silver "W" embroidered on the left front chest.
Then Sirius came to the right side of the center, while Peter Pettigrew was restored to his original form by Dumbledoreand pinned to the left side by several Aurors.
Then Dumbledore brought Harry and Lupin to sit beside Sirius.
The subsequent interrogation was very simple; Peter was given Veritaserum, and he recounted the whole course of events.
Soon Sirius's wanted poster was rescinded, and the Ministry of Magic also published news saying that Siriuswas innocent.
Furthermore, they shifted all the blame onto Peter and those who had misjudged Sirius twelve years ago.
Finally, Fudge personally presented Sirius with the Order of Merlin, First Class.
After everything was over, Sirius patted Harry on the shoulder.
"Harry, I'm going to go retrieve some of my things, and in a few days I'll go to Hogwarts to see you."
"Mm, I'll wait for you."
"Oh right, almost forgot, this is for you."
Sirius patted his head, then handed a piece of paper to Harry.
Harry opened it and looked:
"I permit Harry to visit Hogsmeade —— Harry's godfather, Sirius Black."
"Thank you, Sirius!"
"This is something I should have done long ago."
After saying that, Sirius Apparated away.
"Then let's head back too."
Dumbledore brought the group back to Hogwarts, and Harry bid farewell to the Professor and returned to the Gryffindor Common Room.
"Harry, how was it, is everything sorted out?"
Seeing Harry return, Ron and the others immediately pressed him with questions.
Then Harry recounted the whole process of what happened inside the Ministry of Magic.
Hermione: "That's wonderful, Harry. Now you have family who truly cares about you."
Harry also nodded in agreement, and then he noticed something was a bit off.
"Hermione, where is Hode?"
Indeed, Harry discovered that Hode was unexpectedly not by Hermione's side! Usually these two were always together, why wasn't Hode seen today?
Ron and Neville also just noticed that Hode wasn't around.
"Yeah, why isn't Hode here? Is there something else going on again?"
Hermione shook her head, then looked at Harry.
"Hode said seeing how pitiful you are, so he said he plans to ask Death for someone back for you."
Harry was somewhat puzzled: "What do you mean?"
Hermione also shrugged, indicating she didn't know.
Meanwhile, Hode appeared before Sirius, who was preparing to head to the ancestral Black home.
"Hey, Hode, why are you here?"
"I'm going to your family's ancestral home for a trip, dropping by to pick you up on the way."
After Hode finished speaking, he put one hand on Sirius's shoulder, then teleported straight into the ancestral Blackhome.
"Merlin's purple underpants! How did you know the location of the ancestral home? My family has the Fidelius Charm placed on it!"
"Just a Fidelius Charm, it's not hard to break."
Hode casually waved his hand, looking completely unconcerned.
Then, Hode reached out and grabbed, catching the House-elf Kreacher in his hand.
Chapter 77: Gathering Horcruxes
"Give me the locket that Regulus gave you."
"Impossible! Even though I don't know how you found out, I will never give it to you!"
Even with Hode choking his neck, Kreacher still refused to yield.
"Wait, wait, wait, wait, you guys are making me a bit confused, Hode. And Kreacher, why did Regulus give you the locket? Explain it to me clearly!"
Sirius questioned Kreacher, wanting to know about Regulus.
"I won't tell you lot, especially you, who insults the House of Black..."
Before Kreacher could finish speaking, Hode used his self-invented divine power to control him.
There was no help for it; Soul detachment couldn't be used, so Hode directly rewrote the rules with divine power to control him.
"You used the Imperius Curse on him? I should have done that long ago!"
Sirius stood aside, relieved that Hode had controlled Kreacher, otherwise that fellow would have started spewing foul language at him again.
Under Hode's control, Kreacher quickly brought Slytherin's Locket over.
Afterward, the controlled Kreacher recounted Regulus's heroic deeds.
Regulus was originally Voldemort's subordinate, but later turned over a new leaf, so he brought Kreacher to the cave where Voldemort stored his Horcruxes.
He drank the poison and swapped away the Horcrux—Slytherin's Locket.
He handed the Horcrux to Kreacher, ordered Kreacher to destroy the Horcrux, and told him not to tell anyone in the family about this. Afterward, he reached for water, was dragged into the water by Inferi, and died.
