188: Chapter 188 Harry Chasing the Silver Light

"Last year the Philosopher's Stone, this year the Chamber of Secrets, last night the Black Lake. Is Silver Light you?"

Harry blocked the exit of the Dungeon corridor, his words more urgent than his footsteps.

Ron stood two steps behind him, leaning on a crutch, his face full of disapproval.

Hermione didn't come; she probably let Harry ask on his own on purpose.

Draco was annoyed the moment he saw Harry. "Potter, can you go crazy somewhere else? This is the entrance to the Dungeon."

"I'm asking Allen." Harry didn't look at him. "Not you."

Draco took a half-step forward, and Allen raised his hand to stop him.

Nott leaned against the wall, his pen tip already touching his cuff.

Pansy looked at Ron's ankle, and Zabini stood under the light, his candy box snapped shut tightly.

Allen looked at Harry. "What you believe isn't important; what Dumbledore believes is."

The fire on Harry's face was stifled by these words.

He held his breath for a few seconds. "Don't use Dumbledore as a shield. I'm only asking you."

"And after you ask?"

"I want an answer."

"Will an answer make you get hurt less?"

Ron couldn't help but speak up. "He just wants to figure out why he's always missing a piece of memory. If it were me, I'd want to ask too."

Draco sneered. "Weasley, you should first figure out why you're always breaking your leg."

"It's my ankle!" Ron immediately exploded. "And another thing, it wasn't a fall, I was dragged away by a dog!"

Pansy glanced at Draco. "Don't speak when you're worried; it's easy to give yourself away."

Draco's face turned pale. "I am not worried about Weasley."

Harry wasn't distracted by them.

He took a step forward, his voice low. "Sirius Black told me to trust family."

As these words fell, it was as if the sound of water in the Dungeon corridor paused.

Allen's gaze rested on Harry's face.

Inside the Portable Space, upon hearing "Sirius Black" and "family," Peter shrank into the farthest corner of the cage, hiding his severed finger in his sleeve.

The void's tail tip tapped against the cage wall, pressing the silencing layer tighter.

"The word 'family' means death in the Potter Family," Allen said.

Harry looked as if someone had grabbed him by the collar, the rest of his words stuck in his throat.

Ron also shut his mouth.

Hermione wasn't there, and no one was there to finish the sentence for him.

Allen walked past Harry. "Sirius Black just came out of twelve years of wrongful imprisonment; he's desperate for something to hold onto. Don't take every word he says as the truth."

Harry turned around. "You're avoiding it."

"You're chasing shadows."

"Silver Light is not a shadow."

"To you, it is."

Harry's hand reached for his wand, then let go.

He didn't want to duel here, and he knew very well that if they really fought, there would be no result.

Two older Slytherin students poked their heads out from the other end of the corridor, but seeing Draco there, they pulled back.

"I remember a little," Harry said. "In the Chamber of Secrets, Tom said you had been watching for a long time. And that night with the Philosopher's Stone, someone stood in front of me and blocked the green light. After I woke up, Dumbledore said Quirrell was dead and Lord Voldemort had run away, but there was a gap in the middle."

Allen didn't stop walking. "It's better to leave it empty."

"Of course it's better for you." Harry caught up, his voice simmering with anger. "You don't have to be lied to, have your memory altered, or hear people telling you every day that it's all for your own good."

Allen finally stopped.

Draco's hand moved to his wand handle. Nott looked up, Zabini stood straight under the light, and Pansy pulled at Draco's sleeve. Ron also gripped his crutch tightly, as if afraid they would start fighting the next moment.

"You think I don't?" Allen asked.

Harry froze.

The sentence didn't continue. Allen didn't explain either. The orphanage, the old house, Dumbledore's parchment, Snape's Legilimency, the erased records of the Potter Family, the names hidden in old cases—all weighed behind his words.

Harry couldn't see those things. And Allen didn't intend to let him see them.

"If you want family, go find Sirius Black," Allen said. "If you want the truth, stop dragging everyone who gets close to you into the Headmasters Office."

