The Hogwarts Emerald

Chapter 340 The long-forgotten truth

After learning that Professor Lupin was a werewolf, Ada had this guess, but it had never been confirmed. Today, Black mentioned Scabbers in the family photo, and his subsequent words confirmed Ada's previous guess.

Black admitted that he was an illegal Animagus, as did Peter Pettigrew and James Potter. It was because Black was an Animagus that he was able to escape from Azkaban. Dementors are insensitive to the emotions of animals, and the transformed Animagus will confuse Dementors and make it difficult for them to distinguish.

The hard life in Azkaban made Black very thin. After the transformation, Black could easily slip out of the prison without being discovered by the Dementors. After escaping from the prison and avoiding the guards, Black swam all the way back to England from the North Sea.

Azkaban was built in the coldest waters of the North Sea, far away from the mainland. The prison was built in the 15th century as the private castle of the dark wizard Axtis. The dark wizard liked to lure other people to the island, and then torture and kill them cruelly for fun.

After Axtis's death, the hiding spell on the island and the fortress failed, and wizards discovered the existence of the island. At this time, the place was full of terrible creatures called Dementors, which sucked the happiness from the hearts of anyone who approached the island.

Because they were worried that the Dementors on the island would attack the British mainland, and they were also afraid of retaliation from the Dementors, so the wizards did not destroy the evil castle. The authorities ignored the island, allowing the Dementors to continue to live here, and Azkaban Castle was abandoned.

It was not until the early eighteenth century that the then Minister of Magic Rowle wanted to build a wizard prison, and Azkaban came back into everyone's view and became the wizard prison we all know. The Dementors also transformed themselves into employees of the Ministry of Magic, and they have been stationed here for more than two hundred years.

In these two hundred years, Black is the only person known to have successfully escaped from Azkaban.

Not to mention how cold the water in that area was, Black's perseverance alone was worthy of admiration, not to mention that he remained conscious for twelve years under the close guard of the Dementors.

Watching Fred and George's actions, Blake admitted helplessly, "Yes, that's right. I swam all the way back from the North Sea using a dog paddle. I usually hide in the Forbidden Forest or in the caves near the school. Halloween was my first attempt to enter the common room."

"You went into the common room to catch Ron's pet rat, Scabbers," said Fred, "because you thought the rat was Peter Peddlewood!"

"It's really hard for me to accept that what you said is true!" George also said, "In everyone's opinion, Peter Pedillo has been dead for twelve years, and you killed him with your own hands!"

The twins still found it difficult to accept Blake's words. It was too magical. A person who had been dead for twelve years, and suddenly someone told you that this person was not dead, and had lived in your house for twelve years disguised as a mouse, no one would be able to accept it in a short time.

"I know this is hard to accept, but this is the fact. I am the only one in the world who knows the truth, so I must do something!" Blake also knew that his statement was hard to convince people, and the twins' reaction was completely within his expectations.

Sirius Black turned to look at the silent Ada. He knew that this girl was his last hope and now he could only rely on her help to catch Peter Pettigrew.

The less Ada spoke, the more anxious Blake became. Every step Ada took seemed to step on Blake's heart, and the sound of her leather boots stepping on the floor made Blake even more upset.

"My dear little aunt, can you please stop turning?" Black wanted to tie up Ada's feet. He urged, "Whether it's life or death, just give me a straight answer! Or are all Gryffindors nowadays as slow-witted as you?"

Although Blake did not say what happened twelve years ago, the sudden resurrection of a person who was thought to be dead is enough to explain a lot of problems.

Magic involves many fields, but there is no magic that can bring people back from the dead. At most, it can prolong life, or make people immortal with the help of the Philosopher's Stone like Nicolas Flamel. Even the legendary Resurrection Stone cannot bring people back from the dead. Since there is no magic that can bring people back from the dead, it means that Peter was not dead at all, so why did he fake his death? Even if Peter was defeated by Black and chose to fake his death to avoid fighting, why did he hide after Voldemort fell and Black was arrested and imprisoned?

Ada finally stopped pacing. Blake was here and was very cooperative. All her questions could be answered.

Ada said, "As far as I know, you were the secret keeper of the Potters' hiding place. After the Potters got into trouble, everyone thought you had betrayed them. Peter was killed by you in order to avenge the Potters, but now it seems that this is not the case at all, right?"

Silence. Blake, who was anxious to know Ada's attitude just now, fell silent. Ada was not anxious at all. She had plenty of time to waste with Blake. Blake didn't speak, and Ada didn't urge him. Now was the final stage of the eagle training.

Black couldn't leave the room, which meant he couldn't do anything. He was suffering more than anyone else. This was why Black cooperated with Ada's questions. He knew that if he couldn't gain Ada's trust, the only fate waiting for him would be the Dementors.

"You are indeed the smartest witch in the school." Black said in a hoarse voice, his tone full of self-blame, "Everyone thinks that I am the secret keeper of James and Lily. All the attention is on me. This is the result I hope to see."

The more Blake spoke, the more painful he felt. He raised his glass and drank it all, as if he wanted to get drunk to relieve his sorrow. He looked handsome when he toasted, and his expression was very melancholy, but he seemed to have forgotten that the glass was not filled with wine, but milk.

Fortunately, Blake didn't burp like a baby, so the serious and sad atmosphere in the room was not destroyed.

"This is the decision I regret most in my life. My cleverness killed my best friend!" Black said painfully, "At the last moment, I persuaded James and Lily to replace me with Peter as the secret keeper. I think this is the safest way and the best protection for James and Lily."

"Why?" Fred and George shouted in unison. They even stood up subconsciously because they were so surprised.

The twins were shocked and puzzled at the same time. They really couldn't understand why Blake did this. First he said Peter was not dead, and now he said Peter was the secret keeper. Blake was getting more and more outrageous. Even Lockhart's novels were not so outrageous.

Blake lowered his head and remained silent, lost in painful memories. The twins had no choice but to look to the smart Ada, hoping that she could provide some inspiration so that their IQ could be brought online in time.

"Both Dumbledore and Voldemort would take it for granted that Black was the Potters' secret keeper," Ada explained. "No one would care about the inconspicuous Peter. Voldemort and the Death Eaters would do their best to deal with Black, so Peter, as the secret keeper, would be safe."

"Yes, that's what I thought at the beginning!" Black shouted hysterically, "Even if I was caught by the Death Eaters, they wouldn't be able to get any information about James from me. He and Lily would be safe!"

Black grabbed his hair hard, looking very crazy. For the past twelve years, he has been tortured by this guilt. Black asked himself countless times: If he hadn't been so smart and unnecessary, would James and Lily not have died?
But there are no ifs in this world. It was because the secret-keeper was changed to Peter Pedillo that the Potters were betrayed; it was because the secret-keeper was changed to Peter Pedillo that Voldemort was rebounded by the Killing Curse; it was because the secret-keeper was changed to Peter Pedillo that the dark clouds hanging over England dissipated.

This was probably why Peter Pettigrew faked his death and refused to show up, he was worried that his good friend Black would tell the truth, and he was also worried that the remaining Death Eaters would blame him for Voldemort's downfall.

Being a traitor who is not accepted by everyone, Peter Pettigrew is really a talented person!

(End of this chapter)