The Strange Illness, Half a Year of Polyjuice Potion

Outside Hogsmeade Village, the four saw a familiar the Grim: a large black dog.

"Hello, Sirius Black," Harry greeted him.

The black dog eagerly approached Harry, its nose constantly sniffing his schoolbag, and its tail gradually began to wag.

"Wow! They're starving!"

The black dog nodded slightly, without denying it.

The life of a murderer on the run is not easy. Hiding in other places is alright, although it is tough, at least he can get by.

Hogsmeade is a Warlock village, and his wanted posters have been posted there for a long time. Most people recognize him, and in order not to attract attention, he didn't even dare to enter the village.

This resulted in him having almost no food source, and he was often hungry, sometimes not knowing where his next meal would come from.

The black dog turned around and was about to lead them to its hiding place.

"There's no need for that." Aaron handed him the Invisibility Cloak directly. "Let's change back first, it'll be easier to eat that way."

The black dog slipped into the Invisibility Cloak and soon returned to human form, leaving only one hand sticking out as it took Harry's Backpack.

The sound of chewing food came from the side. Sirius Black said between bites, "I'm starving. I've been surviving by catching mice these past few days."

"At least they didn't starve to death," Aaron said. "There are countless stray dogs that starve to death."

"Let's not joke like that." Sirius Black said speechlessly, "I came back specifically because the situation is getting more and more complicated, and I wouldn't feel at ease if I didn't come in person."

"Take a look at this."

He threw out two copies of the Daily Prophet, and the four of them immediately crowded around to read them.

One was titled "The Mystery of Barty Crouch's Illness," and the other "The Ministry of Ministry of Magic's Witches Still Missing."

"What's the connection?" Hermione asked.

"Crouch is sick, that's common knowledge," Ron said. "Now Percy is doing a lot of the work for him; he's Barty Crouch's personal assistant."

"Excuse me for being frank, but I don't see what the problem is." Aaron frowned. "As an employee, isn't it normal to take sick leave?"

"That's true for everyone else," Sirius Black said, taking a big gulp of Pumpkin Juice. "But Barty Crouch is different. He's never taken a day off because he was sick."

But this time, he not only took leave, he took leave for a month or so.

"If that's the case... then there is indeed a problem."

"The problem doesn't stop there. Bertha Joggins hasn't contacted anyone yet. She's Crouch's subordinate, and she's also aware of the Triwizard Tournament."

"Crouch even fired Winky," Hermione said indignantly. "He was his House Elf, and Winky is working at Hogwarts now."

"Barty Crouch's wife and son were long dead, and he was all alone."

But now he hasn't seen anyone for a long time, no one knows about his illness, his subordinates have been missing for a long time, and his servants have been fired. Fortunately, they all know about the Triwizard Tournament.

"You mean..." Harry's expression changed slightly, "Voldemort..."

"Don't say his name," Ron said hastily.

"Alright! The You-Know-Who learned about the Triwizard Tournament from Crouch or someone connected to him, and then secretly arranged for someone to put my name in the Goblet of Fire."

"That's very possible," Sirius Black said. "We need to confirm it."

Ron, your brother is Crouch's personal assistant. Could you please ask him if he's seen Crouch recently?

"I'll do my best!" Ron scratched his head. "Percy was too respectful to Crouch."

"So it's not necessarily Karkaroff who put my name in the Goblet of Fire." Harry frowned. "He's one of the three headmasters, so he must have known about the Goblet of Fire in advance."

"So the situation is complicated. Karkaroff used to be Death Eater. Although he was not imprisoned in Azkaban by betraying his companions, it cannot be ruled out that he wants to return to You-Know-Who's side."

He might be acting on his own initiative, wanting to use your life as a gift, or it could be an arrangement by You-Know-Who, allowing him to atone for his sins.

"It's also possible that the You-Know-Who arranged for someone else to put your name into the Goblet of Fire."

"It makes no difference, they're all going to kill me." Harry chuckled self-deprecatingly, then seemed to think of something and whispered, "Maybe it's Snape."

"Impossible." Aaron retorted without hesitation. "Although Professor Snape's attitude towards you is somewhat...different, he would never harm you."

"That's right," Hermione agreed. "Dumbledore trusts Snape, and he had many opportunities to harm you, especially in the past few years..."

"The Dark Mark hasn't appeared in the last few years!" Harry interrupted her helplessly. "He didn't harm me before, probably because the You-Know-Who lost power and couldn't act under Dumbledore's nose, so he could only find ways to make things difficult for me."

Now that the Dark Mark has appeared, perhaps the time is ripe for him.

