Hogwarts: This professor is too Muggle.

Chapter 299 The Rat Caught in the Net
Crystal-clear snowflakes drifted lightly down onto the astronomical tower. A telescope handcrafted by an alchemist stood against the wall. A short, stout middle-aged wizard, dragging an unconscious hostage, hid behind the telescope, his face contorted in a grotesque grimace, gripping his wand tightly against his old friend's head.

"Professors, please keep your distance."

Peter forced an awkward smile at them, then jabbed his wand into their heads, leaving a streak of crimson blood. "Severus, Remus, put down your wands. There are students here. You don't want them to witness a brutal murder, do you?"

“Actually, I don’t mind,” Snape said coolly, his expression remarkably calm.

No one thought he wasn't bluffing. There were old grudges from their student days, and they were settling old scores with new ones. If Sirius died at Peter's hands, the Ministry of Magic wouldn't bother him. It was a win-win situation.

Lupin remained rooted to the spot, slowly lowering the hand that held the wand.

Harry and Hermione turned to look at the werewolf professor, wanting to say something, but suddenly noticed that his hair stood on end. Compared to ordinary men, the hair was tougher and more like that of some animal than human body hair.

He stared intently at Peter and Sirius, his body trembling slightly.

Hermione looked at the mild-mannered professor and suddenly realized that Lupin wasn't afraid, but rather angry. He was about to face the same scene as thirteen years ago: his best friend was about to die, betrayed by another friend.

Snape held his wand high, his gaze fixed on Peter's forehead. He retreated step by step, using the telescope stand and Sirius Black as cover, trying to conceal himself.

"Remus, talk to him. Do you really want to see Sirius die a horrible death?"

Peter started lobbying again, trying to buy himself a chance: "Think back to when we were in school, we lived in the same dormitory. Sirius was the first to discover your symptoms. You were never in bed on full moon nights, and you would become weak and tired for several days before and after... Slytherin wanted to embarrass you, and it was he who dragged James to stand up for you."

“Dear Harry, think about it carefully. He is your godfather, he is your only family in the wizarding world, he loves you, and he even broke out of prison to protect you... When he found out that your broom was broken, he immediately sent you a Firebolt, although this also exposed his identity.”

These words reached Harry's ears, and he seemed to see a skinny black dog running desperately from Diagon Alley to Hogsmeade, from London to the Scottish Highlands, following the express train, rain or shine.

A gust of wind blew up Sirius's disheveled hair. Harry glanced at it curiously, then suddenly opened his eyes wide, because he saw Sirius's expression clearly.

His cheeks were thin, with withered skin hanging on his cheekbones, like a skeletal ghost. His lips were bloodless and his teeth were yellow. Harry saw with his own eyes that his eyelids were trembling slightly.

He suddenly accepted this godfather he had never met.

Peter slowly backed away from them, saying, "Oh, and my dear little Ron, Sirius didn't hurt you during his attacks. He just wanted to help you get rid of this rat. He was even worried about getting you into trouble, so he didn't steal your wand."

Ron's face flushed red with rage, and he couldn't help but burst into a tirade: "That's all because of you! You despicable rat! You cowardly scurrying worm, you manure-eating bug in the sewers, hiding in other people's houses like a pet..."

A series of vulgar curses erupted in the Astronomy Tower, completely destroying the touching atmosphere Peter had just carefully created. Only the hostage-taker remained on the terrace. Snape raised his wand and unleashed a divine strike without warning.

The blade grazed Sirius's shoulder, splattering blood. His eyelids trembled even more violently, and Harry could even see his lips move slightly, as if uttering a very vulgar curse.

Having failed to achieve his goal, Snape did not press the attack further.

This potions professor, who had previously worked for the Death Eaters, was incredibly patient and unhurried, like a well-fed cat passing the time by hunting mice.

This person was definitely doing it on purpose; Harry saw the corners of his mouth turn up with his own eyes.

“I hope you can convince Wizengamo in the same way in court,” Lupin said coldly, suddenly waving his wand with the tip pointing directly at Peter, completely disregarding Sirius Black standing in his way.

【Expelliarmus】

【God's Shadowless Sword】

Several spells burst forth in succession, and the base of the telescope suddenly cracked. The telescope tube and its bronze frame tumbled to the other side. The disarming spell was slightly slower and crashed into Sirius in Peter's contracting pupils.