Hearing Kreacher recount Regulus's deeds, Sirius wore a complex expression.
"Regulus, he... he's more of a hero than I am!"
"He really is quite alright. Alright, it's all in the past."
Hode comforted Sirius a bit, then released Kreacher from his control.
"You! You actually..."
Before Kreacher could finish speaking, Hode petrified him again.
"You need to be a bit careful with that locket..."
"Rest assured, I have other business to attend to, I'll take my leave first."
Facing Sirius's concern, Hode didn't care; it was merely a mere Horcrux.
Besides, he really had business on hand and truly didn't want to idle about chatting.
——The Gaunt Ancestral Home.
Hode arrived here.
Today, the Gaunt Ancestral Home was long deserted, with moss and cobwebs everywhere.
Hode walked inside and easily found the Gaunt Family's ancestral ring.
This ring actually held the Resurrection Stone, one of the Deathly Hallows.
But as everyone knows, things belonging to Death are bound to have catches.
This Resurrection Stone couldn't actually resurrect the dead; instead, it had all sorts of deceptive tricks.
Either the body lives after resurrection, but without a Soul; or there's only a Soul without a body, and it can only stay briefly; or it can merely block the Killing Curse once.
Moreover, Voldemort had cast a curse on the ring. In the original work, after Dumbledore saw the Resurrection Stone on the ring that he had been yearning for...
He put it on his hand without a second thought, successfully falling victim to the curse.
Looking at the curse on the ring, Hode directly channeled the divine power within his body to wipe away both the curse and Voldemort's Soul together.
Afterward, Hode rushed without stopping to Bella's vault in Gringotts.
Then he also took Hufflepuff's Cup away.
The Goblins didn't notice a thing, and complacently introduced to clients just how secure their vaults were.
——Gryffindor Common Room.
Inside the Common Room, Harry, Ron, and Neville were watching the Weasley Twins play cards. The two of them were playing with the same deck, and the match was extremely intense.
Meanwhile, Hermione was reading a book to the side. Noticing Hode's return, she immediately asked him.
"What did you go do?"
"I went to find Voldemort's Horcruxes, and also got a little gadget."
"What is a Horcrux?"
"It's when a person splits their Soul and puts it into an object, and that object is called a Horcrux. As long as the Horcrux hasn't been destroyed, he won't die, though that's all—he just won't die."
"That's so insidious! No wonder Voldemort said he would return back in first year; turns out he couldn't die at all!"
Ron grumbled, while Harry asked with concern.
"Hode, have you gathered all of Voldemort's Horcruxes then?"
Hearing Harry's question, the corners of Hode's mouth curled up.
"With your daddy here, it's as easy as pie."
Ron asked curiously, "Can we take a look at the Horcruxes?"
Hode laid out Voldemort's Horcruxes one by one.
"Slytherin's Locket, Hufflepuff's Cup, and Gaunt's ring."
"How come they're all such conspicuous things? If I were Voldemort, I'd use sand to make a Horcrux, then throw it into the desert or the ocean where no one would ever find it!"
Looking at Ron's proud appearance, the Weasley Twinsexchanged a smile.
Fred: "As expected of Ronnie, you really have a unique insight into the Dark Arts!"
George: "Yeah, if Mom knew that our Ronnie's understanding of Horcruxes is even higher than Voldemort's, she'd definitely be very happy!"
Hearing the twins' words, Ron immediately began to beg for mercy.
"Don't, I was just talking nonsense, don't tell Mom."
If Molly found out about what he just said, Ron guaranteed he would die a very, very miserable Death!
"Then let's quickly destroy these Horcruxes!"
Harry had no heart to joke around with them; he wanted nothing more than to exact revenge on Voldemort at every moment.
But Hode shook his head, "Not yet, Harry. We have to wait until Voldemort is completely resurrected before making a move."
"Why?"
Harry was extremely puzzled; why wait for Voldemort to resurrect?
"Because I need Voldemort to kill you first."
Everyone:???
Ron spoke tremblingly, "This isn't funny at all... Hode."
Hermione frowned, but didn't say anything. She believed Hode certainly wouldn't genuinely want Harry to die.
Hode also explained, "Because you, Harry, are Voldemort's final Horcrux. On the day he died, his Soul attached itself inside your body."
Harry was completely dumbfounded this time.
What the heck? Have I become a sacrifice?
