Chapter 129: A Sunny Day

Harry and the others returned to the castle in a hurry with Lu Ping, and couldn't wait to rush to the Muggle Studies teacher's office. When they arrived, they were surprised to find Professor Doudou and Sirius, who had bathed, sitting at the table drinking afternoon tea, looking nothing like a prisoner and law enforcement officer.

"Oh, I think you've also noticed something is wrong, right?" Professor Doudou looked like he had everything under control. "Obviously we need to update the progress of the case."

"So, you've already confirmed the situation?" Lu Ping asked. "You know who is lying?"

"Of course, I think Mr. Sirius's words are credible," Professor Doudou took a sip of tea gently. "I'm absolutely sure of this."

"Why are you so sure?" Harry said, confused.

"Of course, because I put Veritaserum in the tea," Professor Doudou's expression was still full of confidence.

"What?" Sirius looked at his teacup angrily; he had already drunk more than half of it. "You just told me this was just an ordinary afternoon tea?"

"Using some special techniques during interrogation can make the prisoner relax their vigilance," Professor Doudou looked a bit panicked. "And I drank it too, although I didn't intend to drink it originally."

"Although this makes me feel very offended, at least you can be sure now that I'm not lying," Sirius said sullenly. "I am indeed not James's Secret-Keeper, and I never intended to persecute Peter. This is beyond doubt."

"But we still can't rule out the possibility that James secretly changed the Secret-Keeper again," Professor Doudou, who had drunk Veritaserum, seemed to be speaking without thinking. "For example, he secretly chose Lu Ping, and you and Peter are two innocent people suspecting each other."

Lu Ping walked up calmly, picked up the black tea and drank it in one gulp, then opened his mouth and said: "I don't know about what happened back then, but what is certain is that Peter is missing now. I suspect he has a guilty conscience, so he took the opportunity of bathing to slip away."

"We are now..." Lu Ping suddenly staggered. "We should catch him as soon as possible."

Sirius was anxious to stand up, but he also went limp.

"Sorry, gentlemen," Professor Doudou said with the most confident tone, saying the most embarrassing things. "Because I couldn't tell which bottle was Veritaserum and which was muscle relaxant, I added them all to the tea."

"Then did we just let Peter run away?" Sirius glared at him angrily.

"Please rest assured, a trump card always has a Plan B," Professor Doudou said without moving. "My colleagues will catch him, and you'll see it in the newspaper tomorrow."

"Speaking of this, Harry," he continued. "I think it's time for you and Sirius to recognize each other."

"I've seen you in many photos," facing Sirius, who had tidied up his appearance, Harry recognized this face that had once appeared in the Mirror of Erised. "I'm glad you're innocent, because I don't have many family members left in this world."

"Harry, I really owe you an apology," Sirius said gloomily. "For these years, I've been immersed in guilt and remorse, not realizing that you also need care."

"In fact, he made a fortune in the Muggle world," Professor Doudou said inappropriately. "There is a nice relative who adopted Harry, and his life is very good."

A trace of relief appeared on Sirius's face.

"With police and Aurors protecting him, he doesn't really need friends from the Wizarding World. And now you come running over and say, Harry, I feel guilty toward you," Professor Doudou expressed his own views. "But you have no love for him at all, don't treat him as a junior, and don't even dare to say you are his godfather."

"Oh, so you are my godfather?" Harry was stunned. "That's pretty good too."

"He's right, I did everything wrong," Sirius shook his head. "When James was harmed, I had a breakdown, and I've been self-abandoning in Azkaban all these years. But actually, if James were still alive."

He wanted to raise his hand to wipe his tears, but didn't have the strength for a moment.

"If James were still alive, he would hope I take good care of you, protect you, instead of fostering you in the home of Muggle relatives," Sirius said, choking up. "I completely ignored this point, sorry, Harry."

Harry took out a handkerchief and gently helped him wipe his face.

"It's not too late, godfather," Harry said. "In the days to come, we can still live together, like an ordinary family."

Sirius smiled with tears in his eyes, and Lu Ping also smiled happily.

Finally, Harry and Luo En struggled to carry the weak Lu Ping back to the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher's office. Passing students were not surprised by this; they all knew Lu Ping was a professor who was often sick, and this time it might just be a flare-up.

As for Sirius, Professor Doudou said he would handle it, and let him rest in his office after the medicine wore off.

Returning to the dormitory, Harry let out a long sigh of relief.

