Chapter 248 Christmas

After settling the matter of inviting the Weasley brothers, Mike left the Gryffindor common room.

Mike was not surprised by the Weasley brothers' reaction. After getting along with each other in the past few years, he had become very clear about the Weasley brothers' personalities. Faced with such a thing that had great benefits but very small risks, they couldn't help but Maybe not.

On the other side of Soraka, Mike is expected to succeed, because Freemasonry is what she needs most.

Gold galleons.

According to the loan usage report later submitted by Penello, the 100 gold galleons borrowed by Soraka were turned into various corpses for dissection in just one month, including There are also some rare species, such as Scottish leprechauns.

This shows how obsessed Soraka is with disemboweling creatures.

For such a person, it was impossible for her to refuse such an invitation.

Of course, Mike couldn't provide her with unlimited gold galleons for no reason. If she wanted to get it, of course she had to pay for it.

And all she needs to pay is her superb medical skills and potion preparation skills.

It has to be said that after several consecutive personal experiments, Mike discovered that Soraka's medical skills are really top-notch, and her skills in configuring medical potions are also very good. Such a talent is exactly what they need now. of.

After sorting out these things in his mind, Mike summoned the recovered Beta and asked him to use apparation to take him back to the Dolphin Factory.

Tomorrow is Christmas and he is very busy today.

Not only does he need to go to the Dolphin Magic Drink Factory to host the opening of the Christmas dinner, but he also has to return to Hogwarts before the dinner at Hogwarts begins.

Fortunately, everyone's Christmas gifts do not require Mike to prepare them himself. The two house elves, Shuke and Beta, have already prepared them according to Mike's instructions.

Otherwise, according to Mike's current number of friends, it would take several days just to prepare gifts.

It is said to be a Christmas dinner, but in fact it is essentially a large group of people getting together to have a big meal.

This is true whether it is the dinner at the Dolphin Magic Drink Factory or the Hogwarts dinner. The only difference between the two is that Mike gave gifts to every employee at the Dolphin Magic Drink Factory dinner.

Ten gold galleons.

This amount is not a lot for those employees who have been working in the factory for a long time, but it still makes them very happy. After all, there is no concept of year-end bonus in the wizarding society, so they regard these ten galleons as a real Christmas. Gift.

Thinking about it this way, this group of people felt much happier, and they all relaxed a lot even in front of Mike.

And speaking of gifts, when this wonderful night passed, our Harry also received a gift that belonged to him.

In the early morning, the golden sunlight shines through the ice-covered glass windows, making people feel warm.

Harry yawned and drowsily scratched his hair, messing it up a little more and then came to the restaurant with a chicken coop on his head.

Last night he and George Fred played until very late. Ron's two brothers didn't even come home for Christmas for some unknown reason.

While thinking about it, Harry came to the restaurant and sat down.

As soon as he sat down, two steaming sausages appeared on the empty plate in front of him, and a basket full of bread appeared in the basket beside him.

Harry grabbed a piece of bread, tore it open, wrapped it in a sausage and started to chew on it.

He planned to go to Hagrid's cabin after breakfast. At the Christmas dinner yesterday, Harry found that he had been secretly wiping tears, and he didn't know what happened.

Breakfast time every day is the time for the owl messengers to deliver messages. These hard-working little animals can't stop even on Christmas. It's really pitiful.

Harry mourned for the owl and moved his plate to the side to avoid the excrement bomb thrown by an owl. At the same time, he ate a little faster.

According to past experience, more bombs will be dropped here soon, and he must end the battle quickly.

While he was devouring the food, two owls came to him holding a long package.

Harry was a little surprised. His social circle was not large. They were basically all classmates and teachers at Hogwarts.

And if these people wanted to give him Christmas gifts, they would secretly put them in his bedroom through the house elves last night.

'Then...who could it be? Uncle Vernon and the others? ’

Thinking of this, Harry quickly shook his head and denied this speculation.

His uncle's family hated him so much that there was no way they could give him gifts.

Harry, who really couldn't guess the answer, took the package and was shocked after opening the tight package.

I saw a broom lying quietly in a huge long paper box.

This broom was very familiar to Harry. He once stared at it with Ron in Diagon Alley for a whole afternoon!

Firebolt!

Harry still remembered its name.

The brooms used in the English Quidditch League are custom-made!

Harry couldn't believe his eyes.

At this time, the classmates next to him also noticed the situation on Harry's side and gathered around him.

The restaurant became very lively in an instant. The Firebolt was a flying broomstick that could make all boys excited. Its performance far exceeded that of the mass-produced Nimbus 2001, so its price was quite impressive. The entire Hogwart No one owns it at all.

Everyone gathered around Harry, wanting to take a closer look at the legendary broomstick. Of course, it would be better if they could touch it.

At this moment, Harry suddenly noticed that Fudge, the Minister of Magic whom he had met before the start of school, actually appeared in the restaurant, and beside him stood Snape and several Aurors.

The two of them sat down in a seat in the corner while chatting and laughing. Snape enthusiastically invited the Minister to taste the breakfast at Hogwarts, while the Minister unceremoniously inserted a sausage to evaluate it. got up.

The breakfast at Hogwarts was not delicious at all, but Mr. Minister enjoyed it very much and gave Snape thumbs up repeatedly.

The two of them were talking and laughing as they ate, while the rest of the people in the restaurant were focused on Harry's Firebolt.

Harry didn't take this matter seriously. Maybe the Minister came to Hogwarts on a whim to check the students' food?

Anyway, that’s what the elementary school where he was doing was doing, and every time a leader came to inspect, the food would be better.

But when Harry was about to leave the restaurant with the Firebolt, he discovered something strange. There were actually many uniformed Aurors in Hogwarts!

