Christmas was approaching, and many students at Hogwarts chose to return home to spend the holiday with their families.
However, Harry, Ron, and Hermione all chose to stay at school.
Harry knew that the two of them were actually staying for his sake.
Ever since returning from Hogsmeade, Harry had been in low spirits.
He was extremely distraught; anyone would be upset to learn such a cruel reality, especially when it was concealed from him by people close to him.
Why was he never told that his parents were betrayed and killed by their best friend?
"Harry, you need to calm down.
They didn't tell you because they were afraid you'd do something reckless," Hermione said earnestly, standing by the fireplace and looking at Harry.
"Yeah, Black wants you to know the truth so he can target you and set a trap, waiting for you to walk right into it," Ron said worriedly.
Perhaps the only thing that could give him some comfort was that Hermione had temporarily made up with Ron because of him.
He knew that after that day, Hermione, worried about him, had even taken the initiative to find Ron and ask him to help persuade him.
But the hatred in his heart was like an incurable poison.
The image of Black's wild laughter on the newspaper constantly flashed in his mind.
He was grinning as he blew his father's best friend to pieces in a busy street.
No matter how much his friends tried to dissuade him, it was useless.
"You look terrible, Harry."
"I'm fine," Harry forced a smile.
"That's a lie," Ron said, even more worried.
They had been together for so long that they could tell whether he was forcing a smile or not.
Harry also missed Hagrid very much.
He didn't know where Hagrid had gone, and there was no news of him at all.
They were all worried about Hagrid.
When Christmas Day finally arrived, he received gifts from various people, such as a scarlet hooded leather jacket from Mrs. Weasley.
But what surprised him the most was that he received a new broom.
A Firebolt!
Exquisite craftsmanship, smooth lines, perfect handling, a first-class flying broom!
He and Ron spent almost the entire morning studying the broom.
He was very excited; with this, his chances of winning future matches would be much greater.
They guessed at many people who could have sent it, but all were ruled out.
Soon, Hermione also met them in the common room.
When she saw it, she didn't congratulate him.
Instead, she even advised him not to use the broom, suspecting that it might be a conspiracy and that there might be danger on it.
"Oh, for heaven's sake, maybe that Sirius Black sent the broom to Harry.
Right, he wants to murder Harry, and the way he'll do it is by letting Harry win the Quidditch Cup and then die of happiness, right?" Ron said impatiently.
In the end, Hermione and Ron argued again because of Scabbers and Crookshanks, and sat in opposite corners of the common room.
Hermione kept staring at Harry's broom from time to time, as if the broom had offended her.
At lunchtime, they all went to the Great Hall, where the tables had been moved to the sides of the room.
In the center of the room was only one table for twelve people.
Professor Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Sprout, and Flitwick were there, as was the caretaker, Filch.
Filch had taken off his usual brown coat and was wearing a very old and rather outdated tailcoat.
Besides them, there was also a first-year Gryffindor student, as well as Malfoy and Pansy from Slytherin.
"I really don't understand why they would stay at school," Ron muttered to Harry, not wanting to see the person who had nominally "saved" him.
Harry didn't say anything.
Hermione saw Malfoy and recalled what she had heard in Hogsmeade that day.
At the time, she didn't dare get too close, fearing she would be discovered.
She vaguely felt that this situation was somewhat similar, giving her a strange sense of familiarity.
Later on, Malfoy and Fudge's voices became lower and lower, so much so that she couldn't hear them very clearly.
But there was still a key word that she heard, such as "Black, big news, restore reputation" and the like.
She deduced that Malfoy might have learned about Black's whereabouts through some channels and then revealed it to Fudge to help him restore his reputation.
Even though she also disliked some of the Minister of Magic's actions and tone, she still believed that Fudge was at least on their side.
At that time, the indignation that Fudge expressed when talking about Black's past was not feigned.
This also calmed her worried emotions for Harry a lot.
She now believed that Black would soon be arrested and brought to justice.
Fudge's excited appearance at that time was deeply imprinted in her mind.
If he hadn't been concerned about his image, she believed that Fudge might have started dancing with excitement on the spot.
After that, she didn't listen anymore.
She had to find Harry as soon as possible to prevent him from doing anything foolish, even though she didn't see Harry again until the evening in the Gryffindor common room.
Harry had returned even earlier than her.
To avoid disputes, she chose to keep what she heard a secret.
She knew Ron's prejudice against Malfoy, and if she told him, who knows what other accidents might happen.
"Merry Christmas!" Dumbledore said, interrupting Hermione's thoughts.
At this time, the three of them approached the table together.
"There aren't many of us, it would be a bit silly to use the tables from each house... Sit down, sit down!" Dumbledore looked at them with a smile.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat side by side at the end of the table.
"Crackers!" Dumbledore said enthusiastically, handing the end of a large silver cracker to Snape, who reluctantly took it and pulled.
The cracker went off with a bang, like a gunshot, scattering and revealing a pointed witch's hat with a stuffed eagle on top.
Pansy, who was sitting next to him, chuckled.
Snape remained expressionless with his sallow face and said nothing.
He was more tolerant of students from his own house, and besides, it was a holiday.
Harry and Ron exchanged glances and grinned, but they were more restrained.
Snape pursed his lips.
He pushed the hat to Dumbledore, who immediately replaced his own wizard's hat with it.
"Eat!" he said to everyone at the table with a smile.
"When are we leaving?" Pansy asked softly, leaning affectionately on Malfoy's shoulder.
He said that he had prepared a secret weapon for their team for Christmas, which made her very excited.
Her teammates had already arrived at their agreed location.
Malfoy said that he had some small matters at school and would arrive a little later, so she decided to stay and accompany him.
"Soon, we can leave after this meal.
