Just as the three broomsticks were in the doorway, McGonagall and Flitwick walked in with a flutter of snowflakes.

He was followed by the large Hagrid, who was having a lively conversation with a dignified man in a dull yellow-green bowler hat and a thin cloak—none other than the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge.

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

Hermione cast a spell and moved a nearby Christmas tree to their desk, covering them all. Harry looked out through the dense foliage of the tree and saw that the four chairs at the adjacent table had been pulled apart, and then he heard the teachers sit down with Fudge, muttering and sighing.

Then, a conversation erupted.

"A small glass of canyon water—"

"Mine." Professor McGonagall's voice.

"Four pints of mead—"

"Thanks, Rosmerta." Hagrid said.

"A serving of sherry juice soda with ice and snails—"

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

"Then yours is redcurrant rum, Minister."

"Thank you, Rosmerta, my dear," Fudge's voice said, "I must say, it's a pleasure to see you again—will you have a drink?" Come and sit with us......

"Okay. Thank you—"

Before Miss Rosmerta could finish speaking, the door of the three broomsticks was opened again, and a voice that surprised Harry and the others came clearly from the doorway.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Rosmerta, but before that, give me a drink...... Well...... Butterbeer, thanks! The calm tone was clearly that Maca was speaking, and Harry could hear it at once," ...... I've always heard that butterbeer is very popular with my classmates, but I haven't tried it yet! ”

"Oh-Maka?" Hagrid's voice sounded cheerful, "It's been a long time since I saw you, since the last time—you know!" ”

"Yes, of course." "There's a lot to learn lately, and I can't always make time......

"Listen to me, Marka—you don't have a signed application form—" Professor McGonagall seemed a little unimpressed, after all, she always valued the rules so much.

"Well, yes...... But I don't think I can find anyone to sign my application form either. ”

Maca'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 know, I know how you feel, Maca."

"I'm sorry, Hagrid, don't push too hard......"

Hagrid, who had always been rough on the outside and slender on the inside, seemed to have saved Maca, and Harry could even imagine the suffocation of being strangled in the chest by a powerful force—he had experienced that feeling before.

"Well—maybe, but—" Professor McGonagall squinted, "well, well- Albus didn't care if you were going to put on the party—I mean, Professor Dumbledore. ”

"Don't worry, Professor McGonagall!" "I'll take care of my own — oh, thanks, Ms. Rosmerta." ”

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

At this point, Harry's heart was beating to his throat.

He never expected that not only the teachers would come, but Maca would also come! He didn't sign like himself, but he swaggered down next to the professor - it was unbelievable.

Should he get out? Say hello to the professors? No, he didn't have the guts!

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

"What wind has brought you here, Minister?" Rosmerta sat down next to Fudge.

Harry saw Fudge's stout lower body writhing in his chair, as if to see if anyone was eavesdropping.

Then he lowered his voice and said, "What else but Sirius Black, my dear?" Dare I say, you've heard what happened at school on Halloween Eve, right? ”

"I've heard the rumors." "But I've heard that a student is going to have a graduation party—"

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

"Do you think Blake is still in this area, Minister?" Ms. Rosmerta asked in a low voice.

"Definitely." Fudge said briefly.

"Did you know that the Dementors have searched my tavern twice?" "They're scaring my customers away—it's not good for business, Minister," said Ms. Rosmerta, with a hint of sharpness in her voice. ”

"Rosmerta, dear, I'm just like you, and I don't like them either!" Fudge said uneasily, "That's a necessary precaution...... But you're right, I've just met a few more. They were furious with Dumbledore - he wouldn't let them enter the castle grounds. ”

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

"Search and defense can't rely on them too much, after all, at the end of the day, they're not solid." Maca said calmly.

"Yes, remember—" the diminutive Professor Flitwick screamed, "we all know that Blake can—"

"You know, I still can't believe it......" Miss Rosmerta didn't care how Blake escaped, "Of all the people who fell into the heap of bad guys, Sirius Black was the last person I expected to do...... I mean, I remember when he was a kid at Hogwarts, and if you had told me at that time what was going to happen to him, I'd say you drank too much. ”

"You don't know more than half of the truth, Rosmerta." Fudge said bluntly, "Very few people know the worst thing he's ever done." ”

"The worst?" "Do you mean it's worse than killing so many poor people?" said Ms. Rosmerta, her voice full of curiosity. ”

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

"Fudge, I thought it would be better to change the subject—" Professor McGonagall interjected suddenly.

"What's wrong—oh!" Fudge was stunned for a moment, and as soon as he turned his head, he happened to see Maca, who was gulping down butterbeer.

"I'm sorry, but this really doesn't fit ......," he said, taking a sip of his wine.

But Maca put down the large glass in her hand and turned her head to their side.

"I didn't expect Butterbeer to be so sweet—" he said quietly, "I mean, there's nothing wrong with that...... In fact, I happened to know a little bit about the original thing. ”

He paused, then continued, "The Curse of Loyalty, the betrayal and the flight, the death of 12 Muggles...... And, of course, Peter Pettigrew. ”

"Isn't it because Blake later formed a gang with the mystery man?" Rosmerta asked in a low voice, "Also, what is the Loyalty Charm?" ”

But for the time being, no one had the time to give Ms. Rosmerta an answer.

They were all shocked by what Maca knew about the event - although Maca only said a few key words, the people sitting here were all insiders, and they knew that Maca knew more about the event than just "happened to know" as he put it.

"Oh-McLean, how do you know?" Professor McGonagall was surprised.

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

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

"But—" Fudge also looked a little relieved, "because of the blockade of the case, there aren't many people who know about that case—"

"Your Excellency, I am actually more concerned about the details of the case than this." Maca said calmly, "Actually, I analyzed the magic principle used to blow up that street at the time, but the result surprised me. ”

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

"Professors here – and, of course, the Minister!" Maca continued, "You're all experts in the study of magic, and I'm a little ...... But I don't know if you've noticed, the nature of that spell? ”

"It should be a rather out-of-the-box form of black magic that can detonate the magic contained in the flesh, but so what?" Professor McGonagall wondered.

"To be exact, it's a sacrificial type of black magic, an evil magic from antiquity." "Detonating the body or detonating the soul – these evil spells have all appeared in history, but they all have to be 'voluntary' to take effect. ”

He stretched out his hands and hooked his fingers, putting quotation marks around the word "voluntary."

"You're trying to say that Peter Pettigrew was blown to pieces of his own free will?" Hagrid exclaimed, "No, how is that possible! Poor Peter......"

"Shh Professor McGonagall was clearly blaming Hagrid for being too loud.

"Actually, I'm trying to say that this kind of black magic is generally self-sacrificed." Maca whispered, "Of course, it's not always like that! But at the very least, it's the one that has the highest success rate. ”

"Are you suspicious of Peter?" Professor McGonagall frowned, "We all know that Black is James' secret!" The Loyalty Mantra is absolute! ”

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

But Maca shook her head.

"The Loyalty Mantra is absolute, and it's certainly true...... But Jaime ...... Well, Uncle James' words may not be true. "It's like the Weasley brothers, Uncle Jaime and Uncle Black are smart and ...... Cunning. ”

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