"Do you think Black is still hiding around Hogwarts?" the lady asked quietly.
"I believe he's still here," Fudge affirmed.
"But the dementors have already searched my bar twice," the lady said with a bit of resentment, "many customers were scared away and my business was ruined."
"Dear, I don't want to, and I don't like them either. I just met a few of them, and they were very angry at Dumbledore for banning dementors from entering the school." Fudge was a little embarrassed.
"Of course we can't let them enter the school!" Professor McGonagall said fiercely. "How can we teach if we let these things roam around the school?"
"Yes, yes" Professor Flitwick's voice was even sharper.
"But this is a necessary measure," Fudge argued. "You and I both know what that Black is capable of."
"To be honest, I still can't believe it," Ms. Rosmerta mused. "Of all the people who joined the Dark Lord's camp, Black was the one I least expected. I can still remember what he looked like when he was a student at Hogwarts."
.If you had told me at that time that he would become such a person, I would definitely think that you had drunk too much."
"You know only the tip of the iceberg," Fudge said coldly. "If you knew the worst thing he's ever done... hum-"
Harry's heart skipped a beat when he heard this. He had already guessed what Fudge was going to say next.
"Calm down, Harry." Ivy reminded softly.
"Yeah," Harry replied in a deep voice.
————
"The worst?" The lady frowned. "You mean there is something worse than killing so many people?"
"Of course" Fudge replied
"I'm sorry," Ms. Rosmerta said with some difficulty, raising her hands, "I can't imagine anything worse than this."
"You said you remember him at Hogwarts, but do you know who his best friend is?" Professor McGonagall asked.
"I can't forget this," the lady chuckled, "James Potter - they have never been seen apart."
"Yes, Black and Potter~" Professor McGonagall sighed, "They are both very smart and inseparable. People who don't know would think they are brothers."
"Isn't that right?" Fudge continued, "Potter trusts Black more than any other friend, and that hasn't changed after graduation. When James and Lily got married, Black was still the best man. Later, he became little Harry's godfather."
"Ah——" Ron was shocked, "He is still your godfather!"
"Look at me, I don't know." Harry also looked confused.
————
"I hope Harry doesn't know about this"
"Because Black is a Death Eater?" the lady said uncertainly
"It's much worse than this..." Fudge's voice suddenly became dull. "Because of a prophecy, Voldemort was looking for the Potters. But at the time, almost no one knew about it. Fortunately, Dumbledore had some capable spies.
, one of them confided the news to him. He immediately reminded James and Lily and suggested that they hide."
"But it's not that easy to escape Voldemort. Dumbledore told them that the best way is to use the Fidelity Charm."
"I know the spell, which uses magic to hide a secret in the soul of the chosen person - the Keeper of Secrets." The lady whispered, "So, Black is Potter's Secret Keeper?"
"Of course," Professor McGonagall replied, "James told Dumbledore that Black would rather die than tell where they were, and Black himself was preparing to hide. However, Dumbledore was still worried. I remember he suggested at the time,
You must personally act as the keeper of confidentiality.”
"Has he already suspected Black?" the lady asked in surprise.
"No," Professor McGonagall shook her head, "but he concluded that someone around the Potters has been reporting their movements to Voldemort."
"But James didn't change the Secret Keeper?"
"James insists on using Black," Professor McGonagall said sadly.
"So - the result -" Ms. Rosmerta asked in a low voice.
"As a result, less than a week after the Fidelity Curse was cast, Voldemort found the Potters and brutally murdered James and Lily!"
"Despicable! Dirty traitor!" Hagrid shouted. He only knew these inside stories.
"I met him!" Hagrid roared. "I rescued Harry from the ruins of his home after Lily and James died! The poor little guy had a long gash on his forehead.
Both parents were dead... then Sirius Black appeared, riding his old
That flying motorcycle. At that time, I had no idea what he had done, nor did I know that he was James' secret keeper. I thought he had gotten the news and rushed over to rescue him. The boy's face was pale and his whole body was shaking. I know.
What did I do? I even comforted the murderous traitor!"
"Please! Lower your voice! Do you want everyone to know!" Professor McGonagall scolded in a low voice.
"How do I know he's not sorry for Lily and James? He's concerned about Voldemort! And he said: 'Give Harry to me, I'm his godfather. I'll look after him -' Good thing I have Dumbledore
Lido's order told him that Harry was going to his aunt's house. Black argued with me, but finally gave in and let me take Harry there on his motorcycle. 'I won't have any use for it,' he said."
