"Wizard, just like I told you — keep your distance…"
The Pukwudgie butler's voice was low.
The strange thing was, there wasn't a single wizard standing anywhere near it.
So who exactly was it talking to?
A witch passing by glanced over curiously a few times.
Before she could make sense of anything, the Pukwudgie leading the black dog had already left.
Sean watched the Pukwudgie butler depart, and as he looked at the gaunt black dog, more thoughts surfaced in his mind.
He needed to make a trip to the Albanian forest.
The odds of actually finding Voldemort were minuscule, but Sean could at least test more of the Soul Relic's abilities there — for example, trying to forcibly drag Voldemort's soul into a dream.
Then there was Slytherin's locket, which he had already taken from the Black house. With it in hand, it was easy for Sean to remember a brave soul buried beneath the dust of history — Regulus Black.
Returning his remains to his elder brother, Sirius, was the respect Sean intended to give that Slytherin hero.
And beyond that, once the locket was destroyed, he would have to begin searching for Nagini. He thought Sirius might be able to help with that as well.
So no matter how he looked at it, Sean had decided to meet Sirius again.
While he was thinking, he quietly watched Harry come back to himself.
"A death omen…"
Harry muttered under his breath, staring into the distance in exactly the same direction Sean had been looking — the direction where the black dog had disappeared.
He kept thinking about the black dog on that book cover, the one as big as a bear with shining eyes… why did it look so much like that dog?
"That can't be a death omen."
Harry mumbled to himself.
And the death omen — the black dog — was, at that very moment, back in Room 10 at the Leaky Cauldron.
In the dim room, the gaunt, half-starved man stood pressed against the wall. The moment he looked at him, he lost all control over the surge of emotion inside him.
His mouth hung open, but no sound came out. He could only let the tears slide down his skin-stretched face.
"Why bother? Are all wizards as stupid as you?"
the Pukwudgie butler muttered.
"If you knew everything — if your master really has magic that powerful — then you'd know just how stupid I've been."
Black said with a broken laugh.
"No, wizard. The great one is Mr. Green. But I do want to know — how did you get out of there? My master said that place drives people mad…"
The Pukwudgie butler suddenly seemed a little interested in the man before it.
"You want to know?"
Black lifted his bloodshot eyes.
"A little."
the Pukwudgie butler answered honestly.
"So you don't actually know everything after all. That fits my impression of people like you.
I'll tell you. But I've got a small question too — how soon can I see your master again?"
Black's gaze flickered.
The tears had quietly been wiped away. He still had more important things to do, and now there was a wizard — one he knew nothing about, but who was clearly powerful and mysterious — who might be able to help him.
"Hmph…"
The Pukwudgie butler let out a scornful laugh.
"A loyal butler doesn't concern himself with…"
Then it abruptly changed its tone, seemingly because the mirror floating in front of it had begun to ripple.
"Afternoon. Six o'clock. My master will be available then."
Black recognized the object. It looked a great deal like a two-way mirror, only much smaller. He was certain it was some kind of new alchemical creation he had never seen before.
"Now then, can you tell me how you did it, wizard?"
the Pukwudgie butler asked.
"I don't really know how I did it myself,"
Black said slowly, now that he had his answer.
"I think the only reason I didn't lose my mind was because I knew I was innocent.
That wasn't a happy thought, so the Dementors couldn't suck it out of my head… but it kept me sane. It reminded me who I was…
And it let me keep my magic… so when things got… too unbearable… I could transform in my cell… into a dog.
You know, Dementors can't see…"
He swallowed hard.
"Dementors move toward people by sensing their feelings… and when I became a dog, maybe my emotions didn't seem very human anymore — not as human, not as complicated…
But of course, they thought I was losing my mind like the other prisoners, so they didn't pay attention.
Still, I was weak — terribly weak. Without a wand, I had no hope of driving them away…
But then, later, when I saw that rat in the photograph Fudge was holding… I realized that bastard was at Hogwarts, right beside Harry…
If word reached him that the dark side was rising again, Hogwarts would be the perfect place for him to strike…"
A deep, bone-deep hatred twisted Black's face as he ground out the words.
"…Once he knew he had allies again, he'd make his move. He'd offer the last Potter to them.
If he could hand over Harry, who would still dare say he'd betrayed Voldemort? They'd welcome him like a hero…
So I had to do something, because I'm the only one who knows Peter is still alive…"
The Pukwudgie butler didn't really understand human emotions, but even it could clearly feel the hatred pouring out of Sirius Black.
"It was like someone lit a fire inside my head, and the Dementors couldn't put it out… It wasn't a happy thought… it was an obsession… but it gave me strength, kept me sane.
So one night, when they opened the door to bring me food, I slipped past them in dog form…
They're not very sensitive to animal emotions, so I confused them… I was thin — so thin — thin enough to slip right through the bars…
Then I swam back to the mainland in a dog's body… headed north… I meant to go see him, but your lot found me first."
Black finished speaking.
The room fell silent, until the door creaked open.
"Mr. Black."
Sean walked in.
"Mr. Green."
Black glanced at the clock. It was exactly six o'clock, not a second off.
"You wanted to see me?"
Sean asked softly.
"Why… are you helping me?"
Black finally voiced the question that had been building in him all this time.
"Just because I'm innocent? There are plenty of wizards in the world who've suffered injustice…"
"Because our goals are the same, sir."
Sean said.
"What? Goals? Fighting You-Know-Who? Don't joke…"
Black let out a bitter, self-mocking laugh.
But then something seemed to occur to him — like the time a wizard named Green had exposed one of You-Know-Who's servants at Hogwarts, and then…
~~~
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