Harry returns from Hogwarts Legacy

Chapter 426 Old Snotty Guy, You Deserve to Be Hanged Upside Down!
Things suddenly became awkward.

However, it's not entirely Neville's fault, since even Mrs. and Mr. Weasley sometimes can't tell who is George and who is Fred.

But this did not stop George and Fred from making an issue of it.

After all, teasing an honest kid like Neville is just so much fun.

The two brothers used to enjoy teasing Ron, but as Ron gets older, he's becoming harder and harder to tease.

As the saying goes, "old people are cunning, and old horses are slippery," and that's exactly the point.

“I’m sorry,” Neville said, quite embarrassed, “my eyesight isn’t very good.”

“Oh, it’s nothing,” George said casually. “We’re both used to it anyway, used to being mistaken for someone else, aren’t we, Fred?”

“Yes, George,” Fred added, winking.

"Alright, you two." Ginny couldn't stand it anymore and stepped in to help. "Stop bullying Neville... Neville, listen to me, you don't need to feel guilty. That's just how they are—in fact, they're used to being mistaken for each other, you know? Even our parents can't tell them apart."

“Oh, that’s really upsetting,” Fred complained.

“Look at this, and she’s supposed to be our sister?” George chimed in, “She doesn’t show us any mercy at all!”

At this point, Neville was well aware that Fred and George were playing a trick on him, and his feelings of guilt had long since vanished.

Being an honest person is such a disadvantage!
Over there, Sadina's melodious singing continued.

“We danced to this music when we were eighteen!” Mrs. Weasley wiped her eyes with the yarn she was knitting. “Do you remember, Arthur?”

"Hmm?" said Mr. Weasley, who was peeling a tangerine and dozing off. "Oh, yes... what a wonderful piece of music..."

He tried to sit up a little straighter and turned to look at Lu Ping sitting next to him.

“I’m sorry,” he said, turning his head toward the radio, where Setina was already singing a refrain, “It’ll be over soon.”

Lupin smiled gently at Mr. Weasley, not thinking there was anything wrong with it—listening to the love stories of upperclassmen was actually quite interesting.

Just then, Cassandra walked in, arm in arm with Harry.

At the same time, Sedina ended her song on the radio with a long, high note, and loud applause came from the radio, with Mrs. Weasley clapping excitedly as well.

"It's over?" Hibiscus exclaimed. "Thank God, it sounds awful—"

Bill seemed to have given up on mending the relationship between his girlfriend and his mother. He turned his face away and looked out the window—in fact, he had tried many times to repair their relationship, but all his attempts had failed.

Mrs. Weasley, of course, heard Fleur's words, and her face immediately darkened.

“She really is…” Cassandra whispered in Harry’s ear, “I feel like she’s making herself unhappy. Why does she always have to go against her boyfriend’s mother?”

“Perhaps they’re just natural enemies,” Harry said, glancing at Mrs. Weasley’s grim face. “But then again, I don’t think you’re exactly the type to get along with your boyfriend’s mother either.”

“Oh, I don’t need to worry about that,” Cassandra said casually, glancing at Harry again. “Why are you looking at me like that? You started it, didn’t you?”

Harry whispered in her ear, "I'll let you off the hook for now, but you'll have to wait until tonight!"

After saying that, he walked over to Mr. Weasley and Lupin and sat down on the sofa.

“Look,” Mr. Weasley ladled a bowl of eggnog for Harry with a spoon, “mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship, huh? It’s always been the biggest problem.”

Harry scratched his chin. The biggest problem?

My mom and Vivi have a pretty good relationship, don't they?

“The mother believes her son still belongs to her, and her daughter-in-law is a challenger to her ownership,” Mr. Weasley continued, “I read this in a psychology book, which Mr. Granger recommended to me.”

Mr. Granger, who was drinking eggnog next to him, suddenly spat it all over the floor.

