harry potter book of crimes

Right at the door of the Three Broomsticks, McGonagall and Flitwick walked in accompanied by a flurry of flying snowflakes.

Following closely behind was the big Hagrid, who was having a heated conversation with a dignified man wearing a dark yellow-green bowler hat and a thin striped cloak - this man was Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic.

.

Ron and Hermione put their hands on Harry's head and pushed him under the table.

Hermione cast a spell and moved a nearby Christmas tree in front of their table, covering them all. Harry looked out through the thick branches and leaves at the lower part of the Christmas tree and saw that the four chairs at the adjacent table were all covered.

He was pulled away, and then he heard the teachers sitting down with Fudge, mumbling and sighing a few times.

Then, there was a burst of conversation.

"A small glass of canyon water——"

"Mine." Professor McGonagall's voice.

"Four pints of mead——"

"Thanks, Rosmerta," Hagrid said.

"A sherry soda with ice and snails—"

"Hmm!" said Professor Flitwick, smacking his lips.

"Then red currant rum is yours, Minister."

"Thank you, Rosmerta, darling," Fudge's voice said, "I must say, it's great to see you again - why don't you have a drink too? Come and sit with us..."

"Okay. Thank you-"

Before Ms. Rosmerta could finish speaking, the door to the Three Broomsticks was opened again, and a voice that surprised Harry and the others came clearly from the door.

"Sorry, Ms. Rosmerta, before that, give me a glass of...um...butterbeer, thank you!" The calm tone was obviously Maka speaking, and Harry and the others recognized it immediately."

…I’ve always heard that butterbeer is very popular among classmates, but I haven’t tried it yet!”

"Oh - Maka?" Hagrid's voice sounded cheerful, "I haven't seen you for a long time, since last time - you know!"

"Yes, of course." Maka said, "There are a lot of things to learn recently, and I can't always spare the time..."

"Maka, listen to me - you don't have a signed application form -" Professor McGonagall seemed a little disapproving, after all, she always values ​​rules so much.

"Well, yes...but I guess I can't find anyone to sign my application either."

Maka's tone was still calm, as if she was stating something that had nothing to do with him. But the meaning contained in the words made Hagrid wipe away tears.

"Oh - I understand, I understand how you feel, Maka."

"Sorry, Hagrid, please don't push too hard..."

Hagrid, who had always been rough on the outside but slender on the inside, seemed to have saved Maka. Harry could even imagine the suffocating feeling of having a powerful force constricting his chest - he had also experienced that feeling.

"Well - that may be so, but -" Professor McGonagall struggled, "Well, well - Albus didn't even care that you were hosting the party - I mean, Professor Dumbledore."

"Don't worry, Professor McGonagall!" Maka said, "I will take care of myself - oh, thank you, Ms. Rosmerta."

He picked up a large glass of butterbeer and took a sip.

At this moment, Harry's heart was jumping into his throat.

He never expected that not only the teachers would come, but Maka would also come! Like himself, he didn't sign, but he sat swaggering next to the professor - this was simply incredible.

Should he go out and say hello to the professors? No, he doesn't have the guts!

Hermione also seemed a little uneasy, her legs twisted slightly next to Harry.

"What brings you here, Minister?" Rosmerta sat down next to Fudge.

Harry saw Fudge's thick lower body twisting on the chair, as if he was checking to see if anyone was eavesdropping.

Then he lowered his voice and said: "What could it be but Sirius Black, dear? I daresay you heard what happened at school on All Hallows' Eve?"

"I heard rumors." Ms. Rosmerta said, "But I also heard that a student was going to hold a graduation party -"

"I don't even know where to start getting angry." Professor McGonagall sighed.

"Do you think Black is still around here, Minister?" Ms. Rosmerta asked in a low voice.

"Definitely," Fudge said shortly.

"Did you know that the dementors have raided my tavern twice?" Ms. Rosmerta said, with a hint of edge in her voice. "They scared away all my customers - this pair of businessmen

That's very bad, Minister."

"Rosmerta, dear, I'm the same as you, I don't like them either!" Fudge said uneasily, "That's a necessary precaution... But you're right, I just met a few. They are very...

Dumbledore was furious - he wouldn't let them into the castle grounds."

