The reason Dumbledore had brought Eda along today was simply to broaden her experience and give her a clearer understanding of the Ministry of Magic.
Although seeing something with your own eyes might not necessarily mean it was the truth, it was still better than hearing it secondhand.
Of course, Dumbledore hadn't done all this to make Eda develop prejudice against the Ministry, but to show her just how unreliable the organization could be.
When darkness descended again, the Ministry would be unable to lead everyone in resisting it.
As long as Eda calmed down and thought carefully, she would arrive at the answer and understand why Dumbledore had brought her. But could Eda calm down right now?
The answer was no, because she had caught the key point in the headmaster's words. When he mentioned Black, he hadn't used words like "capture" or "arrest," but instead had said "find."
That was very interesting. Eda didn't believe it was Dumbledore's compassion, or that he was choosing gentler wording simply because Sirius Black had once been his student.
Although Dumbledore was indeed compassionate in many situations, he could not tolerate any blemishes in his eyes.
"Professor, what kind of person is Sirius Black?" Eda asked. To butter up the headmaster, she even pushed the plate of snacks toward him, being very tactful.
Dumbledore withdrew his gaze and tapped lightly at his brazen student with a finger.
Still, he answered Eda's question. He said, "In my impression, Sirius Black was a brave, clever, and energetic Gryffindor."
The Black family were extreme pure-blood supremacists. Even Andromeda, who later married a Muggle, had been sorted into Slytherin when she enrolled. Sirius was the only one placed in Gryffindor.
This destined Sirius to be a very different kind of Black. He didn't think of himself as an oddity for being sorted into Gryffindor; instead, he believed the ideas his family had always held were the ones that were wrong.
Sirius began to rebel against his family, though his methods were rather childish. He would hang Gryffindor banners in the house, and he covered his bedroom with posters, all of them of Muggle girls wearing bikinis.
Compared to Sirius, Henry Rosier was simply pathetic, nothing at all. However, Sirius's fate hadn't turned out very well. He left his family at a time when he wasn't even of age and hadn't yet graduated from Hogwarts.
Fortunately, Sirius Black had friends. At school he met James Potter, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew.
The kind-hearted Mr. and Mrs. Potter took in the homeless Sirius and treated him as a second son. It wasn't until after graduation that Sirius Black moved out of the Potters' home, and he joined the Order of the Phoenix together with his good friends.
From Dumbledore's description, Sirius Black's image in Eda's heart gradually became fuller. He was a handsome, loyal, brave Gryffindor who dared to resist, no longer the raving madman from the wanted poster.
Eda felt that the relationship between Black and James Potter was like the one between herself and the twins, and that Black's relationship with James's parents was like her own with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.
If she asked herself honestly, standing in Black's position, would she choose to betray James and Lily?
No! This wasn't empty talk, nor some careless boast. Eda was certain she would never do such a thing. Some bonds were more important than life.
And yet, Sirius Black had done exactly that. He had betrayed his closest friend, his brother.
"In those darkest years, I saw the first light of dawn, and I received an extremely important prophecy," Dumbledore said. "The one who made this prophecy happens to be someone you know as well, Eda."
"Sybill Trelawney?" Eda blurted out the name without even thinking.
She only knew that one person who dealt in prophecy. For Trelawney's prediction to be connected with something so crucial—either Dumbledore had gone mad, or she had.
"Don't make such a fuss. You must learn to find the shining points in anyone," Dumbledore first lectured Eda, then continued, "Sybill foretold Voldemort's defeat. She predicted the one who would vanquish Voldemort—Harry, Harry Potter."
Was it a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse, or had Trelawney been hiding her true abilities? Eda hurriedly took a big gulp of hot water to steady herself.
Dumbledore also lifted his cup, but he neither drank nor continued speaking. Instead, he fell silent.
After quite a while, Dumbledore spoke again. He said, "Unfortunately, the prophecy was accidentally leaked. It was overheard by a Death Eater."
If a Death Eater knew, it meant Voldemort knew. And from Dumbledore's use of the word "unfortunately," it was clear the headmaster hadn't managed to stop the informant in time.
"To protect James and Lily, and the newborn Harry, many people gave their precious lives during that time," Dumbledore continued. "Later, James and Lily hid in Godric's Hollow, and the house they lived in was protected by the Fidelius Charm."
The Fidelius Charm was an extremely complicated spell. It used magic to hide a secret forever within the soul of a living person. That secret was kept in the heart of the chosen individual—the Secret Keeper.
Unless the Secret Keeper revealed it voluntarily, the secret would never be discovered. Sirius Black was the Secret Keeper James and Lily had chosen. He was the person they trusted most.
Yet the one they trusted most betrayed them, handing their secret—and their lives—over to Voldemort.
This heartbreaking matter was not the first time Eda had heard of it, but Dumbledore's version contained some different elements, with far more detail.
On the night of the attack, Black had gone to Godric's Hollow and had even run into Hagrid. The doubts about the whole incident began from there.
Had Black gone to congratulate his master, or to confirm the safety of his friends? When Black tried to take the infant Harry, was it to avenge his master, or to raise his godson? After being refused, Black not only chose not to fight Hagrid, he even gave Hagrid his flying motorbike—what was that about?
After that night, Black vanished. When the Ministry finally found him again, he had already killed another of his friends, Peter Pettigrew.
But strangely, Black did not resist the Aurors who came to arrest him. Instead, he laughed wildly. He surrendered without a fight. Even though Voldemort had already fallen at that time, this didn't seem like the style of a Death Eater at all.
Just look at how Bellatrix Lestrange did things. This cousin of Black's captured the Longbottoms and tortured them into insanity with the Cruciatus Curse.
That was the proper way for a Death Eater to behave. Sirius Black's actions were far too embarrassing for one—completely unlike a man who had just blown up an entire street with a spell.
There were too many mysteries. Not just Eda—even Dumbledore was at a loss.
Was the truth hidden behind all these riddles really as the Ministry claimed, really as people believed?
But if the truth wasn't like that, if Sirius Black had been wronged, then why had he remained silent? It couldn't be that he liked Azkaban, liked the Dementors. That would be a rather unusual hobby indeed.
"Professor, was Black really the Potters' Secret Keeper?" Eda voiced the doubt in her heart, hoping the wise headmaster could give her an answer.
Dumbledore first nodded, then shook his head. This ambiguous response only made Eda even more confused.
"He should have been. James didn't have many choices," Dumbledore said uncertainly. "Peter Pettigrew was not a good option. He wasn't as outstanding as his friends, nor was he as brave. That he would go to seek revenge on Sirius Black was something I had never expected."
Eda didn't know much about Peter Pettigrew, but she did know Remus Lupin, and she harbored some suspicions about the professor.
So Eda asked, "Then why not choose Professor Lupin?"
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