Sirius: This Is a High-Stakes Match (12,000 Words)

Hearing the shouts outside, Harry instinctively glanced at Veratia.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Veratia tilted her head to a ninety-degree angle—which, combined with Bellatrix's face, didn't seem out of place.

"I was just wondering why the Auror arrived so quickly."

Harry was saying this, but he had already pulled his wand out of his clothes.

"Is it possible to reach a settlement?" he asked.

Veratia pressed the wand against her face.

"If you think they'll go easy on the two Azkaban fugitives," she said.

The Auror outside were still urging the two of them to come out and surrender, without even going to Azkaban to check whether the two had actually escaped.

"Listen up, you people inside! Stop your futile resistance!"

"I think we should Apparition away," Harry said, turning to Veratia.

"Do you think the Goblin of Gringotts would forget to set up Anti-Apparition Charm here?" Veratia asked calmly.

"What about Fiona?" Harry asked.

"Fiona is at home."

After Veratia answered, she pointed her wand at the door.

The door seemed to have been blown up, crashing to the ground with a loud bang and billowing out a thick cloud of smoke.

At the same time, a red light flashed outside the door.

"Stupefy (Stunning Spell)!"

Several Charms were unleashed simultaneously, striking towards the direction inside the door.

Harry sidestepped, dodging the Charms.

"You don't want to be discovered by the Ministry of Magic, are you? You're impersonating the Lestrange family, aren't you?" Veratia looked at Harry with a smile. "Prepare for battle—I'm warning you, if you fall into their hands, you might end up in Azkaban."

"I don't think I'll go to that godforsaken place," Harry replied. "Let's go, let's fight our way out together, and remember... once we're outside Gringotts, we'll Apparition together to Professor Scamander's tent..."

"Wow, so many people outside! Harry!" Veratia's eyes gleamed with a wild, excited light. "How about we take your advice and defeat them all before we leave?"

"I don't think this is the right choice!" Harry retorted seriously. "Let's go—after all, they're Auror, I mean..."

His strong moral compass led him to reject Veratia's persuasive proposal.

He raised his wand and blew a gust of wind that swept away all the dust at the doorway.

Without the dust obstructing their view, Harry and Veratia finally came face to face with the Auror who were surrounding the door in layers upon layers.

"Eh—hehehe..."

Veratia's version of Bellatrix let out a maniacal laugh, raising her hand to wave at the Auror: "Hello—"

In response to her, more than a dozen people Stunning Spell.

Veratia wasn't afraid. She erected a Shield Charm to protect herself from the Charms and even had the energy to retaliate.

"Stop them!" shouted the Curly-haired Auror who was leading them.

While the Auror were frantically trying to fend off Veratia's attack, Harry cast a Disarming Charm, knocking all the wands out of the Auror' hands at the door.

What kind of Disarming Charm is this?

The Auror present were all stunned.

They've captured Rodolphus Lestrange before—the problem is, the Rodolphus of that time was definitely not as powerful as the Rodolphus before them.

With just one Disarming Charm, they disarmed more than a dozen Auror. That's just... insane.

Even Voldemort himself might not have such a high level of skill in the Disarming Charm, right?

Seeing the Auror stunned, Harry knew his chance to slip away had come.

Auror are different from others; they aren't evil Dark Wizard. Harry would try his best to avoid conflict with them.

"Now!" Harry shouted back to Veratia.

"You can't escape!"

The Auror with the ramen-noodle-like hair shouted, raising his wand and aiming it at Harry had transformed into Rodolphus.

Instead of dodging or using the Protego, Harry targeted the nearest Auror.

"Accio!"

Before the Auror could even react, Harry had him in his hand.

He was then struck by the Charms of the Curly-haired Auror, his head lolling to the side without a sound, and he passed out.

"Rufus!" the others shouted, "You hit one of your own! Good heavens!"

Harry released the Auror's hand, raised his wand and threw it at the crowd, creating a Confringo. Taking advantage of the chaos, he rushed to Gringotts and disappeared into a vortex amidst the Auror ' resentful gazes.

Seeing Harry leave, Veratia naturally lost interest in playing around and followed him out of Gringotts.

The two "fugitives" could not be caught, but fortunately there were no casualties, Auror secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Back when the Death Eater dominated the British wizarding world, how could there be such an easy battle?

