Hogwarts: Don't call me Wandmaker

Chapter 444 Sirius's Surprise

After chatting for a while at the alley entrance, everyone set off to buy what they needed.

Besides the bookstore and the necessary supplies store, Harry and his friends also went to Madam Malkin's Robes Shop. They had all grown quite a bit in the past few months, and the robes they had made last year were already too short, with their entire ankles showing, so they needed to be altered.

A few hours later, we had basically bought everything.

Siren accepted Mrs. Weasley's invitation and returned to the Burrow with them.

As soon as he stepped into the familiar, crooked house, Celen saw a bright red banner hanging on the dining table next to the fireplace, which read:

[Warmly congratulate Harry and Hermione on being elected prefects]

“I didn’t actually want her to hang this up,” Harry said, blushing furiously.

"Hmm... I feel fine." To be considerate of Harry, who was rather shy, Siren tried hard not to laugh.

But this is not bad either.

The Burrow had been stifling for far too long. Ever since Percy was taken away, the atmosphere there had become increasingly oppressive. Fred and George had said more than once that they rarely laughed at home.

The Weasleys needed something to liven things up. A small party to celebrate Harry and Hermione becoming prefects would be perfect.

They also invited some friends, including Siron and Lupin, who gladly accepted the invitation after confirming that it wasn't a full moon today.

Mrs. Weasley prepared an incredibly lavish feast, filling the entire table.

By evening, Mr. Weasley returned, accompanied by Sirius Black.

He was wearing a new brown robe today, and he looked much more composed.

That must be why he went to Madam Malkin's Robes Shop; he specially ordered a new robe to see Harry.

However, Sirius soon realized that Sirius's little scheme seemed to have no effect. Harry became uncomfortable when he saw him, and his eyes darted away slightly.

"How is Alastor?" Mrs. Weasley asked with concern as she came out of the room.

"Not bad," Sirius said. "He's awake, but he's still a bit confused and his memory is still a bit bad; he often forgets things."

“Poor Alastor, I was thinking of inviting him too, but he certainly can’t leave St. Mungo now, can he?”

“That’s right, Dumbledore also believes that what he should do now is to focus on recovering from his injuries.”

……

Harry was secretly listening in the middle of the conversation between Mrs. Weasley and Sirius.

For some reason, Sirius Black’s description of Professor Moody always gave him a sense of familiarity.

Poor memory, often forgetting things... Isn't that Neville?
Did Professor Moody become another Neville after the attack?

He found it somewhat unbelievable.

Before he could think for long, Sirius came over and gently patted his shoulder.

“I’m sorry I stood you up,” he said softly. “But I can explain. Can we talk… if you’d like.”

“Ah, of course…” Harry paused for a moment, then realized what was going on and said, “It’s okay, we still have a while before we eat. Where shall we go?”

"What's it like in the garden ahead?"

The two walked towards the garden.

Fred and George exchanged a glance and began to move in that direction, seemingly casually. When Celen noticed this and went to investigate, he saw them hiding behind a hedge, holding something that looked like a rubber tube with an ear attached to it.

Under the cover of a large patch of potatoes in the garden, the ears stretched all the way to Harry and Sirius's feet.

At Fred and George's prompting, Sirius joined them. As soon as he got close, he heard Sirius's voice coming from the tube.

"I'm sorry, Harry, I have to confess, I don't actually have anything important to say?"

“But you’ve been searching for the Death Eaters all this time, and Professor Moody even got injured because of it.”

“That’s true, but you’d already been on vacation for two weeks by then. Well, actually, it was Dumbledore who made me do it. He told me it would be safer for you to stay with your loved ones, especially in the current situation.”

“Why?” Harry’s voice was full of doubt. “What’s the situation right now? Death Eaters breaking out? But I don’t think the Dursleys can protect me from being attacked by those Death Eaters… I might have to protect them then.”

“It’s not that kind of protection,” Sirius said. “It’s… a kind of… magic…”

The sound from the tube suddenly became muffled and intermittent, sounding like a stuck radio.

"Oh, damn goblin, get away from me!" George said angrily.

There were many goblins in the Weasley family's garden, one of which was curiously examining the uniquely shaped, retractable ear, occasionally putting it in its mouth and taking a bite, as if to determine if it was edible.

"Let go of me, you idiot! You can't eat this!"

Fred began frantically pulling on the retractable ear, but fearing discovery, he dared not use too much force, only pulling it back little by little.

It took him several minutes to finally retract the extendable ear and extend it again on the other side.

But by the time the Snap-Ears returned and hid near Harry and Sirius, the two had already finished discussing what they were most interested in and had changed the subject.

"Thank you, I really like this gift. Actually, I've always wanted to buy a planetary model set, it would make doing my astronomy homework much easier."

“I’m glad you like it,” Sirius said. “Actually, besides the gift, I also prepared a surprise for you… I don’t know if this counts as a surprise for you, but at least it can be of some help.”

"What surprise?" Harry asked curiously.

“It’s not the right time yet,” Sirius said, “but you’ll find out soon enough.”

Just then, Ginny ran over and called everyone to eat.

Harry and Sirius started walking back, and Fred quickly retracted his retractable ears.

"It's all that damn goblin's fault!" he said, somewhat annoyed. "We missed the best part."

“Perhaps this is just right,” Siron said thoughtfully. “After all, that matter might involve Harry’s privacy, and we shouldn’t have eavesdropped.”

“Um…we’re just curious,” Fred said.

“That’s right.” George nodded. “And we’ll keep it a secret… no, we didn’t hear anything at all.”

"Okay, thanks to that goblin."

"As a thank you, we won't set off fireworks mixed with itching powder in their holes tomorrow."

"And we don't set off fireworks with glue added."

……