"S-So if I don't die, then Voldemort won't die, right?"
Harry's eyes began to lose their luster. He had finally reunited with his godfather, and he had even fantasized about life with his godfather.
He had even thought about taking a wife in the future, preferably Senior Cho from Ravenclaw, and then having a child...
But now he had become Voldemort's Horcrux; if he didn't die, then Voldemort wouldn't truly die either.
Harry thought of his parents, and thought of himself, called The Savior by the world.
"Is this... fate? I understand! I'll let Voldemort kill me, and by then I'll leave avenging me to you, Hode!"
Looking at Harry's resolute gaze, Hode wore a gratified smile.
"Very good, you've passed my test, Harry."
Harry:?
"Although you indeed have to be killed by Voldemort once, I can resurrect you, so don't worry."
Hearing Hode's words, Harry finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Then to reward your courage, I've decided to resurrect your parents!"
Everyone:???
Chapter 78: Preparation for Resurrection
"What?"
Everyone looked at Hode in unison, all wearing expressions of disbelief.
"You're joking... right... Hode."
Harry tried to suppress his inner excitement, wanting to know if Hode was joking.
The others also looked anxiously at Hode.
That's resurrection! Can it really be done?
Hode smiled faintly, wearing a confident expression.
"Of course it's true, I wouldn't joke about something like this."
"Hode... No! Godfather, I want to see my parents so badly, help me!"
Harry immediately ran to Hode's side, then looked at him with a pleading expression.
"Alright, alright, a promise is a promise, but I still need to prepare some things, I'll find you in a few days."
After speaking, Hode disappeared again.
— Headmaster's Office.
Dumbledore was sitting at his desk, writing a letter.
"Yo, Old Dumbledore."
Seeing that the newcomer was Hode, Dumbledorestopped what he was doing.
"What is it, Hode?"
Hode placed the collected Horcruxes on the table.
"Except for Harry, all of Voldemort's Horcruxes are here, along with Ravenclaw's Diadem I gave you earlier, take it out."
Dumbledore looked at these Horcruxes. He originally planned to look for them himself during the summer vacation, but he didn't expect Hode to find all of them directly.
Then he took out the Diadem. "Are you planning to do something?"
"I think it's better to keep it with me. After all, I have a space I can pull things out of at any time."
Dumbledore nodded, agreeing with Hode's idea. He no longer knew how many magical spells Hode had researched.
Then Hode picked up Gaunt's ring and said, "This Horcruxhas already been destroyed by me, and the thing on it is..."
"The Resurrection Stone!"
Before Hode could finish, Dumbledore blurted it out.
It was the first time Hode saw Dumbledore looking at the Resurrection Stone with a look of yearning.
"Want to resurrect your sister?"
Hode's words woke Dumbledore up, and he shook his head.
"The Resurrection Stone cannot truly bring back the dead..."
"I can."
Dumbledore: "What?"
He looked at Hode in surprise, his face full of anticipation just like Harry and the others.
"I can use the Resurrection Stone and snatch people from Thanatos, but it will take some time. In a few days, I will resurrect Harry's parents and your sister together."
Hearing Hode's words, Dumbledore opened his mouth. He wanted to ask if it was true, what the probability was, and what would happen if it failed.
But in the end, he only said, "Is there anything I need to do?"
Yes, Dumbledore chose to trust Hode, to trust this Little guy who possessed a talent far exceeding everyone else's.
"You just need to call the people who should be called, and leave the show to me then."
Dumbledore smiled and nodded, then handed the letter he had just written to Hode.
Hode took a look. The content inside was about the Triwizard Tournament, as well as Dumbledore saying he would send someone to Beauxbatons to get the Goblet of Fire in a few days.
Hode looked at Dumbledore, then pointed at himself.
"You don't want me to go get the Goblet of Fire, do you?"
"Of course. After all, who else can come and go as freely as you? Besides, wouldn't it be nice to go see other schools?"
Hearing Dumbledore's words, Hode didn't refuse either. "Then let's wait a few days. I'll make a trip after I resurrect them."
After speaking, Hode took all the Horcruxes on the table and returned into the suitcase.
Afterward, Hode kept preparing for the resurrection and facing Thanatos.
Until three days later.
"Hey, Harry!"
Sirius came to Hogwarts again, but this time his appearance could be said to have changed drastically.