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he was given a second chance at life.

The Auror rushed forward to check on the Auror's injuries, especially Rufus Scrimgeour, the Head of the Auror Office had caused the injury.

"Dawlish! Dawlish!"

They all lifted him up and patted his face in an attempt to wake him up.

A short while later, Dawlish slowly woke up.

"Why me again?" His first words upon waking were a complaint.

"Be thankful, at least you're still alive," someone comforted her.

The turmoil at Gringotts did not make the headlines of the Daily Prophet, nor was there any related news.

The Ministry of Magic breathed a sigh of relief when it was confirmed that Rodolphus Lestrange and Bellatrix Lestrange had not escaped from prison and were staying in prison properly.

"This is just some silly joke played by some incredibly bored people," Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge told the Ministry of Magic officials.

For someone like Fudge, keeping his position as Minister for Magic was the most important thing. As for whether the Lestrange couple really caused trouble in Gringotts, that was not of much concern to him, because there was a Lestrange couple serving time in Azkaban. Whoever questioned it, he could send someone to the Azkaban prison to verify it on the spot.

It wasn't until the next day that Dumbledore and the others returned to the school from outside.

With such a major event occurring, Dumbledore, as the Chief Archmage of Wizengamot and President of the International Confederation of Wizards, could not remain indifferent; he would inevitably have to inquire with the Ministry of Magic.

"I really didn't expect this," Dumbledore said to Veratia, rubbing his chest. "You two actually chose to cause such a ruckus at Gringotts, provoking the Auror to attack you... I hope that next time you do something like this, you'd better communicate with us in advance. A centenarian like me really can't withstand the impact of similar events anymore."

He was indeed startled. When the Auror were blasted away by the Confringo, Dumbledore thought that some Dark Wizard had really come to Gringotts to plunder. He never expected that this senior Grindelwald would have such a wicked sense of humor and decide to make the charade real.

"Veratia's getting too into character," Harry said without hesitation, immediately starting to report his best friend. "I wanted her to leave quickly, but she wanted to finish the whole thing..."

"It really surprises me. I thought the Daily Prophet would publish such an explosive headline, causing the Ministry of Magic to be in a mess and eventually shutting down the newspaper."

Cassandra was somewhat disappointed that she didn't see the news on the front page of the Daily Prophet.

"There's nothing strange about it. We wizards also follow the rules of democratic religion," Veratia said to Cassandra with a smile. "Banning is a method used a hundred years ago. Now, we decide not to disclose information through proper procedures."

"And what about the Minister for Magic?" Cassandra frowned, looking at Dumbledore. "The current Minister for Magic wouldn't just let something like this happen, would he? I mean—something like the Azkaban fugitive attack on the Auror?"

"Well," Dumbledore tapped the table and began to evaluate his Old Pal, "I know Cornelius very well. He cares more about his position as Minister for Magic than principles, and he always runs away at the first sign of trouble."

Hearing Dumbledore's assessment, Cassandra's brow furrowed even more.

How can the British wizarding world be any better if someone like that is appointed Minister for Magic?

"He raised the average age of the Ministry of Magic, but lowered Ministry of Magic average IQ," Harry added.

Upon hearing Harry's assessment, Veratia couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Isn't it a bit much to say such a thing about our Minister for Magic?" Newt asked, looking up.

"But we found happiness," Harry told him.

Newt thought for a moment, then laughed along.

It's really quite enjoyable to have crickets Fudge behind you.

"Let's get down to business," Dumbledore said, sitting behind his desk in the Headmaster's Office. "What did you find in the Lestrange family vault? Did you see a portrait of Ominis Gaunt, or rather, Marvolo Gaunt's Ring?"

"No," Harry said truthfully, "But we did find some other things, including a sword that belonged to Godric Gryffindor's sword and a golden cup that belonged to Helga Hufflepuff's Cup..."

As she spoke, Veratia took out her small pouch and shook the Gryffindor's Sword and Hufflepuff's Cup onto the ground.

"This shouldn't be Godric's sword," the Sorting Hat exclaimed. "His sword has been in the old hat's belly ever since Godric died. How could it be lost? Come here, you little scarred boy."

