After leading the Young Wizards back to the Gryffindor Common Room, the portraits that Headmaster Dumbledore had sent out earlier to find the fat lady had also all returned.
"Headmaster Dumbledore, the fat lady is right..."
"I have already found her just now, thank you all for your help."
Headmaster Dumbledore smiled and thanked them, then waved his wand to open the door to the Gryffindor Common Room and walked inside with the Little Lions of Gryffindor.
"Alright children, everyone has had quite a scare tonight."
He looked at the Young Wizards before him with a gentle expression and cast a protection magic with his wand.
"Now, have a peaceful night's sleep; no one will be able to break in and disturb you, at least not Black."
"Thank you, Headmaster Dumbledore."
The Little Lions politely voiced their thanks. Headmaster Dumbledore put away his wand and nodded to Professor McGonagall, and the two prepared to leave with Lynn, Hermione, and Maranhao.
Harry and Ron exchanged a glance and both stepped forward simultaneously. "Headmaster Dumbledore, we want to go and listen in too."
Harry pursed his lips and added, "After all, Black's target is me, isn't it? I might be safer if I hear what's going on."
"At least I'll know how he might be lurking around me."
"Albus..." Professor McGonagall frowned, looking at Headmaster Dumbledore with some uncertainty.
She knew Harry was right, but privately, she really didn't want the children to be exposed to these matters.
"Let them come and listen, Minerva. Harry and the others have the right to know."
"Just as he said, Black's target is him, isn't it?"
"Very well," Professor McGonagall nodded, turning back to look at Harry and Ron. "Come along then, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, all of you together."
"Given that even if only Mr. Potter were to listen, he would tell you afterward anyway."
Harry's face flushed slightly as he gave a light cough, while Ron also gave an awkward, accompanying smile.
The group walked out of the Gryffindor Common Room and arrived at the Headmasters Office.
Headmaster Dumbledore waved his hand and prepared a cup of hot milk for each of the seven children.
"Please sit, ladies and gentlemen. Since it is nearly bedtime, I won't entertain you with tea."
"Thank you, Headmaster Dumbledore."
The seven of them looked at each other, took a deep breath, and sipped the milk, after which Hermione's eyes widened in disbelief.
There actually wasn't a lethal amount of sugar!
Headmaster Dumbledore looked at the children's expressions and shook his head. "When one gets old, one always needs more sweetness to dilute certain things, but clearly you children do not. I, too, have only just realized this."
"Uh, thank you, Headmaster Dumbledore."
Hermione realized the issue with her expression and quickly adjusted, offering her thanks.
Lynn set down her milk and looked steadily at Headmaster Dumbledore. "Sirius Black is an illegal Animagus."
"Pffft, cough, cough, cough..."
A chorus of coughing erupted in the Headmasters Office. Harry and Ron coughed until they were out of breath, while the girls, including Hermione, looked at Lynn in astonishment.
Even Professor McGonagall blurted out that it was impossible.
Because Lynn had successfully become an Animagus, everyone present, including Harry and Ron, had gained a certain understanding of the Animagus transformation.
This understanding naturally included how to become an Animagus; the conditions for achieving it were far too tedious and demanding.
It would be almost impossible to do so without attracting attention, let alone while at Hogwarts.
This was why everyone was so surprised, with even Professor McGonagall declaring it impossible.
"It's not entirely impossible," Headmaster Dumbledore said, stroking his beard. "Even we, as Professors, cannot claim to know everything about our students."
Professor McGonagall frowned. "That may be so, but an Animagus... Merlin, if that's true, then they were certainly bold back then."
"Miss Lynn, may I ask how you reached this conclusion?"
Headmaster Dumbledore lowered his head slightly, looking through his glasses at Lynn, who sat on the sofa with an unchanging expression.
"Of course." Lynn nodded with a detached look on her face.
"According to Harry's account, he once saw a big Black dog by the roadside when he left his aunt and uncle's house."
"Later, while in Diagon Alley, I discovered a big Black dog following us. When it noticed that there were many people and it might be exposed, it would actively hide in nearby alleys. This is something a normal dog could not do."
"Therefore, I can basically conclude that the big Black dog is an Animagus, an illegal Animagus."
"Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban. It is known that those sent to Azkaban have their wand taken away, and through their time with the Dementor, their magic is suppressed."
"The only possible explanation is that he practiced the Animagus transformation, allowing him to complete the change without the aid of a wand and escape from the Dementor's watch."
The Headmasters Office fell into a dead silence. Except for Lynn's voice, everyone else even lightened their breathing; one could hear a pin drop in the entire room.
"Furthermore, today Sirius Black successfully entered the school through the Dementor's watch outside Hogwarts. Combining this with the previous analysis, it can be determined that Sirius Black is an illegal Animagus."
"And there is a seventy-five percent chance that the big Black dog that appeared twice near Harry, clearly targeting him, was him."
"Merlin's big Black dog..."
Ron murmured with a trembling voice, turning to look at Harry. "That means when you left your aunt and uncle's house, you had already met Black while alone."
"That's just too dangerous..."
"But this doesn't make sense," Harry said, shaking his head with a frown. "If that's the case, the second time is easy to explain—in Diagon Alley, there were too many people, so it wasn't convenient for him to act against me."
"But what about the first time? I was alone on a Muggle street at night; no one could have stopped him. Why didn't he act against me?"
"That is indeed a suspicious point," Lynn turned her eyes, dull yet steady, toward Harry. "Therefore, I believe the claim that Sirius Black wants to kill Harry remains to be verified. However, his attention is on you; that much is beyond doubt."
"I really am a magnet for trouble." Harry's mouth twitched slightly as he made a self-deprecating remark.
"A brilliant and very logical analysis, Miss Lynn."
Headmaster Dumbledore took off his glasses to wipe them, lowering his head slightly as if in thought.
Knowing the 'truth' of the past, he seemed to hear something else from Lynn's analysis when combined with those so-called truths.
"Albus, but shouldn't Black be?"
Mindful that Harry was still here, Professor McGonagall did not finish her sentence.
However, Headmaster Dumbledore already understood her meaning and raised his hand with a wave.
"Perhaps there were other issues with what happened back then; I will try to investigate."
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