Hogwarts starts with stealing power.

Peter Pettigrew, in his human form, appears to be suffering from all sorts of torment and pain, as if he has reached the point of exhaustion.

But these are just appearances.

After transforming into a rat, he scurried away faster than anyone else, disappearing quickly under the cover of the vast night and amidst everyone's panicked reactions.

The darkness of night was his best camouflage!
Snape reacted quickly, immediately drawing his wand and aiming it at the direction Peter Pettigrew had fled, unleashing a large fluorescent flash.

The moment the spell was cast, the surrounding area was illuminated as brightly as day.

But as soon as the light illuminated Peter the dwarf, the flickering fluorescence seemed to encounter some resistance and quickly went out.

The young wizards snapped out of their daze and headed toward Professor Snape, while Sirius Black helped Lupin, who had been lying unconscious on the ground.

Lin Xia approached Snape, a hint of doubt flashing in her eyes.

“Professor, the power that extinguished the flickering fluorescent light just now doesn’t seem to be human power, nor does it seem to be the power emitted by Peter the dwarf.”

Snape did not answer, but stared intently ahead, his hand still gripping his wand, remaining vigilant.

After a while, sensing the danger receding and the all-clear signal, he replied:

"Did any of the other professors tell you not to leave Hogwarts Castle at night?"

Lin Xia: "Dean Sprout mentioned to me that nights are dangerous, especially in the wizarding world."

Snape glanced at Lin Xia, but Lin Xia thought it was just a passing glance; Snape was actually looking at Harry next to her.

He said slowly and deliberately, "When our world merged with the world of evil gods, some indescribable creatures were born in the night."

These creatures are a mixture of magical and evil divine powers, resulting in both unpredictable and unpredictable divine ravings and bizarre phenomena found in the magical world.

This is something born from the fusion of two worlds, which we all call "the eerie," but this eerie feeling is different from the eerie feeling within the castle.

Lin Xia said, "The strangeness in the castle is more due to the strange objects, rather than the bizarre phenomena caused by the fusion of two worlds."

Snape raised his head and said arrogantly, "You can also understand it that way. In short, the eeriness in the castle is just a scare tactic, as long as you don't provoke it."

The eeriness outside the castle can silently find you and devour you in the darkness. Many wizards walk in the night, not even knowing how they died.

When daylight broke, everyone discovered that his death was extremely gruesome, as if he had encountered some incredibly terrifying creature before his demise.

"So that power that allowed Peter Pettigrew to escape was the Strange helping them," Hermione couldn't help but ask.

Snape said calmly, "Is something so obvious that you need to ask me? When did your IQ drop to that of an average student?"

Hermione choked.

She clenched her fist and held back.

Lin Xia, however, looked thoughtfully in the direction Peter Pettigrew had fled and asked, "Why did those weirdos help it? Was it because it was a Death Eater? Are these weirdos related to Voldemort?"

Snape couldn't answer the question. He said with a grim expression, "Those dung beetles have mastered a strange way of communicating, so they always manage to escape at night."

As for Voldemort, if he were powerful enough to control such an anomaly, he wouldn't have spent the last 12 years in hiding. Even after his resurrection, he didn't dare to openly announce his return. He was merely an agent pushed out by the world of evil gods.

The wizards feared him not because of Voldemort himself, but because of the power he represented: the world of evil gods.

What I heard from Snape was a very novel statement.

Lin Xia only saw that wizards in the wizarding world were all afraid of Voldemort, calling him "the one whose name cannot even be mentioned." Only a few who were not afraid of him would call him by his name, including Headmaster Dumbledore.

To consolidate his rule, Voldemort captured many wizards, and his Death Eaters were a bunch of madmen who would stop at nothing to achieve their goals.

During his reign over the wizarding world, many wizards died violent deaths, and those who died were often the wizards who fought against him.

Because his master obeyed him, he didn't kill many people.

However, it was less about ruling and more about reform, a desire to thoroughly implement one's own ideas.

Unfortunately, this reform didn't achieve much success before Dumbledore jumped off the building—or rather, to be precise…

Lin Xia glanced at Harry next to her. Well, he was trampled to death by this baby.

