HP: Azkaban's Outstanding Graduate

“That’s different!” Hermione said. “Professor Greengrass can create his own spells, which I’m sure many people can’t do.”

Meanwhile, in the shadows of the castle, a tense manhunt is underway.

Dumbledore personally led McGonagall to investigate, starting from the Gryffindor Tower and going down floor by floor.

The light from the tip of the wand swept across the dark corridors and empty classrooms, and the portraits nervously reported any suspicious movements, but to no avail.

Professors Flitwick and Sprout then inspected the Astronomy Tower and the Owl Hut, and they didn't even miss Professor Trelawney's attic.

Snape and Filch, like two hounds, focused on the hidden corners and the legendary entrances to secret passages.

Snape's face was so dark it could drip water, and every time he waved his wand to examine the walls or floor, it was with a fierce intensity.

Sagles did not join any group.

He returned to the Gryffindor Tower alone and quietly.

Fragments of the fat lady's portrait were still scattered on the ground, and the doorway that had been forcibly opened looked like a silent, mocking mouth.

He ignored them and walked straight through the doorway into the Gryffindor common room.

The warm fire was still burning in the fireplace. Instead of lingering in the common room, Sagres headed straight for the spiral staircase leading to the boys' dormitory.

The door to Harry and Ron's dormitory was ajar.

Sagles pushed open the door and entered.

The scene before him confirmed his suspicions. The dormitory was in complete disarray.

The suitcase was roughly opened, clothes were scattered all over the floor, and Ron's bed was the worst affected area - the pillow was torn open, feathers were flying everywhere, the mattress was overturned, the bedside table drawer was pulled out and turned upside down on the floor, and the odds and ends inside were scattered everywhere.

This is by no means a simple search, at least not a search for Harry.

Sagrass's gaze swept calmly across the mess before finally settling on a few gray, bloodstained mouse hairs stuck to a torn piece of pillowcase on the floor in the corner beside Ron's bed.

Chapter 211 Rats?

Sagles's eyes remained unwavering, as if he were merely confirming a result he had long anticipated.

He didn't touch anything, but stood quietly in the middle of the chaos, his deep gaze slowly moving across the messy dormitory room, finally settling on the darkness outside the window.

Blake's target... was it really that rat?

Did he succeed?

The chaotic scene and the few bloody rat hairs seemed to tell the story of a fierce chase that had taken place here.

A moment later, Sagles quietly left the dormitory and departed from the Gryffindor Tower.

Several hours passed quickly, and it was around three in the morning. The exhausted professors gathered again in front of the auditorium doors, the atmosphere somewhat somber.

“There’s no trace of him,” Professor McGonagall said in a hoarse voice, rubbing her temples. “He vanished like a ghost.”

“The castle is too big. I think he knows some secret passages that we don’t.” Professor Flitwick sighed as well. “What do you think, Severus?”

Snape's face was darker than the night, and his lips were pressed tightly together, but he didn't say a word when questioned.

"Where did Sagles and Lupin go?" Professor McGonagall looked around and asked.

“I’ve left Remus in the Great Hall to guard the students,” Dumbledore said, his voice tinged with weariness. “I can’t fully guarantee the students’ safety with just the prefects. As for Zagreb…”

"You're relieved to have Lupin guarding you, Dumbledore?" Snape suddenly spoke, his tone icy. "Don't forget his identity."

"I have never doubted Remus's loyalty and stance," Dumbledore said, turning to Snape with unusual seriousness.

"Is that so?" Snape gave a cold laugh. "I think his loyalty needs to be repeatedly verified with Veritaserum. Otherwise, how do you think Black managed to sneak into the castle undetected, despite the Dementors' guards?"

He pressed on relentlessly.

“What are you implying, Severus?” Dumbledore looked at him, his eyes calm and deep.

“I think,” Snape said in a low, sinister voice, “that someone in the castle is helping him.”

The other three deans looked surprised upon hearing this, but they only exchanged glances and did not ask any further questions.

“I do think,” Dumbledore calmly retorted, his gaze sweeping over each of the professors present, “that no one in the school would help Sirius Black break into Hogwarts and threaten any of the children here.”

His tone was somewhat harsh, almost explicitly indicating that the topic should be put to rest.

A cold silence filled the room.

The suffocating silence was broken only when Sagres appeared silently at the end of the corridor.

The group pushed open the heavy doors of the auditorium and went inside.

Inside the auditorium, most students were fast asleep on the floating clouds, with only a few whispering in the corners, thinking no one had noticed them, but their voices were unusually clear in the empty hall.

Dumbledore looked at Sacramento, who was walking last: "Gryffindor Tower..."

Sagres replied calmly, "The lounge and dormitories were ransacked, but the intruders have left."

