Headmaster Dumbledore went to Azkaban overnight.
The fact that Peter Pettigrew was the mastermind behind that incident back then was simply too grave, and Dumbledore had to find out the truth about this matter and those past events as soon as possible.
If all of this was true...
Then Peter Pettigrew's destructive power was simply too immense.
Naturally.
Dumbledore could only go to Azkaban by himself.
Because Snape was not very suited to wandering around Azkaban.
In the past, Severus Snape had defected to Voldemort and was a Death Eater deeply recognized by Voldemort; otherwise, Voldemort would not have hesitated for a moment when killing Lily Potter.
It was just that.
Later, Voldemort met his downfall.
The Death Eaters under Voldemort's command were all locked up in Azkaban.
This also meant that the Death Eaters currently imprisoned in Azkaban were all Snape's former colleagues, and their reunion would probably be a little unpleasant.
Coupled with the fact that the relationship between Snape and Sirius Black was extremely tense.
If Snape were allowed to go along, they probably wouldn't be able to ask any questions at all, and the two of them would simply spend an entire night insulting each other with words across the cell doors...
Late at night.
On an island in the North Sea waters.
This island was cold all year round, and almost no one dared to stay here.
Because besides the extreme cold of the island and the surrounding waters, a group of bizarre and terrifying dark creatures lived on the island.
Dementors.
This creature was hollow and formless, surviving by sucking out human happiness and courage, and when they wanted to kill someone, they could directly suck away a human's soul.
Even if humans just approached them, they would lose their own courage and happiness, genuinely feeling the ultimate darkness of the world.
Without a doubt.
This was one of the most terrifying creatures in the Wizarding World.
However, the intelligence of Dementors was extremely low, and the Ministry of Magic had reached an agreement with the Dementors, making them the prison guards of Azkaban.
This island in the North Sea waters was both the wizarding prison Azkaban and the dwelling place of creatures like Dementors.
When Dumbledore hurried to this island, the Dementors immediately sensed the presence of an outsider, and a group of Dementors instantly converged into a dense mass of black shadows and lunged toward him!
However, when they smelled the scent on Dumbledore's body, they abruptly stopped their actions, knowing that this was an extremely threatening person!
Dumbledore then pulled out a document stamped with a special seal from the Minister for Magic, and the Dementors caught the scent of the stamp pad, quickly swarming away in retreat.
Only after Dumbledore resolved this group of prison guards did he slowly walk along the path on the island into Azkaban Castle.
When Dumbledore walked in, he saw a group of Death Eaters imprisoned in Azkaban Castle, most of whom had been tortured by Dementors until they were barely human.
These prisoners, who had long since lost their minds, actually clawed at the small bars of their cells like madmen when they saw Dumbledore!
"Dumbledore!"
"Headmaster Dumbledore!"
Every single prisoner couldn't help shouting Dumbledore's name, as if they had seen hope of leaving Azkaban, yearning for Dumbledore to rescue them.
Naturally.
Among them, there were naturally those who could not stand Dumbledore.
For instance, Voldemort's die-hard fan Bellatrix Lestrange; this disheveled, crazy woman lay on the ground, cursing Dumbledore: "Stubborn old fool... a magic school headmaster who betrayed his own blood... Pah, traitor to wizards!"
"..."
Dumbledore turned a completely deaf ear to this.
Because having lived to his age and reached his current status and position, whether it was curses, questioning, or praise, all of it was already an external matter to him.
Dumbledore let out a long breath, ignored those students of his who had walked down a wicked path, and walked step by step in front of a narrow cell.
Sirius Black lived here.
Sirius, a wizard with a very noble bloodline and surname, was living a life worse than a ghost in this prison, seeming to care about nothing at all.
Even the Dementors could no longer find any happiness to extract from him.
Dumbledore looked at the emaciated Sirius, his brow furrowing imperceptibly, and softly called out his name.
"Black..."
"Hmm?"
Sirius Black had been listening to curses inside this prison castle all along, and suddenly hearing a familiar voice call his name felt a little unusual to him.
Sirius lay on the floor, slowly turning his head to look at the small window of the cell door, and he slowly rolled over and crawled up, practically crawling his way to the edge of the cell door.
"Dumbledore?"
"I have something to ask you."
