The bright weather in St. Catheryn's village finally came to an end the night before the last day of summer vacation. Rain began to drizzle overnight, and by the time Harry and his friends stepped outside, it had turned into a torrential downpour. The White Ox mountain was now reduced to a vague outline against the dark rainclouds.
Uncle Percy had gone to work, Auntie Petunia had taken all the remaining children to Diagon Alley to buy school supplies for the next year. The house was empty except for a drip-drop drip-drop from a corner of the kitchen roof.
Huff...
The embers of the fireplace suddenly turned hot again. A mass of swirling green flame burst out of the black border, revealing Sirius and Remus in their true forms.
During the half-month in St. Mangle, Lupin looked even paler than before, and his step was weak and fragile as if he would fall over any moment - this wasn't because of the severe injury he had received during the Quidditch World Cup night, but because he had undergone a transformation at St. Mangle a few days ago. Although he had enough Galleons to buy Wolfsbane potion now, the Wolfsbane potion couldn't help him completely recover from the weakness after the transformation.
Sirius hasn't returned to the Shack during this period because he is taking care of Remus during his illness.
Sirius had a strange caution on his face. As soon as he appeared inside the house, he peered around curiously at the living room and perked up his ears to listen for any movements above.
"They're not home, Sirius--"
Looking at Sirius's strange appearance, Remus's dry and pale lips stretched into a smile.
"How did you know?"
Sirius straightened up and asked curiously, but Remus did not speak, only pointing to the clock on the wall in the living room.
"Ah—"
Sirius's expression immediately relaxed as he walked over to the table and sat down, pouring a cup of water from the still-warm teapot and gulping it down. He then took a deep breath, his face and eyes betraying his anger once more.
"Disobeying, causing trouble. I clearly forbade him to leave home!"
"Tomorrow is the opening day of school, I guess Moony probably took the kids to Diagon Alley to buy things --" Remus also sat down, trying the temperature of the teapot. He was a bit unsatisfied with it. Then, he waved his wand at the teapot and, in no time, a series of vapor clouds came out of the spout.
Looking through the mist at Sirius's melancholy expression, Remus sighed and smiled helplessly.
"You still haven't forgiven Harry, have you?"
"Look at what he did that night, Remus!" Sirius exploded like a firework as he was reminded of this topic by Remus.
After a month of being blown and baked by the sea, his blackened skin had healed a great deal, but when Remus mentioned Harry, Sirius's face remained as dark as ever.
"The most dangerous uprising in ten years has not yet been fully put down, and the most intense duel in half a century has just ended. I clearly warned them not to leave the tent alone, but look at what they did. They used James' invisibility cloak to run back to the competition to get their wands, only to encounter the Dark Mark!"
"Oh, right. Bathy Crouch's house-elf was caught, but we all know that someone like Crouch wouldn't teach his house-elf how to put the Dark Mark on people. I bet there was a real murderer hiding in the boxed-in seats that night. Remus, if it wasn't for Arthur and the others reacting quickly enough, Harry and the others would have been killed in the boxed-in seats that night!"
Remus wanted to say something, but with a gasp, Sirius began to chatter on again.
"But he still refuses to apologize, saying that I have no right to scold him because the silly things I did at Hogwarts were even more foolish than his!"
Remus pursed his lips and a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
"Objectively speaking, Harry was right, weren't you noticing, Sirius, the way you nag at Harry is a bit like how Moony criticizes Fred and George."
Sirius immediately stopped, then lowered his head dejectedly and said,
"But he at least should have informed me, shouldn't he?"
"They must have considered it before leaving. At least Hermione would have suggested it; I think Harry convinced her. I imagine he used the reason that he didn't want to disturb your rest, after all, you went through an unusually difficult duel that night."
Sirius remained silent, but his expression finally softened.
"Avoidance won't solve the problem, Sirius. I think you should find an opportunity to talk with——"
Bang!
Suddenly, a strange noise broke through the urgent and monotonous sound of raindrops. Remus stopped talking and looked outside in astonishment, while Sirius also raised his head, his expression becoming more tense.
"Have they returned?"
"No way..." said Remus, standing up as he walked towards the back door, "Moony can't Apparate with all those kids. Arthur must be working overtime. Draw your wand, Sirius; it's not a peaceful time--"
"What Remus said is true, Sirius immediately became alert and pulled out his wand, following Remus to the door. They both stood behind the door, suspiciously staring at the doorframe. Just as Remus was about to ask a question, a soft voice mixed with a smile came from outside."
"Two imbeciles with wands behind the door, could you please open the door? It's raining heavily outside, and my robe is already almost soaked through---"
Remus and Sirius behind the door were immediately startled and their eyes widened in surprise!
"But why is it just you two here, and where are the others?"
With the addition of Amortentia, the dimly lit living room became more lively. Using magic to dry the water stain on his robe, with a slightly weary look in his eyes, Amortentia held the tea cup and scanned the room with his gaze. He easily noticed that none of the Weasleys were here, including Harry and Hermione staying here.
"Perhaps they went to Diagon Alley to buy things with Moony," said Remus, scanning Amortentia up and down. Suddenly, he asked abruptly,
"According to the Prophet Daily, you helped the Ministry of Magic arrest that Dark Witch. How did you do it?"
Amortentia raised his eyebrows and did not speak.
"I mean, I didn't hear any rumors, where did another earth-shattering duel break out?" Remus curiously stared at Amortentia.
"Oh..."
With a smile, he praised Remus's keenness in his heart.
"You know I confiscated her wand at the Quidditch World Cup final that night. That was her source of power. Without that wand, her abilities are far less than before."
"Very impressive--"
Looking at the young, but mature-looking Amortentia beside him, Sirius became excited and said,
"When I was at St. Mangle, I heard from an injured seeker that many people have recommended you as the next Minister for Magic or the headmaster of Hogwarts. Many strange organizations have also invited you. But so far, you haven't responded."
"In fact—"
Amortentia took a sip of tea and smiled.
"I have accepted the invitation from the International Confederation of Wizards to serve as Vice President."
"International Confederation of Wizards --" Remus blinked, "Why did you accept their invitation. My point is, in most cases, this organization doesn't do anything."
"That might be true, but I believe that I might need this title in the future --" Amortentia spoke vaguely and then looked at Sirius,
"The school year is about to begin, and because of the Triwizard Tournament next year, I plan to go back to Hogwarts today to make some preparations. But before I left, I remembered your situation. Someone told me that you were taking care of Remus at St. Mangle, but when I got there, I found that you had already left. I guess you might have gone back to the Shack..."
"My thing?" Sirius opened his mouth in confusion and asked, "Is there something I need to help you with, Amortentia?"
Amortentia's lips thinned as he took a sip of tea, his eyes rolling upward,
"That night of the Quidditch World Cup final, before I went to the Ministry, it was you who said you wanted to talk to me alone. Now, you've even forgotten about it?"
(Chapter ends)