The phrase "the boy with the scar on his head" clearly refers to Harry.

Seeing that Harry didn't move, the Sorting Hat lifted its body slightly, pulled back the brim, and said, "Come here, you scarred kid—bring out the real Gryffindor sword! You're a real Gryffindor!"

Harry stepped forward and reached into the old hat.

"Oh, so you were talking about me."

"Otherwise, who do you think is 'the kid with the scar on his head'?" the Sorting Hat retorted indignantly. "Good heavens, you have absolutely no self-awareness, do you?"

Harry took the Gryffindor's Sword from the old hat's lap, walked back to his seat, and placed the sword on Dumbledore's Headmaster.

He wouldn't hold a grudge over a hat; he'd just say a few words if he was criticized.

Besides, he really is the kid with the scar on his head...

"Look," the old man said smugly, "I've kept Godric's Holy Sword in excellent condition. Only the old man can tell which one is Godric's Holy Sword..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Harry walked over to the fake sword, blocking Old Hat's view. He mixed the two swords together, picked them up, and asked, "Then let me test you—which one is the real Gryffindor sword?"

"The one on your right, the kid with the scar on his head," the Sorting Hat said lazily.

Harry was genuinely surprised that the old hat could distinguish which one was the real Gryffindor sword.

"It's worth mentioning," Harry placed the real Gryffindor sword on the table, then poked the Hufflepuff's Cup with the fake one, "that cup has a very strong Dark Magic Curse on it—"

Dumbledore had finished examining the cup and sighed, saying, "If nothing unexpected happens, this should also be one of Voldemort's Horcrux."

Harry frowned, somewhat dismissively saying, "My God, he's disgusting... he's like a dog marking places everywhere..."

Meanwhile, Sirius, who was eating Giant Spider raw on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, suddenly sneezed twice.

I feel like someone insulted me.

He shook his head, forgetting the inappropriate thought, and continued to devour the Giant Spider with his head down.

"I agree with you," Cassandra said, wrinkling her nose. "But since he collected the fake Gryffindor sword and the Hufflepuff's Cup, does that mean the remaining two relics of the Four Founders are also in his possession? And have they been made into Horcrux?"

Harry suddenly remembered the memories he had seen earlier that belonged to Morfin Gaunt.

He began, "It's very possible. I remember when I was looking at Morfin's memories with Headmaster Dumbledore Gaunt, he said that Merope Gaunt, Voldemort's mother, took the Slytherin's Locket that had been passed down in the family and later sold it at a low price to Mr. Borgin's shop... And given Voldemort's character, he might very well have retrieved his mother's keepsake, or... he might have turned it into Horcrux."

"What a good son he is, isn't he?" Cassandra said sarcastically.

"And what about you?" Veratia suddenly leaned close to Harry's ear and whispered, "Are you a good boy?"

Harry's ears were tickled by the fragrant, warm breath, and strands of hair brushed against his face, making him blush instantly.

"We're talking about serious business, stop fooling around!" Harry said, hunching over.

When he glanced at Cassandra, he found that she was also looking at him.

Noticing Harry's gaze, Cassandra gagged.

The meaning is very simple, it clearly means – "I feel like throwing up."

"Then there's another question: where are the Slytherin's locket and the Ravenclaw's Diadem?" Harry quickly changed the subject. "Now that we have some initial guesses, our next step is to find these two items. If Voldemort has turned them into Horcrux, we'll have to destroy them..."

"Those are priceless relics, you reckless little Troll," Cassandra said from the side. "We're not in a hurry to destroy the Horcrux; on the contrary, we should preserve the Founders's relics, understand?"

"She's right, Harry," Dumbledore said. "The Founders's relics are of great significance to Hogwarts, and if given the choice, we would choose to preserve them as much as possible rather than destroy them."

"So how should we remove the remnant of Voldemort's soul that's attached to it?" Newt suddenly asked. "Harry, what method did you use to destroy that Horcrux of Voldemort's last year?"

Harry turned his head away.

"Harry?" Newt's voice was a little louder, as he thought Harry hadn't heard him.

"We used... Avada Kedavra," Harry cleared his throat and said, "And Ancient Magic..."

Those around Harry looked back, their eyes filled with awe and respect.

Good heavens, is there such a way?

