180: Chapter 180 The Morning That Flew Away

"Black has escaped!"

Draco slammed The Daily Prophet onto the breakfast table, causing pumpkin juice to slosh over the rim of his goblet.

The Slytherin table went silent for a few seconds, then hushed whispers erupted like a lifted pot lid, spreading from the first years all the way up to the seniors.

Pansy snatched the newspaper, read the headline, and lowered her voice. "Flying away from the Astronomy Tower on Buckbeak? They're writing like it's a fairy tale."

Zabini sliced his sausage. "The Ministry of Magic writes wanted posters like jokes, too."

Nott placed his short report next to Allen. "School announcement. Dementors are withdrawing from the Hogwarts grounds, citing management risks. Black has escaped, and the Ministry of Magic is demanding a school-wide investigation. Lupin has resigned and is leaving today."

Draco looked toward the staff table. "Is Lupin really leaving?"

At the staff table, Lupin's seat was empty. Snape sat next to it, his expression even worse than usual, his fork barely moving. Professor McGonagall and Flitwick were whispering to each other, and Dumbledore sat in the center seat, his teacup steaming before him. Fawkes was not there.

Allen picked up the notice and read it once, then again.

After last night, he had only slept for a little over an hour. His nosebleed had stopped, and the sheets had been cleaned by Pansy with a Scouring Charm, but Draco was still staring at him, as if watching a cauldron about to explode at any moment.

"Finished?"

"Mm."

"Can you explain now how Black flew away right under the Dementors' noses?"

"Harry and Hermione went back and saved him."

Draco put down his fork. "Can you not say that so smoothly?"

Pansy looked toward the Gryffindor table. Harry and Hermione were both sitting there, looking haggard, while Ron's ankle was heavily bandaged, and he was staring blankly at his plate. The usual bickering between the three was gone, replaced by many things that could not be said.

Nott looked over too. "Granger used a time-turner last night, and she still has classes today?"

Zabini shook his head. "She'll break. You can't split a day into three and still act normal."

Draco scoffed. "She'll just bury herself in books."

Allen folded the notice. "McGonagall will take back the time-turner."

Nott recorded, "Reason?"

"Too much strain. Last night crossed the line."

Pansy looked at Hermione's schoolbag. "Then she's down one dangerous object."

"One less dangerous object she'll use to ruin herself." Zabini added, "When Granger gets a tool, she always wants to solve the problem completely."

Draco looked at Allen. "That applies to you, too."

Allen put down his fork. "I'm sleeping."

"You almost slept yourself into a time rift last night."

Pansy nearly choked on her pumpkin juice. "Malfoy, don't say things like that at the breakfast table."

Draco realized and immediately lowered his voice. "I meant he's getting sleepy again."

Zabini slowly placed the sugar bowl by his plate. "The whole table heard you; the cover-up failed."

Nott didn't look up. "I didn't hear anything."

Draco looked at him gratefully. "You're the reliable one."

Nott finished writing a line. "I'm recording suspicious conversations."

Draco's face darkened.

At the other end of the long table, Flint and a few seniors were loudly discussing Black's escape. Adrian Pucey called the Ministry of Magic useless, while another student said Lupin should have been kicked out long ago, the conversation quickly filled with words like Werewolf, half-blood, and dangerous. Draco listened for a moment, his expression sour.

Pansy heard it too. "They're at it again."

Allen didn't look over. "Let them talk."

"Snape will hear." Draco said.

"Even better."

Sure enough, Snape at the staff table looked up toward the Slytherin table. His gaze lingered on Flint and his group, then shifted to Allen's side. Allen was looking down, slicing bread, his movements so slow he looked like he might fall asleep at any second.

Snape's gaze lingered a little longer.

Draco used his goblet to shield his mouth. "The Head of House is watching you."

"Let him watch."

"Did you really not leave any traces last night?"

"I did."

Draco nearly choked. "What did you say?"

Allen put the bread on his plate. "I left behind sleep deprivation, a nosebleed, and the dampness of the Dungeon."

Zabini chuckled softly. "Perfect evidence."