His previously ragged clothes had turned into expensive wizard robes, and his beard was trimmed very nicely.
His mental state was no longer as dejected as before.
"Sirius!"
Harry quickly stepped forward and hugged Sirius.
Ever since Sirius was cleared of his wrongful conviction, he went to Hode's shop to buy a mobile phone, and found Harry's account on TikTok.
Then the two of them kept in touch on their phones. Harrynaturally knew Sirius would come today, which is why he waited outside the castle to welcome him.
Harry brought Sirius into Hode's suitcase. As soon as the two entered, they saw many familiar figures.
Dumbledore, Snape, McGonagall, Lupin, as well as Hermione, Ron, Neville, and Draco.
"So what are you here for? Severus! I'm telling you, you'd better stay away from Lily, you stinking bat who covets another man's wife!"
"I see you're getting full of yourself after leaving Azkaban. I'll teach this dog a good lesson right now."
With that, Snape pulled out his Wand, and Sirius did the same.
Sirius had already told Harry about their generation's affairs over the phone, and Lupin had talked about it before as well.
Among them was the fact that Snape liked his mother. Actually, he didn't want Snape to come either, but Hodesaid Snape betrayed Voldemort precisely because he loved his mother.
There was really nothing more he could say.
Just as the two were about to start fighting, Professor McGonagall spoke up.
"There are important matters today, and you're still messing around here! You're both so old, yet still so childish in front of the children. Put your Wands away right now!"
Hearing McGonagall's words, the two reluctantly put away their Wands.
Lupin said beside Harry, "Whenever we went against Snape in the past, Professor McGonagall was always the one who handled it."
McGonagall was also helpless. These two hadn't gotten along since their student days, and she didn't expect it to still be like this now.
Especially now that their powers were stronger and their attacks were heavier, she really had no tricks left.
As for Dumbledore, he was chuckling aside. When McGonagall noticed, she became even angrier.
"McGonagall: Detestable Albus, I'm always the one handling this kind of thing, all he knows is how to slack off every day!"
Dumbledore also noticed McGonagall looking at him with an unfriendly face, so he immediately straightened up and put on a serious expression.
After all, he didn't want to provoke McGonagall into anger.
After a while, Fawkes brought Aberforth here.
Several people looked at Aberforth, who looked very much like Dumbledore, and then looked at Albus.
Albus was silent for a moment, as if he had prepared himself psychologically, and stepped forward to say,
"Long time no see, Aberforth... How have you been recently..."
Aberforth grabbed Dumbledore by the collar.
"I didn't come here to listen to you say these things. You're the one who said Ariana could be resurrected! Tell me how!"
Everyone watched this scene without speaking. Either they didn't know what was going on, or they felt they shouldn't meddle.
"Hode is already preparing, no need to worry, Aberforth."
Albus spoke to comfort him. Just at this moment, Jinxbrought Gellert Grindelwald here.
As soon as he saw Gellert, Aberforth immediately drew his Wand.
Gellert also noticed. Looking at Aberforth, who intended to attack him, he helplessly drew his Wand.
"Avada Kedavra!" × 2
Chapter 79: Death, I Am Here to Claim a Few People from You
Aberforth: "What are you doing here, Grindelwald!"
"Ariana is being resurrected, and I must be present for this as well."
"Ariana won't want to see you, get the hell out of here!"
Albus watched the two of them clashing with the Killing Curse, and he truly had no idea what to do.
"Alright, stop messing around, I could hear the commotion you two were making from far away."
Hode appeared out of thin air and snapped his fingers, instantly extinguishing the magic of Aberforth and Grindelwald.
Aberforth looked at Hode and asked, "Who are you?"
"I am the one who is going to resurrect your sister, Hode."
Aberforth looked at the young wizard who hadn't even graduated yet, then turned his head to look at Albus.
And Albus nodded, indicating that it was indeed the case.
Although Hode was too young, Aberforth didn't say anything, choosing to believe that Albus wouldn't joke about a matter like this.
Gellert didn't pay any more attention to Aberforth, instead walking up to Hermione.
"You must be Hermione, you really are lovely. This is a gift I brought, would you like to come to Nurmengard to play during the summer vacation?"
Gellert handed Hermione something resembling a watch, but with only a single pointer inside.
