Hogwarts starts with stealing power.

Harry already wanted to clear Sirius's name, and now that he had Lin Xia's support, he was even happier.

He solemnly promised, "If the news about Sirius is published in the magic newspaper tomorrow and many wizards raise questions, I will stand up and explain!"

After Harry and the others left, George and Fred became interested in the message.

George asked, "What's the point of them doing this? Sirius's innocence is recognized even by the Ministry of Magic."

Fred thought for a moment: "Perhaps they want to stir up doubts among other wizards, making them think that Sirius was rescued by someone else, and that the people behind the scenes want to stigmatize Sirius for the rest of his life?"

George shook his head: "That's the Ministry of Magic under Dumbledore's leadership. If wizards question the credibility of the Ministry of Magic, wouldn't that be questioning whether Dumbledore is abusing his power?"

Fred shook his head: "No, it shouldn't be as serious as we think. Everyone knows that baseless rumors won't affect Dumbledore. Perhaps the person behind it isn't targeting the headmaster, but simply Sirius."

George shrugged: "I don't understand the point of this targeting. If Sirius is truly innocent, the Ministry of Magic's release of this result will only make wizards feel that the Ministry of Magic failed in its investigation back then."

"And if they question Sirius's innocence, they are also questioning the Ministry of Magic. What does all this have to do with Sirius?"

Fred shrugged and said irresponsibly, "Maybe he just doesn't like Sirius."
-
“Snape, I know you have a problem with Sirius, but why are you spreading rumors?”

Yes, as soon as McGonagall learned of the rumors circulating in the Great Hall, she immediately thought of a suspect.

Only he, and only him, would spread such ridiculous rumors.

Although this approach is very unlike Snape's, Snape was indeed a master at manipulating public opinion and had a deep understanding of psychology.

In previous years, the school's crisis management efforts were all mitigated by the public opinion manipulated by Snape.

Snape pretended not to understand McGonagall's question and said coldly, "I have no interest in anything about Black."

McGonagall: "I know you had some misunderstandings back in your school days—"

Snape: "Misunderstanding? It wasn't a misunderstanding, it was outright murder. If I hadn't been quick-witted, I would have been killed by him long ago."

McGonagall took a deep breath. "Snape, this happened decades ago. The Ministry of Magic didn't investigate Sirius properly back then, so we need to give him justice."

Snape: "That's what the Ministry of Magic owes Sirius. What does it have to do with me?"

McGonagall: "There's no need to deepen the misunderstanding between you through rumors."

No matter what McGonagall said, Snape stubbornly refused to admit it, saying, "I don't know what you're talking about, Professor McGonagall."

McGonagall glared at him, unusually angry, and said, "Incomprehensible!"

Snape refused to communicate, and she saw no need to continue communicating with him.

Anyway, by the next day, she had already figured out how to appease the group of easily swayed little wizards.

Time flies, and the second day has arrived.

Early in the morning, the diligent owl postmen brought the little wizard the latest newspaper news.

But because the number of owls was so large, the young wizards were not greeted with packages, but rather with a flurry of feathers flying everywhere.

Some young wizards even encountered an attack of some kind of warm liquid, exclaiming, "Oh my god, bird poop! Who pooped on my head?!"

Amidst everyone's complaints, the packages were finally dropped down by the owl circling above the auditorium.

Harry looked at Hedwig, who was circling above his head, with some nervousness.

Hedwig not only had a newspaper in her mouth, but she also had a huge, enormous creature in her paws.

Hedwig struggled to hold onto it as it flew, the enormous package swaying precariously in the air, as if it would fall at any moment.

Lin Xia ate in the auditorium, since she didn't want to miss the announcement of Sirius Black's exoneration today.

Seeing the slightly chaotic scene in the Great Hall, she pondered for a moment, took out her wand, pointed it upwards, and chanted an unknown magic rune.

