Cornelius Fudge stammered as he described:
"I can't believe this... The Dementors in Azkaban have never encountered anything like this before..."
"...Sirius Black was a vicious criminal. He once used a spell to end thirteen lives in succession..."
"…I told another minister about this half an hour ago, although I think he is also helpless about it…"
But Jon doubted whether Albus Dumbledore was listening carefully.
His eyes were still on the pebbles on the beach, as if they were more attractive than Fudge's fat face.
"Oh, Dumbledore!" wailed Fudge.
"I'm listening, Cornelius!" Professor Dumbledore said gently, "Do you need the teachers and students of Hogwarts to help you capture this fugitive?"
"No, Professor Dumbledore!" Amelia Bones, head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, explained, "You should remember that Sirius Black was sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban."
...
...
"Yes, I remember it very clearly... Eleven years ago, I was the one who provided evidence to the Ministry of Magic, saying that Black was the Potters' secret keeper, which meant that he was the Potters' betrayer!" There was no trace of emotion in Dumbledore's tone.
"Yes, Black was imprisoned in Azkaban because he was the You-Know-Who's top henchman!" Fudge nodded.
"The guards of Azkaban told us that Black has been talking in his sleep for some time... He always says the same thing, 'He is in Hogwarts... He is in Hogwarts...'" Mrs. Amelia Bones said solemnly:
"Black is not in his right mind, Professor Dumbledore...but he was smart enough to escape Azkaban, something no one has ever done before."
"As expected, his target after escaping should be Harry Potter of Hogwarts. He believes that by killing Mr. Potter, the You-Know-Who will regain power. The night Mr. Potter stopped the You-Know-Who, Black lost everything. And he has been alone in Azkaban for twelve years, so he has plenty of time to think about this..."
"It's a guess with some basis... But Amelia, can I understand that you have other intentions in saying this?"
"Yes, Dumbledore!" Fudge took a step forward. "We hope to station Dementors in Hogwarts so that they can catch Black who tries to break into Hogwarts, while ensuring the safety of teachers and students in the school..."
"Wait, Cornelius..." Professor Dumbledore interrupted him bluntly: "Can I understand that you want to use one of my students as bait to capture Sirius Black?"
Fudge looked up awkwardly.
"Dumbledore..." The Minister of Magic spoke with a hint of pleading in his tone.
"But I think I need to ask for other people's opinions!" Professor Dumbledore said with a smile. He turned around and looked at the boy who had been watching the show: "Jon, what do you think?"
"Me?" Jon was stunned for a moment, and then he felt the eyes of the three "big shots" were all on him.
"Do you think that Dementors should be allowed to be stationed in Hogwarts?" Dumbledore blinked, "I would like to ask for your opinion."
"I..." Jon stammered, "Professor... I don't know what Dementors are, and I'm not very familiar with Black... But if there is a fugitive who could break into Hogwarts at any time... It should be reasonable for the Ministry of Magic staff to request to be stationed in the school..."
…
Dumbledore readily agreed to Fudge's request after Jon expressed this "opinion".
Afterwards, the two senior officials of the Ministry of Magic invited Dumbledore to inspect the cell where Black was imprisoned and to question the guards of Azkaban.
But Dumbledore decisively refused: "I'm sorry, Cornelius, Amelia, I need to meet a friend later!"
After a few brief greetings, Jon and Dumbledore set off on their journey home.
Another long period of "Apparition", Jon felt that his reaction might be even more intense than before.
Suppressing his nausea, Jon found themselves in a not very dense forest.
"Are you all right?" Dumbledore asked gently.
"I'm fine, Professor!" Jon looked up. "But I'm a little confused. What is a Dementor?"
He did his best to act like a twelve-year-old boy who knew nothing about it.
"A creature that deprives you of happiness and makes you feel fear!" Dumbledore said seriously, "I hate them... but to be honest, they shouldn't have much impact on you."
"Really..." Jon didn't sense any displeasure in Dumbledore's tone... He originally thought that Dumbledore would be disgusted by his agreement to allow Dementors to enter the campus.
They started walking deeper into the woods again.