This was something a pure-blood had given him back when he ruled Europe, passed down from their family's ancestors.
It was said that this watch could guide one in the direction they desired, and also point toward the direction of impending danger.
Hermione took it and then bowed to Gellert.
"Thank you, Grandpa Gellert, I will go to Nurmengard with Hode during the summer vacation."
Hearing this, Gellert burst into loud laughter.
"Good, good, good, then I'll wait for you."
Meanwhile, Ron and the others standing on the side felt their legs turn to jelly.
Was this the Dark Lord who ruled Europe back then? He should spare us for Hode's sake, right?
"Of course I will, what I love most is killing young wizards."
Gellert suddenly looked at Ron, flashing a fierce smile.
"Help! Hode, I don't want to die!"
Ron ran behind Hode with a crying tone in his voice, as if that was the only way he could feel safe.
"Hmph, is all you know how to do is scare children?" Aberforth snorted coldly.
But Gellert ignored him.
The other adults didn't speak either; after all, both of these men were older than them and extremely powerful.
"Alright, everyone is here, so let's begin."
"Now? Right here?" Ron asked, looking slightly puzzled from behind Hode.
"Of course, get further away from me first."
Ron hurriedly scampered away, coming behind Albus. It seemed that besides Hode, only being around Albus gave him a sense of security.
Hode took out three Alchemy puppets, the Resurrection Stone, and the Philosopher's Stone, and then began setting up the Alchemy array.
After about ten minutes, Hode finished preparing everything.
"Alright, next I'm going to Death's domain to snatch people away. If I don't return in an hour... burn my body immediately, I certainly don't want to leave my body waiting for Death."
Hearing Hode's words, everyone was stunned.
Hermione hurriedly spoke up: "No! Hode, this is too dangerous! I absolutely cannot just watch you die!"
Gellert: "Kid, that joke isn't funny at all."
Harry also advised: "Hode, you'd better forget it. If you die, I will never forgive myself for the rest of my life!"
The others also began to persuade Hode, intending to make him give up.
"Alright, alright, we've already come this far, wouldn't giving up now be a slap to my own face? Hermione, trust me, it's just a worst-case scenario."
Hermione looked into Hode's confident eyes, finally nodded and said.
"You must come back!"
"I will come back!"
Hode began to pinch the Resurrection Stone, then used his divine power to detach his Soul from his body.
The Resurrection Stone served as a connecting channel, and Hode used divine power to rewrite the rules, directly arriving in Death's territory.
Hode looked at the pitch-black surroundings, along with various gray Souls wandering about.
"I didn't expect that instead of me looking for you, you'd deliver yourself right to my doorstep."
Thanatos appeared in front of Hode.
This time he was no longer a skeleton avatar, but his true body.
Thanatos was pale all over, with black whites of the eyes and no pupils. Standing three meters tall, he made Hodelook extremely small.
He wore a black robe that looked illusory, made of a material never seen before, which fit his identity.
In his hand, he held a scythe nearly six meters long, its blade pitch black as ink, occasionally accompanied by bursts of weeping sounds.
The blade and the long shaft were connected by a human skull, making the entire weapon look extremely dangerous, as if it could easily take someone else's life.
"What gibberish are you muttering? I'm here to ask you for a few people: James Potter, Lily Potter, and ArianaDumbledore."
Seeing that Hode showed no fear of him whatsoever and even provoked him, Thanatos flew into a rage instantly.
"You're courting death."
Thanatos raised his scythe to slash at Hode, but Hodeteleported behind him.
Death immediately turned his head: "How is that possible! How could you possibly use Spatial Magic in my territory?!"
Hode didn't answer his question, but instead extended the index finger of his right hand and smiled.
"Just as a reminder, you——are the challenger."
"Damn brat, I'm going to strip off all your scales!"
Then Death flashed right in front of Hode, the scythe as swift as a bullet, savagely hacking down at Hode.
But Hode dodged with another flash and chanted,
"Release!"
Countless slashes radiated outward in all directions with Hode at the center.
Death blocked them one by one with his scythe, then opened his right hand wide.
Numerous black Souls transformed into demons and flew toward Hode.
But they were all broken by Hode's slashes.
Death: Such high power?!
He hadn't expected Hode's slashes to easily cut through the demons he created, so Death decided to kill Hode in close combat.
