"Whose idea was it to harmonize with the toads? It worked really well—and was quite amusing."
Regulus Black clapped his hands while asking Professor Flitwick, who had just returned to his seat.
"It was my idea! How was it? Pretty good, right?" Flitwick gestured proudly at himself. "We used every toad we could find in the choir. Ravenclaw only had this many, after all."
"That's already a lot. Ravenclaw has more girls, after all. I didn't expect so many of them would choose toads as pets."
After saying that, Regulus Black turned his head to look at Dumbledore, who was standing at the front.
"First of all, we have a new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor this year: Professor Remus Lupin."
Dumbledore led the applause, and the students followed with enthusiastic clapping.
"Next, our Care of Magical Creatures professor has decided to retire. After all, he doesn't have many body parts left. He hopes to enjoy more leisure time with what remains of his limbs. Our new professor will be Rubeus Hagrid—surely, no one could be more suited to the job."
Hagrid stood up nervously, and his large belly accidentally knocked the entire dining table forward, causing the students to burst into good-natured laughter.
Regulus Black was grateful that he hadn't ended up sitting at the same table as Hagrid today.
"Lastly, something very important: at the request of the Ministry of Magic, guards from Azkaban—Dementors—will be stationed at Hogwarts until we capture Sirius Black. The Dementors will be positioned at all entrances and exits, but I assure you, they will not interfere with our daily educational activities. However, I must warn all students: Dementors are vicious magical creatures. They have difficulty distinguishing between their prey and those who merely get in their way. Therefore, I must caution everyone not to provoke them. These creatures are not inherently kind. But as you all know, even in the darkest of times, joy can still be found—as long as one remembers to seek out the light."
Dumbledore went on to explain the origin of Dementors at length, and then subtly revealed how to deal with them.
The Patronus Charm, Expecto Patronum, requires one essential element—happiness. As long as one can summon joy even amid pain, they can cast the spell. The Patronus Charm is the only magic that can repel Dementors—or even destroy them.
After Dumbledore's speech, the students began chatting excitedly. Dinner was lively and filled with energy.
Back in their dormitories, students continued to laugh and play. Why? Because that's what Headmaster Dumbledore wanted. Now that the Dementors had come to Hogwarts, they should stay happy. Though the students may have misunderstood Dumbledore's intention, being joyful was still a good thing.
But for the Dementors drifting in the storm outside Hogwarts, things weren't so pleasant. Hogwarts had become like a massive cake radiating the sweet scent of happiness. Yet because of restrictions from the Ministry of Magic, the Dementors were not allowed to enter.
Imagine seeing a table full of delicious food. Now imagine being a glutton, desperate to eat it—but forbidden from even taking a bite. What kind of torment is that?
Ever since the Dementors took up station at Hogwarts, students stopped sneaking out at night and began dedicating more time to their studies. The overall academic performance at Hogwarts improved significantly.
"Sirius! Because of you, I haven't been able to bring girls around lately!"
Regulus Black spoke to a large black dog curled up in a corner. This was Sirius Black in his Animagus form. On the very night Harry Potter left Aunt Petunia's house, Regulus had already captured him. Since then, Sirius had remained by his side—even brought to Hogwarts. On the Hogwarts Express, Sirius Black's dog crate had sat right under Regulus Black's seat.
At that time, Regulus had unleashed the power of his Patronus Charm—not just to shield the nearby girls from Dementors, but also to protect Sirius Black from being discovered.
Of course, now that Sirius had fallen into Regulus's hands, there was no way he'd be allowed to roam freely.
He would be made to appear only when necessary—thus ensuring full control of how events unfolded.
The black dog, chained in the corner, bared its teeth at Regulus in response to his words.
"That's not very nice of you. I'm doing this to protect you. But until you're officially cleared of all charges, I can't afford to treat you too well. Otherwise, you won't look like a scruffy stray who escaped from Azkaban—you'll look like someone's pampered pet."
The dog pawed at the chain and collar binding him. This set of restraints had been enchanted so that Sirius Black would remain in his Animagus form and be unable to revert to human. Under magical scrutiny, he appeared to be nothing more than a regular black dog. Any spell meant to reverse his Animagus transformation would be ineffective.
Sirius Black began gnawing furiously at the chain, as if he didn't care whether he broke his own teeth in the process.
"Didn't you want to live with Harry Potter? Once you're truly free, I'll give you the old house."
Regulus Black's words finally caused the frenzied Sirius to halt his reckless behavior.
"Follow my arrangements and complete the tasks I assign you, and you will gain true freedom. The Ministry of Magic will officially clear your name, the Order of the Phoenix will accept you again, and Harry Potter will acknowledge you as his godfather."
With every sentence Regulus Black spoke, Sirius grew more silent.
A light wave of the wand did not undo the collar, but it did remove some of the enchantments on it.
With a shuddering transformation, the large black dog turned into a very thin, long-haired man. Sirius was still dressed in the tattered prison robes of Azkaban, looking filthy all over. While in Azkaban, Regulus Black had periodically helped him stay clean, but after escaping, Sirius had suffered greatly. He often rummaged through garbage bins for food—the best meals he'd had were from Muggles who loved dogs and fed him.
"Why should I trust you?"
Now that he had returned to human form, Sirius could speak again. That was the downside of being an Animagus—once transformed, you couldn't communicate unless it was with animals, and even then, just a glance and a gesture would suffice.
"I don't need you to trust me. You just need to do as you're told. Even if you don't, I have other ways to achieve my goal. But by then, it won't have much to do with you."
Regulus Black poured two cups of hot tea. On a stormy day like this, something warm was much more comfortable.
"Don't eat too much. You're still a stray dog in the eyes of the world. Harry Potter may not be the sharpest, but his instincts are decent. You need to be cautious with the details. As for everything else, I don't need you to put on an act. When I tell you to do something, you must get it done—in your own way. That's enough."
Having said that, Regulus held his tea at just the right temperature and slowly savored it.
"Don't you get tired of manipulating people like this?"
Sirius held his tea but didn't drink it right away. Instead, he threw out another sarcastic remark.
"I'm a Slytherin—born to be a scheming serpent. As long as I achieve my goals, the means can be flexible; the outcome will only differ slightly. And you're a Gryffindor lion—born to charge into battle. You only need to show up at the right time and place. Do you even care about the result? If you did, you wouldn't have ended up in Azkaban."
Regulus set down his empty cup, while Sirius, silenced by that last question, could only lower his head and sip his quickly cooling tea.
"Do as I say, Sirius Black. Once your name is cleared, you must marry within the same year. I'll arrange all the dinners, receptions, and balls necessary—until you formally walk into the marriage hall."
Pfft! The tea Sirius had just sipped sprayed out of his mouth.
"What is wrong with you? Why are you interfering in my life?"
Regulus Black let out a cold smile, one that seemed detached from all worldly concerns.
"Since you've been reading the Daily Prophet, you should know that I was resurrected as an Inferius. And so far, none of the women I've been involved with have gotten pregnant. I may be infertile. The Black family... is finished!"
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