Chapter 742: The Shopping Cat
Chapter 742: The Shopping Cat
"I know you want to catch Peter for me, but it's almost impossible. Peter is cautious and smarter than you; you won't be able to catch him. If you get the chance, see if you can find out the password to the Gryffindor common room for me. I want to enter the school and kill him myself."
In the dark tunnel, Sirius Black gently stroked Crookshanks' head with his rough hand, telling him what he needed and wanted to do. He knew the cat was clever, but relying on it to catch Peter the rat was nearly impossible. Moreover, Sirius Black wanted to take matters into his own hands and avenge James.
"Meow!"
Crookshanks let out a soft meow, seemingly agreeing to keep an eye out for Black.
"Right, there's also something else I need your help with."
Black took out a slightly crumpled piece of parchment from his pocket and handed it to Crookshanks. "Harry's broomstick is broken. I plan to get him a new one for Christmas, but I can't go into Quality Quidditch Supplies to buy one myself. I need you to take this letter to the post office in Hogsmeade and place an order for an owl in Harry's name. As for the galleons, I'll have them collected from vault 711 at Gringotts, my vault, or I'll reimburse the cost later."
In fact, Black wasn't sure if this plan would work, but it seemed like the best option. If he transformed into a dog and carried the letter into the post office, it would look highly suspicious, and if the staff there became suspicious, he could be in big trouble.
The clever Crookshanks was certainly more suited for this task.
Crookshanks nodded in agreement to help Black with this errand.
The man and cat made their way along the tunnel to the Shrieking Shack, where Sirius Black instructed Crookshanks to carry the letter and squeeze through the gaps in the shack.
Thus, Hogsmeade Village was visited by a cat named Crookshanks, who, despite never having been to Hogsmeade before, had no trouble finding the post office.
Behind the counter, a middle-aged wizard who had been reading the Prophet looked up at the sound, surprised to see a cat at the counter with a letter in its mouth.
"A cat coming to the post office to send a letter?" he mused.
The wizard watched with curiosity as the cat placed the letter on the counter and then reached out to pat Crookshanks' head, intrigued by this unusual visitor. He pointed to the letter on the counter and asked tentatively, "Do you want to send this?"
The cat shook its head.
"Is this for me?" the man asked again.
This time, Crookshanks nodded.
"Really for me?"
The middle-aged wizard took the letter, and to his surprise, it was indeed addressed to him.
Moreover, the sender was none other than the famous savior, Harry Potter. It felt quite extraordinary.
The letter was concise, explaining that Harry Potter intended to buy an owl but, due to certain circumstances, couldn't find a suitable owl to deliver messages. So, he had asked the cat to bring the letter, and regarding the payment for the owl in galleons, the wizard could either collect the money from Gringotts himself or be reimbursed after delivering the owl. Harry only needed to inform the cat of the owl's price.
"What a clever little fellow, even helping his owner with shopping." The wizard scratched the cat's chin and murmured, "Though, coming to the post office to buy an owl, now that's something..."
The middle-aged wizard ultimately didn't refuse the transaction, even though it seemed fantastical. He didn't think anyone would go to the length of sending a clever cat to play a prank on him.
The distance from Hogwarts School to Hogsmeade was not short; it would take a while to walk there.
Moreover, he had the right to be curious.
"Smart little guy, which owl did you want to get?" The wizard tucked the letter into his pocket, picked up Crookshanks, and walked over to the owls resting in the store.
Crookshanks took a turn inside and finally chose the smallest owl in the shop, a little tawny owl.
Watching the cat and owl leave, the middle-aged wizard muttered, "That cat must have Kneazle ancestry. Ah well, it's nice that noisy little fellow has found an owner."
He wasn't worried about not being paid. Until the galleons were settled, the owl's ownership technically still belonged to him.
If they didn't pay, the owl could always fly back, and he trusted that Harry Potter wouldn't joke about his credibility or have any reason to do so. After all, it was Harry Potter.
Crookshanks returned to the Shrieking Shack with the tiny owl, squeezing through the gaps while the owl watched from outside. Finally, with Crookshanks' urging, the owl also squeezed through and entered the shack.
Hearing the commotion, the black dog lying in the shadows stood up and walked over to Crookshanks, gazing at the tiny owl before resuming his human form.
"You did it, thank you, Crookshanks," Sirius Black said as he picked up Crookshanks, smoothed his fur, and then took out a piece of parchment to give to the owl.
Actually, Black wasn't sending a letter to Quality Quidditch Supplies to buy the Firebolt; he was sending a letter to his house-elf, Kreacher.
Despite Black's dislike for the creature, even he had to admit that house-elves wouldn't betray their masters and would unconditionally carry out their orders. And as the last remaining member of the Black family, Sirius Black had naturally become Kreacher's master.
Sirius Black's younger brother had disappeared around the time he was imprisoned, and his father, Orion, had passed away that same year.
Black hadn't returned for that funeral.
Later, while he was in prison, Narcissa Black—now Narcissa Malfoy—had informed him of his mother Walburga's death.
He, Sirius Black, the one struck off the family tree, had ironically inherited the wealth of the Black family. It felt like a bitter twist of fate.
Black could even guess the expression Kreacher would make upon receiving this letter.
In fact, Black was right. Kreacher's expression upon receiving the letter was indeed colorful, as if he had been fed a mouthful of dung. But he had no choice because Sirius was the last heir of the Black family.
To withdraw coins from the Gringotts vault, one had to be the actual owner of the vault, and no one else could do it.
However, the loyalty of house-elves to their masters was unquestionable. With Kreacher bringing Sirius' signature and message, the goblins at Gringotts had no choice but to open the Black family vault and allow him to withdraw enough gold to pay for the Firebolt.
Yes, and also to repay the debt for the owl.
As for the Ministry of Magic's wanted notice for Black, the goblins didn't care about that, nor could they make a house-elf betray its master.
Thus, Quality Quidditch Supplies received a visit from a house-elf, and soon, they had a confidential order to fulfill. They were to deliver a special Christmas gift to the famous Harry Potter before Christmas Eve, but no one knew who had placed the order for him.
No one would ever guess that the infamous Sirius Black would send such an expensive Christmas gift to Harry Potter.
(End of Chapter)
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