The big black dog crouched before the stone wall, eyes vacant and spirit broken. Sirius Black, who had originally rushed to the passage beneath Honeydukes' cellar after those two young wizards had tampered with the secret passage entrance at The Shrieking Shack—still determined not to give up on infiltrating Hogwarts to hunt down Peter Pettigrew—now felt his mental state crumbling slightly.
The big black dog bared its teeth, feeling them ache.
What an inauspicious start.
What was wrong with today? Why such rotten luck?
An inexplicable chill crept up from his paws, along his spine, and into his mind. The big black dog shivered involuntarily.
He had the distinct feeling that today's mission wouldn't go smoothly...
Sirius thought this, then violently shook his head, driving the negative thoughts from his mind. His eyes regained their determined gleam.
Today was Halloween Eve. As a former Hogwarts student, Sirius knew perfectly well that there would be a feast tonight.
And when that time came, every student and staff member would gather in the Great Hall for dinner.
This meant that during the entire duration of the feast, everywhere else in Hogwarts Castle would be completely empty.
And during meals, Hogwarts didn't allow students to bring their pets.
So at that time, Peter Pettigrew would most likely be staying in the dormitory of the youngest Weasley boy, Ron.
Hours of time, empty spaces easy to infiltrate, and a target very likely cowering in one specific location—heaven, earth, and circumstance were all aligned. If he didn't avenge James and Lily now, when would he?
No matter how difficult the path ahead, he would overcome it and finally eliminate that traitor with his own hands!
Sirius Black's dim gaze brightened. He no longer hesitated or wallowed in self-pity before the stone wall. He sprang to his feet and sprinted back the way he'd come.
He could still make it by running along the main road from Hogsmeade village to Hogwarts, though he'd need to expend more energy avoiding those damned Dementors. But there was no helping that.
"But this passage is blocked too... Why does this feel familiar?"
"Wait, why did I say 'too'?"
"The passage at The Shrieking Shack was also sealed after those two young wizards went in..."
"A coincidence?"
"No way, right?"
Accompanied by these racing thoughts, the big black dog's figure and voice gradually merged completely with the distant darkness of the tunnel.
Darkness returned to silence.
................................................
At this time, Glenn and Hermione had returned to Hogwarts. They each gathered their belongings and temporarily parted ways, returning to their respective dormitories to tidy up and rest, agreeing to meet in the Great Hall half an hour before the feast began.
They were among the earliest students to return from Hogsmeade to Hogwarts. Only after they'd been back for some time did the other students who had visited Hogsmeade village begin trickling back to school.
Everyone returned at different times, but the joy on their faces and the bags they carried were consistent—clearly the young wizards were all thoroughly satisfied with their day's outing.
Though not entirely consistent. At least some people brought back an unusually large quantity of items from Hogsmeade.
Take Draco, for example. The bags he appeared to be carrying didn't seem numerous—actually fewer than others—but that was merely a deception. As soon as he returned to his dormitory, he took out his magically expanded container and began pouring his purchases onto his bed in a cascade.
The goods he'd bought back were piling up into a small mountain on his bed.
This caused Glenn, who was sitting on the sofa studying the Sneakoscope he'd bought from Dervish and Banges, to shift his attention slightly and observe the mountainous pile of supplies.
It looked like this guy had not only made a comprehensive tour of Hogsmeade village but had bought quite a lot as well.
Sensing Glenn's scrutiny, Draco spread his hands, indicating that he had many people to win over, so he'd bought numerous small gifts to give as presents.
"It's definitely not because I wanted them for myself!"
He declared this with complete conviction.
This was a lie.
The young dragon didn't yet realize that his physiological reactions had completely betrayed his behavior, but Glenn couldn't be bothered to expose him and simply lowered his head to continue studying what was in his hands.
Unfortunately, Draco, still riding high from his Hogsmeade excursion, attempted to initiate conversation with Glenn, running over to chatter incessantly beside him.
"Is that a Sneakoscope you bought from Dervish and Banges? What do you need that for... Why are you taking it apart?!"
"Studying the internal structure."
"Guess what Neville did today... Heh, you'll never guess. That kid actually worked up the courage to invite Hannah to Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop for a date. The smile plastered on his face when they came out—ugh, it gave me goosebumps..."
"Congratulations."
"...Don't you want to know what I did today?"
"No."
"Tch, how boring. Then tell me what you and Hermione did today—did you make any progress..."
"You're too noisy."
Glenn didn't even look at Draco as he pointed his right index finger at him, the threatening intent unmistakable.
"Are you going to cast the Tongue-Tying Curse on me? Fine, let me see how much progress I've made—"
Before he could finish speaking, Draco's expression froze, and no matter what, he couldn't produce the final syllable.
"My original intention was to have you leave the dormitory and find someone else to bother. But since you made this strange request, I'll fulfill it."
Draco opened his mouth, about to take out his wand to cast the counter-curse for the Tongue-Tying Curse.
Then a red light that was completely impossible to react to or avoid struck his right hand. His wand, not yet pulled from his pocket, was blasted away and caught by Glenn.
"No counter-curses allowed."
The young dragon felt both puzzled and aggrieved. How strange—he'd been working hard to train, so why did it feel like the gap between himself and Glenn was only widening?
With his wand gone and unable to cast spells silently or wandlessly, he could only sit obediently.
Then he scooted over to Glenn's side.
Seeming to think of something, Draco reached down into his magically expanded container and pulled out paper and a pen, writing something.
He finished quickly.
The young dragon set down his pen, picked up the paper, and turned it to face Glenn.
Glenn reluctantly shifted his attention over again and saw several large words written on the paper:
"Can I at least write?"
Without replying, Glenn expressionlessly packed away the Sneakoscope that had been disassembled into a pile of components, then turned and returned the wand to Draco.
"You haven't trained today yet, Draco."
Draco: Oh no, I'm doomed.
🔥 Want to read the next 90 chapters RIGHT NOW?
💎 Patreon members get instant access!
⚡ Limited-time offer currently running...
👉 [Join on - patreon.com/DarkGolds]