On the night after the match, Harry went to sleep with feelings of regret and disappointment.
It seemed that on this day, he had faced failure both on the Quidditch pitch and in matters of the heart, and the cause of his failures was the same person.
Alaric had earned the Order of Merlin three times, won the Wizarding Chess Championship, defeated Professor Quirrell in his first year, and even killed a basilisk in his second year.
It seemed that nothing could stop him.
Why had things turned out this way... The first time, he received his favorite broomstick as a gift; the first time, he fell in love.
These two sources of joy were intertwined. And from these joys, I should have gained a time of happiness akin to a dream. But why had it turned out like this...
Just as he was pondering these inexplicable matters in his dreams, a scream startled him awake.
"Ah ah ah ah ah... no no no no no..."
Awake, Harry found himself disoriented in the darkness.
He fumbled around the curtains of his bed, hearing commotion around him, and heard Seamus Finnigan's voice from the other end of the room.
"What's happening?"
Ron sat up in bed, his face an expression of extreme terror as he pulled back the curtains. "It's Black, Sirius Black, with a knife!"
"What?"
"He was here! Just now! Slashed through the curtains! Woke me up!"
"Are you sure you weren't dreaming, Ron?" he asked.
"Look at these curtains! I'm telling you, he was here!"
They all climbed out of bed; Harry reached the dormitory door first, and they rushed downstairs.
Doors behind them opened one by one, with many sleepy voices asking questions.
"Who was screaming just now?"
"What are you all doing?"
Finally, their cries attracted Professor McGonagall.
From the new portrait guarding Gryffindor Tower, that of Sir Cadogan, they learned some bad news—Sirius Black had indeed been there.
He had found the slip of paper with the password written by Neville Longbottom. The boy wasn't particularly bright, with a poor memory and constantly losing things.
That night, nobody in Gryffindor Tower slept.
They knew the castle was being searched again, and everyone in Gryffindor House gathered in the common room, waiting to hear if Black had been caught.
At dawn, Professor McGonagall returned and informed them that Black had once again escaped.
The next day, they noticed heightened security wherever they went: Professor Flitwick carried a large photograph of Sirius Black to every guard stationed at the entrances.
He bustled around the corridors, nailing wooden boards over small cracks in the walls and blocking up mouse holes.
Sir Cadogan was dismissed from his post, and his portrait was returned to the seventh-floor. The Fat Lady returned.
While the Fat Lady was professionally repaired, she remained extremely nervous.
Her return to work came with a condition: she must be especially protected.
Dumbledore then hired a group of rude and brutish goblins to protect her.
They stomped through the corridors threateningly, muttering to themselves, comparing the sizes of the sticks they carried.
However, this incident made Dumbledore realize something curious—the target of Sirius Black.
According to the Ministry of Magic and his own assessment, Black's target should have been Harry Potter.
After all, it was Black's betrayal that led to the misfortune of Harry's family.
Dumbledore was well aware of the complex connection between Voldemort and Harry.
But on that night, Sirius Black appeared at the bedside of Ron Weasley—Harry Potter was sleeping right beside him.
Furthermore, why did Black ultimately do nothing before fleeing? If he wanted to kill Ron, he had every opportunity to do so.
After learning about this, the portrait on the wall of the headmaster's office, Phineas Nigellus Black spoke.
"Dumbledore, I've said it before, my great-grandson is innocent, he couldn't have done such a thing! You must find out the truth and clear his name.
You know what those people at the Ministry of Magic are like, those politicians only care about reputation and interests.
If the truth isn't found soon, my poor great-grandson might not escape a Dementor's kiss, he's the last member of our family."
This time, Phineas was genuinely anxious.
As a Slytherin-born headmaster, he had never liked Dumbledore and was reluctant to help him, seeing him as very peculiar and overly fond of Muggle-borns.
"I understand, Phineas," Dumbledore said solemnly, nodding, "If I indeed find that Sirius is innocent, I will do everything in my power to help him."
"Oh, Albus, please act quickly." Phineas in the portrait appeared very sad and anxious, then he seemed to remember something.
"You can go find that Ravenclaw boy, Basil Fronsac, has been boasting to me about how his skills can match yours.
Although I don't really believe that a Muggle-born boy could reach such a level, but now I can only trust him.
You can ask him for some ideas.
All the headmasters in the portraits thought this was a good idea, and they also wanted to meet Alaric, this young man who hadn't been so famous until now—until this trip to the Ministry of Magic.
Soon, Dumbledore summoned Alaric to his office, saying he wanted to discuss a deal with him.
"Oh, look who's here!" As soon as Alaric entered the office, Basil greeted him warmly, "It's our little Ravenclaw genius. Hello, Alaric, long time no see."
"Long time no see, Basil." Alaric nodded to him and then looked at Dumbledore.
"Professor, is there something you need my help with? As a return for the favor from the Ministry of Magic, as long as it's not too difficult, I can promise you."
"Oh, I'm glad you remember my favor," Dumbledore said with a smile.
"But you don't need to worry about that. You already have enough capability to influence Wizengamot, and I just gave you a little push.
After all, I'm just an old man now, and the future is in your hands.
Besides, the one who commissioned this isn't just me. I dare say the real commissioner will offer you the reward you desire."
Then, Phineas Nigellus in the portrait spoke up, telling Alaric everything he knew.
He then said, "If you can find evidence of his innocence, I will open up the Black family's collection to you.
You can take whatever you want. Believe me, the Black family has many precious treasures accumulated over the centuries."
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