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 Amanda, Hermione, and Cho Chang.
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.
Amanda 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 Amanda in astonishment.
Even Professor McGonagall blurted out that it was impossible.
Because Amanda 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 Amanda, may I ask how you reached this conclusion?"
Headmaster Dumbledore lowered his head slightly, looking through his glasses at Amanda, who sat on the sofa with an unchanging expression.
"Of course." Amanda 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 Amanda'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," Amanda 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 Amanda."
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 Amanda'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."
"Minerva, you take Harry and Ron back first. It's about time for the children to sleep."
"Goodbye, Headmaster Dumbledore."
Seeing that Amanda's analysis was finished and that Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall had no intention of saying more,
Harry and Ron stood up, said their goodbyes to Headmaster Dumbledore, and left the Headmasters Office.
"Come, I shall see you back."
Headmaster Dumbledore gave a smile and stood up, leading Amanda and the four other girls out of the Headmasters Office.
Walking on the way to the Ravenclaw Common Room, Amanda felt a gaze from above watching her. Looking up, she saw Headmaster Dumbledore's soft and loving azure eyes.
He seemed to be looking through her at something, like the past, or perhaps the future.
"Headmaster Dumbledore?"
Amanda tilted her head and called to him softly.
"Oh," Headmaster Dumbledore snapped out of it and shook his head with a smile. "When one gets old, it's easy to get distracted."
He looked at Amanda and said thoughtfully, "Miss Amanda, your various recent actions have been neither few nor small. Those Pure-blood families are writing me almost one letter a day now."
"Have I brought you trouble? I'm sorry, Headmaster Dumbledore."
Amanda spoke with a mechanical voice, while simultaneously bowing her head deeply.
"No, no, don't think that, child," Headmaster Dumbledore shook his head, gesturing for Amanda to look up. "Young people should not always keep their heads down and their backs bent; you are all meant to walk forward with your chests out and heads held high."
"As for those Pure-blood families," a hint of cunning flashed in Headmaster Dumbledore's eyes, "simply ignore them. I am old and my energy is failing; I can't possibly read every letter."
"Pfft, haha..."
Except for Amanda, the other four girls couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"To be honest, I should thank you, Miss Amanda." Headmaster Dumbledore looked down kindly at Amanda walking beside him, as if looking at his own granddaughter.
"Thank me?" Amanda looked up, a hint of confusion flashing in her half-dull eyes.
"Yes, thank you for using such gentle means to carry out a reform."
Amanda was silent for a moment before speaking slowly, "Using direct slaughter to intimidate is indeed the fastest and most efficient path, but Hermione... and everyone else, would not like that method."
The kind smile on his lips grew wider as Headmaster Dumbledore shifted his gaze to Hermione and the other three girls.
"I think I really should take my hat off to you." As he spoke, he actually removed his Wizard hat.
Hermione and the others were so startled they stopped in their tracks immediately, looking at Headmaster Dumbledore in a fluster.
"Headmaster Dumbledore, you don't need to do this..."
"Yes, we didn't do anything, why are you?"
Listening to the four girls' hurried inquiries, Headmaster Dumbledore shook his head while holding his Wizard hat.
"You do not yet understand what a great thing you have done."
"But you will understand in the future, once you have grown up a bit more."
When they grew up a bit more, they would understand how precious Amanda was—a Amanda who had them as her tethers and had not launched a violent revolution in the Wizarding World.
And they, who had accomplished this feat without even knowing it, were just as great.
But for now, the four girls only exchanged glances; even Penelope, the eldest, did not understand Headmaster Dumbledore's meaning.
Great? They just cared for and protected their friend; how could the word 'great' be applied to that?
Resuming their walk, Headmaster Dumbledore put his Wizard hat back on and looked down at Amanda, asking a question in a pleasant tone.
"Amanda, once you graduate, I wonder if you would be interested in staying at Hogwarts to teach?"
"After all, according to your plan, Hogwarts, as the only magic school in Britain, should be very important to you."
Headmaster Dumbledore's words were almost an explicit hint, and Amanda naturally understood his meaning.
Hermione and the others understood as well, turning their heads one after another to look at Amanda with sparkling eyes.
These words were a bit too exciting; wasn't the meaning behind Headmaster Dumbledore's words that Amanda could teach at Hogwarts after graduation and then become the Principal of Hogwarts?
That way, she could manage both the commerce and education of the Wizarding World simultaneously. Then, with Hermione entering the Ministry of Magic after graduation, she would basically have a firm grasp on every aspect of the British Wizarding World.
"I understand what you mean, Headmaster Dumbledore. I do not rule out the possibility of me staying at the school to teach."
"But I will exclude the possibility of me being the Principal at Hogwarts myself, at least until I have completely finished redistributing the commerce of the Wizarding World; I will exclude that possibility myself."
"Oh? Why?"
Headmaster Dumbledore looked at Amanda with great interest; he was curious as to why Amanda would refuse this.
To completely finish the reform, wouldn't it be easier to have everything in one's hands?
"The reform I want to complete is to prevent resources being absolutely controlled by a few, and to prevent the emergence of a single lie that can obscure everything."
"If I truly controlled Hogwarts after gaining control of the British Wizarding World's commerce, I would essentially become the kind of person I want to avoid becoming, the kind of person I am currently trying to deal with."
"I will not do such a thing."
Amanda shook her head with an expression that didn't change in the slightest.
Hermione looked at her with admiration in her eyes, the love within them clearly deepening.
Mm-hmm, this was the person she loved, the Amanda she loved; no matter how many temptations were placed before her, she could remain unmoved.
With only one heart moving toward her goal, with only one heart striving to become the person she wanted to be.
The three seniors also couldn't help but curl their lips into smiles after listening; indeed, this was Amanda, their best friend.
This was Amanda, the darling of all Ravenclaw, the one all of Ravenclaw follows.
Headmaster Dumbledore nodded and said nothing more, withdrawing his gaze to look ahead at the door of the Ravenclaw Common Room, which had already come into view.
His heart was filled with mixed emotions. This was a temptation that so many people could not resist; so in the end, how many people... could not even compare to Amanda, a child who was still so young?
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