Hogwarts: Don't call me the Staff Maker

Chapter 192 2 points and 1 Gallon

Chapter 193 Two Hundred Points and One Thousand Galleons

Upon hearing Xilun admit that this was magic he had created himself, everyone around him changed their expressions.

Professor McGonagall and Mrs. Pomfrey stared at Siron in disbelief, as if they had just met him.

Judging from the unicorn's appearance and expression, it was not created by magic, but rather the true soul of a unicorn—

Magic related to the soul has always been one of the most complex and profound forms of magic, and very few wizards can learn it. Yet, Xilun used it so skillfully.

Even Dumbledore couldn't help but stare at Siren.

"That's remarkable," Dumbledore exclaimed. "That old Garrick is really good at keeping his cool. I've never heard him mention it before—oh, sorry, I don't mean it, we often call each other that."

"I understand, Professor," Sirius said. He knew, of course, that Dumbledore and his grandfather had a good relationship, and it was normal for them to have a special way of addressing each other.

Calling him "old man" is already quite polite. I remember last year Lockhart, to show that he had a good relationship with Professor Flitwick, called him "that cunning old dog," which embarrassed Professor Flitwick greatly.

"Also, the way I learned this magic was a bit of a shortcut," Siren explained. "It might not be what you think."

"There are no shortcuts in magic, Siren." Dumbledore smiled and shook his head, then said seriously, "No matter what method you use, as long as you can cast it with your wand, you can say that you have mastered it."

He glanced at the unicorn in the room and said softly, "What pure magic! It's exactly like a real unicorn. This is the kind of creature that dark wizards least want to encounter—maybe it can really drive Black away."

"I don't know, Professor," Siron said. "I just wanted to get rid of Black, so I used the spell, and then I passed out."

"Magic changes according to people's beliefs. I guess it must be because of your urgent thoughts that the unicorn's soul changed to some extent, which drove Sirius Black away."

"Is that so?" Xilun asked doubtfully.

"I think so," said Dumbledore. "Oh, by the way, you just said you took a picture of him, didn't you?"

"That's right." Xiren seemed to have just remembered this and quickly took out a camera hanging around his neck.

"Reveal immediately."

Dumbledore tapped the camera lightly with his finger.

The film reel in the camera was unrolled in front of everyone, and then one of the photos began to enlarge and was revealed to everyone.

The photo shows a disheveled person tearing at the canvas of a painting as if insane.

"It really is Sirius Black." Professor McGonagall pursed her lips tightly; she had previously refused to believe such an absurd thing.

They felt it was impossible for Sirius Black to get through the Dementors' stronghold and into Hogwarts Castle.

But now that the evidence is conclusive, she has no choice but to believe it.

But she soon thought of something else.

"Shillon, how could you do something so dangerous?" Professor McGonagall glared angrily at Hillon. "Taking pictures of Blake? You should have run away immediately!"

"I'm sorry, Professor," Siren said sincerely, "I won't do it again next time."

Professor McGonagall remained silent, her face expressionless.

She couldn't imagine what would have happened if Celen hadn't driven Blake away.

"Minerva, I think we should send everyone back to their dormitories," Dumbledore said. "Sleeping on the Great Hall floor must not be very comfortable."

"But Sirius Black—"

"I think Black must have escaped," Dumbledore continued. "Unicorns have a strong resistance to souls that have fallen into darkness. Black probably escaped last night wounded and is probably hiding somewhere healing."

"Well... alright then." Professor McGonagall hesitated for a moment, but ultimately chose to trust Dumbledore.

Countless past experiences have proven that Dumbledore's predictions have always been very accurate.

Professor McGonagall left, preparing to let the students still in the auditorium return to their dormitories.

Dumbledore then looked at Celion.

"Let's talk about something more cheerful." He stood up. "All the professors at Hogwarts, including myself, tell their students that if they encounter Sirius Black, they should run away instead of trying to catch him."

"While your behavior is not commendable, it did drive him away—let me think, how about two hundred points? You earned two hundred points for Gryffindor."

Xilun wasn't concerned with the scores; he was concerned with something else entirely.

"Professor," he said, "the bounty in the Daily Prophet—"

"Oh, I almost forgot." Dumbledore took out the photograph. "A reward of one thousand Galleons will be given to anyone who provides a specific clue. I don't think there's any clue more specific than this photograph."

He blinked and said, "I will hand it over to the Ministry of Magic."

Soon after, Dumbledore left, and Sirius lay back down on the bed.

He had been worried about one thing for a while.

Peeves actually saw him transfer the petrified black dog into the shapeshifting lizard skin bag.

Siron was worried that he would tell the professor about it.

Others might not understand what "black dog" meant, but Dumbledore and Lupin certainly did, and they would immediately realize that Sirius Black was in their hands.

However, neither Dumbledore nor Professor McGonagall mentioned anything about the black dog during the entire conversation, and Lupin also didn't come. It seems that Peeves didn't bring up this "minor matter."

That's true. Compared to the famous Sirius Black, an ordinary black dog is really inconspicuous.

Even if Pipi notices it, he'll probably just think of it as Xilun's new pet and forget about it as soon as he turns his back.

That's good.

Sirius breathed a sigh of relief. He had gone to great lengths to capture Sirius, not to actually exchange him for the thousand Galleons.

The news of Xilun's awakening spread like wildfire, though no one knows who leaked it. From noon onwards, the area outside the school hospital was packed with students who wanted to visit him.

Fortunately, Mrs. Pomfrey kept them all outside the house and wouldn't let anyone in.

Meanwhile, in the faculty lounge on the third floor, Snape pushed open the door and looked at Lupin inside.

"Don't you care about your old friend?" he said, a hint of hatred flashing in his eyes. "Sirius Black has shown up at Hogwarts, you know that."

"I swear I have nothing to do with this." Lupin raised his head, his face serious. "If I have the chance, I will catch him myself."

"I hope so," Snape uttered in a way that was difficult to decipher.

"Wait, Severus."

Just as he was about to leave, Lu Ping suddenly asked, "I heard that a student chased him away?"

"Sirlen Ollivander," Snape sneered. "Surprised, aren't you? He got chased away by a third-year student."

Lupin was indeed very surprised.

Even Snape was speechless with astonishment when he learned of this.

He instinctively became suspicious, but couldn't find a reason.

Sirius Black appeared on the eighth floor and vandalized the portrait of the Fat Lady. Sirius Ollivander happened to arrive, bumped into him at the door, and took his picture. If it had only gone this far, Snape would never have believed it was just a coincidence.

But then Siren fainted, and it was because she ran out of magic, as Madam Pomfrey testified, so it couldn't be fake.

The damaged painting, Sirius Black running away, and Sirius fainting after a chance encounter—it all seemed so plausible that even Snape couldn't find anything to doubt.

Later, Peeves also said that Sirius Black disappeared after Sirius fainted in Siren.

This suggests that Siren must have done something before she fainted, perhaps a very energy-consuming spell, or perhaps a high-intensity battle.

In short, magic cannot be depleted for no reason. Even if Sirius Black hadn't been driven away directly,

It must have made him feel scared.

This is Hogwarts Castle, after all. If the professors notice anything unusual, they will rush over immediately.

Blake must be worried about this too.