205: Chapter 205 The Former Name of the Phoenix Society

Allen took the letter and had the family crest verify it first. The surface of the parchment was a standard book list: old editions of History of Magic, Extracts of Defense Against the Dark Arts Tactics, and Post-War Trial Catalog.

Tucked within the fibers was a speculative list compiled from Nott's father's old correspondence directory, the handwriting as small as dust.

The family crest projected the first column: Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, Alastor Moody, Remus Lupin, Frank Longbottom, Alice Longbottom, Edgar Bones, Dorcas Meadowes, Mundungus Fletcher.

Behind them were several more names marked as deceased, missing, or suspected to be undisclosed.

The door knocker snorted. "Great. A Principal, a Dean, a Mad-Eye, a Werewolf, an Auror, and a drunkard. They certainly know how to set a table."

In the cage, Peter's shoulders shrank instantly upon hearing Moody's name. Allen granted him half a minute of speaking permission. "Identify the list."

"Moody would interrogate someone until they recited their confession in their sleep." Peter stared at the list, his voice dry. "The Longbottoms were real Aurors, the Bones family suffered many deaths back then, and Meadowes was handled personally by the Master. Mundungus is only good for stealing silver spoons, but he always manages to hear things he shouldn't."

"What about Lupin?" Allen asked.

Peter dodged the void's silver gaze, but could not escape the cage tightening. "Remus chases logic. He doesn't pounce like Sirius; he asks questions until you trip yourself up."

The door knocker mocked, "No wonder you're afraid of him—more afraid of him than the dog."

Allen overlaid the list with the remnants of the old letters from Knockturn Alley. Lily's letter had mentioned 'D', and James's letter contained a line, "Moody does not approve of waiting any longer." The code page regarding the Secret-Keeper had contained three marks other than "Stag, Dog, Moon, Rat." Nott's list filled in the framework, and Peter's confession filled in the operational habits.

The family crest highlighted three overlapping points in red: Mundungus, Moody, and Croaker.

"Croaker?" The door knocker paused. "This name wasn't on the Order of the Phoenix list before."

Allen pulled out the old cocktail party excerpts from Blaise Zabini's mother's social circle. There was a Croaker in the Department of Mysteries who had long handled the Time Room and echoes of abnormal spaces, and had once had a brief conversation with Dumbledore after a Wizengamot hearing. In Nott's old directory, Croaker's name only appeared in an unaddressed note with "Don't let him near the children" written beside it.

Peter's face turned even paler. "Those people in the Department of Mysteries talk like they've swallowed a lock. I've heard of Croaker; the Death Eaters don't like to mess with him. The Master never let us rummage around in the Department of Mysteries back then either."

"The superior of the Wizard with the round hat." Allen dragged Croaker's name to the Department of Mysteries file. "Probability increased."

The family crest pulled up the records of the round-hatted Wizard outside the old house. The brass dial had probed the study, the underground storage area, and the external ripples of the Portable Space. The probing route was professional, avoiding the boundaries of the old house's contract retaliation, and only measuring from the edge of the Muggle street. The field level was high, but the report would inevitably be handed to a higher authority.

The door knocker said coldly, "The Order of the Phoenix is watching you, the Department of Mysteries is watching you, and Snape is watching you with his essays. You might as well hang a sign on the door that says 'Potter Exhibition: Admission by Ticket'."

Allen didn't take the bait. He divided the list into three layers. The first layer: confirmed Order of the Phoenix members—Dumbledore, McGonagall, Moody, Lupin, and the Longbottoms. The second layer: old members or peripheral figures—Mundungus, Bones, and Meadowes. The third layer: those cooperating with or sharing information with the Order of the Phoenix—Croaker, the round-hatted Wizard, and an unknown flame-affinity observer.

Peter looked at the third layer, his eyes darting around. "If Croaker is really behind this, there will be Department of Mysteries people at the Quidditch World Cup. Large events, international Portkeys, abnormal time artifacts—they wouldn't just ignore it completely."

"That's why the Quidditch World Cup is even filthier." The door knocker chimed in. "Pure-bloods want to socialize, old Death Eaters want to light a fire, the Ministry of Magic wants to show its face, the Order of the Phoenix wants to watch Harry, and the Department of Mysteries wants to watch for abnormalities. How nice, they even saved on the price of admission."

There was another sentence at the end of Nott's letter. In his father's old directory, some members of the Order of the Phoenix continued to transmit low-frequency messages after the war. The receiving points weren't Hogwarts, but three rotating addresses. One was at the old post office in Hogsmeade, the second was at a Muggle bookstore in London, and the third was blacked out, leaving only the abbreviation for "round hat."

