Chapter 323: The pleasure of revenge, werewolf transformation
"They?" Harry frowned. "Professor Snape, you mean Siriusalso..."
"Not just him." Snape interrupted Harry, pointing his wand at Lupin. "Also him."
"But they are innocent, you know the truth." Harry said, somewhat annoyed, seriously suspecting Snape was taking personal revenge.
Hearing this, Snape looked as if he had heard a funny joke, and his mouth unconsciously curved upwards. "Mr. Potter, I know you might not be convinced, so let's ask someone else.
Miss Granger, the know-it-all, please tell Potter whether they should be tied up or not?
If you say they shouldn't, then I won't tie them up."
"I, I..." Hermione stammered, looking particularly troubled.
"Is it that hard?" Ron asked, puzzled. "Of course they shouldn't be tied up."
"Idiot." Aaron rolled his eyes. "A wanted criminal who hasn't been cleared yet, spent twelve years in Azkaban, and immediately thought of killing someone upon release.
I'm going to tell you a harsh truth you might not want to hear: Sirius's mental state is very unstable right now. What if he casts a spell on Pettigrew on the way back?"
"It can't be!"
Aaron scoffed, "Before you say that, think about whether your leg hurts."
Ron:... "What about Professor Lupin?"
"He betrayed Dumbledore's trust, knowing that Sirius would use his Animagus form to sneak into Hogwarts, yet he kept silent.
I think that alone is enough."
"Understood, Potter?" Snape looked at him with a half-smile. "Actually, I should tie you up too. Going out on your own, do you know how much effort Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic spent to protect you? You treat your own life with such carelessness!"
Harry hesitated, looking at Lupin and Sirius, a flicker of helplessness in his eyes.
"It's alright, Harry." Lupin smiled easily. "My purpose in teaching at Hogwarts was to protect you, and there are some things I've kept hidden for too long; it's time I told Dumbledore."
"I don't care." Sirius said. "Taking personal revenge, Snape is absolutely capable of that."
Snape ignored him. "Lupin, tying up Peter is no problem for you, right?"
"Gladly."
Lupin's wand shot out a thin rope, wrapping Pettigrewtightly, even gagging him.
"Peter, if you dare to transform, I'll kill you."
"Excellent." Snape clapped his hands in satisfaction, conjured a rope, and bound Sirius's hands. He then intended to give Lupin the same treatment.
"Wait a moment."
"You have no right to bargain."
"I know, but Ron needs treatment now." Lupin said. "Mending bones is difficult for me, but I can do simple first aid."
Snape hesitated for a moment. "Be quick."
Lupin walked over to Ron, bandaged his injured leg with a simple spell, and carefully helped him up.
"It doesn't hurt much now." Ron smiled. "Thank you, Professor."
"You'll need someone to help you walk. It's best to see Madam Pomfrey once we get back to the Castle."
"Time to go, Lupin." Snape reminded him.
Lupin sighed, consciously brought his hands together, and let Snape tie him up.
On the way back, Pettigrew walked in the center of the secret passage, with Sirius and Lupin on either side of him, preventing him from suddenly escaping.
Behind the three, Snape's smile never left his face. Aaronacted as his deputy, escorting the prisoners.
Behind them were Harry, Hermione, and Ron, with Harryand Hermione supporting the injured Ron, carefully making their way out.
"I bet Severus is very excited right now." Sirius said disdainfully.
"Revenge is sweet, isn't it!" Snape hummed triumphantly. "I always dreamed of the day I could personally bring you all before Dumbledore.
James died, so I didn't get the chance, but the three of you are still alive, and I caught you all at once.
Tsk, tsk, tsk! A murderer, a Werewolf, a traitor... I must say, it's incredibly satisfying, simply poetic justice."
"A petty man's triumph." Sirius said, annoyed. He then suddenly realized something and said, somewhat nervously, "Harry, actually, I don't know if I should tell you... I'm your godfather.
In other words, I'm one of your guardians.
After Peter is handed over, I'll be free.
Of course, if you still want to live with your aunt and uncle, I understand, but if you want a different home..."
"What? Live with you?" Harry said, somewhat excitedly. He felt as if he had been hit by a huge pie at that moment.
It seemed he could finally escape Vernon's home, leave his aunt and uncle who constantly cursed him and made him do chores, and his cousin Dudley who bullied him whenever he was bored.
"Well! I suppose you wouldn't want to." Sirius said, somewhat disappointed.
After all, he hadn't fulfilled his godfather duties for twelve years, and he had been in Azkaban, and although he was innocent, his reputation was not good.
