At that moment, Scrimgeour moved.
His wand slid from his side into his palm almost simultaneously, the movement so fast that few could see the process clearly; the cuff of his Dragon Hide coat only flipped up once before stopping.
He took a step forward, his gaze shifting from the empty space in the center of the open area to the man slumped on the broken piece of wood, his brown eyes suddenly turning serious.
" Black!"
The Auror behind him dispersed almost simultaneously: three flanked him from the left, two circled around from the right, and the remaining two followed Scrimgeour himself, pressing forward from the front.
Seven wands pointed simultaneously at the broken piece of wood, surrounding the filthy man.
Sirius sat on the broken piece of wood, his expression calm, seemingly unconcerned.
Fudge finally realized what was happening.
He took two quick steps forward, his top hat wobbling on his head before he steadied it. He raised his right hand and pointed in Sirius's direction, his voice rising several notches. "Arrest him! Arrest him and take him back!"
He spoke so quickly and urgently that before the last word had even faded, he had already taken several steps forward, as if he wanted to personally pull the person down from the broken log.
"Wait a moment."
Dumbledore's voice came from behind.
The voice wasn't loud, and the tone wasn't particularly harsh, but the moment it landed in the open space, everyone instinctively stopped what they were doing.
Scrimgeour's outstretched foot paused in mid-air for a moment before retracting. Fudge also stopped his forward steps.
He turned his head, his expression shifting from urgency to confusion, and his lips moved slightly. " Albus?"
Dumbledore emerged from the shadows of the trees at that moment. His steps were slow, the hem of his robes brushing against the scattered silvery-white shards of light on the ground.
He walked step by step to the broken log in the middle of the open space and stopped, looking down at Sirius sitting on it.
"Don't arrest him yet," Dumbledore said calmly. "I have some questions for him."
Fudge opened his mouth, his brow furrowing. " Albus, this is Black, the one who escaped from Azkaban— "
"I know who he is," Dumbledore interrupted him calmly, "Which is why I asked."
Fudge choked for a moment, then turned to look at Scrimgeour, and then at the Auror around him holding wands.
He was clearly unwilling, but Dumbledore stood there, the moonlight falling on his wrinkled face, his blue eyes slowly looking over, and he ultimately couldn't bring himself to voice his objection.
He waved his hand, his tone carrying a hint of reluctance. "Then... then let's not take them back yet, let's question them here."
After saying this, he took a small step back, giving the middle area to Dumbledore.
Scrimgeour glanced at Dumbledore, then at Fudge, and finally pressed the tip of his wand down slightly, but didn't pull it back. The Auror surrounding him didn't disperse either.
Just then, Professor McGonagall's voice came from the other side of the open space.
" Potter!"
Harry had just turned his face away from the center of the open space when he heard this sound, and he involuntarily shrank back.
Professor McGonagall emerged from the shadows of the trees, her brow furrowed more deeply than ever before. Behind her glasses, her eyes fixed on Harry, Ron, and Hermione, scrutinizing each of them one by one.
Why are the three of you here?
Harry opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.
He couldn't very well say that he sneaked out of the common room in the middle of the night to the edge of the Forbidden Forest to pick up Magic Cards.
His mind raced, but he couldn't find a coherent answer. He opened his mouth twice, only managing to squeeze out a mumbled beginning, "We... uh..."
Ron nudged him lightly with his elbow, the meaning was clear, but Harry didn't know what he wanted him to say.
"This has nothing to do with Hermione." Harry finally said this first, his voice a little strained, but it flowed more smoothly after he finished speaking.
"It was Ron and me who insisted on coming. She just... she just came to keep an eye on us."
Professor McGonagall's gaze slowly swept over the three people, her expression unreadable. Just as she was about to speak again, a slow, cold laugh came from beside her.
Snape emerged from the shadows of the trees, his black robes casting a long shadow in the moonlight.
He stopped half a step behind Professor McGonagall, his dark eyes slowly sliding across Harry's face before landing on Ron, the already downturned curve of his lips pressing even lower.
" Gryffindor's courage?" His voice was low, each word drawn out perfectly.
"To venture to the edge of the Forbidden Forest in the dead of night to demonstrate your courage is quite in line with your academy's consistent style of conduct."
He paused for a moment, then added, "Of course, the courage to also cause your own college to lose points is even more commendable."
Harry's face flushed instantly.
He opened his mouth to retort, but Snape's dark eyes were fixed on him, filled with a mocking sneer, which made the words stuck in his throat.
Professor McGonagall nodded in deep agreement after hearing Snape's words, her tone becoming even more somber than before:
" Severus is right. Three third-year students left the common room in the middle of the night and entered the edge of the Forbidden Forest without permission. Those three offenses alone are enough to deduct fifty points from each of them."
She glanced at Harry and added, "We'll deal with this when we get back. For now, stand aside."
Harry lowered his head and remained silent. He moved a few steps to the side with Ron and Hermione, standing behind the Auror at the edge of the clearing.
Hermione's lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but after seeing Professor McGonagall's expression, she swallowed her words.
At this moment, Dumbledore looked at Sirius Black and asked directly, "Was there any hidden story behind what happened back then?"
Black's shoulder twitched.
"Why is Peter afraid of you?" Dumbledore asked again, his tone calm and measured, yet every word was precise.
Black's eyes flickered.
He glanced at the Auror standing around holding wands, then finally fixed his gaze on Dumbledore's face.
He took a deep breath and slowly said, " Headmaster Dumbledore."
His voice was hoarse, as if he hadn't spoken seriously in a long time.
You might not believe it if I told you.
He paused, his gray eyes gleaming for a moment in the moonlight, then continued:
"When the Potters went into hiding, I was the Secret Keeper. But at the last minute, I changed it; I gave the position to Peter Secret Keeper."
A few very soft gasps rose from the surroundings, and Scrimgeour's brows furrowed even more deeply.
"I was thinking... the You-Know-Who is chasing me, he'll definitely come looking for me. If the Secret Keeper is replaced by Peter, no one would suspect it."
Black's voice lowered slightly, but every word was still clear.
"But I didn't expect that Peter would betray us at some point..."