A certain Hogwarts professor of runes.

"and then?"

“We heard noises at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, it was two people talking, discussing who they were taking Harry to,” Hermione paused, “but we later learned that they wanted to take Harry to Vader.”

"And one of them was Peter Pettigrew, I see."

“Yes…” Hermione said sadly, “They mentioned Harry’s parents and Neville’s parents, and said a lot. Another person mocked Peter Pettigrew as a coward, saying that he betrayed the Potters and still wanted to be a good person.”

"Who is the other person?"

“I don’t know, he was wearing a hood,” Hermione shook her head. “He should be a Death Eater too.”

Felix said thoughtfully, "No wonder we haven't been able to find Peter Pettigrew for so long. I thought he was just being patient, but now it seems he's been using this time to find his old master, and he's gained a new companion..."

Hermione continued, "Harry saw this as an opportunity; he wanted to ambush the two men and force them to reveal the truth about what happened back then. We were almost there; three Stunning Charms were cast on Peter Pettigrew, and he passed out without any resistance, but..."

Her eyes widened. "The other one retaliated swiftly, his spells were fast and powerful, we were no match for him. Ron's leg was injured, we could only retreat by relying on the trees in the Forbidden Forest..."

“The situation was very urgent. The tree trunk blocking our way suddenly came to life, just like the 'Beat-Man Willow,' and its branches tied us up.”

"The Death Eater lowered his guard and smugly said that he would bring Harry to the Dark Lord so that the Dark Lord would be resurrected, and he would be the greatest contributor!"

"Just then, Sirius suddenly appeared. Oh, I almost didn't recognize him. He didn't look much like the wanted poster, but... he quickly started fighting the Death Eater. After a while, the Death Eater woke up Peter Pettigrew. It was two against one, and Sirius was quickly overwhelmed. He bled a lot... Later, Professor Lupin and Snape appeared together. In the chaos, they knocked Peter Pettigrew unconscious again, and the Death Eater escaped in the confusion."

"Afterwards, we went to Hagrid's hut to bandage Sirius's wounds, and also to take the opportunity to interrogate Peter Pettigrew."

Felix had a pretty good idea of ​​what had happened. However, it was worth noting that, according to the information revealed by the Death Eater, Voldemort's order was to bring Harry alive to him so that he could be resurrected through Harry's help. He tried to figure out what kind of magic this was.

……

Hagrid said gruffly, "So, you secretly changed the liaison back then, giving this despicable scoundrel, this traitor, an opportunity, and he happily reported it to the liaison. And you, Sirius, mistakenly thought the traitor was dead, so you didn't offer any explanation out of guilt."

He sniffed loudly and muttered under his breath. Just then, Hermione, who was inside the room, said timidly, "Oh... Mr. Black, how did you manage to show up so quickly today?"

Sirius seemed somewhat surprised. "Uh, you're Granger, right? Because of this..." There was a rustling sound of someone rummaging through pockets.

"A scrap of paper?" Hagrid asked.

"This isn't some scrap of paper; it's a replica of the Marauder's Map made by Felix Heap. It's a bit rudimentary and can't compare to the Marauder's Map at all. I can only see a few key names, but that's enough... I stare at it whenever I have free time. Today, I unexpectedly discovered Peter Pettigrew's name. I thought I was seeing things; heaven knows how surprised I was. Then I saw Harry's name getting closer and closer to him. I quickly contacted Felix Heap, but there was no response! That guy, he promised so readily!"

"Professor Hyp?" Harry asked in a puzzled voice.

"Yes, he caught me. Remember when I used the compound decoction to get close to you and got caught..." Sirius awkwardly explained his less-than-pleasant escape experience.

In the pumpkin patch, Felix thought for a moment and said, "When he asked me for help, I should have been in a safe house, cut off from all contact with the outside world."

"Is it the kind Harry's parents used? Does it require the Faithful Charm?" Hermione asked softly.

"Yes."

Inside Hagrid's hut, Sirius continued, "...That's how it is. I was confined to Black's old house and couldn't go anywhere. This afternoon, when I couldn't get in touch with anyone, I realized something was wrong. I Apparated near the Forbidden Forest, and after searching for several minutes with that terrible map, I finally found you. Peter Pettigrew was lying on the ground. I so wanted to immediately cast a killing curse on him and end his despicable life..."

From inside the house came Peter Pettigrew's defense, his voice trembling with tears: "I wanted to be brave like you, but he grabbed me and kept pressuring me."

Sirius roared angrily, "So you chose betrayal!" The room erupted into chaos, and with a thud, Peter Pettigrew groaned in pain, as if he had been punched hard, and he sobbed softly.

Lupin urged, "Calm down, Bigfoot, we need to get Harry to the bottom of this."

