bacchusnovels Chapter 393 touched upon his heart.
Chapter 393 touched upon his heart.
Chapter 393 (Bonus Chapter) touched his heart.
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Hermione abruptly snatched the robe from Pettigrew's hand and quickly retreated to the wall, her face filled with terror.
Little Pettigrew knelt on the ground, trembling all over, sobbing uncontrollably, his gaze once again turning to Sean.
"Professor Phillips, you certainly won't let me—"
Sean didn't answer, but responded with his wand.
A sharp, invisible blade grazed past Pettigrew's shoulder, forcing him to stiffen and slowly turn his head to look at Harry.
"Harry—.Harry"
His voice trembled, "You look exactly like your father—exactly like him—"
"Sirius! How dare you speak to Harry like that?" Sirius roared, his anger erupting like a volcano. "How dare you face him? How dare you mention James's name?"
"Harry," Pettigrew whispered, crawling towards Harry on his knees, arms outstretched, his face pleading, "Harry, James wouldn't want me killed—James will understand, he'll spare me."
Sirius and Lupin stepped forward together, grabbed Pettigrew by the shoulder without hesitation, and slammed him to the ground.
Little Pettigrew sat there, his body convulsing with fear.
"You betrayed Lily and James to Voldemort!" Sirius Black gritted his teeth and cursed. "And you dare to deny it?"
Little Pettigrew suddenly burst into tears, looking like a strange, bald baby, curled up in a ball, which was particularly terrifying.
"Sirius, Sirius, what can I do?" he cried, his voice piercing with anguish. "The Dark Lord—you have no idea how terrifying his power is! I'm scared, Sirius! I've never had the courage of you, Remus, or James! I never wanted this—it was that unnamed man who forced me to..."
"Shut up!" Sirius roared. "You'd been his spy for a whole year before Lily and James were killed! You were his henchman!"
"He—he's everywhere!" Little Pettigrew shrieked. "What good is disobeying him?"
"What's the point of fighting the world's most evil wizard?" Sirius roared, his face contorted with terrifying rage. "It's about saving innocent lives, Peter!"
"You don't understand!" Sirius Black screamed hysterically, "He'll kill me, Sirius!"
"Then you deserve to die!" Sirius roared, his voice filled with anguish. "I'd rather die than betray my friends! We did it for you..."
They'll do that too!
Sirius and Lupin stood side by side, their wands both pointed at Pettigrew.
"You should have known," Lupin said in a low voice, "that if Voldemort didn't kill you, we would have. Goodbye, Peter."
Hermione covered her face in unbearable pain and turned to the wall, as if trying to shut it all out.
"No!" Harry suddenly shouted.
He rushed forward, standing between Pettigrew and the two wands, panting, "You can't kill him! You can't!"
Both Sirius Black and Lupin showed expressions of shock.
"Harry, that bastard killed your parents!" Sirius roared, his voice trembling with rage. "That despicable man watched you die without batting an eye! You heard it with your own ears, his life was more important to him than your whole family!"
"I know," Harry said, panting, "but we should take him back to the castle and hand him over to the Dementors—let him go to Azkaban...don't kill him."
"Harry!" Pettigrew was so excited he was almost incoherent. He threw himself at Harry's knees, tears streaming down his face. "Thank you so much—"
I am not worthy—thank you—
"Let go of me!" Harry snapped, making no attempt to hide his disgust, and abruptly shook off Pettigrew's hand. "I'm not doing this for you. I just—I thought my dad wouldn't want you to become murderers because of someone like him."
Silence enveloped the entire room; no one moved or made a sound.
Only Little Star clutched his chest, breathing heavily, his wheezing sound unsettling.
Sirius and Lupin exchanged a glance, then simultaneously lowered their wands.
"You are the only one with the right to decide, Harry," Sirius said slowly, his voice low, "but please think carefully about what he has done—"
“He can go into Azkaban,” Harry replied firmly. “If anyone wants to go into that place, it’s him.”
Pettigrew was still breathing heavily behind him, looking like a dying beast.
