Chapter 150: Professor, How Could You...

Chapter 150: Professor, How Could You...

Harry explained Sirius Black's background to the students, and the entire Gryffindor House became intrigued by him.

Hermione lifted her head from her busy studies, observing Sirius Black's fur and appearance, and guessed his breed.

"This is a Husky, a large and somewhat fierce dog, but it seems even bigger than a typical Husky."

Although Sirius Black had been taken advantage of by the Gryffindor students, he enjoyed this time immensely.

It made him almost forget that just two days ago, he was still on the run, being hunted by his enemies.

Harry took him on a tour around the common room and eventually sent him back to Sherlock's office.

As the sky grew darker and the Hogwarts curfew began, Sirius Black transformed back into his human form in Sherlock's office.

Sherlock was busy writing exam questions for the seventh and fifth-year students. Without looking up, he asked,

"So, what are you thinking now?"

Sirius Black's expression grew serious. Sherlock's question brought him back to his vengeful mindset.

"Harry has many friends, just like James and I did in the past. He can live a good life even without me, but Peter—Peter must die!"

Sherlock put down his quill and met Sirius Black's gaze.

"Since you've made your choice, I won't say anything more. We can start the search for Peter tonight."

Under the cover of night, Sherlock, Lupin, and Sirius Black left the castle, accompanied by Hermione's pet, the large ginger cat named Crookshanks.

At the edge of the Forbidden Forest, Sirius Black stroked Crookshanks' head.

"This is the smartest cat I've ever seen. It must have kneazle blood, and it remembers Peter's scent, which will be a great help to us."

Crookshanks had a large face that looked as if it had been squished, not exactly beautiful, but undeniably cute in its own way.

Lupin and Sherlock were clearly considered trustworthy by Crookshanks, as it showed no resistance to them.

After preparing at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, the two men, one dog, and one cat entered the forest once again.

Finding a rat in such a vast forest was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Their main reliance was on Crookshanks and Sirius Black, who had transformed into a dog, to track Peter's scent.

After nearly a night of searching, they were not entirely without success.

Crookshanks keenly detected Peter's scent under a tree, and Sherlock found a few gray rat hairs there.

This was enough to prove that Peter was hiding somewhere in the Forbidden Forest, and their search direction was correct.

However, both Sherlock and Lupin had classes during the day, so they couldn't accompany Sirius Black every night. The primary search force would be the dog and the cat.

To stay informed, Sherlock summoned his Patronus to accompany Sirius Black.

If they made any discoveries, Sirius Black could dismiss the Patronus, and Sherlock would receive the message.

The final exams were drawing closer.

The last Quidditch match of the year, which would decide the champion between Gryffindor and Slytherin, was about to begin.

Sirius Black and Lupin watched the match, witnessing Harry lead the team to victory, securing the Quidditch House Cup for Gryffindor, a feat they hadn't achieved in eight years.

Sherlock didn't have time to watch the match, as he received a letter from Silke in Germany.

The letter said that the Department of Mysteries in the German Ministry of Magic had made some progress in deciphering the Fidelius Charm memory and asked him to wait a few more days. Once they had results, she would return to Hogwarts.

The Pendant Box had been around Sherlock's neck for half a year. During this time, the once-old and discarded Pendant Box had become increasingly new, looking nothing like an ancient artifact. It now appeared as if it had just been purchased from a magic shop.

Moreover, when Sherlock held the Pendant Box to his ear, he could faintly hear a strange sound.

The sound was soft but rhythmic, like the ticking of a clock.

Every night, he would try to take off the Pendant Box from his neck, but he never succeeded.

Now, he could only wait for Silke’s news to see if there would be any useful discoveries from the Straw Golem.

After Gryffindor won the Quidditch House Cup this year, the exam week at Hogwarts began.

Seventh-year and fifth-year students had to take the Ministry of Magic’s wizarding levels exam, so Sherlock’s responsibilities for the final exams were much lighter this year. He only needed to set the exam questions for the sixth-year students.

His students were extremely nervous, as this would be one of the most important exams of their lives.

Sherlock, however, was quite confident in them. In the last two mock exams before the end of the term, the fifth-year students performed surprisingly well, much better than the previous year.

Even George and Fred, who usually didn’t focus much on their studies and were known troublemakers, did exceptionally well, completely overturning Sherlock’s initial judgment of them at the beginning of the semester.

After the sixth-year exam that Sherlock was responsible for ended, Sirius Black, who had been searching for Peter’s trail in the Forbidden Forest, finally made an important discovery.

Lupin was still proctoring the exam, so only Sherlock and Sirius Black met to discuss the situation.

“Peter usually only stays in the Forbidden Forest for a week. After a week, he will come out and sneak into Hagrid’s hut to steal food. He loves sweets, and he’s been like that since school. Even when hiding in the Forbidden Forest, he can’t resist the urge to eat sweets.”

Sirius Black’s eyes gleamed as he continued.

“Yesterday, Crookshanks spotted Peter fleeing from Hagrid’s hut. He goes there to steal food at a fixed time, so next week, on this day, we can try to catch him!”

Sherlock thought for a moment and then said,

“Once this exam week is over, the students will wait another week in the castle for their results. After the results are out, the summer break will begin. By then, it’s uncertain what Peter’s plans will be or if he will still be in the Forbidden Forest. So, the time you mentioned next week might be our last chance.”