“I’ll listen to you,” Sirius said breathlessly. “I went on to say that I originally intended to kill Peter Pettigrew, but it was more dangerous with Harry, so I joined the fight, and you all know what happened after that.”

Lupin also explained why he came: "I don't have a copy of the map, but Professor Hyp gave me a Galleon that is connected to the Marauder's Map. It will react if Peter Pettigrew appears. Coincidentally, I was with Severus at the time."

"How did you two end up together?" Harry asked.

“I’ve come to deliver medicine to Lupin…” Snape said in his distinctively cold voice. “Would you like to know what kind of medicine it is, Potter?”

“I’ll tell you myself, Severus. There’s no need to hide it anymore. It’s wolfsbane, Harry. I’m a werewolf,” Lupin said.

“What? Professor, you, you are…” Harry asked in surprise.

“That’s right, I am a werewolf. Dumbledore gave me the opportunity to go to school and let me see a wider world. Last year, he invited me to work at Hogwarts. He promised to provide me with free wolfsbane potion, which would make me feel better during the full moon. It’s very rare outside. I want to thank Severus…”

Felix and Hermione waited quietly for about ten minutes before the door to Hagrid's hut opened.

Hermione explained, "Next, we'll split into two groups. Hagrid will take Ron to the school hospital; his leg wound is starting to fester, and I'll go with him. The rest of us will take Peter Pettigrew to the Great Hall in the castle to hand him over to the Aurors stationed at the school."

"Isn't that a good thing? Why did an accident happen?"

"It's Umbridge! She secretly installed a large number of detectors throughout the school, monitoring its every move. She said all this herself, just to curry favor with Fudge..."

Chapter 302 Burning

Hagrid carried Ron out of the house first, followed by another Hermione. Then, a short man, bound tightly, floated out, upside down, his head hitting the rocks repeatedly. "Ouch!"

The short man's face was swollen, his hands were bound behind his back and twisted together, and his clothes were tattered. To avoid the stones, he tilted his head strangely to one side.

Sirius, please—

“You deserve it, Peter! You should be glad Harry is kind enough…”

A wand emerged, revealing Sirius Black's alert face. He limped, supported by Harry and Lupin on either side. Snape brought up the rear, his expression intriguing, his wand always pointed at Peter Pettigrew.

“Sirius, you should go to the hospital,” Harry said in a low voice.

“No! I want to see him convicted!” Sirius grinned, his smile chilling. “And I’d better give him a Dementor’s kiss.” His wand drooped, and Peter Pettigrew let out a piercing scream of pain.

……

Hermione peeked out from behind the giant pumpkin. "Professor, is there anything we should do? Professor McGonagall warned me not to change the past."

“I also think we should be cautious, but…” Felix gently flicked his finger, and a small pebble silently stuck to Peter Pettigrew, who was falling again.

Only after they had gone far away did Felix and Hermione emerge from the shadows.

"Professor, what were you just doing?"

“I marked Peter Pettigrew with magic—just in case, as you just said, they'll be trapped on the covered bridge. If he manages to escape in the chaos by turning into a rat, I can find him!”

Hermione thought about it seriously and agreed that it was a good idea.

The two of them trailed far behind the others. Hagrid took huge strides and soon left the people behind, while the "other Hermione" next to him had to jog to catch up.

Hermione said with a strange look in her eyes, "From this angle, I looked so silly. I had to take three steps for every one step Hagrid took."

Felix chuckled softly, but his expression quickly turned serious: "I don't want to cross the line into the forbidden zone of time, so my plan is to let everything proceed 'step by step' until the future you see arrives, at which point I will reappear."

Hermione nodded; this was probably the best solution. She imagined it: half an hour later, when the Dementors' army launched their attack on the covered bridge, Professor Hyp would suddenly appear and save everyone.

It neither changed what happened in the past, but it truly influenced the future.

The two walked at a leisurely pace, keeping a distance of two or three hundred feet from Harry and the others. Felix asked, "I have a few more questions. How did you overhear Umbridge and Fudge's conversation?"

Hermione explained, "I went with Hagrid to the school hospital, and Madam Pomfrey said Ron was out of danger, so I went back to check on Harry and the others. I ended up seeing Umbridge greeting Fudge, with a bunch of Aurors following behind him."

She said angrily, "That woman was so rude! She was incredibly disrespectful to Professor McGonagall because of her position as Minister of Magic. If Headmaster Dumbledore hadn't been there..."

"She had a conflict with Professor McGonagall?"

“That’s right, Professor McGonagall questioned her about why she let the Dementors into the school, but Umbridge didn’t even look at her and was busy flattering Fudge.”

"I see..."