"But I suggest you learn a little bit about how to fight against Dementors." Dumbledore said as he walked, "Your friend, Miss Greengrass, will probably be seriously affected by Dementors!"
"What's going on with Astoria?" Jon asked with concern.
"I'm sorry, Jon!" Dumbledore shook his head: "But this involves personal privacy, I have no right to tell you... I think one day, Miss Greengrass will let you know."
"Well, Professor..." Jon sighed, the expected answer.
"By the way, Professor, where are we now and where are we going?"
"We are in Devonshire now!" Dumbledore explained, "I am going to take you to see a former friend of mine, Nicholas Flamel."
The fuck who ?
Jon couldn't help but blink. The alchemist who created the Philosopher's Stone?
…
A few minutes later, they arrived at their destination.
Dumbledore stopped and solemnly took out his wand...then a flower appeared in his left hand.
They continued walking forward.
Jon saw a lot of people along the way... at least a few hundred wizards, each of them was very old, and like Dumbledore, they all held a bouquet of flowers in their hands.
However, unlike Dumbledore, they did not move forward, but stopped and bowed their heads in silence.
Finally, they arrived at a tombstone with a few words engraved on it:
"Buried here are Nicolas Flamel (1325-1993), the greatest alchemist in European history, and his wife Perenelle Flamel (1332-1993).
"Mr. Flamel, with your passing, there is no more master alchemist in the world."
Hector Granger, president of the International Pharmaceutical Association, July 1993.
Looking at the dark tombstone.
And the white-haired old man standing in front of the tombstone with his head bowed.
Jon felt a sudden, heart-wrenching sense of sadness for him.
Dumbledore placed the flowers in front of the tombstone, then he slowly stepped back and bowed deeply towards the tombstone.
Jon followed his movements and saluted towards the tombstone.
"Nick Flamel and i were close friends regardless of age!" Dumbledore said, "At that time, I was only a young man in his twenties, and he was already a famous alchemist... He was both my mentor and my best friend. Together, we caught a huge Ukrainian iron-bellied dragon, discovered the twelve uses of dragon blood, and published that shocking paper..."
Dumbledore recalled quietly.
"He has helped me a lot over the years... Although I know very well that he has always been a quiet person; he just wants to live in seclusion in Devon with his wife and spend time on their favorite stage plays; but various accidents have forced me to turn to him for help..."
"A year ago, he told me that he wanted to leave this world... You know, only an alchemist like him can decide his own life and death... At that time, I felt completely lost. I only had a few friends left, and another one was leaving!"
...
...
Jon did not try to interrupt Dumbledore's recollections, but simply nodded silently
.
"Jon, when I was young, I also lost myself because of strength and power."
Dumbledore suddenly said seriously: "But later, I realized that family... love... friendship... are the most precious things in this world."
"I understand, Professor!" Jon whispered. "I'll keep your words in mind."
…
They stayed in the cemetery for a long time.
Jon suddenly realized that after these few hours, his fear and hostility towards Dumbledore seemed to be dissipating little by little.
If another Boggart appeared before him, it would most likely not turn into Dumbledore.
"Professor, where are we going now?" Jon looked at his watch. Before he knew it, it was almost 11 o'clock.
Then he remembered that today was his birthday.
It was a perfect birthday; a morality lecture, a trip to Britain's worst prison and a funeral. So wonderful.
"I'm so sorry to interrupt your birthday, Jon!" Dumbledore said with a smile, "I think I can take you back right away!"
"Dumbledore... Professor Dumbledore!" An old voice suddenly came from a distance.
"Oh, my God!" Dumbledore turned around and looked delighted.
Jon saw a somewhat slovenly old man, two old ladies, and a child about his age rushing towards this side.
Dumbledore hugged the slovenly old man and said, "Newt, my friend... you are here to pay tribute to Nicholas i assume..."
"Yes!" Newt Scamander nodded: "Back in Paris, Mr. Flamel gave me and my brother a lot of help."
"Let me introduce them!" Newt pointed to the people around him: "My wife Tina; her sister Queenie Kowalski; and my youngest grandson Rolf."
Both old ladies were very old. One of them looked kind, while the other had a sad face.
