237. Expecto Patronum! (4k4) (Forgot the chapter name, uh, can't change it without permission)
"Hey, William, over here—"
Hagrid came early and secured a good spot in the stands. His massive figure took up three to four seats, and streams of water flowed down his rainproof moleskin coat. He kept looking back until he saw William and the others emerging from the rain, then waved vigorously—
"Woof woof!"
Fang, who was sticking close to Hagrid's leg, suddenly sprang out, drenched and ready to pounce on William. But midway through the air, it stopped, suspended by purple magic, spinning in circles. Initially startled, Fang soon began to pant happily with its tongue out.
... Silly dog.
Sirius, also lying beside Hagrid's leg, merely glanced at the group of little wizards swarming over, then turned away with a look of disdain. He hadn't wanted to come, but Hagrid had forcefully dragged him along. He'd spent the entire night trying to deal with the collar around his neck.
Now, Sirius was so tired he just lay there trying to catch up on sleep.
"Where's Lupin? Didn't he come?"
Hagrid's gaze swept over the group of little wizards following William and blinked curiously.
"He's not feeling well these days..."
William raised a hand to point at the sky, making it clear. Just a few days ago, it was a full moon, and Lupin hadn't been in good shape. Even though William had improved the Wolf Poison Potion significantly, a period of weakness was inevitable—while it no longer affected his movements, the rain today was too heavy, and Lupin just wanted to lie in bed.
"Oh, okay then."
Hagrid nodded. He knew Lupin's true identity and didn't mention it further.
Their conversation was drowned out by the wind, drawing little attention from others, except... a certain napping black dog.
Lupin... Sirius's ears pricked uncontrollably at the mention of the name. He anxiously scanned his surroundings and even instinctively tried to hide under the seats. It was only after understanding what William had said that Sirius relaxed a bit with a sigh of relief.
He knew Lupin was currently the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts. The British Magic Realm wasn't large, and the Prophet Daily maintained a section each year to record professor changes at the school so parents could receive updates promptly.
Therefore, when Sirius found he couldn't remove the collar anytime soon, he began to worry about encountering Lupin unprepared—or rather, was it even possible to be prepared for such an encounter?
To appear before a friend once suspected, using his fugitive identity, to convince him that the legendary "hero" was actually the mastermind behind it all, and the traitor among them?
... Don't even joke about it. Lupin might tear him apart with an angry charm before then.
Though Sirius knew Lupin wouldn't do that, people change.
Just like him, already changed—they could never go back to what they were.
"Sigh..."
With a face of helplessness, Sirius sighed again and squeezed further onto the seat, now lost in the rain with his mind blank.
"A new dog?"
As William tucked the floating Fang under his seat to avoid the rain, he curiously eyed the scrawny, ragged black dog under Hagrid's feet, instinctively frowning.
This dog... something's off.
Of course, he didn't recognize Sirius as an Animagus; such magic was intricate but offered strong advantages, like almost foolproof disguises. If William could tell at a glance, it would be quite extraordinary—
But William's suspicion was simple: as a seasoned Druid, he practically maximized the "Animal Affinity" passive aura, yet this dog remained indifferent upon seeing him? It didn't make sense...
Not to sound arrogant, but while the "passive aura" was something he jokingly referred to, this ability seemed to indeed exist.
To illustrate, even the Quintapeds, creatures seemingly devoid of brain structure, never acted aggressively toward him in Austria.
Friendly creatures would turn into friends, neutral ones would become friendly, and hostile ones would turn neutral... Without exaggeration, aside from beings like Acromantula or Centaurs with human-like intelligence, all newly sentient creatures would react to him as though encountering a Succubus, a fact already proven.
So, this dog... wasn't quite right.
"Yes, I just found it yesterday—it was with your Niffler at the time, and they seemed to get along well?"
Hagrid scratched his beard, recalling last night. "However, later it tried to attack Ron, possibly due to untamed instincts, but no worries, I really know how to train dogs, and after just one night..."
Saying this, Hagrid lifted the big black dog from the ground, and shoved his hand into its mouth to show it had no more aggressive tendencies.
"...Why is it so skinny?"