章 186: 0185 Dawn
"It is certain that Black did not come in from the school grounds, and those dementors guarding the entrance will not be easily fooled by him again."
Lupin rubbed his eyebrows wearily and said, his voice hoarse from the long night of searching,
"And it can also be basically confirmed that he has left Hogwarts, we searched the entire castle, leaving no stone unturned, including the common rooms of the four houses, the student dormitories, the hospital wing, the underground corridors, the observatory, the library and Professor Sprout's greenhouse, and found no traces of hiding. Hagrid is currently asking the magical creatures in the Forbidden Forest, and has not come back yet."
Bryan nodded slightly, quietly pondering, and suddenly, he remembered the ghost girl who hid in the bathroom last year, who clearly saw everything, but said nothing. He wondered if there was anyone else who had witnessed something unusual, but had kept silent for some reason.
"Since the Fat Lady confirmed that it was Black who hurt her. I mean, sneaking into the Gryffindor tower, finding that he couldn't enter the common room and then escaping from the castle, this is a long distance, even if all the little wizards and staff are in the Great Hall for Halloween, there should be some portraits and ghosts who witnessed his movements."
"We have confirmed with them–"
Professor McGonagall pursed her lips and said, her expression stern and frustrated, "The ghosts were all in the basement celebrating Halloween in their own way, and the portraits were gathered together, they didn't see how Black came in. Peeves, who was kicked out of the ghosts' party for making trouble, was the first to find the frightened Fat Lady hiding in a landscape painting on the fifth floor. In short, Black picked a good time."
"Yes, cunning Black!"
In front of the headmaster, director and professors, the inconspicuous Filch seized the opportunity to nod and agree. His eyes gleamed with malice as he hoped that Black would be caught and punished severely for his crimes.
"Good timing–"
Professor McGonagall's casual remark made Bryan's eyebrow twitch slightly, and he muttered a few words in a low voice, as if he had noticed something unusual.
Dumbledore, who had his fingers crossed on his right leg, remained inexplicably silent, as if he had no intention of joining the conversation, but when he heard the few words Bryan muttered, Dumbledore's cheek also moved slightly, and a glint flashed in his eyes. He turned his head to look at Bryan, and the gazes of the two pairs of different-colored pupils met in mid-air, as if they had a tacit understanding. They seemed to share a moment of understanding, as if they had both realized something important.
"Oh, please!" Professor McGonagall said impatiently, "Don't make me guess at this time!"
Ahem!
Bryan coughed a little awkwardly, and then, after organizing his words in his mind, he slowly said, his tone calm and logical,
"It's just a thought, Professor McGonagall, do you think Black chose Halloween on purpose to break into Hogwarts, or was it just a coincidence? If he didn't plan it, maybe he was too confused from being in Azkaban. But if he did, what was his goal in trying to enter the Gryffindor common room? He must have known that all the students, including Potter, were at the feast, and the dormitory was empty."
Bryan's statement made McGonagall and Lupin stunned, to be honest, they had indeed overlooked this point.
"Maybe–"
After a while, Professor McGonagall hesitated and guessed, "Black wanted to sneak into the student dormitory and wait for the child to come back–"
"That's possible."
Bryan nodded and said, his eyes fixed on Lupin, whose eyebrow was hidden in the deep shadow, as if he was hiding something.
"But that would mean that he had no intention of leaving after the murder. Is that his choice?"
The top secret that the students didn't know was probably just ordinary information among the professors, and everyone here knew that among them, only Lupin knew Black best.
"I'm sorry, I don't know what Black would do." Lupin said apologetically in a gloomy tone, his face pale and his eyes haunted by memories. "I used to think I knew him very well, but it turned out that he was not what I imagined."
It was always unpleasant to discuss betrayal, and Professor McGonagall comforted Lupin softly, patting his shoulder gently. Bryan did not pressure him with his eyes.
