Chapter 303: The Conversation at Hagrid's Hut
Chapter 303: The Conversation at Hagrid's Hut
"Trapped on the viaduct—"
"Peter Pettigrew came to grab Harry, along with another Death Eater!"
"Sirius Black is injured!"
Hermione explained in a panic until Felix placed his hand on her shoulder. "Calm down, Granger. I only have one question", he said, his eyes fixed on her. "Do we still have time?"
Hermione blinked. "Oh—uh, yes, that's why I came back. We have... about an hour."
"Right, you used the Time-Turner", Felix said calmly. "Let's walk and talk. Where do you think we should go?"
"Hagrid's Hut!"
Hermione answered without hesitation. Felix nodded and tapped her shoulder with his wand. She felt herself blend into the surroundings, and the professor did the same. She realized it was the Disillusionment Charm at work.
"If we want to do something, we need to hide first", Felix said.
They hurried toward Hagrid's Hut, and Felix asked the question that was most on his mind—
"Did you see the outcome? I mean, did you witness any severe consequences, like... death?"
"No, I only saw them trapped on the viaduct, with a large number of Dementors attacking them. The Ministry of Magic also sent a group of Aurors, and some students were there too—"
"Aurors from the Ministry of Magic? How did they get there?"
"The woman in pink, Umbridge! She summoned the Dementors and notified the Ministry of Magic!" Hermione said sharply.
In the pumpkin patch behind Hagrid's Hut, a Hippogriff snorted, raising its head alertly and sniffing the air.
"Buckbeak, relax, we've met before", a gentle voice said.
"It's me, Hermione. I've fed you—" This was a slightly trembling female voice.
Buckbeak stared blankly at the air, recognizing the voice but unable to see the person, which made it stamp its feet in frustration.
The window of Hagrid's Hut suddenly opened, and a voice called out, "Who's out there?" A furry head poked out of the window—it was Hagrid.
He looked cautiously around outside. Felix and Hermione were hiding behind a large pumpkin, and with the Disillusionment Charm, Hagrid could only see Buckbeak's agitated state. He shouted in the direction of the Hippogriff, "Don't let strangers get close, Buckbeak!"
Hagrid pulled his head back inside, and his growling voice could be heard from within the hut. "Speak clearly, Peter Pettigrew! Why did you hide at Ron's house for so many years and then bring people to attack Harry!"
A timid voice replied, "No, it's not what you think. I was worried about Harry, he's in danger... I had to get him out of the school!"
Remus Lupin's gentle voice said, "That's strange. If I'm not mistaken, your friend who escaped was wearing a Death Eater's hood."
The timid voice stammered, "That's... that's a disguise..."
Outside Hagrid's Hut, behind a large pumpkin, Felix asked Hermione, "Can you tell me what happened now?"
Hermione organized her thoughts and said, "This afternoon, Harry returned from the Quidditch Pitch, around five o'clock—Professor Mcgonagall insisted he couldn't train too late."
"I know about that, but you were there too?" Felix asked. As far as he knew, Hermione wasn't very interested in Quidditch training.
"Well, we had a plan, and it was a serious mistake—we intended to visit Hagrid. To avoid being seen, I had Harry's Invisibility Cloak."
Harry and Ron were so constrained that they wanted to find a friend to chat with. To do this, they made preparations in advance, using the Invisibility Cloak to conceal themselves.
“Then what?”
“We heard some commotion by the edge of the Forbidden Forest. It was a conversation between two people. They were planning to bring Harry to someone,” Hermione paused, “but later we found out that they intended to bring Harry to the Dark Lord.”
“—And one of them was Peter Pettigrew. I see.”
“Yes…” Hermione said sadly, “They mentioned Harry’s parents and Neville’s parents, saying a lot. The other person mocked Peter Pettigrew for being a coward, saying he betrayed the Potters and still wanted to be a hero.”
“Who was the other person?”
“Not sure. He was wearing a hood,” Hermione shook her head, “but he was probably another Death Eater.”
Felix mused, “No wonder we couldn’t find Peter Pettigrew for so long. I thought he was keeping a low profile, but it seems he was using this time to find his old master, and he even brought a companion…”
Hermione continued, “Harry thought this was an opportunity. He wanted to ambush the two and force them to reveal the truth about what happened that night. We were almost successful. Three Stunning Spells hit Peter Pettigrew, and he didn’t put up any resistance before fainting. But—”
Her eyes widened, “The other person reacted quickly. His spells were fast and powerful. We were no match for him. Ron got injured in the leg, and we had to keep retreating behind the trees in the Forbidden Forest…”
“The situation was dire. The tree trunk in front of us suddenly came to life, just like the Whomping Willow. Its branches wrapped around us.”
“The Death Eater relaxed his guard, smirking as he said he would bring Harry to the Dark Lord, who would use this to resurrect, and he would be the greatest hero of all!”
