"Iced lemonade!"
As Jon spoke the password, the huge, ugly stone gargoyle lazily shifted aside, revealing a passage.
Jon took a deep breath to steady himself. He had never entered the Headmaster's Office before.
He climbed the spiraling staircase, pushed open the heavy door with its griffin-shaped knocker, and stepped into a spacious circular room.
The walls were covered with portraits of former headmasters and headmistresses. Most had their eyes closed, feigning sleep, though Jon had the distinct feeling that many of them were secretly watching him.
"Good afternoon!" Albus Dumbledore looked up, his pale blue eyes twinkling as he gave Jon a small wink.
"Good afternoon, Professor..." Jon forced himself forward, bracing for what he had to say.
He had no choice. After what he'd written in his letter to Amelia Bones, he now had to tell Dumbledore about Sirius Black.
"Professor, I have something important to report!" Jon steeled himself, letting fear and panic edge his voice. "Sirius Black! A few hours ago I spotted him through my telescope—he was by the Whomping Willow on the shore of the Black Lake..."
But Dumbledore raised a finger, stopping him.
"Jon, perhaps you should calm yourself first and hear me out," Dumbledore said kindly, still chewing on a cockroach skewer. "Would you like one? Quite delicious!"
Without waiting for a reply, he tossed a skewer over.
It looked revolting, but was in fact made of chocolate, laden with sugar—so sweet it was almost sickly. Still, Jon immediately dismissed one possibility: Veritaserum lost its effect when taken with sugar.
"A bit too sweet," he murmured.
"No, just right," Dumbledore countered cheerfully, popping the last piece into his mouth.
Then he glanced at a portrait on the wall and said, "From what I've learned, Sirius Black may not be as cruel and murderous as the Ministry of Magic claims."
Jon did his best to look shocked.
"I have special sources of information, Jon," Dumbledore continued calmly. "For example, I have an informant on Privet Drive. She reported that Sirius Black appeared there at the end of last July. Coincidentally, that same day young Harry, after an accident, had also left his aunt and uncle's home and ended up on Privet Drive."
"I admit, I panicked," Dumbledore went on after a pause. "I contacted Kingsley at once and had him send the Knight Bus to take Harry somewhere safe... Yet, to my surprise, Harry waited there perfectly unharmed until the bus arrived. Black never approached him."
"Does that prove his innocence?" Jon asked cautiously. "What if he simply didn't run into him..."
"It's enough to make me doubt," Dumbledore nodded. "Over the years, I've trusted my judgment of people, and I don't believe Black is a man without conscience. Moreover..."
"That's right—I can vouch for it!" A shrill voice rang out from the wall, startling Jon. "My great-grandson may have betrayed his family and our bloodline, may be a vile scoundrel—but he would never betray his friends, never slaughter the innocent!"
The outburst came from the portrait of a balding, middle-aged wizard with curly hair, his face twisted in agitation.
"Compose yourself, Phineas!"
At Dumbledore's words, another portrait that had been pretending to sleep sprang to life, drew a wand, and quickly silenced Phineas Black before he could shout again.
"That is why I invited one of Black's closest friends from his youth, Remus Lupin, to teach here at Hogwarts," Dumbledore said with a smile. "Convincing Minerva, Filius, and Severus to accept a werewolf as a colleague was no easy task!"
"A werewolf?" Jon blurted, raising his voice.
"I believe Severus has already given you enough hints. You should have guessed Lupin's true nature by now," Dumbledore said, giving Jon a knowing look.
"Yes, Professor..." Jon quickly lowered his head. "It's just—I never let myself imagine the worst."
"Come, let's be off," Dumbledore said at last. "I may need your help."
"Where are we going?"
"To Hagrid's hut."
...
As they stepped out of the office, Jon felt Dumbledore lightly pat his shoulder.
A sudden chill spread through his body.
Looking down, Jon saw his arms and torso shimmering, translucent—melded into the surroundings.
"Disillusionment Charm," Dumbledore explained with a smile. "A spell to render us unseen. Our errand is... rather discreet."
Following Dumbledore, Jon slipped past familiar faces unnoticed. No one detected a thing; clearly, Dumbledore's Disillusionment Charm was flawless.
They crossed the greenhouses, walked along the lakeshore, and skirted the Whomping Willow... until at last they reached the back of Hagrid's hut, taking cover behind the thick trunk of an oak tree.
Buckbeak the Hippogriff was chained in the pumpkin patch before them.
Jon frowned. If he remembered correctly, this was the very spot where Harry and Hermione would later hide after using the Time-Turner.
He glanced at his invisible body. With the Disillusionment Charm cloaking him, even they wouldn't be able to notice him.
"Seems Hagrid already has visitors," Dumbledore murmured.
Jon strained his ears and caught familiar voices inside the hut. Hermione, Harry, and Ron.
"It's Harry and his friends," Dumbledore said, frowning as though deep in thought.
"Cornelius, this way!" A familiar voice carried from a distance.
Jon's expression froze. He looked out to see Cornelius Fudge, cloaked in plaid, Walden Macnair hefting a massive axe, two Ministry officials as witnesses... and another Albus Dumbledore.
The five of them walked slowly toward Hagrid's hut.
Jon froze in disbelief—first staring at the distant Dumbledore, then at the one beside him.
"What's going on... Professor..." he stammered, trembling.