He coughed twice, wiped his face, and picked up a small gingerbread as if nothing had happened.

“That makes sense,” Harry nodded, then looked at Lupin and asked, “By the way, Remus, do you know someone called the Half-Blood Prince?”

Lupin seemed to be thinking about something, but after hearing Harry's words, his eyes refocused.

"Excuse me, what do you mean by mixed race?"

“The Half-Blood Prince,” Harry repeated.

"What prince?" Lupin asked again.

"The half-blood prince," Harry repeated, "the half-blood, the prince!"

“Oh, I heard you right, Harry,” Lupin said with a smile. “I was just confirming the word… prince? No, Harry, there are no princes among wizards…”

“Really?” Harry raised an eyebrow. “That’s strange. The Half-Blood Prince used to be at Hogwarts, and Ron is now using the Potions textbook he used. The prince has filled it with spells—all of them spells he invented, including one called the Upside-Down Bell…”

“Oh, that spell was very popular when I was at Hogwarts,” Lupin said nostalgically. “For a few months when I was in fifth year, people would often be held upside down by their ankles and couldn’t move.”

“My dad used it,” Harry said. “I saw it in the Pensieve—it’s from my mother’s memory. He used it on Professor Snape.”

Lupin smiled and shook his head.

“Yes,” he said, “but he wasn’t the only one who used it. I told you, it was very popular…you know, these spells come in bursts…”

“But it sounds like it was invented around the time you were in school,” Harry insisted.

“Not necessarily. Spells, like everything else, have their popular and unpopular periods.” He looked at Harry’s face and said calmly, “Are you doubting that this book came from your father? But James is pure-blood, Harry, and I assure you, he never made us call him ‘Prince’.”

“Oh, no,” Harry waved his hand and said, “I didn’t doubt my dad. That half-blood prince is very good at potions. I know my dad is quite capable in potions…”

Lupin's expression twitched twice, as if he was trying to suppress a laugh.

“Alright.” He said with a laugh, “Your father… well, his potions are really not that great, which is something we find very puzzling. Why would your mother, who is so good at potion making, be interested in your father?”

“To be honest, I’m puzzled too.” Harry nodded vigorously.

But he wouldn't say that Vivi was partly to blame for his parents' marriage.

When Lily was hesitant, it was Vivi who helped her make up her mind and get together with James.

Of course, we can also credit Harry, since Vivi brought Lily and James together so that Harry could be born safely.

Otherwise, Vivi probably wouldn't care who James was. "But one thing is certain, at least this half-blood prince..." Lupin thought for a moment and then couldn't help but chuckle as he said, "is most likely a student of Hogwarts."

Harry's face darkened.

"Look at what you're saying, it's as if you haven't said anything at all," he said.

“Hahahaha…” Lupin laughed heartily, “But I really don’t know who the Half-Blood Prince is—at least none of the four Raiders are. Your father and Sirius are purebloods, while I am a werewolf, so even if I were to be nicknamed, I should be the Half-Blood Wolf King—and Peter Pettigrew? He’s very insecure… Perhaps you could ask Severus?”

“Okay.” Harry shrugged. “I was just curious. I’d rather not ask Professor Snape. I don’t want him to use this opportunity to deduct points from Gryffindor.”

“That’s something Severus would do,” Lupin nodded.

He even wondered what James would do if he knew Snape had deducted points from Harry because of this.

Old snotty-nosed brat, he deserves to be hung upside down!
Just then, the door opened again, and Sirius returned to Number Twelve Grimmauld Place.

As soon as he entered the house, Sirius looked around. When his eyes landed on Lupin, he opened his arms, laughed, and walked over to hug Lupin.

“Old pal!” he said with a grin. “You know what? The Aurors had a major success today—they captured the werewolf Fenrir Greyback!”

Upon hearing Sirius's words, Lupin's pupils contracted sharply.

Then, he plopped down on the sofa.

