Hogwarts: This professor is too Muggle.

Chapter 282 Reunion of old friends

On the eighth floor of the castle, hurried footsteps echoed on the stairs.

The half-giant strode forward with effort, taking only four or five steps to traverse what would normally be dozens of steps. His footsteps echoed through the stairwell, heavy as drumbeats.

The hound, Yaya, followed closely behind its owner, finally stopping at the top of the stairs. Melvin walked up unhurriedly and found that someone was already guarding the place.

Professors Flitwick and Sprout, the two deans, were still wearing their pajamas. The fairy-half Charms professor was short and had only a few buttons, which were buttoned up incorrectly. The Herbalism professor's collar was slightly wrinkled.

It was clear that the two professors were concerned about the students' safety and rushed to the scene as soon as they heard the alarm, without even having time to tidy their clothes.

Flitwick and Sprout stared intently in the direction of the tower, their faces filled with worry. Even though they had nothing to do here, they had no mind to tidy their clothes; they were eager for results.

“Melvin, Hagrid, you’ve arrived.” Flitwick said without turning his head.

"Felius, Pomona, why aren't you going over there?" Hagrid asked, slightly out of breath.

Sprout turned to look at them: “Remus and Severus are ahead of us and are already on their way to the Gryffindor Tower. We’re to guard the stairs and make sure Black doesn’t escape.”

"How come you're all faster than us? Has the duel started over there? We need to get there to help as soon as possible!"

"Remus and Severus don't need help. You two hurry up and go to the other staircase to prevent Blake from escaping again."

Indeed, they didn't need to worry about it. One was a werewolf professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, and the other was a dark wizard who had long coveted the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Snape and Lupin were working together to hunt down an escaped convict who had been tortured in Azkaban for years and had never even touched a wand. The scales of victory were completely tipped.

"Oh, alright!"

Hagrid breathed a sigh of relief and then started running again, the floor shaking.

Hogwarts covers thousands of acres and has two staircases connecting the eight floors. Running from one end to the other to block it is equivalent to running several laps around a football field.

Melvin wasn't in a hurry. He watched Hagrid and Tooth disappear quickly around the corner of the corridor, then suddenly remembered, "By the way, did you see the headmaster?"

"Dumbledore and Minerva seem to have gone to Hogsmeade to make contact with the Aurors stationed there because of what happened last night."

"That's it..."

Melvin was about to follow when he suddenly turned back to look at the two professors, who had just woken up and were still in their pajamas, their faces showing signs of exhaustion. "Don't worry, no one will get hurt."

"That's good……"

Without any apparent reason, the two deans believed this explanation and seemed much more at ease.

After hastily bidding farewell to the two deans who were blocking the door, Melvin found it amusing as he walked away. The fact that Lupin and Snape were able to catch up so quickly meant that they were together when the incident occurred, and he wondered if they were experimenting with the torture effects of the Truth Potion.

On the other hand, Dumbledore had just used the Patronus Phoenix to notify them to patrol the night an hour ago, so how could he not be at the school?

The principal's office is on the eighth floor. He hasn't shown up for so long. Could he be hiding somewhere watching the show?

……

In the quiet valley at night, moonlight shines on the houses in the suburbs.

Harry saw the scene again. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was in a valley with a small town nestled in the middle, and a church situated in the town center. Unfortunately, Harry couldn't move his perspective freely in his dream, otherwise he could have seen even more details.

Suddenly, he lost his balance and fell straight into the courtyard in front of the house.

It seemed like there was a knock on the door, or perhaps someone broke in through the window. The behavior was very impolite. Later, the door and window in the scene were broken, with glass scattered all over the floor. The cold moonlight shone into the room, and two familiar figures stood in front of the crib.

"No, no..."

"Let him go, he's the only one..."

The voices of the male and female wizards came from a great distance, faint and indistinct, very unreal.

A heavy sadness welled up in Harry's heart, but from this perspective, he also felt a sense of pleasure, enjoying the fear revealed by the torture of men and women, and there seemed to be an urge within him to make them suffer even more.

"Oh no!"

"squeak!"

Harry suddenly woke up as if struck by an unparalleled force, his body crushed, his consciousness instantly leaving his body. Lost in the darkness, he suppressed his panic and groped for the curtains around the bed.

