Chapter 112: Grudges of the Older Generation

"When I was little, I lived in an orphanage on Spinner's End, and I was neighbors with Severus," Kalan said slowly.

"Wait, who is Severus?" Harry felt the name was quite familiar, but he couldn't recall who it was for a moment.

"Severus Snape." Kalan took a sip of tea. "As far as I know, he is teaching Potions now."

"Uh, so that's it." Harry nodded. "I never knew Professor Snape's full name."

"The time when we were little was actually the happiest. We often went to find Lily to play—oh, that's your mother, Lily Evans." He sighed. "It's a pity that from the time we started school, everyone drifted apart."

Harry didn't speak; he realized that the experiences involved here might be very complicated.

"Actually, from a very young age, I discovered that Severus liked Lily, but he was always too shy to express it." Kalan paused after finishing, as if waiting for Harry to understand and digest it.

A feeling of surprise kept rolling in Harry's heart. He had never thought that the "old bat" in Luo En's words had actually liked his mother.

"Later, Lily entered the Lion House, Severus entered the Snake House, and I was in the Badger House." Kalan continued, "Lily got to know James and Sirius. She actually didn't like them because the Marauders kept bullying Severus."

"Marauders?" Harry had never heard this term.

"Yes, Prongs James, Padfoot Sirius, Moony Remus, and Wormtail Peter." Kalan still had fresh memories of the nicknames from their school days. "At that time, there weren't many people in school who didn't know about them; the four of them formed a clique and picked fights everywhere."

"Wait, let me sort this out." Harry felt almost dizzy. "James is my father, James Potter, right?"

"Yes."

"And then Sirius—you don't mean Sirius Black, do you?" He felt things were exceeding his expectations.

"Yes, they were almost the best of friends back then." Kalan looked as if he knew nothing about the fugitive news. "And Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew."

Lupin? No wonder Harry had felt Professor Lupin was very kind to him from the very beginning.

"But, Mr. Sangster, you can't possibly not know about Sirius Black's situation, right?" Harry said urgently. "He escaped from Azkaban."

"Huh? Azkaban?" Kalan looked very surprised. "I don't know. I just returned from America not long ago. What happened later?"

"You don't know?"

"Because of the Dark Lord, I went to America as soon as I graduated." Kalan said. "I only occasionally heard that Lily married James, and I wasn't even sure if that was true."

"Then when did you come back?" Harry realized that he might also know many things that Kalan didn't.

"Last month." He laughed at himself. "I was about to be driven crazy by my Muggle family, so I decided to flee back to the Wizarding World."

"Then you don't read the newspapers at all?" Luo En asked curiously.

"Occasionally I read The Sun." Kalan revealed a strange smile.

"Well, you might not know, but the Dark Lord has fallen, and my parents paid the price with their lives to defeat him." Harry summarized what he knew concisely. "And it is said that Sirius Black was once the Dark Lord's right-hand man, and he has now broken out of Azkaban to take revenge on me."

"Truly, the world is ever-changing." Kalan sighed. "When we were in school, I knew Sirius wasn't a good person, but I really didn't expect why Lily would choose James."

"Do you know, under Sirius's instigation, they insulted Severus in public countless times, mocked his hair, called him Snivellus, and even pulled down his pants. Once, they even tricked him into going to the Shrieking Shack, which almost cost him his life." Kalan said indignantly. "Lily would help speak for Severus at first, but she was gradually influenced by James and began to distance herself from us."

"But Dumbledore said my father saved Snape's life." Harry said in a low voice.

"Oh yes, that time at the Shrieking Shack, the story that spread was that James saved him." Kalan snorted. "I am certain that Sirius wanted to kill him, and James stopped him, that's all."

Harry really didn't know how to return to school after hearing these stories. He still had at least four more years of Potions class to attend, and he didn't know how to pretend he didn't know about Snape's dark history when talking to him in the future.

"Later, Severus said several times that he wanted to join the Dark Lord." Kalan sighed. "I even feel it was completely understandable. Of course, this meant that he and the Muggle-born Lily were no longer possible."

"As for me, I am of course also Muggle-born, but I didn't want to be hostile to Severus, so I chose to flee to America." Kalan's tone began to change. "That really was a land of happiness; the air was filled with the sweetness of freedom."

Harry and Luo En looked at each other and didn't say much.

