stonecrandall Chapter 321 The 7th grade curriculum is nearing its end.
Chapter 321 The 7th grade curriculum is nearing its end.
[Gold: Ding—Having had intimate relations with Sirius Black, the target of your pursuit, you are rewarded with 500 experience points and half of the Black family's wealth.]
[Gold: Ding—New title for Sirius Black, the target of your pursuit, has been unlocked: Lover]
It feels like she's married to Sirius and owns half of his wealth.
The ornate iron gate slowly closed behind us, and the aroma of food wafted over.
Sirius walked ahead with one hand in his pocket, the hem of his black robe sweeping across the bluestone slabs with each step. He leaped directly onto the platform and sat down in the empty professor's seat.
I was walking down the aisle between the Gryffindor and Slytherin tables when suddenly my waist tightened and two arms hooked around my neck from both sides—Fred and George, like two out-of-control flying brooms, lifted me toward the Gryffindor table from either side.
“Dear Guild Master Ayers!” Fred conjured a wilted dandelion with his wand and pinned it to my chest. “Slytherin’s emerald must not be allowed to tarnish.”
“After all, the whole auditorium is missing your viper-like charm!” George pulled out a crooked lion hat from somewhere and put it on my head, the pom-pom on the brim covering my eyes.
"Alright, you two rascals, sit down properly." I looked helplessly at a lion hat and pulled Fred and George down to sit on either side.
Laughter erupted around them as the Gryffindor students scrambled to make way for the prime central spot, the butterbeer foam on their plates rippling with the sound of laughter.
I pulled off my hat and met Professor McGonagall's ambiguous gaze.
Professor McGonagall seems to be in a good mood today. I think I'll go talk to her later and I won't get scolded.
The Transfiguration professor adjusted his glasses, tapped the table lightly with his wand, and the butter and beer stains on the hem of my robe vanished instantly.
Across the long table, Sirius was raising a wine glass at me, his grey-blue eyes curving into cunning crescents, clearly gloating.
"Stop struggling!" Fred piled my plate high with sizzling roast chicken. "Ever since Cedric graduated, this spot in Gryffindor has been yours for the taking!"
George magically produced a screaming candy and waved it in front of me: "You helped us revise the description of prohibited goods last time, so we have to treat you to something nice!"
"You think treating me to something nice is Hogwarts school food? You guys are something else." I laughed, pointing at the food in front of me.
Golden fireworks suddenly exploded in the dome of the Great Hall, making the red and gold tablecloth of Gryffindor even more dazzling.
I watched the lions around me clinking glasses and laughing, my fingertips unconsciously tracing the Slytherin serpent emblem—the cold, hard touch of the silver serpent coiled around my palm created a strange contrast with the warmth of the butterbeer still lingering in my hand.
Perhaps, as Sirius always said, even the old fur of the Sorting Hat is stained with affection across houses, hidden in the cracks of Hogwarts' walls.
"To our inter-hospitality friendship!" Fred raised his wooden glass and clinked it against my stemmed glass, the aroma of malt filling my nostrils.
Fred is really asking for a beating. Didn't he see that all the Slytherin snakes were staring at him?
Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of the Slytherin table looking at her. Pansy was wrinkling her nose and poking her plate with the tip of her wand, while Draco twirled his silver spoon with a sneer, though his eyes couldn't hide his curiosity.
I took a sip of wine, letting the warmth spread through my throat.
George's eyes, which were just as playful as Fred's, suddenly narrowed: "Speaking of which, why didn't I see you in Transfiguration class today? Professor McGonagall's spot check on Vanishing Charms made quite a few people look foolish!"
The entire dining table suddenly fell silent; even the sounds of people gnawing on chicken legs stopped.
I caught a glimpse of Sirius's mischievous grin as he raised an eyebrow on the platform, and immediately raised my glass to my lips: "I was just dragged into helping someone."
"Who can get our Ayers to skip Professor McGonagall's class to help?" Fred asked curiously, leaning closer.
"Something came up, I'll talk to Professor McGonagall about it later." I looked down and stirred the pumpkin soup in my bowl, the rising steam blurring the probing gazes of the people in front of me.
Before Fred could speak, George's hand landed heavily on his shoulder.
Following the twins' tacit gaze, they saw Sirius on the high platform using a silver knife to pick up a grape. The cold light reflected from the blade shimmered in his eyes, and his smile grew increasingly sinister.