Lin Xia said meaningfully, "Professor, if Death Eaters can really communicate with the eerie things hidden in the night, wouldn't Harry be in great danger? I believe any Death Eater would want to kill him."

Snape glanced at Harry again. He actually knew the real reason: the magic Lily had infused into Harry had been protecting him from the strange forces.

But it was precisely because this magic infused Lily with all her life force that it ultimately led to her death.

However, in that context, death was also a kind of relief, because even if one survived, there was no guarantee of escaping Voldemort's clutches, and one might still suffer excruciating torment.

Snape said coldly, "I don't know. If we knew everything, so many tragedies wouldn't have happened."

Harry's face instantly turned ugly.

He thought of the scene of his parents' death. He had no childhood memories of it, but for some reason, the scene of their dying moments would repeatedly appear in his dreams, forming a nightmare.

Snape sensed his emotions, his lips moved slightly as if he wanted to say something, but he awkwardly changed the subject in the end.

“We need to get into the castle quickly. These strange phenomena will consciously separate us. If anyone gets separated from the group, we will find that person’s body the next day.”

Actually, his words were much warmer than his previous vicious ones, but they still sent a chill down the young wizard's spine.

The night was pitch black, and everyone felt as if something terrifying could appear at any moment.

Everyone unconsciously quickened their pace, even Sirius Black was no exception.

He gripped Lupin's arm tightly, which had transformed into a werewolf. He had to keep an eye on both the front and Lupin, worried that Lupin might wake up and cause a riot.

Before long, he had pulled ahead of the other young wizards, falling far behind.

Harry noticed this and quietly slowed his pace.

Lin Xia was the same.

Hermione, being astute, observed the situation and slowed her pace. Seeing Ron walking with his head down, she reached out and gave his arm a sharp tug.

Ron jumped up in fright, howling and shouting in terror, "A ghost! I think I just saw someone attack me!"

Hermione glared at him.

Snape ignored their little squabbling, then suddenly stopped, turned around, and looked at Sirius with a sinister gaze.

“Although Peter Pettigrew is the real murderer, you also need to give the Ministry of Magic an explanation for escaping from Azkaban.” Harry couldn’t help but step forward, standing in front of Sirius Black, spreading his arms wide in a standard protective stance.

"He is innocent, he has done nothing wrong, why should he be handed over to the Ministry of Magic!"

Hermione couldn't help but say, "Harry, it's precisely because he's innocent that he needs to clarify the past with the Ministry of Magic. He needs to clear his name, and the Ministry of Magic is the best choice. He can't keep hiding forever."

And he's clearly innocent, so why is he being misunderstood? Why is he hiding? I've already—"

Harry couldn't help but exclaim, "No, I don't trust the Ministry of Magic!"

His body trembled as he roared angrily, "If the Ministry of Magic can really give people justice, why did it only listen to the side of other wizards' stories back then, without investigating properly, and then imprison my godfather in Azkaban!"

"You heard it too, the Death Eaters are hiding in the Ministry of Magic. They're pretending to be only under Voldemort's spell. If Sirius goes to the Ministry, he'll truly fall into the Death Eaters' hands, and they won't let him live!"

Harry knew very well that Sirius Black knew too many secrets about the Death Eaters, and those Death Eaters would not let him go.

Once he appears at the Ministry of Magic, the Death Eaters will have information about his movements and will definitely try to assassinate him in secret!
Sirius had been hiding in the shadows without being found before, so he might as well keep hiding; that would be safer.

Sirius was also tense all over.

However, it wasn't that he didn't trust the Ministry of Magic, but rather that he didn't trust Snape in front of him.

They had too many grudges from their youth, and Sirius simply didn't believe Snape would actually send him to the Ministry of Magic, and was more likely to kill him on the way.

Furthermore, Lupin is also a potential problem, and Snape definitely wants to replace him.

Lin Xia suddenly spoke up at this moment, "We are still in the middle of the night, and it is very dangerous here. We must find a safe place to hide. The most urgent thing is to return to the castle."