Just when Peter thought he had escaped a disaster, the unconscious homeless man in front of him suddenly moved, nimbly elbowing backward, and curling up his limbs the instant the wand was about to pierce his forehead, his whole body quickly transforming into a black dog.

"boom……"

The force of the disarming spell sent Peter flying backward, crashing into the binoculars in the back row, his wand slipping from his hand and falling to the side.

Ignoring the pain, Peter scrambled over to reach for the wand, but he was too slow to catch up with the agile black dog.

The dog leaped forward, its front paws striking his chest, leaving several bloody marks. Its inch-long teeth approached his neck, its hot breath hitting his artery, and the fear of death instantly enveloped him.

"No! No, Sirius... please!"

"Roar……"

The black dog's eyes were bloodshot, a symptom of congested eyeballs. At that moment, its mind was filled with hatred, and without any effort, its sharp teeth pierced into the flesh.

Crimson blood flowed out, like a babbling brook, or like a gentle breeze passing through a forbidden forest.

Harry stared blankly at the scene, feeling less exhilarated than he had expected. Perhaps it was because he was too close; Peter's convulsing body and pained face were too clear, and the taste of revenge wasn't as wonderful as he had imagined.

He and the black dog were trembling, their feet frozen on the ground. He didn't know what he was hesitating about. The person in front of him was the enemy who killed his parents. He should tear him to pieces to vent his anger.

But Harry still hesitated, unable to make up his mind.

As Peter's desperate pleas reached his ears, he felt a wave of dizziness, as if he had encountered Dementors again. His consciousness sank into the depths of the water, and his ear canals filled with floating bubbles.

Fragmented images float before my eyes: moonlight spills across the valley, a tranquil and peaceful valley, green black demonic marks float above the valley, my father's corpse lies on the ground, and the monster under the cloak has bloodshot eyes. It crosses the living room and enters the bedroom, intending to destroy the family with green light.

The witch pleaded desperately, filled with utter despair.

"Let the Ministry of Magic try him!"

Lupin rushed over, grabbed the black dog by the neck, and whispered, "Sirius! Think of Harry. He's had a hard time these past few years. He needs you to take care of him!"

The brief words brought a sliver of clarity back to the black dog's mind. The crimson before his eyes began to fade, and Godric Valley in his mind became blurry. When he came to his senses, all that remained before him was the swaddled baby in the crib.

The thin boy stood in the snow, slowly moved over, and reached out his hand to him.

“Sirius…I, I’m Harry,” the boy said softly.

Sirius Black gradually lost his Animagus form, his emotions indistinct, like a Black Lake thawing in early spring, its waters mixed with ice crystals flowing through his heart, icy and chilling, then suddenly warm, his eyes involuntarily welling up with tears. He pulled Harry into his arms, as if the child were still as weak and helpless as he had been thirteen years ago, but it was indeed he, the adult wizard, who was trembling and weeping.

On the other side was Snape, whose anger, which seemed to have arisen from nowhere, was now venting recklessly on Peter. The tip of his staff was covered with an unyielding blade, which he repeatedly slashed across the short, stout body.

The monstrous and cruel Peter became weak, curled up in the snow, shivering, his cries echoing across the terrace.

Lupin hesitated for a moment, then walked over and whispered a few words. None of the four people next to him could hear what he said, but it seemed to persuade Snape. He stared at Peter for a long time and stopped the torture.

……

On the terrace of the Astronomical Tower, a roaring bonfire cast a warm, orange glow.

The students huddled around the campfire. Ron's expression was still somewhat dazed. Harry and Sirius chatted about their boarding school life at the Dursleys' house, while Hermione hugged Crookshanks and kept stroking his soft fur.

Peter collapsed to the ground, letting out sharp cries of pain every now and then.

The wound caused by Shenfeng Wuying could not heal on its own, and it bled slowly and continuously, exposing the tender flesh at the cut. Every time the cold wind swept across the wound, it was as if it were being scraped again.

Snape gave him a cold glance, then cast a spell, releasing snake-like strips of cloth that automatically wrapped around Peter's body, locking his wrists and ankles, and gagging him.

"Now, you owe me a reasonable explanation about the Animagus, about your existence, about all of this."

When would you like to begin?

