From Azkaban to Hogwarts.

"Therefore, we can now conclude that Peter Pettigrew's appearance was definitely an act."

"Then the question arises: what kind of thing could force him to transform from a wizard into a rat, and then live a humiliating life as a pet for decades?"

"Sirius went to Azkaban and became a rat—if he really was as the newspapers said, risking his life to stop Sirius, then who could frighten him so much that he would abandon his original identity?"

"With the Dark Lord dead, the most dangerous person in the entire wizarding world is theoretically Sirius Black... He even had the courage to stop Sirius Black, so why didn't he have the courage to step forward?"

"Since he refuses to step forward, he probably doesn't have the courage to stop Sirius."

"A brave white wizard who doesn't even dare to reveal his identity... Ha, without a doubt, his original appearance was a lie; he's most likely a dark wizard..."

“Dark magic isn’t something you can just pick up anywhere. Judging by the time they broke the school rules, Peter simply didn’t have time to come into contact with dark magic while on campus.”

"The dark magic outside of school... that was when the Dark Lord was at his most powerful..."

"The Pledge of Allegiance..."

"Betraying one's original friends...in order to gain their trust."

"If Pettigrew is a traitor... then Sirius, who is hunting him down, is most likely not on his side..."

"But a new problem arises—if Sirius Black was innocent, why didn't he appeal, explain, and instead stayed in Azkaban for so long?"

"Furthermore, if Peter is a traitor, how exactly was his identity as a traitor discovered? Judging from Lupin's demeanor, he had no idea that Peter was a traitor."

"Yes, Sirius betrayed James Potter, but if the one who truly kept that secret was replaced by Sirius himself, then the only person left who would know of the betrayal is himself!"

That makes sense…

William recorded this conjecture, and then he began to speculate on other possibilities—what if Peter Pettigrew was a good guy? Then, shouldn't there be another reason to speculate?

Just as most suicide victims lack the courage to attempt suicide a second time, did Peter lose his previous courage after facing Sirius Black? Did he begin to feign madness to live out the rest of his life?

Or perhaps Sirius orchestrated everything, even arranging for someone to deal with Scabbers to complete some kind of mysterious ritual so that he could finish the spell to control the Dementors?

'Nobody's that stupid, right?'

William silently crossed out his last guess—it would be understandable if Sirius was found in Azkaban, but it's too far-fetched to think he could stay in Azkaban for twelve years in order to control the Dementors.

“Let’s take it one step at a time. Let’s start by trying to verify the first and most likely hypothesis: Peter Pettigrew is putting on an act…”

William began to rack his brains, trying to find flawless evidence for this hypothesis.

"The simplest way is to prove that he's faking his madness—but how can I prove that Peter Pettigrew is indeed faking his madness?"

It's a difficult thing; you can never wake someone who's pretending to be asleep.

In the face of Occlumency, a defensive spell that can be activated on its own, almost all the probing spells were rendered useless.

"It's impossible to use a damaging spell; after all, it's all just speculation."

"But... how can I get him back to normal? A fake illness can't be cured!"

On the streets of Diagon Alley, William found himself in an unusual predicament—he wanted to use some extreme magic on Pettigrew, which required proving that Pettigrew was a bad guy, but the only way to do that, it seemed, was to use extreme magic.

"Ah, Professor William."

From a distance, a wizard called out to William—an acquaintance with whom William had drunk and boasted during the summer holidays.

"Hello, are you shopping in Diagon Alley today too?"

"Yeah, it's a rare weekend, how about we grab a drink? It's on me."

-

About fifteen minutes later, the two were drinking beer at the Leaky Cauldron bar.

“To be honest, Professor,” the man said, his face flushed slightly after about seven or eight beers, “I’ve recently struck it rich.”

Congratulations! Would you like to tell me more?

"Isn't it from the Far East?" The wine glass was raised, then dropped quite a bit. "I'm not bragging, but this year I can drive the price of three kinds of herbs down to half!"

"Just those kinds?"

In the Far East, when it comes to herbs, there are only a few types of herbs that are used in large quantities.

"Of course, of course. At first, the Ministry of Magic wouldn't budge, and only a tiny bit of herbs leaked out. But later I managed to find a connection—and this is…"

“I understand,” William raised his glass. “I understand.”

-

"Having a drink has given me decision paralysis."

Standing in the cool breeze, William strolled along, pondering two ideas that had just come to mind—capture Sirius or simply go to Azkaban.

If the problem with Little Dwarf can't be found in the photograph, then we should look for it from the relevant people.

The Dark Lord was someone who almost unified the wizarding world back then, so it's impossible for just anyone to come and meet him. In other words, if Peter Pettigrew really has a problem, then he must have someone recommending him.

Although most of the people imprisoned in Azkaban were die-hard Death Eaters, a newcomer would inevitably be at the bottom of the social hierarchy and nominally dead, so the secrecy of such information wouldn't be very high.

Although there is a considerable chance of missing out, once you succeed, it is solid proof.

Finding Sirius Black would not be as effective in proving the truth, and the Ministry of Magic is reluctant to admit its past mistakes, but the chances of it failing are almost zero.