“Potter’s lounge?” Professor McGonagall pressed.

"Yes."

Another heavy silence followed.

The professors, each with a different expression, gathered at the front of the Great Hall. Dumbledore spotted Percy Weasley, who was forcing himself to be on the lookout.

"Is everything alright, Mr. Weasley?" Dumbledore asked.

“Everything is fine, Headmaster!” Percy immediately straightened up and replied.

“Very well, I will arrange a new guard for the Gryffindor portrait entrance tomorrow morning, then you can have them moved back,” Dumbledore said gently.

"And... what about the fat lady, Professor?" Percy asked cautiously.

“She’s still in a bad mood,” Dumbledore sighed. “Let her go back to her post once she’s calmed down.”

After Dumbledore finished giving instructions to Percy, the professors discussed the follow-up security arrangements in hushed tones.

“Alright, I need to go down and find those Dementors now,” Dumbledore sighed. “They heard that Black broke into the castle and wanted to come in and search it, but I refused. However, I need to inform them now.”

"Aren't they here to help, Headmaster?" Percy asked, puzzled. "Why are they refusing?"

“Oh, yes,” Dumbledore’s voice held an inexplicable coldness, “but as long as I am the headmaster of Hogwarts, no Dementor will ever cross the threshold of this castle.”

Percy felt a little embarrassed by these words, so he wisely kept quiet.

Dumbledore left the Great Hall, and the professors began to patrol the hall.

Sagrais's gaze swept across the crowd and landed precisely on a corner of the Great Hall—Harry, Ron, and Hermione were huddled together on the edge of a "cloud bed," the three of them wide awake and whispering to each other.

He strode forward, walking straight past the students who were either asleep or dozing, and stopped in front of them.

The three students had already closed their eyes and were pretending to be asleep.

"Excuse me, gentlemen."

Sagles spoke calmly, directly exposing the three men's lies.

The three of them immediately looked up nervously.

“Professor?” Harry’s voice was a little hoarse.

“I just went to your dorm room. Potter, and Mr. Weasley,”

Sagres cut to the chase, “I regret to inform you that Blake broke into your room and ransacked it, well… you could say it was a complete mess.”

Ron's face turned deathly pale, his lips trembling as he stammered, "He...he...want to find Harry, right?"

"Probably," Sagres said noncommittally.

"Luckily Harry wasn't in the dorm, or we would have been in big trouble tonight," Ron said, still shaken. "Thankfully, we're both safe and sound now."

“Yes,” Sagres nodded, but then changed the subject, “your pet rat is gone, and all that’s left at the scene is some blood and rat fur.”

Sagres spoke in a steady tone.

"Blemish?!"

Ron cried out, his voice filled with shock and grief, "It...it was killed by Blake?"

The thought that his pet, which he had raised for so many years, might meet with misfortune brought tears to Ron's eyes.

It was one of the few things in the house that truly belonged to him, even though it was a secondhand item that Percy didn't want anymore.

Hermione covered her mouth, while Harry clenched his fists, his hatred for Black growing stronger—he wouldn't even spare a mouse.

Sagres looked at Ron's face, which instantly crumbled, and his eyes reddened, and remained silent for a moment.

His expression remained unchanged, but his voice softened slightly: "No remains of a rat were found at the scene. It may have just been startled and fled in the chaos."

Seeing a glimmer of hope in Ron's eyes again, Sagres continued, "There are many corners in the castle; it wouldn't be difficult for a frightened mouse to hide."

This less-than-enthusiastic consolation was, in Ron's moment, undoubtedly a lifeline he clung to as he drowned.

He sniffled, his voice trembling with tears, "Hope...hope, right...poor Banban, it's so timid..."

“I can keep an eye out for you,” Sagles said calmly. “Could you tell me a little about your mouse? What’s special about it? That might help in finding it.”

Ron, lost in grief, didn't think much before answering with a sob, "Scabbers...it was Percy's old pet. Later, when Percy became a prefect, my mother bought him Hermes, and he gave Scabbers to me."

He said haltingly, "It's been in my house... let me think... at least twelve years. Lately, it's been sickly, listless, and eating little. And what's unusual... it's missing a toe... does that count?"

He went on and on about all the news about Banban.

“Twelve years?” Sagres repeated, his tone flat. “And a toe is missing?”

“Yes,” Ron wiped his eyes, “It was missing the toes of its front paws. Percy got it like this. I guess… it was injured while fighting with other mice.”

Sagles did not ask any further questions.

He simply nodded slightly: "Understanding its characteristics will be helpful to me; I will keep an eye out for its trail."

He paused for a moment, then said, "You should also try to get some rest; it's almost dawn."

After saying that, Sagres turned and left, leaving the three people with mixed feelings.

Chapter 212 Dogs and Rats