Lupin sighed, then extended his wand toward the trembling Peter. The tip of the wand glowed with emerald light, stopping the bleeding from the wounds and causing them to scab over.

"Whatever!" Snape said coldly. "I have plenty of time."

Hermione tried her best to minimize her presence, but her ears were already perked up, not wanting to miss a single piece of information.

"We're a bit pressed for time, but..."

Lupin looked at the young students and his gaze softened: "Let's start with the Animagus. When I first came to Hogwarts, the Wolfsbane Potion had not yet been invented. Dumbledore transplanted the Whomping Willow for me. Every full moon night, the professors would secretly send me out of the castle and through the tunnels into the Shrieking Shack to complete my transformation."

Snape knew he was explaining to the students, gave a cold snort, but did not interrupt.

"Isn't the Screaming Shack haunted?" Ron interjected.

"I am that ghost."

Lupin chuckled softly, his smile gentle: “Transformation is very painful. My wild instinct to attack and bite humans has nowhere to go, so I can only scratch myself. The noise and screams that the villagers heard were actually my howls. Since I graduated, the Screaming Shack hasn’t heard that kind of sound for many years.”

"It's impossible to hide this from everyone, especially my roommates and friends with whom I live every day. I was particularly worried that they would be afraid of my werewolf syndrome, so I made up all sorts of stories, but I still couldn't hide it from them..."

"But instead of distancing themselves from me, this werewolf, they began to study the Animagus and successfully transformed in fifth grade."

“Werewolves are only dangerous to humans and don’t attack animals, so every full moon they would leave the castle wearing invisibility cloaks. Peter would turn into a rat and press the scar on the Willow, while the others would find me in the shed and run together in the moonlight. Under their influence, I shed some of my wildness. Although I didn’t regain my sanity, I wasn’t as irritable.”

“This is still very dangerous. What if you run into other people?” Hermione said sharply, not letting her emotions cloud her judgment and ignore the potential dangers.

Harry and Ron both turned to stare at her, their eyes filled with displeasure.

Ron exclaimed, "Is that the point? The point is the precious friendship between them!"

“Yes, there were times when we almost bit someone. We would joke about it afterwards…” Lupin said in a heavy tone, with a look of self-reproach on his face. “Back then we were young and ignorant, and we were just proud of our own cleverness.”

"Hurry up, nobody wants to hear how you build fake friendships and how they fall apart after graduation."

Snape turned to Harry and Ron, his face grim: "I want to know how you found me."

Harry and Ron shrank back, but Sirius immediately glared back, like a fierce dog protecting its young, looking at them angrily and showing no sign of weakness.

“It was Hermione’s Time-Turner,” Lupin said. “I didn’t attend the Christmas dinner; I went to the Shrieking Shack alone to reminisce about the past and found some fresh footprints. Combined with the fact that Harry and Ron were locked up by you, it’s easy to deduce that you captured Sirius.”

“Despicable Slytherin,” Sirius said.

“Foolish Gryffindor.”

Snape was exceptionally brave, showing no concern whatsoever that all the wizards present were Gryffindors.

"We were worried that you had killed Sirius to avenge Lily, so we traveled to this time and happened to meet Crookshanks, who brought us here." Lupin reluctantly returned to the main topic.

"This cat is very smart."

Sirius looked at Crookshank with gratitude and reached out to stroke the fluffy tail: "It's the smartest cat I've ever met. It recognized what Peter was a long time ago, and knew I wasn't a dog the moment it saw me... I tried to communicate with it, and it took a long time to gain its trust and tell it what I wanted to do. And it has been helping me all along."

Hermione jolted, her eyes widening: "What do you mean?"

"It sent me a message, trying to find a way to bring Peter to me, but it couldn't. Then it stole the password to enter the Gryffindor Tower for me and helped me get rid of Mrs. Lorris's pursuit."

"..."

Hermione froze on the spot, suddenly remembering her long period of confinement.

Ron looked down at Crookshan's persimmon-like face, which was alternating between pale and flushed, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

He was the biggest obstacle to the cat catching the mouse. I always took good care of him, cherished him, and even slept with him in my arms. Now that I think about it...

"vomit……"

Ron suddenly clutched his chest, his stomach churning.

You can't suffer alone, you have to tell Percy!
(End of this chapter)