Harry Potter: I started checking in from Diagon Alley

……

At midnight.

Ron and Eric arrived at the castle gate on time, where Hagrid was already waiting, carrying an oil lamp in one hand and leading a hunting dog in the other.

Ron was very excited to see Eric and greeted him, "Eric, long time no see! Where have you been?"

“Going to France for vacation,” Eric said casually.

"Let's go." Seeing the two appear, Hagrid didn't say much and led them towards the Forbidden Forest.

Ron asked, "Hagrid, has anything been settled with Buckbeak?"

Hagrid looked dejected: "No, they still want to pin the blame for slashing Malfoy on Buckbeak."

Buckbeak is a hippogriff with the head of a hippo and the body of a horse. At the beginning of the term, due to an accident in class, Buckbeak gave Malfoy a hard blow, causing Malfoy to bleed profusely, and the match between Slytherin and Gryffindor was postponed as a result.

Now Malfoy, of course, was not going to let it go, and through his family connections, he wanted to execute Buckbeak.

Speaking of which, Malfoy seems to have had quite a few misfortunes this semester.

Hagrid's answer made Ron feel a little guilty.

The reason he, Hermione, and Harry stayed at school during the holiday was initially to help Hagrid rescue Buckbeak.

Unexpectedly, Harry later received a fire bolt from Eric.

With the Firebolt at their disposal, he and Harry spent almost the entire holiday playing together.

They were of no help whatsoever in Buckbeak's case.

After walking for a while, Hagrid, who was leading the way, suddenly stopped and said, "We've arrived."

Chapter 132 Target: Peter Pediru

Hagrid, along with Eric and Ron, arrived at the entrance to the Forbidden Forest.

The forbidden forest looked eerie in the dead of night. The clouds were thick today, blocking out the moon, and only a few lonely streetlights along the way provided some illumination.

"The people in the Forbidden Forest reported to me some time ago that there were some strange movements in the Forbidden Forest. They went to investigate but found nothing unusual, so they would like us to confirm it again," Hagrid said, taking a map out of his pocket.

"Fluorescent Blink." Eric cast a Lighting spell at the opportune moment, illuminating the area where they stood as if it were daytime.

“Thank you, Eric.” Hagrid bent down and placed the map on the ground. The map had been divided into sections with a quill pen. Hagrid pointed at the map with his finger and said, “This time we are to inspect these areas. After you confirm that there are no problems, you will have completed your mission. Of course, if there are any problems, send red fireworks into the sky to notify me, and I will come over immediately.”

Hagrid put the map away only after Eric and Ron expressed their understanding.

Ron asked in a trembling voice, "Us? Aren't you coming with us, Hagrid?"

Hagrid said, "Of course I'll go with you, but we need to split into two teams. If we go together, we might not be able to finish the patrol by dawn."

Before Eric and Ron could offer their opinions, Hagrid said, "Before we set off, Professor Dumbledore instructed me that Ron would be in my group today, and Eric would be in his own group, but he should bring Tooth with him; it will guide you."

"Tooth" refers to Hagrid's dog.

Hagrid handed the rope to Eric and asked the two of them, "Any other questions?"

Ron swallowed hard, while Eric shook his head to indicate that everything was fine.

Hagrid, who had been preoccupied with Buckbeak's situation, was clearly distracted. He nodded perfunctorily and said, "Then let's go."

After saying that, he took the lead and walked forward.

Ron glanced anxiously at Eric, then unconsciously followed in Haig's footsteps.

Even as Ron followed Hagrid into the Forbidden Forest, he was still watching Eric, who remained standing still.

After watching Ron and Hagrid disappear into the Forbidden Forest, Eric chuckled and said, "Let's go too."

Hagrid assigned him an area on the other side of the Forbidden Forest.

Ya Ya let out a soft whimper and followed Eric toward the other side of the Forbidden Forest.

……

Half an hour later.

Deep in the forbidden forest.

Beside an abandoned wooden cabin, Sirius and Lupin, who had been waiting for a long time, finally heard the sound of someone passing through the woods behind them.

The two, who had been resting with their eyes closed, both looked up at the same time.

Eric emerged from the woods with Tooth.

Upon seeing the strangers, Tooth suddenly became extremely agitated and began barking wildly at Sirius.

“Shh…” Eric mouthed, speaking softly.

With a wave of his wand, Eric used a spell to completely mute the baby's voice.

Toothy barked twice more, only to find that he couldn't make a sound at all. He looked at Eric, who had just pointed his wand at him, in horror and took several steps back in fear.

Driven by its animal instincts, Ya Ya suddenly realized that Eric was the person it feared most here.

