146: Chapter 146 Zabini's Farewell

"My mother says the name Black has been mentioned seven times at dinner parties recently."

Zabini blocked the corner of the corridor, holding a half-fastened trunk in his hand, a wax-sealed letter peeking out from a gap in the case.

He looked like he was just saying goodbye in passing, but his toes were blocking Allen's path to the Great Hall.

Draco Malfoy stopped, clutching his textbooks, his face tightening immediately. "Since when did your mother's dinner parties start talking about Azkaban?"

"Since people started fearing something would happen at Azkaban."

Zabini switched the trunk to his other hand. "Don't look at me like that, Malfoy. Your father is also being mentioned quite frequently at other people's dinner parties right now."

Draco's expression darkened further.

Nott stood behind Allen, his fingertips tapping against the spine of his book. "Who brought up Black's name first?"

"The wife of an Auror from the Ministry of Magic." Zabini lowered his voice. "She had too much to drink and said the Dementor patrol zone had expanded to the outer seas, and the shift rotation schedule had been changed three times. The next day, her husband took her away early."

Allen stopped by the window; outside, students were already passing by the Black Lake dragging their trunks.

The term had ended, and the corridors of Hogwarts were noisier than usual. But after Zabini said this, none of them moved.

Pansy came over from the staircase, clutching a stack of old books. Hearing the word "Dementor," her brows furrowed. "Those things are getting close to the school?"

"They're still near Azkaban for now."

Zabini looked at Allen. "But my mother says someone at the Ministry of Magic is preparing a transfer order. The target of the transfer isn't fully written out, only mentioning 'may be dispatched to areas related to Hogwarts when necessary'."

Draco almost dropped his textbooks. "Are they insane? Letting Dementors get close to students?"

"Whether the Ministry of Magic is insane depends on whether the Minister is afraid of losing his position." Nott closed his book. "Once something happens to Black, Fudge has to prove he can still control the prison."

Allen pressed down on his cuff.

Inside the Portable Space, Peter buried his face in his knees in the corner of the cage.

The Void coiled outside the cage, its silver slit pupils fixed on him, the tip of its tail tapping the ground lightly. The cracked pocket watch outside the ebony box was silent, but thin lines were rising from the gold patterns on the north side, adhering to a piece of parchment that read "Azkaban Anomaly."

"Black hasn't broken out yet." Allen spoke up.

Zabini looked at him. "You think he will."

"Rumors are being released, patrols are being strengthened, and the name is being mentioned repeatedly in social circles." Allen withdrew his gaze from the window. "The jailbreak countdown has begun."

Draco's face turned pale. "You make it sound like waiting for a train."

"At least the train is punctual." Nott added.

Pansy glared at him. "Is this the time for jokes?"

Nott stopped his fingers. "It isn't, so I'm noting it down."

Zabini pulled a paper folded into four layers from his sleeve and handed it to Allen. "These are the names my mother could find out. They're only surnames, incomplete. Bones, Prout, old subordinates of Crouch, and two people from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

Draco stared at the paper, his throat bobbing. "You're just handing it over like that?"

"The second year is coming to an end, Malfoy." Zabini looked at him. "Your father has already proven that family judgment can also drag people into the pit. My mother prefers a living son."

Pansy clutched her books tighter. "You have a horrible way of speaking."

"But it's effective." Allen took the paper.

Zabini gave a short laugh. "Is that a compliment?"

"It counts as acceptable intelligence."

"And what about the reward?" Zabini leaned against the wall, intentionally lowering his voice. "I'm not like Nott, asking for his father's old records the moment he opens his mouth. I'm more practical."

Draco scoffed. "What do you want?"

"Permission to correspond during the summer holidays." Zabini raised a finger. "Regular owls, no signatures, no mention of the Chamber of Secrets, no mention of the diary, no mention of your father, no mention of Peter. Use only the weather, tea parties, and book lists as code."

Allen glanced at him. "Did your mother teach you that?"

"She taught me not to entrust my life to stupid men." Zabini spread his hands. "I improved it a bit myself: don't entrust it to stupid letters either."

Nott nodded. "Usable."

Draco was dissatisfied. "Since when did you two get on the same side?"

"Before you prepared to write a letter telling Lucius everything." Pansy added, twisting the knife.

Draco opened his mouth, then swallowed his words. He tucked his textbooks under his arm, the silver buttons on his cuffs clinking softly. "My father isn't stupid enough not to understand a letter."

Allen looked at him. "So don't let him see it."

Draco froze.

Zabini placed another blank piece of paper on the windowsill and tapped it three times with his quill. "I will keep an eye on three things. First, the frequency of Black's name appearing. Second, the Dementor patrol transfer orders. Third, who at the Ministry of Magic is most afraid of old cases being reinvestigated."

Nott added: "Add one more: whether the Nott family's old circle is suddenly destroying letters."

Zabini looked at him. "You want me to touch your father's leads?"

"Don't touch, just listen."

Allen folded the paper and tucked it into his sleeve, sending it into the Portable Space next to the files the next instant. "Continue to keep an eye out during the summer holidays. Don't get close to the source of the rumors about Azkaban, don't ask about Sirius Black's crimes, and don't mention Potter."

"Not even mention Harry?" Zabini asked.

"Especially not Harry."

Draco frowned. "Does Black have something to do with Harry?"

Allen didn't answer. In the distance of the corridor, the noise of Gryffindor students could be heard. Ron Weasley was dragging his trunk, yelling that Scabbers had crawled into his sweater again. Harry was following beside him, and Hermione was holding her books, her gaze crossing the crowd and landing right on Allen's side.

She paused for a moment.

Allen looked away.

"Don't ask." Nott whispered a reminder to Draco. "If you ask now, Granger will remember your expression."

Draco lifted his chin back up, forcing himself to return to his usual demeanor. "I can't be bothered to ask."

Pansy rolled her eyes. "Your acting is mediocre."

Zabini packed up his trunk. "I'm leaving in the afternoon. My mother is coming to pick me up; she doesn't like waiting at the station for too long, and she doesn't like seeing people from the Malfoy Family."

Draco's face went cold. "Thank her for me."

"I'll tell her you're alive." Zabini walked forward two steps, then stopped. "Allen."

Allen looked at him.

Zabini's fingers pressed on the trunk clasp, his voice dropping. "If Black really breaks out, who will he look for?"

Inside the Portable Space, Peter jerked his head up, the seal on his mouth allowing him only to make short gasping sounds. The Void raised the tip of its tail, then pressed it against the edge of the cage.

Allen looked at Zabini.

"He will look for a dead man."

Zabini didn't ask again.

The sunlight at the end of the corridor fell on the floor tiles, and the sound of students dragging their trunks grew denser. Hogwarts was seeing off its students, but the sound of water in the cracks of the walls, the names in old cases, and the Dementors in the outer seas of Azkaban were already lining up for the next school year.

Nott tucked his book back under his arm. "The second line of the third-year files?"

Allen walked towards the Great Hall. "Black's jailbreak timeline."

Draco followed, his voice tense. "What's the first line?"

"Azkaban anomaly."

Pansy chased after them, clutching her books. "What about the third line?"

Allen's eyelids drooped halfway.

"Peter's usage."