"No, I'd love to!" Harry said incoherently. "Of course I want to leave the Dursleys' house! Do you have a house? When can we move in?"
"You want to?" Sirius was incredulous. "Really?"
"Of course it's real." Aaron couldn't help but interject. "Mr. Black may not know, but his aunt and uncle absolutely detest magic. You could say that, except when he was at Hogwarts, Harry hasn't had many good days since his parents died."
"What? How dare they?" Sirius was furious, then said in a hoarse voice full of guilt, "I'm sorry, Harry.
I'm so sorry, I didn't know anything."
"It wouldn't have mattered if you knew, you were rotting in Azkaban then!"
"Yes!" Sirius nodded bitterly. "Harry, I promise that once I'm cleared, I'll give you a different home. I can't guarantee it will be absolutely happy, but it will definitely be free.
Lupin, why didn't you intervene? Harry is James and Lily's son..."
"I didn't know either." Lupin said, depressed. "Besides, I'm a Werewolf. Do you think I should have been in contact with Harry before he became a Wizard?
What if something went wrong? A child can't deal with a Werewolf."
The two exchanged glances, then, after a moment of silence, turned their hateful gazes to Pettigrew.
It was all this traitor's fault; a series of tragedies were caused by him.
Pettigrew noticed this and felt a chill down his spine. He suddenly worried that he would be killed by them before he even stood trial.
"Don't worry, we won't kill you." Sirius sneered. "But you'd better escape from Azkaban and give me a chance to kill you myself."
Pettigrew squeezed out a smile uglier than a cry, wanting to say he would never escape, but with his mouth gagged, he couldn't say anything, only shaking his head repeatedly.
"Coward."
By the time they climbed out of the tree hollow, it was completely dark. They could see the faint lights of the Castlein the distance.
Snape held his wand, pointing it at Sirius and the other two. "You three come with me to see Dumbledore; he'll surely be surprised.
Aaron, you take Ron and the others to the School Hospital. If all goes well, Dumbledore will come to talk to you all later."
"Professor Snape." Harry said, hesitating. "Can I come with you?"
"No." Snape refused decisively. "Trying to plead for Lupin, are you?
You should first think about what you're going to do? You, Weasley, and Granger are all on the verge of suspension."
"What about Aaron?" Ron said, unconvinced.
"Gaius was implicated by you. Ten points from Slytherin." Snape said as if it were obvious. "But holidays are coming soon, so no detention."
"That's not fair."
"Shut up, Weasley.
You harbored a murderer for twelve years. If we really delve into it, do you think you'll come out looking good?"
Ron's eye twitched slightly, and he silently closed his mouth.
At that moment, a cloud slowly moved away in the sky, and a full moon illuminated the night, its light falling on everyone's faces.
Lupin's body stiffened, then his limbs began to tremble violently. The ropes on his hands also started to swell little by little.
"Uh oh!" Aaron said, somewhat exasperated. "It seems our Professor Lupin didn't take his Wolfsbane Potion tonight."
"Run, hurry, it's not safe here." Sirius said urgently.
"Can't run." Aaron pointed meaningfully at Ron's injured leg. "Thanks to someone, we have a seriously injured person in our group."
Sirius:... Well! That really was his fault.
"Or, how about we leave him behind for the bloodthirsty Werewolf to feast on, and we take the opportunity to leave?"
Ron froze, looking at Aaron with a bewildered expression.
Are you serious?
"Just kidding, don't take it seriously!" Aaron patted his injured leg. "How about this, we leave Pettigrew instead? Let him attract the Werewolf's attention."
As his words fell, everyone looked at Pettigrew.
Hermione and Ron were somewhat conflicted. It wasn't that it couldn't be done; exchanging a shameful and despicable traitor for their safety was absolutely worth it, but psychologically, it felt a bit awkward.
Sirius, however, was somewhat tempted. Wouldn't having Lupin kill Peter be more thrilling than handing Peter over to the Dementors?
Snape seemed rather indifferent. He disliked Lupin, Sirius, and Pettigrew equally, and he was happy to see them kill each other.
Pettigrew immediately struggled, making muffled sounds. The man, in his thirties, was so frightened that he started crying.
"He can't die, he's a key witness." Harry said.
"Pettigrew can't die, so someone else has to." Aaron said, hinting, then looked at Snape. "Right, Professor Snape?"
"Of course." Snape sneered, drew his wand, and aimed it at Lupin, who was about to transform into a Werewolf. "I've wanted to do this for a long time: Defense Against the Dark Arts Class: How to Kill a Werewolf."