"Could it be that 'mysterious person'?" Fred moved his chair closer to me, his lowered voice barely concealing his eager excitement.
A few younger students jerked their hands, causing the pumpkin juice to ripple dangerously in the glass.
Hermione leaned over from the next table, her brows furrowed deeply. "Senior Ayers, you know perfectly well how dangerous it is to skip Transfiguration class! This is the crucial time for the final NEWTs (New Wizarding Tests), and besides, you're about to graduate..."
"Hermione, it's okay, it was really just helping out." I took a sip of my drink, trying to sound calm. (These days, I don't even bother to think before I lie.)
Her throat tightened, and her voice became unnaturally hoarse. "I will explain to Professor McGonagall myself."
“Just ordinary help?” George suddenly laughed, reaching out to poke my burning earlobe. “The kind of ‘help’ that makes you dare skip the Vanishing Charm test, it can’t be something like cleaning Filch’s armor, can it?” A burst of laughter erupted around us, and Lee Jordan even leaned forward from his seat: “Tell us! Tell us! Is it related to Professor Sirius? I just saw him…”
The more I explained, the worse it got, so I just stood up and prepared to run away.
"Ayers, don't be in such a hurry to leave, we haven't finished talking yet." Fred wasn't planning on running away now.
“Yeah, Ayers, you still haven’t told us what’s going on!” George grabbed my other hand, not wanting me to run away like that.
"Alright, I still have a class with you guys this afternoon, right? I can go to class with you then, can't I? Let me off this time, I still need to see Professor McGonagall." I was pulled back by the two of them and couldn't leave, so I had to sit down again and squeeze their hands tightly under the table where no one else could see.
Fred and George could feel the warmth of my hand holding theirs, and could only sigh helplessly.
But they weren't so easily forgiven for not spending time with them.
“You’re punished by having to tutor both of us,” George whispered in my ear.
“Starting tonight, we’ll be waiting for you in the Room of Requirement,” Fred said in my other ear.
"Okay." Is it exam week again already? Time really flies.
When Fred and George heard my agreement, they let me go, and as if by telepathy, they both released my hands at the same time.
I immediately stood up with a smile, greeted the others gracefully, and left.
Just as I stepped out of the carved wooden door of the auditorium, I was suddenly bumped into a figure in a black robe that exuded a familiar aura.
When he looked up, wisps of blue smoke were still rising from the tip of Sirius's wand, much like the unfathomable smile in his eyes: "So eager? Rushing to run into Professor McGonagall's gun?" He unfolded the parchment, the ink still wet, the writing gleaming blue in the sunlight. "She said to go after you finish lunch—right now her office is filled with the burnt smell of modified sedatives."
“But isn’t it lunchtime right now?” I retorted instinctively, my fingertips unconsciously stroking the curled-edge copy of “Advanced Theory of Transfiguration” that I took out of my backpack. “I happen to have a few questions about Vanishing Charms that I’d like to ask you.”
The echoes of students' laughter and playfulness came from the end of the corridor. Sirius leaned against a stone pillar and chuckled softly, the silver chain gleaming coldly at his throat: "As expected of the top student in the grade, even when being scolded, he takes the opportunity to ask questions."
He suddenly raised his hand, his wand lightly touching the top of my head: "No wonder Flitwick keeps talking about the innovative solutions to your potion papers. McGonagall was showing off your improved levitation charm in the faculty lounge last week."
After saying that, he gave a thumbs up, his eyebrows curving into a sly smile, "Keep it up. When you become a Hogwarts legend, don't forget to save me a spot to praise you."
"Thank you for the compliment, Professor. I enjoyed it. Let's continue next time." I waved to him and turned to walk towards the Transfiguration Tower.
Behind him came Sirius's deliberately drawn-out voice: "Remember to bring McGonagall a piece of Honeydukes toffee! She was so annoyed by Peeves this morning that she turned her quill into a fire lizard!"
The stone bricks echoed crisply under my feet. I pulled out a piece of parchment and quickly jotted down a few questions. Sunlight streamed through the stained glass, casting dancing spots of light on the paper, like a magical halo shrouding the upcoming "academic discussion."
As I stood before Professor McGonagall's office, clutching the heavy copy of "The Essentials of Transfiguration" and notebooks filled with annotations, the lion head on the brass door knocker winked at me.
The moment my fingertips touched the cold door, the oak door clicked open on its own.
Professor McGonagall wore square glasses, had curly black hair tied in a high bun, and wore a dark green robe with a few suspicious scorch marks on it.
