"Sirius Black!"

Upon hearing this name, the young wizards present gasped in unison, taking a sharp breath.

It was clear that they all knew about this extremely dangerous prisoner who had escaped from Azkaban. Among them, Ron and Hermione, who were aware that Sirius's target was Harry, subtly moved a bit closer to him.

Harry noticed this. Although he also looked a bit pale, he smiled at the two of them, signaling them to be at ease.

"It's fine, he didn't manage to get into the Gryffindor common room, did he? Besides, there are so many people here, and Lin Yue is around; he can't hurt me."

"Yeah." Hermione and Ron nodded, but their expressions showed no sign of relaxation.

Lin Yue turned to look at Hermione and the others, and said with a calm expression, "Don't worry, Sirius Black's actions prove that he doesn't dare to stay here for long."

"And he doesn't dare to show up in front of people, so Harry is absolutely safe now."

Even though she said that, in order to completely reassure Hermione and Harry, Lin Yue still took out her wand.

She remained vigilant, watching the surroundings, until Marietta arrived, panting, with Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall.

Seeing the three of them out of breath, Cho Chang stepped forward to support Marietta, helping her to catch her breath by rubbing her back.

"Marietta, you really need to start exercising. Just look at how old Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall are, and they still managed to run here out of breath."

"Why are you like this too?"

After Marietta caught her breath, her face was full of bitterness. "Cho, my dear Cho... can you let me off? You know I dislike exercising the most. If you make me exercise more, isn't that asking for my life?"

With a determined expression, Cho Chang ruthlessly rejected Marietta's plea, shaking her head. "No way, give it up. You need to improve your stamina."

"Otherwise, when we..." Cho Chang suddenly paused, abruptly changing the words that were about to come out of her mouth. "What if we need to fight alongside Lin Yue in the future and you hold us back?"

Hearing Cho Chang's words, Marietta sighed deeply and obediently nodded. "Alright, alright, I'll exercise."

Only then did Cho Chang nod in satisfaction, while Principal Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall had already stepped forward to examine the damaged painting. "It seems the Fat Lady made a timely escape."

Professor McGonagall let out a sigh of relief, feeling grateful and touched by Fat Lady sense of responsibility. She insisted on not "opening the door" for those who couldn't say the password, thus protecting the young wizards of Gryffindor.

"Good evening, Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall."

Lin Yue turned to the two professors and politely nodded in greeting.

"Good evening, Miss Lin Yue."

The two professors responded with smiles, and Hermione, who was standing nearby, spoke up in time.

"Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, Lin Yue suspects that the person most likely trying to break into the Gryffindor common room is Sirius Black."

Both Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall tensed up in unison, and Professor McGonagall even drew her wand, entering a state of alert.

"May I ask why you say that?"

The light flashed in Professor Dumbledore's glasses as he looked at Lin Yue with a gentle expression.

"Of course, Professor Dumbledore."

Lin Yue then recounted the entire reasoning process he had just gone through to Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall.

"By Merlin! Black is definitely here for a reason!"

Professor McGonagall stopped mid-sentence, her chest heaving violently.

"We should find the Fat Lady first and confirm what the situation is."

Professor Dumbledore made a decisive statement, looking up at the other portraits, "Everyone, can you help me find the Fat Lady?"

"Of course, Professor Dumbledore."

"As you wish, Professor."

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"We're all listening to you, esteemed Professor."

The portraits all agreed, and then one by one, they jumped out of their frames to search the entire castle for the Fat Lady.

"Hehehe, I know where she is!"

A mischievous voice came from above, and everyone present looked up.

There floated a ghost that appeared to be quite young, dressed in a distinctive manner that made it easy to recognize its identity.

"Nearly Headless Nick, can you tell us where the Fat Lady is right now?"

Professor Dumbledore looked at it kindly, as if it were not the most mischievous and unruly "ghost" in the castle. Yet, it was also a student that he should teach seriously and treat with patience.

"Oh, Professor Dumbledore, but I don't want to..."

Peeves showed a somewhat troubled expression, and everyone could tell that he was about to start causing mischief again.

"Peeves, this is a very serious matter, please stop being naughty."

Professor McGonagall took a deep breath, trying to steady her emotions. If it were a student doing this, she would have already given them a whole semester—no, a whole year's worth of detention. However, this was Peeves; not only could he not be confined, but even if he could be, Professor McGonagall did not have the authority to deal with him.

"Oh... but why should I..." Before he could finish the last three words, Lin Yue spoke up first.

This matter should be thoroughly checked as soon as possible so that Hermione wouldn't have to worry so much.

"Peeves, please answer Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall's questions properly."

As soon as Lin Yue finished speaking, Peeves couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Hahaha, the little wizard said please, but I don't want to tell them—one principal and one professor, why should I tell you~"

Lin Yue's expression remained unchanged as she looked at Peeves, until they locked eyes.

Her face showed no signs of change, but Peeves visibly became tense and flustered.

"You... you..."

Peeves stared in shock at the watch on Lin Yue's left wrist.

It was unbelievable; how could it sense the presence of those two women from that watch?

Those two, terrifying, women!

The Peeves shivered violently; it has existed as a "ghost" since the founding of Hogwarts. It is made up of the suppressed mischief of students, so both past headmasters and professors have always indulged it. After all, it behaves like a child, causing enough trouble to make people grit their teeth in frustration. However, when Hogwarts faces real difficulties, it will genuinely put in effort for the school.

