Chapter 434: Sirius' Embarrassment
Chapter 434: Sirius' Embarrassment
Having made their decision, the group immediately set off, intending to make use of the cover of night to return to Hogwarts.
Harry also retrieved his Invisibility Cloak, planning to drape it over Black once they were back inside the castle. Despite the curfew, there likely wouldn't be many students around, but it was better to be cautious until Black's name was cleared. After all, Filch was still roaming the castle halls.
The group retraced their steps back through the tunnel. Unlike their tense journey earlier, the return trip was relatively relaxed.
Professor Lupin led the way, with Harry, Hermione, and Ron following closely behind, occasionally glancing back. Black brought up the rear, clutching the cage containing Peter tightly in his arms.
Kyle brought up the rear, serving as a precaution should Peter somehow manage to escape his cage—though such a scenario was highly unlikely. If a rat could so easily escape from a cage crafted by Kyle, he might as well return the Order of Merlin, Second Class and save himself the embarrassment.
The journey back was smooth and orderly.
"Hand over the little elf," Black suddenly said to Harry as they made their way through the tunnel. "Do you know what this means?"
"You're free," Harry replied, turning to face him.
"Right..." Black said, "but I... I don't know if anyone has told you... I'm your godfather."
"Yeah, I know," Harry said.
He had heard Fudge mention it at the Three Broomsticks, but at the time, he had only felt shame and disgust at the idea. Now, however, hearing this news filled him with a strange joy.
Finally, his life would not be solely defined by the Dursleys, his only family.
"It's like this... Your parents appointed me as your guardian," Black said somewhat awkwardly. "Well... You can consider this... If I clear my name... If you want a different home..."
Harry felt his heart skip a beat, much like when he had received his second Hogwarts acceptance letter.
"Are you saying... live with you?" he asked, so excited that he accidentally bumped his head on a rock protruding from the tunnel ceiling.
"Of course, if you want to live with your aunt and uncle, I understand," Black quickly added, sounding a bit flustered. "I just thought..."
"Are you crazy?" Harry exclaimed, his heart overflowing with happiness. "Of course, I want to leave the Dursleys. Do you have a house? When can I move in?"
"You'd be willing?" he asked, his voice filled with disbelief.
"Yes, I really would," Harry affirmed.
Kyle noticed the sincere smile that blossomed on Black's haggard face, as if the man had shed a withered mask, shedding years from his appearance.
At that moment, they reached the end of the tunnel.
Professor Lupin was the first to climb out, reaching up to press a knot on the tree trunk.
This knot served as a switch, similar to the one on the Whomping Willow, that would keep it docile.
One by one, the others climbed out of the tunnel.
Standing in the moonlight, Black spread his arms wide, greedily embracing the night breeze.
"Let's go, we have plenty of time for that later..." Harry said, his eagerness to meet Dumbledore growing by the moment.
They quickened their pace across the grounds, and the castle lights gradually came into view...
But just then, Professor Lupin, who was leading the way, suddenly stopped, causing Ron and Harry to bump into him.
"What is it, Professor Lupin—?"
Before Harry could finish his sentence, he was roughly pulled backward, along with Ron.
It was then that they noticed Professor Lupin's body was shaking uncontrollably.
"Oh no... It's a full moon tonight," Hermione cried out. "I forgot to tell you, Professor Lupin is a werewolf!"
"What?!"
"How could you not have mentioned something so important sooner!" Ron's teeth chattered.
"Run!" Black whispered urgently. "Run, quickly!"
The three took off, but as Black turned to flee, he was horrified to see that Kyle was still standing there... rummaging through a box, with half his body stuck inside.
"You..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Kyle waved his hand dismissively.
"It's fine, it's fine. Perhaps Harry didn't tell you, but I received my Order of Merlin, Second Class for defeating a werewolf."
With time to spare before Lupin's transformation was complete, Kyle calmly continued searching through his box.
Dobby... no, releasing him would be too noisy, and Lupin probably wouldn't be able to withstand his magic.
Mandrake... while a werewolf might survive it, there was also Harry and the others to consider. No, it was too risky.
Biting-teeth Cabbage... also not ideal.
After scanning the contents of his box, Kyle finally found what he was looking for.
He pulled out a large bundle of vines, just as Professor Lupin's transformation into a werewolf was complete.
The werewolf reared up on its hind legs, its long mouth opening and closing as it let out a terrifying roar.
A large black dog shot past Kyle, biting the werewolf by the neck and attempting to drag it back. The dog and the wolf-like creature clawed and bit at each other...
Kyle stood there, stunned by the sight. When he finally reacted, he immediately used his wand to cast the vines towards them.
"Accio!"
The vines collided with their targets, and the thick tendrils, upon making contact, began to writhe and twist restlessly, quickly entangling the combatants.
Like insects caught in a spider's web, it only took an instant for the werewolf and the large dog to be bound tightly by the vines, immobilized.
The situation turned somewhat awkward.
Especially for Sirius, who suddenly felt like he was in the way.
"This is Devil's Snare," Kyle said. "You should be able to break free, right?"
The large dog nodded and relaxed its body, easily slipping out of the ensnaring vines.
The werewolf, however, continued to struggle violently, the vines tightening around it with each movement.
"Where did you pull that from?" Black, having discontinued his Animagus form, asked in disbelief. "Your box doesn't look that big."
"Hmm... it's a bit bigger on the inside than it looks," Kyle replied, holding up his pinky finger to indicate a small amount.
Black stared at the house-sized Devil's Snare and then at Kyle's gesture, at a loss for words.
"A bit bigger?" he asked.
But Kyle had no intention of explaining further. He turned his attention to the werewolf, now thoroughly trussed up like a zongzi dumpling, and frowned, unsure how to transport him.
"What about using Mandrake?" he suggested.
Werewolves were unlikely to die from hearing the cry of the Mandrake, they would probably just faint, much like the Acromantula before.
Even if the werewolf's resistance was higher than that of the Acromantula, he had over a dozen Mandrakes in his box. If one wasn't enough, he could try two, or add more until he found the right amount to affect the werewolf.
Dealing with an unconscious werewolf would be much simpler; he could just use a simple Levitation Charm to bring it to Dumbledore's office.
The more Kyle thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.
However, just as he was about to transfigure a pair of thick earmuffs to give to Harry and the others, he suddenly sensed a chill in the air, and the moonlight dimmed noticeably.
Kyle looked up, and in the distance, he saw a "cloud" rapidly spreading towards them along the lakeshore.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
