Hogwarts: Don't call me the Staff Maker

Chapter 257 Helper

Chapter 258 Helper

After Dumbledore and his party returned to the castle, the once bustling grounds and Quidditch pitch became deserted.

The willow tree lazily swayed its branches, swatting away a few owls circling overhead like mosquitoes.

This continued until noon, and then into the afternoon.

Siren lay lazily on the tree branch, looking at the peaceful castle in front of him. At least from the outside, Hogwarts Castle still stood as majestic as before, without any change.

And Xilun didn't find it boring, or rather, he might, but he wouldn't be bored after turning into a cat.

Animagus transformation is not just about changing appearance; it actually turns a wizard into an animal.

Anyway, when Xilun turned into a cat, he liked to lie still in one place, especially in the Forbidden Forest where he couldn't feel the heat of approaching June. He felt like he could lie there all day.

However, just as Xilun was about to fall asleep, a biting cold wind instantly woke him up.

Looking up, the once clear sky was now covered with dark clouds. More than a hundred Dementors appeared in the air, blotting out the sun and casting a shadow over the castle.

And that's not all; from even further away, Dementors are still arriving in droves.

The next second, Cornelius Fudge and the Aurors from the Ministry of Magic appeared in front of the school gates.

Fudge frowned as he looked down the long path ahead. "Why can't we just Apparate to Dumbledore's office door!"

"Minister, Hogwarts has an anti-Apparition Charm, just like the Ministry," said an Auror.

“I don’t need you to remind me, Kingsley Shackles.” Fudge looked a little annoyed. “But today is different. Black and Peter are both here. If Dumbledore isn’t lying, you know what that means.”

"Why can't he make an exception and remove this cumbersome restriction for something so important!"

Fudge complained, but just then, a carriage arrived in front of them.

The carriage had only one compartment, but the few people present could clearly see two thin, black creatures with bat-like wings in front of it.

Thestrals can only be seen by those who have witnessed death.

Aurors, of course, need no further explanation; it would be strange if they couldn't see Thestrals. Fudge, before becoming Minister of Magic, was also the Deputy Director of the Department of Magical Disasters, and had witnessed just as many deaths as the Aurors.

Fudge's expression improved upon seeing the Thestrals, and he quickly got into the carriage with the Aurors.

Then the carriage magically took off. The carriage, which was slow at the start of the school year, was now completely different. It was incredibly fast and arrived at the castle gate in the blink of an eye.

Fudge and the others got out of the car and hurriedly entered the castle.

At this moment, Xilun also moved, jumping directly down from the tree and stretching lazily—a habit he only developed after becoming a cat.

Everyone's here now. After a while, when Fudge comes out, someone will come to rescue Peter Pettigrew. —...Hmm, maybe.

In fact, Celeste didn't think the Death Eaters would come to rescue Peter Pettigrew, since nobody even knew he was still alive.

Moreover, on the very day he betrayed the Potters, Voldemort was killed by his own Killing Curse, so it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he was responsible for Voldemort's death.

So even if the Death Eaters knew this, what they would likely do is kill Peter, not save him.

Siren had a hunch that the Death Eater was someone else in disguise, and it was very likely that it was himself.

Because he really didn't want Peter Pettigrew to go to the Ministry of Magic. Even if he was found guilty, he would most likely just be treated the same as Sirius Black and imprisoned in Azkaban.

But as it turns out, Azkaban wasn't that reliable; even Sirius Black, that dog, could escape, let alone a mouse.

But there's one thing Xilun doesn't understand.

How did he do that?

Putting everything else aside, just the thought of making the Dementors riot in front of Dumbledore and Fudge was something Sirius felt he couldn't do.

Forget it, we'll see when the time comes. Since it's already happened, there will always be an answer.

Xilun shook his head and didn't think about it anymore. In his opinion, the most urgent thing now was to find some helpers, since his goal was not really to help Peter Pettigrew escape.

If we let him get away, that would truly be a case of overreaching and making things worse.

Instead of returning to the castle, Siron turned and disappeared into the depths of the forest.

He first determined the direction and quickly found a path hidden among fallen leaves and branches.

Further ahead, there is a small clearing with only one old oak tree, but it is much larger than the other oak trees in the forest. Its thick trunk requires two people to barely hug it.

As soon as Xilun approached, a ginger-yellow figure emerged from beneath the oak tree.

Crookshan stood there warily, emitting low growls, but when it saw Xiren's appearance, it immediately shut its mouth and turned away as if nothing had happened.

That's right, this is Tom and Crookshanks' secret base in the Forbidden Forest. They prefer to stay here more often than in the noisy Gryffindor Tower.

After that, Mount Krok disappeared, and no one knows where it went.

About ten minutes later, Crookshank returned, followed by Tom. It seemed that he had just gone to deliver a message.

After some time apart, Tom seemed to have another thin scar on his face.

The scar is pink and hasn't fully healed yet, so it must have been injured recently.

Tom, however, seemed completely unconcerned and jogged over to nuzzle against Celen.

But Tom had clearly forgotten how old he was, and he had also forgotten that Celen was not the same person he used to be.

The next second, it felt like being bumped into by Hagrid as he passed by; the black cat that Siron had transformed into almost fell over with a single wing movement.

It took a lot of effort to regain my balance.

"You're too enthusiastic, Tom. Listen to me, I need your help with something," Celen said in a voice only a cat could understand.

Tom nodded without hesitation, his face tense, and his claws emerged from their paw pads, gleaming coldly in the dappled sunlight, with traces of blood still visible on them.

Crookshank, on the other side, didn't know what was happening, but when it saw Tom extend his paw, it quickly followed, making a low growling sound.

This was supposed to be a very serious matter, but with its flat face, it felt kind of funny.

"Don't take it so seriously." Celen quickly looked away and turned to Tom again. "It's just a small, ordinary thing for you. Help me catch a mouse later, and don't let it get away."