"I should have thought that there was something fishy here. That motorcycle was his beloved thing, why did he give it to me? Why did he say he had no use for it? In fact, it was too easy to track. Dumbledore knew
He is the secret keeper. Black needs to escape overnight, otherwise people from the Ministry of Magic will soon want him."
"It's a good thing I didn't hand Harry over to him. If he really took him away, I bet he would just throw the kid into the sea! His best friend's son!"
After Hagrid's story was told, the bar fell into silence. For a long time, Ms. Rosmerta said with a hint of joy, "But he didn't escape, did he? The Ministry of Magic caught him the next day!"
"Oh, if only it was us," Fudge said bitterly, "We were not the ones who found him. It was Peter Pettigrew, another friend of Potter's."
"Pettigrew? That little chubby boy who always follows them like a follower?" the lady recalled.
"Worship Black and Potter like heroes," Professor McGonagall said. "In terms of talent, he has never been on the same level as them. I was often very strict with him. You can imagine how much I regret it now." After that, he gradually
There is a nasal sound.
"Well, Minerva," Fudge said gently, "Pettigrew died heroically. Eyewitnesses - all Muggles, of course, and we later erased their memories - said that Pettigrew intercepted Black and cried.
He said: 'Lily and James! Sirius, how could you do this?' Then he pulled out his wand. Unfortunately, Black was more agile than him and blew Pettigrew to pieces first."
"Poor kid," Professor McGonagall said angrily, covering her mouth and nose, "He is always hopeless in a duel... he should be handed over to the Ministry of Magic."
"If I had blocked Black first, I wouldn't have wasted time pulling out the wand - I would have torn him into pieces with my own hands!" Hagrid said harshly.
"Hagrid, do you know what you are talking about!" Fudge snapped. "If you block Black, only the well-trained thugs of the Magical Law Enforcement Team may have a chance of winning. I was still the deputy director of the Department of Magical Disasters at the time, and Black
After all those people were killed, I was the first to arrive at the scene.
One of the people. I will never forget that scene, and I still sometimes dream about it. A big hole exploded in the middle of the street, so deep that even the sewers opened. Corpses were everywhere, and Muggles were crying and screaming. Black stood there
He laughed out loud, and all that was left of Pettigrew in front of him was a pile of blood-stained robes and some fragments!"
...
Then we talked about some aftermath work, and then left.
"Avi, do you know what they are talking about?" Harry asked on the way back.
"I don't know." Ivey shook his head. "I only know the cause and effect, and I have only heard of the details in between."
"Listening to what they said, it feels like Black betrayed Harry's parents." Hermione was a little shaken.
"I don't think so," Ivy said.
"Then tell me"
"Actually, I just heard so much, but most of it is nonsense. We just need to filter out the most critical information."
"What is the key message?" Harry asked
"Sirius' performance"
"His performance?"
"Yes. Most of their conversations have certain emotional factors in them and cannot be regarded as reliable information. But as the parties involved, there is no need to fake the various behaviors of Sirius they saw, and they can be regarded as reliable clues."
"..." Everyone fell into deep thought
Ivey looked at them and smiled slightly, "Maybe you only remembered roughly. I'll help you sort it out and see if it's correct." After saying that, he paused for two seconds. "First, it was Hagrid. He said something. Black arrived.
The performance at the scene was ‘the boy was pale and trembling all over’. Is that correct?”
"Yes," Hermione confirmed.
"Then he said: Black asked him to send Harry on his motorcycle."
"Yeah" Harry nodded.
"Then there are some Muggle testimonies: Pettigrew intercepted Black and blew Pettigrew to pieces. This is also credible information."
"Go on," Harry muttered.
"Finally, what Fudge said when he arrived at the scene: Black stood there laughing, and in front of him only a pile of blood-stained robes and some fragments were left of Pettigrew."
"These are things we can believe. Since Black and Pettigrew are suspects, what they said will not be used as a reference."
"But what does this mean?" Hermione asked with a frown.
"You definitely can't tell anything by looking at it alone. If you bring these words into the whole incident, you will be——" Ivey guided.
"Sirius rushed to the hiding place of Harry's parents. After seeing the ruins, he turned pale and trembled all over. When he found out that Harry was still alive, he wanted to take care of him personally. The argument was fruitless. After knowing where Harry was, he
He gave his beloved motorcycle as a gift. Then, he intercepted Pettigrew, blew him to pieces, and stood there laughing." Ivy slowly narrated the story.