Chapter 182: An Invitation from Sirius Black

As soon as he arrived at the field, Michael ran off to find Padma. Since that area was full of girls, Wade didn't bother going over and instead found an empty spot to watch the match.

To be honest, he wasn't particularly interested in Quidditch, but since it was his own house's match, he felt obliged to show some support.

"Look! The players from both teams are now entering the field! We can see that the Hufflepuff lineup has changed—there's a new Seeker, Cedric Diggory, and I must say, he's got a face I'm quite jealous of—"

"Jordan!"

"Sorry, Professor, it just slipped out. All right, let's get back to the game. The Quaffle is currently with Ravenclaw—"

The entire stadium was filled with Lee Jordan's commentary. Wade was trying to identify the Ravenclaw players—most of whom he didn't know—when someone suddenly sat down beside him. Wade turned his head to look.

"Harry?" Wade asked. "Your arm's better now?"

"The bones have all grown back" 

Harry showed his arm, though his movements were still a bit stiff.

"Madam Pomfrey told me to keep moving it, and it should regain full flexibility in a few days."

"Magic really is convenient," Wade remarked, unable to hold back his amazement. "If it were Muggles, you'd probably be disabled for life."

"Yeah," Harry agreed with a thankful smile.

"What about Sirius?" Wade asked casually, glancing at the figures flying above them.

"He went back this morning," Harry said. "He asked me to thank you on his behalf. He wants to give you a birthday present and asked me what you might like. Of course, I said you love books."

Harry grinned.

"He said the Black family is an ancient one, and their house is full of books—"

Wade turned to look at him, and his eyes instantly lit up.

"So Sirius wants to invite you over to the Black family's ancestral home during the Christmas holidays. He said you're free to explore the library, and if you like, you can take the entire collection."

Harry spoke enthusiastically, nodding firmly, as if to emphasize the truth of his words.

Wade couldn't help but laugh.

"That would be far too presumptuous…" he said modestly. "I'd be fine with just copying them."

"I knew you'd love the idea," Harry said. 

"But Sirius also asked me to warn you… the Black family is exactly the kind of place you'd expect from a lineage of dark wizards. It's neither luxurious nor elegant, and it might even be a bit dangerous."

"Doesn't that make it even better?" Wade raised an eyebrow with a playful smile.

Harry laughed as well, equally full of anticipation.

The structures at Granian Farm might be unremarkable, but the abundance of magical creatures made it fascinating.

The Weasley household, though poor, had its mundane routines infused with unique charm thanks to magic.

Lupin's home was warm and cozy, embodying the best image of a home Harry could imagine.

Recently, Sirius had also been working on decorating his own house. Harry had planned to help him over the weekend, but yesterday's injury derailed his plans.

While Sirius described the Black ancestral home as a gloomy, eerie, and dull place, Harry figured it was likely because Sirius had grown up there and had become accustomed to its peculiarities.

But for Harry and Wade, an ancient mansion steeped in mystery seemed far more enticing than a typical wizarding home.

As they chatted, a long whistle echoed through the air.

The match had ended—Cedric had caught the Golden Snitch, and Hufflepuff won by a narrow margin of 20 points.

Applause and cheers erupted from the stands. Even the Ravenclaw students, despite their team's disappointment, clapped politely—except for the players, who were visibly dejected.

Wade and his group were among those clapping. Although they no longer relied on Cedric for purchases, they were genuinely happy to see him win.

Especially the girls. Most of them weren't particularly interested in Quidditch or which team won. They had mainly come to the field for a legitimate reason to admire Cedric's handsome face.

Harry, however, looked a bit grim.

"We're up against Hufflepuff in March," he said worriedly. "I thought Cedric, as a Seeker, would be a bit clumsy…"

Wade suddenly remembered that in the original storyline, the second year's matches were disrupted by the basilisk attacks and couldn't proceed.

In the third year, Dementors had appeared at the match, causing Harry to faint, which led to Gryffindor losing to Hufflepuff.

As for the fourth year, the Triwizard Tournament took place. Not only was Quidditch canceled, but Cedric ultimately met a tragic end at the hands of Peter Pettigrew.

This meant that in the original story, Harry never truly faced Cedric as Seekers in a proper match.

Thinking of these events, Wade patted Harry's shoulder with a detached sympathy. "Looks like Wood's going to make you train twice as hard."

Harry nodded with a nervous smile. "Good thing Christmas break is just around the corner…"

Even though Harry loved Quidditch, he wasn't sure he could endure more of Wood's grueling training sessions.

This year, Harry wouldn't be spending Christmas without a home, so he didn't plan to apply to stay at school. After the match, he went to invite a few others for the holidays.

"This is the first time I've ever invited friends over for Christmas... You could even say it's the first time in my life. Sirius told me to bring a few more friends along to help clean up."

Harry said this cheerfully as he bid goodbye.

He seemed to think that Sirius was joking and repeated it in the same lighthearted tone.

But Wade's smile suddenly froze.

What… clean up?

The Black family ancestral home was infamous for its accumulated filth and grime, with the house-elf refusing to work out of disdain for Sirius as its master.

In the story, Mrs. Weasley, an experienced homemaker, had needed several days of hard work with her children just to make a few rooms barely usable.

Wade's expression quickly turned troubled.

He was willing to lose sleep and devote himself to practicing magic, but he wasn't keen on wasting time on tedious, repetitive chores.

Maybe I should have my magical automatons do the work?

Or perhaps modify the cleaning crabs again?

That could work, but what if that rebellious house-elf sabotaged things? Those alchemical creations aren't indestructible.

No, I'd have to deal with that house-elf first… Kreacher, isn't it? The guides on how to handle him were written in the books…

Wade had originally planned to wait until Sirius recovered a bit more before embarking on the cave expedition. 

But now, for the sake of the Black family library, and to avoid doing more housework—in other words, to have more time to study magic—he silently decided to move his plans forward.

Thinking of the cave led him to think of Horcruxes, then the Resurrection Stone in his bag, and finally, Dumbledore.

Wade noticed that Dumbledore wasn't on the faculty stands this time watching the match.

Had Dumbledore come yesterday specifically for Harry? 

Was he worried someone might attack Harry again during the match, since Harry had gotten hurt in the maze?

Wade's heart suddenly skipped a beat.

When Harry finished inviting Ron and Hermione and walked past Wade to find Michael, Wade waved him over. Harry walked back, confused.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I forgot to ask you…" Wade said seriously. "Why did you suddenly fall from the sky after yesterday's match?"

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