Chapter 129

Harry and his two friends rushed back to the castle with Lupin, hastening to the Muggle Studies professor's office, where they were astonished to find Professor Doudou and a freshly bathed Sirius sitting at the table drinking afternoon tea, looking nothing like prisoner and law enforcer.

"Oh, I suppose you've noticed something's amiss, haven't you?" Professor Doudou looked utterly confident. "Clearly, we need to update the case progress."

"So you've already figured it out?" Lupin asked. "Do you know who's lying?"

"Of course. I find Mr. Sirius's statements entirely credible," Professor Doudou took a delicate sip of tea. "I have absolute certainty."

"Why are you so sure?" Harry said, puzzled.

"Because I put Veritaserum in the tea," Professor Doudou remained utterly self-assured.

"What?" Sirius glared at his teacup—he'd already drunk nearly half of it. "You told me this was just an ordinary afternoon tea?"

"Special techniques can relax a suspect during interrogation," Professor Doudou looked slightly flustered. "Besides, I drank some too—even though I didn't plan to."

"Though I find this deeply offensive, at least now you can confirm I'm not lying," Sirius grumbled. "I was never James's Secret-Keeper, and I never intended to betray Peter. That's beyond doubt."

"But we still can't rule out the possibility that James secretly changed the Secret-Keeper again," Professor Doudou, under the influence of Veritaserum, spoke without restraint. "Perhaps he chose Lupin quietly, and you and Peter are both innocent men wrongly suspecting each other."

Lupin walked forward calmly, picked up the black tea, and drank it all at once. Then he said: "I knew nothing of what happened that year, but I can confirm Peter is now missing. I suspect he's guilty and slipped away during his bath."

"We should…" Lupin suddenly staggered, "capture him at once."

Sirius tried to stand up, but he too collapsed.

"My apologies, gentlemen," Professor Doudou said with maximum confidence, uttering the most embarrassing words possible. "I couldn't tell which bottle was Veritaserum and which was Muscle Relaxant, so I added both to the tea."

"So now we've let Peter escape?" Sirius glared at him furiously.

"Rest assured, a master always has a Plan B," Professor Doudou said, unmoving. "My colleagues will catch him. You'll see it in tomorrow's newspaper."

"Speaking of which, Harry," he continued, "I think it's time you and Sirius recognized each other."

"I've seen you in many photographs," Harry said, recognizing the face that had appeared in the Mirror of Erised, now neatly groomed. "I'm glad you're innocent—I don't have many family left in this world."

"Harry, I truly owe you an apology," Sirius muttered. "All these years, I've been consumed by guilt and regret, never realizing you needed care too."

"Actually, he made a fortune in the Muggle world," Professor Doudou interjected inappropriately. "A decent relative adopted Harry—he's lived well."

A trace of relief crossed Sirius's face.

"With Aurors and police guarding him, he didn't need friends from the magical world. And now you come along saying, Harry, I'm sorry to you," Professor Doudou voiced his opinion. "But you showed him no affection, never treated him as your godson, even dared not admit you were his godfather."

"Oh, so you're my godfather?" Harry blinked. "That's not bad."

"He's right. I was completely wrong," Sirius shook his head. "When James died, I broke down. I spent years in Azkaban, wallowing in self-destruction. But if James were still alive—"

He tried to raise his hand to wipe his tears, but lacked the strength.

"If James were still alive, he'd want me to care for you, protect you—not leave you with Muggle relatives," Sirius choked out. "I completely overlooked that. I'm sorry, Harry."

Harry pulled out a handkerchief and gently wiped his face.

"It's not too late, godfather," Harry said. "We can still live together from now on, like ordinary family."

Sirius smiled through tears. Lupin smiled happily too.

Finally, Harry and Ron struggled to carry the limp Lupin back to the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor's office. Passersby paid no mind—they knew Lupin was always falling ill; this was probably just another episode.

As for Sirius, Professor Doudou said he'd handle it—let him rest in his own office once the effects wore off.

