Hogwarts Study Panel

Chapter 510, Section 508: Walking Through a Dream for Five Hours
The wilderness is now a distant past, and the hills are gradually revealing their true form.

Sirius could hear distinct hissing sounds coming from behind him, each sound making his legs go weak.

A million thoughts raced through his mind:

What were those black dogs? Why did he instinctively feel an overwhelming sense of helplessness when facing them?

Why do they insist on hunting me down?

In the end, where is he going, and where are James and Lily?

Doubt overwhelmed Sirius, and along with the endless confusion came the pack of black dogs that followed him like a shadow.

Sirius Black stood on the grassy hill, and a cloud of black mist spread out behind him. If he had eyes in the back of his head, he would have realized that these clouds of mist were actually drifting out of his body.

Sirius Black, what face do you have left?

A hoarse voice, as if accusing and grieving, rang out behind Sirius.

The sound made Sirius involuntarily stop in his tracks.

At that moment, his feet felt like they were filled with lead.

He couldn't help but think of that night.

Harry's father, James, who was like a brother to him, and the Potters' only son, whom they treated like their own son...

Because of his mistakes, his arrogance, and his foolish actions, he was ultimately brutally murdered.

How could he resist finding out what happened that night?
After Wormtail revealed James and Lily's whereabouts to Voldemort, Voldemort found them in their cabin.

It's not hard to imagine the scene of Harry's parents' death.

How could he not imagine it?

He imagined how Voldemort had killed Harry's father first.

James fought desperately, shouting for his wife to take Harry and run away...

How Voldemort approached Lily Potter, telling her to step aside, as he intended to harm Harry...

She begged Voldemort to kill her, not to touch her son; she protected her son until her death… and then Voldemort killed her too, and pointed his wand at Harry…

"Sirius, how dare you!"

Sirius covered his face in anguish, tears streaming down his face.

“You are controlled by what you fear, Mr. Blake.”

A childish voice came from behind Sirius. He suddenly felt his body relax, and he returned to reality.

He heard a roar that was right next to him, and a foul stench spread in front of him. He looked closely and saw a huge mouth lying next to his face.

The black dog opened its mouth wide enough to swallow a person whole, but froze as if it had a fishbone stuck in its throat.

Sirius was immediately terrified and broke out in a cold sweat, then trembled as he searched for his god.

He spotted it effortlessly; it was standing on the black dog's head, staring at him with its magnificent emerald-green eyes.

Sirius swore he had never seen such a majestic big cat, looking like a mysterious magical creature, a cat-leopard, enlarged to its former size.

The giant cat's paw slammed down, and the large black dog let out a whine of unbearable strain before finally turning into wisps of black mist, which lingered around them like ghosts.

“Fear never goes away, Mr. Blake; it always exists in everyone’s heart.”

But even those who are filled with fear can run.

The giant cat shrank like a deflated balloon, eventually becoming a cat the size of a cat.

"What exactly are they..." Sirius asked tremulously, his throat already feeling dry.

“Let’s talk about this another time, Mr. Black. We don’t have much time left.”

The black cat stared at the rising mist around it, knowing that it had overused the power of the Void Talisman and interfered too much with the rules of the border region.

But everything comes at a price, and Sirius's fear and hesitation cost him being banished from his dreams.

If he weren't a guest of the black cat, he would have disappeared like a fragment of Voldemort's soul by now.

As for the impact of the disappearance of the soul on reality, you can refer to the Killing Curse for details.

Hmm... that's also a strange point, because the Killing Curse kills the wizard's soul directly, which is why it doesn't leave any physical scars.

But how can a wizard killed by the Killing Curse return to the borderlands?

Unless... the Killing Curse doesn't kill the wizard's soul—it doesn't have that kind of power—but rather banishes it, expelling the soul from the wizard's body.

Here is an example that can serve as evidence—Harry's Resurrection Stone can summon the souls of his parents and Cedric.

"What do you mean?"

Sirius asked anxiously, then looked at the black cat with a look of dejection and intense longing.

Your steps are too heavy, while those who walk in dreams need to walk lightly.

You'll never get anywhere if you can't let go of something.

The black cat sighed.
"Farewell, Mr. Black. If one day you are ready to embrace the future instead of living in the past, come find me again..."

Oh, right, at Hogwarts.

The fog was thicker than ever before, and it was accompanied by a scorching heat.

The borderlands seemed to be punishing the wizard who broke the rules; unable to punish the cat licking its paws, it punished Sirius instead.

Sirius felt hot, so hot that his skin was scorched, but his heart was ice cold.

That voice is right. How can he face James and Lily?
Unless… he thought of the baby, whose image had always existed in his mind longer than the face that resembled James.

"If we win, revered gods, I will come again."

Sirius seemed to have rediscovered something, his face filled with a terrifying determination.

He looked at his god, who was staring blankly at its paws, its whiskers trembling slightly, as if surprised that its paws had unconsciously stuck to its whiskers.

This was so interesting that even Sirius couldn't help but squint slightly.

"I have quite a few guests,"

Before leaving, the black cat spoke solemnly, pressing its tail under its paws.

"If one day I encounter wandering souls instead of wizards, I would be willing to lead them out of the dream."

After the black cat finished speaking, it ignored Sirius, who was stunned for a second and then overjoyed, and walked into the depths of the fog.

When Sirius Black awoke from his hazy dream, staring at the box still playing hypnotic music, he suddenly spoke:
"The master of dreams and mists, the bridge between life and death, the symbol of eternal good fortune—"

He muttered to himself, like a devout believer.

And his god was frowning at that moment:

"Five hours and thirty minutes...that's too long, why is that?"

(End of this chapter)