The following lessons passed without incident, and the students actually learned quite a bit about Zouwu. Hagrid, seeing their apparent interest, became even more convinced that the students shared his love for these magnificent creatures. He remained blissfully unaware that, despite their attentive listening, the students never dared to approach the Zouwu by so much as an inch during the entire lesson.
...
The skies above Hogwarts remained a perpetual, gloomy gray, with dark shadows occasionally flitting across the landscape. The Dementors, now free from Azkaban, had diversified their diet, having been warned beforehand that entering the castle to prey on students was strictly forbidden. Thus, they were forced to eat whatever else they could find.
One Dementor drifted over a small hill, instantly withering the flowers and grass beneath it. A short distance away, near a small river, three Dementors huddled together.
"How much longer must this go on?" one groaned.
"I've been eating grass for two weeks now. I feel like I'm turning into a rabbit," another wailed. "Can't I just sneak into the castle and steal some food?"
"Have you forgotten what happened to Dementors Thirty-Two and Thirty-Six?" the third hissed. "Do you want to disappear without a trace, too?"
"Ugh, let's just catch him quickly and get back to Azkaban."
The three Dementors, their brief conversation concluded, dispersed once more, resuming their relentless search for Sirius Black.
Unbeknownst to them, atop one of the distant Hogwarts towers, a lecherous rat was intently watching their departure.
Sirius… will he come here? Is this place no longer safe? If he catches me, I'm done for! Ron said Lupin is a professor…
Peter Pettigrew's thoughts were abruptly cut short as he felt a strong, powerful claw grip his shoulder.
"Hey girl, where are you going?"
"Ready to… baby~"
Gazing at the burning eyes of these muscular giant rats, Peter Pettigrew felt a cold sweat instantly soak his fur. He desperately wanted to escape but found himself utterly paralyzed.
"Oh no! Ah~"
In his extreme panic, Peter Pettigrew even began speaking in human language. Fortunately, every student in the dormitory was in class, and no one noticed his outburst.
…
Meanwhile, on the other side of the castle, the students, having finished their classes, were enjoying a hearty lunch in the Great Hall.
"Scarface! Scarface!!!"
A familiar scream echoed through the hall. Harry turned to see Malfoy bursting through the doors, sprinting towards him with a newspaper clutched in his hand.
Seeing Malfoy's strange, frenzied movements, Harry instinctively recoiled. "Are you crazy, Malfoy?"
Hearing this, Malfoy immediately cursed angrily, "I'll beat you up... it's Sirius!"
"Sirius didn't... oh, sorry. Let's get down to business. What happened to Sirius?"
Seeing the murderous glint in Malfoy's eyes, Harry abandoned his attempt at humor and sat up straight.
Seeing this, Malfoy slammed the Daily Prophet onto the table in front of Harry. "Sirius has been sighted in Duffytown. Look…"
Following Malfoy's pointed finger, Harry saw the animated photo of Sirius screaming once again. But that wasn't the most concerning part. "Duffytown? I remember that's pretty close to Hogwarts, right?"
"Just a short distance down the road to the castle! He's after Scarface, and I heard he's probably here to cause you trouble!"
Malfoy seemed even more anxious than Harry himself. "But don't worry, we'll gather all the Death Eaters at Hogwarts. If he dares to show his face, we'll beat him to a pulp! We'll tie him up and bring him before the Master!"
Malfoy had already formulated a plan for how to overwhelm Sirius with sheer numbers.
As Malfoy enthusiastically detailed his plan to deal with Sirius, Harry seemed lost in thought, staring blankly at the contents of the Daily Prophet.
...
Beneath a sky heavy with dark clouds, on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, Sirius, in his Animagus form, crept furtively through the undergrowth, his eyes fixed on the towering ancient castle in the distance.
What had he endured all this hardship for? Wasn't it to get here and kill that wretched rat?! Now he was just one step away from achieving his goal! He needed to find a way to lure that rat out of the castle, away from Harry, and then... he would finish him off with his own hands!
A fierce glint flashed in Sirius's eyes as he imagined the moment.
"Gurgle, gurgle..."
The gnawing hunger in his stomach dampened his vengeful fervor.
"Woof woof..."
He'd better find something to eat first.
Sirius reluctantly turned and headed deeper into the Forbidden Forest. After all, this was his only source of food now. He'd eat anything edible, be it a rat or an insect. He'd just have to try and remember the snacks Harry had given him earlier, hoping to somehow make this meal more palatable.
...
After Sirius's figure disappeared into the distance, the figure toying with the Elder Wand slowly emerged onto a branch not far away.
Knowing Sirius's Animagus form and understanding his purpose, finding him had been child's play for Tom.
He glanced with interest at the departing black dog, and the system's information about Sirius appeared in Tom's mind.
[Name: Sirius Black]
[Gender: Male]
[Age: 34]
[Occupation: Wizard/Fugitive]
[Magic: S (Professor/Elite Auror)]
[Talents (Max Level 10)]:
[Charms: 7 (Skilled in silent spellcasting)]
[Transfiguration: 7 (Sufficient enough to learn Animagus magic)]
[Dark Magic Defense: 8 (Elite among Aurors)]
[Dark Magic: 6 (Dark wizard blood flows in his veins)]
[Potions: 4 (Decent, but just average)]
[Alchemy: 6 (Exceptionally gifted)]
[Prophecy: 1 (Aba aba…)]
[Special Talent: Extraordinary Willpower (Mental fortitude far surpasses that of ordinary people, even capable of enduring prolonged torment.)]
[Item: Old fig leaf "Quality: Trash"...]
Well… to escape Azkaban with a body ravaged by years of Dementor's kisses, and survive by eating dead rats all the way here…
Tom had reason to suspect that if eating Peter Pettigrew could kill him, Sirius would have unhesitatingly devoured the rat already.
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We are climbing the charts faster than ever because the work I am putting in this time is on a completely different level of excellence.
The Top 10 is within our reach, and every Powerstone is a step closer. Smash the vote button and share your best theories in the comments so I can see who is really paying attention to the plot!