bacchusnovels Chapter 388 Sirius Forgot to Drink the Compound Herbal Elixir
Chapter 388 Sirius Forgot to Drink the Compound Herbal Elixir
Chapter 388 (Bonus Chapter) Sirius Forgot to Drink the Compound Herbal Elixir
[PS: If we reach 1000 monthly votes this month, I'll add an extra 10,000 words.]
Filch squinted, the oil lamp in his hand swaying slightly, its light shining directly on Ron's flustered figure.
Ron's face turned pale as he tried to move the Invisibility Cloak to cover himself, but Scabbers began to struggle violently in his pocket again, making sharp squeaking noises.
Filch's gaze was immediately drawn to it. He took a few steps forward, the light swaying as he approached Ron's pocket: "What's that? A rat? Hand it over!"
"What?" Ron instinctively pressed his hand tightly against his pocket, trying to calm the rat down, but the rat seemed to have completely lost control.
It screamed and struggled wildly, and Ron's hand was bitten hard by its sharp teeth.
"Ouch!" Ron cried out in pain, and his hand slipped, and Banban darted out of his grasp like a gray shadow.
"Spotty!" Ron exclaimed, reaching out to grab it, but the mouse had already vanished without a trace, disappearing into the darkness in the blink of an eye.
"It's gone!" Hermione whispered urgently, trying to stop Ron, but he was too preoccupied to care about anything else and took off after Scabbers.
"Ron, don't run so fast!" Harry shouted, and followed after him.
Filch paused for a moment, then sneered and chased after them.
Banban ran swiftly across the grass, through the bushes, and headed straight for the outskirts of the castle.
Its goal was clear: it charged straight at a "whooping willow!" Hermione shouted as she ran, "Where is it going?"
The huge branches of the willow tree swayed slowly in the breeze, like a sleeping giant, but Banban rushed towards the tree without hesitation.
"It's gone mad!" Ron said breathlessly, his pace unwavering. "Scabbers! Come back!"
Banban showed no sign of stopping; instead, it sped up and rushed into the range of the thrashing willow.
Just as it approached the tree roots, a slightly open hole suddenly appeared in the ground, and it quickly crawled inside.
"It went into that hole!" Harry shouted, his eyes wide as he tried to see the hole's location.
"What's going on?" Hermione gasped as she ran to the tree, her face filled with shock. "There's a passageway under this tree!"
"Forget the passage! I'm going to catch Scabbers!" Ron shouted as he tried to get closer to the roots of the Mantis Willow.
However, just as he took a step, the branches of the Man-beating Willow suddenly lashed out, making a loud whooshing sound, and swept fiercely at Ron like whips.
Harry quickly grabbed his robe and pulled him back.
"Don't move! This tree can attack!" Harry said urgently, his eyes darting around. "There must be a way to stop it!"
"What's going on with that rat?" Hermione asked in a low voice, her eyes filled with deep doubt. "How did it know we were here? And... why did it get under this tree?"
Just as the group was at a loss, "Filch" arrived in a hurry.
He didn't say anything, but suddenly put down the lantern and looked at the base of the willow tree. Then, he bent down and pressed it skillfully.
The waving of the willow tree suddenly stopped, its branches drooping stiffly, as if it had fallen into a kind of slumber.
"How did he know?" Hermione stared in shock at Filch's actions.
"I'm in that hole! I'm going to grab it!" Filch muttered to himself, and without hesitation, he crawled into the hole at the base of the willow tree. The light of the lantern flickered in the darkness and gradually disappeared.
The group stared in disbelief at Filch's retreating figure. Ron rubbed his eyes and said, "Am I seeing things? He actually... went inside?"
"This just doesn't make sense," Hermione murmured, her expression a mixture of confusion and wariness. "Filch couldn't possibly know about a place like this, let alone operate the Whomping Willow so skillfully."
"Maybe he's attracted to Scabbers," Harry said quietly, "or—he has other reasons."
The group exchanged glances, and after a brief silence, Hermione spoke first: "Whatever the reason, we have to go in and see! We can't let him catch up with Scabbers alone—if Scabbers really has some secret, we need to know!"
"Are you sure we want to go in?" Ron hesitated. "That's Filch, what if we get caught—"
"Ron!" Hermione's voice was urgent. "He's inside! We have to find out what's going on—and Scabbers' strange behavior. Don't you want to know the truth?"
While the group was talking, Sophia had already bent down and crawled towards the cave entrance.
So the three of them quickly passed through the roots of the willow tree and carefully crawled into the hole.
The passageways inside the cave were narrow and damp, winding like a giant underground serpent.
The group carefully made their way along the narrow passage, the dim light making each step extra cautious.
The cave was filled with the smell of damp earth, and it was so quiet that the only sounds were their rapid breathing and footsteps.
"Why does this place seem so familiar?" Harry muttered to himself, his brow furrowed as he frantically searched his memory.
"Perhaps it's because it leads to a very special place," Hermione said cautiously, her voice low. "But don't tell anyone yet, we need to confirm the situation."
The passageway widened at its end, and the group could vaguely hear a low murmur.
Hermione gestured for everyone to stop, and they held their breath as they cautiously approached the source of the sound.
Finally, after passing through the last winding passage, the view suddenly opened up, and they found themselves in a dilapidated room.
The surrounding wooden walls were dilapidated, the ground was covered with a thick layer of dust, and the air was filled with the smell of decay.
"This is," Hermione exclaimed, her eyes widening, "the Screaming Shack!"
"What?!" Ron exclaimed, but Harry quickly grabbed his shoulder.
"Quiet!" Harry whispered, his eyes fixed on a corner of the room.
In the shadows of the room, a strange man was bending down and catching a small mouse that was struggling violently.
His hair was a mess, but his movements were unusually resolute, as if he were determined to subdue the rat.
"Spot!" Ron hissed angrily. "He's scratching Spot! What's he trying to do?!"
"Don't be impulsive!" Hermione grabbed Ron's sleeve, her eyes warily fixed on the man. "Where's 'Filch'? Who is he? Why is he here?"
The man seemed oblivious to their presence, intently staring at the mouse in his hand, muttering under his breath, "Run, run, you can't escape. Wormtail, you'll pay your debt today." "Wormtail?" Hermione's face instantly changed. "What does that mean?"
Harry squinted, trying to see more clearly.
His heart pounded, and fragmented memories surfaced in his mind—scattered glimpses of unusual behavior, Crookshanks' relentless pursuit.
Even the mysterious passage of the Man-Beating Willow.
All of this seemed to point to an unusual secret.
Ron could no longer contain himself. He rushed out and yelled at the man, "Stop! Don't touch my Scabbers!"
The man paused for a moment, then suddenly raised his head, revealing a haggard and angry face.
He wanted to say something, but when he looked down at his clothes, he froze for a moment and swallowed back what he was about to say.
This afternoon... he seems to have forgotten to drink the compound decoction.