Chapter 271: I'll Help You Catch the Rat, You Help Me Kill!
Chapter 271: I’ll Help You Catch the Rat, You Help Me Kill!
Although he was a prisoner, Sirius Black had no intention of begging for mercy or showing weakness. His gaze swept over a scattered copy of the Daily Prophet on the ground, and he saw his own photograph on the front page with a bounty of ten thousand Galleons. He seemed to understand something and said with a mixture of sarcasm and self-mockery,
"Congratulations, kid. You’ve captured the most evil and dangerous criminal in history. When do you plan to take me in to claim the reward?"
"I have no interest in working for the Ministry of Magic." Ivan picked up the Daily Prophet, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it into the fire. He stared directly at the gaunt, haggard man in front of him.
"I came here specifically for you!"
Sirius Black was puzzled and didn’t understand what Ivan meant, but he soon found out as Ivan slowly uttered a name.
"Peter Pettigrew!"
At the sound of this name, Sirius Black’s pupils contracted, and he lunged forward, grabbing Ivan by the collar. However, Ivan’s Wand was already pointed at his neck.
The tip of the Wand glowed with magical light, which made Sirius Black somewhat calmer, but his eyes, hidden under his long, messy hair, were filled with madness.
"Where did you hear that name?" Sirius Black said, each word deliberate.
A myriad of thoughts flashed through his mind. Since this unfamiliar young wizard had no intention of turning him over to the Ministry of Magic, there was only one possibility left.
The other person was here to kill him on Peter’s behalf! Or perhaps this young wizard’s family had died in the explosion thirteen years ago and was now seeking revenge!
After all, only he and Peter knew what had happened back then.
And his current identity was that of a Death Eater who had murdered thirteen Muggles and betrayed his friends, making it easy for Peter to deceive him.
Thinking this, Sirius Black’s eyes turned red, and he was ready to overpower the young wizard in front of him, regardless of the threat of death, and then explain himself slowly.
However, Ivan was faster. In an instant, he activated the protective ring on his right hand, and the light of the Shield Charm flashed around him.
Sirius Black was violently thrown back and crashed into the wall behind him.
"You’d better calm down. I have no intention of being your enemy." Ivan’s tone was harsh.
Under normal circumstances, he might have explained the situation to Sirius Black, but he wasn’t in the mood for it now!
"What do you want?" Sirius Black struggled to his feet. Being easily overpowered twice had made him realize that Ivan was much stronger than he had anticipated, so he asked.
Ivan picked up another copy of the Daily Prophet from the table. The headline featured the Weasleys receiving a 1000 Galleon prize and traveling to Egypt.
Ivan pointed to the rat in Ron’s arms in the photo and said to Sirius Black, "I know what you’re planning to do, and I can help you catch that rat. But in return, you need to temporarily obey me."
Sirius Black’s gaze shifted from Ivan to the rat in the newspaper, his eyes filled with murderous intent.
"Why should I trust you?" Sirius Black said disdainfully.
He could catch Peter himself and didn’t need anyone’s help. He also didn’t trust this young wizard.
"You have no choice! If you don’t want to go back to Azkaban", Ivan pointed his Wand at him, the threat clear.
Sirius Black fell silent. He understood Ivan’s meaning. If he refused, Ivan would hand him over to the Aurors, and he would be sent back to Azkaban.
Most importantly, his Animagus form had been exposed. The Aurors would certainly prepare a special prison for him, or even execute him as a dangerous individual!
"Alright! How are you going to help me?" Sirius Black's gaze flickered. He had conceded, willing to endure anything to kill Peter, even if it meant temporarily obeying a young wizard.
However, if the other party didn't come up with a good plan, he wouldn't play any wizard games with them. He would temporarily agree, then find an opportunity to escape once he regained his strength.
"Also, how did you know Peter is still alive?" Sirius continued to press.
Ivan didn't respond. Instead, he took out a blank piece of parchment from his pocket and showed it to Sirius.
"The Marauder's Map!" Sirius immediately recognized it, and his doubts diminished. With the Marauder's Map, it was only natural that this young wizard could discover Peter, who had transformed into a rat.
As long as one was observant enough, they could see the name of a rat on the map.
The only thing Sirius couldn't understand was why Ivan would help him, an apparent Azkaban escapee?
Could it be that he had already encountered Peter and discovered something amiss?
Surely, the other party couldn't have used Legilimency to extract memories from Peter's mind?
Sirius couldn't figure it out. Just as he was about to ask, Ivan's words interrupted him.
"The wizard in the photo holding the rat is called Ron. Peter is now his pet, and we share the same dormitory. I can easily catch Peter and bring him to you!"
"And there's Harry. You must want to see him, right? I can arrange a meeting for you. You can explain everything to him, and even take care of him personally once you're cleared of the charges!"
"From what I saw, Harry isn't doing well at all. He was even kicked out of his home!"
Ivan's words struck Sirius like heavy blows, each one hitting the deepest desires of his heart, moving him deeply.
But soon, Ivan's tone changed.
"The condition is that you need to help me with something. Otherwise, I'll release that rat and hide him where you'll never find him. I'll also tell Harry that you betrayed his parents!"
Sirius's face froze. He gave Ivan a deep look, feeling that the young wizard in front of him was nothing short of a devil.
"You win!" Sirius sighed, completely abandoning his thoughts of escaping halfway. "What exactly do you need me to do? Help you deal with some bullying older students? Or maybe your parents are mistreating you, and you need me to beat them up?"
Sirius considered what a young wizard of Ivan's age might need him to do, glancing at Dobby the House-Elf. He thought Ivan might be the offspring of an ancient pure-blood family who had a falling out with his family and ran away.
"Kill someone!" Ivan said expressionlessly.
"Are you sure?" Sirius's pupils constricted, and a chill ran down his spine.
Though he had just escaped from Azkaban and was in a desperate situation, he still had his principles.
Not killing the innocent was one of them!
What troubled him even more was how a thirteen or fourteen-year-old wizard could speak about killing so casually.
(End of Chapter)
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