"Okay, let me think, Argus,"
Bryan paused for a moment and turned his gaze to Filch, who was standing nervously by the door. He asked him in a calm voice, "Are the secret passages leading to the outside world in the castle sealed? I don't want us to make such a very low-level mistake that would allow Black to sneak in again."
"All four secret passages were sealed before the start of school, Mr. Watson!"
Filch snapped to attention, his tone respectful enough to make Bryan feel a bit surprised, but after thinking about it, Bryan could understand, Last semester he was the investigator sent by the board of governors to investigate the Chamber of Secrets incident and the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, both of which were temporary positions, and neither of which lasted long. But the Student Safety Office director was a permanent position, especially since Dumbledore had made it clear that the castle caretaker was under the jurisdiction of the Safety Office director.
Although in the castle, Filch was despised as a nuisance by some troublemakers, but outside, he was doing a job that many capable wizards envied, and as a squib, he was naturally afraid of losing his dream job!
When Bryan mentioned the secret passages, Lupin's body trembled violently, and his lowered eyes showed intense struggle, but in the end, he said nothing.
*SceneBreak*
Dawn was approaching, and the world outside the window was no longer a thick and pure black, but a faint grayish-white, heralding the arrival of a new day. The distant horizon, with a hint of pink and orange, was awakening the sleeping creatures. The first rays of sunlight pierced through the clouds, casting a faint glow on the castle and the lake.
"Okay–"
Bryan walked to the window and opened the sash, letting the damp and cold morning breeze blow his hair as much as possible. He felt exhausted after a sleepless night, but he knew he had to act quickly.
"Hagrid hasn't come back yet, but I think the chances of him bringing good news are not great. He went to look for Black in the Forbidden Forest, but I doubt he would find him there. Black is too smart and cunning to hide in such an obvious place. I'll reset those panoramic telescopes as soon as possible, and before that, I'll add some warning alarm features to them, as long as Black tries to break into the castle again, no matter which corner he comes in from, as soon as his face is captured by the lens, then all the telescopes in the castle will sound an alarm at the same time, notifying the young wizards to evacuate as soon as possible."
Bryan's plan was undoubtedly a good one, and in the current situation where they could not find Black's invasion route, the most important thing was to make sure he couldn't break in again.
The panoramic telescopes were magical devices that could show the view of most places in the castle, and Bryan had installed them in many corridors and halls. By adding some enchantments, he could make them detect Black's presence and alert everyone. He hoped that this would prevent any harm from happening to the students, especially Potter, who was Black's target.
When the morning light came, he was the only one left in this office, and after a sleepless night, everyone took advantage of the time before class to rest. Bryan also lay on his bed, closed his eyes and quietly thought about the unanswered question.
Did Black just happen to run into Hogwarts on Halloween, or did he do it on purpose? Bryan couldn't answer this question, but his keen intuition was telling him that this was not a coincidence. There must be some hidden motive behind Black's actions, something that he didn't know yet.
Sirius Black, like Remus Lupin, was an important plot character, and Bryan only had a vague impression, as if both of them died in the end.
"Die together?"
Bryan whispered to himself, "I wonder if Lupin died because of the curse on the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor position, hmm, if that's the case, I feel a bit guilty. Should I break his two wolf legs in advance?"
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章 187: 0186 Reactions
On the first day of his long-awaited return to Hogwarts, Bryan did not planned too many working tasks for himself. He enjoyed a leisurely sleep in the morning, spent some time in his office in the afternoon to modify the old panoramic telescope that had been gathering dust in Filch's office for half a year, and took a well-deserved rest in the first half of the night. In the second half of the night, when the young wizards were sound asleep, he sneaked back to the Astronomy Tower and returned the telescope to its original place.
But it turned out that he was too naïve.
Only two hours after he had closed his eyes, he was awakened by a loud knock on the door of his office. He opened the door and saw Professor McGonagall, who had already changed into her nightgown and retightened her bun, standing there with a pile of parchment that was almost as tall as her. She had a gleeful expression on her face, as if she had just won the lottery.
