Since the attack, Ron Weasley has become the focus of everyone's attention, and he seems to enjoy being a celebrity. He is willing to tell anyone who wants to listen about what happened that night, and he also adds many "details" to the description.
Neville Longbottom, who caused Sirius Black to successfully invade Gryffindor Tower, was also punished for this incident. The day after Black broke into Gryffindor Tower, Longbottom received a Howler letter from his grandmother. For a time, Mr. Longbottom successfully replaced Malfoy as the topic of people's laughter after dinner.
However, none of these have affected Albert, and he still lives a busy and fulfilling life every day.
"Give!"
After class, Albert handed the folder to Katrina, "The test papers you want are all in it."
"Thank you." Katrina held the folder in her arms and thanked Albert quietly.
"You're welcome. This is what we agreed on." Albert turned and walked towards Fred, George and Lee Jordan who were still waiting for him.
"We plan to check the secret passage."
Fred looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping, then lowered his voice and said, "Maybe we can find out where Blake broke into the castle from."
"I've confirmed again and again that the portrait is not within the patrol range of the security guards, and Filch doesn't know that there is a secret passage leading out of the castle there." George added, "The old man has blocked many secret passages recently."
"If Black really entered from that side, should we tell Professor McGonagall about it?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Lee Jordan found that the surroundings suddenly became quiet.
The three of them looked at Albert, waiting for him to make a decision.
"Let's talk about it later! Okay, there's no one around, let's 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 hurry up.
The portrait slowly moved away, revealing the passage behind it. The four people immediately rushed in. George immediately closed the entrance to the secret passage again to prevent others from discovering the existence of the secret passage.
After lighting the wand, their attention was drawn to the footprints on the ground.
"There are footprints. We guessed right." Lee Jordan pointed to the somewhat blurry footprints on the ground and excitedly announced the good news to everyone.
The twins once spread a layer of chalk powder in this passage. Although a long time has passed, it is still possible to see whether someone has used this secret passage.
"Sirius Black really entered the castle from this secret passage," Fred was very excited about their new discovery. He walked in front of the team with his wand in hand, and soon found that the footprints on the ground had disappeared, replaced by footprints of an unknown animal.
"What kind of footprints are these?" George lowered his wand and tried to see the footprints on the ground clearly. They were the footprints of some animal.
"Cat's paw prints?"
"Blake turned into a cat?"
The three of them recalled Albert's previous speculation and said in unison: "Black is an Animagus, and Professor McGonagall has the ability to turn himself into a cat. If Black can also turn into a cat, it is not surprising that he can 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, so even if Black turns into a cat, they will not know."
Albert didn't respond to the three people's words. He silently took out a camera from the deformed lizard skin bag and took a few pictures of the footprints.
The few people continued walking along the passage and found other similar animal footprints where chalk dust had been sprinkled.
On the way back to the castle, the four of them discussed 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 would turn into a cat?"
Albert handed the photos he had taken to the three friends. "If Black turned into a cat, he wouldn't need the Gryffindor password at all, because no one would suspect a cat. And these should be dog footprints. I can still tell the difference between cat footprints and dog footprints. Look at their paw pads. If you don't believe me, go back and ask Tom to step on a footprint and compare it with the photo. Just like I guessed last time, Padfoot should be Black, if he is really an Animagus."
"Perhaps, we should go to the library and look up the Animagus records," Lee Jordan suggested.
"Don't be silly. If you were an Animagus, would you register with the Ministry of Magic?" George shook his head. "If Black was really an Animagus, I don't think he would announce it."
"I've checked the relevant data, and there are only seven Animagus in this century." Albert added: "However, as George said, there must be some that are missed, because if I were an Animagus, I would not register. Anyway, as long as I am not used to steal intelligence and the Ministry of Magic doesn't know about it, it's fine."
"I think we're getting close to the truth," Fred said excitedly. "If there's a dog wandering around the school, it could be Blake."
"It should be a black dog." Albert reminded.
“Why a black dog?”
"Because of Blake."
"Oh, so that's how it is." George looked at Albert suspiciously and asked, "I wonder if you knew this a long time ago."
"Well, my prediction for Blake was a black dog." Albert did not deny it. "I didn't tell you directly because I needed evidence."
