Chapter 100 Burying the Illusion of the Truth
Speaking of which, Maca can only remember a rough idea of Sirius Black being wrongly imprisoned. But once the result is known, it is naturally much easier to query the data and deduce the event process than to analyze it from scratch.
The professors, however, were almost entirely unconvinced by Maca's claims.
Among them, Hagrid's reaction was the most violent.
I met him! Hagrid said loudly. Before that happened, I must have been the last to see him!
I was the one who got Harry out of James and Lily's house after they were all killed! He's in the ruins of that house... poor little thing with a long gash on his forehead , and his parents are dead...
That's when Sirius Black showed up, on his usual flying bike! I never knew what he was doing there - I didn't know he was James and Lily's secret keeper.
At that time, I thought he heard the news of the mysterious man's attack, and he was there to help his good friend! At that time, his face was pale and trembling...
Speaking of this, Hagrid suddenly roared: Do you know what I did? I comforted that murderous traitor!
Hagrid, don't! said Professor McGonagall, lower your voice!
Oh—sorry, Maca, I'm not mad at you, Hagrid put his thick arm around Maca's shoulders, you're too young to understand that sometimes it's hard to tell the good guys from the bad guys. Clear—I was mistaken then!
But at the time, how did I know he wasn't grieving for Lily and James—he cared about You-Know-Who! said Hagrid dejectedly, and then he said, 'Give me Harry, Hagrid, I'm His godfather, I'll take care of him—'.
Ha! But Dumbledore told me, so I said to Black 'No, Dumbledore said Harry should go to his aunt and uncle'. Of course Black didn't agree, but I kept insisting, and finally he relented— —he told me to take Harry there on his motorcycle.
'I don't need this bike anymore', I remember him saying that very well!
I should have known by then that there was something fishy about it. He loves that bike, why did he give it to me? Why doesn't he need that bike anymore? It's really easy to understand - Dumbledore Lido knew he had been the Potters' secret-keeper! Black knew he was going to run for his life that night, and knew the Ministry of Magic would be after him in a few hours!
But what if I gave him Harry? I bet he'd throw Harry off the motorbike and into the ocean on the way! His best friend's son!
Having said that, Hagrid lowered his head depressedly, took a big sip of wine and stopped talking.
There was a long silence.
After a while, Ms. Rosmerta couldn't bear it anymore, and she asked again: So, what exactly is the loyalty spell?
It's a very esoteric spell, Maca explained. Its principle involves souls and contracts, and it may even be related to...
Speaking of this, Maca paused for a moment, and then continued: Well, simply put, it is to use magic to hide a secret in the soul of a living person. This secret is hidden in the chosen person, that is, 'keep secret' People' hearts. As long as the secret-keeper refuses to disclose, others will never know what the secret is trying to hide.
At this time, Professor Flitwick continued: Yes, as long as the secret-keeper refuses to speak, the mysterious man will search the village where the Potters have lived for many years, and I will never see them—even if he is on the glass outside their living room. I crushed my nose on the window and couldn't find it!
Maca couldn't help but glanced at Flitwick.
I can't see that Flitwick might be able to be a divination professor or something - Voldemort's nose was indeed flattened afterwards!
Ms. Rosmerta is very happy that she knows so many secrets,
She couldn't help comforting her, But he didn't try to hide, did he? The Ministry of Magic caught him the next day!
Why, if only we had caught him, said Fudge bitterly. It wasn't us who found him. It was Peter Pettigrew, who was another friend of Potter's. He must have been mad with grief—he Knowing that Black was once the Potter couple's secret keeper, he went after Black himself.
Peter Pettigrew... that fat little boy, the one who followed them all the time at Hogwarts? Rosmerta asked.
He idolized Potter and Black as heroes, said Professor McGonagall. He was never one of them, as far as cleverness was concerned, and I used to be very mean to him. You can imagine when I knew—
Her voice was astringent, as if she had suddenly caught a cold.
Actually, I can't believe that he is the secret-keeper, that he is the one who betrayed the Potters. Professor McGonagall said with red eyes, That little guy has always been so timid, how could he maybe--
Yeah! He was brave once, but just once— Hagrid agreed, with a sudden violent sob.
