bioinnovel Chapter 220 1 Question, 3 Shakes Head, 3 Don't Know
Chapter 220 1 Question, 3 Shakes Head, 3 Don't Know
Chapter 220 One Question, One Shake of the Head, Three Ignorances
Sirius Black's wand had been kept by the Ministry of Magic as evidence of his murder of Peter Pettigrew.
Even with such important evidence, the department failed to verify it, and didn't even bother to recite the "flashback incantation".
This illustrates the extent of overstaffing within the Ministry of Magic.
Now, Cornelius Fudge is handing over the sealed wand to Belvina as a gesture of goodwill and to show his support for Sirius.
At this moment, Belvina returned the wand to Sirius. She didn't have many ulterior motives; she just wanted Sirius to have the ability to protect himself.
Never! Absolutely! Again! Bit! Anyone!
As members of the same Black family and siblings born of the same mother, Belvina couldn't bear the shame.
If I were to have another verbal battle with Snape in the future, and the Potions Professor said something like, "Your brother is good at biting," just thinking about that scene makes my scalp tingle.
Besides preventing Sirius from biting people again, returning the wand is also to deal with Peter Pettigrew, who might come looking for trouble if Peter dares to.
After returning the wand, which had been sealed away for twelve years, to its rightful owner, Belvina hurriedly left the room, as she still had many things to attend to.
Belvina, who had left earlier, was unaware of what she was about to miss, as the curtain quietly rose on the literature of substitutes belonging to Hogwarts.
In the makeshift cell, Lupin looked on with relief at the “father and son reunion” before him, and a strange feeling suddenly rose in his heart—Sirius and Harry seemed to regard each other as another James.
"Alright, let's go too," Lupin said gently. "Once everything settles down, you'll have plenty of time to spend together, enough time for you to get tired of each other."
"Wait, Remus, I have something else to say." Sirius suddenly became hesitant, and even his tone of voice became very unnatural.
Poor Ron Weasley frowned and grimaced, lamenting why his torment was not over yet, and why his pet mouse was Peter Pettigrew.
"Harry, I—" Sirius said awkwardly, "I don't know if Belvina has told you, but actually I am your godfather, and your parents appointed me as your guardian."
"Yes, I know, Belvina mentioned it." Harry also seemed a little awkward. "She also said that you lived with my dad after you left home."
Hearing Harry bring up the past, Sirius sighed for a moment and said with emotion, "Your grandparents were very, very good people. They treated me like another son."
Lupin coughed lightly, reminding Sirius to get down to business and stop reminiscing.
"Ahem—.Um—." Sirius said hesitantly, "What I'm trying to say is, if I can clear my name this time, would you like a different kind of home—I mean, would you be willing to live with me—"
Sirius then nervously added, "Of course, if you want to live with your aunt and uncle, I can understand—can I visit you on Privet Drive during the summer vacation?"
At this moment, Sirius looked very humble, lacking both the defiant spirit he displayed when confronting Belvina and the arrogance he showed when facing Snape.
"What nonsense are you talking about? Of course I'd like to live with you!" Harry said excitedly, suddenly feeling as light as if he could fly into the sky.
An excited Harry continued, "So where will we stay, in Fertile Ground or in London? I heard from Belvina that you also have a place to stay in London."
Suddenly, Sirius's haggard face broke into a radiant smile, and his thin, pale cheeks regained their vitality, as if the handsome Sirius of the past had returned.
Before Sirius could figure out where they would live in the future, and before Harry could imagine their happy life together, Lupin cruelly interrupted their beautiful fantasies about the future.
"Alright, we really should leave now. The three of you should go back to the common room," Lupin said. "Leave the rest to us. I'm sure Sirius will soon be able to stand openly by your side."
"Look," Lupin said, pushing Harry out of the room.
If Harry were allowed to continue chatting as he pleased, he might talk to Sirius for three days and three nights or more.
We talk about the past, the future, and maybe even some completely unrelated things.
Ron, whose face was extremely pale, felt as if he had been granted a pardon and hurriedly walked out, not even paying attention to Hermione. But before Ron could leave the room, Sirius's voice suddenly rang out.
"Your name is Ron, right? I'm so sorry about the pet mouse," Sirius said sincerely. "I'm sorry, child."
"It's okay, it's okay, don't feel sorry, it's not your fault." Ron waved his hands repeatedly as he fled the room like a shot.
The four teachers and students descended the spiral staircase and soon emerged from the west tower, returning to the corridor of the main castle building.
Lupin led the three through the corridor toward the staircase not far away.
Soon, the Charms classroom and the stairwell came into view.
Lupin stopped and reminded Harry again to keep the secret and not to tell anyone what happened in the tower.
At the same time, Lupin also told Harry to take good care of himself, not to be blinded by hatred like Snape, and not to act rashly.