In the modern spell system, the incantation of this spell array is considered rather long, but compared to other spell arrays, it is relatively short.

Based on her existing knowledge of magic runes, Lin Xia created a simple magic rune array.

The general idea is to grant these owls strength and a clear mind.

The magic rune array officially took shape in the air, and a blue light appeared.

The light was about half the height of a wizard's body, forming an intricate rune. This rune appeared at the tip of Lin Xia's wand, with the tip located at the very center of the rune array.

The light flashed briefly, then disappeared again.

The next second, a gentle breeze appeared out of nowhere in the room and blew over all the owl postmen.

The owls paused for a moment, but not noticeably.

However, this brief gust of wind caused a certain change in the owl.

They no longer act like disoriented flies, randomly throwing things around, but instead find their owner in an orderly fashion and precisely drop the package onto his head.

Hedwig also gained power from it, and the huge, teetering creature that she had been holding in her claws stabilized again.

It first threw the newspaper from its mouth onto Harry's table, landing precisely in the gap between the plates without splashing a drop of cream soup.

Harry eagerly opened the newspaper; today's front page headline featured Sirius Black.

In the middle of the newspaper was a large frame containing a portrait of Sirius Black.

Animation begins to play within the picture frame—

Sirius went to the Ministry of Magic, not to confess, but to produce crucial evidence proving that he had been framed and imprisoned in Azkaban.

He was innocent from beginning to end; he did not harm the students or the Potters.

The Ministry of Magic did not disclose what evidence he presented, but specifically stated that under Dumbledore's examination, the evidence was deemed genuine, and Sirius Black was exonerated.

At the same time, to compensate Sirius for his more than ten years of imprisonment, the Ministry of Magic gave him a huge sum of Galleons in compensation.

At the same time, Sirius Black officially became the heir to Black Manor, transforming from a penniless man into a nobleman in the wizarding world.

The Black family has always been one of the noble families in the wizarding world, as evidenced by their ancient manor. Their ancestors left behind a vast fortune in Gringotts, enough for any member of the family to obtain and allow the Black family to rise again.

Because of the rumors from last night, the young wizard wasn't surprised to see the news. Instead, he thought Sirius had used special means to make the Ministry of Magic give in.

"As expected, Sirius Black was exonerated today."

"Could this be a conspiracy? A conspiracy from the nobility?"

"That's a murderer! Even if it can be proven that he didn't kill Potter's parents, he must have killed a lot of people, right?"
"Didn't they say everyone on the street saw him kill dozens of wizards? How could they release such a dangerous terrorist?"

The young wizards were discussing it enthusiastically. The reason they were so resistant was because Sirius Black was too terrifying.

The evidence the Ministry of Magic had convicted Sirius Black became the source of young wizards' fear of him.

Harry heard the discussion getting more and more outrageous, with some people even saying things like "even Headmaster Dumbledore was involved," and Harry couldn't hold back any longer and stood up.

He pointed his wand at his throat, casting a "loud voice" spell, and the next second, his solemn voice echoed throughout the entire auditorium—

Sirius Black was my godfather, chosen by my parents. They believed he possessed some of the most admirable qualities in the world, such as loyalty and courage.

My parents believed he could teach me well, and if it weren't for the slander, I would have grown up happily under his tutelage. It was those malicious people who made me lose the opportunity to live with my godfather.

I will not allow anyone to slander him without any verification!
My godfather was not wrong. He did not kill innocent people indiscriminately. He was wronged!

One day, I will find the real culprit who framed and slandered him, and then make him kneel before us to atone for his sins!

Harry said these words angrily, regardless of the consequences.

After he finished speaking, he left the auditorium.

Of course, the reason he left was because he was afraid that if he stayed any longer, he would hear more things he didn't want to hear.

Harry was also worried that his words would not be accepted by others, but he still wanted to bravely and firmly express his thoughts.

But he probably never expected that the young wizards would erupt in chaos as soon as he left the Great Hall.

