Chapter 223
The quartet gathered their equipment and headed to the location Snape had assigned them. Snape went to sit at his desk before Albert resumed his previous work until Snape shouted, "It's odd that the eyes of the press are drawn to you despite all your deviant behavior."
Albert did not answer him. He knew that Snape was trying to provoke him, as he had done before, so that he could deduct more points after Albert had challenged him, for no good reason before the end of the class. So Snape continued, saying, "Perhaps the sympathy of the rest of the wizards in the world helps you." Albert did not answer him a second time, so Snape said, "But the frequency of your pictures appearing in the press does not concern me, for to me, Black, you are nothing but a small-sized boy who shows no regard for the rules."
Albert continued to observe the potion's steps and execute them, his hands starting to tremble with anger, but he did not raise his eyes towards Snape, despite everything he was saying to him. Nevertheless, Snape continued, saying, "Therefore, I warn you, Black... if I find out that you try to enter my office again, then..."
Albert interrupted him in anger, having forgotten his desire to ignore him: "I haven't been near your office!!"
Snape said, staring intently at Albert: "Don't lie to me... the disc Cedric took came out of my office, and I know you stole them."
Albert stared at Snape and deliberately did not blink or show any sign of guilt, saying, "Do you have proof of your words?! Or are you falsely accusing me with no basis!"
Snape's eyes suddenly gleamed, then he reached into his pocket. Albert thought he was going to pull out his wand and attack him, but Snape pulled out a small bottle containing a transparent potion. Albert stared at it before Snape said, "Do you know what this is, Potter?"
Albert replied, "No."
Snape replied harshly, "It's Veritaserum, and it's so potent that three drops are enough to reveal your deepest secrets for everyone in this class to hear. But the use of this potion is subject to strict rules and precautions imposed by the Ministry of Magic. However, if you're not careful, you might find a little of this liquid in your soup at dinner, and then we will know everything you want and whether you entered my office or not."
Albert did not say anything, but returned to completing the steps of the potion in his hands, even though the matter caused him some tension... He feared that he might drink this liquid and reveal his great secret: that he had lived a previous life.
Amidst all these thoughts, someone knocked on the classroom door, so Snape said, "Enter." Everyone looked up and saw Professor Karkaroff enter. They watched him approach Professor Snape's desk to say, "I want to talk." He was whispering as if he did not want anyone to hear him, so Albert did not look at him, but he heard Snape say, "After the lesson, Karkaroff, then..."
But Karkaroff interrupted him, saying, "I want to talk now... Why are you avoiding meeting me, Severus?"
Snape said sharply, "After the lesson."
Harry, who was next to Malfoy, pretended to be measuring a liquid and looked at Karkaroff. He saw the worry evident on his face opposite the anger evident on Snape's face.
Karkaroff stood waiting for the lesson to end as if he feared Snape would slip away from him, and when the lesson time was over, Harry pretended that one of his vessels had fallen so that he could hear what was going on between them. He heard Snape say, "What is it?"
Karkaroff said amidst the commotion of students leaving the classroom, "Well... do you see? The matter was not so clear before..."
Snape said, looking around the classroom, "Ignore it."
Karkaroff returned, saying, "But you must have noticed."
Snape interrupted him sharply, saying, "We can talk later, Karkaroff... Potter!... What are you doing?"
"Gathering my stuff," Harry replied innocently, as if trying to provoke him, and when Karkaroff turned towards him, with a mixture of anger and anxiety on his face, he did not stay inside the classroom and quickly left, as Harry did not want to remain alone with Snape.
So he quickly gathered his tools and left the place at full speed to catch up with Ron, Albert, and Hermione and tell them what he had heard.
The group left the castle the following afternoon and headed to the courtyards to find the weather had become worse than before, and as soon as they reached Hogsmeade, they raised their cloaks around their shoulders. The food Sirius had requested was in Albert's bag, and they all headed to Gladrags Wizardwear to buy a gift for Dobby. There, they bought all the strange socks they could find, and at half-past one, they all headed to the road behind Dervish and Banges on the outskirts of the village.
Albert had not been to this place before; the area was open, and the mountains appeared at the end of the road. As soon as they turned the first corner, they found a huge black dog holding a bunch of newspapers in its mouth, and as they approached it, Albert said, "Hello, Dad."
The dog sniffed Albert's bag eagerly before turning and walking in the direction of the mountains, so they all followed it until it led them to the rocky base of the mountain. It was easy for the dog because of its four legs.
As for Ron, Harry, Albert, and Hermione, the matter was very difficult, and for about fifteen minutes, they climbed the rocky slope behind Sirius. Finally, Sirius stopped in front of a large rock, and as they went around it, they found themselves in front of Buckbeak, that giant Hippogriff, half-grey horse and half-giant eagle. They bowed before him as Hagrid had taught them, and Buckbeak waited a moment until he bowed in turn. Hermione stepped forward to stroke his neck while Harry watched that black dog transform into Sirius—his godfather.
Sirius was wearing embroidered clothes, his upper part consisting of a white shirt with a black jacket, and the lower part was black trousers with white stripes.
As soon as he transformed back, he said, "Chicken!"
Albert opened the bag and gave him all the food, and Sirius quickly grabbed the food with both hands, saying, "Thank you!"
Albert knew that the side effect of his father transforming into a dog was his feeling hungry when the transformation ended, which meant he had to eat a lot every time he transformed, specifically chicken.
Sirius smiled towards Harry, and Harry returned the smile, then asked him, "What are you doing here, Sirius?"
He replied while still fiercely devouring his food, "Performing my duty as a godfather... Don't worry about me!"
Harry was not satisfied with what he said, and although he did not say a word, Sirius said, "Well... let me say that the matter is beginning to become clear. I've been reading the newspapers days late because all my time is busy with work, and considering everything that is happening, I am not the only one who feels anxious."
Then he pointed to the copies of the Daily Prophet lying on the ground, so Ron picked them up and opened one of them, while Harry remained staring at Sirius's face before saying, "What if they catch you?! What if someone sees you?! Entering Hogsmeade without the school's permission or if you are not a member of it, anyone who does not meet these conditions will be punished!"
He replied while still eating his food, "You and Dumbledore know my ability to transform..."
Ron passed the newspapers to Harry, who picked up some of the headlines: "The Mystery of Barty Crouch's Illness"
"Ministry of Magic Employee Still Missing"
"Minister of Magic Personally Involved"
Harry tried to pick up some sentences about Crouch and saw that the text indicated that Crouch had not appeared for a long time, since the last Second Task of the Triwizard Tournament, and that his house had been deserted for a long time and that the Ministry refused to confirm all these rumors, so he said slowly, "They are making it sound like he is dying... but he cannot be that sick if he can..."
Ron interrupted him, saying to Sirius, "My brother is Crouch's personal assistant, and he says that Crouch is exhausted from work."
Harry said slowly while reading the story, "But he did look exhausted the last time I saw him, on the night Albert's name appeared in the Goblet of Fire..."
Everyone discussed the matter with each other until Sirius told them to return to where they came from, as he did not come here just to meet them!
The quartet returned to the main street in Hogsmeade village and were surprised to find students gathered at the gate, preparing to return to the castle.
At lightning speed, a full month passed, and only a few hours remained until the thre shold of the Third Task.
To be continued...