Dumbledore stared fixedly into Sirius's eyes, the old man's gaze sharper than ever before: "Tell me, was it you or Peter Pettigrew who betrayed the Potter family's safe house back then?"
"You found out?"
Sirius Black exhaled a breath of stale air, and lowered his head of his own accord: "It was me who trusted the wrong person back then; I thought he was still our friend, but things being as they are, saying these things doesn't make much sense anymore..."
His close friend James Potter's family was already dead.
The orphaned Harry Potter left behind was not allowed to be raised by Dumbledore, Hagrid, and the others, and they weren't even allowed to go near him.
Right now, nothing seemed to make much sense.
Dumbledore did not soothe Sirius Black's emotions, instead continuing to ask in a deep voice: "That explosion event in the Muggle world eight years ago—did you cause it, or did Peter do it himself?"
"...Does it make any sense?"
Sirius Black raised his hand indifferently, preparing to lie back down on the floor: "Anyway, that traitor is already dead, and I don't want to live anymore either..."
"Tell me!"
Dumbledore's voice suddenly rose quite a bit.
"He did it."
Sirius Black answered the question immediately, recalling the scene of that day: "I cornered that traitor in a crowded street corner, leaving him with nowhere else to run, and he created an explosion and killed himself..."
"I understand."
Dumbledore slowly nodded.
Having said that, the old man turned to leave. Before leaving, he glanced once more at the decadent Sirius Black, and continued in a deep voice: "If we can find evidence to prove that all of this is true, we will find a way to clear your name..."
"There's no need for that..."
Sirius Black slowly sat down on the ground, leaning against the cell door and muttering slowly: "Everything is a mistake I committed myself; what would be the use even if I got out..."
"You can see James's son, Harry Potter."
At this moment, Dumbledore seemed to want to restore hope to Sirius Black, saying softly: "In another two years, Harry will be eleven, and he'll be able to enter Hogwarts to study very soon..."
"Are you willing to let me take care of Harry?!"
Sirius Black flipped over almost instantly!
At this moment, this man reignited his hope for freedom; he grabbed the small bars of the cell door, looking anxiously at Dumbledore: "When will you let me go see Harry? Let's go right now!"
"Not right now."
Dumbledore slowly shook his head and continued: "Harry still needs to stay in the Muggle world for a while... And I must thoroughly investigate the truth of those past years and find evidence as soon as possible to let you leave Azkaban."
This was the most crucial part.
In fact, Dumbledore already believed Sirius Black's explanation by now, and in his heart, he had concluded that Peter Pettigrew was the true mastermind behind everything.
Yet without sufficient evidence...
The Ministry of Magic would not allow Sirius to leave.
This was the overly cumbersome aspect of the Ministry of Magic; when they locked Sirius in here back then, they hadn't even held a trial, and now wanting to release Sirius would definitely require evidence.
"I see..."
Sirius Black lowered his head powerlessly.
Although he was still somewhat dejected, at least there was now hope in his heart.
If not for the worry that Dumbledore might not have completely trusted him anew yet, Sirius Black would actually have wanted to break out of prison in secret...
There was still a long time ahead.
Black could wait slowly.
Sooner or later, there would come a day when he could walk out openly and go see his godson.
Sirius's mood was indeed relaxed.
Yet what he did not know was that when Dumbledore left Azkaban, his mood had grown unusually heavy.
Peter Pettigrew.
He was the one who betrayed the Potters back then.
Coupled with Peter's understanding of Voldemort's Horcruxes and his past deception of Voldemort, this also meant that Peter had been playing a heaven-shaking long game all along.
Now...
Everyone had become pawns on Peter Pettigrew's chessboard.
For the first time, Dumbledore was shocked by Peter Pettigrew's intelligence, and even felt a trace of amazement and unease at his scheming.
Perhaps.
The only fortunate thing was that Peter Pettigrew had miscalculated the future; he only knew how to arrange and scheme against those powerful wizards of the past, while overlooking the young wizards of the future...
The future was unknown...
Dumbledore was not the only one in the world capable of destroying Horcruxes.
In the future, a number of newcomers full of courage to fight against Voldemort would surely emerge, and among them would appear those capable of destroying Horcruxes.
Especially among this year's new students, a little fellow who could pull out the Gryffindor Sword had also appeared, and in the future, he would definitely become an aid in helping fight against Voldemort and destroying Horcruxes.
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