When the summons arrived, Dumbledore was feeding Fawkes in the Headmaster's Office.
He took the parchment stamped with the Wizengamot wax seal, unfolded it, and read it through, his expression barely changing.
"What's wrong?" Professor McGonagall walked in just then, carrying a stack of students' papers.
" Wizengamot requests my presence tomorrow." Dumbledore placed the summons on the table. "They need to speak with me in person regarding Peter Pettigrew."
McGonagall slammed the paper on the table, her brow furrowing. "Are they going to interrogate you?"
"Procedurally, it's assisting in an investigation," Dumbledore said gently, "But in reality, it's definitely an interrogation."
"But at Hogwarts— "
"I know," Dumbledore interrupted her. " The Dementor are floating on the border, the students come to class every day trembling with fear, Black is hiding somewhere, Peter has run away... There's certainly a lot going on."
McGonagall glanced at him, her expression conveying a clear message: You're leaving at a time like this?
" Wizengamot's summons is legally binding," Dumbledore explained patiently. "If I don't go, Wizengamot can issue an arrest warrant, and things will become much more complicated."
McGonagall was silent for a few seconds, then took a deep breath. "How long are you going to be gone?"
"It's hard to say. Once this kind of thing starts, one problem after another will keep popping up."
"They need to ask about Peter's case, whether Black's case should be retried, and whether there were any problems with the original trial procedure..."
Dumbledore sighed. "Maybe a day or two, maybe longer."
He stood up, walked to the desk, took the folded parchment from the drawer, and handed it to McGonagall.
"This is the Marauder's Map," he said. "I got it from Filch yesterday. You take it and keep a close eye on any unusual names appearing on the map."
McGonagall took the map, unfolded it, and glanced at it. The dense ink dots and names on it made her pause in surprise.
So many names.
"Everyone in the castle is on it," Dumbledore said. "No matter what disguise they use, their real names are shown on the map."
McGonagall folded the map again and tucked it into the inside pocket of her robe. "I'll start keeping an eye on it tonight."
"Alright." Dumbledore nodded to her, then looked at Fawkes. " Fawkes, while I'm away, listen to Professor McGonagall."
Fawkes let out a short hoot, as if in response.
That evening, Dumbledore left Hogwarts via the Floo Network.
McGonagall watched the green flames die down in the fireplace, then turned to Professor Flitwick was standing in the doorway, and said, "Tonight you'll be patrolling the third and fourth floors, and I'll be on the first floor leading to the Great Hall."
"No problem." Flitwick nodded. "What about the students?"
"I've already had the Prefect of each college issue the notice. No one is allowed to leave the common room tonight."
After Flitwick left, McGonagall stood alone in the Headmaster's Office, reaching into her pocket to feel the map.
She planned to take a closer look after returning from her patrol that evening, since nothing seemed amiss in the castle at the moment.
That evening, after all the students had settled into their school's common room, McGonagall sat in her office with several documents on her desk that needed to be signed, and the Marauder's Map left by Dumbledore beside her.
Just as she reached for the application to adjust her Transfiguration advanced class schedule, the sky outside the window suddenly darkened.
McGonagall instinctively stood up from her chair, walked to the window, and glanced outside. What she saw made her freeze for a moment.
On the distant edge of Hogwarts, countless gray shadows were moving along the ground.
The shadows were dense and spread from the edge of Hogwarts toward the Forbidden Forest.
Dementor!
Without hesitation, McGonagall left her office to check on the situation.
Filch had barely stepped outside when he came running over, his face as white as paint, his lips trembling. "Professor! Dementor! They've all gone towards the Forbidden Forest! A dark mass!"
At this moment, the sky above the edge of the Forbidden Forest was completely obscured by dozens of gray-black shadows, and the Dementor surged into the Forbidden Forest from all directions like a tide.
"Contact the Ministry of Magic immediately!" McGonagall shouted to Flitwick, who was rushing over. "Have them send Auror! Then contact Headmaster Dumbledore!"
He just went to Wizengamot during the day--
"I know! But he needs to know this!"
As she spoke, she ran quickly toward the Gryffindor Tower.
Meanwhile, in the study of a villa in the suburbs of London, Allen was slumped over his desk, staring blankly at the proof of " Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ".
He held Quick-Quotes Quill in his hand, and had only written less than three lines on the parchment in front of him.
He wrote and stopped, stopped and wrote, and finally threw down his pen, leaned back in his chair, and let out a long sigh.
"I'm so tired, I really should give myself a vacation..." Allen was as listless as a salted fish at this moment.
The system ignored him.
"Do you think I should go out for some fresh air?" Allen continued to mutter to himself. "Yeah, staying indoors all the time isn't good for your health, but it's not good for your brain either."
Allen stood up on his own, took the trench coat off the hook behind the door, and draped it over his shoulders.
He had just reached the door when the system screen suddenly lit up, a blindingly red light.
Allen stood rooted to the spot.
Not again?
The words on the screen were jumping much faster than usual.
[Emergency mission triggered!]
[Quest Name: Dementor Riot!]
[Mission Description: A large-scale anomaly has occurred in the magical ecosystem surrounding Hogwarts. Large numbers of Dementor have deviated from their regular patrol routes and are converging towards the Forbidden Forest. The reason is unknown, but it poses a serious threat to Hogwarts and the surrounding area.]
[Mission Requirements: Proceed to the edge of the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts, control the Dementor riot, and prevent the situation from escalating further.]
This task cannot be refused!
Allen stared at the light screen for a few seconds.
" Dementor?" He turned up his trench coat collar. "They're in the third one, but there shouldn't be any rioting scenes... Is this another butterfly effect?"
The words on the screen transformed into more specific information.
[ Dementor: Guardians of Azkaban, feeding on positive human emotions. Highly sensitive to Patronus Charm.]
Allen paused for a moment, sighed deeply, then abruptly pulled on his trench coat, grabbed the Jianmu wand from the table and shoved it into his inside pocket, before putting the mask on his face.
"Alright, at least I still have a way to save myself." He pushed open the door, "Teleport!"
A flash of blue light appeared, and the study was empty.