章 274: 0273 Their Plans
Midnight, moonlight.
The cold night wind howled in the courtyard, and the excited owls took off one by one, gliding through the air and leaving ghostly shadows on the ground. The moon cast a pale silver light over the Hogwarts castle, making it look like a haunted mansion for the muggles.
As soon as he returned to the Owlery, Scabbers immediately took out the Marauders map from the hole and leaned on the windowsill to examine it under the moonlight. He unfolded the parchment and tapped it with his wand, whispering, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
However, his gaze scanned the paper back and forth, but he couldn't find Sirius's name on it. He zoomed in and out, searching every corner of the castle and the grounds, but there was no sign of his former friend.
'Where could Sirius be hiding?' Peter had asked himself this question countless times in the past few days. But no matter how hard he thought, he couldn't come up with a reasonable answer.
Staring in the direction of the werewolf camp, Peter's small eyes showed a hint of hesitation.
Should he continue hiding and wait for Sirius to reveal himself, or should he find a way to lure Sirius out and get rid of him? Both methods had their advantages and disadvantages, and Peter sighed deeply, unable to make a decision.
He folded the map and muttered, "Mischief managed." He hid it back in the hole and crawled into his cage, pretending to sleep.
*Scenebreak*
"If you don't want to keep me in the castle, Bryan, I don't mind staying in the Forbidden Forest for a few days. You know, my Animagus form is not easily discovered," Sirius said as he opened the office door and appeared in front of Bryan. He wore a face of sorrow and melancholy, and said feebly, "But you don't have to use this method. I mean, starving me to death!"
"Oh, sorry!" Bryan first looked surprised, and then immediately apologized. "I forgot about you."
Although he was no longer a professor, Bryan still had the authority to command the house-elves. He ordered the house-elves in the kitchen to bring a few steaks, but the diligent house-elves misinterpreted the word "few" and almost cut down the entire rack of ribs of a cow, which couldn't even fit on his desk.
Sirius squatted on the ground, enjoying the food on the coffee table, while Bryan sat in his seat, holding a cup of herbal tea, looking at the empty surveillance wall opposite him with a pensive expression.
This unusual state quickly caught Sirius's attention, and he glanced at Bryan, his chewing slowing down.
"What's wrong with you?" Sirius asked. Bryan suddenly realized Sirius's concerned gaze and smiled, lowering his eyes.
"It's nothing. Oh, by the way, did anything happen today?" Bryan asked, avoiding saying anything.
Seeing that Bryan didn't want to say anything, Sirius visibly showed disappointment, but he also knew that Bryan was not James or Remus. He couldn't expect him to tell him everything.
After a moment of silence, Sirius spoke in a relaxed tone, "Harry and his two friends came here after dinner today. They knocked on the door for a while and then left disappointed."
Thinking of Harry's respectful attitude towards Bryan, Sirius couldn't help but feel a bit envious and a little sad. He was supposed to be Harry's godfather, but now they were practically "enemies."
"I guess he probably wanted me to help him identify the Firebolt you gave him," Recalling the events of the evening. Bryan nodded slightly, and said.
"The first weekend of school is the Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw Quidditch match. It's important for Gryffindor, as if they lose, they will lose the chance to win the Quidditch Cup this year. I guess this little guy can't wait to prove that the Firebolt has nothing to do with you."
"Perhaps–" Sirius's tone remained disappointed. "You can tell him that the Firebolt was a gift from you, Bryan."
Glancing at the self-pitying Sirius, Bryan smiled. "I won't steal your credit. Well, he'll probably come to me again tomorrow. I'll help him check it out. Once we find Peter and figure out what's going on with you, you can talk to him yourself."
The candlelight in the office was extinguished, and only the faint glow of the dying embers in the fireplace remained. Sirius fell asleep on the couch, wrapped in an old robe, while Bryan remained hunched over the desk, sometimes contemplating the incantation pattern of the Blood Curse, and sometimes resting his chin on his hands, lost in thought.
Magical research was like this. Before the moment of inspiration, countless nights of "useless work" were needed.
And tonight, Bryan clearly had no inspiration.
It was already two o'clock in the morning when Bryan finally closed his notebook and stood up. He walked to the bed and changed into his pajamas, ready to lie down, but he realized that he was not sleepy at all.
The Hogwarts campus in the middle of the night was filled with a mysterious and unpredictable atmosphere, coming from both magic and the centuries-old history of the castle.
Bryan stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the West Tower overlapping with the moon for a long time. Unconsciously, a hint of sarcasm appeared on his lips.
Peter Pettigrew was probably still guarding that map in the Owlery, trying to locate Sirius's whereabouts, right?
Today's harvest was significant. He found the werewolf camp led by Greyback, and to be honest, he hadn't expected these werewolves to be hiding deep in the Forbidden Forest.
Were they not afraid of being wiped out by Dumbledore, or did they believe they were hiding well enough that Dumbledore couldn't find them? If it was the latter, Bryan could only say that these wolf cubs were too naive.