Back in the dormitory, Harry let out a long sigh.

"Man, today's been packed," Ron laughed. "But seems like good things happened."

"True. I learned the truth about my father's death, and I reunited with my godfather," Harry said. "But his mental state doesn't look great—I hope he can rest and recover."

"What'll you do this afternoon?" Ron asked. "Want to take the Firebolt for a ride?"

"No, I haven't finished my homework," Harry considered his schedule. "I've got a gathering tonight."

"What are you chatting about, mates?" Neville returned.

"I was saying Harry managed to spend an entire evening in a room full of Slytherins—with Ginny," Ron complained. "How did you hold it together?"

"Hey, that's not how you put it," Neville began lecturing again. "Being able to befriend anyone—that's the spirit of warmth!"

"By the way, Neville, what secret were you saying you discovered earlier?" Harry, noticing Neville's unusual eagerness to talk, remembered the thing he always mentioned.

"Oh, never mind," he shrugged. "It's about Hermione taking so many classes at once. She told me the truth, and I promised to keep it secret."

"Just a bookworm's boring nonsense—I'm not interested," Ron muttered sourly.

"That's a healthy attitude," Neville shifted gears. "By the way, Harry, have you talked to Zhang Qiu yet?"

"Not yet. She said not to talk about it today, so it wouldn't ruin my mood," Harry sighed. "There's been too much going on lately."

Under Neville's curious gaze, Harry briefly explained his relationship with Sirius and the truth from thirteen years ago.

"So if that's the case, the fugitive matter is settled," Neville rubbed his chin. "When will the Dementors be removed from the school?"

"The Ministry's Aurors told us they'll publicly announce the resolution tomorrow—probably remove them soon," Harry guessed.

That evening at the Torchwood gathering, Harry recounted the entire story again. For the Slytherin children, they didn't care whether Black was caught—they were merely intrigued by the hidden past and disliked the Dementors, so they feigned excitement and celebration.

"It's nice to finally sort out the old generation's love and hatred," Cui Ge said. "So Lupin must know you well—has he secretly taught you any spells?"

"Hold on, Cui Ge," Malfoy said. "From what I hear, Lupin harshly criticized a girl named Cassandra from our house at dinner today. It made Snape extremely awkward—because there's no seventh-year student named Cassandra."

"What?" Cui Ge looked surprised.

"I happened to be there," Harry couldn't help saying. "We were drinking at the Three Broomsticks when we ran into your mother."

"She was wearing Slytherin robes and slightly drunk," Harry carefully omitted the more embarrassing details. "Lupin thought she was a seventh-year and asked her name."

"Snape nearly fought with Lupin," Malfoy stifled a laugh. "She must've given a fake name and fooled him."

"I think this will become a house legend," Luna said dreamily. "Everyone knows there's a stunning older student named Cassandra in Slytherin—but no one can find her on campus."

"Why don't we follow this prank and add Cassandra to the castle map?" Ginny suggested. "Make a beautiful golden-haired figure who wanders the school freely."

"Be careful," Malfoy warned. "I read in a book that once a charm involves randomness, it's completely beyond the wizard's control."

"I've heard similar things," Cui Ge agreed. "Random magic is governed by the gods."

"Then make her follow the class schedule—stay in the common room when she has no class," Ginny amended. "Anyway, I think if this happened, Mrs. Fontroy would be delighted to leave a trace in the school."

Harry smiled approvingly—he knew Mrs. Fontroy deeply longed for school life and loved Hogwarts. Ginny's warm suggestion, based solely on seeing her in school robes, moved him deeply.

After spending the entire night completing Mrs. Cui Ge's small wish on the Torchwood map, Harry lay in bed feeling this day had been profoundly fulfilling, deeply satisfying.

The next morning, as he took the morning paper, ready to read the news and see how the Ministry cleared Sirius's name—

The front page of the Daily Prophet blared:

Azkaban Prison Attacked; Large Numbers of Death Eaters Missing