"Harry said he once met a black dog," said Fred suddenly.
"Well, he regarded the black dog as a bad omen and even talked to me about it." Albert nodded to indicate that this was indeed the case: "Now it has been completely confirmed. By the way, I have seen a black dog in the alleys of Hogsmeade."
"If that was Black, why would he give up killing Harry, and... the attack a few days ago was also very strange. I remember you said that Sirius Black was Harry's godfather." George found this matter more and more strange.
"Now all signs indicate that Sirius Black's target may not be Harry, but someone else." Fred agreed with George's point of view.
"Could it be Peter Pettigrew?" Lee Jordan said tentatively, "I think that Wormtail should be him. If Black could be an Animagus, then could Harry's father and Peter Pettigrew both be Animagus? I remember Albert once said that the nicknames on the Marauder's Map might represent transformation."
"What's Harry's father?" asked Fred.
"Stag. Potter's patronus is a stag. He looks a lot like his father, so it's likely he's also a stag, which just happens to correspond to the nickname Prongs."
"Harry's Patronus?" George's voice rose slightly.
For some reason, the atmosphere at the scene suddenly became a little depressing.
"How long did it take Harry to summon a physical Patronus?" Fred asked suddenly.
"About half a year. If we count from the time he started training with Professor Lupin, it would be about a month?" Albert was not sure about the exact time.
There was a strange silence. Fred and George suddenly stopped, put their hands on Lee Jordan's shoulders, and said earnestly, "You should work harder."
"Shut up, we are discussing Blake now." Lee Jordan broke free from the twins' hands and forced the topic back. "I am a little suspicious of Blake now. After all, dogs generally represent loyalty. I find it hard to imagine Blake betraying his friends. Would you do that?"
"No?" Fred and George shook their heads.
"What if the mysterious man threatens you with your family?" Albert suddenly asked.
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 asked, "That guy is not dead?"
"His code name is Wormtail?"
"What do you think he would be if he were an Animagus?" George asked.
"insect?"
"Obviously that's impossible. Wormtail should mean the tail is like a worm." Albert speculated, "It should be a mouse."
"Rat?" George repeated softly. He suddenly remembered something and felt horrified. "Scabbers! Yes, Scabbers, Ron's rat is probably Peter Pettigrew."
“But… how is that possible?” Fred looked at Albert and saw that he nodded slightly, his face turned slightly pale.
"Don't forget, Scabbers has lived for a long time. Ever since Percy bought a new owl, the 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 remember Albert mentioned before that the lifespan of the mouse was a bit abnormal, and he joked that it would be worth a lot if it was sold to Muggles."
If Banban is really a wizard, it would be really scary.
However, everything makes sense. If Scabbers is really Peter Pettigrew, then the person who betrayed Harry's father could be him. Otherwise, why would a living person disguise himself as a mouse for more than ten years
Sirius Black apparently discovered from the Daily Prophet that Peter was still alive, so he escaped from Azkaban and tried to kill Peter Pettigrew to avenge his friend, and Scabbers was in Harry's dormitory.
"If Blake is really innocent, should we still capture him for the reward?" Lee Jordan suddenly asked.
There was another long silence.
"Let's catch that guy first. Then we can prepare some truth serum or use Legilimency on him. I think we must find out the truth first." Albert made the final decision: "Before that, we have to be prepared. I think if Black shows up, he will most likely want to capture Peter Pettigrew. If that guy is really still alive, we can capture Peter and exchange him for money. If the Ministry of Magic doesn't want it, we can exchange it with Black. I believe he will definitely be willing to pay a large sum of money to buy the mouse."
At this moment, Fred, George and Lee Jordan all stared at Albert in amazement. They never expected that it could be like this.
"This counts as blackmail!" Fred warned in a low voice.
"How can this be considered extortion? We have spent so much energy and taken such a big risk to uphold justice in the wizarding world. We cannot return empty-handed!" Albert said seriously. "Besides, there is a bounty on Black. If we catch Black before the bounty is cancelled, we should get the bounty. As for whether Black is innocent or not, that is the Ministry of Magic's business. It has nothing to do with us. Besides, you don't want to return empty-handed, do you?"