"I think we should look for some other ways, what do you think?" Harry changed the subject. "I think there must be other methods besides these two."

"And Fiendfyre," Cassandra suddenly said. "I read about Horcrux in a book I have at home. It said that if you want to destroy Horcrux, you can use the Fiendfyre."

As one of the most powerful Dark Arts, Fiendfyre is a magical fire that grows stronger with each passing moment. This fire can mimic the forms of monsters and relentlessly hunts down almost anything that can burn, friend or foe – even indestructible Horcrux cannot withstand the scorching heat of Fiendfyre.

However, on the other hand, nothing in this world is indestructible. Even things that are said to be indestructible and unbreakable can be breached from some tricky angle.

"Besides these?" Dumbledore looked at the golden cup. "I think there must be other ways to destroy the soul fragments on it without destroying the object itself."

"Then it seems like the only option is the Avada Kedavra," Newt said, head bowed. "I can't think of any other good solution."

"And you, Mr. LeMay?" Harry turned to look at Mr. LeMay, who was still absentmindedly touching the Crystal Ball. "As a legendary Alchemy, you must have considerable knowledge of Horcrux —what do you think are some good ways to destroy Horcrux?"

"Leave it to me." Mr. LeMay put down the Crystal Ball. "At the latest, by tomorrow, I will return to you a Hufflepuff's Cup in perfect condition, free of any unidentified objects."

"Do you have a good idea?" Newt asked, leaning closer like a curious child.

"Oh, this is my secret, Newt." Mr. LeMay put the Crystal Ball somewhere, or rather, hid it away.

Since Mr. LeMay had given his assurance, everyone chose to believe him, since no one else had a better solution.

When Harry returned to the Common Room, he overheard Ron and Hermione arguing.

"Good heavens, Hermione!" Ron roared. "Keep an eye on that beast of yours! It's such a nuisance! Scabbers is old enough; it doesn't deserve to be treated like that!"

When Harry walked over, he saw Ron hugging his mouse like a precious treasure, glaring angrily at Hermione.

"Parrots don't eat mice! Ron, how many times do I have to tell you? It only eats nuts or seeds, why would it eat your mouse?"

Hermione, not to be outdone, hugged Jack tightly, her hair practically standing on end in anger.

"It doesn't eat mice! Look what it's done!" Ron said angrily.

"What's wrong with you two?" Harry walked over and asked Hermione and Ron with concern.

He casually picked up a small cookie from the table, and just as he was about to put it in his mouth, he saw the Weasley twins looking at him expectantly.

Harry immediately understood what was going on. He subtly put down the biscuit and handed it to Ron: "Have a biscuit first, catch your breath."

"Thank you, Harry." Ron was completely unsuspecting when Harry offered him the biscuit, and he ate it almost without hesitation.

A few seconds later, yellow feathers suddenly sprouted from his body.

"Chirp chirp chirp!"

Ron let out a bird call, stood up, turned angrily to the Weasley twins who were laughing so hard they were doubled over, and let out a bird-song-like sound.

Yes, it's real birdsong and fragrant flowers, not just an adjective.

Hermione couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Canary Cream Biscuit," the twins said, stepping over at the opportune moment. "As you can see, they can turn the eater into a canary, just like our precious little Ronnie —look, isn't it beautiful?"

"Sorry, Ron." Harry patted Ron on the shoulder, kicking up a flurry of feathers. "I didn't know there was anything wrong with the biscuits... By the way, what happened between you and Hermione? Why did you two argue?"

Ron was surrounded by birdsong and fragrant flowers again, while Fred and George gathered around, one on each side, and began to tell Harry what had happened.

"Scabbers has a running wheel, you know?" Fred said. "He used to run around in it all the time when he had nothing to do, but lately he hasn't been feeling well, so he hasn't been running—"

"—Yes, so Jack felt a little uncomfortable, especially today while Ronnie little darling was resting—"

The two replicants said in unison—

"—It picked up Scabbers, put her in the running wheel, and then kept turning the hand crank for almost an hour..."

Harry imagined the scene and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Then he felt it was a bit inappropriate, so he patted Ron on the shoulder and sighed.

"I didn't mean to laugh," Harry said, then couldn't help but chuckle again, "Unless I just couldn't hold it in anymore, hahahahaha..."