"Very well," Lupin nodded, "Make way, Harry."
Harry stood there, hesitating for a moment.
"I just tied him up," Lupin continued, "nothing else, I swear."
Harry finally moved.
Lupin waved his wand, and a thin rope swiftly wrapped around Pettigrew, binding him securely to the ground.
He struggled desperately on the ground, but to no avail.
Then, a wad of cloth was stuffed into his mouth, and the room finally fell silent.
"But Peter," Sirius Black raised his wand, pointing it at Pettigrew on the ground, "if you dare shapeshift and try to escape, we'll kill you immediately. Harry, do you agree?"
Harry looked down at the despicable fellow, remained silent for a moment, and then nodded to make sure Pettigrew could see his statement.
"What about Professor Snape?" Hermione's voice broke the brief silence. She looked down at Snape lying on the ground and asked softly.
"He's fine," Sean replied calmly. "I was controlling my strength and didn't hurt him."
2
He paused, glanced at everyone, and then said, "Ron, you carry Professor Snape on your back." There was no room for negotiation in his tone.
Ron paused for a moment, his lips moved as if he wanted to refuse.
However, Sean didn't give him a chance—he walked straight over, picked Snape up in his arms, and handed him to Ron without any ceremony, his movements as practiced as if he were performing a routine task.
This pose couldn't be more perfect—a flawless princess carry.
In fact, Sean could have used the "Zombie Float" spell to make Snape's body float and follow behind the group.
But he didn't.
He even cast a lightness spell to make Snape lighter so that Ron could barely hold him.
He did all of this in an orderly manner; however, Sean knew in his heart that he arranged it this way because he had noticed Ron's unpleasant expression.
He knew what Ron was thinking.
At this moment, Ron's mind was in complete turmoil, and he couldn't help but imagine the scenarios that might happen in the future.
He could almost hear Malfoy's sarcastic voice echoing in his ears: "You poor Weasley, you're carrying around someone who looks like a prisoner? You've lived with someone like that for so many years, don't you feel disgusted?"
Sean saw through Ron's thoughts and the humiliation and frustration he was trying to suppress on his face, so he chose to let Ron forget his troubles by doing labor.
"None of us here will tell anyone that Scabbers is Little Pettigrew, will we?"
Sean's words lingered in the air for a moment. Hermione nodded, followed by Harry: "Of course not."
Ron looked up, his face still grim, but his eyes flickered after hearing those words.
He muttered something under his breath, which seemed to be a tacit agreement.
"It would be best to have two people with this guy," Sirius said, glancing down at Pettigrew warily and nudging him in the ribs with his toe, "just in case."
"I can," Lupin said immediately.
"Me too," Harry said.
Sirius waved his wand, conjuring a heavy hand.
Pettigrew was roughly pulled up, his left and right arms resting on Lupin's right arm and Harry's left arm respectively.
Harry had never joined a stranger group than this.
Walking ahead was Sofia, swaying slightly, constantly taking photos of them, just like a tour guide.
Following closely behind were Lupin, Pettigrew, and himself.
Their hands were linked together, making them look like three awkward conjoined runners.
Further back were Ron and Professor Snape, whom he was holding in his arms.
Ron's expression didn't look good.
Professor Phillips and Hermione brought up the rear of the procession.
The two were whispering to each other, but it was impossible to tell what they were saying.
As they crawled back into the tunnel, the oddity of the group became even more apparent.
Lupin, Pettigrew, and he had to squeeze sideways through the narrow tunnel, Lupin's wand still firmly aimed at Pettigrew, his eyes never leaving him.
The three of them formed an awkward straight line, moving their bodies little by little with difficulty.
"Hand over Pettigrew," Sirius Black suddenly spoke to Harry as they slowly made their way through the narrow tunnel. "You know what that means, don't you?"
"You are free," Harry replied.
"Yes," Sirius said hesitantly, "but there's something else—I don't know if anyone has told you—that I am your godfather."
"Yes, I know," Harry said calmly.
