Chapter 270: The Third Scroll

Lupin and Black prepared to kill Peter Pettigrew outright, but Harry stopped them at the moment they moved to strike.

“No!” Harry shouted, running forward to stand before Peter Pettigrew. “You can’t kill him,” he gasped, struggling for breath. “You can’t.”

Both Black and Lupin were utterly stunned.

Harry panted, “Let’s take him to the castle. Let’s hand him over to the Dementors. Let him go to Azkaban… but don’t kill him.”

“Harry!” Peter Pettigrew gasped, clutching Harry’s knees with both arms. “Thank you… this is mercy… thank you…”

“Let go of me,” Harry spat, recoiling in disgust from Pettigrew’s grasp. “I’m not doing this for you. I’m doing this because I think my father wouldn’t want his best friend to kill—especially not someone like you.”

“Evil must be punished, but those wronged for over a decade deserve to be cleared of guilt and restore their honor,” Harry continued.

No one moved. No one spoke. Except Peter Pettigrew, who clutched his chest, gasping for air. Black and Lupin exchanged glances.

“Mr. Black, I think Harry is right. Peter Pettigrew’s existence can prove your innocence. You should return to the light. You should go home,” Hermione said softly.

“Home?” Sirius Black murmured, his expression twisting as if recalling something.

“Padfoot, only after you’ve cleared your name can you properly care for Harry. Don’t forget—you’re still his godfather,” Lupin changed his mind and began to persuade Black.

Harry’s face filled with shock—he had never heard this before.

“You’re the only one who can decide, Harry,” Black said, his eyes wet again. He respected Harry’s choice.

Lupin’s wand shot out strips of rope; soon, Peter Pettigrew was bound, his mouth stuffed, writhing on the ground.

Harry reclaimed his Invisibility Cloak, and the group prepared to retrace their steps.

Fortunately, aside from Snape—who had vanished somewhere—none of them were injured.

“What about them?” Professor Lupin pointed to the two Animagi.

“Yeah, Allen said not to let anyone else know about these Animagi,” Harry said.

“Wait!” Hermione and Ron rummaged through their pockets and quickly found the Spirit Balls Allen had given them.

“Come in!” they threw two red-and-white spheres into the air, amid stunned glances from the others. The spheres opened just before striking the Animagi, swallowing them whole.

Then they easily picked up the Spirit Balls from the ground.

“Allen’s scrolls and Spirit Balls are incredibly useful—if only we had more,” Ron said, holding the Spirit Ball.

“Don’t dream about it. Scrolls are expensive—each costs over two hundred Jin Jialong,” Hermione reminded Ron.

“Oh…” Ron was instantly crushed by poverty.

Lupin and Black exchanged a quiet glance. They hadn’t realized this was connected to Allen Finis—but now that they thought about it, it made sense.

The group began walking toward Hogwarts Castle, planning to hand Peter Pettigrew over to Dumbledore. But after the commotion with Professor Snape, the school must have been alerted by now.

Harry walked with a light step, his spirits lifted—just moments ago, Sirius had invited Harry to live with him, and the thought thrilled him.

A cloud drifted away, and a blurred shadow suddenly fell across the ground; the group stood bathed in moonlight.

Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Ron, and others froze. Black stiffened.

He raised his arm, signaling Harry and Hermione not to advance.

Harry saw Lupin’s side profile—rigid, then trembling, his limbs shaking.

“Oh, God—” Hermione gasped. “He didn’t take his potion tonight! He’s not safe!”

With a terrible roar, Lupin’s head stretched, his body elongated; his shoulders hunched, fur sprouting visibly across his face and hands, his fingers curling into claws.

Sirius vanished from Harry’s side, transforming into a massive black dog that leapt forward, seizing the werewolf by the throat and dragging it backward, away from Ron and Peter Pettigrew.

The werewolf and the dog wrestled, jaws locked, claws tearing at each other…

Harry stood frozen, horrified, while Peter Pettigrew reached for Lupin’s dropped wand…

By the time Harry snapped back to reality, Peter Pettigrew had completed his Animagus transformation…

Ron and Hermione cast two spells at him, but he dodged both, darting into the undergrowth and vanishing.

Harry turned and saw the werewolf fleeing—running toward the Forbidden Forest.

“Sirius! He’s gone! Peter Pettigrew transformed!” Harry shouted. The black dog bled, wounds on its snout and back, but at Harry’s words it rose, sprinting toward where the rat had disappeared—and vanished from sight in moments.

“Ron, send your Animagus after Peter Pettigrew. Sirius is injured,” Hermione said quickly, then threw her Spirit Ball, commanding the Mage Animagus to find Professor Lupin and contain him before he hurt himself or others. The Mage Animagus spread its wings and vanished into the night sky.

Ron did the same. The Stealth Animagus sniffed the ground, then dashed after the trail, disappearing into the dark Forbidden Forest.

Harry realized only the three of them remained.

As they stood helplessly, a bark and a whine echoed from the darkness—a dog howling in pain…

“Sirius,” Harry whispered.

From the sound, Black was in trouble…

Harry bolted forward; Hermione and Ron followed close behind.

The barking seemed to come from the lake. They ran toward it, Harry pushing himself to his limit, feeling cold—but not yet understanding what that cold meant—

The howling suddenly stopped. When they reached the lake’s edge, they understood why—Sirius had reverted to human form.

He lay by the shore, arms raised before him, while the Stealth Animagus was gone…

“No no no,” he moaned. “No no no… please don’t…”

Then Harry saw them.

Dementors. At least a hundred of them, black masses gliding toward them from around the lake.

He spun around. That familiar, icy sensation seeped into his bones. Fog blurred his vision. More of them poured from the darkness all around—surrounding them.

The Dementors quickly encircled them, swirling above in a suffocating black cloud.

They felt overwhelming pressure and freezing cold.

“Expecto Patronum!” Harry tried to summon happy thoughts, but only a faint silver glow flickered before him like mist.

“The Animagi are too far away…” Hermione and Ron gasped, collapsing before him. Yet they knew—even if the Animagi were present, their strength and condition couldn’t handle so many Dementors.

Harry realized he was alone.

He frantically cast the Patronus Charm to fend off the Dementors, but the silver mist he summoned grew weaker and weaker…

He saw one Dementor pause—right near him. Beneath its hood, a long, thin corpse-hand slid out. It pulled back its hood. Where eyes should have been were only thin, scabbed gray skin stretched over empty sockets. But it had a mouth—a shapeless hole, sucking air with the sound of a dying throat…

It was moving toward Sirius, seeking to kiss him…

Harry was paralyzed with terror, unable to move or speak. The silver mist he summoned flickered and died.

He could not accept this outcome!

Suddenly, he felt something hard in his robe pocket—the scroll Allen had left him, the most powerful one.

Hope flared again. With his last strength, he pulled out the scroll, aimed it at a nearby stone, and unrolled it…

The scroll activated successfully!

The stone rapidly transformed…

Soon, a strange creature appeared in his vision—mostly orange-yellow, with two long ears standing upright like a rabbit’s. Its eyes were large and round, like black jewels. Its nose was tiny, nearly invisible. Most striking were the two red blushes on its cheeks. Its limbs were short and stout, chubby and adorable. Its tail was thick and long, shaped like lightning.

It looked cute, fragile, only capable of adorable antics. Now it stared at Harry with wide, watery eyes, puzzled.

Harry and the creature locked eyes, neither knowing what to say…

“Pika-pikapikachu!” the strange creature broke the silence first.