Harry had a very pleasant evening and was in a great mood; even the dinner in the dining hall tasted especially delicious.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione followed the rest of the Gryffindor along their usual route to the Gryffindor Tower. But when they reached the Sphinx, they found the corridor crowded with people.

"Why isn't anyone going in?" Ron asked curiously. "Don't they want to go in?"

Harry looked ahead over the crowd, but the Sphinx was nowhere to be seen, and the passage he had been guarding behind him was now closed.

"Please let me through," Percy's voice rang out as he swaggered out of the crowd. "What are you all doing blocking the way? Surely none of you can't answer the Sphinx's question? Good heavens, can't you ask the smart kids in school—excuse me, I'm the Head Boy— "

"Oh, Head Boy," the Weasley twins said in unison, exposing the situation.

After Percy finished speaking, the crowd fell silent.

But after the Twins sabotaged things, everyone burst into laughter again.

Percy's voice suddenly shrilled. "Quickly, go to the Headmaster's Office and fetch Professor Dumbledore! Hurry!"

"What happened?" Seamus and Neville walked over curiously. They had just finished eating—dinner was so delicious that Neville couldn't help but eat two extra pieces of bread.

"The Sphinx is gone," everyone answered in unison. "We can't get into the Common Room— "

"Alright then, let's wander together," Seamus said with a chuckle. "Anyway, I don't want to answer any of its questions. Can I refuse to answer?"

"Obviously, even if you wanted to answer now, it's unlikely you could."

Just then, Peeves's voice rang out.

"Poor Gryffindor students—" he Leviosa in the air, his tone laced with undisguised schadenfreude, "The great Peeves has spotted a bunch of homeless little wizards!"

"Shut up, Peeves!" everyone said in unison.

"Hehehe—" Peeves picked up a piece of chalk and started throwing it at the crowd.

However, before Harry could deal with him, he saw a semi-transparent green figure streak across the sky.

It is Sebastian's ghost.

"Good heavens, Sebastian!" he roared and pounced on Peeves, pinning him against the wall.

"Saru! Saru!" Peeves panicked a little; he was genuinely afraid of this eerie Slytherin ghost who had a grudge against him. "Let's talk this out. You don't remember reporting me for going to the Restricted Section a hundred years ago, do you?"

The thing Peeves was talking about was the time when Sebastian taught Harry the Disillusionment Charm.

At that time, Sebastian wanted to go to the Restricted Section to find a way to lift the Dark Magic Curse in order to save the suffering Anne. However, because he was reported by Peeves, Sebastian became the most unpopular person in the library, and the school even put some magic on him to prevent him from entering.

So from that time on, Sebastian harbored a grudge against Peeves and even invented Charms to subdue Peeves.

"Go for it, Mr. Salu!" The students cheered for Sebastian together—no one cheered for Peeves or said a word for him, because he was the student's least favorite person.

"I'm getting beaten up, you bunch of brats!" Peeves shouted as he struggled.

"Ceeeeeeeeeb!" the Weasley twins drawled.

"What are you doing?"

Professor Dumbledore's voice rang out.

"Sorry, Professor," Harry said, "We're just watching Peeves get beaten up."

"Hey, Professor!" Peeves shouted, "Could you get rid of this annoying Slytherin ghost for me?"

"Mr. Salu," Dumbledore called out.

Sebastian then released Peeves and walked away arrogantly.

Before leaving, he told the students that if Peeves caused any more trouble, they should go to the basement to find him.

The Peeves was grieving as if he had lost his parents, while his classmates were all beaming with joy.

"Alright, let me through," Dumbledore said.

The Gryffindor students then squeezed together to make way for them.

"Professor McGonagall, please go to Filch immediately and tell him to look for the Sphinx in the castle," Professor Dumbledore said, turning back. "Also..."

Before he could finish speaking, a voice rang out from the crowd.

"The Sphinx is back!" someone shouted.

Everyone descended the stairs, making way for the Sphinx's enormous body.

The Sphinx at the entrance was not in human form, but in the form of an eagle's head—he strode in with an air of arrogance, like a victorious warrior returning home.

As you can see, he has a tuft of black hair in his mouth.

