After killing Peter, Snape stood in place, a few drops of blood splattered on his Black robes.
He stared at the headless corpse on the ground, his eyes hollow, as if looking at something unimportant.
After a few seconds of silence, Snape turned and left without looking back.
The sound of footsteps gradually faded, finally disappearing into the night.
It was unknown if he would return for dinner.
Only Charlie and Black remained in the room, along with the still-bleeding corpse on the ground.
Black stood blankly, Peter's blood still on his face.
He looked down at the headless corpse, his chest heaving violently, but his eyes grew increasingly empty.
His revenge was taken, but his heart felt hollow.
James and Lily could not come back.
Those twelve years of imprisonment had also completely destroyed him.
Everything was over, yet nothing was over.
Black suddenly felt very tired, so tired that even standing was difficult. He swayed, almost falling.
"What are you spacing out for?" Charlie walked over and kicked Peter's corpse.
"Clean up, it's time to go back to the Castle."
Black stared at him blankly.
"Go back to the Castle?"
"Otherwise?" Charlie crouched down, turning the stones on the ground into a shroud.
"Don't you want to clear your name?"
Black's lips moved, but he said nothing.
"Since you're following me now, as the boss, I naturally have to help my subordinate settle things," Charlie said, wrapping Peter's head. His movements were so practiced that one might wonder how many times he had done it.
"And once you regain your legal status, you can also help me with things in the future."
Black stared at Charlie, his throat tight.
"Thank you."
"Let's go." Charlie tucked the wrapped head into Black's arms and then waved his wand to levitate the corpse.
The two returned to the secret passage with Peter's corpse.
It was already dark, and warm light shone from the Castle windows.
It was dinner time, and students and Professor were all in the Great Hall, leaving the corridors empty.
But Sirius was still somewhat timid, having been a fugitive for so many years after all.
He also always believed that he was responsible for James and Lily's deaths and felt he had no face to meet his former friends and teachers.
"How about I don't go in?"
How could he not go in? What good would it do if the person involved wasn't present?
Charlie glanced at him, saying calmly,
"You've already thrown off the blame, what are you still afraid of?"
Black was stunned.
That's right.
Peter was dead, and the truth was in his arms.
Those twelve years of false accusation could finally be cast aside.
Looking at the familiar scenes of Hogwarts, Black's taut nerves gradually relaxed.
The stone statues in the corridor were still the same few, the suits of armor stood upright, and not even many of the portraits on the walls had changed.
His steps involuntarily quickened, and his heart rate sped up with them.
He had to tell Dumbledore the truth.
He had to tell Lupin that he wasn't a traitor.
He also had to reunite with Harry; after all, he was Harry's godfather.
The more Black thought, the more anxious he became, his steps growing faster and faster, and the hand holding Peter's head trembled slightly.
Charlie followed behind, his eyes a little strange.
The Great Hall doors were just ahead.
Black took a deep breath and pushed the doors open.
Creak—
The heavy oak doors let out a grating sound, and the Great Hall instantly fell silent.
Students at the long tables turned their heads in unison, and Professor on the staff table stopped their knives and forks. Hundreds of eyes stared at the doorway.
Black froze.
He looked down at the package in his arms, then at the shocked faces of everyone in the Great Hall.
Damn it.
He forgot that he was still a wanted criminal.
The blame was only *about* to be lifted, but it wasn't *actually* lifted yet.
"Ah ah ah ah!!"
"It's Black! Sirius Black!"
A student, who was the first to react, screamed, and the sound instantly erupted.
The Great Hall descended into chaos.
Several first-year girls dove under the tables, someone on the Gryffindor side knocked over pumpkin juice, and a student at the Slytherin long table fell off his chair in fright.
At the staff table, Professor McGonagall shot to her feet, her wand already in hand.
Professor Flitwick jumped onto his chair, the tip of his wand glowing white.
Even Professor Sprout, usually slow-moving, pulled out her wand.
"Petrificus Totalus!"
"Stupefy!"
"Impedimenta!"
Seven or eight spells shot towards the doorway simultaneously.
Black's face turned pale; his life was over!
At this moment, Charlie rushed out from behind Black, waving his wand.
"Hold your spells!"
A silver shield instantly unfolded, blocking the two of them.
The spells hit the shield, creating a burst of light, and then all bounced off. One Stupefy spell went astray, directly hitting the ceiling and shaking down a shower of dust.
The Great Hall was silent once more.
Professor McGonagall still held her wand up, but out of trust for Charlie, she did not cast another spell.
She stared at Charlie in the doorway, her brow deeply furrowed.
"Charlie, what exactly is going on?"
The Great Hall was utterly silent, everyone holding their breath.
Charlie took two steps forward.
"Professor, he is not a murderer," Charlie said calmly.
"The true traitor is dead."
"What do you mean?"
Charlie briefly recounted the events of this semester, from discovering Scabbers was Peter, to capturing Peter.
Of course, he omitted details like the marauders map, which could easily lead to rule violations.
Professor McGonagall's expression changed several times as she listened.
"Peter Pettigrew is alive? Where is he?"
"To be precise, he was alive just now."
Charlie waved his wand.
In the corridor outside the Great Hall, a headless corpse floated slowly in.
The corpse floated to the center of the Great Hall and landed with a thud.
Students gasped.
Several students closest to it immediately vomited; they had never seen such a sight.
Black stepped forward and placed Peter's head next to the corpse.
Nearly Headless Nick looked at the thoroughly headless corpse with great envy.
The Professor at the staff table, however, remained unfazed.
Professor McGonagall walked down, waved her wand, and conjured a thick blanket to cover the corpse.
She crouched down, lifted a corner of the blanket, and carefully examined the face.
Professor Flitwick also leaned in, pushing up his glasses.
"It's him, it really is Peter."
Dumbledore had been sitting in the head seat, silent.
His blue eyes fixed on Black, a complex emotion flashing through them.
"Prefect." Dumbledore finally spoke, his voice very soft.
"Take the students back to their dormitories."
He paused, then looked at Charlie.
"Charlie, stay."
Then Dumbledore's gaze swept over the Gryffindor long table; someone looked very anxious.
"And Harry," Dumbledore said.
"You stay too."
Harry, given permission, quickly abandoned Ron, squeezed through the crowd, and ran to Charlie's side.
The Prefect began organizing the students to leave, but everyone was craning their necks to look over, as if they wanted to twist them off.
Percy, who was already Head Boy, had to shout several times to get the Gryffindor out.
The Great Hall doors closed, leaving only a few Professor, Charlie, Harry, and Black.
Professor McGonagall turned around and stared at Charlie.
Her expression was very serious.
"Charlie, did you kill Peter?"
Charlie shook his head.
"It wasn't me, Professor Snape did it."
Professor McGonagall breathed a sigh of relief, as for a student, an act like beheading was indeed a bit excessive.
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