"That's the truth of the matter. We still don't know how Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban," Dumbledore said, sitting with several Professors in a corner of the Headmaster's office.
"I still maintain my view that sometimes, for the sake of safety, many things can be sacrificed—happiness, anger, friendship. I don't think that to give Harry Potter a so-called complete student life, he should be exposed to the shadow of Sirius Black."
Snape said dryly, his gaze sweeping towards Kayson and Dumbledore.
Kayson, however, ignored Snape and instead focused on Dumbledore's statement that he still didn't know how Sirius escaped Azkaban.
But logically, Dumbledore should know about this. Lupin should have already told Dumbledore that Sirius Black is an Animagus.
Being able to escape the Dementor's gaze, being able to flee Azkaban prison, plus a dog paddling from Azkaban island to the mainland.
It should be very easy to figure these things out…
And while Dumbledore can be unserious and enjoy some tricks sometimes, his basic intelligence is at a normal level, even very high.
So, what was he pretending about?
Kayson looked at Dumbledore with a strange gaze, but he didn't directly ask the question. It wasn't until Snape and the other Professors left that he remained behind alone.
"Why didn't you mention that Sirius is an Animagus?"
Dumbledore shrugged: "I thought you already knew. To be honest, if you hadn't told me, I would have already come looking for you."
"What do you mean?" Kayson asked, somewhat confused.
"That big black dog in your office. Lupin told me Sirius's Animagus form is a big black dog, so besides the one in your office, would there be any other choice? After all, as far as I know, ordinary dogs shouldn't… drive boats," Dumbledore explained.
"That dog isn't Sirius."
"In fact, you are too superstitious about yourself, and you underestimate yourself too much. Let's recall, in that winter, in that forest, the future you attacked us from that cliff. Who was the person next to him?" Dumbledore asked.
Kayson stammered for a moment: "I actually forgot about that. Are you saying Sirius was rescued by my future self?"
Dumbledore nodded: "Yes, that also explains why he was able to get rid of your monocle." Dumbledore gently took the monocle from Kayson's eye, held it in front of his own eyes, and said.
"...…Do you have a way to confirm it? After all, you're telling me I've been living under the same roof with a man… for so long, to be honest, it's quite…"
"Animagus Reversal Curse. It's a relatively niche spell. I'll tell you the incantation later."
"..."
"Alright, I'll go with you."
The two left the office and walked towards the alchemy office: "If your deduction is wrong, will this Animagus Reversal Curse harm Bruce?"
"No, if he's not Sirius… he might not be able to eat for a few days, because magic can sometimes sustain life's consumption," Dumbledore explained.
"Alright."
Soon, the two pushed open the door to the alchemy office. This time, Bruce didn't go to Gryffindor Tower to freeload food and drinks, nor was he speeding on the ice rink. Instead, he was comfortably napping in the botanical garden near the floor-to-ceiling window.
"Why are all the trees you plant square?" Dumbledore asked, somewhat curious.
"..."
"If you don't want to say, then don't." Dumbledore casually cast a Stupefy on Sirius, followed by an Animagus Reversal Curse.
Almost instantly, the drooling big black dog transformed into a gaunt man in a worn-out suit, leaving Kayson stunned.
Because at this moment, through his monocle, he still saw the entry [Beast].
However, he quickly discovered the trick. Sirius was wearing a plain ring on his finger. He took off the ring, and only then did Sirius's entry become normal.
[Human] [magic]
He looked at the ring in his hand again, unable to discern anything.
"It seems my future self ten years from now is quite awesome." Kayson waved his hand, about to restrain Sirius, who was lying on the ground face up, but Dumbledore stopped him.
"What are you doing?"
Dumbledore said nothing, waved his wand, and revoked the Animagus Reversal Curse. Soon, he transformed back into a large black dog.
"Let's go back to the Headmaster's office to talk." With that, Dumbledore Apparated directly out of the office.
Kayson rolled his eyes and followed. After returning to the Headmaster's office, he asked directly: "Are you trying to say that Sirius has been found, and he's had a lot of time alone with Harry, so you suspect whether he's truly a bad person?"
"That's exactly what I'm thinking. What about you?"
"Call Severus over and pour two bottles of Veritaserum down him first!" Kayson said.
"Uh… In fact, a drop or two is enough. Aren't you curious? He went through immense hardship to escape Azkaban, but he didn't return to the Black Old House. Instead, he appeared at Hogwarts, in your office?" Dumbledore asked, his hands crossed on the desk, propping up his chin.
"He probably wanted to go back, but he was accidentally picked up by a drunken me and Lupin," Kayson said, his face flushing slightly.
"Then why did he stay? If he wanted to leave, he would have already left."
"...…Do you think he has animosity towards Harry?" Kayson retorted.
"If he had animosity, Harry and his friends would have died countless times already. A Wizard like Sirius, even without a wand, is not someone a few Little Wizardss can contend with," Dumbledore explained.
"So, what's he doing here then… protecting Harry? Or does he have some other enemy here?" Kayson murmured, then he suddenly realized: "I think I know what's going on!"
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 20 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
Here's the link:
[pat*eon*com/DaoistRoeoNQ]
Thank you so much for your support!!!