"Probably not, that's a portrait of one of our former Slytherin Principals, he shouldn't be playing pranks..."
Harry nodded, looking at Draco.
"Get ready, if you truly want to win, being afraid of pain is impossible."
"Such a small matter, of course I know," Draco said grumpily, but his hands kept clenching and unclenching.
After Harry left, Draco also stood up and walked outside.
"Is Pansy in the common room? I have a small matter I want to ask her."
...
...
With doubts, Harry put on his Invisibility Cloak and quickly jogged all the way to the entrance of the Principal's office on the third floor.
Along the way, he didn't encounter Filch.
It really seems he's supposed to go to the Principal's office...
"Lemon Drop," he whispered the password. The entire corridor was empty, dark and gloomy, with only flickering firelight.
Click, click—
The heavy door opened, and then he quickly walked up the spiral staircase.
The stairs quickly reached the eighth floor, and before he even entered, he heard the conversation inside.
"He just wants you to be anxious; if you're anxious, he achieves his goal. If you use unconventional methods, he can make a big deal out of it..."
Harry immediately recognized it; it was Uncle Howl's voice.
Then, he finally breathed a slight sigh of relief and walked in.
Then, he saw Howl and Dumbledore talking.
"Uncle Howl, Headmaster Dumbledore," Harry bowed slightly.
"Harry, ah, good evening, fortunately you haven't rested yet, I hope I'm not disturbing you," Dumbledore chuckled.
"No," Harry shook his head repeatedly. "Not disturbing at all, I just finished my homework and happened to come."
Then, he looked at Howl: "Uncle Howl, is there something you need me for here?"
"Yes," Howl nodded, then said, "Have you always wanted to inquire about your parents?"
Harry froze for a moment, then quickly nodded: "Yes, I really want to know what happened in the past."
Then, he quickly added, "Uncle Howl, you don't need to bother, these are just some small personal matters of mine..."
Uncle Howl was already very busy; how could he have time for such trivial matters?
This was Harry's true thought.
Howl nodded, smiling, "I am indeed quite busy."
He truly hadn't intended to get involved.
"I just thought, perhaps you might want to get involved," Howl said. "Just like last year, giving you a choice."
"A choice?" Harry was a little confused, and he couldn't help but swallow.
Uncle Howl's choices were never simple.
"It's very simple," Howl said. "How about you go find Sirius to ask for information?"
"Me?" He pointed to himself. "Isn't Sirius in Azkaban?"
"Then just make sure he's not in Azkaban," Howl smiled.
The entire office fell silent, and the faint sounds of the Sorting Hat's snores and Fawkes preening his feathers also disappeared.
Dumbledore sharply turned his head, looking at Howl, complex emotions welling up in his heart.
This truly... matched his style; he should have asked him about his plan beforehand...
"Wh-what?" Harry was completely bewildered.
"I said, since Fudge wants someone to escape from Azkaban, let's help him," Howl smiled. "Didn't he strengthen the defenses? How about you go test how strong these defenses are?"
"Jailbreak?!" Even a portrait spoke: "Jones, he's just a child!"
"That's what I mean," Howl nodded. "Hmm... Besides Dementors, there doesn't seem to be any other threat."
"This... wouldn't it be too bold?" Dumbledore said. "He's only in his second year."
"Bold?" Howl was a little confused. "Why do I feel... it's worth a try. Of course, you could go too."
"My point is, we can wait a bit," Dumbledore said. "There's no need to be too hasty with something like this."
"Fudge only wants to target you; as long as he remains Minister, Azkaban will not be open to you.
One could even say he expects you to force your way into Azkaban. That way, he can weaken your influence in the public eye."
"Public eye?!" Harry was a little confused.
Howl nodded: "This is the most important part. The Ministry of Magic might be able to bear Hagrid's mistake, but if there's truly some hidden truth in Sirius's case, the Ministry of Magic cannot bear it.
This involves the very thing any organization or group in this world relies on for survival—public trust!
One could even say that anything involving Sirius's matter is striking at Fudge's very lifeline!"
Harry nodded, half-understanding.
"If Dumbledore breaks into Azkaban, the Ministry of Magic can shake his public trust. Similarly, if you—a Nameless—break into Azkaban, you are also shaking the Ministry of Magic's public credibility!"
Trust... the very thing an organization or group relies on for survival. He used to only know that people should trust each other, never thinking that here...
After listening to Howl's words, Dumbledore also fell silent for a moment.
He was not unaware of Fudge's intentions.
It's just...
"I still feel that this suggestion is not so..."
"You can also force your way in yourself," Howl smiled. "Anyway, I'm not doing this."
Suddenly, Harry's voice rang out.
"Good!"
Both of their gazes fell upon him.
Harry nodded, his expression serious: "I also want to go see, want to ask him, what kind of hidden truth was behind the events of that year.
Although I don't know why Uncle Howl you mentioned the Minister for Magic, but—I choose to go!"
Dumbledore looked at Harry's expression and sighed helplessly.
A moment later, he straightened his back again.
"Harry, do you know what's in Azkaban?"
"Dementors? Death Eaters?" Harry hesitated, "Um... Uncle Howl, when are we doing this?"
"Not 'we'," Howl corrected. "It's 'you'! Hmm, of course, it's perfectly understandable if you want to assemble your own makeshift team."
Then he stroked his chin, thinking for a moment: "Patronus Charm, it's time to learn it."
"Okay," Harry bowed and nodded.
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