Well, Minerva, said Fudge reassuringly, Peter Pettigrew was a hero! The witnesses at the time - I mean the Muggles on that street, of course we erased their memories afterwards - They described how Peter Pettigrew drove Blake to Jedi, when Peter sobbed, 'Lily and James... Sirius! How could you do that!' and he took his wand - and of course, Blake Much faster than him, and Peter was blown to pieces just like that!
Professor McGonagall blew his nose and said excitedly: Stupid boy, stupid boy... he's always terrible at duels! The Ministry of Magic should do it...
I'll tell you, if I catch Black before Peter Pettigrew, I don't need a wand - I'll snap him limb by limb! growled Hagrid.
You don't even know what you're talking about, Hagrid! said Fudge sharply. Only a trained striker from the Magical Law Enforcement Squad might be able to beat Black before he was cornered! I was a magician then. The Deputy Minister of Disasters, I was also one of the first to arrive after Black killed so many people. I—I will never forget that scene.
Sometimes I dream and dream! There's a big hole in the middle of the street, so deep it's blown the sewer pipes down below - dead bodies everywhere! Muggles scream, and Black stands there laughing, Peter Pettigrew The wreckage of the man lay before him. The pile of blood-stained robes and the few—”
Oh... not many pieces...
Fudge stopped suddenly, followed by the sound of five people blowing their noses.
Maca looked at them, and he blinked, wondering if he needed to cooperate or not.
In fact, his goal has already been achieved.
Maca had no intention of persuading them. All his words were for Black outside the window. When he saw the window glass move, he knew that today's plan had been completely completed.
Now, he just needs to finish his cloyingly sweet butterbeer and get out of here normally, that's all.
When the adults were about to get up and leave, Maca invited them to the open-air party tonight.
Whether it is to bless the graduates or to protect the students from being disturbed by the dementors, at least the professors are willing to attend this evening.
Even Fudge, the Minister of Magic, agreed to Maca to show his face at the party!
They all stepped out of the Three Broomsticks as the door of the tavern opened and another snowflake was swept inside. Maca said goodbye to them and left in another direction.
When Maca passed by the alley next to him, Black was hiding in the shadows, staring at Maca, wondering what he was thinking.
...
Harry didn't know exactly how he got back to Honeydukes' cellar, how he got into the tunnel and re-entered the castle.
All he knew was that the return trip didn't seem to take much time, and that he hardly noticed what he was doing because his mind was so preoccupied with what he had just heard.
Why didn't anyone tell him? Dumbledore, Hagrid, Mr Weasley, Cornelius Fudge...even Maca! They all knew that his parents were betrayed to death by their best friend!
But why has no one ever told him about this?
Worried about Harry, Ron and Hermione followed him all the way back to Hogwarts, watching Harry uneasily but not knowing what to say.
While having dinner, Ron and Hermione realized that the number of students dining in the hall today was a bit sparse-many of them had gone to the open-air party held by Maca.
After the meal, Harry quietly went to the empty dormitory, walking towards his bedside table.
He pushed the book aside, and soon found what he was looking for—a leather-bound photo album Hagrid had given him two years ago, full of enchanted photographs of his parents.
He sat on the bed, drew the curtains around the bed, and started flipping through the photo album page by page until...
He stopped at a photo of his parents' wedding day. His dad was waving at him, grinning, his messy black hair Harry had inherited bristled in all directions.
There is also a mother in the photo, her cheeks are flushed with joy because of happiness. She was standing arm in arm with Papa, and... that must be him, their best man!
Harry had never thought of him before.
He would never have guessed that it was Blake in the old photo if he hadn't known it was the same person.
His face wasn't sunken and sallow like it looked in the Ministry notices, he was handsome and smiling.
Was he already in Voldemort's service when this picture was taken? Was he already planning to kill the two people around him? Did he know he was facing 12 years of Azkaban, 12 years that would make him unrecognizable?
Harry snapped the album shut, reached out and stuffed it into the bedside table.