'Azkaban or Sirius?'

The former requires a special application form and the principal's endorsement, while the latter requires a confrontation with Professor Lupin to obtain information about Sirius Animagus.

William suddenly became conflicted.

"Forget it, let Dumbledore handle it!"

After much deliberation, he made this difficult decision—the capable should do more. He was a professor of wizard self-defense magic, whose main responsibility was to help his students study hard and achieve good results in the two major exams in the magical world, rather than to become some kind of great detective.

-

"Good evening, Professor William. Is there anything urgent?"

In the office, Dumbledore looked at William with a puzzled expression. The professor of self-defense had been in office for two years and had always excellently followed the rules of Hogwarts, sending reports and application forms to Professor McGonagall's office. Why was he coming to his office on a weekend?

“Well, Headmaster,” William began pushing forward with his work without hesitation, “I’ve noticed something’s off with Peter Pettigrew, the little guy who was rescued.”

“Yes, indeed,” Dumbledore nodded without surprise. “Mr. Weasley has argued countless times with his friends about his pets fighting for him, but Peter seems completely incapable of it—I have a little bit of confidence in my Transfiguration.”

"Um???"

This answer was a bit unexpected, but it didn't stop William from shifting the blame. "Well, I looked into the pet shop that Percy and the others mentioned today. The owner said that the mouse was very smart when it was sold, and it seemed like it had been domesticated."

……

Without being interrupted by Dumbledore, William roughly stated his guesses and offered what he currently considered a feasible solution.

"Hmm, a very good idea—go to Azkaban or capture Sirius Animagus."

Why don't you come along?

"Together?"

“Of course, that would give us more options.” Dumbledore nodded. “I will discuss this with Remus in detail—it’s best if you don’t bring this up yourself, Professor William.”

"Yes."

If possible, William hoped he would never reveal this fact in his life—after all, Professor Lupin had almost completely concealed the fact that his friend was an Animagus from everyone, and if things were to be investigated seriously, he would even be accused of helping Sirius escape from prison.

"So, I'm leaving the matter of Azkaban to you, Professor William."

???

Before William could refuse, Dumbledore's gaze softened considerably. "This is just speculation, after all. If it's not, Fudge will be put in a very awkward position by the media. We need to give him an excuse."

That's true—even Dumbledore can't just go to Azkaban whenever he wants; the Minister of Magic might as well come to Hogwarts every week.

“Let’s use the prison visit as an excuse, Professor William…” Dumbledore looked at William. “I will write to Fudge to give you the necessary privileges, but it’s best to use this excuse openly.”

Chapter 300 Azkaban Again

The Ministry of Magic is notoriously inefficient, but William still managed to receive the notification and the letter used as proof of identity on Sunday morning.

However, the excuse wasn't Dumbledore's joking prison visit, but rather—'The Ministry of Magic has discovered crucial clues about Sirius Black's escape, and therefore has brought in professionals from Hogwarts.'

The title of "professional" was so intimidating that William could hardly believe it when he received the letter.

However, after calming down, he came to a realization. There were only two professors in the British magical community teaching self-defense, and he was the most senior one. If he didn't care about being shameless, then so be it—at least he was an expert, not some quack…

However, the fact that things were resolved in such a short time shows that the Ministry of Magic was indeed under a lot of pressure—the longer Sirius Black wasn't caught, the more criticism the Fudge government would face.

"So you're going to Azkaban today?"

When William received the official document from the Ministry of Magic, Adams happened to be right next to him—there was no need to keep such a matter a secret, especially after seeing that excuse; it was almost a given that the Ministry of Magic would publish something in the Daily Prophet the next day.

"Yes, first register at the Ministry of Magic, then go to Azkaban through the Ministry's one-way portal—other methods are too slow, as Azkaban is almost completely isolated from the outside world, with only the Ministry of Magic having a one-way Floo network connection."

"I remember the Floo Network can be cracked. The Ministry of Magic has direct access to Azkaban. Aren't you afraid something might happen?"

Adams' focus was very strange—but before William could answer, Singed, who was still a little sleepy, answered the question.

"Do you think the fireplace connected to the Auror's office or the Brawler's office?"

"You're always so boring, Singed!"

Adams responded dismissively, then turned to William.

"But speaking of which, William, how long are you going to be gone this time? Did you tell Professor Lupin you'd be covering for you?"

"... "

William stared speechlessly at Adams—was Azkaban some kind of resort paradise? He was just going there to see if he could get any useful clues from the imprisoned Death Eaters. It didn't take time; success was either success or failure. Did he think he could win them over with love…?

Under William's helpless gaze, Singed grinned from ear to ear, dropping his cards onto the table.

“Okay…” Adams finally realized his mistake and gave up struggling. “I messed up—you can laugh…”

Even William couldn't hold back anymore.

"Ha ha ha ha……"

-

"Candy, pocket-sized books, canned goods, alcohol, tobacco..."

William carefully inspected the things he had bought and hid the pocket books well—it would be one thing if the rest of the things were discovered, but not the books.

"That's about it. That's all they need—I wouldn't dare buy anything related to prison break, and of course, they probably wouldn't dare either."