There are many secret rooms in the castle that haven't been discovered by the other students. We can discuss and reach a conclusion there. If you don't trust anywhere else, then you're welcome to come to my laboratory.

She paused, then emphasized, "The laboratory has a very high level of security. Without my permission, no one can open the laboratory for at least two hours. I have also specifically reserved another secret passage in the laboratory."

Lin Xia's meaning was already quite clear.

If some of them felt unsafe in the laboratory, they could quietly leave Hogwarts through a secret passage.

Since this is a secret passage, it means that no one else knows about it.

Of course, the most important point that Lin Xia used to convince them was related to the comparison with Little Pettigrew.

Hermione recorded everything Peter Pettigrew said using a projector. I think it's better to tell the Ministry of Magic that Peter Pettigrew is still alive than to settle other scores.

Then, by leveraging the influence of the Ministry of Magic, we can issue an arrest warrant. At that point, it won't just be us searching for Peter Pettigrew, but also those Death Eaters hiding in the shadows.

She said meaningfully, "When the Death Eaters discover that their former servants, who should have died, are still alive, and that their master, who listened to that servant, lost his life and is now wandering somewhere, what do you think Peter Pettigrew will face then?"

Lin Xia felt that it was impossible for Sirius and Snape to put aside their grudges and make peace.

However, if you want them to cooperate even briefly, there would have to be an enemy they hate even more.

Peter Pettigrew transformed and escaped right before their eyes, and three high-ranking wizards were unable to capture him using magic.

Let alone what others will think if this gets out, at least the people involved must feel humiliated.

Hermione also specifically said, "Harry, even if you don't trust the Ministry of Magic, you should trust Dumbledore. He won't separate you from your godfather."

Dumbledore is a very good man, and Professor Lupin would not have been employed at Hogwarts without his permission.

"If you want to live with your godfather, first he has to reclaim his family assets, the Ministry of Magic has to recognize him as still the heir to the Black family, and you need a house. Otherwise, where will you live?"

This question successfully stumped Harry.

Lin Xia suddenly waved her magic wand, sending a fluorescent flash towards the distance.

She felt like there were blurry figures ahead, but she wasn't sure if they were eerie or real humans.

Soon, the scene ahead appeared before them.

Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, and Professor Sprout were all gathered together, seemingly searching for something.

They saw the fluorescent light flickering and looked in the direction the magic was coming from. Soon they spotted Lin Xia and the others, and a look of surprise flashed across their faces.

"found it!"

"Thank goodness, nothing unexpected happened!"

"Come here quickly, children! How did you get outside the castle? Snape, what are you doing here?"

As Lin Xia and the others approached, the professors also discovered Sirius Black and Lupin, who had transformed into a werewolf.

Even the usually composed Professor McGonagall couldn't help but cover her mouth, her expression one of utter surprise.

"Oh my God, this is..."

Sirius said somewhat nervously, "Professor, it's me."

McGonagall quickly regained her composure: "I knew it was you, Blake. I'm just surprised to see you here."

Blake was so nervous he didn't know what to say: "Professor, I, I didn't betray you, I..."

Professor McGonagall stepped forward and hugged him.

“Child, I know, I understand everything. You saw that I had no hostility and did not run away, which proves that you have a clear conscience.”

I don't know what happened to you, but I know you must have a lot of stories to tell me. Come to Hogwarts first; we still have a lot to take care of.

Professor McGonagall looked at the unconscious werewolf and sighed deeply.

Harry felt that as soon as he entered the castle, Professor McGonagall urged him to go to sleep.

He clearly had a lot to say to the professor: his godfather was innocent, Peter Pettigrew wasn't dead, and he was the real culprit...

But for some reason, as soon as she entered Hogwarts, she felt her eyelids become very heavy.

He followed Ron into the dormitory in a daze, and lay down on the bed in a daze, thinking that he would toss and turn and not be able to fall asleep.

But soon, his eyes closed heavily, and he drifted off to sleep.

This time, however, he didn't have nightmares. (End of Chapter)