He heard noises in the dormitory. Seamus turned on the light, and Ron and Dean also woke up.

"what happened?"

Ron somehow fell off the bed, blankets and pillows scattered all over the floor, his face contorted in extreme terror: "Black! Sirius Black! He's holding a wand to my heart!"

"what?"

"Right here! Just now! He pulled back my bed and woke me up!"

"Did you have a nightmare?" Dean asked, yawning.

"I don't!"

"Where's Neville?" Harry was the first to notice something was wrong; one of the beds was empty.

The other roommates immediately jumped out of bed, rushed out of the dormitory, and ran downstairs at full speed. There were rustling noises coming from the dormitories along the way, and the other students were also awakened.

There was still a faint light in the common room, traces of the Split Curse on the walls, scorch marks on the sofa, the unconscious toad Raef on the carpet, the half-open doorway blocking the entrance, the empty portrait, and signs of the fugitive Black's presence everywhere.

"Nawi, Nawi?!"

Harry was gripped by intense panic and screamed as he chased after them out of the cave.

“I’m here…” Neville answered weakly, his head drooping.

Outside the portrait cave, Lupin and Snape were examining the traces in the corridor and asking the students for information. When they heard that the wand had been taken away, they couldn't help but frown.

"What else did he tell you?" Snape's expression was grave, his black eyes cold. "Which way did Black run off to after he came out?"

“He only said he didn’t want to hurt any students or innocent people, and asked me to give his regards to Professor Lupin.” Neville said with his head down, “He ran down the right corridor, and when he left he said that he was only borrowing the wand temporarily and would definitely return it to me when he had the chance.”

“Leave Black’s matter to the professor. Neville, Harry, you two stay in the tower.” Lupin was pale, but still forced himself to be cheerful. “Have the prefects check the list to see if everyone is in their dormitories, and if anyone is injured… Don’t wander around!”

"Good professor."

"..."

Harry felt his mind was in turmoil, and let Neville pull him back to the common room. They were immediately surrounded by classmates, who recounted Neville's unfortunate experience. "I came back from outside and happened to run into Black sneaking into the school..."

Exclamations erupted from the common room.

……

Can Sirius really escape?
The raiders had explored the entire castle and knew its internal structure. The eighth-floor corridor connected the Gryffindor Tower and the Headmaster's Office, but both staircases were blocked, and there were no secret passages leading elsewhere.

This manhunt was a classic case of trapping a turtle in a jar, which is why Snape was taking his time.

If Sirius were captured like this, and handed over to the Aurors before dawn so he could taste the Dementors' kiss... would such an ending really be appropriate? Are there hidden secrets behind what happened back then? Perhaps there will never be an answer.

Lupin remained undecided and hesitant.

The figure walking briskly ahead suddenly stopped, the flickering torch casting shadowy patterns down the corridor.

A faint scent lingered in the enclosed corridor, not strong, but enough for the two pursuers to detect. Following the direction of the scent, they looked at the statue of the wizard Falco Elsaren, the first Animagus in history.

The smell was clearly emanating from behind the statue; it was the humiliation and poverty accumulated from a life of wandering.

"Stop hiding, Sirius Black, I can smell you, the stench of garbage cans and sewers!" Snape said calmly.

The flickering firelight suddenly stopped, followed by the fugitive's mocking voice: "Of course you recognize it, Snotty, that used to be your smell. You fooled Dumbledore and hid in the school. You think you've washed yourself clean?"

【God's Shadowless Sword】

【Split into pieces】

The instant the invisible blade was released, Sirius Black, who had been hiding behind the statue, emerged. He was wearing a black robe tattered to shreds, holding Neville's cherry wood wand, and his face was unshaven, revealing only two hound-like eyes.

Lupin immediately recognized his former partner, who was no longer as handsome as before and had obviously gone through unimaginable hardships. He should have immediately launched a spell attack, but instead stood there in a daze.

The confrontation between Snape and Sirius quickly escalated, and driven by hatred, the Potions Professor mercilessly unleashed a variety of profound spells.

Opposite him was a prisoner who had escaped from prison six months ago, wielding a wand he had just stolen. The unicorn hair was characterized by loyalty, which made his spellcasting somewhat hesitant. In addition, he had not cast spells for more than ten years, so he was inevitably somewhat powerless in his fight and was quickly dragged into a disadvantageous position, with defeat gradually becoming apparent.