Nott wrote, "External camouflage: fatigue, nosebleed, stress reaction of a lower-year student."

Pansy frowned. "But Snape will investigate Lupin, Black, and Harry. What if he traces the time fluctuations from last night via the time-turner?"

Allen looked at the Gryffindor table. "He will investigate Harry and Hermione first."

Harry was looking up at the staff table, then quickly lowered his head. He must have already seen Black escape and heard Dumbledore's instructions about keeping it secret. Hermione was gripping her cup, her fingers pressing against the side, her whole body radiating the tension of someone who hadn't slept all night.

Ron was still looking at his bandaged ankle, his face reading "What kind of bad luck did I run into?"

Draco watched him, holding back for a long time. "Weasley didn't die."

"Disappointed?" Zabini asked.

"I didn't say that." Draco glared at him. "I just... never mind."

Pansy spoke for him directly. "He was worried last night."

Draco gritted his teeth. "Parkinson."

"The whole dormitory heard it."

Nott raised his pen. "Need me to record that?"

"You dare."

Allen pushed his milk glass away. "Ron being alive is better for us. He will prove that he was the one dragged away by Black, and he will prove that Scabbers was acting abnormally, even if they can't produce Peter."

Draco's voice lowered when he heard Peter. "Black is free. He'll still be looking."

"He will."

"And you're going to keep Peter locked up?"

"Until he's useful."

Zabini looked at the newspaper. "Black is a fugitive, he can't speak publicly. If he wants to clear his name, he needs Peter. Peter is in your hands. The power dynamic remains."

Nott nodded. "Black is free, Peter is still imprisoned. The Ministry of Magic withdrew the Dementors, the old case enters the shadows. Lupin leaves the school, the Werewolf storyline is superficially closed."

Pansy added, "Will Harry receive news from his godfather?"

Allen glanced at Harry. "He will. But it can't be public."

Draco suddenly lowered his voice. "Then will Potter come and ask you? He heard Peter being exchanged in the shack last night, and Granger will be suspicious about Christmas too."

"He will."

"How do you intend to answer?"

"Being alive is more important than the answer."

Draco's face fell. "You can't just fob him off with that every time."

"As long as it works."

Zabini pushed the sugar bowl to Draco. "Eat some candy, lower your expectations for the quality of other people's answers."

Pansy laughed.

The laughter didn't last long. Footsteps sounded at the entrance of the Great Hall; two Ministry of Magic officials passed by the side door, speaking in low voices with Professor McGonagall. The students' chatter immediately quieted. A notice about the Dementors' withdrawal had already been posted on the bulletin board, and several Hufflepuffs were gathered around it, their faces showing obvious relief.

"First reaction." Nott said in a low voice. "Lower years are relieved the Dementors are gone. Middle years are discussing Black's escape. Seniors are linking Lupin's resignation to his Werewolf status. Pressure on the staff table has shifted."

Zabini continued, "Second reaction: the Ministry of Magic needs a scapegoat. Lupin goes first, Dumbledore keeps his position as Principal, and Snape lost his chance to catch Black; he'll be in such a bad mood he'll assign essays to the whole school."

Draco's expression changed. "Don't say such ominous things."

As if validating Zabini, Snape stood up, his Black robes billowing as he walked toward the exit of the Great Hall. When he passed the Slytherin table, he paused.

"Potter."

Draco immediately sat up straight. Pansy lowered her head to drink pumpkin juice, Nott closed his notebook, and Zabini tucked the sugar bowl into his sleeve.

Allen looked up. "Professor."

Snape looked at his pale face and the faint red trace remaining under his nose. "Did you sleep well last night?"

Draco nearly bent his fork.

Allen replied, "Not very well, Professor. The Dungeon is too damp."

Snape's gaze landed on the notice beside him. "This afternoon, turn in a report on the differences in Dementor reactions, an essay on Warming Charms, and a supplementary version of the Werewolf risk assessment to my office."

Draco cursed under his breath and was kicked by Pansy under the table.

Allen nodded. "Yes, Professor."

Snape looked at him for another second. "Don't oversleep."