It won't be very convenient for us to fill our stomachs during the journey," Malfoy explained.
"Don't get too excited. This is special training that sacrifices your vacation, so you must be prepared to endure hardship," Malfoy added.
"As long as we can win the championship, anything is fine," Pansy said, her eyes shining.
"They definitely don't know that you now possess the most advanced broom in the world," Ron said, overhearing their conversation and unable to help but chuckle. He leaned close to Harry's ear and lowered his voice, "This is definitely a secret weapon they won't expect."
"Ultimately, it still depends on us," Harry said, but his expression betrayed his inner delight. He was looking forward to seeing the Slytherin team's surprised faces.
However, because it was a round-robin tournament, they wouldn't encounter the Slytherin team again in this year's Quidditch Cup, which left Harry somewhat disappointed.
"By the way, why didn't you let me go to Hogsmeade last time? Just leaving me alone at school?" Pansy suddenly asked, her tone carrying a hint of dissatisfaction. Her cheerful mood from the "special training" immediately changed, turning from sunny to cloudy.
"This is just a little punishment for you drinking last time. At your age, it's better to drink this kind of beverage," Malfoy said as he handed her a cup of honey tea.
"Oh, alright," she pouted and took it, but didn't take a sip.
"The sausage tastes good, doesn't it?" It was Dumbledore's voice, as he was kindly asking Malfoy, who was sitting next to him.
"Of course, Professor," Malfoy politely nodded, then readily accepted a plate full of sausages that Dumbledore handed him.
Just then, the door to the Great Hall opened. Professor Trelawney entered, gliding towards everyone as if she were on wheels. To celebrate Christmas, she wore a green robe decorated with small metal spangles, making her look even more like a glittering, oversized dragonfly.
"Sybil, it's so good to see you," Dumbledore said, preparing to rise to greet her.
But just as he was about to stand up, a sudden bark rang out from under the table.
"Scabbers, what's wrong?" Scabbers, who was hiding in Ron's arms, suddenly jumped out, soaring into the air and running wildly across the table laden with plates, darting left and right as if a vengeful ghost were after him. Many plates were knocked over onto the table, producing the clattering sound of glass colliding, and some, less fortunate, fell directly to the ground, shattering into pieces with a crash.
Finally, it leaped off the table and disappeared, no one knew where.
"Don't look at me," Hermione said, shrugging and sighing, "Crookshanks has been locked in the dormitory because of this rat."
Ron almost immediately looked at Hermione, and Hermione explained it this way.
"You can't even tell the difference between a cat's meow and a dog's bark, can you?" Hermione then said helplessly.
"This is the first time I've seen a rat so frightened by a dog's bark. Shouldn't rats be afraid of cats? The Weasleys' pets are indeed extraordinary," Pansy chuckled upon seeing this.
"You!" Ron glared at Pansy, but didn't have time to argue with her.
"Such a lively pet," Dumbledore said with a smile, stroking his beard. His attempt to stand up had been interrupted by the dog's bark, so he didn't continue to stand, remaining seated.
"Weasley, it seems your two brothers have pulled another prank," Malfoy bent down, glanced at the table leg, and then reached out and forcefully pulled out a scarlet megaphone with some stripes.
"See?" Malfoy poked the megaphone again, and now it began to emit the lazy "meow" of a cat.
"Those two troublemakers can't even be peaceful during Christmas," Filch's face was as black as coal.
"Festivals should be festive, I think it's quite good," Dumbledore still looked cheerful, and even reached out to take the megaphone, pressing it.
"Quack, quack, quack."
It emitted the sound of a duck again.
"Look, how amusing, it reminds me of their Howler from last semester," Dumbledore said, playing with the megaphone.
"Oh, Sybil, why haven't you come over yet? There's still an empty seat here," Dumbledore waved to Professor Trelawney again.
"Headmaster, I have been gazing into the crystal ball," Professor Trelawney said in her most ethereal, faraway voice, "To my astonishment, I saw myself abandoning my solitary luncheon to join your feast. Who am I to resist the dictates of destiny? I immediately hastened from my tower, and I beg you to forgive my tardiness..."
"Of course, of course," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling, "Let me get you a chair—"
He conjured a chair out of thin air with his wand, and it spun in the air for a few seconds before landing with a thud between Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall. However, Professor Trelawney did not sit down. Her large eyes swept across the table, and she suddenly let out a soft shriek.
"I dare not, Headmaster! If I sit down, there will be thirteen at the table! Nothing is more unlucky than thirteen! Never forget, if thirteen dine together, the first to rise will be the first to die!"
"We'll risk it, Sybil," Professor McGonagall said impatiently, "The turkey's getting stone cold."
"No need, I'll leave now." Malfoy stood up. "To be honest, I'm already full. Now I have to pack our luggage. Let's meet at the entrance in two hours, Pansy," Malfoy said, steadying the chair and following Pansy.
"Everyone, please enjoy your meal," he said politely.
"Now that I'm leaving, you can join and there will be exactly twelve people, so you don't have to worry, right, Professor?" Malfoy whispered as he walked past Professor Trelawney.
"That makes it sound like I'm driving you away," Professor Trelawney muttered, then sat down in the empty chair, the expression on her face softening considerably.
"Of course not," Malfoy said with a smile, then turned and strode towards the exit of the Great Hall.
"Let's continue," Dumbledore raised his goblet in front of him and said to everyone.
So the students and teachers at the table began to enjoy the delicious food in front of them again, only Ron occasionally looked worriedly towards the exit, still concerned about his pet rat.
"Looking at it this way, the rat should be the first to leave the table, right?"
"You are the thirteenth person, Peter," Malfoy sighed inwardly as one of his feet was about to step out of the door. (To be continued.)
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