Chapter 287: Frequent Accidents
Chapter 287: Frequent Accidents
A few minutes ago—
In the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor's office, the atmosphere was tense.
Severus's wand was pointed directly at Lupin, his eyes gleaming with an unusual light. He whispered, "What are you hiding?"
Beside a desk, Lupin also held his wand, sighing, "You startled me, Severus."
"Is that so...?"
Severus's gaze fell on a palm-sized knight armor at Lupin's feet. The armor's crimson eyes stared at him intently. Recalling his earlier suspicions, he felt a strong urge to stomp on it. It was too much of an eyesore...
"Armor, come to me!"
He pointed his wand at it, but in the next second, Lupin deftly interrupted his spell. "I can't let you do that, Severus."
Severus's eyes turned dangerous. He stepped to the side, and Lupin followed, always facing him directly.
"I've told Dumbledore before", Severus said slowly, "There's a traitor in Hogwarts."
Lupin said urgently, "Use your head, Severus. Things aren't what you think. Why don't you go ask Professor Hagrid for the truth?"
"Hand him over to me!"
"I don't think so", Lupin replied. Suddenly, a thick, snake-like rope shot out from Severus's wand. Lupin precisely struck the rope, which fell to the ground in several broken pieces.
"He might be innocent. Think about it. Where did I get him from? I can go with you to verify it."
Severus said with a menacing tone, "You want to prove his innocence? Hand him over to me, and I'll see for myself—"
"Severus, you're obsessed. There are things you don't know. We—Dumbledore knows too—that there's something wrong with Ron's pet rat!"
Lupin dodged a spell, and a bottle in the office exploded with a loud bang.
"Starting to tell stories, Lupin? There isn't enough time for that. You need to speed up." Severus released a cloud of black mist, which quickly formed into a dozen chattering birds. As his arms moved like swords, these black birds shot toward Lupin.
"You're integrating dark magic into regular spells?" Lupin said in surprise. His movements were also agile. He had more opportunities than most to encounter these dark spells, but not to learn them, rather to study how to defend against them.
He waved his wand, and the parchment essays on the desk flew up, forming a solid wall in front of him. The black birds stuck to the wall, flapping their wings desperately and struggling to turn into wisps of black smoke.
These wisps of black smoke merged into a large snake, its head raised high, touching the ceiling. Then, its head plummeted.
The snake broke through Lupin's defenses. He grabbed the 'knight' and threw it out the window, "Go find Professor Hagrid!" He darted to the side, dodging the snake.
"Buzz~"
The entire office trembled, and the desks, chairs, and cabinets inside jumped.
"Black, fly—"
"Whoosh!"
A red light grazed Severus's cheek and struck the file cabinet behind him. Lupin stood up from the dusty floor, "I can't let you do that, fool. I've been wanting to fight you for a while."
Severus's face showed a smile, but no one would mistake it for kindness, "Is that so? No more pretending to be the good guy? A tamed werewolf?"
"I've never pretended—Armor Shield!"
Lupin blocked a suspicious, dark blue spell. Reasoning was no longer possible. He waved his wand, and a series of red lights shot out, one after another. Severus's wand moved rapidly, deflecting each spell. He took two steps back and thrust his wand forward—
"Diffindo!"
"Swish!"
Rows of wooden crates were neatly sliced open. Lupin quickly dodged, and a slight wound appeared on his cheek. "This spell... I remember it well!"
He flicked his wand, and Severus hurriedly raised an invisible barrier, deflecting the spell onto a locked box.
"No!" Lupin cried out.
A red-haired woman emerged, "Severus, why..."
Severus's eyes widened, and he staggered backward, his wand slipping from his hand. His body shrank back, "No, no..."
"Why..."
Lupin hurriedly stepped in front of Severus, and the vision before him vanished, replaced by a full moon. He sighed with a complex expression, and after a long moment, he raised his wand, "Riddikulus—"
"Boom!"
The full moon suddenly exploded, shattering into pieces. Lupin turned in shock and saw Severus, expressionless, raising his wand.
"Remus Lupin!" he hissed through gritted teeth.
"Severus, it was an accident. The boggart was meant for Harry to practice the Patronus Charm." Lupin took a cautious step back, sensing that something was off with Snape.
"Ha!"
A fierce burst of flames ignited the office, engulfing everything. Snape's hair was disheveled as he wildly waved his wand, forcing Lupin to retreat. He could only barely hold his ground, using Stunning Spells during the gaps in Snape's relentless attacks.
"What's going on here? Oh, my goodness!"
A cheerful female voice echoed from the doorway. Lupin saw the visitor's bubblegum-pink hair, but she was quickly hit by a Stunning Spell and vanished from sight.
"Severus, stop! Someone is hurt!"
But Snape was unusually out of control. He ignored Lupin's cries, each spell more powerful than the last. He recklessly used dark magic, his face glowing with a dark light.
Lupin gradually lost strength, and Snape's expression remained cold as he continued to wave his wand.
At that moment, a clear, sharp cry echoed through the air. A silver Swift materialized in the sky, dividing the battlefield in two.
"Severus, Professor Lupin, please stop..."
A dark spell flew over, and the silver Swift flapped its wings, dodging the attack. "Severus, you—"
"Get out of my way!"
Lupin hurriedly said, "Snape hit the box where I kept the boggart, and it came out—"
"Shut up, Lupin!"
Snape interrupted him with uncontrollable fury, preparing a terrifying spell. The room began to tremble, the ground rapidly eroding outward from him.
Swift's body swelled, emitting a bright white light. Brilliant halos spread like massive ripples, the incomplete spell from Snape hissing and crackling with dark red sparks at the boundary. On one side was corrosion and darkness, and on the other, warmth and light.
A gentle voice came from Swift, "Severus, calm down."
