When Alaric heard Phineas's request, he was somewhat puzzled.
"I heard that the deceased usually don't interfere much in the world of the living," he asked strangely, "why do you care about such matters?
Also, isn't Sirius Black supposed to be disowned by the Black family?"
"Yes, yes," Phineas said sadly, "but Sirius is the last Black, and if he were to die... So, I'm counting on you."
"Alright, I agree." Alaric looked at Phineas with compassion and felt a sense of emotion.
This old man was still putting so much effort into his family, even in death.
Although Alaric knew the truth about everything, he still had to pretend, so he asked Dumbledore for more clues.
Dumbledore opened a black cabinet, inside of which was a shallow basin with strange carvings around the rim, some of which were magical runes and symbols.
In the basin, there shimmered a silver light, making it difficult to discern whether it was liquid or gas.
It looked like a bright piece of silver, but it kept flowing, like ripples on the surface of water in a breeze, or like clouds dispersing and swirling softly.
It seemed like liquid light—yet like solidified wind.
Alaric knew it was the Pensieve, and what was in the basin were Dumbledore's memories.
Dumbledore gestured for Alaric to come closer.
When Alaric's head plunged into the basin, he saw some images, memories of Dumbledore regarding the events of Black's past.
Although Alaric knew most of this information from the original book, he patiently watched through Dumbledore's memories from start to finish.
Thus, Alaric immersed himself in the memories.
After what seemed like a long time, yet also like just a moment, he finally finished watching.
Pulling his head out of the Pensieve, Alaric pretended to contemplate for a moment under the gaze of Dumbledore and the former headmasters, then put on a slightly enlightened expression.
"How is it? Did you find anything?" Phineas in the portrait looked at Alaric eagerly.
"Yes, I did." Alaric nodded, pondering, "I noticed a detail. In Professor Dumbledore's memory, due to the effects of the Dementor, Black's mind was somewhat disturbed.
But he kept muttering the name of Peter Pettigrew. Isn't that right, Professor?"
"Correct." Dumbledore nodded.
"Black and Pettigrew had been friends for many years.
I believe he was expressing anger or sadness over Pettigrew's apparent death at the time. Is there a problem?"
"Yes, there should be something significant here." Alaric nodded, clasping his hands around his shoulders and giving a confident smile.
"The fact that Black muttered this name while in his disturbed state indicates that the name left a deep impression on him, making it difficult for him to forget.
But why didn't he mutter James Potter's name instead?
Since it was his betrayal that led to the death of his best friend, Black should have felt more guilty towards James Potter.
I think he muttered Peter Pettigrew's name for another reason."
"I recall that, although everyone says Black killed twelve Muggles with a single curse, along with a wizard—Peter Pettigrew.
But at the scene, only the bodies of the Muggles were found, along with a single finger of Peter Pettigrew."
"Are you suggesting that Pettigrew might not be dead?" Dumbledore keenly picked up on Alaric's implication.
"Yes, after all, only a single finger remaining doesn't completely prove his death.
I think the hurried imprisonment of Sirius into Azkaban back then was probably due to the unstable situation in the wizarding world.
Therefore, it's inevitable that details were overlooked in the rush to close the case." Alaric speculated.
Dumbledore nodded in agreement.
Furthermore, Alaric put forward another conjecture: "Your memory mentioned that it was just a speculation that Sirius Black was James Potter's secret keeper, right?"
Dumbledore nodded.
"That was the consensus at the time, especially given the close relationship between Sirius and James." He added.
"In that case, combining all this information, we can boldly speculate." Alaric looked very confident.
"Perhaps someone else betrayed James Potter, and it's very likely to be Peter Pettigrew.
After all, if everyone believed that Sirius Black was James's secret keeper, wouldn't Sirius be too obvious a choice?
With James Potter and Sirius Black's intelligence, wouldn't they have thought of this? If what I say is true, then... '' Phineas looked a little excited.
"Yes, I think James's secret keeper for the Fidelius Charm might have been Peter Pettigrew.
This is something only Sirius knew besides Pettigrew himself. And after James Potter was killed because of Fidelius Charm's betrayal, everyone believed that the betrayer was Sirius Black.
But only he knew who the real traitor was.
So-called Black's thirteen murders might have been his attempt to capture Peter Pettigrew, but Pettigrew successfully faked his death and framed Black by leaving behind a single finger."
"Brilliant analysis!" Dumbledore exclaimed, clapping his hands, and the former headmasters in the portrait also applauded.
"I always hear valuable insights from you. Now, there's another question..." Dumbledore looked at Alaric.
Alaric immediately understood.
"Ron Weasley, Why did Black come looking for him instead of Harry?
After all, Harry is the only one in Hogwarts who has any connection with him. Professor, you want to ask about this, right?"
"Yes, that's something I've been curious about. I've been thinking, but I can't figure out why he went to Ron instead of Harry."
"Yes, that's a puzzling point." Alaric nodded and added, "There's another question. How did Black escape from Azkaban?
I mean, Sirius couldn't have obtained anything from Azkaban, and if he had the means to escape, it must have been something he already had—unless it can be proven that he had an accomplice, but the investigation showed that Black escaped alone.
So, the real question is, if Black could escape earlier, why did he choose this time to escape? Could all of this be related to Ron?"
Dumbledore pondered for a moment before sighing, "Indeed, I hadn't thought of this. It's an excellent point of entry."
"Yes, Professor, you can go ask Fudge." Speaking of Fudge, Alaric smiled contemptuously.
"See if he or someone else brought any news to Azkaban about what was mentioned in the Daily Prophet about Ron—perhaps a prophecy."
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