Hode wasn't idle either; while dodging Death's attacks, he began searching for the Souls of the three people.
The Souls here were all killed by the Killing Curse, and their numbers were astronomical.
But Hode's eyes had extremely strong detection capabilities, and after a short while, he found Harry's parents' Souls. He then teleported to their side and scooped their Souls into his sleeve.
"Damn it, why on earth can you move within my space!"
Death was truly baffled; no one could use Spatial Magichere, not even those few deities stronger than him.
Yet Hode could use it at will, making him chase around like a clown.
As for Hode, he also wanted to fight Death, but he could see that Death's weapon was extraordinary.
Even if he touched it just a little, his Soul would probably be absorbed by it.
Therefore, just to be safe, Hode didn't want to engage Death in close-quarters combat, and besides, he was here to find people.
"Amaterasu!"
Black flames spewed from Hode's mouth, and Death didn't dodge, instead taking the attack head-on.
The black flames didn't cause any damage to Death; instead, he used his scythe to absorb the flames into the weapon.
"Returning this to you, brat!"
Death swung hard, and a slash carrying black flames swiftly hacked toward Hode.
Hode: magic absorption is here! 666, isn't this sneaky?
Hode teleported away again, but the slash tracked him and turned around to pursue Hode once more.
"Release!"
Hode likewise unleashed a black slash to counter it head-on, and the two attacks canceled each other out.
At this moment, Hode finally found Ariana's Soul!
Chapter 80: Revive, My Parents / Sister!
"Found it!"
Hode instantly arrived by Ariana's side and pocketed her in an instant.
"Hahaha, done, time to run!"
Hearing Hode's words, Death shouted angrily, "Don't even think about running!"
"Remnant Night Holy Remains — Annihilation!"
As Death's voice fell, countless surrounding Souls were sucked into his scythe.
Then the scythe began to turn from black to red, and even Hode, hundreds of meters away, felt the immense suction force.
"Hmph, I'll avoid your sharp edge? Music!"
LUV ME LUV ME ～
HATE ME HATE ME ～
LUV ME LUV ME ～
KILL ME KILL ME ～
"Try to make me mesmerized by you! Death!"
The divine power within Hode began to erupt.
"Let's see whose power is greater! Retrospect Time — Rift-Sky Slash!"
Hode's attack was launched first. This move was developed based on Hode's understanding of time and space, combined with a slashing technique.
Just as Death was preparing to attack, time seemed to be stopped, and an incomparable slash directly hit his body.
"How is that possible!"
Death was split in two, and the scythe in his hand stopped charging its power.
But soon Death's body recovered.
"Damn, he even knows reverse cursed technique, so sneaky! Whatever, time to run. Death, next time will be your doomsday!"
After saying this, Hode instantly disappeared.
"Phew ~ What a hearty and exhilarating battle!"
Hode's Soul returned to his body, and then he wiped away non-existent sweat.
"Hode!"
Seeing Hode return safe and sound, Hermione immediately stepped forward and hugged Hode.
"That's great! It's so good that you're okay!"
The others who were originally prepared to step forward also stopped in their tracks.
Albus merely sighed with emotion, "Youth is truly wonderful!"
Then he looked at Gellert, and Gellert happened to be looking at Albus as well.
The two seemed to recall the fond memories of their youth through each other's eyes.
"Alright, the resurrection ritual can proceed now. Old Dumbledore, stop gazing at each other affectionately over there, and Harry and Aberforth, you guys come over."
Hearing Hode's words, the three of them came to Hode's side.
"Is there anything we need to do?" Harry asked nervously and excitedly.
"Harry, in a moment I want you to shout loudly and with emotion: 'Revive, my parents!' And you two as well, you need to shout: 'Revive, my sister!'"
"D-Do we really have to do it like this?" Harry asked a bit uncertainly, feeling that he must have misheard.
"Of course it's true, do you still want to revive your parents or not? If you want to revive them, chant according to what I said."
The three looked at each other. Although the words were a bit embarrassing, for the sake of resurrection, they certainly wouldn't be squeamish about it.
Seeing that Harry and the others were ready, Hodereleased the three Souls.
Sirius: "It's James and Lily!"
Albus, Aberforth: "Ariana!"
Everyone looked at the three unconscious Souls and felt shocked.
Then Hode began to inject divine power into the three Souls.