After Lupin disappeared down the stairs, Hermione, who hadn't said much, suddenly spoke up and called to Harry and Ron, who were about to go upstairs back to the common room.
"The map, Harry," Hermione whispered a reminder.
This time, Hermione didn't act on her own initiative, but consulted with Harry first.
"Map? What map?" Harry asked, puzzled, his lips curving into an uncontrollable grin as he looked on with anticipation for a happy life.
Of the Gryffindor trio, only Hermione remained conscious and not clouded by the situation. Neither Sirius Black nor Peter Pettigrew could seriously affect her.
Harry, on the other hand, was in a state of high excitement, constantly fantasizing about the next summer vacation.
He was finally leaving the Dursleys' house. He could live with his godfather and enjoy the fun summers of Fertile Plains.
As for Ronald Weasley, the young Mr. Weasley had a dull gaze and a wooden expression; his thinking ability probably wouldn't recover to normal levels anytime soon.
To return to normal and regain his intellectual dominance, Ron must first accept the absurdity of the magic trick of turning people into living beings.
"What map? The Marauder's Map, of course! How many maps do you have?" Hermione said impatiently. "I think we should hand them over, Harry, what do you think?"
"You're right, Hermione, we should hand over the map," Harry said without hesitation. "With the Marauder's Map..."
That person will have nowhere to hide!
With that, Harry turned to go upstairs. He needed to get back to the common room immediately, find the map, and find Peter Pettigrew!
"Wait a minute, Harry!" Hermione grabbed Harry by the back of the collar impatiently. "Give the map to Professor Black."
Or perhaps we should first agree on a single line of communication before Professor Lu Ping does?
"Keep a unified story?" Harry was pulled down the stairs. "You mean Fred and George? Yes, we can't give them up. We absolutely can't betray them."
The Marauder's Map was stolen by Fred and George from the warden's office, and handing it over could expose the brothers' "theft."
Harry wasn't worried about Belvina and Lupin's reactions. The two of them probably wouldn't investigate the origin of the map, and even if they knew it was stolen, they would at most criticize it a few times.
Harry was worried about what would happen if others found out about Fang Yi.
If Snape found out about the Marauder's Map, he might take it to Dumbledore; if the Ministry of Magic found out, it might even affect Mr. Weasley.
"Let's go back to the common room and find the map first," Harry said, walking upstairs. "Fred and George are asking me to think about what to do."
With that, Harry took the lead and went up the stairs toward the Gryffindor common room.
Hermione frowned as she walked, trying to think of a solution, while also pulling Ron, who was as stubborn as a wooden stake, along with her upstairs.
A few minutes later, the silent trio drew closer to the corridor outside the common room, and they could already see the monstrous security guard standing in front of the portrait.
The seemingly ferocious giant security guards are actually quite silly, and they are comparing the size of the big sticks in their hands.
When Harry, Harry, and his friends gave the command and crawled into the Gryffindor common room, Harry's little brain finally came up with a solution; he immediately thought of two ways to solve the problem.
It's Hogsmeade weekend, and the circular common room is completely empty; not a single student can be seen.
Hermione led the dazed Ron to an armchair in front of the fireplace and sat him down, then pinched the inside of Ron's arm hard.
A scream echoed throughout the lounge. Ron, whose worldview had been half-collapsed, finally came to his senses, and his brain, which had been almost completely eaten away by rats, began to grow back.
At this moment, Harry walked out of the boys' dormitory with the Marauder's Map and met up with Hermione and Ron, who had stayed in the common room.
Harry spread the Marauder's Map out flat, pulled out his wand, tapped the old parchment, and said, "I solemnly swear that I will not do anything good."
In an instant, fine lines of ink spread out like a spider web from where the tip of the holly cane touched, connecting and crisscrossing, extending to every corner of the parchment.
The Marauder's Map then appeared in large, green, cursive letters: "The Marauder's Map is proudly presented by the gentlemen who are dedicated to assisting magical pranksters." Harry reached out and gently touched the "Prongs" on the map. He already knew from Lupin's account that "Prongs" was James's nickname during his school days.
At the same time, Harry also knows that "Moonface" is Lupin, "Bigfoot" is Sirius Black, and the remaining "Wormtail" is the real informant, Peter Pettigrew.
Hermione looked at Harry, puzzled, and asked anxiously, "Harry, have you come up with a solution yet? We don't have time to fumble around on the map."
Ron, seemingly reading Harry's mind, said, "Harry, you're not thinking of catching that person yourself, are you? No, absolutely not! It's too dangerous, and Fred and George wouldn't agree!"
"I don't intend to catch that person myself," Harry said patiently. "Before handing the map over to Professor Lupin, we must remove Fred and George from this matter."
