Hogwarts: Harry Returns from Azeroth

Chapter 194, Section 193: Animagus's Learning and Grindelwald

“A little bitter, that’s all?” Sirius said incredulously. “That sounds like a slug swallowing an elephant whole—I mean a slug, not a snotty monster, Harry, you can’t shock me again.”

Sirius felt a lingering fear whenever he thought about the tingling sensation all over his body... How did this child grow up to be like this!

Who resorts to electrocuting someone when they can't win an argument?
However, this approach at least doesn't seem like a Ravenclaw anymore; it finally has a Gryffindor feel to it.

“You should let go too,” Harry said, shaking his head. “Snape’s wish has been fulfilled, and you—you should start a new life, like finding a wife you like and having another child.”

“My God, Harry, you really look like my dad right now,” Sirius couldn’t help but complain. “Why did the conversation suddenly jump to my wedding? I’m still young, no rush—no, I mean—what did Snape wish for? And why has his wish already been fulfilled?”

"No, no, no!" Sirius's mind raced. "Lily's soul! Merlin's stockings! Harry! You actually sent your own mother's soul to meet Snape!!"

Sirius had already thought of himself and James.

“You really need to learn how to talk, Sirius,” Harry said irritably. “That’s my mother’s spirit, not my pet. She’s free, she can do whatever she wants—and it’s obvious that in my mother’s heart, Snape has always been her best friend.”

Sirius: "..."

He suddenly realized that, faced with Lily's own wishes, he couldn't find any reason to dissuade Harry.

“But, but James and Lily—uh, I mean—something’s definitely not right—”

“Nothing’s wrong. Just remember to take your medicine—and don’t fight with Snape, or I’ll shock you,” Harry threatened simply.

He didn't know much about raising children, but Harry felt that if a child made a mistake, they definitely needed to be educated.

Sirius Black fell completely silent.

The thought of having to grovel before the snotty-nosed devil, enduring his greasy mockery, and drinking a potion that would definitely be spiked... made him want to die.

But I can't die. I'm out of prison now, and I have to fulfill my duty as a godfather and take good care of Harry.

Sirius said "Okay" somewhat reluctantly, making a silent vow in his heart.

“Speaking of which, isn’t Peter Pedro an Animagus?” Harry asked seriously. “Is his Animagus form a rat?”

"How did you know?" Sirius asked, somewhat surprised. "These things should be kept secret. We didn't even tell Dumbledore."

“Then I can tell you for sure that Dumbledore probably knows,” Harry continued, “Are all four of you Animagus? And my mother?”

“Lily isn’t, Remus isn’t either… He has a little secret and doesn’t really need to master this kind of magic,” Sirius said readily. “Peter’s Animagus form is a mouse, James is a handsome stag, and I—am a big black dog even more handsome than James!”

Sirius Black perked up immediately at the mention of this, and not content with just talking about it, he stood up from his chair and pounced on the open space next to him—it took less than two seconds from the start of the pounce to the landing. But when Sirius Black landed on the ground, he had transformed into a huge black dog.

Yes, it was staring intently at Harry, its long tail swaying like a fan.

It's just like a real dog, very different from the human-like cat that Professor McGonagall transformed into.

"How is it? Pretty cool, right?" It didn't take long for Sirius to transform back into a human, and he asked impatiently.

Harry even glanced behind him to make sure, and for some reason, he felt like there was a tail wagging there.

“Congratulations on getting another ticket to Azkaban right after you got out of prison. The illegal Animagus sentence was pretty severe,” Harry said with a smile, while Sirius’s face immediately fell.

“…But he is indeed very handsome.” Changing the subject, Harry continued, “Can you teach me?”

"Teach you? Animagus?" Sirius instantly regained his composure, unconsciously straightening his back, trying to appear more mature and composed. "Of course! Harry!"

"Don't let my appearance fool you, we were among the best in our class back then... well, at least in Transfiguration, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to master such dangerous magic," Sirius said proudly.

“I know,” Harry nodded. “Animagus is indeed a very dangerous form of magic. A wizard can easily turn into an animal forever and never be able to turn back.”

"It sounds like you already know a lot?" Sirius said knowingly. "That's right. James told me a lot about you. He said your magical abilities are exceptionally strong... well, you're even a professor at Hogwarts now."

"When do we start?" Sirius asked excitedly, rubbing his hands together.

Professor McGonagall's repeated warnings against attempting such dangers in private seemed to have no effect on Sirius; he wanted to do it, so he did.

“Let’s start today,” Harry said after thinking for a moment. “After all, the Animagus spell is more like a ritual spell, which requires a certain amount of preparation and luck. I think my mastery of Transfiguration is good enough to start formally learning it.”

“I have no objection,” Sirius said cheerfully. “I must say you have indeed found a shortcut, Harry. After we mastered Animagus transformation, we were indeed more talented in Transfiguration, and could even do some transformations that we couldn’t do before.”

“After all, Animagus involves human transformation,” Harry said, not surprised by this, “and human transformation is already a very advanced part of Transfiguration.”

"Indeed, then it's settled."

....................................

Harry couldn't stay at Potter's old house for too long, since it wasn't the holidays yet. Dumbledore had indeed granted him a week off, and after dealing with all the piled-up chores, he needed to return to Hogwarts as soon as possible. Sirius had already visited his uncle, but Harry didn't ask what they had talked about. He only knew that Signas seemed to have no regrets after seeing Sirius and died at St. Mungo's Hospital.

