My Hogwarts has a serious problem.

Chapter 393, Chapter 390: Blake, Blinded by Hatred

The Daily Prophet acted very quickly.

Skeeter is currently the deputy editor-in-chief, and is slated to become the editor-in-chief in the future, so she wields considerable power within the newspaper.

After she finished her interview and returned to the newspaper office, she immediately removed the front page that had been reserved for a tabloid story about a certain director of the Ministry of Magic, and replaced it with the story of Ron's attack.

She chose the title herself, and it occupied a quarter of the page in bold black font.

Sirius Black Invades Hogwarts! Harry Potter is Safe and Sound Because of This!

The accompanying photo was chosen by Lynn herself.

That was a photo of Ron holding Banban, who was excitedly telling him something.

The freckles didn't take center stage, and some people who weren't paying close attention might not even notice them.

But the photo of the rat was taken very clearly, and if someone saw it, they would be able to clearly see its severed finger.

On the day the newspaper went on sale, Blake was still in Diagon Alley.

He is actually quite confused right now.

He escaped from Azkaban in the first place to seek revenge, to find Peter Pettigrew.

But perhaps because he made too much noise, the thieving rat has now escaped from Hogwarts.

Blake knew better than anyone how difficult it would be to find an Animagus if it really wanted to hide; he himself was a living example. Not to mention that Peter's Animagus animal form was a rat, making it even more difficult to conceal.

After losing track of Peter at Hogwarts, Black was now truly at his wit's end.

Not to mention abroad, even within the UK, it's impossible to find a mouse that's trying to hide.

He transformed into a large black dog and lay in a secluded corner of Diagon Alley, contemplating his future.

Just then, a wizard wearing a long robe and a black top hat passed by Blake with a newspaper in his hand.

He seemed oblivious to the large dog lurking in the shadows beside him, instead muttering under his breath while looking at the Daily Prophet in his hand.

"Black broke into Hogwarts just to catch a mouse? Ha! How ridiculous. The reporter who wrote this article must have been under some kind of spell."

He stood directly in front of Blake for a moment, read through the newspaper in his hand, then casually tossed it to the ground before hurrying off toward Gringotts.

Not long after the wizard left, Blake emerged from the shadows.

His gaze always exuded an unparalleled ferocity, making him seem not like a dog, but a lone wolf ready to devour its prey!

Blake slowly walked up to the newspaper that the wizard had discarded, and the first thing that caught his eye was the photo that took up almost half of the page.

Blake automatically ignored Ron in the photo; he immediately recognized the mouse that Ron was holding in his hands.

The next moment, his eyes were filled with bloodshot veins!

Peter Pettigrew!

Whether it was his human form or his rat form, Blake would never forget it in his entire life!

And the severed finger of the rat—he clearly remembered how that finger was broken off.

Peter sacrificed his finger to unleash a devastating Explosion Charm that blew up an entire street and killed thirteen Muggles!

In the ensuing battle, Blake thought he had killed him, but in reality, he was transformed into a rat and escaped using the magic of the cicada, deceiving not only Blake but also the entire magical world.

Blake was at his wits' end about Peter's escape, but for some reason, he actually ran back on his own.

He was unwilling to think about the reasons behind it.

Black was already blinded by anger and hatred. He had failed to find an opportunity to strike in Hogwarts several times before, but this time he was determined to kill Peter no matter what!

No matter the cost!

The large black dog retreated back into the shadows, preparing to find a way to sneak back into Hogwarts.

And all its every move was observed by a crow on the roof.

The Daily Prophet has a very wide reach; basically every adult wizard in the British wizarding world subscribes to it.

Television and radio are not common in the magical world; the main way to learn about current events is through newspapers.

The Daily Prophet is the highest-level newspaper that has both official backing and private capital involvement.

At the Malfoy family estate, Peter was enjoying the breakfast prepared for him by Dobby, while also flipping through the Daily Prophet that had just arrived that day.

When Peter saw the photo of Ron holding another version of himself on the front page of the newspaper, his hand holding the spoon froze.

He put down his breakfast and read the entire article in the newspaper without missing a single word.

The entire article consists of Skeeter's interview with Ron, without mentioning anyone else, including Lynn.

Peter had been with Ron for two years, and he was certain that the boy had no ulterior motives; he was just an ordinary boy who cared about his image, had a few minor flaws, but no major problems.

It's unlikely that he created this fake spot himself.

Judging from Ron's appearance in the newspaper, he seemed to genuinely regard the rat as himself.

Peter couldn't glean any clues from just a newspaper and a report.

But what happened at Hogwarts wasn't important. The appearance of a fake Scabbers that everyone thought was his would actually help him attract the attention of that mad dog Black.

His most important task was to complete his master's mission.

After Peter finished his breakfast, Malfoy calmly walked into his living room.

"I've already had people find out that there's been a major upheaval in Azkaban recently. The number of Dementors has almost been reduced by half, and the prison is extremely unguarded lately. The Ministry of Magic is still debating whether to let the Aurors fill the Dementor gaps or to request a batch of Dementors from the French Ministry of Magic."

Peter's face was filled with excitement.

"In other words, now is the perfect time for us to act!"

"I've discussed it with Carlo and his men. They're ready to act at any time. I've also bribed an Auror who's been stationed in Azkaban for a long time to slip a note into Lestrange. They'll cooperate with our operation through it."

"Very good. Now that everything is ready, let's set the date for Christmas Day, when their defenses will be at their weakest."

(End of this chapter)