The Weird Dumbledore

"Albus?"

"Professor Dumbledore?!"

…

The crowd gasped when they saw Dumbledore.

However, while they were pleasantly surprised, the professors couldn't help but look ashamed. So many of them had been informed to capture Sirius, but in the end, they were all disarmed and captured…

Lupin, Harry, and the others hurried to explain what had happened to Dumbledore so as not to cause unnecessary misunderstanding.

Before they could speak, Malfoy scrambled towards Dumbledore, shouting at Ivan and the others.

"Professor Dumbledore! Lupin is actually a werewolf, and he's been colluding with the Ministry's fugitive, Black, to lure everyone here… and then there's Hals, who must have planned all of this, who was in cahoots with Lupin and Black, and who just tried to kill me…"

Malfoy, despite his dislike of the Headmaster on a normal day, had long since forgotten his usual complaints, and Dumbledore was immediately elevated to the status of a great savior.

As he spoke, Malfoy glared at Ivan and the others, his face full of relief at having escaped with his life, mixed with excitement.

He felt that his sworn enemy Ivan would definitely be fired and even imprisoned in Azkaban!

"You're finished, Harls!" Malfoy shouted.

Unfortunately, Dumbledore merely nodded, indicating that he knew, and did not, as Malfoy expected, cast a spell to bind Ivan and the others.

Ivan was a little surprised at Dumbledore's attitude, but did not dare to slight him, and quickly defended himself.

"Professor Dumbledore, here's the thing. I accidentally found out that Ron's pet mouse was actually an Animagus, and I investigated it out of curiosity and concern, forcing him to revert to his true form…"

Yvonne explained everything she had come up with to Dumbledore.

Ivan had barely spoken when Dumbledore interrupted.

"A moment's pause, Hales! I did intend to hear you out, but not here, not now…"

"You, Lupin, Black, and Harry will be in the Headmaster's office in about an hour. I will be waiting for you there, and we will have plenty of time to talk…" Dumbledore stressed the words.

Ivan looked at the headmaster strangely, unable to understand him.

Why did it have to be in the Headmaster's office, where it was inappropriate? Was it because there were things that could not be overheard by children like Ron and Malfoy?

However, they were already involved. They could not let this misunderstanding continue…

Dumbledore did not answer Ivan's question. Instead, he turned to look at the professors, who had been disarmed and tied up.

"Dear professors, when you return to the castle, remember to call all the students to the Great Hall and maintain order. I have some important announcements to make!

"Also, if you have any questions, please wait until then!"

Flitwick, Hooch, and the others looked at each other.

Sprout, who had just been caught and did not understand anything, was even more confused.

However, Dumbledore had already made the arrangements, and out of trust, they were the only ones who could hold back their doubts…

"Good! That's it, then. I'll see you at Hogwarts Castle in an hour!" Dumbledore nodded, taking in the crowd's reactions.

With that, Dumbledore waved his wand and disappeared into the Shrieking Shack.

There was a slight flicker of golden light, and Ivan saw that Dumbledore's right hand, which he had used to cast the spell, was holding something shiny and golden.

He had a vague idea what it was, but he wasn't sure…

"Albus is gone? What do we do now?" Sprout asked, frowning at Sirius and the others warily.

"Go back to school and do as he says!" Flitwick said helplessly, not expecting Dumbledore to leave so quickly.

Flitwick then looked back at Harry. "If you don't mind, I'd like to hear the rest of that story later on the road!"

"Of course!" Harry nodded quickly.

Sirius and Lupin returned the confiscated wands and apologised to all of them, with the exception of Snape, who was scowling.

Ivan took Peter, who had transformed into a mouse, from Dobby's hands and returned to Hogwarts through the secret passage in the Shrieking Shack.

Along the way, Harry told everyone what had happened, and this time it went well.

"My God, is this true? How could the Ministry do this? They took a hero who resisted You-Know-Who into Azkaban as a traitor? Didn't you defend yourself in court?"

Madam Hooch looked at Sirius and exclaimed that she could not believe Harry was telling the truth.

"They'd have to give me the chance! When the Ministry caught me, they threw me straight at the Dementors, without even going through the tribunal…" Sirius said sarcastically.

"This is an absolute Ministry dereliction of duty! Every prisoner is required to go through a trial to be convicted!" Professor Sprout exclaimed angrily.

The others looked at Sirius with sympathy. Having been imprisoned in Azkaban for more than ten years due to Ministry dereliction of duty, Sirius was a tough nut to crack.

Sirius did not dwell on this, as his ordeal in Azkaban was a form of self-punishment, which made him feel better and less guilty about what had happened.

As they conversed, the professors who learned the truth slowly let down their guard.

Ivan suddenly spoke up. "We're almost there, everyone stop! The front exit is planted with Whomping Willow, and if we go out like this, we may be attacked…"

"So this is where the secret passage leads?" Professor Sprout wondered. There was only one Whomping Willow at Hogwarts, so she could easily guess where the secret passage led.

Ivan waved his wand and hit a scab on the willow tree, causing it to stop moving and lose the ability to attack.

They've been professors here for decades, and I'm afraid they don't know this castle any better than Ivan…

No wonder Sirius was able to sneak in so easily!