The line outside the Ferret Bookstore in Diagon Alley finally shortened a bit.
The person at the front of the line came out of the store carrying books, a relieved look on their face. They were flipping through the pages as they walked, almost bumping into pedestrians on the side of the road.
An old wizard in a worn robe stood in the middle of the line, holding a copy of today's Daily Prophet.
The front page of the newspaper featured a picture of Azkaban, with a gray fortress standing on a somber sea.
"Have you read today's newspaper?" The old wizard held up the newspaper and waved it at the people queuing in front and behind him.
"I saw it." A middle-aged witch in front of us turned around. "That headline on the front page was absolutely terrifying."
"'The most dangerous Death Eaters are free.'" The old wizard read the title aloud, and several people around him heard it.
Sirius Black, the first prisoner in Azkaban's history to escape alive.
"I saw Black with my own eyes back then," a middle-aged wizard next to him suddenly spoke up, his voice hoarse with a hint of reminiscence.
"That was right after the war ended; I saw him being escorted here from the Ministry of Magic."
Several people in the group turned their gazes in that direction at the same time.
"What did he look like back then?" the young man asked.
"Very young." The gray-haired wizard thought for a moment, "He looks to be in his early twenties, but his eyes are like those of an old man in his fifties or sixties, just... very empty."
He paused for a moment, then continued, "Who would have thought that he and James Potter were best friends back in school?"
"Best friend?" The middle-aged witch's voice rose a notch.
"Yes." The gray-haired wizard nodded. "Four people: Black, Potter, Lupin, and that Pettigrew, they're inseparable."
"Who would have thought that he would end up selling the Potters ' hiding place to the You-Know-Who?"
"This is even worse than betrayal by a stranger," the old wizard chimed in. "It's the hardest to guard against a betrayal from someone you know well."
"Wait, is the Pettigrew you're talking about the one who received the Order of Merlin, First Class?" the middle-aged witch suddenly interjected.
"That's right. He was killed by Black while protecting the Potters, and was posthumously awarded honors."
"Sigh, a young friend betrays you so easily, Black is truly despicable!"
"I heard he spent twelve years in Azkaban and didn't go mad even once," the gray-haired wizard continued.
"Think about that place. Most prisoners can't last six months there."
"Twelve years," the old wizard repeated the number, his voice carrying a complex meaning, "A terrifying level of willpower."
The group moved forward a few steps, and a few people followed suit, but the conversation continued.
"Why did he escape?" a young witch at the back of the group asked, leaning out.
"What else could he be doing?" The gray-haired wizard turned his head and glanced at her. "Didn't it say in the book that he was staring at Harry Potter?"
"He's going to kill Harry Potter?" The young witch's voice tightened.
"He wants revenge for the You-Know-Who," the old wizard continued, his tone resolute.
"That boy is the Prophecy to end the You-Know-Who. If Black can kill him, it will be tantamount to severing the last hope."
"That's terrifying." The young witch shrank back.
"What's even scarier is that Dementor can't stop him," a middle-aged wizard wearing round-framed glasses interjected.
" The Ministry of Magic dispatched Azkaban's most formidable guards, yet they didn't even know when he escaped."
"I heard he was locked in the deepest cell, surrounded by Dementor 24/7, but when the jailer brought him food the next morning, the cell was empty."
"How did you get away?" the young witch pressed.
"Nobody knows." The middle-aged wizard shook his head. " Dementor can't talk."
"So the Ministry of Magic is really panicking this time." The old wizard folded the newspaper and stuffed it into his robe pocket. "Otherwise, they would never have let Dementor get close to Hogwarts."
" Hogwarts?" The young witch's voice rose again. " The Dementor went to Hogwarts?"
"Didn't you read today's newspaper?" the old wizard asked, pointing to the newspaper in her hand.
"The article below the front page: The Ministry of Magic has approved Headmaster Dumbledore's deployment of Dementor to the Hogwarts borders."
"Hundreds," the grey-haired wizard added, "The first time since Hogwarts was founded."
Several people in the line gasped.
" Dumbledore actually agreed?" The middle-aged witch in front turned around, her expression as if she hadn't understood.
"He had to compromise," the old wizard said. " The Ministry of Magic believes Harry's life is in grave danger, and even if Dumbledore is unwilling, he can't gamble with a student's life."
"I understand Dumbledore," the gray-haired wizard said.
"Any principal wouldn't let Dementor into the school, but that guy Black, he's really capable of anything."
"How strong do you think Black is?" someone in the back of the group asked.
"What do you think of people who could escape from Azkaban?" the middle-aged wizard retorted.
"I heard he laughs hysterically in his dreams every night, just waiting for the day he kills Harry."
A young man wearing round-framed glasses peeked out from behind, his voice carrying a certain confidence that seemed to come from nowhere.
"Who told you that?" The old wizard frowned.
"That's what everyone's saying," the young man scratched his head. "It's been going on for days Diagon Alley."
The old wizard shook his head. "The more rumors about this thing spread, the more outrageous they become."
"Anyway," the gray-haired wizard steered the conversation back on track.
" The Ministry of Magic is truly panicked this time. Otherwise, they wouldn't have allowed Dementor to approach the students, Dumbledore to agree."
" Harry Potter is so pitiful," a young witch at the end of the line couldn't help but say.
She looked like she had just graduated from Hogwarts a few years ago, with a youthful, student-like appearance still on her face.
"In the first year, he encountered a professor possessed by You-Know-Who; in the second year, he encountered Basilisk and a diary; and in the third year, he was directly hunted down by death row inmates."
She counted on her fingers, her expression growing increasingly complicated.
"Furthermore, I heard from a friend who has read the book that he was driven unconscious by Dementor on a train."
"He was the only one who fainted," someone nearby added.
"Why?" the young witch asked, "Why is he the only one reacting so violently to the Dementor?"
There was a moment of silence in the line.
"I've been thinking about that too," the old wizard said slowly, glancing at the people around him.
"In theory, Dementor affect all wizards, but the degree of influence varies from person to person."
"Generally speaking, people who have suffered psychological trauma will react more strongly to Dementor," said the gray-haired wizard.
"The book states that what he heard was most likely a memory of the night his parents were murdered, the deepest wound in his soul."
"Do you think it might be related to the scar on his body?" someone in the back of the line asked.
What's the relationship?
"That scar is said to be a curse from You-Know-Who. If that curse is still within him, the Dementor are drawn to dark forces—"
"Don't talk nonsense," the old wizard interrupted him. "Those are all just guesses."
"Anyway, I think this kid is cursed." The young man with round-framed glasses lowered his voice, "Experiencing something like this for three consecutive years, a normal person wouldn't even encounter it once in their entire life."
The line moved slowly forward, and the entrance to the Ferret Bookstore finally drew closer.
"I've heard even more terrifying things from friends who've read the book," the middle-aged witch said, moving closer to the front of the line in a low voice.
" Professor Trelawney, the Divination teacher at Hogwarts, saw something ominous under Harry's teacup."
"An ominous sign?" the young witch asked.
"A black dog," the middle-aged witch said, "The most ominous sign of death in the wizarding world. Every wizard in history who has seen it has met a gruesome end in a very short time."
"A black dog?" The old wizard frowned. "Is it mentioned in the book?"
"It's mentioned several times in the book." The middle-aged witch nodded.
Harry saw the black dog in several places.
"Then he..." The young witch's voice trailed off.
" Professor Trelawney told him directly in class that it was a sign of death."
The line was quiet for a while.
"Do you think he can make it through this year?" someone asked in a low voice.
No one answered, and the line fell silent.