Facing the sleepy and confused Bryan, Professor McGonagall's tone was full of excitement,
"This stack is the patrol schedule of the prefects reported by the male and female Head Boy & Girl. You need to review it and make sure there are no conflicts or loopholes; this stack is the approval of the maintenance costs of the Quidditch Pitch and the castle reported by Hagrid and Filch separately in November; this stack is the list of prohibited items that Filch updated for the young wizards; this stack is the admission application forms for the third to seventh grade students to go to Hogsmeade on weekends, you need to keep a copy here and send another one to Madam Rosmerta at the Three Broomsticks, oh, and this one-"
She went on and on, handing over one stack of parchment after another to Bryan, who could barely hold them in his arms.
Ten minutes later, Professor McGonagall, who was so happy that she walked on tiptoe, and said goodbye to Bryan with a cheerful smile, and hurriedly left.
'Who am I, and what am I here for.'
Bryan muttered to himself, as he stood in front of his office, holding a pile of parchment that was three feet thick, doubting his life choices.
*Scenebreak*
"We are all your loyal supporters, Professor Watson!"
At nine o'clock, Marcus Flint, who had no class in the morning, brought a few Slytherin team members and rushed into Bryan's office. He said to Bryan, who was sitting behind the desk and frowning at those forms, with a flattering smile on his face,
"We heard the news and came here right away. If you want to, we can also help you patrol the castle and maintain order! We can keep an eye on those troublemakers from Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, and make sure they don't break any rules!"
"Thank you for your support, Flint–"
Bryan frowned, his expression a bit weird, and said,
"But I hope you can focus on Quidditch and your studies. If I remember correctly, you should have graduated from Hogwarts last year. By the way, how many years has it been since the school had a repeater?"
Flint left, his face red with shame. He muttered something like 'Its Rowling's fault' under his breath, and dragged his teammates away.
At ten o'clock, after finishing the first class, Draco Malfoy came in with Crabbe, Goyle and Pansy Parkinson, and threw out a sentence of 'I'm glad to see you back, professor' with a bad smirk on his face.
"Potter doesn't seem to know what Black did back then, Professor Watson. Otherwise, I bet he would go to Black for revenge, oh, I wish he would do that. If it weren't for Professor Snape forbidding me to tell Potter these things."
Draco said, with a malicious glint in his eyes.
'Professor Snape forbade Malfoy to tell Potter that his parents died because of Black's betrayal. Sure enough, Professor Snape's feelings for Potter are more complicated than i imagined.'
Bryan thought to himself, as he glanced at Malfoy's arm, which was wrapped in bandages and hung around his neck. He remembered that Malfoy had been bitten by Buckbeak, Hagrid's hippogriff, during the Care of Magical Creatures class, and that his father, Lucius Malfoy, had filed a complaint to the Ministry of Magic, demanding that Buckbeak be executed.
"I have to say–" Bryan said, with a kind smile on his face, and said, "Your new outfit is very fashionable, Malfoy. It suits you very well."
Draco's face turned red, and he hurriedly took off the sling from his neck, acting a bit restless, because he suddenly remembered that Hagrid, that big idiot, seemed to be under the jurisdiction of the Student Safety Office Director, which meant that he was currently framing Professor Watson's subordinate. In a trance, Malfoy remembered the eight-eyed spider which was hiding in his dormitory.
"The Ministry of Magic has-, has accepted the case, professor. If you are unhappy, I can ask my father to withdraw the lawsuit."
Malfoy stuttered, trying to appease Bryan.
"I won't interfere in this matter, Malfoy, do as you wish."
Bryan blinked, thought for a moment and said.