Although Eric didn't exude any imposing aura, Ya Ya instinctively didn't want to get close to him.

Lupin said, "Let me lead it."

Eric asked, "Professor, have you been taking your medication these past few days?"

“Of course,” Lupin said. “You specifically reminded me that I wouldn’t make that mistake.”

After saying that, Lupin stepped forward, took the rope from Eric's hand, and pulled the terrified Tooth to the side.

Sirius asked, "How is it?"

Eric said, "If I'm not mistaken, Peter is still in Ron's pocket."

Sirius Black took the Marauder's Map out of his pocket, pulled out his wand to activate it, and then grinned maliciously, "That's right, that rat stayed with Hagrid, thinking that as long as he stayed with Ron, we couldn't do anything to him."

Eric asked, "Where did you get that wand?"

Sirius said, "Lupin bought it. He has black market connections. How could he possibly use his own wand to do something like this?"

Without Eric needing to speak, Lupin pulled out another wand from the side, tossed it to Eric, and asked, "Try it, does it work?"

Eric casually waved his hand, and under the influence of the wand's affinity, the wand naturally felt close to him.

“No problem,” Eric said with a smile, putting away the acacia wand.

Eric looked at Sirius and asked, "Has your magic been restored?"

“Of course,” Sirius said.

After this period of adjustment, Sirius has completely shaken off the state of being hungry and cold that he was in when he first escaped from prison.

On the contrary, he is now full of energy, eating and sleeping at Hogwarts, with Lupin taking care of him, and enjoying the best food and drink.

Sirius Black even gained weight.

The only thing that still aches from the damage the Dementors have inflicted on him over the years is the lingering pain, but that's a chronic condition that can't be healed overnight.

Sirius Black pulled several bottles of potions from his pocket and handed them to Eric and Lupin, asking, "These are the potions you specifically asked for, but I don't understand, what do you need these potions for?"

Eric laughed, “They’ll be very useful. I have a feeling we’ll have a few special guests tonight.”

"Guests?" Sirius and Lupin asked in unison.

Eric smiled but didn't answer. Instead, he said, "Peter and Ron are together. I'll take care of catching him. Sirius, you need to help me distract Hagrid who's with them. Once Hagrid spots you, given his personality, he'll definitely try to catch you no matter what."

"Okay." Sirius nodded.

"What about me? Should I go help Sirius?" Lupin asked.

Eric shook his head: "No, Professor, you have another mission. Sirius gave you a bottle of Felix Felicis potion. Take it now. You are a very important part tonight and cannot make any mistakes."

"What do you want me to do?"

Eric said, "You need to set up an anti-phantom teleportation spell in the Forbidden Forest."

Chapter 133 Black Appears! Hagrid's Fury

Lupin asked in surprise, "Anti-Apparition? What do you mean? Besides us, will someone else come tonight?"

Apparition is not permitted within the grounds of Hogwarts Castle.

But once you leave the gates of Hogwarts, this restriction no longer applies.

Eric and his friends are currently in the Forbidden Forest, which is located next to Hogwarts and covers a large area, but is not considered part of Hogwarts.

To be precise, Hogwarts just happens to be adjacent to the Forbidden Forest.

The Anti-Apparition spell is the only way to effectively counter Apparition by setting it up in advance.

Eric said, “We’ll see, Professor. This is just in case. I hope you can cast a counterspell that restricts a large area, so in addition to Felix Felicis, there are a few potions that can enhance magic and concentration. You can take them all.”

Lupin pondered for a moment, then slowly nodded.

Having chosen to trust Eric, he would not easily question Eric's decision.

Moreover, having come this far, they have long since run out of options.

Eric asked, "Professor, have you notified the Director of Law Enforcement?"

Eric was referring to Amelia Bones, whom they had met once before at Hogwarts.

Lupin said, “I have a relationship with her and I have done as you said. I told her in the letter that I had found a lead on Blake. If it were me, she would definitely believe it.”

Sirius said impatiently, "Alright? We should get going."

“There’s one last thing.” Eric waved his wand, summoning a pure white guardian spirit that danced playfully in the air.

Under Eric's deliberate control, the guardian spirit still retains the shape of an eagle.

Eric said to the guardian spirit, "Please tell Fudge that the time has come."

Eric's guardian spirit nodded without hesitation, flapped its wings, and flew towards the castle.

Fudge is currently inside Hogwarts Castle.

His presence at Hogwarts today was, of course, to fulfill his promise to Eric.

After the Christmas holidays, Eric promised to tell Fudge the location of Sirius.