Allen magnified the blacked-out area. There was a slight indentation beneath the ink, as if the first letter of "Croaker" had been written there. The family crest attempted to restore it but failed. The paper had been treated; restoration would leave magical fluctuations, which wasn't worth it.

"Enough." Allen sealed Nott's letter into the thin wall. "No need to dig everything up. Confirming that the surveillance network is wider than expected is enough."

Peter asked hurriedly, "Who do you intend to hand me over to? Dumbledore? Moody? Black?"

The tip of the void's tail pressed against the edge of the cage, and Peter immediately swallowed the rest of his sentence. Allen watched him for a while, then pulled out the old case file. "If you are handed over now, you will become their evidence. If you stay here, you are my evidence."

The door knocker added a parting shot, "Understand? The rat isn't ready to be served on the table yet."

Peter slumped back into the corner, muttering curses against James, Sirius, and Dumbledore, only stopping after being tapped twice by the void.

Allen began his reply to Nott. The surface remained a book list, thanking him for the recommendation of History of Magic and asking if the Quidditch World Cup Official Yearbook was worth buying. The hidden layer contained only four points: stop contacting the original old directory, don't ask about Croaker, don't go near Mundungus, and only record all information related to the Order of the Phoenix before the Quidditch World Cup, without pursuing it further.

After reading it, the door knocker asked, "Are you afraid of Nott being watched?"

"His family's old letters have been rummaged through once already." Allen sealed the letter. "The second time, someone will ask who they were rummaged for."

The code for Zabini also had to be changed. Allen wrote about the hot weather, suggesting they talk less about the old war at tea parties and more about the Bulgarian team's Seeker. The hidden layer instructed that if the social circle mentioned the Order of the Phoenix, round hats, the Department of Mysteries, or abnormal spaces, he should record the location and the speaker, but not respond.

Things were simpler on Draco's side. The White Peacock was only to practice walking before the Quidditch World Cup, not flying. The hidden layer wrote that if Lucius mentioned Dumbledore, Moody, Crouch, Black, or the Department of Mysteries, he was to record the exact words only, without questioning his father's stance.

The door knocker muttered, "Getting the young Master Malfoy to shut up is harder than getting a cracked pocket watch to stop ticking."

Allen handed the letter to the owl. "That's why the letters are short."

The family crest reported on the outside. The observer at the street corner had switched back to the Witch with the old scarf, and a brief flame fluctuation appeared in the empty house opposite. A Muggle postman passed by in the distance without stopping. The round-hatted Wizard still hadn't returned, but the detection lines left by the brass dial on the outer edge of the underground storage area were fading, indicating that the other party would come for a re-test soon.

Allen arranged all the files into a diagram. The Quidditch World Cup thread, the Crouch thread, the suspicion of Barty Crouch Jr.'s survival, the old Order of the Phoenix list, Croaker of the Department of Mysteries, the empty object on the Potter pedestal, the cracked pocket watch, and the Goblet of Fire warning. There were too many threads; the stupidest way was to touch them actively.

"Keep a low profile until the Quidditch World Cup." Allen wrote down the execution list. "Zero casting in external spaces. Sleep training postponed. Basement sealed. Letters only via ordinary owls. Peter's silence normalized."

Peter looked up abruptly. "Silence normalized? I just helped you identify the list!"

The door knocker was amused. "A reward of silence for you."

With a tap of the void's tail tip, Peter's voice was pressed back into his throat. He opened his mouth to curse but couldn't make a sound, only able to grab the bars and glare. Allen didn't look at him, placing the Order of the Phoenix list under Dumbledore's file, and pressing Croaker's name separately onto the top layer of the Department of Mysteries file.

"The chessboard is bigger than the school." The door knocker's voice lowered. "You're just a student; can you really pretend to be asleep better than they can?"

Allen dimmed the lights, letting the shadow double continue to write the soul protection essay at the desk. The observer outside the window could see the pages turning, but could not see the prisoner, the cracked pocket watch, the old letters, or the list inside the Portable Space.

"Students are best suited for being underestimated." He pushed the ebony box back beside the void. "Especially students writing homework during summer break."

The door knocker was silent for a while, then finally cursed, "If Snape heard that, he'd deduct points from you."

On the desk, Snape's soul protection essay lay on top. Deep within the thin wall, the Order of the Phoenix list and the Quidditch World Cup warning were sealed side-by-side. Someone changed guard outside the window, and the old house's door knocker closed, as if biting down on the entire house.

Allen wrote the final line at the bottom of the file: Before the Quidditch World Cup, I seek no action, only to see who reveals their tail first.