Harry Potter and the Great Old Ones

Chapter 206 Search of the Gryffindor Tower
Tierra still did not appear at the Halloween dinner that evening.

However, what comforted Harry was that Tyrell seemed to have left him a note—

The gist of it is that he went to gather some herbs near the Forbidden Forest and probably wouldn't be back until very late, so Harry shouldn't worry about him and should enjoy the feast.

However, what Harry didn't know was that just as he and the other students left the Gryffindor common room, Tyrell appeared in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady—

“Dragon scum,” Tiera said.

“Oh, lovely little Tierra, aren’t you going to the banquet?” Madame Pon asked.

“I’m coming back to change my clothes and take a shower,” Tierra said.

"Okay, Happy Halloween, little..."

After the fat lady opened the door, Tiera immediately cast a shielding spell on her—

This spell is equivalent to a sleeping spell used specifically against ghosts and portrait figures, causing the surrounding portraits to fall into a deep sleep.

The portraits were all used to it—

Tierra always uses this trick before playing any prank.

That's why almost no one caught him playing pranks.

Tierra left the door to the Gryffindor common room ajar and went inside.

About ten minutes later, a huge black dog ran out of the tree hole under the Willow Tree, crossed the empty corridor hall, and stepped up the changing staircase to the eighth floor.

Before the portrait of the sleeping fat lady, the giant black dog transformed back into human form—

He was a tall, handsome man with deep gray eyes peering excitedly ahead through a clump of dirty, tangled hair. He was tall and thin, like a emaciated, sallow corpse, draped in tattered prison clothes.

It was Sirius Black.

After discovering that the Fat Lady was asleep, Sirius went over and patted the portrait, trying to wake her up, but—

"squeak--"

With a click, the door to the Gryffindor common room opened automatically, and it was only then that Sirius Black realized the door was ajar.

Sirius Black's long years of exile had instilled a sense of instinctive wariness, but ultimately, his thirst for revenge overwhelmed everything, and he stepped into the Gryffindor common room—

First, Sirius saw the Gryffindor common room, which was almost identical to the common room in his memory. It was a comfortable circular room with gold and red wallpaper on the walls and soft armchairs on the floor.

Near the exit was a huge fireplace, and in front of it was a row of sofas.

Sirius Black remembered the happy times he spent on this sofa with James, Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew.

But now, Sirius Black is consumed by the rage of revenge; he has neither the time nor the desire to recall his happy past.

Every warm memory he once cherished was a source of deep anguish for Sirius Black.

Sirius quickly crossed the Gryffindor common room and climbed the stairs leading to the Gryffindor Tower—

Because his desire for revenge was too strong, Sirius Black did not notice that, as he walked through the Gryffindor common room, the figures in the paintings on the walls of the common room, like the Fat Lady, were all fast asleep.

Sirius Black didn't know where Harry's dormitory was, so he had to search for it one by one.

Sirius Black tiptoed into the first room of the Gryffindor tower—

It was a rather messy dormitory room, with dirty clothes and smelly socks scattered everywhere, and books and homework piled haphazardly on the floor.

The air was filled with the sour smell of fermented sweat, which made Sirius Black, who had been in Azkaban for twelve years, instinctively cover his nose.

Sirius Black glanced around the dormitory room briefly, then quietly slipped out.

This was definitely not Harry's dormitory. The sizes of the socks and clothes on the floor and bed indicated that a group of fifth or even sixth-year wizards lived in this room. Sirius Black continued climbing the stairs, and after passing several more dorm rooms, he finally found Harry's dormitory—

Compared to other dorm rooms, this was an excessively tidy one. The blankets on all five beds were neatly folded on the beds, and the clothes were not scattered around but were piled up in the wardrobes next to their respective beds.

The window in this dormitory room was open, and the chilly air of late October blew in from outside, making the temperature in this dormitory room much lower than that of the other dormitories.

Sirius Black spotted Harry's bed spot in an instant—

A magical photograph was pinned to the railing of one of the beds with a thumbtack. It was a picture of Harry, Tyrell, Ron, and Hermione, the four young wizards standing on the lawn in front of Hogwarts Castle, smiling at the camera.

Sirius Black first walked to Harry's bedside, half-squatted down, gently touched Harry's pillow, blankets and sheets, and then lowered his head to sniff them.

“Harry…” Sirius said gently.

Then Sirius stood up, walked to Ron's bed, and sniffed around Ron's bed—

Candy, cake, the distinctive sweaty smell of teenage boys, and—

A faint stench of rats.

Sirius Black followed the stench of the rat and sniffed around the dormitory.

The stench of rats occasionally wafts from under the bed, under the cabinet, and next to the stove.

Then it disappeared completely next to the open window.

The damp, cold wind of the night at Hogwarts dissipated most of the scent from the room, and Sirius Black's trail went cold there.

This made Sirius somewhat irritable; years of imprisonment and the burning desire for revenge had worn his nerves to the point of fragility.

Fortunately, for Harry's sake, he still retained a sliver of reason and didn't do anything irrational. Sirius Black searched the room again but still found nothing. He could only curse angrily before quietly slipping out of the room and down the stairs of the Gryffindor tower to the common room—

But suddenly, Sirius Black smelled something unusual—

That was the aroma of food, and the smell of burning firewood—

Sirius Black carefully descended to the Gryffindor common room, hiding behind the door frame of the boys' dormitory entrance and peering into the common room—

A warm fire burned in the fireplace in the common room, and a coffee table had been added in front of it, laden with a dazzling array of food, emitting an enticing aroma.

On the sofa in front of the fireplace sat a little wizard, his back to Sirius Black, his head bowed.

Sirius Black transformed back into his large black dog form and ran lightly toward the exit of the Gryffindor common room—

If Sirius looked up when he saw the fireplace and the sofa—

The person sitting on the sofa appears to be the young wizard named Tierra, who is currently engrossed in reading a thick book.

“Mr. Black.” Tierra suddenly looked up and smiled at Sirius Black. “Come, sit down, let’s have a good talk.”

Sirius, like a frightened bird, used all four paws to propel himself forward with a "whoosh," and in the blink of an eye, he arrived at the exit of the Gryffindor common room.

Sirius saw that the door to the common room was still ajar, and with a surge of joy, he rushed out, and then—

Then he saw a burning fireplace, a table full of delicious food, and a boy sitting on the sofa reading a book.

Sirius turned around and looked back—

Behind them is the entrance to the Gryffindor Tower.

“Mr. Black,” Tierra chuckled, stroking the thick book in her hand, “come and sit down. I have something I’d like to discuss with you.”

The "Inheritors" gained authority over space and knowledge, allowing Tiera to freely modify, alter, and traverse space—

(End of this chapter)