Harry gritted his teeth. "Sirius Black didn't betray my parents."

"You can believe that."

"You knew all along?"

"I suspected it all along."

"Then why didn't you say anything?"

"Evidence." Allen spat out only two words. "Truth without evidence is a joke to the Ministry of Magic."

Ron gripped his crutch. "But Peter is dead."

Inside the Portable Space, Peter jerked violently. The void raised its head, its silver eyes pressing close to the cage. Allen didn't look at anyone.

"The newspaper says he is dead," Allen said.

Ron frowned. "That sounds very strange."

"Newspapers are often strange."

Harry stared at him. "What else do you know?"

Draco finally couldn't help it. "He knows that if you keep asking, Snape is going to come around the corner and deduct points. Potter, can you pull yourself out of trouble for once?"

"Malfoy, stop acting like a good guy," Ron immediately retorted.

"Who's acting like a good guy? I just don't want the entrance to the Dungeon turned into a courtroom by you Gryffindors."

Footsteps approached in the corridor. Professor McGonagall's figure appeared at the top of the stairs, the hem of her robes carrying the scent of end-of-term paperwork. Harry and Ron immediately fell silent.

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley." Professor McGonagall looked at both sides. "If you intend to discuss Sirius Black here, please move to a room where a Professor is present. Now, go to the Great Hall."

Harry still wanted to speak, but Ron pulled him.

McGonagall looked at Allen again. "Mr. Potter, Professor Snape asked me to tell you that the second part of the revised Dementor report is due tomorrow morning; you are not allowed to drag it out until the return train."

Draco let out a short gasp.

Allen nodded. "Yes, Professor."

McGonagall looked at him, slowing her speech a little. "And one more thing, stop standing in the corridor letting people chase you. Those of you with the name Potter are already conspicuous enough in the Castle."

She turned and left, and Harry was dragged away by Ron. When they reached the stairs, Harry looked back. There was still fire in his eyes, and words left unsaid.

"He won't give up," Nott said, opening his notebook. "Gryffindors don't give up."

"He's too direct," Draco said, tucking his wand back into his sleeve. "So direct that it's like sticking your head into a cauldron to ask if the potion is hot."

Zabini opened the candy box and finally took one. "Sirius Black threw the word 'family' at him, and now he'll take it and knock on doors everywhere."

Pansy looked at Allen. "You almost said too much just now."

"Almost doesn't count as saying it."

"Snape doesn't see it that way," Draco said, crossing his arms. "He'd turn that 'almost' into the topic of a three-foot essay."

Allen walked toward the Dungeon. "Then let him write it."

Draco followed behind him. "You're actually going to write it? You already owe eight."

"Nine," Nott corrected. "McGonagall just added the second part."

"Shut up, Nott."

Inside the Portable Space, Peter was still huddled in the cage. Allen gave him three seconds of hearing, but did not lift the silencing spell.

"Sirius Black is free, Harry is questioning, Lupin is leaving the school," Allen said in his consciousness. "Your position has become more valuable."

Peter looked up, his eyes full of fear.

The void's tail tip pushed the parchment with "Harry" written on it beneath "Silver Light Investigation." Next to the ebony box, the cracked pocket watch did not light up, but emitted a short sound inside the box.

Outside, Draco was still complaining.

"Can you change your answers in the future? 'Living is more important than answers,' 'It's better to leave it empty,' 'The newspaper says he's dead.' You sound even more like a riddle than Dumbledore."

Allen walked into the Common Room. "It's effective."

Pansy sat by the fireplace. "Being annoying is effective too."

Zabini nodded. "Especially with Gryffindors. They get tangled up in annoying words for a long time."

Nott wrote down the last line: Harry directly questioned Silver Light. Response strategy effective, but bloodline connection stimulated by Sirius Black. Peter reacted violently to "family." Gryffindors will not give up.

Allen leaned back in his chair, saying only one sentence before closing his eyes.

"Let him chase."