Harry continued, keeping an eye on every name that appeared on the map: "The first way is, if anyone asks where the Marauder's Map came from, say that I stole it from Filch and that I discovered how to use it by accident."
In this way, Fred and George had nothing to do with the Marauder's Map, and Harry took all the blame upon himself.
Under Belvina's influence, Harry finally learned to use his fame. What's the big deal about the boy who survived a near-death experience stealing an old parchment from the warden's office?
"The second way is to use the Marauder's Map to find the person's location, and then ask the professors for help," Harry said. "It would be best to bring Fred and George along; that should offset the bad deed."
Making amends for his mistakes was Harry's second idea, which seemed somewhat risky compared to Harry taking the blame himself.
"No, Harry, the second method won't work, it's too risky." Hermione shook her head, immediately rejecting the second method. "It really won't work." Harry suddenly said dejectedly, "That person's name isn't on the map, I couldn't find it."
Ron was stunned, then exclaimed, "How is this possible? Is the map broken? And at such a crucial moment?"
Before the words were even finished, Ron and Hermione simultaneously went to the Marauder's Map and examined each name displayed on the parchment.
They saw Dumbledore pacing back and forth in his office, Snape wandering around the castle, Lupin already appearing on the playground, the densely packed names at the West Tower, Sirius Black still safely there, and Harry, Meghan and Harry even saw Belvina suddenly appear at the edge of the map. The only thing they didn't see was Peter Pettigrew's name, nor "Wormtail" or "Scabbers".
Just when Harry, Ron, and Hermione were at their wits' end, the Weasley twins returned to the common room with bags and bundles.
"Fred, George, I need your help!" Harry quickly stood up and called to the two brothers.
Fred and George came over carrying the package, and the two brothers started chatting away, one after the other.
"Anytime, anywhere—"
"At your service"
The two brothers exclaimed in unison, "The Weasley Brothers' magic trick!"
"How about our slogan?" Fred and George continued.
Harry, Harry, and his two friends weren't in the mood to play with the twins; they were worried that the map was faulty and would affect their capture of Peter Pettigrew.
"Fred, George, when you used the Marauder's Map before, did you observe our dormitory?" Harry asked anxiously. "Did you notice anything unusual?"
Fred and George shook their heads in unison, saying, "No."
"Dude, why should we care about your dorm rooms?"
"So, is there anything about your two dorm rooms that I should be aware of?"
The Weasley brothers were always using the Marauder's Map either for pranks or on their way to pranks, so they never paid any attention to the Gryffindor boys' dormitories.
"Didn't you two notice that there's always been someone else next to me?" Ron asked, barely suppressing his nausea. He still couldn't accept that his mouse was actually Peter Pettigrew.
Fred and George shook their heads again, saying in unison, "No."
"Little brother, why are we staring at your name?"
"Besides, we don't know everyone in your grade."
The truth is cruel, and reality is cold: the Weasley twins never paid attention to their youngest brother.
"And what about Percy? Have you ever paid attention to the people around Percy before?" Ron was so upset he was almost crying; he had suffered a great blow today.
Fred and George shook their heads in unison for the third time, saying in unison, "No."
"Who would want to know what Percy is doing?"
"Boring Percy, disgusting Percy."
Hearing his twin brother's words, Ron felt much better.
"Has the Marauder's Map ever had problems before?" Harry asked eagerly. "Like names that should be showing up but aren't."
This time, Fred and George did not immediately shake their heads.
"No, we don't think we've ever encountered this situation before, George?" Fred looked at his twin brother.
“No, Fred,” George said. “Maybe it happened, but we just didn’t notice.”
Upon hearing this, Harry immediately deflated like a punctured balloon.
Why isn't Peter Pettigrew's name on the map? Has he already escaped from school?
If Peter Pettigrew has already escaped, what will happen to Sirius Black? Can he still clear his name of the charges?
"What's wrong with you three today?" Fred and George asked in unison. "You didn't go to Hogsmeade, and you're staring at the map endlessly."
"It's nothing, nothing at all." Ron waved his hand impatiently, shooing away his two older brothers as if they were flies.
Fred and George stood up, picked up their bags, and walked towards the boys' dormitory.
"When the two of us make money..."
"I'll buy you a new pet."
Fred and George said in unison, "Buy a mouse that's about the same size as Spotted, little brother."
The twins were clearly expressing their concern for their little brother, but Ron responded to his brother's call with a violent bout of gagging, leaving Fred and George completely bewildered.
The empty room was now left with only Harry and his two companions, all at a loss.
"Prank over," Harry muttered, and the Marauder's Map returned to its blank state, completely unremarkable.
Harry stood up, sighed, and said helplessly, "Let's go find Professor Lupin; perhaps he has a solution."
Before she finished speaking, Hermione and Ron stood up at the same time, and the three of them silently walked out of the common room.