"I say, enough happened today," Luo En said with a smile. "But it all seems like good things."

"Indeed, not only did I learn the truth about my father's murder, but I also reunited with my godfather," Harry said. "But his mental state doesn't look very good yet, I hope he can rest and recover."

"What to do this afternoon?" Luo En asked. "Want to go for a ride on the Firebolt?"

"No, I haven't finished my homework yet," Harry calculated what to do next. "I have to go to the party tonight."

"What are you talking about, friends?" Neville returned.

"I was saying, Harry was actually able to stay in a house full of Slytherins all night, and with Jin Ni," Luo En said dissatisfiedly. "You really can hold it in."

"Eh, that's not how you say it," Neville started preaching again. "Being able to become friends with any kind of person, that's a heart of enthusiasm."

"By the way, Neville, what secret did you say you discovered before?" Harry saw Neville was rarely in the mood to chat, and couldn't help but think of the matter he had been talking about.

"Oh, forget it," he shrugged. "It's about the secret of Hermione taking so many classes at once. She told me the truth, and I promised to keep it secret for her."

"It's just a nerd's boring claim, I'm not interested at all," Luo En said sourly.

"It's not bad that you can think that way," Neville changed the subject. "By the way, Harry, have you talked to Zhang Qiu?"

"Not yet, she said let's not talk about that today, so as not to spoil my mood," Harry sighed. "There have been a lot of things lately."

In Neville's curious eyes, Harry roughly talked about his relationship with Sirius and the truth thirteen years ago.

"So, the fugitive matter has been solved," Neville touched his chin. "Then when will the Dementors at school be withdrawn?"

"The Aurors from the Ministry of Magic told us that it will be announced tomorrow that the matter has been resolved, and maybe they can be withdrawn soon," Harry guessed.

When it was time for the Torchwood party at night, he told the whole story again without getting tired of it. For the Slytherin children, they didn't really care whether Black was caught, but out of interest in digging into past secrets, and out of hatred for Dementors, they expressed joy and celebration for this news.

"Being able to clear up the love and hatred of the older generation is also quite good," Cui Ge said. "So, Lu Ping should also be very familiar with you, did he secretly teach you any spells?"

"Don't be hasty, Cui Ge," Ma Erfu said. "As far as I know, Lu Ping severely criticized a girl named Cassandra in our house during dinner today, which made Snape so embarrassed, because there is no one named Cassandra in the entire seventh grade."

"What's going on?" Cui Ge looked a bit surprised.

"Speaking of which, I happened to be at the scene," Harry couldn't help but say. "At that time, we were drinking beverages at the Three Broomsticks with Lu Ping, and happened to run into your mother."

"She was wearing a Slytherin school uniform, and was a bit drunk," Harry carefully concealed those embarrassing words. "Lu Ping thought she was a seventh-year student and asked her what her name was."

"Snape almost quarreled with Lu Ping," Ma Erfu suppressed his laughter. "She must have given a fake name and fooled Lu Ping."

"I think this will become a school legend in the future," Luna said imaginatively. "Everyone knows there is a very beautiful senior in Slytherin named Cassandra, but no one can find her in the school."

"Why don't we go along with this prank and add Cassandra to the castle map," Jin Ni suggested. "Just make a beautiful little blonde figure and let her walk around the school at will."

"Oh, be careful," Ma Erfu said. "I've seen in a book that once a spell involves randomness, it's completely out of the wizard's control."

"I've heard similar things too," Cui Ge echoed. "Random magic is controlled by gods."

"Then let her act according to the class schedule, and stay in the common room when not in class," Jin Ni changed her words. "In short, I think since we had this interesting experience, Mrs. Fontroy must be very happy to leave traces in the school."

Harry smiled approvingly. He knew Mrs. Fontroy longed for school life very much and liked Hogwarts very much. Jin Ni was able to make such a heartwarming suggestion just from the fact that she was wearing a school uniform, which moved him very much.

Spending the whole night, they completed Cui Ge's mother's little wish on the Torchwood map. When Harry went to bed, he felt that this day was really very fulfilling and full of a sense of achievement.

Early the next morning, just as he took the morning paper, ready to read the news and see how the Ministry of Magic would prove Sirius's innocence.

The headline of the Daily Prophet read:

"Azkaban Prison Attacked, Large Number of Death Eaters Missing" ===== CHAPTER 130 =====