"Someone tried to break into the Gryffindor dormitories, Headmaster." Sphinx spat out the tuft of hair and said happily to Dumbledore, "It's an honor to tell you, Headmaster, that I chased the man away and, incidentally, plucked a tuft of his hair—"

"I'm delighted to hear this," Professor Dumbledore said, nodding. "Thank you for your contributions to the school's safety, Sphinx."

"It's what I should do," Sphinx said with a smile.

"So, do you know who's trying to break in?" Dumbledore asked.

"Do you think he'll tell me?" Sphinx retorted.

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow but did not ask any further questions.

But he already knew who was trying to force their way into the Gryffindor Common Room.

After a moment's thought, Dumbledore called all the Gryffindor students back to the Great Hall. Ten minutes later, students from Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, and other houses also arrived, all looking completely bewildered.

Everyone was whispering and chatting, wondering why the Headmaster had asked them to gather in the Great Hall.

Could he have something important to announce? People whispered among themselves, some even irresponsibly speculating that Dumbledore was about to announce an early Christmas holiday—

Oh, what sweet dreams are you having?

Once everyone was in position, Professor Dumbledore raised his hand.

Upon seeing this, everyone fell silent, and the Great Hall became quiet.

"The professors and I will be conducting a thorough search of the castle," Professor Dumbledore told the students. At that moment, Professor McGonagall and Flitwick closed all the doors of the Great Hall. "For your own safety, I think you may have to spend the night here—I require the Prefect to stand guard at the entrance of the Great Hall, and the student council presidents and vice presidents to remain inside to manage the Great Hall and report to me immediately if anything happens—"

He added this sentence to Percy, Percy looked like an important person.

"—Find a ghost to deliver a message to me," Dumbledore said to Percy.

"Look, Head Boy's privileges," Fred whispered, cricketing. "That's Head Boy, the student with the biggest head in the Headmaster's eyes..."

The students next to him couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Professor Dumbledore paused, looked in the direction of the laughter, but said nothing.

He turned around, about to leave the Great Hall, then stopped and said to everyone, "Oh, by the way, you'll need—"

With a casual wave of his wand, the long tables flew to the side of the Great Hall and stood against the wall; with another wave, the floor was covered with hundreds of purple sleeping bags.

"I need something to help you all sleep in the Great Hall." Professor Dumbledore winked at everyone and walked out of the Great Hall.

Of course, as the Headmaster, he would never forget to close the door.

An excited murmur immediately filled the Great Hall, a buzzing, noisy, and excited sound.

Since the professors were not in the Great Hall, the students were left unattended—the basic situation was that Gryffindor students were busy telling other students what had just happened, while unsuspecting students listened with excitement.

Everyone was excited when they heard that Sirius Black had broken into the Gryffindor Common Room.

They had all heard about Sirius, and they all looked at Harry, wondering what would happen if Harry encountered this person who wanted to kill him.

"Is that even a question?" Ron said gleefully. "I bet he wouldn't dare come looking for Harry —if he'd seen that Quidditch Match, he'd be keeping his distance, lest Harry burn him to ashes!"

"How dare he come to the Gryffindor Common Room?" The Ravenclaw students nearby chimed in. "I bet he didn't see the match, otherwise he wouldn't have had the nerve to come here."

"Alright! Quiet down!" Percy's voice rang out at the opportune moment. "I'm the Head Boy. I hereby announce that lights out will be in ten minutes. No one is allowed to speak, understand?"

"He's really annoying," Ron whispered to Harry. "See? Always a spoilsport. If he knew just how annoying he was, he wouldn't be like this."

"After all, he's the Head Boy, Ron," Harry said quietly. "He should have some privileges, shouldn't he?"

Ron shrugged and didn't say anything, agreeing with what Harry had just said.

Meanwhile, in the Forbidden Forest.

Sirius, with a large bald patch on his body, sat in the Forbidden Forest, howling in pain.

Why haven't I been to Hogwarts in so many years? Even the gatekeepers of Gryffindor have changed.

If he had known that the Sphinx was now guarding the door, he would never have dared to provoke this trouble.

Oh my god...

Sirius licked his wounds, still pondering...

It seems it's time to find that traitor using a different approach!

But... what should he do? He was still wondering to himself.

"Black Dog."

