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"No, it's the Black family's property," said Sirius, "but it belongs to me now, and I can do whatever I want with it."
"Forget it." Kyle waved his hand. "The gift of Firebolt is valuable enough. Forget about the store. I won't accept it."
Kyle didn't know how much it would cost to buy a shop in Diagon Alley, but he was sure that it would be no less than a few thousand Galleons. If the shop was big enough, it could even be ten thousand.
This gift is so valuable that Kyle finds it hard to accept it with a clear conscience.
"That won't do." Sirius said solemnly, "You've helped me so many times, I..."
"Stop, Professor Dumbledore helped you."
Kyle said, "Whether it was defending you at the Ministry or picking up Regulus from the cave, he was the one who did the most work. I just watched from the side."
"You're wrong." Sirius shook his head.
Seemingly tired of standing, he pulled Kyle to Florin's Ice Cream Shop, ordered two hazelnut peanut ice creams, and sat at a small table at the door of the shop.
"Or maybe you underestimate your role in this." Sirius handed one of the ice creams to Kyle and continued:
"Let's talk about my story first. In fact, I had already prepared to escape, but you made things turn around."
"With Peter Pettigrew, you can always clear your name," Kyle said.
“That’s the most interesting part.”
Sirius looked at the people coming and going on the street, "I talked to Professor Dumbledore once, and he told me that even with Peter Pettigrew and even if all the evidence was laid out, it would be difficult for Fudge to seek justice for me.
"This is a scandal for the Ministry of Magic. He might even kill Peter outright to save face."
"But Fudge didn't do that," Kyle said
"That's because you said something that made Fudge understand that he could extricate himself from this matter." Sirius said solemnly, "Remember what you said at the time, 'If you were the Minister at the time, such a mistake would definitely not have happened', it was this sentence that instantly changed Fudge's attitude.
"And Professor Dumbledore also said that neither he nor I would ever think of this, and I agree with that.
"In other words, you paved the way and we just have to walk on it."
Sirius took a big bite of ice cream, pursed his lips, and continued: "And Regulus...
"You found Slytherin's locket, and then we heard about his past from Kreacher.
"If you hadn't found the locket at that time, I would probably have thrown it away as garbage, and naturally there would be no subsequent events. You know, Kreacher and I had a bad relationship at that time.
By the way, including when we were in front of the cliff, it was you who called Dumbledore. I remember you also used a precious phoenix tail feather... that was something you could use to save your life, it was more than enough to buy two shops."
"Um... you may not know." Kyle explained: "Fox and I have a good relationship. Yesterday on Christmas, it gave me another one."
But Sirius acted as if he hadn't heard it.
"Take it." He said to himself, "Because of you, I can stand in the sun, and Regulus can go home... I don't know how to express my gratitude to you. This is the best way Lupin and I can think of."
"That's really not necessary." Kyle said, "Besides, Harry and I are friends, and it's only a small favor to help a friend with ideas. You should just leave the shop to him."
"This belongs to the Black family, not mine." Sirius shook his head, "I will never use it, but it's okay to give it to you...
"After all, Regulus is my parents' favorite child, so I have to express my gratitude on their behalf."
Having said that, Kyle still felt that it was a bit too exaggerated. The pie that fell from the sky was so big that it made him dizzy.
Besides, Kyle never thought of opening a shop in Diagon Alley after graduation.
But Sirius seemed to have made up his mind.
"This is the magic contract of the store. It belongs to you now." He took out a piece of parchment and slapped it on the table. "If you don't want it, throw it away. I won't take it back anyway.
"Like my uncle told me, Blake has never taken back anything he has given away."
"Haven't you been kicked out of the house by Blake?" Kyle said quietly.
Sirius had just put on airs as a pure-blood family, but before he had time to show off, he was instantly reduced to his original form.
He looked a little frustrated.
"No matter what, I can represent the Black family."
Kyle shook his head, picked up the parchment on the table and looked at it.
There was only one address on it: 31 Diagon Alley.
Below was a complex magic symbol. Just by holding it in his hand, Kyle could vaguely sense the location of the store.
"Take it back first. We can talk about the store after I graduate."
Kyle handed the parchment back, but Sirius pretended not to see it and refused to take it.
Just as the two were in a stalemate, Kyle accidentally caught a glimpse of the Daily Prophet in the hands of a passerby.
On the cover, a large photo instantly caught his attention.
Kyle stood up and walked over. "Hello, can I see this newspaper?"
The wizard was startled by Kyle's sudden appearance, but after he came to his senses, he still handed over the newspaper, "Oh, okay, I'll give it to you. I've finished reading it."
