Harry Potter and the Temple of Tales

"Crookshanks, what are you doing there?"

Hermione's voice came from outside the door of the Screaming Shack. Louis winked at Black and saw that Sirius had already turned into a black dog and was sitting by the wall.

"Hermione, don't go in, this is a haunted room."

"Shut up Ron, these are just legends."

"Crookshanks, what's here? Do you want to go in?" Hermione outside the door looked at Crookshanks trying so hard to grab the doorknob, then she held the edge of the handle and twisted it gently.

"Hermione?!" Ron was too late to stop him. He watched helplessly as Hermione pushed open the door of the Shrieking Shack.

"Louis?! Why are you here?" Hermione and Ron were shocked when they looked at the scene in front of them.

"This is Hogsmeade. You shouldn't be here. If you are discovered by Professor McGonagall..."

Halfway through her words, her words suddenly stopped because she saw the big black dog slowly walking out behind Louis, like a noble and elegant gentleman.

When Crookshanks saw this, he excitedly circled around Sirius Black. From the outside, it seemed to outsiders that the cat and dog got along very harmoniously.

"Louis, is this dog the so-called 'ominous'?"

"You're worrying too much, it's just a stray dog." Louis replied casually. He watched Sirius walking back and forth, seeming to be examining Hermione's appearance.

What he was worried about now was that Hermione's powerful observation skills and sharp mind could determine that the dog was an Animagus in a short period of time.

"It can't be ominous, Hermione." Ron interjected from behind, "Although I hate that stupid cat, the dog seems to have a very good relationship with the cat, and you have to trust the judgment of your stupid cat.

"

Sirius looked at Ron's cheek, his eyes suddenly turned a little evil, he moved forward and smelled Ron's scent carefully.

Louis knew that he might have recognized the owner of Peter Pettigrew and then judged whether the mouse was on him or not.

Of course, it is impossible for Peter Pettigrew to fall into a trap. He thinks that Hogwarts is of course the safest place, so even in mouse form, he cannot follow Ron to Hogsmeade.

After looking around for a while, Sirius looked disappointed and shook his head at Louis in a very humane manner.

Hermione caught this look and looked thoughtful.

"No, Louis, Harry once said that he met a black dog on Privet Drive in London, and what he described was exactly like this one. If it was just a stray dog, it would not have been able to run so far."

"What are you trying to say, Hermione, that this might just be a coincidence?"

Hermione didn't say anything else. She had already guessed a possibility, but a guess was just a guess after all, and there was no concrete evidence.

"Okay, I'm almost bored to death here. Let's go back to Hogsmeade. It's smelly and dirty here." After all, Astoria came to smooth things over, pretending to be very disgusted.

, pushed Ron's ajar door open, and what greeted her was the unusually fresh outdoor air.

Louis spread his hands, and the conversation was forcibly interrupted by Astoria. He followed the steps of the white-haired girl.

Sirius glanced at them, then took brisk steps and disappeared into the snow. Louis watched Black leave, and then his mood gradually relaxed.

The subsequent trip to Hogsmeade for the four of them became more relaxed and enjoyable. Of course, Hermione spent most of the time condemning Fred and George for telling Louis about the secret passage.

"That's really dangerous, especially with Blake still at large."

Astoria also quickly integrated into their small group. This girl with a slight tsundere attribute was influenced by Hermione, who also had a slight tsundere attribute, and began to talk about everything.

One is the sense of superiority brought by knowledge, and the other is the sense of superiority inspired by family blood.

It was just a pain for Louis and Ron. Being caught between these two women, they could only nod silently and acquiesce.

On the way back, Louis and Astoria passed through the Honey Duke's secret passage again, both of them silent and silent.

"Don't you have any doubts?" In front of the one-eyed witch statue, Louis finally couldn't help but ask.

"Yes, but I believe you, Louis."

"If you believe that Blake is innocent, then I believe it too." Astoria smiled. This may be the first time she has been so happy in front of Louis, "I don't need to question you, your judgment is correct.

Yes, so no matter what you do, I will support you."

"Why?" Louis was a little surprised by this. If Astoria didn't understand, she could have told the professor about Black, even including that he was an Animagus. Snape would be happy to hear this.

.

"Because you have always believed in me last year, and you have always protected me when I faced the dementors."

Louis smiled slightly. He was indeed right about this Slytherin girl. Astoria's charm is not only reflected in her appearance, but more importantly in her heart.

"Okay, it's really getting late. I should go back. Thank you for spending time with me in Hogsmeade. Merry Christmas Louis."

"Merry Christmas, Astoria."

It was almost evening when Louis returned to the Gryffindor common room. When he stepped through the common room door, he realized that he had missed the school's Christmas dinner.

But there was no festive atmosphere at all on this Christmas Eve night. There were surprisingly few students staying in school this year. Perhaps it was the depressing atmosphere in the school that made many students choose to go home for the holiday again.

Harry and the others were sitting together with dull expressions on their faces, none of them speaking, and Harry's expression looked slightly painful.

"What's wrong?" Louis felt strange about the atmosphere, and asked Colin in a low voice, who was also silent.

"Harry knows. Professor Lupin told him when they went to Hogsmeade."

"Know what?" Louis felt an ominous premonition.

"I know the ins and outs of what happened back then, I know why Black attacked the Fat Lady's portrait, and I know why he wanted to kill Harry."

"Because he was a traitor from the beginning to the end. It's really ridiculous. They believed in him so much, but he ended up betraying them to Voldemort!" Harry smiled bitterly, feeling extremely painful in his heart. Indeed, it would be uncomfortable for anyone else to know this news.

But the real truth is not like that, although that truth is darker and full of deception.