Chapter 89: The Reappearance of Banban
Hermione Granger stumbled as she ran behind Harry, but she didn't slow down her pace as she ran at full speed.
It was getting dark quickly, and they chased tiny dark shapes across the fields until they came upon the swaying Whomping Willow, the famously vicious tree that had shattered Harry's broomstick.
Unexpectedly, the mouse did not stop. Instead, it nimbly dodged the furious branches of the Whomping Willow and nimbly jumped into the tree hole under the Whomping Willow.
At this moment, a big black dog jumped out from somewhere. It was as fast as the wind and followed the mouse into the tree hole in the blink of an eye.
"No!" Harry shouted desperately.
He tried to rush forward, but was stopped by Ron.
"It's too dangerous! Harry, you'll be beaten to death!" Ron shouted at him.
The Whomping Willow clearly doesn't like being disturbed. Otherwise, it wouldn't have murdered Harry's broomstick.
It didn't know how to write "soft-hearted". The rats and the black dog had already aroused the Whomping Willow's anger, and it was unable to rage because it had missed the opportunity to "teach them a lesson". At this moment, Harry, who was eager to try, was a blatant provocateur to it, a living target for it to release its anger.
A resilient willow branch swung and struck the ground in front of Harry with a heavy, demonstrative thud, threatening anyone who dared to challenge its authority again.
Harry was undaunted. His eyes even grew wild. He broke free from Ron's grasp and said, desperately, "Peter Pettigrew—I must catch him—he betrayed my parents! If that dog can get in, so can I!"
Amidst the exclamations of Hermione and Ron, Harry rushed forward, dodging left and right, trying to slip through the whistling branches - however, a thick willow branch was about to hit him on the back.
"No, Harry! Look out!" she yelled.
At Hermione's cry, Crookshanks leaped out from nowhere, its nimble, furry body slithering through the branches like a snake and pressing its front paws directly into a knot on the tree trunk.
The Whomping Willow froze. It stopped trembling, like a dead object.
This cat that appeared inexplicably in front of them - Crookshanks - saved Harry's life in time.
"Well done, Crookshanks!" Hermione said to Crookshanks delightedly, opening her arms to beckon him. "Why are you here?"
Uncharacteristically, Crookshanks ignored Hermione. He hopped nimbly up the Whomping Willow and crouched down between the thickest branches, watching them with a thoughtful expression—if cats could think.
"Oh - that cat of yours is quite a tough one," said Ron in amazement.
"Crookshanks is very clever," said Hermione proudly. "He's a mix of a Kneazle and a Persian cat. Draco told—"
When she mentioned that boy, her eyes suddenly turned red, and she recalled her tragic and unrequited love.
But she didn't have time to be melancholy any longer. Harry had already gone straight into the dark tree hole.
"Hermione, let's go," Ron said as he slipped inside. "We can't let him go alone."
"That's right," she replied, and followed Ron in, sliding down the slope into a low tunnel.
They walked hunched over in the dark tunnel, and after walking for about as long and far as the distance from Hogwarts to Hogsmeade, they finally saw a faint light.
They looked at each other and finally decided to go out one by one following the dim light.
Hermione found herself in a messy, gray, and shabby room.
The wallpaper here is peeling, the floor is stained, and the windows are sealed with crisscrossing wooden bars.
Beside the shattered furniture stood their most unlikely partners: Sirius Black and Remus Lupin.
Perhaps it should be said that there is a third person here - the invisible man - the Animagus rat - Peter Pettigrew.
This rat that escaped from Azkaban and caused unrest in the wizarding world was now being held tightly in Professor Lupin's hand and was struggling desperately.
"Sirius! Professor Lupin! You caught the mouse?" Harry said in surprise. He took a step forward, then felt confused. "I don't understand - why are you all together, and here?"
"And what about that big dog? It was just caught by a big black dog, a very huge black dog..." Ron gestured and looked around the room.
His reasonable question seemed a little funny to Sirius and Lupin.
They looked at each other and couldn't help laughing. Like the Weasley twins who had performed some kind of prank but escaped Professor McGonagall's sharp eyes, their laughter was earth-shattering and meaningful.
"What are you laughing at?" Harry asked confusedly.
There was a loud, impatient smacking of lips behind her. It was Hermione.
"What are you smacking your lips for?" Ron asked. "What do you know?"
"Oh, for Merlin's sake, isn't it obvious? Animagus!" said Hermione impatiently, pointing to a row of huge dog paw prints under Sirius's feet. "He's the dog! He's an Animagus too!"
The claw mark was very conspicuous on the dusty floor.
Harry and Ron were stunned.
"Really, Sirius?" Harry gaped.
"Hermione, you are indeed the smartest witch of your age." Professor Lupin said with a smile, he seemed much more excited than usual.
Hermione didn't respond. She pursed her lips and looked at Lupin in surprise and suspicion.
Today - it's a full moon. Professor Lupin - have you taken your medicine?
"Harry, please allow me to explain all this to you later." Sirius smiled at Harry. His handsome, thin face seemed a little distorted today. Like Lupin, he also had a strange look of excitement. He turned his head and stared at the mouse in Lupin's hand.
