Madam Rosmerta felt powerless in the face of Minister Fudge's riddles. It seemed she wouldn't be able to get more information out of him.
"It's said that the Minister of the Department of Magic in Japan is going to be replaced," Fudge suddenly remembered something and continued enthusiastically, "I can't quite recall, but I believe they're not called the Minister of the Department of Magic, but what was it?"
"Shogun," Professor Flitwick suggested.
"Exactly!" Fudge banged the table. "That leader who has been in power for almost seventy years, has been replaced! And his successor is a young witch who carries a wand on the hilt of a sword."
"What?" The listeners around Fudge were surprised. Seeing their shocked expressions, Fudge felt very pleased. "This is the latest information from the Department of Magic. I suppose it will take some time before it's officially reported after the transition is complete in Japan."
"Isn't it supposed to be only the most powerful wizards in the magical world of Japan who can be called 'shogun'?" someone asked. "How can such a powerful witch suddenly appear?"
"Perhaps he's grown old," Fudge bluntly snorted. "To earn the title of 'shogun' by challenging the current leader, you need to pass the three trials of skill, courage, and strength under the Shogun. The trials are very challenging, so it's been a long time since anyone challenged the old shogun. Who knows how much power she really has? She's not much younger than Dumbledore."
When the topic turned to Dumbledore, Fudge noticed that everyone around him closed their mouths and drank in silence. Hagrid, who had been quiet all along, grumbled discontentedly, and a few drops of his drink came out of his nose and fell onto the bar table.
Seeing the atmosphere suddenly tense up, Madam Rosmerta had to step in to smooth things over. "Speaking of Sirius, did you know that out of all the Death Eaters who joined, Sirius Black was the last one I expected?"
Hearing this, everyone sighed. Harry, under the table, strained his ears hoping to hear more news about Sirius.
With others' stories, explosive news flooded Harry's mind:
Sirius knew his parents and was their best friend!
He betrayed his parents, leading them to a horrible death at Voldemort's hands, and then killed his father's friend, Peter, when he was cornered!
Sirius was also his godfather!
Harry's glass fell to the floor, making a loud noise, but no one paid him any attention.
"Black behaved quite normally in Azkaban; the Dementors seemed to have little effect on him. It's incredible, I'm really concerned... When one is in isolation, it's a mystery how he'll regain his loyal follower; surely he'll quickly return to the top! Fortunately, Black is..." Fudge's words stopped.
But everyone understood his meaning: fortunately, Sirius had lost his mind and was obsessed with capturing Harry and avenging his master. Perhaps capturing him at Hogwarts would be the best way to handle him.
Everyone remained silent. Finally, accompanied by the sound of glasses hitting the wood, they all drank to the bottom.
"Cornelius, we should also return to the school; I believe you're here to deliver Professor Trelawney's invitation to the Divination World Convention...".
Fudge nodded, and then the sound of chairs being pushed and footsteps could be heard as Fudge and the others left the pub.
Tom and Hermione peeked their heads out from under the table. Harry's invisibility cloak had already slipped off, but he was completely lost in his thoughts.
Seeing Harry so disoriented, Tom and Hermione didn't know how to comfort him. They could only hand him the butterbeer in his hands and watch as he drank sip after sip.
After drinking several glasses, Harry staggered to his feet and headed straight for the door. He seemed to care about nothing, not even when Tom put the invisibility cloak on him.
"Harry..." Tom tried to console him, but he didn't know where to start. Harry's family issues were something that couldn't be explained quickly. Perhaps it would be better to let his relatives deal with it.
"I know, just leave me alone," Harry said, shaking his head, paying no attention to Tom. Lost in his thoughts, he walked dazedly back to Honeydukes and then through the tunnel to return to the castle.
Only one question remained in his mind: why had no one mentioned to him that his parents died because of the betrayal of his best friend?
"Tom..." After returning to the castle, Harry took off the invisibility cloak and staggered toward Gryffindor Tower. Hermione looked at Harry's back with concern.
"Shouldn't we do something about this?"
"But what can we do?" Tom responded with a question.
"Then, can you tell me why you let Sirius go?"
"Of course, I let him go because he was innocent." Tom looked at Hermione with an expression that seemed to think he himself was crazy. He sighed and began to tell Hermione the stories that happened in the previous generation...
...
The headmaster's office received two unexpected visitors.
"Remus, I'm truly surprised you've brought Sirius to see me." Dumbledore was sitting in his chair behind the desk, observing Lupin intently.
Lupin felt like Dumbledore could see through him with his blue eyes behind half-moon glasses, but fortunately, he was calm and had a clear conscience.
"Yes, Professor, I brought Sirius Black here. I believe you should get to know him. He's brought some interesting stories." Lupin pushed Sirius toward Dumbledore calmly.
Looking at the elderly man in front of him, Sirius showed a shy expression for the first time.
"Professor Dumbledore, we meet again."
"You've changed a lot." Dumbledore smiled and said with a smile, as if in front of him was not a fugitive wanted by the Ministry of Magic, but an outstanding former student who came to visit his old school after graduating.
"Azkaban ages people." Sirius sighed and spread the Marauder's Map on Dumbledore's desk, activating it.
Seeing the magical map in front of him, Dumbledore blinked playfully. "It's not just a coincidence that you weren't caught by the professors during your time at school. With just this map, you should have excelled in your N.E.W.T. exams in Transfiguration and Charms. I don't know if this map would work on me..."
"No, it wouldn't." Sirius and Lupin both rejected Dumbledore at the same time.
Dumbledore didn't continue to insist; all his attention was drawn to a small black dot on the map labeled "Peter Pettigrew."