This isn't a criticism of Harry, but rather a compliment to how cool his remarks were.

"As expected of a brave Gryffindor, daring to express their thoughts. We've all misunderstood Sirius!"

"Harry's parents dared to choose Sirius Black as Harry's godfather, so Sirius Black must have had some merits. The Ministry of Magic wronged him. I wonder what the truth was back then, and when those crucial pieces of evidence will be released?"

Lin Xia and the others couldn't help but smile when they heard the young wizards' discussion.

Lin Xia joked, "Harry left too quickly. If he had known that his remarks would inspire admiration in young wizards, he would have stayed longer."

Look, he's completely reversed his godfather's reputation; now, in the eyes of young wizards, Sirius is a tragic figure.

Ron suddenly remembered something and asked Hermione, "Do you still have the recording ball? I want to record all the little wizards' words for Harry; he'll be so happy."

Hermione quickly pulled out a photogrammetric ball from her person and handed it to Ron.

At the same moment, after Harry stormed out of the Great Hall, the reactions of the young wizards inside were also observed by the professor in the shadows.

Professor McGonagall stood in a secluded corner of the Great Hall, so well hidden that the young wizards did not notice her.

Besides Professor McGonagall, the other three deans, as well as Professor Lupin, are also here.

McGonagall had intended to take advantage of the chaos to step in and take charge, lest the rumors spread throughout the school, but Harry stood up first.

After Harry's furious outburst, the young wizards' opinions shifted, and they began to sympathize with Sirius's experiences over the past decade.

Well, there are some less-than-ideal thoughts involved, after all, the little wizard's ideas are still quite naive and impulsive.

For example, in the eyes of many young wizards, the credibility of the Ministry of Magic has been damaged.

However, the Ministry of Magic is a large organization, and although Dumbledore is the minister, it does not mean that Dumbledore can completely control the Ministry of Magic.

When the young wizards criticize the Ministry of Magic, they cleverly add, "Except for our dear headmaster."

After all, this incident was only overturned thanks to the principal's decision.

When Sirius Black was imprisoned, the headmaster had not yet taken on the role of Minister of Magic.

Seeing that the rumors had been quelled, McGonagall made no further move and left the auditorium with the other professors.

As the professors left, Professor Lupin deliberately walked alongside Professor Snape, even though their offices faced different directions.

"I didn't expect you to be so hostile towards Sirius. After all, he's Harry's godfather. When you spread these rumors at school, did you consider Harry's feelings?"

Snape scoffed, his voice sharp and piercing: “Only fools would think this is a rumor. To the wise, it is a warning. I cannot communicate with you humanoids whose brains are like monstrous monsters.”

Snape hurried away, while Lupin stood there, a look of confusion in his eyes.

Not malicious, but a warning?

Who is he warning?
In an instant, a flash of inspiration struck Lu Ping, and his heart skipped a beat.

So, is this rumor actually targeting those nobles who are hiding in the shadows?

Lupin vaguely sensed that the clues in his mind were about to connect into a single line.

Yes, those nobles were all Voldemort's lackeys back then. It would have been too easy for the Death Eaters to fabricate false evidence, and it would have been easy to manipulate some wizards to pin all the blame on Sirius Black.

But now that Sirius has been exonerated, the nobles should be the ones who are nervous!
Who knows what he heard in Azkaban over the past decade or so?
In addition, many wizards testified that they saw Sirius kill someone with his own eyes, but all of them were overturned, and those wizards were also culpable.

This rumor, which appears to be directed at the Ministry of Magic, is actually a powerful warning to the nobles.

Therefore, these rumors were not only circulating within Hogwarts, but there must have been related news outside as well.

Lupin gazed intently at Snape's departing figure, murmuring softly, "And what about you? What role are you playing in all this? Are you charging ahead alone?"

"Severus, going it alone isn't a good thing. You'll be discovered sooner or later..." (End of Chapter)