The Return to Hogwarts

2023-05-18

Bound by thin ropes, Hagrid, who was only a step away from Sirius, fell to the ground, causing the ground to shake.

Harry reacted immediately. He turned around and pointed his wand in the direction from which the rope had sprung out of the darkness. Ron and Hermione reacted a beat slower, but they did the same thing. They only breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the outline of the human face in the darkness.

The visitor was Professor Lu Ping.

He was pale and panting heavily, as if he had chased all the way here on foot.

"Professor Lupin, Hagrid is dealing with Sirius Black—"

Harry's angry outburst stopped halfway through when Professor Lupin gestured for him to quiet down. This puzzled Harry. This was Sirius Black, the man who had killed his parents, who were also Professor Lupin's friends. Why did Professor Lupin's face show nothing but exhaustion?

Hermione seemed to have encountered some possibility; she covered her mouth, her expression gradually turning terrified.

"Hey!"

Professor Lupin's magically conjured ropes seemed to be quite effective. Hagrid shifted and sat up. He exerted force with both hands, and although several sections of the rope snapped, the broken ends twisted in the air a few times before repairing themselves. Unable to stand, Hagrid glared at Professor Lupin as he passed by.

"Your magic is far inferior to Amosta's, Remus. You've accidentally injured me!"

"Calm down, Hagrid."

Remus's hair was disheveled and stuck to his wet forehead. He walked past Hagrid and went straight to Sirius, who had fallen to the ground to avoid his Stunning Curse, and exchanged a glance with him.

All eyes were on Professor Lupin, including Harry's, but his gaze became extremely empty, and even the power within his body was disappearing.

His spell failed to harm Black. Now, Hagrid is here, Professor Lupin is here, and Sirius Black has no chance of escape. He will be handed over to the Dementors, and this despicable criminal will live a miserable life for the rest of his days. Perhaps one day, when Voldemort returns to the wizarding world, he will find a way to rescue his loyal lackey. His revenge has failed.

"What's wrong with Mr. Malfoy?"

To their surprise, Lupin did not immediately subdue Black, but instead showed concern for the collapsed Draco Malfoy.

This isn't that hard to understand. Lupin is, after all, a professor, and it's understandable that he cares about the life and death of young wizards. However, the person standing in front of him now is Sirius Black.

Hagrid was confused, Harry was puzzled, and Ron couldn't find anything wrong at all. Only Hermione's eyes showed increasing fear!

"I didn't touch him, he just passed out on his own."

Lupin crouched down, pried open Malfoy's eyelids, and carefully examined his pupils by the light from his wand. After a moment, he said gravely,

"It might be a soul-stealing curse."

Soul-stealing curse? What kind of curse is that?

Harry felt like his brain was rusted, and he was increasingly unable to understand what was happening in front of him.

“I think so too.” Sirius Black’s expression was far from pleasant. He propped himself up to his feet, looked down at the pale-faced Malfoy, and said coldly.

"Moreover, it seems this little guy has been controlled for quite some time. It's strange that no one is watching."

Suddenly, Sirius frowned, remembering Amostella's abrupt reaction when he saw Draco Malfoy in the office.

"what happened?"

Remus asked warily.

"nothing--"

Sirius slowly shook his head and said that he couldn't be sure that Amosta had definitely noticed something was wrong with Malfoy, and besides, that mattered no longer.

"Speaking of which, how did you realize something was wrong?"

Sirius asked in return.

"Thanks to some of our past inventions and creations."

A sinister glint flashed in Remus's eyes. He glanced at Harry and the others, whose expressions had turned completely dumbfounded, then pulled a worn piece of parchment from his pocket and, under Sirius's knowing yet confused gaze, explained...

"I left my office to wash up in the professors' private bathroom, and when I returned, this parchment was lying on my desk. I was very curious about who put it there. I saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione rushing out of the castle into the hall, and then I looked for your name on the map, but unexpectedly, I saw Mr. Malfoy's name and that person's name suddenly appear at the edge of the Forbidden Forest--"

The person who threw the map into Remus's office was undoubtedly trying to lure him out, and the reason he did so was most likely to capture them all at once.

"Why are you in your hands? That's mine—"

If Harry still couldn't see that Black and Lupin were in cahoots by now, he would be incredibly stupid. He watched the two of them talking so familiarly, his face blank, unsure how to describe his feelings. But when he saw Black take the map that should have been his from Lupin, he blurted out.

The two men exchanging information were drawn to Harry's words, and when they noticed the expressions on the faces of the people staring at them, they all froze. Then, Remus realized that Harry and the others didn't know that Sirius was innocent.

"Don't be nervous, Harry—"

After exchanging another glance with Sirius, Remus took the initiative to explain.

"There's a misunderstanding here, and for some reason, we haven't had a chance to explain yet—"

"is it?"

Harry stared at Lupin, his emerald eyes filled with a deep-seated hatred. "For example, you and Black are actually in cahoots, aren't you?"

"Don't listen to anything he says, Harry!"

Hermione then screamed.

