bioinnovel Chapter 204 Daily Defense Against Thieves
Chapter 204 Daily Defense Against Thieves
Chapter 204 Daily Defense Against Thieves
After that day, the friendship between Harry, Ron, and Hermione seemed to be restored to its former state.
The three of them could often be seen chatting and laughing in the Great Hall, and Hermione's lonely figure was no longer seen in the library.
This is something to be happy about; the trio has reconciled, and Peter Pettigrew, who has been hiding in the corner of the castle, may finally come to light.
Anyway, that's what Belvina was hoping for. Searching the castle was really time-consuming and laborious, and the targets of the search were things that could crawl through holes...
A burrowing rat.
Belvina hadn't felt this humiliated in a long time. Even an expensive ladies' watch couldn't mend the rift between the siblings. Belvina now hated Sirius with a passion that seeped into her very bones.
If Sirius Black had said just one more word back when he was still in Azkaban, things wouldn't have turned out this way.
Even when Cornelius Fudge was inspecting the wizarding prison, if Sirius had simply told the minister he wanted to see Belvina, the whole thing wouldn't have been so complicated.
If Belvina had known the news beforehand, she could have planned the capture in advance, and Peter Pettigrew wouldn't have even had a chance to return to Hogwarts.
But Sirius Black didn't say a word. He was determined to escape Azkaban by himself, wanting to take revenge on his own and face the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts alone.
Adding to the chaos, Crookshanks, the big ginger cat, was fixated on his pet mouse Scabbers, inadvertently disrupting Belvina's search of the Gryffindor Tower.
The combination of a cat, a mouse, and a dog should bring joy.
Unfortunately, the Hogwarts cat-dog-mouse trio isn't Tom, Spike, and Jerry, but rather Crookshanks, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew.
Shortly after the New Year, students who had gone home for the holidays returned to school one after another, and the once quiet castle became crowded and noisy again.
Belvina once again witnessed the amazing brain circuits of Gryffindor students.
Oliver Wood, captain of the Gryffindor house team, proved with his actions that Quidditch is not about life or death, but about life and death.
On the eve of the start of the school term, Oliver Wood bravely approached Professor McGonagall, attempting to persuade his own headmaster to return the Firebolt to Harry so that the Seeker could win the game riding the Firebolt.
As expected, Professor McGonagall rejected Wood's proposal without hesitation and gave him a good scolding.
Belvina had never seen Professor McGonagall so angry before. Her voice, as she berated Wood, could be heard throughout the entire floor. The scene was even more frightening than the roaring letter.
"Professor! Blake is a fugitive; there's no way he could have bought a fire bolt. He's a fugitive! He's wanted nationwide!"
How could he possibly just walk into a Quidditch shop and buy a flying broomstick?
As Belvina approached the door of the dean's office, Oliver Wood's rebuttals reached her ears clearly.
Admittedly, Wood's argument was reasonable; Sirius Black, as a fugitive, could not possibly appear openly in Diagon Alley.
"Oliver Wood!" It was Professor McGonagall's voice; her angry shout made the wooden door of her office tremble.
She sternly rebuked him, "I will not risk the lives of my students! I hope you will remember this well and never treat the safety of others as a joke!"
Professor McGonagall's reprimands grew louder and louder, attracting many students, some of whom had just finished eating in the auditorium, and others who were on their way there.
Belvina waved her hand to disperse the students who had gathered around, but she did not leave.
It is human nature to enjoy watching a spectacle, and it is human nature to enjoy a spectacle even more.
At this point, Oliver Wood retorted, unconvinced. The Gryffindor captain said, "The Firebolt couldn't have been sent by Black! It's a Firebolt, the fastest broomstick in the world! The Irish International Club bought seven Firebolts—top-tier, tournament-grade flying broomsticks!"
Then, Oliver Wood said something utterly absurd: "As long as Harry catches the Golden Snitch and helps the team win the game, I don't care if he gets thrown off his flying broomstick!"
Oliver Wood, the tyrant on the field, has always been like this; his pursuit of victory is almost obsessive.
Despite his countless selfless saves at the goal, and despite being sent to the school hospital by Slytherin time and time again, Wood's love for Quidditch and his obsession with victory remained unchanged.
On the day the Dementors stormed the Quidditch pitch, all the students and teachers quickly returned to the castle, except for Oliver Wood, who remained alone on the pitch, letting the cold rain soak him through, because Gryffindor had lost that match.
"Oliver Wood!" Professor McGonagall's voice sounded angry, even trembling slightly.
She rebuked him sternly again: "I would rather Gryffindor lose every Quidditch game than see you in danger! Winning is important, but your safety and health are more important. If you don't understand this, I have to reconsider the team captain selection."
Oliver Wood's recent comments about victory were unacceptable not only to Professor McGonagall, but also to Belvina.
It's just a Quidditch match held at school, is it worth risking your life?
After a while, Oliver Wood walked out of the Gryffindor Headmaster's office dejectedly, so frustrated that he didn't even see a living person still standing in the corridor.