Felix looked ahead. With Sirius injured, the group wasn't moving very fast. Especially since they had to go uphill, which slowed them down even more.

The wind carried their conversation over to my ears; it was Sirius Black's conflicted voice: "I don't know if anyone has ever told you—Harry, I'm your godfather..."

A dozen minutes later—

"coming!"

Felix suddenly broke the silence. Hermione looked in the direction he was looking and vaguely saw a pink, round shape. She exclaimed in surprise, "Is that woman?"

Then they heard a long whistle, and Hermione felt a chill run down her spine. A black object floated out, like a black plastic bag being blown by the wind. It quickly flew towards Harry and the others, who were still some distance from the covered bridge.

Hermione took a deep breath, and more and more Dementors appeared, like a black plague, responding to Umbridge's call, covering half the sky.

"It's a Dementor!" she heard Professor Lupin's voice say from afar. "How could a Dementor appear on campus? The Ministry of Magic has assured us... Quickly, use the Patronus Charm!"

It was nearing dusk, the afterglow of the sunset was half-hidden, half of the light was swallowed up, and the Dementor hung high in the air, constantly spewing black mist, as if night had arrived early.

A silver light pierced the darkness; it was Lupin's incantation. He erected a silver barrier, but it was an incomplete guardian spirit.

Not far from them—"Let's get closer," Felix said, casting a soft silver glow over the two of them.

"Professor, what is this?" Hermione asked, looking at her glowing hand.

“Dementors will instinctively avoid us if they have unpleasant memories, provided, of course, that they have a better option,” Felix said.

The two men moved closer, close enough to see the expressions on Lupin's and Sirius's faces. Lupin called out urgently, "Harry, Sirius, use the Patronus Charm, and Severus... if you know it!"

The silver barrier he erected continued to solidify, and a massive physical guardian appeared—a wolf—the very thing Lupin loathed most, but which he had no choice but to use now.

With the appearance of the wolf-shaped guardian deity, the crisis was temporarily relieved. The silver giant wolf howled silently and leaped to swat away one Dementor after another.

Harry's mind cleared for a moment, his lips trembled, and he subconsciously uttered the spell: "Call on God—Call on God—Call on God!" A silver mist flew out from the tip of his wand, and with the faint light of the indistinct Patronus, he felt better. The initial feeling of suffocation disappeared, and he breathed heavily.

"Not enough! Not enough..." Lupin shouted, "Sirius, Severus!"

However, Snape did not move. His expression was stiff, and he gripped his wand tightly, his knuckles turning white.

Sirius Black lightly touched the ground with one leg, raised his wand high, and kept chanting, "Help! Help! Help... Damn it, I can't do it!"

“What do you mean you can’t do it? We learned it together,” Lupin shouted.

“I can’t help it… all those happy memories are about James.” Sirius covered his face in pain, and under the influence of the Dementors, his lips, like Snape’s, had turned bluish-purple.

Harry looked at Sirius, as if he were seeing this man for the first time, and truly acknowledging him as his godfather. He mustered his courage, recalling many happy memories, and a silver light surged within him, something gradually taking shape.

But there were just too many Dementors. "Let's go to the bridge!" Lupin said decisively.

Peter Pettigrew, who had been tied up, was straightened up. He rolled his eyes, constantly thinking about an escape route. "Behave yourself, Peter! There's a cliff below..." Sirius threatened, giving him a hard shove so that he could walk on his own.

The green light on Snape's wand disappeared, and he glared fiercely at Sirius, leaving Sirius completely bewildered.

They climbed onto the covered bridge, fighting and retreating. Lupin was the only fully-fledged fighter left, but his Patronus was no match for the army of hundreds of Dementors, especially as they kept spewing black smoke. The biting cold made everyone's breath steam, and they felt like they were about to freeze.

Snape shot several red beams of light into the sky, his face dark. "Others will come, they definitely will..."

……

Taking advantage of the fact that all the Dementors were distracted, Felix whispered to the person next to him, "When time returns to normal, you should be on the other side of the covered bridge?"

“Yes, I came with the Ministry of Magic. I took a quick look from afar, then hid and used the Time-Turner,” Hermione said, looking anxiously at the bridge. “They should be here soon… the Ministry of Magic will be here soon.”

“You should be worried about yourself! What will you do when the Ministry of Magic comes? How will you get across the bridge to the other side?” Felix said calmly. “If I remember correctly, after using the Time-Turner, you should return to the starting position.”

Hermione looked at him in surprise. "You're right, Professor. We have to create a closed loop in time and space." She suddenly realized the problem and screamed, "What am I going to do, oh my god! If I can't get back in time, I, I—" She remembered the consequences of abusing the Time-Turner that she had read about and shuddered in fear.