"I'll try."

After Snape left, Draco slammed his cup onto the table. "He did that on purpose."

Zabini nodded. "Three essays; it really does feel like revenge against society."

Nott opened his notebook. "Snape is suspicious of Allen's state last night, but has no evidence. His action is to increase the workload of essays and occupy time, restricting Allen's activities."

Pansy looked at Allen. "Are you going this afternoon?"

"I am."

"He will use Legilimency."

"Let him see me sleeping."

Draco laughed angrily. "You really treat sleeping as a cure-all."

Allen said no more. He put away the notice, along with Nott's report, into his sleeve. Inside the Portable Space, the Void lazily stretched its snake body, its tail tip sliding past Peter's cage. Peter huddled in the corner; after hearing "Black is free," he seemed frozen, not even daring to blink.

Beside the ebony box, the cracked pocket watch lay quietly. Gold threads had already spread over half its surface, glowing with a warm color in the morning light simulated within the Portable Space. The time-folding rift from last night had closed, but the path left behind had not disappeared.

Allen took out the file paper in his consciousness and slowly wrote:

Black is free.

Peter is still with me.

Dual cultivation of time and space has started.

Third-year finale.

The Void's tail tip tapped the paper, as if confirming.

Peter saw those lines and suddenly began to shake his head. His mouth was sealed, he couldn't shout a word, he could only press his forehead against the thin wall of the cage, as if begging Allen to cross out the last line.

Allen ignored him.

In reality, the discussion in the Great Hall was still spreading. Hufflepuffs were relieved about the Dementors' withdrawal, Ravenclaws were discussing loopholes in the timeline, Gryffindors were surrounding Ron and Harry to ask about Black, and the Slytherin seniors were fixated on Lupin's Werewolf status. Everyone thought last night was the end of the Black case.

Only the few people at Allen's table knew that the real bargaining chips had not yet been revealed.

Draco watched Allen put away the file, his voice lower. "Is third year just going to end like this?"

Allen looked at the empty seat where Lupin had sat at the staff table, then at the empty chair beside Harry.

"Superficially, yes."

Pansy pressed, "What about beneath the surface?"

"Black owes the truth, Harry owes an answer, Snape owes a successful investigation, and Dumbledore owes an explanation." Allen picked up his schoolbag. "There is still time; the door has just opened."

Zabini tapped the sugar bowl lightly. "Sounds like fourth year will be even worse."

Nott wrote the last line. "Next file preparation: Black's shadow line, timing for Peter's reveal, Laws of Time training, the blue light gate in the old restricted area on the Third Floor."

Draco stood up and followed Allen. "You must get enough sleep today."

Allen walked out of the Great Hall. "I have to write essays."

"I'll write the Warming Charm one for you."

Pansy looked at him immediately. "You?"

Draco's face stiffened. "I'll have Nott write the outline."

Nott closed his notebook. "For a fee."

Zabini smiled and handed the sugar bowl over. "Malfoy, growth costs money."

Draco took the candy, endured and endured, but finally followed beside Allen, lowering his voice. "If you have a nosebleed in Snape's office this afternoon, I'll say you were worried about Weasley last night."

Allen glanced at him. "He won't believe it."

"I'll have Zabini testify."

Zabini added from behind. "That costs extra."

The group passed through the entrance of the Great Hall, with the clamor caused by Black's escape still behind them. The Dementors outside the Castle were withdrawing, the chill by the Black Lake was dissipating, and there was no sign of the Hippogriff on top of the Astronomy Tower.

Yet Allen heard the cracked pocket watch in his Portable Space tick forward another notch.

He paused for half a step.

Draco immediately turned back. "What now?"

Allen looked toward the Third Floor.

"Nothing."

Nott's pen was already out. "When you say nothing, it usually means something."

Allen continued walking toward the Dungeon. "Then write it down."

The Void looked up inside the space, its silver pupils staring at the end of the golden patterns on the north side. There, in the old restricted corridor on the Third Floor that had appeared in last night's future cross-section, a tiny, extremely thin blue light was quietly lighting up on the edge of the file paper.