Chapter 264: Hanged

Such a commotion could not have escaped Sirius Black’s notice—he tried to turn his wand, but it was already too late; a bolt of lightning shot toward him, and he watched helplessly as it struck him, his body going numb, smoke rising from his skin, before he collapsed straight down, his grip loosening on the wand, which fell onto the forest floor.

The next moment, two vine whips lashed out and bound him tightly.

The creature that had instantly subdued Black was that peculiar being.

The situation reversed in an instant; Harry and his two friends swiftly reclaimed their wands.

“Allen was telling the truth!” Hermione exclaimed excitedly. “A transfigured beast knocked out an adult wizard—I can’t imagine how he did it. The magic this creature used—I’ve never seen anything like it...”

But Harry paid no heed to Hermione’s amazement. Without a word, he picked up his wand and pointed it directly at Sirius Black’s heart.

“Are you going to kill me, Harry?” he whispered.

“You killed my parents,” Harry said, his voice trembling slightly, yet his wand hand steady.

Black stared at Harry with his sunken eyes.

“I don’t deny it,” he said calmly. “But if you knew the full story—”

“The full story?” Harry repeated, a violent pounding in his ears. “You betrayed them to Voldemort—that’s all I need to know!”

“You must listen to me,” Black said, his voice now urgent. “If you don’t understand—don’t understand—you’ll regret it.”

A ginger blur darted past Harry; Crookshanks leapt onto Black’s chest and settled there, directly over his heart.

Hermione let out a choked sob as she watched Crookshanks. She wanted to call him back, but her mouth wouldn’t open. With her intelligence, she understood this whole affair was tied to Crookshanks—he was in league with Black.

Harry glared at Black and Crookshanks, gripping his wand tighter. He wanted to kill Black. He would kill Black.

“That rat—the rat belonging to the Weasley boy!” Black cried urgently.

But Harry no longer wished to hear another word.

“Stupefy!” Harry’s wand swept clear of Crookshanks and unleashed the spell. He still couldn’t bring himself to take a life—even that of his greatest enemy.

Black fell silent, his eyes darting frantically within their sunken sockets, a flicker of despair appearing within them.

“We’ll turn him over to the school—to the Ministry,” Harry said with difficulty, yet once the decision was made, he felt a wave of relief.

At that moment, footsteps suddenly approached from all around.

“We’re here!” Hermione suddenly shouted. “We’re here—Sirius Black—he’s here—hurry!”

And as if sensing the commotion, Hermione’s transfigured beast paused, retracted its vines, and slipped back into the shadows.

Running toward them was Professor Lupin; Harry and his friends instantly relaxed.

Professor Lupin’s face was pale as death, his wand raised and ready. His gaze flickered over Ron, Hermione, and Harry—Harry still standing there, wand pointed at Black—then landed on Black himself.

“Expelliarmus!” Lupin shouted.

Harry’s wand flew from his hand again; so did the two wands Hermione held. Lupin snatched all three wands swiftly, stepped forward, and stared at Black—Crookshanks still crouched on his chest, guarding him.

He strode toward Black and spoke, his voice strange, thick with suppressed emotion: “Where is he, Sirius?”

Black turned his eyes toward Ron.

Professor Lupin watched Black intently,

as if reading his thoughts—then suddenly his eyes widened, as if something had clicked.

He immediately lifted the Petrificus Totalus, seized Black’s hand, and pulled him upright; Crookshanks tumbled to the floor. Lupin embraced Black as if they were brothers.

Harry and his friends stared, incredulous.

Harry felt his stomach turn over.

“I don’t believe it!” Hermione screamed.

And at that moment, Black seemed to realize something. He spoke quickly: “Watch out!”

But it was too late. Hermione’s transfigured beast appeared silently and immobilized Lupin before he could react.

And once again, the wandless Black was tightly bound by the vine whips.

Harry and his friends regained the upper hand.

“I trusted you!” Harry shouted at Lupin, his voice shaking uncontrollably. “And you’ve been his friend all along!”

But Lupin, now immobilized, remained calm.

He calmly explained how he had come here tonight—because he had seen someone on the Marauder’s Map who shouldn’t have been there.

Then he revealed a secret to Harry and his friends—Scabbers was an Animagus: Peter Pettigrew.

At first, Harry and his friends refused to believe it. But as Lupin spoke, their doubts began to crumble. All eyes turned to the struggling mass on Ron’s chest...

And then another unexpected figure appeared.

Professor Snape suddenly dropped his Invisibility Cloak.

“I found this Invisibility Cloak by the roadside,” Snape said, “but it seems you’ve done well—you’ve caught Black and his accomplice. Two people will be going to Azkaban tonight.” He pointed his wand at the immobilized Lupin and Black, a smug smile on his face, his eyes constantly flicking toward the transfigured beast beside him.

Harry and his friends’ position had now shifted. They desperately tried to explain—but Snape believed only what he saw, and he had clearly not heard the full conversation.

“Shut up, you fools!” Snape roared, suddenly losing control. “Don’t speculate about things you don’t understand!”

“What I’m going to do now is summon the Dementors. They’ll be delighted to see you—they’ll be happy to give you a little kiss...”

The last trace of color vanished from Black’s face. “You—you must let me finish,” he rasped. “The rat—look at the rat...”

But in Snape’s eyes burned a madness Harry had never seen before. Snape had clearly lost his reason.

Hermione quietly commanded the beast to release Sirius and Lupin—but the next instant, Snape raised his wand and summoned ribbons that bound them anew.

Harry continued pleading, but Snape refused to listen.

Finally, Harry lost patience. “You’re pitiful!” Harry shouted. “Because they played pranks on you when you were students, you won’t even—”

“Shut up! Don’t speak to me like that!” Snape shrieked, more unhinged than ever. “Now get out of my way—or I’ll force you aside! Get out of my way, Potter!”

Harry made his decision. He raised his wand. Beside him, Hermione and Ron raised theirs in perfect unison.

Snape stared at them in surprise.

The next moment, the battle began.

All four began casting simultaneously—but Snape’s wand shot a red bolt that struck Hermione first. He had deduced from the conversation that the powerful beast was her transfiguration, so he decided to incapacitate her and remove the beast’s control.

Harry and Ron’s spells were still halfway through.

Snape easily dodged Harry and Ron’s Disarming Charms, then swiftly retaliated with two. Harry and Ron watched helplessly as their wands flew into the air—for the nth time that night.

An adult wizard’s combat power was this strong.

Snape reached out to catch the floating wands—then heard a whistling sound and instantly Apparated away.

It was the vine whip from Hermione’s transfigured beast.

Snape stared at the strange magical creature, sensing a strange familiarity. He hadn’t expected it to fight independently—that was a miscalculation. He studied its eyes, and his wariness toward the beast grew.

He swiftly cast a Shield Charm. “Sectumsempra!” He launched an immediate attack.

The beast dodged it with “Lightning Flash.”

“Incendio!” Snape summoned a flame that burned the incoming vines.

Then the beast suddenly opened its mouth and spat a jet of water. The stream struck the Shield Charm with a grating, teeth-chilling sound—but did not break through.

Snape pressed his attack, but the beast moved too swiftly. Neither could gain the upper hand.

The beast unleashed another bolt of lightning. Snape paid it no mind—he had gauged the creature’s magic’s strength. His newly cast Shield Charm would block it.

But then he felt a jolt of numbness through his body—the water jet had soaked the ground nearby...

In that instant of hesitation, a vine whipped around Snape’s ankle and yanked upward with force—he lost his balance and was suddenly hung upside down...

His flowing robes draped over his eyes, stirring memories he had spent his life trying to forget...