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Chapter 221
Chapter 221
The phoenix on Dumbledore’s shoulder chirped in response.
“Go keep an eye on Harry, no need to show yourself.” He said, and Fawkes unfolded its wings and flew into the air, and its figure disappeared very abruptly.
“What a strange creature,” Felix said admiringly, “one can’t help but want to get closer.”
Dumbledore glanced at him, “Hagrid has been particularly happy lately, he told me that an old friend came over to stay temporarily, do you have any idea what it is about, Felix?”
Felix looked around, “I’m not sure either, … hasn’t been in much contact with him lately.”
Soon, the four house heads and professors arrived, Professor McGonagall briefly described the situation.
Snape got taken aback, ” Black! Still so stupid … how did he break past the Dementors’ defences?”
Felix said quietly: “Severus, he was able to escape from Azkaban, still care about a few dementors? If you ask me, this thing is just disgusting, not much use.”
Currently, Dementors are not present on the school grounds, and the only way students can see them is to cross Hagrid’s hut and walk down a long slope before seeing the two guarding the main entrance to the school.
But if you shrink Hogwarts to a certain scale, you will find numerous Dementors gathered at the edge of Hogwarts, including the wizarding village adjacent to the school – Hogsmeade.
This is why Felix did not think Luna’s actions were safe. There is no guarantee that a Dementor won’t suddenly jump out of nowhere, although the Ministry of Magic certainly delineates patrol areas, a young and emotionally vibrant student is nothing less than a feast for a Dementor.
Dumbledore was strongly opposed to their presence in the school for the same reason. In his opinion, the Ministry of Magic simply can not control the Dementors. But he also had to make certain compromises to allow them to appear outside the school.
Snape calmed down, he said suggestively to Dumbledore: “Headmaster Dumbledore, the newspaper reported the day before yesterday that Black was found in Diagon Alley, and today he appeared outside the castle, as if – in my opinion, no one can do this without some help. ”
The professors present looked at Snape in surprise, and Flitwick exclaimed even more acutely, “Are you saying that Black has gathered some Death Eaters?”
Snape froze for a moment, that’s not what he meant …
The professors murmured, and they accepted Snape’s ‘idea’ almost instantly, or rather, that it is a reasonable speculation.
The newspapers had touted Black as “the number one Death Eater under the You-Know-Who”, and with that label, it would be strange if he couldn’t find some help.
“With his prestige …”
“Maybe that’s it, we thought Black is just a single guy, but maybe he has gathered a lot of dark wizards.”
Lupin, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up, “I don’t think so, Sirius-” he froze for a second or two, ” Black is just an undercover agent, and I think even in the circle of Death Eaters, his identity is less known.”
“Lupin, can I take it that you are defending your best friend?” Snape turned the tables on Lupin, and he deliberately added the word “best friend” with emphasis.
“No, Snape.” Lupin said calmly, “Just a simple analysis.” He looked at Dumbledore, “Perhaps when he returned to the Death Eaters as a successful undercover agent, he would have been warmly welcomed and sought after, but the problem is, he failed, his information led directly to the disappearance of the You-Know-Who, would any Death Eater believe him?”
“Headmaster, from what I know about him, Black is definitely alone, probably … probably to prove himself, like he did when he was in school, or in the days of the war – every time he fought, he was at the front line .” Lupin concluded sullenly, “He likes to take risks and be a lone hero.”
Snape’s eyes went cold, but he didn’t say another word, shrunk into darkness in the corner, and didn’t say a word.
A professor offered his opinion: “But how did he cross hundreds of kilometers in two days without the help of the Death Eaters? There are a lot of people trying to track him down. The Ministry of Magic has invested a lot of money this time, and the bounty is not low.”
“There are so many possibilities, floo powder, Portkey, flying broom …”
“But they will leave traces, Black absolutely would not dare to do that!”
“Could it be an Apparition, some wizards don’t need a wand to use it.”
Flitwick is an expert on magic spells, he rejected the speculation: “In theory, Apparition does not require a wand, but in reality, not many people can do it, it is much more difficult than you think and very accident-prone, not to mention that Apparition also has many limitations, unless … unless he got a wand!”
“How is that possible?”
” Well, to steal, to rob, as long as you look for the right opportunity, nothing is impossible.”
Dumbledore interrupted this discussion, “Everyone, let’s search through the castle to make sure everything is in order.”
In the end, the entire faculty spent a small part of the night until dawn and found nothing wrong.
The professors then dispersed one by one, and Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, Snape, and Felix came together again. Professor McGonagall is there to report on the latest progress, Snape obviously has something to say. Felix, on the other hand, had a small question that Dumbledore could answer.
Professor McGonagall said: “I have taken Black’s portrait for the Fat Lady to be sure, so she will never be confused.”
“Very well, Minerva,” Dumbledore said. “It’s best to have all the portraits in the castle memorize Black’s appearance, I mean … those that can communicate.”
Professor McGonagall nodded, Snape gave a low “snort”, Dumbledore turned his head to look at him, “Severus, you look like you have something to say?”
Snape’s words were without any semblance of emotion: “Dumbledore, I think we are doing nothing, before the school year began, we discussed -” he raised his head, his gaze cast down from the hawk nose, “as long as there is still some potential hidden danger in the castle, Black will always find an opportunity.”
Professor McGonagall said sternly, “Are you saying that someone at Hogwarts tipped us out? That can’t be possible! It’s impossible, Severus.”
Dumbledore said firmly, “What happened today just proves that there is no Black’s helper in the school.”
“That’s not necessarily true, Headmaster,” Snape’s voice trailed off as he said briskly, “Perhaps the mole simply wasn’t aware that there are Sneakoscope specifically designed for Black, and in fact,” he gave a mocking expression, “I was in the dark too, aren’t I?”
Felix knew who he is referring to, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black’s best friend from school days, as early as a few hours ago, Snape intended to lead the crowd’s suspicions towards him, but it was led astray by Filius …
It seems that Dumbledore warned him not to reveal Lupin’s werewolf identity, otherwise the professors and parents of the students would absolutely explode – during the war years, werewolves used to be a major force of Voldemort.
…
When McGonagall and Snape left, Felix raised the question that crossed his mind.
“You want to know how dementors reproduce?” Dumbledore repeated the question he heard.
“Yes, as far as I know, the number of Dementors is not large, about a hundred or so? The information I came across when I was in school showed that their numbers haven’t changed much in the last hundred years.” Felix asked.