As the last male heir of the Black family, Sirius Black inherited everything from the Black family after Signas' death—even though he deeply resented the family and its ideals.

As Sirius’s godson, Harry accompanied Sirius to preside over Signus’s funeral. Perhaps because of Sirius’s reputation, even though Signus was always a member of the pure-blood faction, there were still not many guests at the funeral.

After the last shovelful of earth was poured on, Sirius stared at the tombstone in front of him for a long time without saying a word.

No matter how badly he said it, Harry felt that Sirius still had some feelings for the place where he grew up. After the funeral, Sirius's mood was obviously very bad, so much so that after returning home, he drank a bottle of wine by himself and fell into a deep sleep.

While drunk, Sirius uttered many fragmented words, such as that he didn't want to get married or have children, and that everything the Black family owned would be left to Harry and his children—Harry pretended not to hear them.

Sirius Black still needs to grow; he is far too immature.

In any case, considering that Sirius's body still needed conditioning and recovery, Harry took Sirius to Hogwarts after obtaining Dumbledore's permission. Sirius stayed in Harry's office outside the castle.

Madam Pomfrey was a very capable school doctor, and Snape was able to feed Sirius Black the potion as soon as it was brewed.

Sirius Black, seeing the totem architecture for the first time, was as excited as a child. He even climbed to the top to play with the giant windmill, and he was so happy about it.

After reading the Daily Prophet's reports these past few days, Sirius Black has practically become the...king of the kids among the students.

He was very popular, and he would often teach the children some of the little magic spells he had invented years ago, which made him even more popular.

Harry, who was preparing to become an Animagus, held a single leaf of mandrake in his mouth. He needed to keep it in his mouth for a full month, from the first full moon to the next. At no time could he swallow the leaf or take it out of his mouth. This was the first step of the Animagus spell.

This spell clearly utilizes the magic in the environment, making it a distinctive ritual magic. Harry had some unique guesses, but since it involved human transformation, he dared not act recklessly. After all, wizards had recorded too many cases of failed spells, and he didn't want to be the next one.

Harry's situation seems to be on track, but on the other hand, an old man's adventure may have just begun... or perhaps it's two old men?
Far from Britain, in Austria, a solitary castle perched on a cliff in the Alps, surrounded by lush, dark forests and no sign of human habitation.

Nurmengard.

This place was once built by Gellert Grindelwald, the dark wizard whose fame spread throughout the world, but it became Grindelwald's own prison after he was defeated by Albus Dumbledore in 1945.

A prison that holds only one person.

There are no guards here. The Aurors from the German Ministry of Magic will regularly deliver food and water to this place, and during this process, they will not have any communication with anyone or anything in the castle—this is a clearly stipulated rule.

Because Grindelwald's words are truly infectious and seductive.

This place has been unvisited for far too long, and the castle has not been repaired for far too long, to the point that many windows have been broken, and cold winds are constantly blowing into the rooms... Many things have also deteriorated over time.

But today, an old man with a white beard, dressed in a blue robe, suddenly appeared in the castle courtyard. He looked around with practiced ease and walked towards the deepest part of the castle.

Who else could it be but Dumbledore?
Dumbledore stopped only after reaching a room at the highest point of the castle. He stared at the person in the room, who also had white hair and beard, and was wearing a dirty white prison uniform. The old man, whose tall stature was still faintly recognizable from his youth, was leisurely watering a flower placed on the windowsill.

The old man was humming a song, but it was impossible to make out what he was humming, as if he hadn't noticed that there was a second person there.

"The cold winds of the Alps are not suitable for flowers to grow," Dumbledore suddenly said.

Upon hearing his voice, the old man in prison clothes, Grindelwald, finally leveled the showerhead in his hand, and the clear water stopped flowing from it.

“…I thought you wouldn’t come again,” Grindelwald turned around, revealing a mysterious smile, “Albus.”

“I thought so too… I used to,” Dumbledore shook his head slightly, stepped into the room, and looked at the various items placed there. “Just like you, I always thought we would never see each other again until death took us away completely.”

“Very good,” Grindelwald’s smile remained unchanged. “Very good—so what made you change your mind?”

“It’s quite strange, a child,” Dumbledore blinked.

“A child?” Grindelwald repeated, looking Dumbledore up and down. “You seem to be in a good mood, able to joke like that.”

“It’s really quite good,” Dumbledore said with a chuckle. “You’ll never guess what new magic I’ve mastered; it will definitely surprise you.”

"...Haha, hahahahahahaha!"

Grindelwald was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, laughing so hard that tears welled up in his eyes.

“You know what? Albus,” Grindelwald’s laughter gradually subsided after a while, and he said breathlessly, “For a moment, I thought we had gone back to the time in Godric’s Hollow.”

“Yes,” Dumbledore said, walking to the window and looking at the seedling that had just been watered. “Back then, we were young and passionately pursuing the mysteries of magic.”

“That’s right, I remember it very clearly. Back then, when you mastered a new magic, you were showing it off to me just like that.”

“Then you’ll tell me that you’ve also mastered a new kind of magic,” Dumbledore shook his head.

(End of this chapter)