Chapter 291: Brewing
Chapter 291: Brewing
“Professor, are you planning to catch Sirius Black?” Fred asked.
Felix looked at him in surprise. “You guessed it?”
Fred spoke without hesitation. “George and I, oh, and Jordan Lee, we figured you’d do something about it, you know, after that day…” He winked.
“Everyone’s been talking, and they’re pretty scared,” George chimed in, his face full of admiration. “Black appeared so boldly on the castle grounds, even disguised as a Muggle boy. That’s some nerve!”
Felix wasn’t sure how the young wizards viewed the attack. The previous weekend had been so busy that he hadn’t gone to the Great Hall for meals, so he was out of the loop on the latest gossip.
It seemed Dumbledore had no intention of dispelling the rumors. This public opinion would make Peter Pettigrew feel more secure in hiding, but it had its downsides. The Ministry of Magic had already tried to use it as an excuse to pry into things.
In peacetime, the Ministry of Magic represented the legitimate authority, and its reputation was more powerful than its actual strength. But once war broke out and the Ministry lost its credibility, individual power would overshadow everything, and its prestige would shine brightly across the entire wizarding world.
Great Hall, Castle.
Harry stabbed a piece of potato forcefully, drenched it in sauce, and suddenly lost his appetite.
“They look at me like I’m some kind of rare magical creature!”
“No, more like a lucky one,” Ron said, cutting a sausage from his plate and taking a big sip of thick soup. He grinned. “In their eyes, you’re like someone who just escaped from the three huge mouths of a three-headed dog.”
Harry grinned, suddenly picturing the shrunken three-headed dog being petted wildly by Ron.
Hermione glanced at the two of them. “Speaking of magical creatures, we can meet Hagrid in Care of Magical Creatures and ask about the Buckbeak case.”
“Didn’t he already pay the fine?” Ron asked, objectively. “That’s the best outcome, Hermione.”
Harry agreed. It was a small price to pay to resolve Buckbeak’s issues, and he was sure Hagrid wouldn’t mind.
“Not really. Even though they took the money, the Ministry of Magic hasn’t given a formal decision. Hagrid has been distracted lately.”
Harry recalled. “I think Hagrid is doing fine. He hasn’t brought out any Flobberworms recently.” He and Ron were still under a ban, so they could only see Hagrid during class. In the last lesson, they learned about Fire Crabs.
This magical creature, native to Fiji, was called a “crab” but looked more like a large turtle, with its shell encrusted with jewels.
Hagrid had explained, “If it weren’t for the different living environments, Nifflers would love this creature. Nifflers are little treasure hunters. I’ll introduce you to one sometime…”
“It’s because Hermione and Professor Hup are keeping an eye on things,” Hermione waved her fork. “I can’t believe he included manticores in the curriculum.”
“Manticores? What are those?” Harry asked, confused.
“Manticores,” Ron said the name correctly, his voice full of dread. “Charlie told me about them when I was little. They’re one of the few creatures that can rival dragons. Their scorpion tails are highly venomous, their teeth are razor-sharp, and their skin naturally repels most spells!”
Harry believed Ron because it was rare for him to recite the characteristics of a magical creature so fluently. He was just curious. “Are there manticores in the Forbidden Forest?”
The last time he had similar doubts was when he found out there was a nest of Acromantula in the Forbidden Forest.
"The Forbidden Forest is huge, Harry", Hermione explained, then added irritably, "Hagrid later argued that he made a mistake and was just conducting research. I'd like to see what he could possibly discover..."
Harry and Ron exchanged a glance and kept their heads down, eating their food. Hermione in this state was not to be persuaded; she had a whole lecture waiting for anyone who tried.
Harry took a quick look at the staff table. Snape was sitting far away from Professor Hup, his body turned to one side, and even when reaching for food, he only picked from the plate on his left. Harry wasn't sure, but was Snape avoiding someone?
What had happened? He remembered the scene he had seen in Professor Hup's eyes—Professor Lupin and Snape facing off. But when he inquired, Professor Hup dismissively said he was overthinking it, and everything was fine.
He stared at Snape's face, thinking that this certainly didn't feel normal. He felt his task had just increased; he needed to observe Professor Lupin's state in today's Defense Against the Dark Arts class...
Lost in thought, it took Harry a while to notice Snape staring at him with a terrifying gaze. Harry quickly lowered his head.
"Hmph~"
Snape grunted, his mood lightening slightly, but the bad feelings quickly returned. He suspected he had been hit with a Confundus Charm; otherwise, why would he have agreed to go to the Three Broomsticks Inn with that boy?
More importantly, he couldn't remember if he had said anything he shouldn't have.
His memory was fuzzy. He remembered Rosmerta recommending a mead, "You absolutely have to try it. It's infused with various flower petals—roses, violets, hibiscus, irises, and lily of the valley. The taste is excellent, and it won't get you drunk." She had said this enthusiastically.