Dumbledore's transcendent status was not only among wizards but also among half-breeds. His power and wisdom were respected and feared by many, even by those who opposed him.
Their location was not far from the centaur tribe, and as territorial creatures, the centaurs were unlikely to be unaware of the werewolves so close to their tribe. The centaurs were proud and aloof, preferring to keep their distance from the wizarding world.
Although the Ministry of Magic had a Centaur Office, given the degree of separation between centaurs and the wizarding world, they were unlikely to react to the situation like the Ministry of Magic. The Ministry of Magic was corrupt and incompetent, often ignoring or mistreating the half-breeds. They had no authority or influence over the centaurs, who considered themselves superior to the wizards.
However, as the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, they would most likely inform him of the situation.
As for why Dumbledore didn't take action… Based on Bryan's understanding of him, he would probably think that since werewolves existed, there must be a reason for their existence. As long as they didn't harm the young wizards in the school, he didn't mind giving them a certain space to survive, just like the underground world in Knockturn Alley. There were plenty of heinous dark wizards there, but as long as they didn't challenge the stability of the Wizarding world, Dumbledore wouldn't actively exterminate them.
But Bryan didn't let go of the plans of these werewolves. The reason he didn't immediately wipe them out today was mainly because of Peter Pettigrew.
What Peter Pettigrew planned to do was not difficult to guess.
He wanted to use the werewolves to attack Sirius, either by luring him into a trap, or by ambushing him in his hiding place.
Actually, Bryan could ignore this guy's internal calculations and directly control him, bring him back to Dumbledore, and send him to the Ministry of Magic for trial.
However, before taking action, a previous request from Dumbledore came to his mind, causing him to temporarily hold back.
It was in early November when his Patronus encountered a Dementor and underwent a transformation. He had a conversation with Dumbledore, and at the end of that conversation, Dumbledore hoped that if Bryan discovered Sirius's whereabouts during his absence from the school, he could involve Harry and his friends to some extent.
Bryan knew that Dumbledore hoped to use this to train Harry, to prepare him for the inevitable confrontation with Voldemort, but the process of catching Sirius didn't provide much opportunity for Harry to be tested. And after discovering that Sirius was innocent, he had to give up.
But now, Sirius was hiding nothing in his eyes, and the danger was within his control. Bryan thought that it might be a good opportunity to let these three kids experience something.
Perhaps it was the cold wind blowing in through the open window, combined with the twelve years of imprisonment, Sirius slept restlessly on the couch, furrowing his brows. Sometimes his face was filled with anger, and sometimes he apologized in his dreams. It was easy to imagine who appeared in his dreams.
"Then let's play together–" Bryan turned around with a smile and walked towards his bed. But suddenly, he frowned with a strange look on his face.
"Why do I feel like I'm becoming more and more like an old man?"
*SceneBreak*
On the day before the start of the school year, Bryan's office suddenly became lively. Early in the morning, Filch appeared outside his door, holding some files that Professor McGonagall had ordered him to bring for approval or filing, including some personal requests from Argus himself.
"This is my request, Professor. I hope you will consider it," Filch said in a raspy voice.
"I cannot agree to you using whipping as a punishment for the young wizards who violate school rules, Argus," Bryan said gently, clasping his hands together and standing in front of Argus.
He looked at the file, and he saw that Filch had written a long and detailed proposal, in which he argued that whipping was the most effective and appropriate way to discipline the students. He had listed several examples of how whipping had been used in the past hundreds of years ago, and how it had improved the behavior and performance of the students. He had also attached several pictures of whips, and how they could be used in different ways.
"You should know that these ancient punishments are no longer appropriate in the present. They are prohibited by the Ministry of Magic, and even Dumbledore would not make such a decision," Bryan continued.
He explained to Filch that whipping was a barbaric and inhumane practice, that it violated the rights and dignity of the students.
Filch nodded disappointedly and walked out of the office without saying a word. But as soon as he stood in the corridor, he immediately changed his expression and excitedly clenched his right fist and slammed it against his left palm.
Of course, Filch knew that Director Watson would not approve his request. It was just a temporary measure to divert Director Watson's attention and make him forget about the parchment. And it turned out that his plan was successful. Director Watson did not mention anything about Argus failing to properly secure that thing confiscated from the young wizard!
"This old lunatic!" Sirius, who had transformed back into his human form, said with disgust. "He always has a problem with those adventurous kids."
"That's not entirely fair, Sirius. Argus loves this school as much as anyone else," Bryan said casually while flipping through the files.
"Without Argus, you would find the corridors of the castle filled with the stench of dung bombs from those energetic young wizards. I think you should be well aware of what mischief they can get up to."
Sirius relaxed his furrowed brows and innocently shrugged, no longer concerned with Argus's wild ideas.
Not long after, the office door was knocked loudly. When it was opened, Hagrid squeezed in wearing his mole-skin coat and carrying a small red umbrella.
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