“Sirius…” Lupin hesitated for a moment before calling out his full name, “Black.”

"Long time no see, Remus!" came the cheerful reply from the other side.

"There's something we don't know about James and Lily's murder back then, isn't there?"

"Shut up! What's the point of asking him now? Grab him, the truth serum will give you the answer!" Snape interrupted his old friend's reminiscing in a deep voice, his wand flashing as a whistling spell was unleashed, sparks flying everywhere.

Lupin looked at that familiar yet unfamiliar face and slowly raised his wand.

Sirius Black's arm was slashed open by a sharp blade, blood splattering everywhere. The wound wouldn't heal, and defeat was only a matter of time. Yet, he still fiercely swung his wand, casting a spell: "So you're on Snotty's side now, Remus?"

Lupin remained silent for a moment, then chanted an incantation in a low voice.

The tip of the staff gleamed faintly.

……

Several corridors away, at the entrance to the principal's office.

Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall stood in the shadows beneath the torches, their bodies radiating the magic of the Illusion Charm, observing the battle from a distance. Their expressions differed as they heard Sirius's shouts.

The principal seemed to recall the mischievous days the four of them had in school, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.

Professor McGonagall frowned slightly, her expression quite worried.

“We are a magic school responsible for teaching, and our primary responsibility is to protect the safety of our students.” Professor McGonagall pursed her lips. “Whatever the secrets behind the night James and Lily were attacked should be left to the Aurors to investigate. Sirius Black broke into the castle and stole a student’s wand. Regardless of whether he intended to harm the students, he should be apprehended. I don’t understand why we didn’t go to their aid?”

“I don’t know what happened to Sirius, and I understand whatever choice Remus makes,” Dumbledore said slowly. “It’s just that Melvin promised me beforehand that no student would be hurt because of this, so I think we can give him some more patience.”

"You mean Black didn't intend to hurt Harry, and he had no ill intentions towards anyone else?"

“No…” Dumbledore shook his head. “Did you notice, Minerva, whether it was the raid on Hogsmeade or the night raid on Gryffindor dormitories, his target was Ron.”

“Mr. Weasley?” Professor McGonagall realized.

"Perhaps it's not Ron, he's more interested in something about Ron." A glint of light flashed in Dumbledore's azure eyes; the battle not far away was drawing to a close.

[Retreat the enemy three feet]

They heard Lupin reciting a spell.

……

Bright, emerald-green beams shot out.

A single knockback spell struck him squarely in the chest, signaling that the tide of battle had completely turned in one direction.

Snape cast the Disarming Charm almost without thinking. It wasn't a deadly spell and wouldn't even cause any harm. He needed to investigate the truth behind Lily's death and also save Black to give him the True Essence.

The cherry wood wand flew out of his hand, spinning a few times in the air. Blood was still flowing from the wound on the outside of his arm, with a few drops of crimson splashing out like wildflowers blooming at night.

But in the direction Snape's staff was pointing, Black's figure disappeared.

The knockback spell sent his body flying backward, and the disarming spell added another push, sending his slender and agile body back dozens of feet before landing in the shadows by the wall.

Sirius activated his Animagus form mid-air, using his agile black dog body to adjust his posture and land smoothly. The moment he landed, he propelled himself forward with a burst of power from his hind legs, transforming into a black shadow and disappearing at the end of the corridor.

The series of changes took less than two seconds. The afterimage and the shadow merged together, and before Snape could see clearly, the shadow had already escaped his sight.

The swiftly running figure stirred up a gust of wind, and the torches flickered in the corridor, casting swaying shadows that made the silence all the more profound.

The cherry wood wand finally landed with a crisp sound.

Whether you did it on purpose or not—

Snape gave Lupin a cold look. "None of that changes the fact that Black has nowhere to run. There are people blocking both staircases. They have no past relationship with Black. I just need to follow the trail of blood..."

The wounds inflicted by Shenfeng Wuying can never heal without his unique counter-curse.

The storm subsided, the flickering flames ceased, illuminating Lu Ping's pale face. He stood like a prisoner awaiting judgment in the center of a courtroom, offering no defense.

(End of this chapter)