The Souls, which were originally somewhat incomplete, began to restore completeness, and then Hode put the Souls into the prepared Alchemy puppets.
"Right now, shout quickly!"
Hearing Hode's words, the three began to shout with all their might.
"Revive, my parents!"
"Revive, my sister!"
The three kept shouting incessantly, with an affectionate tone attached.
It was just pitiful for the two Old Dumbledores; at such an advanced age, they still had to shout so strenuously.
Soon, the Alchemy puppets began to transform into the appearances of Harry's parents and Ariana.
Then Hode used divine power again to rewrite the rules, and this time it consumed a massive amount of Hode's divine power.
Coupled with the consumption from the previous battle with Death, Hode's divine power was now left with only ninety percent out of ten.
"Revive, my parents/sister!"
As Harry and the others' voices fell, all three began to slowly open their eyes.
"Mom and Dad!" Just as Harry shouted excitedly, preparing to hug his parents...
A black figure instantly surpassed Harry and tightly hugged Lily.
"Lily! That's great, you've finally come back to life!"
Snape was already streaming with tears, his hands tightly hugging Lily.
James: "What the heck, that's my wife!"
James: Family members, who gets it, as soon as I'm resurrected, someone is eyeing my wife right in front of me.
Sirius and Lupin also reacted.
Sirius: "You damn stinky bat, let go of Lily right now."
Then James, Sirius, and Lupin pulled Snape away.
Harry watched this scene, and his original mood of recovering what was lost was shattered.
On the other side, Aberforth hugged the 14-year-old Ariana, while Albus wept to the side, not daring to step forward.
"Old grandfather, who are you? Why do I feel like you're so familiar."
"Wuwu... Ariana, wuwu, I am your brother, I am Aberforth, your brother." (╥﹏╥)
Aberforth held Ariana tightly, almost unable to speak clearly.
"You are my brother? How did you get so old, then are you Albus brother?"
Ariana looked at Albus, who was silently weeping behind Aberforth, and asked.
"Yes, I am Albus, your brother. Welcome back! Ariana!"
Returning to Harry's side, Harry finally hugged his own parents, while Sirius and Lupin were holding tightly onto Snape.
McGonagall brought Ron and the others to greet Jamesand the others, among whom Draco was the most nervous, looking as if he were meeting his father-in-law.
Hode remarked: The eagle has its own national conditions.
Hermione hugged Hode, watching this scene happily.
"You are truly too great, Hode."
"Then how much do you admire me ~"
"You are forever my most beloved hero!"
"And you are the princess I always want to protect!"
The two pressed closely together like this, watching the others weeping with joy from their reunion.
Hode smiled with relief. In his view, the desperate, mutual-destruction victory in the original work could not be considered a true victory.
What he wanted was for kind people to be rewarded, and evil people to receive the punishment they deserved. He wanted to save the heroes who shouldn't have died.
When he first saw Sirius killed, Hode even thought he would be resurrected.
Because he said he would give Harry a home, but in the end, that sentence fooled both Harry and Hode...
Now Harry's parents were resurrected and reunited with his godfather.
The thorn in Dumbledore's heart, Ariana, was also successfully resurrected.
Looking at their tears of joy from reunion.
Perhaps this was the meaning of him coming to this world and possessing such powerful talent!
At this moment, Ariana led the two Dumbledores to Hode's presence.
"Thank you very much, Mr. Hode! Thank you for resurrecting me!"
Looking at this little loli who was one year older than him, but whose status was at the level of his great-grandmother, Hode waved his hand.
"What's so much about that, just a resurrection, it's a piece of cake for me."
"But we still need to properly thank you, Hode."
Aberforth spoke: "In the future, when you come to the Hog's Head, all consumption will be on the house, and if you need any help, I'll be at your beck and call."
Hode: Not a single useful thing...
But Hode didn't mind. After all, the things that could move his heart now probably had to be related to deities.
"Hode, we are also very grateful for everything you have done."
James and Lily also took Harry by the hand and came before Hode to thank him.
"Small matter, small matter."
What Hode was least good at was facing other people's gratitude; he really didn't want to listen to those words of thanks.
Having finally managed to cope and send them off, Gellertwalked over and said.
"Remember to bring Hermione for the summer vacation."
"Got it."
After getting Hode's reply, Gellert also left.