Lupin added, "Severus, we found new clues. Peter Pettigrew is not dead; he's alive, and he orchestrated everything!"
Snape seemed to regain his senses. He voluntarily dispelled the magic, the Patronus' light spreading over him, washing away the dark aura on his face. He leaned against the wall and slowly sat down.
Swift left with a message, "I'll be right there", and then dissolved into points of blue and white light.
moments later, Felix appeared in the office. Most of the room was destroyed, with a portion of the furniture corroded and another part still smoldering. A row of wooden crates had been neatly sliced open, the cuts as smooth as mirrors.
"Scouring Charm!" The dust and smoke were cleared, and the flames extinguished.
Snape sat motionless against the wall, his black eyes lifeless, devoid of any expression. Lupin was tending to an unconscious young woman, and he glanced over to see it was Tonks.
Felix frowned. This had gotten out of hand, all because of Sirius Black? He looked around but didn't see the Knight's Head in the armor, wondering if Sirius had been taken down.
Snape had no intention of communicating, so Felix approached Professor Lupin, "What happened here?"
Lupin gave a bitter smile, "It was all a series of accidents."
Felix looked at Tonks on the sofa, "What's she doing here?"
"I don't know. She must have run in to try to stop the fight. She was hit by my Stunning Spell..."
"Just a Stunning Spell?" Felix examined Tonks' face; she showed no signs of waking up.
"She's fine", Lupin explained, "I haven't lifted the spell. Given the situation, it's not appropriate... I can't take her to the Hospital Wing."
If he lifted the Stunning Spell, Tonks would see the two professors fighting, which could easily lead to Sirius' involvement. If he took her to the Hospital Wing, he was worried about Snape's condition, so he left her lying there.
"Understood", Felix cast another Stunning Spell on Tonks, "We'll take her to the Hospital Wing later, and say nothing."
Felix sat in a chair with its back missing, giving Lupin a look and raising his voice, "Professor Lupin, explain. What exactly happened? Didn't you tell Severus that Peter Pettigrew was the real culprit?"
He mouthed the words, gesturing for Lupin to pull Peter Pettigrew over.
Lupin understood immediately and explained in as much detail as possible, "After the Christmas holidays, on the first day back at school, in the staff room next to the Great Hall, we and Headmaster Dumbledore speculated that there were significant doubts about the circumstances of James and Lily's deaths. Sirius Black had a perfect opportunity to kill Harry, but he didn't. His target was Harry's friend, Ron Weasley."
"I don't remember clearly", Felix said.
"Let me explain again—Sirius Black is an Animagus, capable of transforming into a large black dog. Similarly, James could turn into a stag, and Peter Pettigrew could turn into a rat", Lupin said with a self-deprecating smile. "They did this to keep me company during full moons, when I transform into a werewolf."
"Alright, that makes it clear why Black escaped from Azkaban, but why did he attack Ron Weasley?" Felix continued, noticing Snape's eyes darting around.
"Ron had a pet rat, to be precise, a rat that belonged to the Weasley family. This rat suddenly appeared in the Weasley household and stayed there for twelve years until Sirius attacked during the holidays. When we saw its image, it matched Peter Pettigrew's Animagus form exactly!"
"So, he's not dead? The Order of Merlin First Class recipient, war hero—Peter Pettigrew, not only survived but was hiding under an assumed name as a pet in a Wizard family?"
Lupin looked at Felix oddly but had to agree, "Yes, that's the biggest mystery, which is why we suspect there's more to the story. Professor Hagrid, how did Sirius end up in your hands, and how did he turn into a magical automaton?"
"I caught him. After that, Dumbledore and I planned a trap to lure out Peter Pettigrew. We will definitely need your help, so the secrecy is only temporary", Felix explained.
Lupin asked the question that had been weighing on his mind, hoping for an answer, "So, Sirius is innocent? But he was the Secret-Keeper for the Potters, and the Fidelius Charm is unbreakable, like an Unbreakable Vow. If he's innocent..."
"Did you ask him?"
"No time."
"Alright", Felix thought for a moment and decided to use this opportunity to explain, both to clarify things and to address Snape, "The Secret-Keeper was changed. Sirius thought he was too obvious, so he secretly made Peter Pettigrew the new Secret-Keeper."
"I see", Lupin murmured, "Back then, the Order of the Phoenix had multiple operations compromised, and everyone suspected there was a traitor. It was a time of great suspicion."
"Then—", Snape stood up, "Peter Pettigrew was Voldemort's true spy?"
Lupin looked at Snape in surprise, amazed that he had spoken Voldemort's name directly. The suspicion he once held towards Snape vanished. After all, Dumbledore had vouched for Snape, which had shocked him at the time.
Snape said coldly, "Changing the Secret-Keeper? Stupid!"
"Severus..."
But Snape ignored Lupin and limped away, saying as he left, "About Peter Pettigrew... tell Felix if you need my help."
Lupin opened his mouth to speak but closed it again, saying nothing as he watched Snape leave.
"Let him be for a while", Felix said, looking around, "You really went all out." The room was in shambles, with only the sofa where Tonks lay untouched.
"Ah, it was all an accident..." Lupin sighed, having sighed more times today than usual.
"This office is a lost cause. Talk to Dumbledore about getting a new one."
"Agreed", Lupin said, relieved that he had released some of the magical creatures he used for teaching a few days ago; otherwise, few would have survived. The only living thing left, a Boggart, had been blown to pieces, leaving not even a wisp of smoke.
"By the way, where did you hide Sirius?" Felix asked.
Lupin was startled, having forgotten about it, "During the fight, I threw him out the window..." Seeing Felix's odd look, he added guiltily, "I told him to find you."
"Uh, okay", Felix shrugged, "Hope no young wizards find him."
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
