A New Student Who Can Be an Asset

Dumbledore went to Azkaban overnight.

The fact that Peter Pettigrew was the mastermind behind that incident was too serious. Dumbledore had to uncover the truth of the matter and what happened back then as quickly as possible.

If all of this were true...

Then Peter Pettigrew's destructive power would be far too great.

Of course.

Dumbledore had to go to Azkaban himself.

Because Snape wasn't really suited to loitering around Azkaban.

In the past, Severus Snape had defected to Voldemort and was a Death Eater highly recognized by Voldemort himself. Otherwise, Voldemort wouldn't have hesitated for a moment when killing Lily Potter.

It's just that...

Voldemort had an accident later.

All the Death Eaters under Voldemort were imprisoned in Azkaban.

This also meant that the Death Eaters currently imprisoned in Azkaban were Snape's former colleagues, and their meeting would likely be a bit unpleasant.

Not to mention the very tense relationship between Snape and Sirius Black.

If Snape were to go along, he probably wouldn't be able to get any information out of anyone. The two of them would just spend the night verbally humiliating each other through their cells...

Late at night.

On a small island in the Northern Sea.

This island was perpetually cold, and almost no one dared to stay there.

Because besides the extreme cold of the island and the surrounding waters, the island was also home to a group of bizarre and terrifying dark creatures.

Dementors.

These creatures were hollow and formless, surviving by draining humans of their happiness and courage. When they wanted to kill someone, they could directly suck out a human's soul.

Even when humans approached them, they would lose their courage and happiness, truly experiencing the ultimate darkness of the world.

Without a doubt.

They were one of the most terrifying creatures in the Wizarding World.

However, Dementors had very low intelligence. The Ministry of Magic reached an agreement with the Dementors, making them the jailers of Azkaban.

This island in the Northern Sea was both the Wizarding World's prison, Azkaban, and the habitat of creatures like Dementors.

When Dumbledore arrived at the island, the Dementors immediately sensed the presence of a stranger. A group of Dementors instantly converged into a dense mass of black shadows and lunged at him!

However, when they smelled Dumbledore's scent, they quickly stopped their advance. They knew he was a very threatening individual!

Dumbledore then took out a document bearing the special seal of the Minister for Magic. The Dementors smelled the ink and quickly retreated.

After dealing with the group of jailers, Dumbledore slowly walked along the path on the island and into Azkaban Castle.

As Dumbledore entered, he saw a group of Death Eaters imprisoned in Azkaban Castle, most of whom had been tortured by Dementors to the point of being unrecognizable.

These prisoners, who had long lost their spirit, clawed desperately at the small windows of their cells upon seeing Dumbledore, as if they had gone mad!

"Dumbledore!"

"Headmaster Dumbledore!"

Every prisoner couldn't help but shout Dumbledore's name, as if they had seen hope of leaving Azkaban, yearning for Dumbledore to rescue them.

Of course.

There were naturally those among them who couldn't stand Dumbledore.

For example, Bellatrix Lestrange, a fanatical follower of Voldemort. This disheveled, madwoman lay on the ground and cursed Dumbledore: "Stubborn old fool... Headmaster of a Magic School who betrayed his own bloodline... Bah, traitor to wizards!"

"..."

Dumbledore paid no attention to this at all.

Because having lived to his age and achieved his current status, all the curses, doubts, or praise were merely external matters to him.

Dumbledore let out a long sigh, ignored the students who had gone astray, and walked step by step to a narrow cell.

Sirius Black resided there.

Sirius, a Wizard with a very noble bloodline and surname, lived a life that was neither human nor ghost in this prison, as if he cared about nothing.

Even the Dementors could no longer find any happiness from him.

Dumbledore looked at the gaunt Sirius, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly, and softly called his name.

"Black..."

"Hm?"

Sirius Black had been listening to the curses in the prison castle for a long time. He was a little unaccustomed to hearing a familiar voice call his name so suddenly.

Sirius lay on the floor, slowly turned his head to look at the small window of the cell door, and slowly rolled over and got up. He crawled to the cell door.

