"Oh my goodness! I can't believe it! Sirius was the true hero all along, and that Peter Pettigrew who betrayed Harry's parents…"
"What do you mean by 'twelve Avada Kedavra curses in the back, then ruled as suicide by fear of guilt'?"
Hermione's expression turned peculiar as she read the urgent edition of The Daily Prophet during the return-to-school feast.
"No one cares about that. Maybe Peter Pettigrew's skin was too thick and it bounced off, only hitting his back in the end," Ron said, grabbing a chicken leg from the long table.
"I still can't believe it, no offense, of course, but what's your godfather like, Harry? Is he good to you? Or is he like your aunt and uncle?" Hermione asked.
"He's great! The first thing Sirius did after being cleared was sign Harry's Hogsmeade permission slip, and then, to compensate me for my pet's loss, he even bought me the most expensive owl in the pet shop!" Ron interjected.
"Oh, isn't that a good thing?"
"Of course it is, in fact, not just Ron, but all of you have gifts, everyone has a gift. As for your gift, Sirius put it in Professor Kayson's office because he said it wasn't appropriate for us to see a girl's gift," Harry said a bit awkwardly.
"Yeah, it looks like he doesn't trust us much, afraid we'd secretly open it," Neville added.
"Uh… I can understand that," Hermione said, delivering a finishing blow.
The feast ended quickly, and after a night's sleep, it was a new day. There were a few fewer Dementors in the sky compared to the day before, perhaps taken by that disobedient Little Wizards to feed the Wither.
However, Kayson wasn't worried about this. He had long anticipated that some clever Little Wizards might try to raise a fully-formed Wither, so he specifically added a small functional Runes to the Wither Charm's casing.
For example, the Wither casing would constantly drain the Wither's energy, keeping it in a half-dead state. At the same time, if the casing broke, the Wither would be instantly hit with a devastating, overkill amount of damage, ensuring it would dissipate directly from the world.
And complementing the increasingly bright sky was Kayson's mood.
He finally put up a sign outside his office that clearly read: [Sirius and Dogs Not Allowed].
"What does this mean? Isn't Sirius a hero?" Hermione asked, looking at the sign with some confusion.
Harry scratched his head awkwardly: "I'll tell you a secret, don't tell anyone else, Sirius is an unregistered Animagus."
Hermione nodded. She certainly knew what an Animagus was: a Wizard who, through a very complex magical ritual, gains a second form, an animal form.
"But what does Animagus have to do with this sign?"
"Sirius's Animagus is a large black dog," Harry said concisely.
Hermione understood immediately: "You mean that black dog in Professor Kayson's office that likes to sail and lick Professor Kayson's face… Ugh… I suddenly don't want this gift anymore." Hermione said with a mortified expression.
"It's his good intention, at least. If you don't like it, give it to your friends," Neville advised.
"Yeah, don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Sirius isn't just rich, considering his Animagus, he's a big spender!" Ron added.
"Alright."
The four Gryffindors gathered again, appearing before Kayson, each on a famous boat.
"Here to collect your Christmas packages?" Kayson asked with a smile.
"Professor, now that you know Sirius is that dog, how do you feel?" Hermione asked curiously.
"He has his flaws, but he's a good person. Overall, he's pretty good," Kayson waved his hand, and Hermione's gift flew out from the cabinet.
"Open it and see."
"What's inside that even Sirius was afraid of us secretly opening?" Ron leaned in and asked.
"You'll see," Hermione said, opening the gift box. Inside was a book. She opened it and found it filled with all sorts of women's clothing.
From formal gowns to summer wear, winter wear, and swimsuits, it had everything imaginable.
"Is this a catalog or a magazine stolen from a clothing store?" Hermione casually touched one of the dress pictures with her finger. The next moment, surging magic from the book climbed up her hand and covered her entire body.
Almost instantly, Hermione, dressed in a gown, appeared before them.
"…I still don't understand why Sirius didn't let us keep the gift… Was he afraid we'd secretly play dress-up?" Harry said, confused but greatly shocked.
The confusion was about Sirius's distrust of them, and the great shock was how incredibly cool this dress-up book was—he wanted to play with it!
"Oh, this was made by the Alchemist Ars. It can't be mass-produced; you can only custom order it from him. A single book like this would cost at least three thousand Galleons." Kayson was surprised by Sirius's generosity and even more surprised by how much money Sirius actually had.
Did he also make gold?
"Oh… I have to say…" Hermione tapped the dress picture again. The dress on her body was withdrawn as the magic receded, and she was back in her own clothes: "I take back what I said before. I love this gift! Harry, remember to thank Sirius properly for me!"
"Oh, I will…" After saying that, Harry looked at Kayson again: "Professor, is there a men's version of this dress-up book?"
"Yes, there is. Do you need me to give you Ars's business card?" Kayson pulled out a wallet from under his desk, full of business cards.
"Uh, could this book be a little cheaper?" Harry asked cautiously.
"More clothes mean more expensive, fewer clothes are naturally cheaper… How about I take you to see him? He should give you a discount," Kayson replied.
"No, no, Professor, that won't be necessary, really." Harry waved his hand. He knew with his toenails that such a thing would cost a lot of favors.
"Alright then… Of course, if you don't want to use my influence, you can also use Dumbledore's. He has so many lice he doesn't mind the medicine… I mean… He has a lot of influence," Kayson added, trying to cover up his slip of the tongue.
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