Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 336 Harry: Rice, you've raised a good dog!

"What kind of potion is this?" Daphne asked with curiosity as she walked toward the counter, only to be blocked by Rice and Sirius in perfect unison.

Rice stepped in front of her, blocking her way, while Sirius Black grabbed the hem of her robe and dragged her outside the shop.

After Daphne was taken out, Rice quickly checked the bottles of potions on the counter and found that the potions really did work as he had guessed.

He looked at the shop owner with a complicated expression. He never expected that a potions shop selling such things would appear near Hogwarts.

"Are these potions selling well?" He pondered for a moment before asking the question.

"Look at what you're saying, it's selling quite well. Many upperclassmen come here regularly to buy packages—but this is a legitimate store, I don't sell aphrodisiacs." The shop owner's gaze swept over Daphne's hair color outside the store, and he silently turned slightly to the side, using his plump body to block a section of the shelf behind him.

"Oh? You mean there are vendors selling love potions in Hogsmeade?!" Rice was genuinely shocked. Such things were so easily obtainable?

The shop owner hesitated for a second, then told Rice that these things still required mutual consent. His packages only contained things to enhance the experience and ensure safety, not powerful love potions.

Rice glanced into his eyes and roughly understood his situation. He pushed the small vials on the counter aside and began replenishing his own stockpile of proper potion ingredients.

After purchasing the potion ingredients, Rice left the potion shop that had greatly impressed him.

He was deeply moved. If Adrian were alive today, he'd probably have a lot in common with these kids. These students are really something else...

Rice thought of Percy, whom she had just met; clearly, the student council president wasn't always as serious as he appeared.

But where are they...? Wait, the prefect seems to have his own bathroom...

Rice felt that some issues couldn't be thought about in detail.

He went out onto the street, took Sirius's leash from Daphne, and led them toward Honeyduke.

"Rice, what were those potions for?" Daphne's eyes sparkled with curiosity.

"Oh, they sell air fresheners, and on the side, some medicine to help students review—the latter are all placebos, am I right? You guys were paying for this kind of 'IQ tax' back then, weren't you?" Rice glanced at Sirius.

Sirius nodded in perfect agreement.

Daphne: I see!

Daphne, her confusion resolved, turned and walked towards Honey Duke. Behind her, Rice breathed a sigh of relief: if Astoria were here, she probably wouldn't have been able to fool her. It would have been too embarrassing for her to force herself to explain these things to the little girl.

I'll have to write a letter to Dumbledore later and ask him to keep an eye on the shops in Hogsmeade and make sure they don't sell anything too outrageous!

The slight displeasure that had just arisen in the potion shop was quickly dispelled by the shelves piled high with candy in Honeyduke.

"Candy is the source of happiness," Rice said as she stuffed every kind of candy on the shelf into her shopping bag.

Just as Rice was carrying the heavy bag toward the cashier, he felt a pull from the tether in his other hand.

Rice looked down and noticed that Sirius's expression seemed a little strange. Following his gaze, Rice saw a lollipop floating in mid-air. Then, in a flash, the lollipop disappeared.

Clearly, someone was strolling around the store in an invisibility cloak. Rice didn't even need any other methods; logical deduction alone was enough to guess the identity of the invisibility cloak user.

"Check out my bill, and I'll give you three brooms!" Rice shoved the bag of candy into Daphne's arms, grabbed Sirius, and rushed out of Honeydukes.

As soon as they stepped out of the store, Harry had vanished. Rhys was about to take action when Sirius grabbed him and dragged him off in one direction.

Rice smiled; Sirius's Animagus form actually had this kind of advantage.

With someone else helping, Rice didn't bother with any other methods and simply had Sirius lead the way in the direction Harry had left.

Soon, Sirius slowed down and wagged his tail, while Rice strode forward and suddenly grabbed something in mid-air.

"Candy thief! Gotcha!"

"Rice, let go, you're choking me—"

After Rice let go, Harry's head appeared out of thin air. He wanted to ask Rice how he found him, but instead he saw the big black dog squatting at Rice's feet.

He understood immediately.

"Rice, where did you come from—?"

"I found it and then raised it. Today I just happened to come to Hogsmeade with it." Rice casually made up a story for Sirius.

Harry didn't suspect anything and instead took a closer look at the big dog that Rice was raising. He found that Rice had taken good care of it, and its fur was shiny and glossy.

"It looks like you're taking good care of it."

"No, no, it's Hagrid. He often feeds Blackie. I haven't really taken care of it."

"I see..." Harry looked down at the black dog, who silently turned its head to one side, not daring to look Harry in the eye, but its body leaned closer, its rapidly wagging tail lashing at Harry's leg.

"May I, um, pet it?" Harry looked at the big black dog behaving strangely and had the idea of ​​petting it.

Few people can resist the urge to pet a big, shiny dog.

Before Rice could answer, the big black dog sat down, clearly agreeing to Harry's request.

So Harry didn't stand on ceremony and gently stroked the big dog's back.

While petting the big dog, Harry complained to Rice about Professor Trelawney's prophecy in Divination class.

"That guy, he always predicts that I'll encounter bad luck—he uses tea leaves to divine, you know, the big black dog—in a way, his predictions are quite accurate."

Rice smiled. "Indeed, you did encounter a big black dog—should I name it 'Ominous'? That way, Professor Trelawney will have made an accurate prediction."

Sirius whipped his tail and slammed it hard into Rice's ankle.

"It seems it doesn't like the name," Harry couldn't help but laugh.

"Let's go have a drink at Three Brooms."

"no problem."

Rice and Harry led Sirius toward the three broomsticks.

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.

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(End of this chapter)