Chapter 674: Attack (Edited)

"Mmm..."

Dumbledore put the exposed half of the cockroach pile into his mouth, chewed it, and swallowed.

"You mean to tell me... Sirius has been captured by Voldemort?" He repeated in a low voice, raising his half-moon glasses on the bridge of his crooked nose.

"Yes! I saw it in my dream!" Harry continued excitedly, shouting.

"Nya!"

(=?ω?=)

Fish's eyes immediately lit up, and he turned his head towards Dumbledore, hoping he would take him to Voldemort to fight!

"That's impossible," Dumbledore shook his head, firm in his response. "Alastor, Remus, and the others have been recruiting people for the Order of the Phoenix for some time now, and if Sirius were gone, they would be the first to inform me."

Fish, who had thought he had a fight on his hands, withered instantly, his paws extended as he boredly tugged at the branch hat pinned beneath him.

"But I saw it in my dream! Voldemort was torturing him. In the Department of Mysteries. Just like before when I saw a snake bite Mr. Weasley."

Harry wouldn't have believed Dumbledore without confirming Sirius's safety with his own eyes. In fact, he believed more in what he had seen in his dream than what Dumbledore had said.

"Heh!" Phineas sneered on the wall. "Young students are always presumptuous, unwilling to trust authority, especially Gryffindors—arrogant, reckless, and brainless... just like my great-great-grandson."

Then he noticed the little tabby cat looking at him from the table and hastily added, "Well, except for Fish."

Dumbledore disregarded Phineas's antics, looked at Harry with a serious expression, and said, "I recall warning you that Voldemort might use your connection for something, which is why you needed to master Occlumency as soon as possible. Now it seems you haven't taken my words to heart."

"I've worked hard to learn, but I simply can't!" Harry argued to himself, and then he proceeded to question Dumbledore. "And what if...? What if Professor Lupin and the others are attacked together, too late for you to be informed?"

"As long as they remain in the Ancestral House of the Black family, Voldemort will never find them, so your conjecture is completely invalid!" Phineas retorted, feeling insulted. "You underestimate the defensive magic of my house!"

But Harry Potter ignored him, his eyes fixed on Dumbledore. He would not rest until Dumbledore confirmed Sirius's status.

Dumbledore sighed and then spoke to the portrait on the wall, "Phineas, would you go and see if Sirius is still at home?"

"My great-great-grandson doesn't like being near my portrait," Phineas pouted, then pointed at Harry and sneered, "Besides, I don't believe this rude student would definitely believe my word."

"Well..." Dumbledore sighed again.

He cast a helpless glance at Harry, opened the drawer within reach, and took out a mirror slightly larger than the palm of his hand.

Just as he pulled it out, Professor McGonagall, dressed in a tartan robe, arrived late.

"Nya!"

(=`=)

Fish immediately jumped off the table and pounced on Professor McGonagall...

He also kicked the Sorting Hat to the ground.

"You're here too," Professor McGonagall caught Fish, extending her hand to scratch him gently under the chin while nodding at Dumbledore. "Potter didn't say anything to make me believe Black was already safe, so I brought him here."

Dumbledore shook his head in disbelief and then shouted at the mirror in his hand, "Alastor!"

A moment later, a figure moved within the mirror, and Moody's face appeared in it.

He only had disheveled hair and was adjusting his prosthetic eye with his hand, indicating that he had been sleeping.

"What can I do for you, Albus?" Moody asked with a deep voice, spinning his magical eye. "Any movement from the Death Eaters? Or is that Fudge plotting something again?"

"Neither one," Dumbledore's expression showed helplessness. "Harry needs to see Sirius, please go fetch him."

The Moody in the mirror seemed a bit dazed, even his magical eye stopped rolling. After a few moments of stunned confusion, he didn't ask what was happening; he simply nodded, said, "One moment," and disappeared from the mirror.

At that moment, Harry was determined to believe that Sirius had been captured by Voldemort, which meant he had some mental issues. He anxiously twisted his hands and opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out.

After calming down, Harry realized how many people he had disturbed throughout the night due to his negligence in practicing Occlumency and his distrust of Dumbledore.

While Harry was contemplating whether to apologize to Dumbledore, Sirius's head appeared in the mirror, with equally messy hair and a slightly tired face.

"Harry, you wanted to see me?" he asked in surprise. "Then why didn't you use the two-way mirror I gave you? I always keep it close to me."

"..."

Harry was confused; it took him a while to finally remember the pocket-sized package Sirius had handed to him at the end of the Christmas holidays. He had tucked it away at the bottom of his trunk and never opened it, so Harry had no idea what it contained until now.

For a moment, Harry thought he was the biggest fool in the world.

As Harry lamented his own stupidity, Dumbledore briefly explained to Sirius what had happened.

Sirius didn't blame Harry; instead, he acted as if he were pleased... that Harry cared about him after all.

Of course, he knew that if he praised Harry, it would only make him feel more embarrassed, so Sirius decisively changed the subject. "But... why did Voldemort do it? He didn't think Harry would sneak into the Ministry without telling anyone after being deceived by that fake dream, did he?"

"Humph... that's hard to say." Phineas couldn't help but mock again. "It's not impossible, judging by how he just acted."

Harry's face turned red to his ears. The more he thought about it, the more he realized how foolish he had been, how he had been deceived by Voldemort when both Dumbledore and Snape had warned him.

"Don't be ashamed of it, Harry." Dumbledore smiled kindly and said, "You were deceived by Voldemort because you have a power within you, a power more marvelous and more terrible than death, human wisdom, or the forces of nature. It was this power that drove you to try to save Sirius at all costs. The only thing you lack is a bit of life experience."

Harry slowly lifted his head, met the blue eyes behind the half-moon glasses, and the embarrassment he felt faded away. Then, a strong, inexplicable but familiar emotion took hold of him.

In that moment, he could only think of...

"Avada Kedavra!"

Harry abruptly drew his wand and aimed it at Dumbledore behind the desk.