Study Days at Hogwarts

  Chapter 756 Beast Foot

  Ron Weasley has been in the spotlight since the attack, and he himself seems to enjoy being a celebrity. As long as anyone wanted to listen, he was willing to tell the other party what happened that night, and he added many "details" to the description.

   Neville Longbottom, who led Sirius Black to successfully invade Gryffindor Tower, was also punished for this incident. On the second day after Black broke into the Gryffindor Tower, Longbottom received a roaring letter from his grandmother. For a while, Mr. Longbottom successfully replaced Malfoy as the after-dinner joke.

  However, these have not affected Albert, and he still lives a busy and fulfilling life every day.

"Give!"

  Albert handed the folder to Katrina after class, "All the test papers you want are in it."

   "Thank you." Katrina held the folder in her arms and thanked Albert in a low voice.

   "You're welcome, this is an agreement." Albert turned and walked towards Fred, George and Lee Jordan who were still waiting for him.

   "We are going to check that secret passage."

  Fred looked around and after making sure that no one was overhearing, he lowered his voice and said, "Maybe we can find out exactly where Black invaded the castle."

"I've double-checked that the side of the portrait just happens to be out of the patrol area of ​​the security guards, and Filch doesn't know that there is a secret passage leading to the outside of the castle." George added, "The old guy recently opened up many secret passages." They're all blocked."

   "If Black really entered from there, should we tell Professor McGonagall about it?"

   As soon as the voice fell, Lee Jordan found that the surroundings suddenly became quiet.

  The three of them looked at Albert together, waiting for the other party to make a decision.

   "Let's talk! Well, there is no one around, so hurry up." Albert glanced at the map in his hand, and after making sure that there was no one around, he urged the three to move faster.

  The portrait slowly moved away, revealing the passage behind, and the four of them rushed in immediately. George immediately closed the entrance of the secret passage again to prevent others from discovering the existence of the secret passage.

  After lighting up the wand, they were attracted by the footprints on the ground.

   "There are footprints, we guessed it right." Lee Jordan pointed to some vague footprints on the ground, excitedly announcing the good news to everyone.

  The twins once sprinkled a layer of chalk dust in this passage. Although it has been a long time, it is still possible to see if anyone has used this secret passage.

"Sirius Black really entered the castle through this secret passage," Fred was very excited about their new discovery. He held up his wand and walked at the forefront of the team, and soon found that the footprints on the ground had disappeared, replaced by It is the footprint of an unknown animal. "

   "What kind of footprint is this?" George lowered his wand, trying to see the footprints on the ground clearly. They were the footprints of some kind of animal.

   "Cat paw prints?"

   "Blake turned into a cat?"

The three of them recalled Albert's speculation last time, and said in unison: "Black is an Animagus, Professor McGonagall has the ability to turn himself into a cat, if Black can also become a cat Well, it's not surprising to be able to escape from Azkaban prison. I dare say that the cell over there will definitely not be able to hold Black. Moreover, dementors have no eyes, even if Black turns into a cat, they don't know. "

  Albert didn't answer the words of the three, silently took out the camera from the deformed lizard leather bag, and took a few photos of those footprints.

   Several people continued to walk along the passage, and found other similar animal footprints in the place where chalk dust was sprinkled.

   On the way back to the castle, the four were discussing the matter, and they even dared to suspect that Sirius Black had turned into a cat and hid in the school.

   "Why do you think Blake will turn into a cat?"

Albert handed the several photos he took to the three friends, "If Black turns into a cat, he doesn't need Gryffindor's password at all, because no one will suspect a cat, and this It should be dog footprints. I can tell the difference between cat footprints and dog footprints. Look at their meat pads. If you don’t believe me, ask Tom to step on the footprints and compare them with the photos. Just like my guess last time Yeah, Padfoot would be Black, if he's really an Animagus."

   "Maybe, we should go to the library to check the records of Animagus." Lee Jordan suggested.

"Don't be silly, if you were an Animagus, would you register with the Ministry of Magic?" George shook his head and said, "If Black is really an Animagus, I don't think he will announce this. thing."

"I checked the relevant information, and there are only seven Animagus in this century." Albert added: "However, as George said, there must be some missing, because if I were an Animagus Si, I will not register, anyway, as long as it is not used to steal information and not known by the Ministry of Magic."

   "I think we're pretty close to the truth," said Fred excitedly. "If there's a dog roaming around the school, it's probably Blake."

   "It should be a black dog." Albert reminded.

   "Why a black dog?"

   "Because of Blake."

   "Oh, so it is like this." George looked at Albert suspiciously and asked, "I wonder if you already knew."