"Dumbledore?"

"I have something to ask you."

Dumbledore stared intently into Sirius Black's eyes, his gaze sharper than ever. "Tell me, was it you who betrayed the Potters' safe house, or was it Peter Pettigrew?"

"You know?"

Sirius Black took a shaky breath, then lowered his head again. "I trusted the wrong person back then. I thought he was still our friend. It's meaningless to say anything now..."

His dear friend James Potter's family was dead.

The only one left was the orphaned Harry Potter, and Dumbledore, Hagrid, and others wouldn't allow him to raise the boy, or even get close to him.

Now, nothing seemed to matter.

Dumbledore didn't try to comfort Sirius Black. Instead, he continued in a deep voice, "That explosion in the Muggle world eight years ago, was that you or Peter?"

"...Does it matter?"

Sirius Black waved his hand dismissively, about to lie back down on the floor. "The traitor is dead anyway, and I don't want to live anymore..."

"Tell me!"

Dumbledore's voice suddenly grew much louder.

"It was him."

Sirius Black immediately answered the question, recalling the scene that day. "I cornered the traitor in a crowded alley, leaving him no escape. He caused an explosion and killed himself..."

"I see."

Dumbledore nodded slowly.

After speaking, the old man turned to leave. Before departing, he glanced at the dejected Sirius Black again and continued in a deep voice, "If we can find evidence to prove all this is true, we will find a way to absolve you..."

"There's no need for that..."

Sirius Black slowly sat up on the floor, leaning against the cell door. "Everything was my own mistake. What's the point of getting out even if I could..."

"You can see James's son, Harry Potter."

At this moment, Dumbledore seemed to want to give Sirius Black hope again, saying softly, "In two more years, Harry will be eleven and will be able to attend Hogwarts..."

"You're willing to let me take care of Harry now!"

Sirius Black practically leaped up instantly!

The man's hope for freedom reignited in that moment. He grabbed the small window of the cell door and looked at Dumbledore urgently. "When can I see Harry? Let's go now!"

"Not now."

Dumbledore slowly shook his head. "Harry still needs to stay in the Muggle world for a while... And I must thoroughly investigate the truth of what happened back then and find evidence as soon as possible to get you out of Azkaban."

This was the crucial part.

In fact, Dumbledore now believed Sirius Black's explanation. He had already decided in his heart that Peter Pettigrew was the mastermind behind everything.

But without sufficient evidence...

The Ministry of Magic wouldn't allow Sirius Black to leave.

This was the frustrating part about the Ministry of Magic. They had imprisoned Sirius Black in the first place without a trial, but now they would definitely require evidence to release him.

"I understand..."

Sirius Black's head drooped powerlessly.

Although he was still somewhat dejected, at least he had hope in his heart now.

If he hadn't worried that Dumbledore might not have fully trusted him again, Sirius Black would have secretly tried to break out of prison...

There was still a long way to go.

Black could wait patiently.

One day, he would be able to see his godson openly.

Sirius Black's mood lightened considerably.

However, he didn't know that as Dumbledore left Azkaban, his mood became unusually heavy.

Peter Pettigrew.

He was the one who betrayed the Potters.

Coupled with Peter's knowledge of Voldemort's Horcruxes and his past deceptions of Voldemort, this meant Peter had been playing a grand game all along.

Now...

Everyone had become a pawn on Peter Pettigrew's chessboard.

For the first time, Dumbledore was shocked by Peter Pettigrew's intelligence, and even felt a trace of surprise and unease at his schemes.

Perhaps.

The only fortunate thing was that Peter Pettigrew had miscalculated the future. He only planned for the powerful wizards of the past, neglecting the young wizards of the future...

The future was unknown...

Dumbledore wasn't the only one in the world capable of destroying Horcruxes.

In the future, there would surely be many new wizards full of courage to fight Voldemort, and among them would be those capable of destroying Horcruxes.

Especially among this year's new students, there was a young fellow who could draw the Gryffindor Sword. He would surely become an asset in the fight against Voldemort and the destruction of Horcruxes in the future.