As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Peter's hind legs seemed to be pulled by something, and his whole body stopped in mid-air before slowly retracting.
Dumbledore never does anything meaningless.
He just shouted so much from the sky, things like "I know you're here," "Come out and I promise you're safe," and "I won't let Black find you."
Who were those words meant for?
Is this something I'm saying to myself?
If Dumbledore truly believed he couldn't catch Peter, then why did he shout?
He could have simply left without saying a word.
But he not only spoke, he spoke in such detail and specifics, and he left in a very open and generous manner.
What does this tell us?
Perhaps he hasn't left; he's watching from somewhere right now.
Would a wizard capable of defeating the most dangerous being in the entire Wizarding World really be helpless against a mouse and simply turn away?
It's important to know that Dumbledore, as a master of magic, must have been extremely proficient in the Disillusionment Charm.
He's bluffing me!
This thought made every hair on Peter's back stand on end.
He huddled under the rock, pressing himself as close to the soil as possible, his two small eyes slowly, very slowly, scanning every inch of the surrounding space.
Peter's body told him he wanted to run, to break free of the rock, and rush into the Forbidden Forest, even to the deepest part of the Forbidden Forest, to that corner where even centaurs dared not venture.
But another voice was in his head, the voice of Peter Pettigrew, that told him: Dumbledore would never let go.
Peter slowly relaxed his body from the tense position he had been in.
He stretched his hind legs back and his front paws forward, allowing his body to lie back down in the hollow under the rock.
He used his front paws to poke around in the soil, turning over a few small pebbles, sniffing them with his nose, and then pushing them aside.
His movements were casual, just like a real mouse looking for food.
His beard swayed gently with his movements; every two strokes he would stop, look up at his surroundings, and then continue scratching.
His movements were completely random, without any purpose or pattern.
If someone were watching him from a distance with binoculars, they would only think he was an ordinary mouse living in the grass, and might even think he was a bit stupid.
Peter kept reminding himself: I must not panic; I must remain vigilant at all times.
Meanwhile, London in the Muggle world was in an uproar.
It's been over a week since " Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban " (Part 1) was released.
The bookstore was overflowing with new books, and people lined up to buy them every day.
If we only look at sales figures, this book is just as successful as the previous two. The first batch of 800,000 copies sold out within three days, and the publisher urgently printed another million copies.
But if you look at the opinion section of the newspaper, the situation is completely different.
When the first two films came out, although some people like Martin Amis jumped out to criticize them, the mainstream opinion was consistent, and critics, even if they didn't like them, acknowledged their influence.
This time, however, the negative voices coming from all directions were significantly more numerous than the previous two times.
Some say the pacing of the third book is slower than the first two, some say the story isn't as good as the first two, and some simply say the book "feels like a product hastily produced by an author who has already made enough money."
Of all these voices, what truly ignited public opinion was the lengthy article in the culture supplement of the Times.
The title of the article is:
Has the enigmatic author Allen Wayne run out of ideas?!
The article was written by a freelance writer named Richard Henry.
In the opening of his article, he introduced himself as a loyal reader of the first two Harry Potter books, and said that he rushed to the bookstore to buy a copy on the first day the third book was released.
He then went home and read the first eleven chapters in one go. But after finishing them, he felt only one thing—disappointment.
He wrote, "I'm not here to cause trouble, but I have to say, my experience after reading the first half of the third book was completely different from reading the first two."
He then listed the problems one by one.
"First of all, the information provided was given carelessly."
"In the first two books, the new magical world was set up based on Harry's own experiences; he saw the giant python, walked into Diagon Alley, and explored the castle."
"We followed his eyes, and every step was fresh, concrete, and warm."
"But the first eleven chapters of the third book, including Black's background, Azkaban, and the massacre of the twelve Muggle, are basically pieced together from the Daily Prophecy Person's written accounts."
"We're no longer experiencing things alongside Harry; we're just reading a news report. It's a convenient information dump, and the narrative presentation is noticeably weaker."
"Secondly, the conflict between Ron and Hermione is somewhat underdeveloped."
"The trio in the first two movies rarely disagreed, and when they did, it was always something serious, like when Hermione was attacked by Troll."
"But what about in the third movie? Because of Crookshanks's interaction with Scabbers, Ron got angry, Hermione defended herself, and they went back and forth like tug-of-war."
"It's just a cat chasing a mouse, is it really necessary to argue for so long? They've been arguing almost the entire first eleven chapters."
"This recurring contradiction seems more like a deliberate arrangement to create dramatic conflict; the characters' emotions are repetitive and monotonous, making it somewhat tedious to read."
"And the emotional transition at the beginning was really too rough."
"The part about Aunt Marge, where an adult says those things to a thirteen-year-old child, is written very bluntly, almost like a villain from a comic book."
"Then, before Aunt Marge could be inflated, Harry exploded almost without any build-up."
"I'm not saying this way of writing is wrong, I'm saying that compared to the Dursley family ' emotional abuse in the first book, this part is handled a bit too simplistically and crudely."
"A sudden outburst was hastily arranged simply to advance the plot."
"Furthermore, the imagination for spectacular scenes in the first half of the third film is noticeably toned down."
"The first book features a chessboard battle, Potions puzzle, and the Mirror of Erised. The second book features Basilisk, Chamber of Secrets room, and petrified victims."
What's in the first eleven chapters of the third book? The Knight Bus is one, but it's more of a comedic scene, and you can just turn the page.
"It lacks the kind of intricate, mind-blowing magical spectacle we saw before."
"The author seems to have lost interest in designing those eye-catching physical puzzles."
"Finally, I'd like to say that the way suspense is generated in the first half of the third installment is noticeably more simplistic."
"The first two films had multiple layers of suspense: what is the secret, who is the mole, where is the monster hiding...?"
"It unveils the mystery step by step, then creates new suspense, making it irresistible to watch."
The first eleven chapters of the third book almost repeatedly emphasize the same thing: the escaped convict Black has broken out of prison, and his target is Harry Potter.
"This phrase appeared in the newspapers and was repeatedly uttered by various people."
"I know the author intended to use repetition to create tension, but the suspense is too thin; it's just the same warning over and over again, which is even a bit annoying."
Richard Henry wrote at the end of the article:
" Allen Wayne's first two films earned him more than many people earn in a lifetime; even if he retired now, he wouldn't be able to spend it all."
"I admit he's talented; the first two films are proof of that."
"But it's precisely because I liked the first two that I'm so disappointed with the third."
"I hope the first half of the third book is just a transition, and the second half can bring these threads back together, allowing me to rediscover the feeling of not wanting to close the book after finishing the first two."
"But if the second half is still like this, then I might really have to say that Allen Wayne, the author of 'The Philosopher's Stone ' and ' The Chamber of Secrets,' is no longer here."
The article caused an immediate uproar in Great Britain literary circles and among readers upon its publication.