Most importantly... Karkaroff and Snape were old acquaintances; Aaron and I saw them arguing for the first time when we went to his private storeroom.

"That's interesting," Aaron sneered. "You suspect Professor Snape just because of this?"

Harry Potter, how many times have you suspected Professor Snape of trying to harm you?

Harry was speechless for a moment. It seemed that he would suspect Snape every time something happened, but it was never him.

"Uh... I don't think it was Snape who put your name in the Goblet of Fire," Sirius Black said thoughtfully. "His acquaintance with Karkaroff is probably just a coincidence. If he really worked for the You-Know-Who, Dumbledore would never have let him teach at Hogwarts."

"Did you hear that?" Aaron rolled his eyes at Harry. "Even if you don't believe Professor Snape, you should at least believe Dumbledore!"

"Black, is there anything else you want to tell us?" Hermione asked.

"That's all for now. Find Barty Crouch; he might know something."

Also, you can send your letters and messages here so I can stay informed of any unusual situations. But you can't leave Hogwarts to see me; it would be too dangerous if someone tried to harm Harry.

"Danger?" Harry gave a wry smile. "What could be more dangerous than Dragon and Grindylow?"

"The Third Task," Sirius Black Zheng reminded him, "The first two projects didn't kill you, so the Third Task is your last chance."

The Third Task will be very dangerous; you must not be careless.

"Understood," Harry nodded seriously.

"At least you're safe until the Third Task starts," Aaron teased. "You have more than three months in between, enough time for you to rest."

Upon hearing this, Harry's face showed a hint of embarrassment.

That's what he said, but he wouldn't dare to think that way.

The idea that there's plenty of time is all an illusion; his first project taught him a valuable lesson in this regard.

If he hadn't prepared in advance, the Third Task might have really killed him. He wasn't naive Dobby to think that Dobby could help him again.

"Alright, you should go back to school now."

If you guys start talking about me, just tell me I have a 'cold'.

As soon as he finished speaking, the backpack was stuffed into Harry's arms, but all the food inside had been swept away, leaving only a few bones and two empty bottles.

Sirius Black transformed back into his black dog form. Harry retrieved the Invisibility Cloak that had fallen to the ground, waved to the black dog, and turned to return to Hogwarts Castle.

Divine Thunder Hall.

Aaron shared his memories with the Thought Form.

"It couldn't be Professor Snape, nor could it be Karkaroff," the Thought Form said with certainty. "If nothing unexpected happens, Voldemort must have sent someone to infiltrate Hogwarts."

"Are you so sure?"

"I remember Professor Snape saying that the African Tree Snake and Lacewing Flies had disappeared. It seems that someone really has prepared the Polyjuice Potion."

"Your reasoning skills have improved!"

The Thought Form rolled its eyes and said resentfully, "Besides taking two elective courses, it's just practicing magic at the Divine Thunder Hall. If you were in that situation, you would inevitably think about other things too."

Aaron gave an awkward laugh and immediately changed the subject, saying, "The question is, who is this person?"

"I don't know." The Thought Form shrugged. "We don't have any suspects right now. This person is very smart and cautious, and hasn't left any clues."

He must have imprisoned someone, using that person's hair or fingernails to continuously create Polyjuice Potion, thus perfectly infiltrating Hogwarts.

"What a ruthless person!" Aaron exclaimed. "This person probably integrated into the school before the Goblet of Fire even existed. Let's say it happened on the first day of school..."

My goodness! I've been drinking compound Polyjuice Potion for half a year.

"This timeframe will likely continue, and he probably won't appear until the Third Task."

Aaron remained noncommittal. The other party had clearly intended to use the Triwizard Tournament to kill him by putting Harry Potter's name into the Goblet of Fire.

The first two projects were due to unexpected events: once Professor Moody reminded Harry to use the Flying Broomstick, and the other time Dobby stole the Gillyweed. But the opponent will definitely not be able to hold back for the Third Task. If they lose again, they might even personally intervene.

"Poor Harry Potter, every year is so tragic."

"We should be glad he's still alive. Without this shield, we might be in similar situations."

"That's true. His misfortune is his problem, it has nothing to do with me," Aaron said, but a bitter smile quickly appeared on his face. "As per Adrian's request, my last project is to protect the other Champion, which means I have to protect Harry Potter."

The Thought Form shrugged. "Even without my eldest sister's request, we can't let him die."

"I know, but I feel inexplicably annoyed," Aaron said, both angry and helpless. "And it means we might have to face the person who threw Harry's name into the Goblet of Fire."

"That's alright," the Thought Form said in a softer tone. "As long as we don't face Voldemort head-on, there's nothing to be afraid of. His Death Eater are no match for us."