Hogwarts: Don't call me the Staff Maker

Chapter 503 Hagrid and Sirius at School

Chapter 503 Hagrid and Sirius Return to School

Saturday brought Hogwarts a rare treat of fine weather. From the morning onwards, warm sunlight gently bathed the castle and grounds.

More importantly, there's no wind today, which is great news for the upcoming Quidditch match.

During previous training sessions, the biting wind would cut like a knife on their faces, making it impossible to open their eyes, but today they wouldn't have to worry about that anymore.

That wasn't the end of it. When they arrived at the Great Hall for breakfast, Celeste suddenly discovered that Hagrid and Sirius had also returned.

Whether it was pre-arranged or not, they all returned to the castle today and are now sitting together chatting happily, occasionally clinking glasses on the table.

Based on the practiced movements, Xilun suspected that what was inside wasn't pumpkin juice at all, but mead.

Although alcoholic beverages with a higher alcohol content than butterbeer are not allowed in the school kitchen, they can bring them in from outside, and Sirius can easily do that.

Harry was also very happy.

There's nothing more exciting than the return of my two favorite professors, especially at this crucial time before the competition.

While chatting with them, Harry felt better than ever before.

What Slytherin? He was confident he could leave Malfoy far behind, so far that Malfoy wouldn't even see the Golden Snitch.

The only thing that made me unhappy was that Snape was back too—Harry really wished he could leave school forever; Madam Pomfrey's Potions class was so much better than his.

"Sirius, what kind of punishment did you receive?"

"Punishment?" Sirius was taken aback. "I wasn't punished by the headmaster. What are you talking about?"

"It's about the dueling club," Harry explained. "Over a hundred students were injured, didn't the headmaster punish you?"

"No," Sirius said. "Indeed, Professor McGonagall was very unhappy about what happened that day, but she only gave me a couple of reminders."

"I know what I'm doing. Most of the students only suffered minor injuries. They look scary, but Mrs. Pomfrey can fix them in seconds."

"Is that so?" Harry blinked. When he went to the school hospital that night, he only saw that there were so many people queuing outside that he couldn't count them all. He didn't really notice how long it took them to leave.

"Of course, I'm not some brainless brute," Sirius continued. "Besides, the situation is different now. If getting injured now can make them more vigilant when facing Death Eaters later, it would actually be a good thing."

"But—if that's the case, why did you leave school yesterday?"

"That's because I had other things to do and had to leave for a day," Sirius said.

"What is it?"

"I'm sorry, I promised Dumbledore I wouldn't tell," Sirius shook his head. But he quickly moved closer to Harry and whispered, "It's about Remus."

"Professor Lupin?" Harry asked anxiously. "What happened to him?"

"Don't worry, Remus is fine," Sirius said, glancing at the time.

"I need to go see Professor McGonagall now. See you at the match later, Harry. I'll be cheering you on."

After saying that, Sirius hurriedly left the auditorium.

Harry continued to stand there, lost in thought.

Wait a minute, if Sirius had to take leave from school because of other things, why did Snape also take leave?

If it's a coincidence, then it's a bit too much of a coincidence; surely he didn't happen to have something else going on at the same time.

Before Harry could think for long, Angelina arrived at 9:30, sporting obvious dark circles under her eyes, as if she hadn't slept all night.

She called all the Quidditch team members away, saying she needed to redo the tactics and add two extra questions that hadn't been mentioned before.

Another ten minutes or so passed, and the others began to leave the castle one after another, heading towards the Quidditch pitch.

Five minutes before 10 o'clock, the stands around the stadium were already full, and students were still coming in droves.

Last year, all Quidditch activities had to be canceled because of the Triwizard Tournament, so today is the first Quidditch match in a year, and almost everyone in the school is here.

Although Celen wasn't particularly interested in Quidditch, he arrived early at Ron and Hermione's urging and luckily managed to snag a seat in the first row.

He was also surprised to find that Dumbledore was there, sitting in the teachers' stands behind the commentary booth talking to Professor Flitwick next to him.

Sirius Black sat in the first row on the far left, holding a banner that read, "Go Harry! Gryffindor will win!"

Professor McGonagall is trying to persuade him to take the banner down.

"The professor should remain neutral, Sirius, because everyone on the field is our student."

"If possible, I really hope Headmaster Dumbledore can find a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor who is willing to teach only Slytherin students, and I'll pay his salary."

"That's impossible," Professor McGonagall said immediately. "Students of the same year are never separated for classes; Hogwarts has never done that."

"That's because I didn't come." Sirius Black pouted. "Besides, there's always a precedent. Why don't we give it a try? I bet that snotty Snape also wants to find an extra Potions professor who only teaches Gryffindor."

As he spoke, he glanced to his right rear, where Snape was sitting in the last row on the right, the furthest away from him.

As if sensing something, Snape looked up at the same time, and their eyes met in mid-air, sparks flying.

"Watch your words, Professor Black!" Professor McGonagall's expression grew even more serious, and she frowned. "I must remind you again, this is impossible. Neither Albus nor I would agree to such a thing."

"Of course, Minerva, I was just joking." Seeing that Professor McGonagall seemed to be serious, Sirius quickly said with a smile, and never mentioned paying for an extra Defense Against the Dark Arts professor again.

Although she knew that was just his personality, Professor McGonagall was too angry. She ignored Sirius Black and also didn't mention the inappropriate banner again.

At exactly 10:00 AM, Ms. Hodge appeared in the sky above the Quidditch pitch.

At her signal, the passageways on both sides opened, and the Gryffindor and Slytherin teams emerged from their respective lounges, waving to their supporters.

Deafening cheers immediately erupted around the stadium.