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"That man really came. He came to kill Harry Potter!"
Similar voices began spreading through Hogwarts.
In the eyes of all the students, Sirius Black was a complete madman and murderer, a loyal servant of Voldemort and one of his most capable assistants. Twelve years earlier, he had even blown apart a street with a single spell and killed thirteen people.
If his earlier attack on the Fat Lady could still be explained away by something else, then this time, breaking into the Gryffindor common room and ransacking the bedroom where Harry slept could only prove one thing.
He had set his sights on Harry Potter.
And on the same day, he had sent Harry Potter a Firebolt.
The fact that Harry had handed over the Firebolt caused quite a stir as well, because Gryffindor's Quidditch captain, Wood, had learned that Harry had one and immediately wanted to borrow it for the Gryffindor team.
For three full days, the students at Hogwarts discussed nothing else.
Gryffindor thought the whole thing was wildly exciting and celebrated for two nights.
Ravenclaw analyzed Sirius's intentions and ended up analyzing nothing.
Slytherin believed it was a conspiracy. Sirius Black must be planning some unspeakable secret.
As for Hufflepuff, they thought it was terrifying. They usually did not dare move around alone anymore, and at the same time, their appetites nearly doubled.
At the midnight Slytherin gathering, the discussion was just as lively.
"Black really is bold. He actually dared to openly provoke Mr. Potter."
In Slytherin's eyes, that Firebolt was Black's provocation toward Harry. It was a warning letter. It represented a declaration of war.
There must have been an extremely vicious curse on the Firebolt. As soon as Harry dared sit on it, it would activate.
Otherwise, who would send someone a supercar for no reason?
"Do you think Mr. Dursley will act?" one student asked curiously.
Another student immediately shook his head. "A mere Black is not worth Mr. Dursley's personal action. Mr. Potter is enough to handle him."
The moment he finished speaking, someone else offered a different view. "Not necessarily. Do not forget that Mr. Potter has always been hiding his strength."
Harry basically scored full marks in practical lessons. Only when theory was involved did he fall behind a little. In the eyes of the Slytherins, this was clearly him concealing his ability.
However, there was one thing all the Slytherins agreed on.
Black was dead.
But just like after his earlier attack on the Fat Lady, after making a scene in Gryffindor, Sirius vanished again.
Time passed like that until the weekend arrived. Almost every student in third year and above had been looking forward to it.
According to Hogwarts rules, students could go to the wizarding village of Hogsmeade every weekend.
The prerequisite was that their parents or guardians had signed the permission form.
Dudley naturally had no problem, and Harry also managed to get a signature without trouble. It was just that on ordinary weekends, Dudley and the others were even busier than they were during classes, so they usually chose to spend that time at Hogwarts. None of them had shown much interest in Hogsmeade, since they could go there on their own whenever the holidays came.
This week, however, the professors all needed to patrol and search for traces of Sirius. No one was available to give them extra tutoring, so they finally had free time.
"I think we should rest properly this week. How about going to Hogsmeade to relax?"
The moment Hermione said this, the room fell silent. Everyone's gaze turned toward her in unison, their faces full of disbelief.
It was hard to imagine that this suggestion had come from her.
Rest? Rest? Was this still the Hermione who always kept phrases like "time is limited, so we should study harder," "if you do not learn now, what use will it be when you are old," and "there are only XX days left until final exams" hanging from her lips?
Had Sirius switched her out?
Looking at her companions' expressions, Hermione knew exactly what they were thinking. Irritated, she said, "Proper rest helps improve study efficiency."
"Wizards may always look down on ordinary people, but sometimes what they say makes more sense than what wizards say."
"We need to master scientific study methods."
Neville, the honest child, asked, "What is science?"
"A system no less impressive than magic," Dudley answered him.
Neville obediently wrote it down. Dudley had told him before that a bad pen was better than a good memory, and Neville's memory had never been very good.
He continued, "Actually, I was also planning to let everyone relax this weekend. In addition, I have something to announce."
Neville's face filled with surprise. "Are you and Hermione getting married?"
The moment those words came out, Ron, who had been sneaking snacks, choked and sprayed the nearest person, Harry, directly in the face.
Draco, at the side, used extremely exaggerated body language and said, "Oh, Big D, thank you for conquering our study representative, discipline officer, life officer, and labor officer with your charm."
He had heard all of those terms from Dudley.
"Oh, no. You are not old enough to get married yet," Neville said slowly, as if he had only just realized it.
Hermione's face turned visibly red, and she could not say a complete sentence.
Seeing the topic becoming more and more crooked, Dudley said irritably, "If you do not want to go, we can keep studying this weekend."
The others instantly transformed into obedient children and answered in perfect unison.
"We have no objections at all."
Even people who loved studying had moments when they wanted to rest.
Several months had already passed in the school year, and Harry and the others had not gone to Hogsmeade even once. Aside from studying, they studied more. That perseverance alone made the other students admire them greatly.
No wonder they were so outstanding.
That was true, and everyone understood the logic, but if you asked the other students to learn from them, absolutely not.
Studying was impossible. Their regular schoolwork was already heavy enough. On weekends, they had to play hard and reward themselves properly.
That weekend, the group agreed to meet on the road they had to take to Hogsmeade.
After arriving in Hogsmeade, they did not go to Honeydukes, which students loved most. Instead, they went straight to the Three Broomsticks as if they had done it a hundred times before, ordered refreshing Butterbeer from Madam Rosmerta, and enjoyed it properly.
This time Harry did not ask for baking soda, because there was no little umbrella on top of it.
"Tastes good."
Ron drank more than half in one breath and let out a long belch.
"Honestly, Robin Hood, you really are crude. Belch."
Draco had only just begun mocking Ron, but unfortunately, before he could finish speaking, he also involuntarily belched.
Looking at Ron's half-smiling gaze, Draco was suddenly very embarrassed.
Fortunately, Dudley rescued him.
"Do you still remember the allowance project I told you about at the end of last term?"
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