'Liar.'
In the evening, Felix sat quietly in his office, studying the Marauder's Map.
Suddenly, a fire blazed in the fireplace, and an orange flame coalesced into a blurry face, "Let me through, Felix!"
He looked up from his desk, "You can't abuse the Floo Network. You might get caught by the Ministry of Magic."
"Are you talking about yourself? You were here last night, reeking of alcohol..." the voice on the other side muttered incessantly.
Felix waved his wand, and the next second, Sirius Black emerged from the fireplace.
"Cough, cough!"
Sirius Black's robes were covered in soot, and his face was dirty. "Scouring Charm!" He pointed his wand at himself and cleaned up.
Seeing the Marauder's Map in Felix's hand, he widened his eyes in surprise, "You got it?"
"Yep, I got lucky."
"Did you find him?" Sirius Black whispered, holding his breath, his body tensed.
"Not yet. I checked, but found nothing", Felix continued to study the map, tapping his fingers on the parchment. "I suspect Peter Pettigrew is hiding deep in the Forbidden Forest or has found a new Wizard family."
Sirius Black slumped onto the sofa, dejectedly saying, "What do you plan to do? Should I turn myself in to the Ministry of Magic? With Dumbledore's testimony, they might at least listen, right?"
Felix glanced at him but said nothing.
"Alright." Sirius Black stood up, looking around the office, muttering, "Old stick in the mud."
He stood in front of a half-finished portrait, which was only about half a person's height. He tsked, "You have this hobby too, hanging yourself up?"
"That's for St. Mungo's", Felix said without looking up.
"Because what, you're still a healer? Studying how to tie people up?"
"There are clippings on the workbench. And if you keep talking nonsense, I'll kick you out."
Sirius pouted and picked up the newspaper, reading it for a while. After a moment of silence, he said softly, "Frank and Alice, I didn't know they went through this... This damned war!" He cursed under his breath, "Voldemort is just rotten, thank goodness he's dead."
Putting down the newspaper, he noticed a small golden gadget on the workbench. His eyes lit up, "Can I pick it up and take a look?"
"Sure, just don't bite it. It's already seen better days."
Sirius snorted, "I'm just an Animagus in the form of a dog; I don't have a habit of gnawing on things." He said sheepishly, reaching out to pick up the battered Golden Snitch. One of its wings was broken, and the other, still intact, fluttered weakly every now and then, looking lifeless.
After a while, Sirius leaned in and asked cautiously, "About that Snitch... Do you plan to fix it?"
"Maybe", Felix replied nonchalantly, "I found it in a huge garbage heap, and I wanted to take it apart and study it."
"How could a Golden Snitch end up in a garbage heap? Never mind... How much do you want for it?"
"What?"
"I'm asking how much you want for this thing. Of course, I'll fix it and maybe add some quirky magic to make it more interesting. I can come up with ideas, and we can count it as a joint effort."
"Planning to give it as a gift?" Felix looked at Sirius, smiling, "To Harry?"
"Half a year to go... I don't know what will happen by then. Maybe I'll still be on the run", Sirius avoided his gaze, "I may not be a good godfather, but I have to do something, like the Firebolt. I want to, even if I can't be by his side, at least—"
"The Firebolt was from you?" Felix said in surprise.
"Yes, I sent it via owl, and Crookshanks helped a lot", Sirius explained.
After a moment's thought, Felix agreed, "Sure. Alright, come over here, I need your input—" He pointed to the Marauder's Map, "I plan to cast an Alarm Charm on it. If a specific person enters the map's range, it will trigger an alert."
He had a few more ideas, but the Alarm Charm was the most straightforward and had the highest success rate. Capturing Peter Pettigrew would give him plenty of time to test his theories.
"That's a great idea!" Sirius was clearly intrigued, "We can't watch the map all the time, and what if he sneaks in at night? Although we could leave it to Kreacher", he said with a hint of malice, "His mind is completely messed up, filled with too many crazy ideas from my mother's portraits..."
"Is the cleaning not going well?"
Sirius grunted, "It's weird, isn't it? Sometimes I feel like Kreacher is the true master of the house, just as decayed, decrepit, and stubborn..."
"Getting off track, let's talk about the Alarm Charm. There's a problem right now..."
Sirius looked at him, and Felix continued, "You've added a lot of spells already. Over time, these magics have intertwined and merged. It's hard for me to intervene without risking the map's structure, which could turn it to ashes."
"I can provide the method for making the Marauder's Map", Sirius offered immediately.
"It's not that simple. I need to know the order in which you cast the spells", Felix said.
Sirius thought about it for a moment, then said slowly, "I can only remember part of it. The Dementors had a significant impact on me. You should ask Remus, he's more meticulous."
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(End of Chapter)
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