"Don't believe him. He was the one who helped Black get into the castle last Halloween. He wants you dead, Harry. He's a werewolf!"

A deafening silence fell. Now, all eyes were on Lupin's face, but he remained remarkably calm, offering only a weak smile.

“I expected it. If any young wizard were to discover my identity, it would be you, Hermione. I am indeed with Sirius, but I wasn’t the one who helped him enter the castle last Halloween.”

"We'll talk about the werewolves later, Hermione—"

Sometime during the night, Hagrid had broken free of his ropes. He stood up, breathing heavily, as if he were about to explode at any moment.

"What do you mean, Remus? What do you mean by being in cahoots with Sirius? You've betrayed Professor Dumbledore's trust, haven't you?!"

“We can’t waste any more time. That Peter guy must be watching us somewhere. I know he’s plotting to kill me, but he probably didn’t know that our misunderstanding had been cleared up before. Now that he’s seen this, he’s probably already preparing to run away!”

Sirius said irritably.

Peter? Peter Pettigrew?

"You're right, Sirius—"

Remus took a deep breath, glancing warily at the darkness that surrounded them, and spoke quickly.

"Please give me five minutes to briefly explain the situation to you—"

For the next few minutes, there wasn't a sound like insects chirping or birds singing in the Forbidden Forest. Everyone remained silent, trying their best to understand what Remus was saying. However, after Remus finished explaining the whole story of how Sirius and Pettigrew had switched identities as Secretkeepers, and was mentioning that last Halloween, the mouse Sirius had stormed into the castle to kill was Scabbers, Ron couldn't help but shout excitedly.

"Scabbers is a wizard who betrayed Harry's parents, that Peter Pettigrew, that's complete nonsense!"

Expelliarmus!

Just as Remus was trying to persuade Ron, a suppressed roar suddenly came from a tree not far from them. Two shrill red lights shot out from one place, and Remus' Sirius's wand flew into the air from his palm at the same time. After drawing an arc in mid-air, it landed precisely in the hand of the person who slid down from the tall tree trunk.

Upon hearing that familiar voice, everyone was utterly astonished.

“It’s rare for you to be so clear-headed, Mr. Weasley.”

A sinister face, filled with intense hatred, emerged from the darkness.

"I've had enough of your nonsense, werewolf!"

Chapter 296 Unacceptable

2023-05-19

The series of unexpected events left Harry dumbfounded. First, Professor Lupin appeared out of nowhere with his Marauder's Map. He wasn't there to subdue Black, but to help him. Then, Professor Lupin told them some facts that seemed like a fairy tale.

Black was not the murderer of his parents. The real culprit was Peter Pettigrew, who was awarded the Order of Merlin First Class by the Ministry of Magic. That guy had been living in the Weasley family as a rat for over a decade and had become Ron's pet.

If all of this were true, Harry felt a chill run down his spine.

He actually spent three years living with the murderer who killed his parents, and on many occasions he even helped Ron feed Scabbers.

Such an outcome is something that neither Ron nor Harry would accept, let alone Harry.

Now, Professor Snape, whom Harry hates the most, has also appeared. He seems to have a deep grudge against Black and Lupin. He first confiscated Lupin and Black's wands, then knocked Lupin down, and finally pointed his wand at Black's eyes, looking like he could take his life at any moment.

For a moment, Harry couldn't tell whose hatred was deeper as they glared at each other.

"Say something,"

Snape's face was ashen. He pressed his wand against Black's forehead, and every word he uttered was filled with deep resentment.

“Tell me, is the werewolf lying on the ground lying a lie? Blake, if you say that, I promise to give you a quick death. Blake, tell me!”

A terrifying light shone from Snape's dark eyes, and he uttered his last word in a low growl.

In the desolate forest, a soft sigh was hidden in the sound of the wind and the fluttering leaves, unnoticed by anyone.

Perhaps in the next second, Sirius would say goodbye to his life, but he showed no fear. Instead, he grinned, his voice slightly hoarse.

"You're making a fool of yourself again, Severus. You haven't improved at all over the years."

For more than three years since entering the school, Harry had seen Professor Snape with only two expressions most of the time: a sallow yellow on weekdays and a livid blue when facing him. But tonight, after Sirius uttered those words, he witnessed an unusual flush appear on Snape's face. Those who witnessed this knew that Snape's sanity was probably on the verge of collapse.

Harry doesn't want Snape to kill Black, at least not now.

Lupin trusted Black, and Professor Lupin himself was deeply trusted by Professors Dumbledore and Blaine. If Lupin trusted the wrong person, it would be equivalent to Professors Dumbledore and Blaine trusting the wrong person.

“Professor Snape—listen, I mean, Professor Lupin was just talking about last Halloween. It wouldn’t hurt to hear what they had to say, would it?”

Hermione's opinion was clearly the same as Harry's. She glanced fearfully at Remus on the ground, and then spoke in a timid voice.

"Miss Granger, now is not the time for you to prove that you are smarter than others. You are facing a suspension from school!"