“So it’s Ayers,” she said, stepping aside to make way for him. With a flick of her wand, two ornate armchairs moved automatically to the fireplace. “I just caught a glimpse of you with my divination crystal ball—it seems Sirius didn’t deliver my message?”
I stood frozen in place, belatedly recalling the cunning look in Sirius's eyes as he shook the parchment.
"Looks like I've been tricked by Professor Black." I shook my head with a helpless smile, but when I saw the smile on Professor McGonagall's lips, it suddenly dawned on me—could these two have conspired together?
Professor McGonagall suddenly smiled, her eyes crinkling with warmth. "Sit down, child. Rather than a reprimand, I'd rather have a word with you—" She tapped her wand, and two steaming glasses of butterbeer and a sizzling plate of toffee appeared out of thin air on the coffee table. "I heard you have some new insights into the paradox of the Vanishing Charm?"
Flames leaped in the fireplace, casting our shadows on the walls covered with magical contracts.
As the discussion progressed, I took out my notebook, which was covered in annotations, while Professor McGonagall occasionally used her wand to draw complex spell trails in the air.
When she refuted one of my assumptions, her serious expression sent chills down my spine; but when I proposed using the theory of spacetime folds to explain the cases of spell failure, the surprise that burst from her eyes almost materialized.
The sunlight outside the window shifted quietly, and it wasn't until we heard the noise of students rushing to their classrooms in the corridor that we realized our lunch break was already over.
Professor McGonagall was tidying up the scattered parchment when she suddenly looked up: "Time just seems to fly by whenever I chat with you, Ayers." As she spoke, the tip of her wand tapped the table unconsciously, and a few toffee candies suddenly sprouted tiny legs and hopped into my palm.
I opened my palm and watched the sugar cubes, their round, frosted heads rolling between the lines of my hand. The unique caramel aroma of the toffee mingled with the smell of old parchment from Professor McGonagall's office, creating a strangely harmonious scent.
“You flatter me, Professor.” I smiled and gathered the candy into my palm. “Compared to the classroom, this discussion has given me a deeper understanding of the Transfiguration Charm.”
Professor McGonagall pressed the tidied manuscript down with a brass paperweight, and as she stood up, the hem of her robe swept across the fireplace, stirring up a few tiny sparks.
“Ayers, don’t get too cocky,” she said, a smile playing on her lips, her eyes behind her half-moon glasses full of approval. “You still have to go to class, but exam week is coming up soon, right? I heard you’re planning to work as a teaching assistant at Hogwarts after you graduate, with Severus.”
Before the words were finished, a loud crash of something heavy falling to the ground suddenly came from the corridor, followed by Pipi's ear-piercing shriek.
Professor McGonagall's wand slid immediately into her palm, her silver eyebrows furrowing: "That troublemaker! Last time he turned my flying broom into a crocodile!"
She strode toward the door, but turned back just as she opened it. "Remember to give the candy to the Weasley twins. Just say... just say it's a special assignment from Transfiguration class."
I watched her hurried figure disappear into the distance, the toffee in my palm still bouncing happily.
As she stepped out of the office with the candy in her pocket, she bumped into Sirius leaning against the opposite pillar, his wand hovering as he played with a color-changing marble.
"Looks like you and McGonagall had a good chat?" He raised an eyebrow, and the marble suddenly transformed into a miniature owl, flapping its wings and landing on my shoulder. "She was humming a song as she chased after Peeves—you know, the last time she was this happy was when Gryffindor won the Quidditch final."
I took a toffee out of my backpack and tossed it into the air.
Sirius, with lightning speed, used his wand to knock away the marble and caught the candy precisely: "Thanks, genius."
He bit open the candy wrapper, the aroma of caramel filling the air. "How about I help you next time? Turn all of McGonagall's quills into salamanders, I promise..." He suddenly lowered his voice, his wand lightly tapping the back of my hand, and fleeting Marauder's Map patterns appeared beneath my skin. "I'll take you to see the real secret passage."
"I will definitely relay this to Professor McGonagall for you." They've already seen the most spectacular secret passages; why would he need to take them?
"Hey~ don't do that~ Ayers~" Sirius didn't dare offend Professor McGonagall; if she found out, she might skin him alive.
"Next week is exam week, don't you need to prepare?" I asked Sirius as I walked.
"Wait, is it already exam week?" Sirius hadn't quite realized how fast time had flown by.