Hermione looked at the crowd and said in a surprised tone, "How could he do such a thing? I can't explain it even if he has a reason."

Ron agreed.

"You have to understand him. He is stupid after all." Harry sighed and took the Marauder's Map back. "I'll go out and take a look. You guys be careful."

"Come back early." Hermione nodded. "Old rules."

Harry smiled.

There were seven secret passages from Hogwarts to Hogsmeade, and Harry checked them one by one.

The first one he checked was the road that the Weasley brothers had taken him to Hogsmeade in his first year. It had still been standing for a while the last time they had walked on it, but now it had completely collapsed, with mud and rocks blocking the road, and there was no sign of it having been opened by a big dog.

Then came the third floor, the path behind the statue of the hunchbacked one-eyed witch. The footsteps were messy, with many footprints of little wizards, but no dog paw prints.

There are six in the castle.

There were four left, and Harry checked them one by one.

There were no traces of the big dog.

The last one is outside the castle, but they can’t get out for a while. The students are gathered in the auditorium. The professors are still frightened by what happened last year. In addition, the portrait has been destroyed, and the lounge cannot be opened for a while.

Dumbledore had the students sleep in the Great Hall while the professors searched the place all night.

This is much better than last year.

At least……

I know who to look for this year, someone so old.

Hermione dragged her sleeping bag and lay down next to Harry. The other little wizards were tactful enough to make room for them and even wanted to pull Ron back, but failed.

You are so old, why don’t you understand?

"Have you found any traces?" Hermione asked in a low voice.

Harry shook his head. "There's no trace of him in the secret passages of the castle. He must have come from under the Whomping Willow."

He looked around and said, "It seems that there is no way to get out today. I hope there will be some traces left tomorrow."

Ron questioned: "Harry, wouldn't it be better to just tell the professor?"

Harry hadn't explained yet.

Hermione shook her head: "This is different. Last year it was the You-Know-Who, this year it's Peter."

"If you tell the professor, both Black and Peter will be sent to the Ministry of Magic."

Ron still had some expectations for the Ministry of Magic. After all, his father was a member of the Ministry of Magic. "Why not send it to the Ministry of Magic and investigate this matter..."

Hermione continued, "Then Peter will only be sent to Azkaban. I have checked the laws of the Ministry of Magic, and they are the same as in the Muggle world. There is no death penalty."

Harry looked at Hermione in surprise: "You actually thought so much."

Hermione's ears turned red, and her tone was a little tense: "I, I'm just guessing."

"That's what I thought." Harry turned his head and looked up at the ceiling, which reflected the sky tonight. It was clear and cloudless, with a full moon embedded in the sky. "If Sirius hadn't been so stupid, I would have killed Peter."

Ron opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.

After a long moment, he raised his hand and placed it heavily on Harry's shoulder.

Harry pushed her away and said, "Are you asleep? Don't touch me."

"Am I that kind of person?" Ron was stunned. "I would touch others in my sleep?"

Harry nodded, "Yes, you are very restless when you sleep."

Ron frowned, puzzled: "I am restless?"

As he said this, Neville, who was sleeping on the other side of Ron, turned around and said cautiously and nervously: "Ron, you are not allowed to beat me when you sleep at night."

Ron was dumbfounded.

He struggled to squeeze himself completely into the sleeping bag, and asked Harry to zip it up considerately, leaving only his head exposed.

"Our dear little Ronnie." Fred and George came over with a smile, they greeted gently, carrying school bags in their hands.

Ron panicked and began to regret getting into his sleeping bag so early: "What are you going to do?"

"Halloween presents," Fred said softly, half crouching next to Ron.

George crouched down on Ron's other side and dug out his quill and ink.

"Fred, no!" Ron struggled, his voice becoming even more panicked. His screams attracted the attention of the young wizards and professors nearby.

But the professor didn't intend to stop him.

In this kind of atmosphere, it is a good thing to have some funny people making trouble to liven up the mood and dispel the tense and fearful emotions, even if it is only a little bit.

Ron was powerless to resist.

His entire body was wrapped in a sleeping bag, with only his head exposed. He couldn't retract his head like a turtle, or had a sophisticated biting technique.

Later, he stopped struggling and lay on the ground with a dead heart.

Fred and George are very handy.

A complete picture of a little boy being beaten by a cat was painted on Ron's face.

No one was in the mood to sleep tonight, neither Ron nor the other little wizards.

They were chattering about Sirius Black's infiltration methods - the Fat Lady had said that it was Black who broke into the castle.

It's not groundless that Hogwarts is the safest place.

Even if something like what happened the year before last or last year happened.

But that was just an accident.

The castle is located in a dangerous position, with the Black Lake on one side and the Forbidden Forest on the other. The only passage connecting to the outside world is guarded by Dementors.

