"He won't be able to sit in that position for long."
Albert sat next to Isobel and took a swig of the foaming hot butterbeer, feeling himself warm from the inside out.
"That's really sad news."
Isobel felt that Cornelius Fudge was quite unlucky. Since Albert said so, he would most likely lose his position as Minister of Magic in the near future.
“Back then, I predicted his success on the Hogwarts Express, and earned my first pot of gold in the wizarding world for it,” Albert said with emotion.
"By that time, you probably knew how to tell fortunes, didn't you?"
Isobel felt that this was very likely. Otherwise, how could Albert, who had just entered the magic world, invest a large amount of Galleons to participate in the guessing activity
"It's pure luck. I'm very confident in my luck, and my wand can also bring me luck." Albert took out the redwood wand and added with a smile: "Mr. Ollivander said in person that the redwood wand can bring luck to the user."
Isobel drank her butterbeer silently, not believing Albert's nonsense at all.
"Thanks to that money, we were able to have the deal later. In fact, we should thank him for being able to be together." Albert looked across the tables in front of him at the back of the Minister of Magic and said in a calm tone, "Now, I am here to predict his failure. The summer after he graduated from Hogwarts was the moment when he was kicked down from his high place."
"Is that how you thank him?" Isobel raised her eyebrows slightly, as if she wanted to laugh.
"The result was not caused by me, it was his own problem."
"Am I becoming more and more like a charlatan?" Albert suddenly said, "In fact, I am considering whether to give myself the title of prophet. I heard that this profession is quite respected by everyone."
"Well, by the way, I can make up a story that I have been able to see fragments of the future since I was a child, and disguise myself as a genius with the gift of prophecy since childhood." Albert seemed to be seriously thinking about the feasibility of this plan.
"Did you learn this set of misleading rhetoric from Professor Trelawney?" Isobel felt that she discovered what Albert had learned from Professor Trelawney.
"You actually discovered it." Albert reached out and grasped Isobel's soft palm, and said to himself, "Professor Trelawney often complained to me that she was regarded as a liar by others and no one believed that she had the ability to predict the future. But I think this is entirely because she can't prove to everyone that she can predict the future. Otherwise, who would regard her as a liar instead of thinking that prophets are all mysterious guys."
"Are you sure those so-called prophets aren't pretending to be mysterious and deliberately speaking ambiguously because they are afraid of making wrong predictions?" Isobel bluntly exposed the tricks of the "prophets".
No prophet can guarantee that the future he predicts will not change. In order to preserve the prophet's "title and reputation", it is obviously necessary to be ambiguous, because no matter what the result is, a "reasonable" explanation can be given.
“Sometimes, even if you see through it, you shouldn’t say it out loud.”
"Did you tell the whole pub, Hagrid?"
Professor McGonagall's angry voice suddenly came from the bar, and the atmosphere in the bar stagnated. Everyone secretly turned their heads to look in the direction of the bar, and pricked up their ears to eavesdrop. Everyone was curious about what the professors were talking about and why Professor McGonagall was so emotional.
However, the five people sitting at the bar seemed to be speaking in low voices in order to prevent anyone from eavesdropping. You couldn't hear what they were saying from a distance, not to mention that the bar was already very noisy.
However, this did not pose a problem for Albert at all. He took out a small box from the right pocket of his robe, which contained something similar to headphones.
"What's this?"
Isobel noticed what Albert had taken out and asked in a low voice.
"A little gadget for eavesdropping."
When Albert went to buy butterbeer, he quietly threw the magic bug in the corner of the counter.
"The principle of this thing is a bit like a magic version of a radio, but it's still a semi-finished product with many defects. It won't work if you're too far away." Albert motioned for Isobel to come over and listen together.
"They were talking about Blake."
Isobel moved closer to Albert and heard the professors talking.
"You would think Black and Potter were brothers, they are almost inseparable!" Professor Flitwick's voice came from the headphones.
"… When James and Lily got married, Black was the best man, and they asked Black to be Harry's godfather." This time it was Fudge, and he revealed a lot of information.
"Things seem to be getting interesting."
Albert looked towards the fireplace, where Hermione and Ron were pretending to drink butterbeer. They had obviously heard what Fudge had said.
As for Harry Potter, who was hiding under the invisibility cloak, even if Albert couldn't see him, it was not difficult to guess what his expression was.
Isobel followed Albert's gaze and noticed Ron and Hermione eavesdropping by the Christmas tree. Harry Potter was also apparently eavesdropping on the conversation over there.
They listened quietly to the conversation over there and soon weaved together the whole thread of the incident.
Harry Potter's parents were hunted by a mysterious man and used the Fidelius Charm to protect themselves. Black, their good friend, became their secret keeper, but Black betrayed them in the end, causing the Potters to be killed by the mysterious man.
"Fate is sometimes so ingenious." Albert said softly, "It lets Harry Potter hear the truth."
Isobel also thought that this matter was indeed a bit dramatic.
Harry Potter just happened to sneak into Hogsmeade and ended up hearing professors talking about Black and his father in the bar
It was as if the professors came to the Three Broomsticks to drink just to make Harry Potter understand the whole thing. It was too coincidental.
"Dirty, stinking traitor!" Hagrid's angry voice echoed throughout the bar, and the entire bar became quiet in an instant.
The students in the bar pricked up their ears as Hagrid loudly recounted his experience of meeting Black.
However, they had no idea of the dramatic changes that would follow.
Black and Potter's good friend Peter Pettigrew first found Black at the Ministry of Magic and questioned him face to face why he betrayed the Potters. As a result, he was killed by a spell cast by Black.
Black was captured by the Aurors and imprisoned in Azkaban without trial.