"Great, great... we finally caught him!" Lupin murmured.

Fenrir Greyback?

Hermione, who had somehow wandered over there, heard the name and asked curiously.

"Haven't you heard of him?" Lupin asked, turning his head.

“No,” Hermione answered truthfully.

“I’ve heard of it,” Neville said, raising his hand. “When Grandma used to scare me, she’d say Graybury is coming to get you, and then I’d stop crying…”

“My mother used to scare me with Graybury too!” Draco suddenly interjected.

“Me too,” the Weasley children said in unison.

It's clear that pure-blood wizarding families like to use Greyback as a tool to scare their children...

When a child cries in the middle of the night, mentioning Graybury is much more effective than mentioning Mysterio.

So, you're targeting children?

"Let me tell you."

Lu Ping paused for a moment, then smiled.

"Fenrir Greyback is the most ferocious werewolf in the world. His mission is to bite and infect as many people as possible, in order to create a large number of werewolves to defeat the wizards. Greyback specializes in children... He says that he bites them when they are young and then takes them away from their parents to cultivate their hatred for wizards."

He paused for a moment, then said again, "It was Graybury who bit me."

"What?" Hermione asked in surprise, "Was it when you were a child?"

“Yes. My father offended him,” Lupin said. “For a long time, I didn’t know who the werewolf who attacked me was. I even pitied him, thinking he was out of control. By then, I already knew what it was like to be a wolf.”

He glanced at Hermione: "But Graybury isn't like that. He approaches his prey during the full moon to ensure the attack succeeds—it's all premeditated, all to create more werewolves."

“That’s what I admire about you, Remus,” Harry said wistfully. “You suppressed those impulses; in reality, you only have a tiny, insignificant problem—”

Lupin patted Harry on the shoulder.

“You know what, Harry? I’ve always thought you were just another James—he used to call me my ‘little furry problem’ in front of people, so many people thought I had a disobedient rabbit.”

At this point, Lu Ping couldn't help but chuckle and said, "Speaking of which, your mother only found out what really happened after she started dating your father. I remember she even asked me where the rabbit went."

Harry thought about it and realized it was something his mother would do.

Just then, Mr. Weasley came over with a bowl of eggnog.

"Who wants some eggnog?" he asked with a smile.

“I’ll order, sir,” Hermione said, stepping forward with a small bowl.

Ron also stepped forward with his bowl, but was stopped by Mrs. Weasley.

“You know what?” Sirius handed the eggnog to Ron, “In Italy, children even get a little wine with their meals…”

“But this is England,” Mrs. Weasley said sternly. “My child is not yet an adult, and I will not allow him to drink alcohol!”

Eggnog, also known as egg wine, is the most representative drink of Christmas. It is made from eggs, milk and rum.

Although it's a Christmas drink, it does contain alcohol—but most families wouldn't stop their children from having a little eggnog to add to the festive atmosphere.

But Mrs. Weasley clearly didn't think so.

"Actually, the legal drinking age in Britain is much younger," Hermione whispered to Harry.

It's clear that she's different from Fleur; at least she doesn't raise her voice to argue with Mrs. Weasley.

But Ron still found an opportunity and, taking advantage of Mrs. Weasley's inattention, sipped the eggnog in one gulp.

“One day, I’ll drink my fill of Flaming Whisky,” he whispered to his two twin brothers.

"Mom!" the twins suddenly exclaimed in unison, "Ron said he'll drink his fill of Flaming Whisky someday!"

Ron was stunned. He never expected that his two older brothers would betray him so quickly.

No, you two...

“Ronald Weasley!” Mrs. Weasley roared. “Even if you’re an adult, I will not allow you to drink! Never!”

“I didn’t!” Ron retorted. “It was all made up by Fred and George!”

But Mrs. Weasley was no longer looking his way; she went back to directing the house-elves to prepare the Christmas ingredients.

(End of this chapter)