Harry dug through his pile of presents and finally unearthed an envelope at the very bottom. Inside was a single line, scrawled in Sirius Black's familiar handwriting:
[Come to the office at nine. —Sirius]
Ron peered over his shoulder, curiosity lighting up his face. "What's that mean?"
Harry shook his head, glancing at the clock. It was already half past eight.
The two decided to grab some breakfast in the Great Hall first. Ron, with the tiny owl perched proudly on his shoulder, strutted out of the dormitory.
The moment they entered the Gryffindor common room, Ron couldn't help announcing to everyone he passed, "This is my Christmas present from Sirius Black! I honestly thought he was joking, but he's a top bloke after all."
The tiny, adorable owl instantly became the center of attention, drawing a chorus of delighted squeals from several girls. Ginny, just emerging from her own dorm, spotted the little owl and swooped it right off Ron's shoulder. "Careful, Ginny! Don't frighten him—he's going to be the third owl in our family now!" Ron yelped.
Ginny eyed the little owl skeptically. "Deliver letters? This tiny thing? What's her name, anyway?"
Ron shrugged. "Haven't come up with one yet."
Ginny's eyes sparkled with mischief as she cradled the owl. "All right, little one, how about Pigwidgeon? Do you like that?"
Before Ron could protest, the little owl zipped around Ginny in delight, and Ginny started calling, "Pigwidgeon! Pigwidgeon!"
No matter how many times Ron tried calling her "Pig," the owl ignored him completely. The other students laughed and told Ron to give up on that name.
Finally, Ron surrendered and called out, "Pigwidgeon!" Only then did the little owl flutter back to his shoulder, making Ron sigh in relief—at least she'd still come back to him.
Nearby, Harry leaned in and whispered to Hermione, "What did the Professor give you for Christmas?"
Hermione beamed. "He sent me ten sets of Muggle school test papers—different grades, different schools. It's absolutely brilliant!"
Harry opened his mouth, then thought better of it and swallowed his words.
Just as the students were preparing to enjoy a cheerful Christmas, a flock of owls swooped into the Great Hall, dropping identical parchment envelopes at every seat.
A few quick-thinking students shouted, "Don't open them! Whatever you do, don't open them!"
But others, faster with their hands than their heads, were already groaning, "Brilliant. Report cards on Christmas Day—what a present."
It wasn't just the students still at school—even those who'd gone home for the holidays weren't spared this special "gift." Aside from a few grumbles, most students quickly turned to discussing who'd scored top marks in each subject. After all, those students would be chosen to participate in the legendary Slytherin Chamber challenge—a massive, professor-designed adventure for the best in every subject.
Others speculated about the rewards Professor Holmes had promised to anyone whose exam results satisfied him.
After reading his own report card, Harry dashed off toward Douglas Holmes's office.
He was supposed to be there at nine, but between opening gifts and chatting about grades with his friends, he was running late.
When he arrived, only Sirius was waiting for him.
Sirius was dressed head to toe in black—a distinctly Muggle look, and Harry was sure it had to be something his cousin had picked out for him. Sirius himself looked a bit uncomfortable in it.
Sirius clapped him on the shoulder. "Remus and Douglas are already waiting for you in London."
Harry frowned. "London? Are we spending Christmas there? Should I ask Professor McGonagall for permission?"
Sirius's eyes grew distant for a moment. "We're not celebrating in London. Douglas already spoke with Professor McGonagall."
He forced a smile. "You'll see when we get there. Come on, we're running late."
Seeing Harry's confusion, Sirius could only sigh.
Moments later, they emerged from the Floo in Douglas's London home. No sooner had they stepped out than Douglas turned to Dobby. "Dobby, take Harry to change his clothes."
Dobby hurried Harry away to another room.
Sirius eyed Douglas and Remus, both also dressed in black. "Everything ready? Is it safe? If not, we should just use Apparition."
Douglas shook his head. "Not today. No need to put Harry through the stress of Apparition. The passage is fine now—I've tested it. The runes weren't strong enough before, so it felt like you were being torn apart."
Remus Lupin seemed downcast, silent as he stood by. Sirius walked over, slung an arm around his friend, and said softly, "I think James and Lily would want to see us bringing Harry there with smiles."
Remus took a deep breath, forcing a smile. "You're right, Padfoot."
Douglas watched Sirius with a raised eyebrow—was this really something Sirius would say? Or was Dumbledore Polyjuiced in disguise?
He said, feigning casualness, "Sirius, I just remembered kicking you the night we caught you. I should apologize for that."
Sirius looked baffled. "When did you kick me? I don't remember that."
Douglas rubbed his forehead. "Maybe I got it wrong. I've kicked so many dogs, I must've mixed you up with someone else. I remember you were—"
Sirius cut him off with a furious, "Douglas, shut up!"
He quickly dragged Douglas aside—he did not want his best friend or Harry to know about his humiliating capture: being caught by a house-elf, dragged by the leg, then blasted across the room by Dobby's magic.
Before Sirius could interrogate him, Douglas hooked an arm around his neck and whispered coldly in his ear, "What did you just call me?"
Sirius shot back with a mocking grin, "What were you about to say?"
Douglas shrugged, "Just making sure you're not an imposter. You sounded so mature for a second—it was suspicious. What, I can't test you a bit?"
Sirius tried to wriggle free, but Douglas held him fast. Sirius finally grumbled, "Like I wanted to! You've been forcing me to read all sorts of books for months. Even Dobby can quote things now. And what's wrong with calling you Douglas?"
Douglas snorted, "Douglas? Still using that old joke from last year? Grow up, will you…"
Just then, Harry—now changed into black clothes—came out and spotted their odd pose. "What are you two doing?"
Remus chuckled from the side. "They're just reminiscing about the good old days."
Dobby, who'd just emerged, had started to raise a finger—then, seeing his master wasn't losing the argument, quietly lowered his hand and sighed. He'd been studying advanced elf magic lately, but still hadn't had a chance to try it out.
Douglas helped Sirius to his feet. "Just loosening him up. Well, if everyone's ready, let's go."
Thanks to Douglas's antics, both Remus and Sirius seemed a little less weighed down by the day.
Only Harry, still clueless about what was coming, watched in confusion as Douglas headed for the cupboard under the stairs. "Cousin, the front door's that way."
Sirius clapped him on the shoulder. "We're not using the door. Just follow us."
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