The little boy, who looked about the same age as Jon, smiled at him friendly, and Jon immediately nodded in response.
"In two months, Rolf will also be a freshman at Hogwarts... I hope he will be sorted into Hufflepuff." Newt pointed at his youngest grandson and said to Dumbledore.
"I don't think I can help much... This is Jon Hart!" Dumbledore patted Jon on the shoulder: "Coincidentally, he is a little Hufflepuff too."
"Hufflepuff?" Newt seemed suddenly interested. "I studied there... but unfortunately I was expelled in the fifth grade."
"Phineas Black later thought that this was the biggest mistake he had ever made in his life!" Dumbledore laughed.
Newt also laughed: "I also remember the annoying face of Principal Black."
The two elders, Dumbledore and Newt Scamander, began to exchange pleasantries.
Jon thought for a moment, and finally pulled his wand from his waist.
Taking advantage of a break in the conversation, he said, "Mr. Scamander... I have a question for you?"
"Oh?" Newt turned and looked at him. "About Fantastic Beasts?"
"Yes!" Jon nodded. "I don't know if you know anything about the iron-eating beast. Mr. Ollivander said that the core of my wand is made of the hair of the iron-eating beast... I searched the library for a long time but couldn't find any relevant information."
In fact, Jon had indeed read many books about magical beasts, but there were very few descriptions of the Ironbeast. Apart from a brief introduction that it was a German magical beast with powerful charm... Now that he had met a master of magical beasts, he felt that he should seize this opportunity.
"Iron-eating beasts!" Newt fell into deep thought: "I remember... when I was traveling around the world in 1925, I observed them up close in München..."
"The catlike beast is a very powerful magical animal. If it is graded according to its magical ability and danger level, it can be classified as at least XXXX!" Newt explained: "Of course, you may not quite understand the classification of magical animals."
"Generally speaking, magical animals with powerful magic and high aggression are classified as the highest 5X level, such as basilisks, giant griffins, and the most ferocious types of fire dragons, such as Hungarian tree-peak dragons and Ukrainian iron-bellied dragons; while magical animals with powerful magic but no high aggression can only be classified as 4X at most, such as phoenixes, burrowing beasts, or thunderbirds."
"Magical animals above level 4X basically have magical abilities that exceed 95% of wizards." Newt added: "But the iron-eating beast is also a magical animal with extremely high intelligence, which is quite rare among magical animals."
"The iron-eating beasts are very friendly to wizards and ordinary people. They rarely attack humans and appear to be very docile magical animals."
"Although the aggression of the iron-eating beast is not very high, and it is limited to intelligent creatures such as humans. For those non-intelligent animals (whether magical or not) that break into their territory, the iron-eating beast will show their terrible power."
"In München, I saw with my own eyes a rhino that broke into a catlike beast's lair and had its skull smashed by a single blow from an adult ironeating beast... Before the rhino died, it was still under the influence of the charm magic and still thought that the beast that attacked it was its mate, and had no hostility towards it."
"Unfortunately, this is all I know about the ironeating beast..." Newt Scamander ended his introduction.
"Thank you, Mr. Scamander." Jon said gratefully.
…
After leaving Devonshire, it didn't take long for Dumbledore to take him back to 86 Eastleigh Road.
It was almost 12 o'clock, and after saying goodbye to the principal in a hurry, Jon returned home.
However, Albus Dumbledore did not return to Hogwarts, but instead used Apparition to come to the Ministry of Magic.
It was late at night and there were not many people on duty in the Ministry of Magic; Dumbledore took the elevator and went all the way to the sixth floor: the Department of Magical Transportation.
Finally, he entered the Portkey Office.
"Professor Dumbledore!" The young attendant on duty in the Portkey Office shouted in surprise when he saw the uninvited guest.
"Good evening, Bob!" Dumbledore said with a smile, "I need a portkey to the Nurmengard Tower. You should know that the use of Apparition and Floo Network is prohibited within a hundred miles of the tower."
As he spoke, Dumbledore pulled out a document from his pocket: "This is the special access certificate to the Nurmengard Tower that the Wizengamot gave me."
"Okay, Professor Dumbledore, please wait a moment!"