An ethereal voice rang out beside him; it was Pabbie.

Pabbie had a food basket in her mouth, which she had taken from Newt's tent.

"Have something to eat," she said. "What happened to you?"

She saw the wounds on Sirius's body.

"Oh, I got scratched by a tree," Sirius said, making an excuse. "It's all my fault for being careless. I wasn't watching where I was going when I was running, and I got scratched by the tree bark."

"I see. You should be more careful," Pabbie replied in a low voice, having understood the dog's language.

But she only understood the gist of it—that she had been scratched by a tree.

This dog isn't very bright, she thought.

Harry lay in his sleeping bag without sleeping, his mind filled with thoughts of Black—

Why did this guy suddenly barge into Gryffindor Common Room?

Even if Voldemort's fanatical followers were to break into the Common Room in broad daylight and kill a student, would they?

Just as he was thinking, he heard the door open with a bang, followed by more footsteps.

"Headmaster?"

The greasy, drawn-out voice was highly recognizable; Harry immediately recognized that the speaker was Professor Snape.

"We've searched the entire fourth floor; he's not there. Filch searched the main castle building, but he's not there either," Professor Snape told Dumbledore.

"What about the Astronomy Tower? Has Professor Trelawney's room been searched? And the places where owls roost—those are easy hiding spots, Severus," Dumbledore said.

"I've checked everything," Snape replied, but his mood was clearly not good; he seemed to be saying it through gritted teeth.

"Very well, Severus, I don't really think Black will stay—" Professor Dumbledore said softly.

"How he got in, I think you should know that, Headmaster." Professor Snape seemed to be implying something, as if he had already identified someone in the school who brought Sirius into the school.

Moreover, it's very likely that he's someone Professor Snape really dislikes, because Harry recognized Snape's tone, which was exactly the same as when he had angered Snape.

"Many, Severus, but you should know—I don't think your guess is correct."

As a shrewd person, Professor Dumbledore naturally understood Snape's implied meaning.

"You remember our conversation, Headmaster? Just before—oh—the start of the term, right?" Snape said meaningfully, his lips barely moving as he spoke, looking as if he were in excruciating toothache, as if it were Snape, not Dumbledore, who was suffering from a toothache from eating Snape.

"Of course I remember, Severus," Dumbledore said, his voice carrying a warning tone.

"It seems—almost impossible— that Black wouldn't have gotten into this school without inside help." Snape's voice, though greasy, was utterly certain. "And I warned you back then that he and..."

"I don't believe anyone in this castle would help Black get in," Dumbledore interrupted Snape, sounding somewhat displeased, as if Snape was accusing someone he trusted implicitly.

"If Potter hadn't burned those Dementor, Sirius might already be captured by Dementor," Snape said, glancing down at Harry who was looking up at him. "Reckless Gryffindor, isn't that right, Potter?"

"You really want the Dementor to surround me and take a couple of puffs?" Harry suddenly retorted.

"Not sleeping, five points deducted from Gryffindor."

Snape seemed to be in a much better mood all of a sudden. He left the Great Hall briskly, leaving a stunned Harry staring at his retreating figure.

"I think he did it on purpose," Professor Dumbledore said with a chuckle. "He deliberately tried to provoke you into speaking so he could find an excuse to deduct points from Gryffindor."

"I think so too." Harry took a deep breath and looked at Dumbledore. "Professor, if it's convenient, may we talk?"

He meant he wanted to talk about Sirius —it couldn't go on like this forever; he felt they should catch the criminals first.

There's no such thing as a thousand days of thievery, but a thousand days of guarding against thieves. Instead of constantly guarding against Sirius, it's better to solve the problem once and for all by addressing its root cause.

"Of course," Professor Dumbledore said with a smile.

The two walked out into the corridor, Dumbledore stood in front of the window, gesturing towards the waning crescent moon outside.

"Go ahead, what do you want to ask?" he asked with a smile, reaching into his pocket to pull out two pieces of candy. "Try this one first; I've always thought it's pretty good."

"Thank you, Professor." Harry took the candy and asked, "Why is Sirius Black so obsessed with hunting me down? Is it really driven by revenge for Voldemort?"

Professor Dumbledore didn't rush to answer. He first unwrapped the candy, took out the orange-red candy, and childishly popped it into his mouth.