Sirius Black clearly understood this as well, and his expression turned grim.

“Starting today, I will keep watch near Hagrid’s hut until Peter shows up!”

Sherlock nodded and sent his Patronus to follow Sirius Black before returning to the castle.

Two days later, on the evening when Harry and the other third-year students were taking their Divination exam, Sherlock and Lupin were in Sherlock’s office.

They had the Marauder’s Map open, chatting while keeping an eye on the area around Hagrid’s hut.

“Is it time for your transformation again?” Sherlock asked, noticing Lupin’s pale face.

Lupin’s health always deteriorated around the full moon, and his magical abilities would weaken.

Lupin nodded slightly.

“It should be tonight. Snape hasn’t brought me the potion yet.”

“Does he still harbor a grudge against you, just because of the bullying you did when you were students?”

Lupin’s face twisted into a bitter smile.

“It’s also partly because of Harry’s mother.”

“Huh?”

Sherlock’s eyes lit up with a spark of curiosity.

“It’s related to Harry’s mother?”

“Yes, Snape and Lily knew each other since childhood, but Lily ended up marrying James, who was Snape’s worst enemy at school. This left Snape deeply resentful. He hates James and us, and possibly even Lily.”

“Is that why he treats Harry the way he does?”

“Snape has indeed transferred his hatred for James onto Harry,” Lupin said quietly. “But deep down, he may still have feelings for Lily, and these feelings might have extended to Harry. So, he both hates Harry and doesn’t want him to be in danger.”

Sherlock clicked his tongue.

“What a complicated emotion.”

At that moment, Lupin suddenly frowned, his ears perking up.

“Did you hear something strange?”

Sherlock looked puzzled.

“No, I didn’t hear anything.”

Lupin stood up, trying to locate the source of the sound.

"It's like a clock, ticking away."

Before he finished speaking, Sherlock's face suddenly froze.

"Sirius Black has dispelled my Patronus Charm!"

Lupin, who had been carefully listening for the source of the sound, also froze. They both looked at the Marauder's Map on the desk, focusing on the direction of Hagrid's hut. Among the names of Hagrid, Harry, Ron, and Hermione, there was a conspicuous name—Peter Pettigrew!

Sherlock and Lupin didn't have time to dwell on the strange sound anymore. They quickly left the office and headed towards Hagrid's hut.

Meanwhile, inside Hagrid's hut.

Today was the day Buckbeak's execution was to take place. After finishing their Divination exam, Harry and the others immediately put on the Invisibility Cloak and came here to comfort Hagrid.

But everyone was in low spirits, knowing that Buckbeak was not a dangerous magical creature. The Ministry of Magic's charges against him were a complete smear.

Hermione was silently crying as she prepared to pour milk into a jug when a rat suddenly fell out of it!

Ron, looking bewildered, called out, "Scabbers! What are you doing here?"

He grabbed the rat, which was screaming and struggling. Hagrid, with a heavy expression, urged them to leave.

"Go on, get out of here! I don't want you to see the execution, and if anyone finds out you've left the castle, you'll be in trouble."

Harry and the others were pushed out of the hut and walked back towards the castle under the Invisibility Cloak.

Scabbers, in Ron's pocket, continued to struggle as if he were terrified, trying desperately to escape. Finally, when Ron wasn't paying attention, Scabbers managed to slip out.

He darted through the night towards the Forbidden Forest, but a large ginger cat suddenly sprinted over like a bolt of lightning and snatched Scabbers in its mouth.

Harry and the others saw this happen. Ron, panicking, ran out from under the Invisibility Cloak and chased after Crookshanks.

"You damn, stinking cat!"

"Ron!" Hermione called out sadly. She and Harry exchanged a look and then ran after him.

Crookshanks ran straight into the Forbidden Forest.

Harry and Hermione followed close behind Ron and soon heard him catching Crookshanks.

"Stinking cat! Let him go!"

Ron wrested Scabbers from Crookshanks' mouth. Just as he was about to rejoin Harry and the others and hide under the Invisibility Cloak to return to the castle, a large dog with sinister eyes blocked their path.

Even while searching the Forbidden Forest, it had been disguised by Sherlock, so Harry immediately recognized Sirius Black.

"It's Professor Forrest's dog!"

"Move, good dog, please move!" Hermione pleaded with Sirius Black.

But Sirius Black showed no sign of leaving. His eyes, which had once been friendly when Harry brought him to the Gryffindor common room, now glinted with a fierce, menacing light.

Harry drew his wand, but before he could make a move, two distinct footsteps approached.

In the dim light, they saw the newcomers and their faces lit up with relief.

"Professor Forrest!"

The two people approaching were Sherlock and Lupin.

However, the next moment left Harry and the others completely stunned.

Neither Lupin nor Sherlock paid attention to their calls. Instead, they drew their wands with serious expressions.

At the same time, Sirius Black transformed back from his Animagus form, holding a wand borrowed from Sherlock, and pointed it at Harry, or more precisely, at the rat in Ron's hand.

Harry stared dumbfounded at Sirius Black's face, then at Lupin and Sherlock, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"Professor, how could you—"

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end