Mocking the Ministry of Magic and similar institutions was practically a shared hobby among all wizards. It wasn't limited to Hogwarts, or Britain, or even the Wizarding World.
Everyone enjoyed slagging off the authorities.
But to the young witches and wizards at Hogwarts, the normally hopelessly inefficient Ministry of Magic had acted surprisingly fast this time.
Just two days after the first article about Peter's prison break, a second article speculating about how he had escaped was already out.
For many young witches and wizards, this was their first encounter with the word "Animagus."
"An Animagus-isn't that the Transfiguration Professor McGonagall uses?" That had been a frequent topic of conversation among Hogwarts students over the past two days.
The newspapers had reported Peter's capture back then, but hadn't gone into much detail.
And although many students subscribed to newspapers, they only read the gossip or serialized novels and the like. They had little interest in current affairs, merely glancing at the headlines and subheadings-even when a story made the front page.
So although the newspapers had mentioned that Peter had used his Animagus transformation to hide in a wizarding family for over a decade, many still found the word unfamiliar when they heard it again.
It was only when this latest Ministry article mentioned that an Animagus could evade Dementors that people began taking notice.
In the wizarding world, Dementors occupied roughly the same position as the big bad wolf did among ordinary people: they were adults' go-to choice for frightening children.
Countless young witches and wizards had suffered childhood nightmares about these creatures. Naturally, hearing that there was magic that could keep Dementors from detecting them piqued their interest.
Theodore, for instance.
"Tris, do you know how to become an Animagus?" Theodore looked up from the newspaper at Tris,