…

It was already afternoon when Mike got the news. There was nothing he could do about it. He stayed with Professor Flitwick and the others until midnight last night.

As soon as he got the news, he thought of Blake and contacted Shuke, who was staying with Blake. After receiving no reply at all, Mike's heart sank.

Beta was sent to the factory by him to deal with the workers' holidays, and he couldn't rush to the Shrieking Shack with Mike at the moment.

In desperation, Mike came to Lupine's office.

"Professor Lupin, what's going on with Mr. Minister and those Aurors?"

"Oh, they are here to search for Sirius Black." Lupine looked a little depressed at the moment, but when he saw Mike coming in, he still forced a smile and said, "By the way, I received your Christmas gift. I love so much!"

After that, he took out the sizzling honey candy that Mike gave him from the drawer, took one and put it in his mouth.

Mike was not interested in discussing Christmas gifts with him at all. His eyebrows were completely knitted together, and then he asked:

"Black is not in Hogwarts. Why do they come to Hogwarts to find Black?"

"I heard that Fudge felt that the reason why Black was able to break into Hogwarts without being discovered by the dementors was because he knew some unknown secret passages. So he is going to send people to thoroughly investigate those secret passages."

After hearing this, Mike roughly understood the origin of the matter.

Not only has the topic of Blake not disappeared in the Daily Prophet these days, it has become even more heated.

The people are very angry that the Ministry of Magic has not caught Black until now, and the previous incident of the Dementors being expelled by Dumbledore has become proof of Fudge's incompetence. Now many tabloids rely on scolding Fudge every day to make a living. .

And if you want to solve this matter, you must catch Blake. Only by catching Blake can this incident be put to rest.

So, taking advantage of the fact that most students went home for the holidays, Fudge came with a group of Aurors.

It has to be said that Mike still underestimated Fudge's intelligence. He was able to guess that Black came in through the secret passage in Hogwarts.

But it’s not surprising if you think about it carefully.

The secret passages within Hogwarts have existed for who knows how long.

Most of the people inside were older than Mike and his two generations combined.

In theory, the tunnel that has existed for such a long time should not be known to only a few of them.

At least, the professors who have lived in Hogwarts for so many years may not know the location of all the secret passages in Hogwarts, but they definitely know some.

If Fudge and those Aurors want to find a tunnel, they must find a professor to cooperate, and judging from the current situation, Snape is likely to be the foreign aid they are looking for.

Thinking of this, Mike's brows furrowed even more.

Professor Lupine opposite looked at Mike's sad face and couldn't help but ask:

"What's wrong with you?"

Mike was awakened by Lupine's voice. Looking at Lupine's haggard face, Mike thought for a while and then asked tentatively:

"Professor Lupine, I remember that you and Black are very good friends, right?"

"Of course, but that was a long time ago. My friendship with him has ended since he betrayed James and Lily and killed Peter."

It can be seen that the matter of Harry's parents also hit Lupine very hard, and his face turned red when he talked about it.

"What if I say, Blake is innocent?"

"What did you say?"

Lupine felt that he must have heard wrongly, and there was a puzzled expression on his face, but this expression froze when Mike took out the Marauder's Map.

Half an hour later.

After explaining the ins and outs of the matter, Mike quietly looked at Lupine who was silent. Mike knew that this incident had a great impact on Lupine, and he now needed to sort out his thoughts.

"You mean, Peter is locked up by you now." Lupine said in a hoarse voice after a while, "And... Black is in the Shrieking Shack?"

"That's right, so we have to move quickly. Where is Professor Dumbledore? I looked around and didn't see him?"

Hearing this, the expression on Lu Ping's face became even more bitter, and he said with a wry smile:

"He has been invited to attend the Christmas party of Lord Merlin at the Ministry of Magic. He will not be back until two days later."

"That's it. The Aurors will find him sooner or later. We must act quickly to move Blake away!"

"It shouldn't be that serious, right? Only James and I know how to enter that secret passage. Although they have Snotlout to assist them, Snotlout doesn't know the specific method of opening the secret passage..."

"Professor Lupin!" Lupine was interrupted by Mike before he finished speaking, "I hope you can understand one thing. Professor Snape is no longer the snot-nosed man he once was. He is now a famous person. Potions Master, are you so sure that he hasn't figured out how to open that secret passage after all these years?

And even if he really doesn't know. But they have a lot of Aurors around, and they can just eliminate them with the Whomping Willow shovel and then enter the secret passage! "

As soon as he said this, Lu Ping's expression condensed, and his eyes gradually became firm.

While Mike and Lupine were discussing, Snape and Fudge were standing in front of the Whomping Willow, listening to an Auror's report.

"... All known secret passages in Hogwarts that can lead to the outside world have been thoroughly investigated, and no trace of Black has been found." The Auror paused and then said, "But in the tunnel leading to Duke Bee's cellar, no trace of Black has been found." We found traces of recent use in that secret passage, but it is initially estimated that the user was not Black, but a student at Hogwarts."

"I see."

Fudge waved his hand, indicating that the Auror could leave.

"Stop hesitating, Minister, and start taking action."

Snape said somewhat eagerly.

Fudge stared intently at the Whomping Willow spreading its branches wantonly in the breeze. After a while, he sighed and said:

"Professor Snape, are you sure there is really a secret passage down here? You know, the Whomping Willow is a protected organism clearly marked under international law. Currently, there are only 5 trees in Europe..."

"I swear on my life!"

Fudge was not angry when his words were interrupted. He stared at Snape's lifeless eyes for a while, and then ordered to the row of Aurors standing behind him:

"The second team will go up to test first. Please note that this test is mainly to find the switch of the secret passage. Try not to damage the Whomping Willow!"