Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 313 The Greedy Sirius

To Sirius's surprise, the boy's staff did not produce any spells, but instead produced a silver pot and a copper cup.

"Have something to drink." The murderous intent in Rice's tone had vanished, and he instead poured Sirius a cup of black tea.

Sirius: ?

The boy's sudden change in attitude left him momentarily bewildered, but he quickly recovered and persuaded the child in front of him!

Sirius's spirits lifted: with the help of students, the difficulty of realizing his plan would be greatly reduced!

He took the cup and drank the tea in one gulp. The warm tea warmed his stomach, and the strength that had disappeared returned, revitalizing Sirius.

Contrary to Sirius's assumptions, Rice's change of heart wasn't due to Sirius convincing him with his halting words—in fact, Sirius, having spent so long in Azkaban, had a shockingly poor command of language; most people would have thought him insane after hearing his self-justification. Rice, however, was different; he had reviewed Peter Pettigrew's memories. With both pieces of evidence corroborated, he was fairly certain Sirius wasn't lying.

Since the other party was innocent and had a legitimate reason to enter Hogwarts, Rice forgave him and decided to lend him a helping hand.

After finishing his tea, Sirius wanted to strike while the iron was hot and continue to win over the young wizard in front of him, but Rice told him to be patient.

"A fresh start!" Rice first used a cleaning spell to clean the dirt off Sirius's body, and then took out a robe from his small leather bag and gestured for him to change into it.

Rice was a respectable man and disapproved of Sirius's filthy state. Besides, Sirius was a descendant of the Black family, so it was only right that he take care of him.

Among his students were some from the Black family. Although they were not as talented as Adrian and ultimately did not gain access to his Chamber of Secrets, they were generous and donated a lot of money to the fledgling Hogwarts.

This affection ultimately passed down to his countless descendants.

"Thank you." After the dirty stuff disappeared from his body, Sirius felt much refreshed. After changing into a dry and comfortable robe, he even felt like he had been reborn.

Although the robe was custom-made for Rice's physique, Sirius, who had lived in Azkaban for over ten years, was now skin and bones, so he could still fit into it, only the hem, which could have extended to his calves, was pulled up to his thighs.

After changing into a new outfit, Sirius decided that if he ever had the chance, he would definitely repay the kind little guy after he killed Peter himself.

Seeing that Sirius had at least started to look like a human being, Rice was finally willing to talk to him about Peter's problem.

"It's not actually that difficult for you to catch Peter."

Sirius, who was adjusting his robes, suddenly stopped what he was doing, a look of madness flashing in his eyes.

"Yes, all I need to do is—"

"Peter is with me."

Sirius's voice abruptly stopped, and he let out a strange cry.

He jumped up suddenly, his dark eyes almost popping out of their sockets.

"Really? That beast Peter is really with you?!"

After receiving Rice's affirmative reply, he rushed in front of Rice, only to be shoved back into the tree trunk by Rice's magic. Sirius let out a howl that was not human, while Rice used magic to fix him to the tree until he regained some composure.

"Calm down. Killing Peter is easy, but you need to think carefully about things other than revenge."

"I don't care, I just want Peter's life!" Sirius Black was extremely agitated.

"And what is the truth?"

"unimportant!"

Rice frowned.

"Very well, my magic will bind you here until sunset. You have plenty of time to consider the answer to the question I just asked—I'll be back here tomorrow morning, and you can give me your answer then. If your answer is the same as before, I'll hand Peter over to you."

After speaking, Rice prepared to leave, but stopped after taking only a few steps.

"By the way, Peter is completely under my control. But if you choose to sneak into the castle after regaining your freedom, I will let him go. You understand, I mean what I say." After the warning, Rice took out a bag of his own food supplies, placed it on the ground, and walked out of the Forbidden Forest without looking back.

Sirius struggled desperately as he watched him leave, but he was unable to break free from the restraints formed by Rice's magic.

Finally, after exhausting the last bit of strength in his body, Sirius gave up struggling and leaned against the tree trunk to rest.

During his rest, the initial rush of blood to his head gradually subsided, and he finally regained his composure. He began to seriously consider the question Rice had asked him: What would become of him after killing Peter? Which was more important, the truth of what happened back then or Peter's life?

After much deliberation, Sirius decided that the most important thing was to make Peter pay a bloody price. But Harry's face also came to mind. He had seen Harry running away from there with his suitcase that day... Clearly, he wasn't having a good time in that Muggle family.

Sirius was lost in thought, not even noticing that the magical ropes binding him had disappeared.

Killing Peter with a single swipe would certainly be satisfying, but it would also solidify his status as a sinner, leaving no room for redemption. Could Harry really accept a fugitive godfather? Wait, if the truth doesn't come out, wouldn't he see him as the murderer who killed his parents?!

After calming down, Sirius suddenly understood many things, and he did indeed have a new answer to the boy's question.

It's a bit greedy, really; he wanted Peter to pay for his crimes in blood, but he also wanted to restore his own reputation...

"There's no such thing as a free lunch." Sirius shook his head with a wry smile.

Just then, some noises nearby startled him. He looked up and saw a fat rat fiddling with the package the boy had left for him.

Sirius Black didn't hesitate at all. He instantly transformed into a black dog, pounced, grabbed the mouse in his mouth, chewed it twice, and swallowed it whole.

He was already used to this behavior.

After dealing with the rat, he twitched his nose twice, and his eyes lit up immediately: the package smelled strongly of food!

He tore open the package, and a pile of smoked meat, cheese, and bread was exposed before him.

Sirius, who had been living a life of irregular eating habits, didn't hesitate for a second and immediately grabbed the food from the package and started munching on it.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Second update delivered, goodnight everyone.

The next update will have to wait until I get off work.

(End of this chapter)