Harry Potter: The Dark ages

Gary woke up early the next day and saw Howard still sleeping soundly beside him, half of his chubby white belly exposed from under the covers.

Gary yawned and got out of bed. It was not yet six o'clock. He had wanted to go to the Owl Shed to see Cardy during this time, but since he didn't know the way, he had to give up on the idea.

He picked up his Transfiguration textbook for the morning class and began to pre-read. After only two pages, Howard's faint snores, like the buzzing of mosquitoes, were inescapable, making it impossible for Gary to concentrate on reading.

In frustration, he had no choice but to take his book to the Common Room. To his surprise, there was someone there.

Gary remembered the round-faced girl; she was the first to be sorted into Ravenclaw yesterday.

"Hello." In the quiet Ravenclaw Common Room, Gary's greeting startled Kona, making her drop the bread in her hand onto the floor.

"…" Gary was speechless.

"Oh, you scared the crap out of me!" Kona patted her chest, still shaken.

Kona's mouth still had a crumb of bread on it. Combined with her round face and slightly widened eyes, she looked adorably clumsy.

Gary felt a bit defeated. He had originally thought Kona was studying.

James, Howard, Kona—Gary felt like he had entered a Hogwarts full of foodies.

"Hmm… I didn't eat enough last night, and I'm quite hungry this morning," Kona explained. Her voice was very sweet, probably related to her physique. Muggles always said that fat people who smile have good voices.

"It's fine, it's fine, please continue eating." Gary glanced at the bread lying on the floor.

Kona gave Gary a resentful look.

A moment later, she ran back to her dormitory.

Gary shook his head helplessly, suddenly remembering that he hadn't drunk his magic stabilizer. The potion was very bitter, and he now planned to drink one vial every two days to avoid suffering more often.

When he returned to the dormitory, Howard was already awake, leaning on his bed reading a Muggle novel.

"Hi, Gary, where did you go?" Howard asked.

"I went out for some air," Gary didn't directly say that Howard's snoring had made him unable to read. Their relationship wasn't close enough for such frankness.

"When can we go eat?" Howard wiggled his short legs, impatient.

"We have to wait for Shafiq. You should get ready first," Gary urged.

While Howard was in the bathroom, Gary took out the magic stabilizer from his suitcase and drank a vial.

"Phew," Gary frowned, "So bitter."

He quickly grabbed his water cup and poured water into his mouth until the bitter taste was diluted.

He put the vial from yesterday into a locked drawer. Every two days, he could save fifteen Galleons, a huge sum.

He planned to send this money to his parents once he had his own income.

After Howard came out, the two of them sat on the bed and chatted for a while, then heard a knock at the door.

Howard jumped off the bed to open the door; it was Nance.

"Once you're ready, come out and gather. Shafiq will take you to the Great Hall." Nance smiled at Gary after speaking.

Gary wasn't quite sure what that meant.

When they arrived in the Common Room, quite a few people were already gathered there. Gary saw Alfrina chatting happily with Kona.

"Gary, let me introduce you. This is Kona Evans, my roommate, a very interesting girl." Alfrina covered her mouth and chuckled.

"...Hello, I'm Gary Shafiq, Al's friend." Gary could only pretend not to know Kona.

Kona actually smiled shyly, then also acted as if it was their first meeting and introduced herself.

Both of them ignored the awkward encounter from earlier that morning.

"Heh heh." Kona laughed through gritted teeth.

"Heh heh." Gary laughed insincerely.

"What's going on with you two?" Alfrina was puzzled.

"Nothing, just that he (she) looks familiar." Both spoke in unison.

"?" Alfrina looked utterly bewildered.

"Follow me." Lucy had already arrived in the Common Room. After counting the numbers, Lucy led a group of little ones downstairs into the Great Hall.

At the beginning of the term, the Great Hall was still very crowded for breakfast. Firstly, classes hadn't officially started yet, so students didn't have much academic pressure, didn't need to stay up late, and would wake up early for breakfast. Secondly, the habit of being hit by their parents for waking up late at home hadn't changed.

In short, the Great Hall was packed, and just as the Ravenclaw first-years took their seats, an unexpected event occurred.

A grey owl flew into the Great Hall with a large, fiery red envelope and dropped it onto Sirius's seat at the Gryffindor table.

The previously lively Great Hall instantly went silent, as if muted.

"What's wrong, Gary?" Howard, being a Muggle-born, clearly didn't understand the seriousness of the situation and was still stuffing sliced bread into his mouth.

"A Howler…" Gary whispered, explaining to Howard, "It's a letter that, when you open it, will shout its contents loudly, used to express the sender's anger."

"Is his family unhappy with his sorting result?" Howard stated the obvious, then suddenly added, "Doesn't a Howler have a counter-spell?"

"...A Howler theoretically must be opened, otherwise it will swell up and explode, then shout even louder."

"Is there no spell that can create a sealed space to contain the Howler?" Howard's posture suggested a blind student who had discovered a brilliant point.

"That makes sense…" Gary agreed, "But Sirius has already opened it."

Sirius himself knew the consequences of not opening a Howler, so he directly ripped open the envelope.

The fiery red envelope exploded, flying into mid-air, and a woman's shriek echoed sharply throughout the entire Great Hall.

The teachers at the head table also looked grim; no one wanted such an embarrassing incident to occur in their school.

"Sirius Black! You ungrateful son! How dare you go to that filthy Gryffindor House!"

"If you have any dignity as a Black, you will report to Dumbledore and request a transfer back to Slytherin! Otherwise, don't even think about coming home for Christmas! You've completely disgraced the House of Black!"

After shouting its last sentence, the envelope began to burn in the air, leaving a few ashes that fell onto the plate in front of Sirius.

The Gryffindor students all looked displeased; anyone whose House was insulted like that would feel indignant.

Sirius pursed his lips, his face a mixture of colors. He felt humiliated, having received a Howler from his mother, the contents of which made him feel utterly disgraced.

There was nothing but humiliation; Sirius felt like he couldn't stay at Hogwarts.

James could only comfort him from the side.

The contract has been sent out, and the status will be changed in a few days.

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