Oliver Wood didn't see Belvina at the door, but that didn't mean Professor McGonagall didn't. Her eyes were fixed on Belvina with pinpoint accuracy, like a cat ready for a hunt.
"Belvina, you've come at the right time. I just happen to need to speak with you," Professor McGonagall said, her tone firm and leaving no room for refusal.
Belvina, who had gotten herself into trouble, obediently went into the office. Professor McGonagall's office was still the same as before, except for the flying broom that had been dismantled into pieces.
The world's best flying broomstick has now been reduced to a pile of parts. I wonder if Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick will be able to reassemble the Firebolt after their inspection.
Even if it can be reassembled, will the fire bolts be missing parts, or will there be a bunch of extra parts?
Belvina can be playful and joking around with Headmaster Professor Dumbledore, but her nasty nature becomes much more subdued when she's with Vice-Headmaster Professor McGonagall.
"Professor McGonagall, did you need to see me?" Belvina asked. She had just been watching the commotion after dinner and hadn't expected it to involve her.
"Sirius Black, does he have the money to buy Firebolts?" Professor McGonagall asked, the vice-principal now quite angry.
But her mind wasn't confused; Wood's rebuttal served as a reminder.
"He has an underground vault in Gringotts with a large amount of gold stored inside," Belvina said. "He could easily afford a fire bolt." He also commissioned a ladies' watch.
Belvina paused for a moment, then continued, "You know, Gringotts has never been under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Magic. Even if Sirius Black took a large sum of gold from the vault, the goblins might not tell the Ministry."
Sirius Black, a fugitive wanted nationwide, somehow manages to buy the Quidditch shop's prized Firebolt.
They can also commission a valuable women's watch and send it to Hogwarts.
Even more outrageous is that the Ministry of Magic was completely unaware of this; they probably didn't even know that Harry had received a Firebolt.
"Do you think Blake has accomplices in the shadows?" Professor McGonagall said. "Of course, I'm not doubting you."
"She quickly added.
If Professor McGonagall suspects that Belvina is secretly colluding with the fugitive Black, she doesn't need to tell her these things; she can just report it to Dumbledore directly.
"Perhaps," Belvina said noncommittally. She also suspected that Sirius had an informant at the school, but who could it be?
First, we can rule out Belvina herself, then Lupin. The inside man can't possibly be their mortal enemy Snape, that would be absurd!
"Where on earth has he hidden?!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed angrily. "Are we supposed to keep on guard like this forever if we can't catch Blake?!"
Professor McGonagall was very annoyed at the moment. The fugitive Black was still at large, and Harry and Wood did not understand her good intentions—don't forget, Professor McGonagall was a Gryffindor, and "bravery" was the blood that flowed through her veins.
"We will catch him," Belvina said confidently. "I believe that day is not far away."
The conversation in the vice-principal's office ended meaninglessly, just like the Ministry of Magic's six-month-long plan to capture Sirius Black.
Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew, the two illegal Animagus, both hid, as if testing each other's patience, neither willing to be the first to show themselves.
They didn't seem to be in a hurry, but the professors at the school were all more anxious than the last. The feeling of constantly guarding against thieves was unbearable, and the frustration of having nowhere to start constantly enveloped the castle.
A week after the official start of the school year, Quidditch matches resumed, with the first match being Slytherin vs. Ravenclaw.
Slytherin had a significant advantage in this match thanks to the superior performance of Nimbus 2001, but their victory was hard-fought as Ravenclaw fought tenaciously.
Seeing Slytherin win another victory, Gryffindor captain Oliver Wood was extremely anxious, and Harry went to see Professor McGonagall several times during the rest of January.
January turned into February before we knew it, and the cold, damp weather remained unchanged; the scene of lush grass and flying birds did not appear at Hogwarts.
When Harry asked Professor McGonagall for the thirteenth time, he finally got back the Firebolt he had been longing for.
After more than a month of examination by Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick, it was finally determined that the Firebolt was completely without fault, without any malevolent curse, and without any hidden traps.
When Harry returned to the Gryffindor Tower with the Firebolt, it immediately caused a sensation in Gryffindor, as everyone wanted to see the world's best flying broomstick.
The next day, the fire crossbow bolts attracted the attention of the entire school.
Even Ravenclaw, Gryffindor's next opponent, couldn't resist admiring the Firebolt's prowess.
A few days later, in the Quidditch match, Gryffindor easily defeated Ravenclaw without any major ups and downs.
With the help of the Firebolt, the handsome Harry showed no mercy to the beautiful Cho Chang, and even the Dementors disguised as Slytherin students couldn't stop him.
That evening, a celebration was held in the Gryffindor Tower to commemorate their victory over their opponents, as if Gryffindor had successfully defended their Quidditch Cup title once again.
The celebration lasted until the early hours of the morning. If Professor McGonagall, dressed in her morning gown, hadn't intervened in time, the excited Gryffindor students might have continued their festivities until the next day.
As the Gryffindor students returned to their dormitories, the common room finally quieted down, and the ancient castle drifted off to sleep.
The night was deep and all was quiet when a dark figure swiftly traversed the cold, damp grounds and stealthily slipped into the castle.