"That's right." Hearing Harry's answer, Sirius felt a little uncomfortable, and his voice immediately lowered. "Your parents—they appointed me as your guardian, in case something happens to them."
Harry listened without saying a word.
He had a vague feeling that Sirius's meaning might be the same as what he had guessed.
"Of course, if you'd rather continue living with your aunt and uncle, I completely understand," Sirius hurriedly added, his voice slightly flustered. "But—um—you could consider it. Once I'm cleared of my name—if you want a—"
A different kind of home.
Harry's heart swelled up, and he could barely control his voice.
Sirius's words struck a chord with him!
"What—live with you?" he asked urgently, his head slamming hard against a protruding rock on the tunnel ceiling. "Leave the Dursleys?"
"Of course, I think you probably won't be willing," Sirius quickly said, trying to save face. "I completely understand, I just feel—"
"Are you out of your mind?" Harry interrupted him, his voice brimming with barely concealed elation, even a little hoarse. "Of course I'd like to leave the Dursleys! Do you have a house? When can I move in?"
Sirius Black suddenly stopped in his tracks, looked at him, and for the first time, his face revealed an undisguised excitement.
Harry met his gaze, his eyes filled with anticipation and hope.
He knew this might be the closest he had ever come to a real family in years.
"You're willing?" he asked. "Really?"
"Yes, I really would!" Harry said.
Whether I am poor or rich, sick or healthy...
"I do!"
For the first time, a genuine smile appeared on Sirius's haggard face, and the change it brought was astonishing, as if a person ten years younger than him had emerged from behind that withered mask.
In an instant, people could tell that he was the one who had laughed at Harry's parents' wedding.
They didn't say anything more and walked until they reached the entrance of the tunnel.
Sirius helped Ron get Snape out of the cave, then stood aside.
Sean used his hand to support Hermione.
Finally, everyone returned to the ground.
It was dark outside, with only a faint light shining from the windows of Hogwarts Castle in the distance.
The night air was damp and chilly, and the group moved forward in silence. Little Pettigrew was still panting heavily, occasionally letting out a few whimpers that were rather repulsive.
Harry's head was buzzing.
He couldn't quite believe that he was about to leave the Dursleys and move in with his parents' best friend, Sirius Black... The surprise left him somewhat dizzy.
What would his reaction be if he told the Dursleys that he was going to live with "that fugitive on TV"?
"Don't you dare move, Peter," Lupin's voice came from the front.
His wand remained firmly aimed at Pettigrew's chest.
They walked silently across the meadow, the lights of the distant castle gradually becoming clearer. Just then, a dark cloud drifted away from the moon, and moonlight shone down, instantly casting blurry shadows on the ground.
Several people were bathed in pale light.
Suddenly, a collision sound came from ahead.
Lupin, Pettigrew, and Harry all stopped in their tracks. Ron, carrying Snape, bumped into their backs unexpectedly with a thud.
Sirius quickly stepped forward, reached out his arm, grabbed Harry, and pulled him behind him.
Harry froze, looking up at Lupin's profile.
He stood there stiffly, his whole body trembling violently.
"Oh my God—" Hermione suddenly exclaimed, "He didn't take his medicine tonight! He—he's not safe!"
"Run," Sirius whispered the command. "Run, run fast!"
Just then, a deafening roar ripped through the night sky, sending chills down one's spine.
Lupin's head began to elongate, his bones made a childlike cracking sound, and his body quickly twisted and deformed.
His shoulders were hunched high, his fingers stretched out into sharp claws, and thick hair was growing rapidly on his face and arms.
Lupin is rapidly losing his human form.
Hermione screamed, her voice filled with fear and despair.
However, at that very moment, an arm suddenly grabbed her and pulled her behind it.
She turned to look beside her and saw that it was Sean.
The wand was firmly held in his hand; he neither panicked nor retreated.
In that instant, Herman felt an indescribable sense of peace.
She then remembered that this time—this time she was not facing danger alone.
Just as Professor Phillips had told her last time... he had always been by her side.