"As far as I know, the largest remnant of Peter Pettigrew found by the Ministry of Magic is a finger." Albert said softly, looking at the backs of Professor McGonagall and others as they left.
"One finger?"
Isobel also noticed some problems. The evil spell could indeed turn a person into ashes, but leaving only one finger was a bit suspicious.
After all, it's hard to believe what kind of duel would result in someone losing a finger first.
As an outsider, Isobel saw it more clearly than anyone else, and Albert obviously had other reasons for deliberately mentioning this matter.
"What secret did you discover?" Isobel said with a strange expression, "You don't think that Blake is innocent and Peter Pettigrew is the betrayer."
If you think about it carefully, this is really possible. Sometimes reality is more magical than fiction.
Moreover, Isobel suspected that Albert might hold a key clue.
"I discovered something." Albert said mysteriously after making sure that no one was eavesdropping.
"What's up?"
"Who is the maker of the Marauder's Map?" Albert raised his wand and conjured an umbrella to shield Isobel from the flying snowflakes above her head.
"Is that the map you used before?"
"Prongs, Padfoot, Wormtail, and Moony."
"You mean Moony Face is Professor Lupin?" Isobel thought the nickname was very appropriate and directly hinted at Professor Lupin's identity as a werewolf.
Professor Lupin is a friend of Potter's father, and together with Black and Peter there are exactly four of them.
Professor McGonagall had just said that James and Black liked to play pranks, and Hagrid thought the Weasley brothers were a lot like them.
"Prongs should refer to James Potter, who is good at Quidditch and likes to be in the spotlight. Wormtail refers to Peter Pettigrew who is following behind the two of them, and Padfoot should refer to Sirius Black." Isobel quickly matched the nicknames with the names.
But what do their nicknames actually stand for
Isobel couldn't figure it out, so she looked at Albert beside her, waiting for him to reveal the secret, but Albert didn't seem to have any intention of saying it. It was really irritating to keep people in suspense.
So she reached out and secretly pinched Albert's waist, but unfortunately he was wearing too many clothes and she didn't feel anything at all.
"This is not the right place to talk about this."
Albert bared his teeth and pretended to be pinched.
The two went to the cottage in Hogsmeade and returned to Hogwarts Castle through the Vanishing Cabinet there.
"Okay, tell me what you know," Isobel asked.
"Moon Face refers to Professor Lupin's werewolf identity, so could their nicknames represent their transformation?" Albert expressed his speculation.
"Transfiguration?" Isobel asked incredulously, "You mean Animagus? If so, the prongs should represent the horns of some animal, sheep, cow or deer. Considering James Potter's showy personality, a stag is more suitable."
"Bigfoot should be Padfoot. Oh, and the black dog wasn't looking for food, but for a newspaper. There was a newspaper nearby, but we were staring at it, so it took away half of the bread."
"Black itself means black, no wonder you noticed the black dog at that time. Did you know that the dog was Black?" Isobel thought that it would be basically impossible for the Ministry of Magic to catch Black if they didn't know that Black could turn into a black dog.
Moreover, if Black turned into a dog, it would not be impossible for him to escape from Azkaban prison.
After all, Dementors are blind and can only judge based on emotions, and animals obviously do not have as rich emotions as humans, so they would not treat Black as a dog.
"What is Wormtail, then?" asked Isobel.
"I suspect it was a mouse." Albert shared his findings and speculations. "The Weasley family had a mouse named Scabbers that lived for five or six years, or even longer. It once belonged to Percy, and was later given to Ron, Potter's friend. Black probably saw the mouse in the family photo of the Weasleys that he saw in the Daily Prophet. He discovered that Peter Pettigrew was still alive and right next to his godson. If I were Black, I would probably crawl out of hell, not only for revenge, but also to prevent my godson from getting into danger."
"Once the mysterious man returns, Peter Pettigrew will definitely hand Harry Potter over to the mysterious man. Who dares to say that he betrayed the mysterious man?"
"This is a dramatic change. The traitor became a hero, and the hero became a traitor." Isobel looked at Albert and asked, "By the way, how do you know so much? You must have made relevant predictions and then worked your way back from the results."
"Yeah, it's pretty much what you guessed." Albert didn't deny it. There had to be a reason. "In fact, I once saw the name Peter on the Marauder's Map in the common room. I thought it was the name of a cat or some other animal."
"What are you going to do?" Isobel asked with a frown, "If the truth is made public, I'm afraid not many people will be willing to believe it."
In most people's minds, Black is a traitor and a wanted criminal, and Peter Pettigrew is a hero who has sacrificed his life.
If Albert rashly tells the truth, people will only regard him as a madman and a clown seeking to attract attention.
Harry Potter is the best example.
Hmm, I almost forgot, Potter hasn't become an example yet.
"I'm waiting for the right time. Maybe I can earn Black's reward and successfully make the truth public." Albert said carefully, "I have a plan."
"If the Ministry of Magic knew that Black was innocent, they would definitely not be willing to pay you the reward." Isobel reminded, "Besides, they don't want to see that Black is innocent, do you understand what I mean?"
If Sirius Black was innocent, it would mean that the Ministry of Magic had locked a hero in Azkaban prison for more than a decade.
If this matter were to be exposed, the Ministry of Magic's reputation would be thrown to the ground and trampled upon by anyone.
The operation to capture Blake during this period will also become a huge joke.
No one wants to admit their mistakes, and no one wants to become a laughing stock.
"I know, but there is always a chance." Albert said, "It depends on how I handle this matter. Besides, there is no need to worry. The Ministry of Magic will be dismantled and reorganized in the future, and those pure-bloods will become a thing of the past."
"You always like to take risks, which is not good." Isobel suspected that Albert was planning something big again, and it had been planned for a long time.
"Don't worry, I will get other helpers and make sure everyone is well arranged."