"We have no way of knowing that; we'll have to wait until we catch him to find out," he said, biting into a candy. He didn't look like an elderly man with bad teeth at all.

Harry paused, then frowned and said, "Could you tell me the specific reasons? Mr. Weasley said I shouldn't go looking for him. Why did he say that? Why is he so certain I would go to someone who wants to kill me? Is it just because I'm Gryffindor?"

"Of course not, Harry." Dumbledore lowered his eyelids and sighed. "The details are complicated. Mr. Weasley is protecting you—he thinks you shouldn't know these things, but I think it's fine for you to know."

"Could you tell me about it?" Harry asked eagerly.

Just then, the three deans also heard the commotion and came to their side.

Apart from Snape, no one knows where he is now.

"Albus!" Professor McGonagall said seriously, "I don't think it's the right thing to do to tell Mr. Potter about this now..."

"You should have seen his performance in Quidditch, Minerva," said the diminutive Professor Flitwick, waving his arms. "Good heavens, so many Dementor, all dead in one go—are you still going to treat Harry like a child?"

At this point, Professor Flitwick said seriously, "Listen to me, Harry, you have the right to know this now."

"Go ahead and say it, Albus," said Professor Sprout, Headmaster of Hufflepuff. She had clearly watched the Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, and the flames that swept across the sky were still fresh in her memory.

"Alright," Professor McGonagall sighed, "If Mr. Potter insists on knowing."

Harry understood Professor McGonagall's protective intentions and thanked her, saying, "Thank you, Professor McGonagall."

"This child..." Professor McGonagall smiled with satisfaction.

"To be honest, of all the people who have fallen into bad company, Sirius Black is the one I least expected to do this," Professor Sprout began. "I remember back in school, he was closest to Harry's father, wasn't he?"

"Yes, they have a small group, several of them—and they all seem to have code names," Professor Flitwick said with a chuckle. "I remember they often came to me to discuss the application of Charms —but your father is quite a mischievous rascal; sometimes... well, he likes to use a few curses on his students."

"You could say that Black and your father were the leaders of their little group—both of them were very clever...indeed, exceptionally clever. I don't think we've ever encountered a pair of troublemakers like them—not even a tenth as capable of causing trouble as the two Mr. Weasley combined." Professor McGonagall seemed to be sighing, or perhaps reminiscing.

Harry could tell that although Professor McGonagall said her father James was annoying, she actually adored him.

"Yes, like that time when I made one of our Hufflepuff classmates' heads grow huge." Professor Sprout's expression darkened as she said this, and she looked at Harry, saying, "I punished him by sending him to Filch for detention. If you go and check Filch's file now, you'll see that punishment..."

Harry felt a little ashamed; he didn't know that besides disciplining Snape, his father also liked to bully other classmates.

"It's a good thing you're not like that, Harry," Professor Sprout continued. "We've always been thankful that you're more like your mother."

"Black and your father have a very good relationship," Professor McGonagall said. "They're almost like one person..."

"If you didn't Oracle that one's last name Potter and the other Black, you'd think they were brothers!" Professor Flitwick interjected in agreement. "They're inseparable!"

"Of course they were," Professor Sprout said. "Their bond was very strong, and they trusted each other more than any other friend they had ever had, even as they graduated and left the school."

"When your parents got married, Black was their best man—and then they called Black your Godfather," Professor Sprout added.

Harry was stunned.

He never imagined that Sirius Black, who escaped from Azkaban, would be his father's best friend.

He never expected that Sirius would also be his Godfather.

"You're saying Sirius Black was my dad's best friend? And my Godfather?!" Harry still couldn't quite accept it. "But why? Why does he want to kill me now? Has he forgotten his friendship with my dad?"

"People change, Harry," Professor McGonagall sighed. "It's all very complicated..."

Harry felt a surge of anger rush to his brain.

He couldn't accept that Sirius had betrayed his friendship with his father, and he couldn't accept that the person now hunting him down was his Godfather.

"I'll catch him!" Harry shouted angrily. "I'll catch him myself! I'll make him atone for his sins at my mom and dad's graves!"

(Requesting monthly votes)

(The last 4000 words are about making up for the monthly ticket wish; current progress: 4000/50000)