"In America, you can choose any lifestyle; there's no need to follow so many messy formalities, and there is no Dark Lord there, no pure-blood aristocrats, and everyone is equal." Kalan said with longing. "The Magical Congress isn't a place where one person has the final say; they manage the Wizarding World democratically, and their handling of the Statute of Secrecy is quite flexible, unlike the Ministry of Magic, which is so heartless."

"Since that's the case, why did you come back?" Luo En asked.

"Well, because of my Muggle wife." Kalan said with some distress. "She had an affair with a tennis coach, which broke my heart, so I decided to leave that place."

"And I also lost the divorce lawsuit," he added.

"Well, that's truly a pity." Harry said politely. "I haven't considered going abroad; I'm still planning to fight the Dark Lord to the end."

"I will fight side-by-side with you." Luo En nodded.

"Children, having ideals is certainly a good thing." Kalan said meaningfully. "However, in case you find that the Dark Lord cannot be resisted, America counts as a retreat, at least."

Finally, out of politeness, Harry still purchased a set of Gobstones. Kalan's Gobstones were exquisite and cheap, and Luo En praised that strange tactile feel endlessly, but Harry knew these were just plastic products.

On the way back, Luo En kept talking about Snape's dark history with great interest. He even planned to ask Professor Lupin to see if it was true.

But Harry stopped him. If he didn't want to be docked twenty points for some excuse in every Potions class in the future, it was better to keep these stories heard today a secret.

They first came to the Three Broomsticks pub, wanting to see if Zhang Qiu was still eavesdropping. However, she wasn't invisible; instead, she was sitting openly at a table by the window, chatting with a girl with golden curly hair.

"Oh, that's Marietta." Luo En seemed to know that girl. "Her mother is the Director of the Floo Network Office, and she is a colleague of my father."

"Not in the same department, right?" Harry recalled the structure of the Ministry of Magic he knew.

"Our two families are also distant relatives." Luo En added. "Look, doesn't her hair have a bit of red in it?"

"Indeed. Well then," Harry hesitated for a moment, "we won't disturb them; let's find another table to sit for a while."

"That's fine... oh!" Luo En suddenly let out a low cry.

"What's wrong?"

"Look at that barmaid; she is truly beautiful." Luo En said with some fascination.

"Forget it, forget it. Hurry up and think about what to drink."

Just as Harry was staring blankly at the menu and Luo En was staring blankly at Madam Rosmerta, Zhang Qiu walked over with a cup. She said in a low voice, "I really did hear some secrets."

"What are you drinking?" Harry looked at her cup.

"Butterbeer."

"Alright, then we'll have Butterbeer too." Harry said.

"I'll go tell her we want two Butterbeers..." Luo En muttered as he walked toward the female barmaid, as if "two Butterbeers" were some incredibly charming love words.

"Do you know, the professors are all saying that it was Sirius Black who killed your parents." Zhang Qiu relayed in a low voice. "He was the informant."

"What's the situation?" Harry's heart suddenly rose.

"It is said that when Voldemort intended to strike at your parents, your father thought of a good way. He used the Fidelius Charm to hide his residence."

"Fidelius Charm?"

"That's right. This spell requires selecting one person as the Secret-Keeper. As long as the Secret-Keeper doesn't leak the secret, then no one can find his residence, not even Voldemort." Zhang Qiu explained. "And your father chose Sirius Black as the Secret-Keeper because they were good friends when they were in school."

"However, for some reason, Sirius chose to inform; he betrayed your father to Voldemort." Zhang Qiu's tone was somewhat low. "The professors say this might have something to do with his family. The Black family are all Death Eaters, and he was ultimately influenced."

"No wonder Ma Erfu used 'noble family' to describe him." Harry spat heavily. "I want to catch this villain with my own hands and then send him to be shot!"

"Calm down, Harry." Zhang Qiu reached out a hand to touch his shoulder. "Right now, you and he should both be single-mindedly wanting to kill each other, but you are in the light and he is in the dark; this is very dangerous."

"No, this is precisely my advantage." Harry's fingers tapped the table lightly. "I won't be stupid enough to go find him for a duel. I promised Mr. Weasley that I wouldn't appear in front of him."

"Because he is all alone, while I can borrow the power of everyone—the professors, the Ministry of Magic, and even Ma Erfu." Harry touched his chin and said, "The most feasible thing is to catch him at Hogwarts; I must plan it well."

Harry had originally thought Sirius was just an ordinary Death Eater, at most a bit crazy, but now that he knew he was his father's good friend from school days and also a betraying informant, he had to avenge his father's death. ===== CHAPTER 113 =====