But there are two exceptions to this: Rowena Ravenclaw and Helga Hufflepuff, the two original founders of Hogwarts. They have never indulged Peeves; having Gryffindor and Slytherin spoil it is already enough. If they were to indulge it as well, Peeves would probably turn Hogwarts upside down.

Thus, the two of them have always acted as its disciplinarians, teaching it what jokes are acceptable and what jokes are not. Especially Ravenclaw, most people are at a loss when dealing with such a "ghost," but the knowledgeable Ravenclaw always finds a way to handle it. She can even manage to use different methods each time.

And every time Peeves is dealt with by Ravenclaw, there is inevitably a Hufflepuff fanning the flames nearby. This has led to Peeves being extremely sensitive to the presence of those two women even now. Who would have thought that after a thousand years, it would once again sense the presence of those two women?

What the hell! They couldn't have tied up Death and given it a beating, then jumped over to the afterlife, could they? The thought flashed through its mind in an instant, but just the fact that Lin Yue's watch contained the presence of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff was enough to make Peeves listen to her. Not to mention that in the few seconds it hesitated, it had just been arguing back.

Hogwarts itself was actually putting pressure on it, and the vague pressure all around was leaning towards it.

This is really absurd; even Hogwarts Castle is on this girl's side.

At this point, Peeves could only raise a smile, take off his pointed hat, and give Lin Yue a not-so-standard bow.

"Of course, my dear, esteemed little wizard."

He emphasized the words with a fierce tone, "Please follow me."

After saying that, he floated ahead to lead the way, with Lin Yue following behind, and behind her were Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, as well as Cho Chang, Marietta, Penelope, and the little lions of Gryffindor.

When they finally found the Fat Lady, Professor Dumbledore smiled kindly and stepped forward to comfort her.

"It's all right now, Fat Lady. Could you please tell us what exactly happened?"

The Fat Lady trembled as she poked her head out of the portrait, visibly relieved upon seeing Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall.

She stammered, "It, it was Sirius Black, Professor Dumbledore."

"He wanted to enter the Gryffindor common room, but without the password, I wouldn't let him in, and then he started slashing at the portrait with a sword!"

The Fat Lady's voice grew louder as she spoke, eventually shouting in distress.

Peeves was giggling beside them, and Lin Yue glanced at it with an indifferent expression, causing it to immediately stop laughing. However, it still murmured quietly, "That Black... clearly has no intention of harming the students." But its voice was too soft, and even Lin Yue couldn't hear it.

Peeves flew around in the air, looking quite uncomfortable. If that Black really intended to harm the students, how could he joke about not telling Professor Dumbledore and Fat Lady where Professor McGonagall was? It would definitely cooperate with them, after all, the safety of the little wizards was something Peeves cared about too.

Not understanding even this much, Peeves huffed quietly; they weren't worth its reminder. With that thought in mind, Peeves drifted away. Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall were still asking the Fat Lady for details and didn't notice Peeves 's departure.

Lin Yue was contemplating the possible means by which Sirius Black could enter Hogwarts. She had previously deduced that Sirius Black's escape from Azkaban was likely due to him being an Animagus. With this ability, he could easily and safely pass through the Dementors' watch and enter Hogwarts. Moreover, his Animagus form must be a common or small animal, allowing him to enter Hogwarts without alarming anyone. He could then walk all the way to the Gryffindor common room.

As for what his Animagus form actually was, Lin Yue's mind raced, prompting her to start deducing from the key figure, Harry. Sirius Black's target was Harry, and he was very likely an Animagus. So, were there any related Animagi around Harry?

Yes, Lin Yue quickly thought of three options: herself, the large black dog that had appeared in Diagon Alley, and Ron's pet rat, Scabbers. She could rule herself out, and Ron's rat could also be excluded. Scabbers could go in and out of the Gryffindor common room with Ron every day, so there was no way he would have trouble entering, and thus he couldn't have damaged the portrait.

So the only remaining possibility was the large black dog encountered in Diagon Alley. Furthermore, Harry had mentioned that he saw this dog on the night he left his aunt and uncle's house. This indicated the dog's strong attachment to Harry. Considering the three possibilities and the dog's level of attachment to Harry, there was a seventy percent chance that Sirius Black's Animagus form was indeed the large black dog Harry had seen.

The identity of the large black dog could basically be confirmed as Sirius Black. But what about Scabbers?

Lin Yue blinked, and her brain provided an insufficient response. There was too little information about Banban for her to analyze its possible true identity. After listening to the Fat Lady, Professor Dumbledore lowered his head and fell into deep thought.

"Albus, how did Black get into Hogwarts?" Professor McGonagall asked, frowning at Dumbledore. The old man sighed and shook his head, "That's what I want to know too, Minerva."

Lin Yue listened to their conversation and silently raised her right hand, as it concerned Harry, the safety of her friend. And if Harry were in danger, Hermione would also be upset, so she should proactively report this matter to the professors in hopes of resolving it quickly.

"Miss Lin Yue, do you have something to say?"

Principal Dumbledore gestured for Lin Yue to put her hand down and looked at her gently.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your conversation, Principal Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall."

"I have figured out how Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban and how he infiltrated Hogwarts."

"What?"

Professor McGonagall looked at Lin Yue in surprise and gestured for her to hold on.

"Albus, I think we need to find another place to talk."

"Mm," Principal Dumbledore nodded, "let's first send the children back to the common room and then go to the headmaster's office to talk."