Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 314 Sirius: It's unbelievable, there are actually good people in Slytherin!

The next morning, Rice returned to the Forbidden Forest with a rat cage.

The cage naturally contained Peter Pettigrew. He had been given a sleeping potion by Rice and was now fast asleep.

Ever since he was bought from Ron by Rice, he hadn't been conscious for more than a few days. Rice gave him sleeping potions and nutrient solutions every day to keep him in a state where he was neither awake nor dead.

He would not allow a scheming adult wizard to remain sensible on the Hogwarts campus, even if he looked sleazy and weak.

Sirius was still waiting for him at the same old spot, and while he was waiting, he transformed back into his black dog form.

In his black dog form, he possessed an even more acute sense of smell, so he sensed Rice's arrival even before Rice appeared and noticed the cage he was carrying.

Sirius Black suddenly stood up, his tail standing tall, and he was in a state of near madness—more than a decade of hatred and torment erupted at this moment, almost causing his sanity to collapse.

He had indeed figured out a lot last night and thought his mind was clear, but the moment he sensed Peter the Pettigrew, he almost went mad.

Sirius nearly lost control; all the negative emotions he had accumulated in Azkaban had transformed into hatred towards Peter. Such intense feelings were not something that could be easily controlled.

However, after transforming back into human form and staring intently at the mouse missing a finger for a very long time, Sirius finally suppressed his anger.

"It seems you have a new answer." The fact that Sirius didn't pounce on him and snatch the cage said it all, and Rice was pleased—he didn't want the descendants of the Black family to suffer an injustice. But he wasn't Sirius's parent, nor did he intend to indulge him; it was best that Sirius made the right choice on his own.

Sirius took a few deep breaths, forced himself to look away from Peter Pettigrew, and then nodded.

Why do this?

Faced with Rice's questioning, Sirius Black paused briefly before telling him that it was all for Harry's sake.

"He is my godson. Without him, I might not care so much about my innocence, but with Harry around, I can't let myself continue to carry this sin—my godfather is the murderer of my parents, it's just too cruel," Sirius replied in a low, hoarse voice.

Rice raised an eyebrow: I didn't expect Sirius to be Harry's godfather?

This is quite something! The relationship between godfather and godson is almost like blood ties. Sirius Black was even qualified to sign Harry's Hogsmeade permit! With such a relationship, it's no wonder that Sirius Black wanted to clear his name of the injustice.

"I'll leave Peter here for now. Don't worry, he won't escape." Rice lifted the cage and waved it at Sirius.

"What did you do to him?" Sirius felt a surge of curiosity: the guy seemed to be sleeping very soundly?

"I gave him some calming potion; I won't let something like that keep me awake."

Sirius nodded seriously: "Although Peter is filthy and sleazy, we shouldn't underestimate him."

He was, after all, a cunning villain who had deceived himself, James, and Lupin.

"What should I do next?" Although Sirius had temporarily suppressed the urge to kill Peter, he was still in a state of "urgency" and wished he could clear his name and send Peter to James and his wife to apologize before breakfast.

Rice paused for a moment: Sirius's situation was indeed quite tricky, involving both ancient and extensive issues. Based on Rice's understanding of the officials at the Ministry of Magic, this matter was unlikely to be easily resolved; he needed some time to formulate a plan.

Doing these things would take up his energy, but considering the contributions Black's ancestors made to Hogwarts, Rice decided to help Sirius.

"Find a place to stay and recover. Leave the rest to me. I'll figure out how to handle the Ministry of Magic."

Seeing Rice say this, Sirius, though still somewhat anxious, understood Rice's predicament. Considering Peter's current situation, which was worse than death for him, he agreed.

"By the way, I don't even know your name yet." Sirius gave a wry smile. "Who exactly are you?"

"Rice Lint, an ordinary third-year Slytherin student."

Sirius: ...

"It's unbelievable that there are actually good people in Slytherin," he muttered.

Rice: If you keep babbling, I'll send you to the Dementors!!!

He was truly broken down by Sirius's words, because Sirius had really hit a nerve.

Damn it! How did Slytherin become like this?!

After breaking through the Great Barrier, Rice gave Sirius a few words of advice and then left the Forbidden Forest.

Watching Rice's departing figure, Sirius shook his head: it seems he really needs to change his stereotypes about Slytherin.

He transformed back into his black dog form.

He was increasingly fond of transforming into a black dog. According to Sirius himself, his black dog form gave him greater strength, perception, and immunity, but it could also be due to the influence of the Animagus.

The big black dog trotted happily out of the Forbidden Forest and ran towards a small cabin on its edge. Sirius had already planned to go and freeload off Hagrid for a while.

Hagrid got up very early. As the gamekeeper, he had a lot of work to do. Early this morning, he was squatting on the threshold of his hut, processing the game he had caught during his patrol the night before, and preparing breakfast for himself and his hunting dog, Tooth.

He placed a charcoal brazier beside him, on which sat a fish and a skinned rabbit.

The fertile Forbidden Forest and the abundant Black Lake can provide the school's teachers and students with almost inexhaustible resources. The cold-water fish from the lake and the fat rabbits from the Forbidden Forest only need to be roasted and sprinkled with a little salt and pepper to release an extremely tempting aroma.

Hagrid's ability to cook other dishes is debatable, but his grilling skills are quite good; the aroma of rabbit and fish can be smelled dozens of meters away. This smell easily attracts some wild animals, and today it attracted a black dog.

Feeling its territory was being invaded, the hunting dog Tooth stood up and barked loudly at the black dog.

The black dog showed no fear; it simply lingered outside the hut, occasionally twitching its nose.

Hagrid chuckled, unconcerned, and even tugged at the increasingly restless Tooth, pulling it behind him and tossing the roasted rabbit from the brazier over to it.

The black dog carried the rabbit aside and ate it while wagging its tail happily.

Hagrid laughed happily.

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.

The second update is here. The next update will be a little later.

(End of this chapter)