   "Well, my prediction about Black turned out to be a black dog." Albert did not deny this, "I didn't tell you directly because I needed evidence."

   "Harry said he once met a black dog," Fred said suddenly.

"Well, his black dog took it as ominous, and he even talked to me about it." Albert nodded and said that there was indeed such a thing: "Now it is completely confirmed. By the way, I was in Hogsmoor I saw a black dog in an alley in Germany."

"If it was Black, why did he give up killing Harry, and... the attack a few days ago was also very strange. I still remember you said that Sirius Black is Harry's godfather." George felt more and more This thing is odd.

   "Now there are indications that Sirius Black's target may not be Harry, but someone else." Fred agrees with George's point of view.

"Could it be that Pettigrew Peter?" Lee Jordan tentatively said, "I think that Wormtail should be him. Since Black may be Animagus, then Harry's father and Pettigrew Peter Could it be Animagus, I remember Albert once said that the nickname on the Marauder's Map may represent transformation."

   "Who is Harry's father?" Fred asked.

   "Stag, Potter's patron saint is a stag. He is very similar to his father, so he is probably also a stag. It just corresponds to the nickname of the prong."

   "Harry's Patronus?" George raised his voice slightly.

  For some unknown reason, the atmosphere at the scene suddenly became a little depressing.

   "How long did it take Harry to summon the physical Patronus?" Fred asked suddenly.

   "About half a year, if you count from the time he went to train with Professor Lupin, it would be about a month or so?" Albert didn't know the exact time either.

   There was a strange silence, Fred and George stopped suddenly, put their hands on Lee Jordan's shoulders, and said earnestly: "You should work hard."

"Shut up, we're discussing about Black right now." Lee Jordan broke free from the twins' hands and forcibly brought the topic back, "I'm a little suspicious of Black now, after all, dogs usually represent loyalty, and it's really hard for me to imagine that Black would Would you betray your friends?"

   "No?" Fred and George shook their heads together.

   "What if the mysterious person threatens you with your family?" Albert asked suddenly.

   There was a longer silence.

  Yeah, what if the mysterious person threatens his family?

   "So, the person who betrayed Harry's father might be the dead Peter Pettigrew?" Fred frowned and said, "That guy is actually not dead?"

   "His code name is Wormtail?"

   "What do you think he would be if he were an Animagus?" George asked.

   "Bugs?"

   "Obviously impossible. Wormtail should refer to a worm-like tail." Albert speculated, "It should be a mouse."

   "Rat?" George repeated softly, and he remembered something, and suddenly felt creepy: "Scatterers! Yes, Scabbers, Ron's mouse is probably Peter Pettigrew."

   "But...how is it possible?" Fred looked at Albert, and his face turned pale when he saw Albert nodded slightly.

"Don't forget, Scabbers has lived a long time. Ever since Percy bought a new owl, that mouse has become Ron's pet. God knows how long it has lived, five years, seven years, or even longer ?” George pointed out the evidence, “I still remember that Albert mentioned before that the mouse’s lifespan was a bit abnormal, and he joked that it would be very valuable if sold to Muggles.”

   If Scabbers is really a wizard, it would be really scary.

  However, everything is reasonable. If Scabbers is really Peter Pettigrew, then he may be the one who betrayed Harry's father. Otherwise, why would a living person pretend to be a mouse for more than ten years?

  Sirius Black apparently found out that Peter was alive from the Daily Prophet, so he escaped from Azkaban and tried to kill Peter Pettigrew to avenge his friend, while Scabbers was in Harry's dorm.

   "If Black is really innocent, should we still arrest him for a reward?" Lee Jordan asked suddenly.

   Another long silence.

"Catch that guy first, then we can prepare some Veritaserum, or use Legilimency on him at that time, I think we definitely need to find out the specific truth first." Albert finalized the final decision: "At that time Before that, we have to be prepared. I think if Black shows up, he is likely to capture Peter Pettigrew. If that guy is really alive, we can capture Peter for money. If the Ministry of Magic doesn’t want it, we Just trade it with Blake, I'm sure he'd be willing to pay a fortune for that mouse."

  At this moment, Fred, George, and Lee Jordan all stared at Albert dumbfounded, never expecting to be like this.

   "This is blackmail!" Fred reminded in a low voice.

"This is not blackmail. We spent so much energy and took so many risks to uphold justice in the magic world. We can't leave empty-handed!" Albert said solemnly, "What's more, Black himself There is a reward. Before the bounty is cancelled, if we catch Black, we should get the reward. As for whether Black is innocent or not, that is something that the Ministry of Magic should worry about. It has nothing to do with us. Moreover, you don't want to leave empty-handed Bar?"

  (end of this chapter)