"Thank you." Kyle took the newspaper.
"What's wrong?" Sirius also came over.
Kyle said nothing.
He opened the newspaper and quickly read the article on the front page before pointing to a paragraph and frowning, "Hagrid may be in trouble."
Sirius looked over subconsciously.
“We can exclusively reveal that this Professor Hagrid’s mother is none other than the giant Friede Wafa, whose whereabouts are currently unknown.
Giants are bloodthirsty and brutal by nature. We don't know whether he has inherited this, and whether Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts, has informed the students and their parents of this."
"Wait!" Sirius asked in surprise, "Could it be that Hagrid is a half-giant?"
"That's for sure. Normal wizards don't grow more than three meters tall." Kyle said, "But the problem is, guessing and being pointed out are two different things. Hagrid's behavior at Hogwarts is completely unrelated to bloodthirstiness and brutality. Many people even like him very much, but now..."
After hearing what Kyle said, Sirius also realized the seriousness of the matter.
Because he has the best example right next to him, Lupin.
For a whole year, he had been one of the most popular professors at Hogwarts, but when his identity as a werewolf was revealed... Even though he had been safe and sound for the entire school year, he still had no choice but to resign and leave.
This stems from the fear of werewolves in people's hearts, which cannot be changed.
And the half-giant...to be honest, although this identity is not as scary as a werewolf, it is also pretty bad.
All wizards know that the giant once joined the mysterious man's army and was synonymous with brutality.
"What now?" he asked.
"I don't know." Kyle stuffed the newspaper into his robe pocket. "Let's go back to Hogwarts and ask Hagrid."
"it is good!"
Sirius immediately stood up and walked quickly towards the Leaky Cauldron with Kyle.
(End of this chapter)
Chapter 530 Rolling in the Snow
When Kyle and Sirius returned to Hogwarts through the fireplace of the Leaky Cauldron, Dumbledore and the others were no longer in the headmaster's office.
Fox, perched on a branch, raised his head lazily to look at them, then buried his head in his wings again.
Phoenix pretended to say hello, but Sirius ignored him, which made him so angry that he cursed in the portrait.
But at this time, Kyle and Sirius had already left the office and didn't hear what he said at all.
When they walked into the entrance hall, they saw a group of students who were confronting each other. The tense atmosphere caught Sirius' attention. As a professor, he had to stay and deal with this problem.
Kyle nodded to show his understanding, then walked out of the castle gate alone.
The snow outside the castle had not melted yet, and there were several long footprints on the white snow, which should have been left by the students of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang.
Kyle walked along the grounds to Hagrid's hut on the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
Normally at this time, Hagrid would have cleaned the doorway, but now the snow was almost covering the stone steps, with a series of messy footprints on them.
Obviously, someone has been here before.
"Listen to me, Hagrid..." A voice came from inside the room. It was Hermione's.
"You don't have to be so sensitive about your identity as a half-giant. I always think that it is a prejudice, just like people's attitude towards werewolves... It's just a preconceived notion. The real situation is not as reported, right?"
"Hermione's right, Hagrid," said Ron next.
"Don't listen to those Slytherin nonsense. Everyone knows that you are not cruel at all. Many people like you."
"Don't comfort me," Hagrid said in a tearful voice, "Last year, Professor Lupin had to leave Hogwarts because of his werewolf identity. I think it's my turn this year... No one will like me, I know."
"No way," said Harry loudly. "We just like you and Angelina. She just had a big argument with the Slytherins because they said something bad about you. Just now, in the hall."
Hearing this, Kyle seemed to know who the person was who had just confronted him in the hallway.
But with Sirius around, Angelina shouldn't suffer any loss.
He reached out and knocked on the door.
"It must be Dumbledore. He must be here to make me leave Hogwarts..."
Then the door opened.
Hagrid looked very disheveled. He seemed to have just cried. His eyes were red and swollen, and his hair was tangled together. He looked like a tumbleweed on his head.
"I'm sorry to disappoint you," Kyle said, "The headmaster is with Karkaroff and Maxim. He probably doesn't have time to come here."
"Kyle, you..."
"Can you let me in first? It's too cold outside."
As he spoke, Kyle had squeezed past Hagrid and into the house.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked over here nervously, but they all breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Kyle.
"Kyle, did you come here because of that article?" Hermione asked.
"Yeah." Kyle nodded, "I guessed Hagrid might be in trouble, so I came over to see if I could help."
"It's all because of Rita Skeeter," said Harry angrily. "That damned creature is always gossiping."
"Do you know her?" Kyle asked.