"I think it's bad to let them in," said Professor McGonagall sharply. "How are we going to teach with these horrible things floating around?"

"Search and defense cannot rely too much on them. After all, in the final analysis, they are not reliable." Maka said calmly.

"That's right, remember -" the short Professor Flitwick screamed, "we all know Black can -"

"You know, I still can't believe it..." Ms. Rosmerta didn't care how Black escaped. "Of all the people who fell into the bad guys, Sirius Black is the one I least trust."

To think of someone who would do that... I mean, I remember when he was a kid at Hogwarts, and if you had told me at that time what he would be like, then I would have said

You drank too much."

"You don't know half the truth, Rosmerta," Fudge said stiffly. "Few people know the worst thing he did."

"The worst?" Ms. Rosmerta said, her voice full of curiosity. "You mean, worse than killing so many poor people?"

"Of course," said Fudge. "I can't believe it. What could be worse than this?"

"Fudge, I think we might as well change the subject -" Professor McGonagall suddenly interrupted.

"What's wrong - oh!" Fudge was stunned for a moment. When he turned his head, he happened to see Maka, who was drinking butterbeer.

"Sorry, this is really not suitable..." He took a sip of wine and said.

But Maka put down the big glass in her hand and turned towards them.

"I didn't expect butterbeer to be so sweet -" he said calmly, "I just want to say that there is nothing inappropriate about it... In fact, I happened to know a little bit about what happened back then."

He paused and then continued: "The Loyalty Curse, betrayal and escape, the deaths of 12 Muggles... and of course, Peter Pettigrew."

"Isn't it because Black later formed a group with the mysterious man?" Rosmerta asked in a low voice, "Also, what is the Loyalty Curse?"

But for now, no one has time to give Ms. Rosmerta an answer.

They were all shocked by Maka's understanding of the incident - although Maka only said a few key words, the people sitting here were all insiders. They knew as soon as they heard that Maka's understanding of the incident was obviously not high.

It's just that he "happens to know a little bit" as he said.

"Oh - Maclean, how did you know?" Professor McGonagall said in surprise.

"Believe me, Professor, it's not that hard to verify."

Maka still had the white foam of butterbeer on his upper lip, which made him look like he had a white beard, but no one could laugh at this moment.

"But -" Fudge also seemed a little relieved, "Because the case is closed, there are not many people who know about the case -"

"Mr. Minister, I am actually more concerned about some details of the case than this." Maka said calmly, "In fact, I analyzed the principle of the magic spell used to blow up that street, but the result was that

I was shocked."

Although his expression was completely opposite to the word "surprised", everyone was more concerned about what he wanted to say.

"Professors here - of course, and the Minister!" Maka continued, "You are all experts with in-depth research on magic. For me, there are indeed some... But I don't know if you have paid attention to it.

, the nature of that curse?”

"That should be a rather partial black magic that can detonate the magic power contained in the gun, but so what?" Professor McGonagall asked doubtfully.

"To be precise, it is a kind of sacrificial black magic, an evil magic derived from ancient times." Maka analyzed, "Detonating the body, or detonating the soul - these evil magics have all been used in the past.

They have appeared in the long history, but they all require 'voluntary' participation in order to take effect."

He stretched out his hands, crossed his fingers, and put a quotation mark on the word "voluntary."

"You want to say that Peter Pettigrew was blown to pieces voluntarily?" Hagrid shouted, "No, how is this possible! Poor Peter..."

"Shh!" Professor McGonagall was obviously blaming Hagrid for speaking too loudly.

"Actually, what I want to say is that this kind of black magic is usually self-sacrifice." Maka whispered, "Of course, it is not always like this! But at least, this way has the highest success rate."

"Are you doubting Peter?" Professor McGonagall frowned, "We all know that Black is James' secret keeper! The Loyalty Curse is absolute!"

"James Potter told Dumbledore that Black would rather die than tell where they were, and also said that Black himself planned to hide..." Professor McGonagall added, "This is what James said himself.

.”

But Maka shook her head.

"The Loyalty Curse is absolute, that's for sure...but James...well, Uncle James's words are not necessarily true." Maka said, "This is just like the Weasley brothers, Uncle James and Uncle Black are both

Very smart and very... cunning."

Maka noticed that when he said this, a piece of glass in the side window of the tavern shook slightly.