“Just then, Sirius Black appeared. Oh, I almost didn’t recognize him. He looked different from the wanted posters, but… he quickly engaged the Death Eater in a fight. After a brief struggle, the Death Eater revived Peter Pettigrew, and two against one, Sirius Black soon became overwhelmed. He lost a lot of blood… Later, Professor Lupin and Snape arrived. In the chaos, they stunned Peter Pettigrew again, and the Death Eater escaped.”
“After that, we took Sirius Black to Hagrid’s Hut to bandage his wounds and to interrogate Peter Pettigrew.”
Felix had a good idea of what had happened, but one thing stood out: the information from the Death Eater indicated that Voldemort’s order was to bring Harry alive to him, to use Harry to resurrect. He pondered, what kind of magic was this?
…
Hagrid gruffly said, “So, you changed the Secret-Keeper in secret, giving this despicable traitor the chance to betray you. He gleefully reported to the Dark Lord. And you—Sirius Black, you thought the traitor was dead, so you felt guilty and didn’t defend yourself.”
He sniffed loudly and muttered under his breath. At that moment, Hermione, who was in the hut, timidly asked, “Oh… Mr. Black, how did you manage to show up just in time today?”
Sirius Black seemed a bit surprised, “Uh, you’re Granger, right? Because of this—” There was a rustling sound as he searched his pockets.
“A scrap of paper?” Hagrid asked.
“This isn’t just a scrap of paper. It’s a replica of the Marauder’s Map that Felix Hepworth made. It’s a bit crude and can’t compare to the real thing, but it shows the key people. I keep an eye on it when I have nothing to do. Today, I unexpectedly saw Peter Pettigrew’s name. I thought I was seeing things. You can’t imagine how surprised I was. Then I saw Harry’s name moving closer to him. I immediately contacted Felix Hepworth, but got no response! That guy, he promised he would!”
"Professor Hup——?" Harry asked, his voice filled with confusion.
"Yes, he caught me, remember? The time I used Polyjuice Potion to get close to you and was discovered..." Sirius Black explained, recounting his less-than-pleasant escape experience with embarrassment.
In the Pumpkin Patch, Felix thought for a moment and said, "When he asked for my help, I was in a Safe Room, completely cut off from the outside world."
"Was it the same one Harry's parents used? The one that requires the Fidelius Charm?" Hermione asked softly.
"Exactly."
In Hagrid's Hut, Sirius Black continued, "...That's how it was. I was confined to the Black Family Manor, unable to go anywhere. This afternoon, when I couldn't reach anyone, I realized something was wrong. I apparated near the Forbidden Forest and used that terrible map to search for a few minutes before I finally found you. Peter Pettigrew was lying on the ground, and I so wanted to give him the Killing Curse and end his despicable life..."
From inside the hut, Peter Pettigrew's voice came, tinged with tears. "I wanted to be brave like you, but he caught me and kept forcing me—"
Sirius Black roared in anger, "So you chose to betray us!" The room erupted in chaos, followed by a loud bang. Peter Pettigrew let out a pained moan, as if he had been hit hard, and he whimpered softly.
Lupin tried to calm the situation. "Calm down, Padfoot. We need to let Harry understand the truth."
"Alright", Sirius Black panted. "I'll continue— I wanted to kill Peter Pettigrew, but Harry was in more danger, so I joined the fight. You know what happened after that."
Lupin also explained his arrival. "I didn't have a copy of the map, but Professor Hup gave me a Galleon that connects to the Marauder's Map. If Peter Pettigrew appeared, it would react. At the time, I was with Severus."
"How were you together?" Harry asked.
"I came to give Lupin his potion..." Snape's unique, cold voice said. "Do you want to know what kind of potion, Potter?"
"I'll explain, Severus. There's no need to hide it anymore. It's the Wolfsbane Potion, Harry. I am a werewolf", Lupin said.
"What? Professor, you, you are..." Harry asked, shocked.
"Yes, I am a werewolf. Dumbledore gave me the opportunity to attend school and see a wider world. Last year, he invited me to teach at Hogwarts and promised to provide free Wolfsbane Potion. This potion makes my full moon transformations more bearable, which is rare outside of here. I am grateful to Severus..."
Felix and Hermione waited quietly for about ten minutes before the door to Hagrid's Hut opened.
Hermione explained, "Next, we split up. Hagrid took Ron to the Hospital Wing because the wound on his leg was starting to fester. I went with them, and the rest of us took Peter Pettigrew to the Great Hall to hand him over to the Aurors stationed at the school."
"But that sounds good. Why did something go wrong?"
"It was Umbridge! She secretly placed a lot of detectors around the school to monitor everything. She admitted it herself, all to curry favor with Fudge..."
(End of Chapter)
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