Hagrid's unhealthy obsession and excessive indulgence with magical creatures was a bit reckless, so that he often misjudged the danger of the creatures themselves. Before, this had nothing to do with Bryan, and he was not willing to interfere with other people's hobbies for no reason, but now that Hagrid was under the jurisdiction of the Student Safety Office, Bryan thought it was a good thing to take the opportunity to teach him a lesson, so that such incidents would not happen again and again in the future, and Dumbledore, who was unwilling to interfere too much with the Ministry of Magic, would not have to throw himself out to take the bullet for him.
"I haven't had time to thank you, Professor Watson–"
After Malfoy left, a few Hufflepuff students who had been waiting outside rushed in. Justin Finch-Fletchley, a Muggle-born boy with curly brown hair and glasses, said enthusiastically,
"My mother was so worried about me after she found out that I was petrified for half a semester because of my Muggle blood, and learned from the Daily Prophet that Gilderoy Lockhart was a big liar. She didn't want me to come back to Hogwarts to study. But I told her that the snake that petrified me had been solved by you. She reluctantly agreed to let me come back. I want to tell her the news that you are back to Hogwarts and in charge of our safety. I think she will feel relieved!"
"I'm just doing my duty, Finch-Fletchley."
Bryan smiled and said, with a friendly tone.
"You should be able to catch Black soon, Professor Watson?"
Hannah Abbott, who had two blonde braids and a timid expression, asked Bryan a serious question,
"Because of that Black, I can't concentrate in class! I'm always afraid that he might sneak into the castle and attack us!"
At noon, Bryan was planning to go downstairs to the Great Hall and have lunch with the other professors, but his subordinate Filch took the opportunity to bring in a second-year Gryffindor boy, who looked scared and guilty.
"Mr. Watson!"
Filch, who was flushed with excitement, showed Bryan a bag of dung eggs, and said gleefully,
"I caught a nasty little troublemaker playing with dung eggs in the corridor. He was trying to throw them at the portraits and the suits of armor. How do you think we should deal with it?"
Looking at the silent little kid, who had a few spots of dung on his robes, Bryan rubbed his forehead and sighed helplessly,
"How did you deal with this kind of situation before?"
"Detention, sir, at least three days!"
Filch said eagerly, hoping that Bryan would approve his punishment.
"Then do it like that, Filch."
Bryan waved his hand, indicating that Filch should take away the bag of dung eggs that had been stained with stinky juice as soon as possible, and reminded him before he left that he didn't need to report such minor situations in the future, and he could handle them as he saw fit. He trusted Filch's judgment, as long as he didn't use any cruel or illegal methods.
"Professor!"
This time it was Percy Weasley and his girlfriend Penelope Clearwater who came in. Percy, who was wearing a shiny Head Boy badge, proudly straightened his chest and said in front of the beautiful Miss Clearwater, who had long curly hair and a charming smile on her face,
"There is something I must report to you!"
Hearing this solemn tone, Bryan's face became serious, and he paid attention.
"The Dementors guarding the entrances of the castle want to enter the castle to search for Black. They seem to think that Black is still hiding in the castle."
Percy said, with a grave expression.
"Does Professor Dumbledore know about this?"
Bryan frowned and asked.
"Oh, I reported to Professor Dumbledore last night,"
Percy twitched his nose, "but Professor Dumbledore refused to let the Dementors enter the castle."
"In that case-"
Bryan was about to say that he agreed with Dumbledore, and that he would not allow the Dementors to enter the castle either.
"But you are the director of the Student Safety Office authorized by the Board of Governors. I think it is more appropriate for you to make the decision!"
Percy interrupted him, and looked at Bryan, his eyes gleaming.
'Boy, you have the potential to be a traitor, I'm very optimistic about you.'
Bryan thought to himself, as he saw through Percy's ambition and flattery.
"Professor Watson, will you also take on the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor this year?"
Penelope, who was clinging to Percy's arm, asked eagerly.
'Is this question cursing Lupin or cursing me, Miss Clearwater?' Bryan pursed his lips and thought tiredly.
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