Hogwarts: From Luna's House to Godhood Through Intense Competition

"Completely refusing to cooperate with the Ministry of Magic, yet they put on such high-sounding words!" he thought bitterly, feeling his mind becoming clearer.

After venting his frustration with a few more curses, he let out a long sigh. "At least this time we managed to keep it a secret... What should we do next?"

He recalled the words he had uttered before leaving the fireplace, "It seems this is indeed the only way...to have the Dementors patrol even more frequently..."

Following this idea, he summoned a Ministry of Magic employee via paper airplane and explained his next move.

The Ministry of Magic staff member looked rather grim. "Is this really alright? Because of those previous restrictions, the Aurors have already reported to us that the Dementors seem to be getting increasingly agitated..."

Cornelius Fudge raised an eyebrow. "Just use the Patronus Charm. I've already sent more men; surely that's enough to deal with them?"

"Alright!" The Ministry of Magic employee nodded, only managing a reluctant snort...

Chapter 193 Sirius Black, as described by Filch

Upon returning to Hogwarts, Wizette went straight to the headmaster's office.

Halfway there, he happened to run into Argus Filch, the custodian of Hogwarts.

Filch looked exhausted and walked with a more unsteady gait than usual. He was holding Mrs. Lorris in his arms, and even though he was a nocturnal animal, he was now listless and dozing off with his belly heaving.

When Vizette appeared, Lady Loris straightened her tail, glanced at him, and then nestled back into Filch's arms to continue her nap.

"Vizet, what are you doing here?" Filch strode forward, his eyes wide as he asked. "Tonight's not going to be peaceful! It's too dangerous outside!"

“Mr. Filch, thank you for your concern!” Wiese nodded. “What exactly happened?”

“Sirius Black…” Filch swallowed hard, seemingly still shaken. “That notorious fugitive! He broke into Hogwarts!”

"Without anyone noticing, he headed straight for the Gryffindor common room... Fortunately, the Fat Lady steadfastly fulfilled her duty, preventing the escapee from sneaking into the common room."

“That guy was crazy. When the fat lady wouldn’t let him in, he actually destroyed the portrait… I searched for a long time on the third floor before I finally found her exact location.”

"Mr. Filch," Wizette asked, "did the fat lady say anything?"

“She said something…” Filch tried to recall, “She said Sirius Black was a madman, and kept threatening and cursing at her, telling her to open the door…”

"The fat lady refused repeatedly... Sirius Black probably got impatient and destroyed the portrait, probably intending to barge into the common room."

"The fat lady didn't know what happened after that. When she saw Sirius Black launch his attack, she ran away immediately... That's about it."

……

“I see…” Vizette murmured, “So impatient?”

Filch sighed. "I know Sirius Black as well as he knows this castle!"

"We haven't been able to find any trace of him. We really don't know where he's hiding. He's too familiar with this castle!"

"Is he familiar with this place?" Wizette frowned slightly. "Mr. Filch, do you think he knows that tonight... is the day of the Halloween banquet?"

“I think he knows!” Filch yawned. “Otherwise, he wouldn’t have taken this opportunity to sneak into the common room…maybe he was planning to lie in wait!”

"I read in the Daily Prophet that Sirius Black's target is Harry Potter, so I think his purpose in sneaking in is also Harry Potter!"

Vizette replied thoughtfully, "Is that so?"

“Yes! But Sirius Black has gone mad, which is why he’s so angry.” Filch nodded and yawned.

"I really don't know what will happen next... Will the school be shut down because of this person? I really don't want Hogwarts to close down!"

“Mr. Filch, don’t worry!” Wizett reassured him. “Sirius Black has left… This is accurate information I received from Headmaster Dumbledore.”

"I hope so!" Filch yawned again. "Vizet, you should hurry back to the auditorium! Get some sleep, you'll feel better tomorrow!"

"I've told Dumbledore all the locations of the secret passages I know... He should make proper arrangements, and then it won't be so easy for Sirius Black to get in!"

Seeing that Filch looked exhausted but still forced a smile to comfort him, Wizette nodded and said, "Mr. Filch, you should get some rest too!"

He had originally intended to offer Filch some soul-soothing remedy, which he would use as incense to help improve his sleep quality;

However, Filch declined, as he did not want to cause any further accidents at the castle because he was sleeping too soundly, which would prevent him from arriving at the scene immediately.

For him, the castle was not just a workplace, but also his home, the place where he, as a Squib, could interact with the magical world.

As a Squib, he knew the entrances and exits of many secret passages. Even if Fred and George had the Marauder's Map and used these passages to travel, he could always find them immediately.

Perhaps it was based on this feeling that Filch knew the castle so well.

-------------------------------------

"How did the initial selection assessment go?" Dumbledore asked as Vizet entered the headmaster's office. "Sending you the message back then shouldn't have affected you, right?"

