"I think he did it on purpose," Professor Dumbledore said with a chuckle, "He intentionally provoked you to open your mouth, so he could have an excuse to deduct points from Gryffindor."
"I think so too," Harry took a deep breath and looked at Dumbledore again, "If convenient, Professor, can we talk?"
He meant he wanted to talk about Sirius — things couldn't go on like this, and he felt the criminal should be caught first.
It's only a matter of preventing a thief for a thousand days, better to resolve the source of the problem once and for all, instead of always guarding against Sirius.
"Of course," Professor Dumbledore replied with a smile.
The two of them went outside the corridor, and Dumbledore stood in front of the window, gesturing at the waning moon outside.
"Go ahead, what would you like to ask?" he inquired with a smile, taking out two candies from his pocket, "Try this candy first, I've always thought it's pretty good."
"Thank you, Professor," Harry took the candy and asked, "Why is Sirius Black so determined to hunt me down? Is it really the drive for vengeance on Voldemort that's driving him?"
Professor Dumbledore didn't rush to answer. He first opened the candy wrapper, took out the orange candy, and playfully popped it into his mouth.
"This, we can't know for sure; we'll have to wait until we catch him." He spoke while chewing the candy, seemingly unconcerned about whether chewing candy might be tough for older teeth.
Harry paused, frowned, and asked, "Then can you explain the reason to me? Mr. Weasley said I shouldn't actively seek him out. Why did he say that, and why is he so sure I'd go looking for someone who wants to kill me? Is it just because I'm in Gryffindor?"
"Of course not, Harry," Dumbledore lowered his eyes and sighed, "The situation is quite complex. Mr. Weasley is protecting you — he believes you shouldn't know these things, but I believe there's no harm in knowing."
"Then can you tell me about it?" Harry asked eagerly.
At that moment, the heads of the three houses also heard the voice from nearby and joined them.
Except for Snape, who was nowhere to be found.
"Albus!" Professor McGonagall said seriously, "I don't think it's right to discuss this with Mr. Potter right now..."
"You've seen his performance at the Quidditch pitch, Minerva." The diminutive Professor Flitwick gestured energetically, "Good heavens, so many Dementors just died instantly—do you still want to treat Harry like a child?"
On that point, Professor Flitwick stated earnestly, "Trust me, Harry, you have the right to know now."
"You go ahead, Albus," Professor Sprout from Hufflepuff concurred, evidently having watched the Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff Quidditch match as well—the sky-sweeping flames left a lasting impression on her.
"Alright." Professor McGonagall sighed, "If Mr. Potter insists on knowing."
Harry certainly understood Professor McGonagall's protective intentions and thanked her, "Thank you, Professor McGonagall."
"This child..." Professor McGonagall showed a gratified smile.
"Truth be told, of all those who fell into bad company, Sirius Black was the last person I expected to do so," Professor Sprout began, "I remember when he was at school, he was closest with Harry's dad, right?"
"Yes, they had a little group, with several of them—seems they had codenames too," Professor Flitwick said with a chuckle, "I remember they often came to me to discuss the application of Magic Spells—though your father could be quite a mischievous rascal, sometimes he... well, liked to use a bit of Evil Curse on classmates."
"It's fair to say that Black and your father were the leaders of their little gang—both very smart... Honestly, exceptionally smart. I imagine we've never encountered such a pair capable of causing trouble—even two Mr. Weasleys combined can't compare to a tenth of their mischief," Professor McGonagall seemed both to lament and reminisce.
Harry could tell that while Professor McGonagall called his father James annoying, she actually held great fondness for him.
"Yes, like when he once turned one of our Hufflepuff classmates' head unusually large." Professor Sprout remarked, looking at Harry, "I penalized him by giving him detention with Fitch. If you check Fitch's records now, you'll spot this disciplinary action still documented..."
Harry felt a bit embarrassed; he didn't know his dad had a penchant for picking on classmates aside from bothering Snape.
"Fortunately, you're not like that, Harry," Professor Sprout immediately added, "We're always gratified to see you resemble your mother more."
"Black and your father were very close," Professor McGonagall said, "They almost seemed like one person..."
"If you didn't know beforehand that one's surname was Potter and the other's Black, you'd probably think they were brothers!" Professor Flitwick chimed in, "They were inseparable!"
"They certainly were," Professor Sprout confirmed, "Their friendship was heartfelt, and they trusted each other deeply—this trust surpassed that with any other friends, even after they graduated."
"When your parents got married, Black was their best man—and then they asked Black to be your godfather," Sprout added.
Harry was stunned.
He had never thought that the escaped Sirius Black from Azkaban was a close friend of his father's.
He was even more unexpected to learn that Sirius was his godfather.
"You're saying Sirius Black was my father's good friend? And my godfather?!" Harry still found it hard to accept, "But why? Why does he now want to kill me? Has he forgotten his friendship with my father?"
"People change, Harry," Professor McGonagall sighed, "It's all very complicated..."
Harry felt a surge of anger rush to his brain.
He couldn't accept that Sirius had betrayed the friendship with his father, nor could he accept that his pursuer was his godfather.
"I'm going to catch him!" Harry said angrily, "I want to capture him myself! Let him atone at my parents' graves!"
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