Not to mention, the castle itself contains very powerful magic. No one can Apparate here and sneak in without being notified.

How on earth did Black get in? He's not some magical object.

It was not until the early hours of the morning that the discussion gradually died down.

The professors were unable to find Sirius.

The next day, Percy announced to the little lions that they could return to the common room tonight, and Professor Dumbledore found a new caretaker for Gryffindor.

And the Fat Lady needs time to heal her inner trauma.

Harry went out after finishing his breakfast.

The secret passage under the Whomping Willow is somewhat dangerous. If anyone approaches, it will ostentatiously swing its rattan whip and attack indiscriminately.

But the method of entering is also very simple.

There is a scar next to the root of the tree. Just press it lightly and the willow will fall down.

Harry waved his wand and a stone nearby turned into a cat, which nimbly moved between the vines and slammed hard into the scar, turning back into stone.

Harry walked to the Whomping Willow. After a night, there were still some traces of the dog's paw prints, very fresh, left behind last night.

As expected, the castle was entered through this secret passage.

The footprints were a little flustered, and I didn't know whether they were afraid of the Whomping Willow or Dumbledore.

Enter the secret passage.

The footprints inside were even clearer. Harry waved his wand, raising dust, and as he walked along, he used the dust to cover his footprints.

until--

At the end, there was a dirty room with furniture in extremely broken state and windows and doors sealed with wooden boards.

Harry crouched down and looked down at the chair nearest to him.

"Claw marks, werewolf claw marks?"

"The marks are very old, more than ten years old."

"When Uncle Lupin was at Hogwarts, he would come here every time he needed to transform?"

He stood up and looked at the wall on the side. There were even more claw marks on it, and one wall was even completely pierced through.

Uncontrollable werewolf...

Harry sighed a little.

He lowered his head and continued to look for dog paw prints, from the hallway to the bedroom, and then to the bathroom. The dog paw prints stopped abruptly. In a corner of the bathroom, there was a damaged hole that was only at ankle height.

The sawdust left in the corner was very new and had not even changed color. It was just a few days after it was planed out.

Harry obviously couldn't get through.

He turned around, covered his footprints, returned to the bedroom and looked around carefully. The bed had been swept and there was a wand on the cupboard. It should have belonged to the adult wizard who bullied the Weasley brothers.

There was only an empty bed, without a mattress or bedding.

Sleeping here in this freezing cold weather?

Harry watched in silence.

I have very complicated emotions in my heart.

The belief in revenge supports him to do so, and he persists in such a difficult environment.

"That's... really stupid." Harry sighed.

There is a magic wand.

Don't you want to improve your life? At least make yourself a quilt, or at worst a doghouse, so you can sleep on a wooden board without being afraid of freezing to death.

Just yesterday he thought that his godfather might still have some sense and knew that he couldn't stay in Hogwarts.

Now it seems...

I overestimated him.

This road was blocked, so he quickly covered up all his traces and returned to Hogwarts. After what happened yesterday, the professor forbade students to go to Hogsmeade again, so their happy and wonderful weekend only lasted one day.

Harry put on his invisibility cloak and walked to Hogsmeade through the secret passage on the third floor.

Outside the Screaming Shed, the dog's paw prints were scattered, and when they stepped on the road, they were covered by other people's footprints. The remaining smell stopped in front of the three brooms and was covered by the rich aroma of wine.

There was no way to follow the trail.

Harry could only squat and wait outside the Shrieking Shed, but Sirius never showed up.

It was late at night when Harry had to go back.

There is also duel training tonight.

Return to the lounge.

"Have you found him?" Hermione asked with concern, pouring him a cup of hot chocolate - she didn't like creatures like house-elves, but she had to admit that they were indeed useful.

At least when it comes to food and drink, they are reliable.

Harry shook his head: "I don't know what he is doing. I haven't been able to catch him yet. I'll try again next weekend."

"How about waiting until after December?" Hermione suggested.

Harry was stunned.

"It won't be safe in the Forbidden Forest if it snows heavily, and you still have the Gryffindor Trial to do this year." Hermione waved her wand and the weather table she made in astronomy class flew over.

By early December, heavy snow will begin to fall.

Harry nodded and looked around. "Where's Crookshanks?"

"I didn't get to play with the scratching board yesterday, and I didn't get to play with it today either, so I'm sulking in my dorm." Hermione stood up and answered casually, "Do you need it? I'll bring it over."

The Sorting Hat shuddered and pleaded, "Harry, no..."

Harry took it off: "I know you can't wait."

As soon as we meet.

Crookshanks enthusiastically pounced on the Sorting Hat and couldn't wait to show his claws.

"Wait a minute, I have something to tell you." Harry poked a shallow hole on its head.