“I wasn’t affected,” Vizette said, sitting in her seat. “However, on my way to the assessment square, I encountered a wizard…”

“I sensed the mark of the Dark Lord on that wizard. To avoid arousing suspicion, I didn’t follow him immediately; I figured he was probably a contestant too…”

He briefly described when the incident occurred and the wizard's clothing.

Dumbledore stroked a tuft of his mustache. “It was a wise move not to follow him rashly. We can’t be sure whether he’s a Death Eater who has escaped punishment by sheer luck, or…”

Following Dumbledore's words, Vizette tentatively asked, "A wizard who has been bewitched by Voldemort and has begun to work for him?"

“Yes! There are such examples!” Dumbledore nodded, slightly turning his gaze to the drawer beside him. “The current headmaster of Durmstrang is a former Death Eater…”

"Of course! We can't rule out that there is some kind of connection between these two events... After all, it's too coincidental that they happened so close together, it's hard not to be suspicious."

He continued, "The 'All England Wizarding Tournament' has been held for so many years, and the current security measures are quite comprehensive..."

“It might be a bit difficult to investigate a contestant thoroughly. You don’t need to worry about this for now. I’ll try to investigate on my own.”

Vizette nodded. "Since he's willing to go through the proper procedures and register for the dueling tournament, I think his ultimate goal is probably those rewards."

“Since the ultimate goal is the championship prize, I think we will meet in a duel in the future... As long as we prevent him from winning the championship, Voldemort’s plan will not succeed.”

“You’re right, we happen to have two plans!” Dumbledore smiled slightly. “What do you think of Sirius Black?”

“On my way here, I actually met Mr. Filch,” Wizette said. “From him, I learned some of what had happened earlier…”

Chapter 194 Blake, who is capable of giving everything

Wizette said, "Sirius Black's target shouldn't be Harry... or rather, his primary target shouldn't be Harry himself."

“If his primary target was Harry, then since he was able to sneak into Hogwarts undetected, there was absolutely no need for him to expose himself immediately.”

“He could have continued to hide, gradually finding out Harry’s whereabouts, and then finding the right opportunity to kill him in one fell swoop.”

“I don’t think he’s an impatient person. After all, he’s been in Azkaban for so long, not only enduring the effects of the Dementors but also managing to escape…”

"And they escaped without alerting the Dementors or their guards... Headmaster Dumbledore, how credible is the Daily Prophet's report?"

Dumbledore knew what Vizet wanted to ask. "At least regarding the security of Azkaban, the Daily Prophet's reports can still be trusted."

"For most wizards, the impact of losing their wand is enormous, let alone the chance of escaping silently... unless someone is acting as an inside agent."

"Or perhaps through some external force, they forcibly break through the Dementors' blockade, creating a greater commotion, thereby allowing the prisoners to escape..."

“However, judging from Cornelius Fudge’s level of urgency…” he sighed deeply, “the possibility of an ‘insider’ should have been ruled out.”

Wizette rubbed her thumb and forefinger together. "Thinking about it this way... it's quite intriguing what Sirius Black's primary objective is..."

"The fat lady wouldn't let him into the common room, but he still insisted on barging in, which shows that this 'primary target' was a higher priority than whether he was exposed."

"Could we think of it this way: if he obtains this 'primary objective,' it will allow him to better achieve some other goal? For example... better evade the Dementors' pursuit?"

"After all, his whereabouts are still exposed from time to time... In my opinion, Sirius Black, who has already been exposed, actually has two paths to take."

"He will either choose to flee England and try to go to other countries, continuing to be hunted indefinitely... or he will make thorough preparations and try to infiltrate Hogwarts once again."

"In my opinion, there is perhaps only one possibility..." Dumbledore exhaled, "Sirius Black will come back... he will definitely come back!"

……

Vizette blinked. "Oh?"

“The members of the Black family…” Dumbledore sighed, “are often of unwavering will, capable of sacrificing everything for something…including their lives!”

"They may support different goals, but the methods they ultimately take are often strikingly similar, and that's the Black family."

“Since you mentioned the ‘primary objective,’ it means that he came with that objective in mind. One exposure won’t make him back down,”

Even if he is controlled by a Dementor... even if he is about to be executed by a Dementor... he will not back down in the slightest...

"Even if the Dementors are stealing his soul, as long as he can still move, he will make a final struggle to get the 'first target'!"

Thinking about this, Dumbledore suddenly realized something.

Knowing the personalities of the Black family members, he didn't investigate the real reason why Sirius Black betrayed them.

Perhaps... something went wrong in the process, which led to this series of tragedies?

……

While Dumbledore was deep in thought, Vizet was also pondering the question of Sirius Black.

Since Dumbledore was so certain that Sirius Black would return to Hogwarts, he had no choice but to take precautions.

To avoid Sirius Black causing any absolutely unnecessary accidents when he reappears at Hogwarts.

"We really need to take the initiative to find Sirius Black..."

"I really do need to meet with Sirius Black..."

At this point, Vizette and Dumbledore said similar things.