"The rat! It's—" said Harry excitedly.
"-Peter Pettigrew." Sirius said with shining eyes, "I know, of course I know."
"I suggest you stand aside for a moment," Lupin said to Harry, his voice trembling with emotion.
Harry and the other two hesitantly moved closer to the window.
Inadvertently, Hermione looked out through the crack in the window and suddenly realized where they were at the moment - they were in the Shrieking Shack! They were actually in Hogsmeade?
Now Lupin nodded to Sirius and threw the rat to the ground.
The mouse tried to run, but it couldn't run as fast as Sirius could draw his wand. There was a flash of white light, and the struggling Peter Pettigrew himself finally appeared before them.
He stood trembling, looking balder, paler, and more disheveled than Harry had seen him a year ago.
Lupin gripped his wand tightly, the tip of the wand pointed at him warily and bluntly.
"Peter Pettigrew," Sirius said slowly, approaching him with what could be described as graceful steps.
Remus Lupin found that the carefree and uninhibited young master of the Black family from twenty years ago seemed to have returned to the world. Sirius's face was filled with a smug smile, even a bit childish. "My dear Peter, why are you running away? Come over and play with us!"
"Sirius, Remus, my old friends! How did you know I was here?" Peter Pettigrew showed a happy smile on his battered face, as if he had just recognized Sirius.
How strange, Hermione thought, as if he were reuniting with old friends after a long absence, rather than being hunted down and pursued by them.
"I saw the lights here when I came to Hogsmeade. Several times." Lupin's slightly pale face showed a dangerous smile. "Who else could have entered here except Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs? So, I made an appointment with Sirius and invited him to see the flickering lights in this house from a distance with his own eyes."
Hermione suddenly remembered the Hogsmeade Open Day in the heavy snow.
She and Draco met Professor Lupin near the Shrieking Shack, and he said he was waiting for an old friend - presumably Sirius Black.
Oh, Draco. She sighed, feeling heartbroken.
"It's obvious that you are playing tricks here! Naughty Peter! You occasionally run to Hogwarts and scare those innocent students, right?" Sirius had a sinister smirk on his handsome face. He took a wand and rubbed Peter Pettigrew's face twice - quite threateningly - as if he was teaching a disobedient little pet a lesson.
Peter seemed to be terrified. He trembled on the spot and suddenly wanted to rush out from the gap between the crowd, but was frightened by the wand in Sirius's hand.
"We've been lying in ambush here for several days, just waiting for you! We missed you so much!" Sirius put his wand against Peter's neck, looking at his frightened face. Seeing his fear at the moment, he showed enjoyment on his face.
"Sirius, please, let me go! I was forced, I didn't mean to betray James and Lily..." Peter blinked his eyes in panic, trying his best to squeeze out some tears.
"You dirty traitor!" Sirius's face changed and he spat at him with a look of deep contempt on his face.
"Sirius, please, let me go, I'm willing to do anything for you..." Peter didn't bother to wipe the dirt off his face. His body went limp and he fell to the ground crying bitterly.
Sirius kicked him in disgust, but he desperately rushed to his feet, trying to grab Sirius's trouser legs and kiss his shoes.
"Anything?" Sirius kicked him again, a noble and indifferent smile on his face, which looked particularly confusing in the moonlight filtering through the gaps in the wood.
"Of course..." Peter shrank back, wiping his face with a pitiful and innocent look. He raised his head and said with tears in his eyes, "Sirius, I have always admired you, and James..."
"Don't lie to me with that expression! I've been fooled by you once!" Sirius suddenly punched him in the pale and swollen face.
Peter cried out in pain and fell to the ground. His short, narrow nose seemed to be broken, making him look even more miserable. Blood flowed from the corner of his mouth.
Sirius threw his hands away dismissively.
He wiped his bloody hands on his robes, looking finally satisfied.
"Tell me, what is your purpose, and who helped you?" He pointed his wand at Peter's face again and spoke slowly and breathlessly in a soft voice, "There's no way you figured it out on your own... It took me more than ten years to figure this out, but it only took you a few months."
Peter struggled: "I don't know what you are talking about..."
"No, you know. Otherwise, how did you escape the Dementors' pursuit?" Sirius sneered, "Turning into a rat and swimming all the way from the North Sea to England, that's quite a distance. What is worth traveling thousands of miles and risking your life? Tell me, tell me everything!"
Peter Pettigrew trembled and was speechless.
"What, you want to kill Harry?" Sirius looked at him with a stern look.
"No! No!" Peter turned to Harry and said with an ugly, flattering smile, "Harry, I never meant to kill you! Please help me, for your father's sake -"
Harry said nothing. He just stared at the rat-like man in disgust, his body shaking with anger.
Ron took a step forward, silently placing himself between Peter and Harry, trying to protect his friend. He looked at his former beloved with hatred and raised his wand at him.
His expression startled Peter Pettigrew. He didn't dare look at Harry and Ron anymore, so he turned to look at Hermione, the only girl in the room, hoping to get some sympathy.
Hermione turned her face away in disgust, refusing to pay any attention to him.
"Don't try to scare the child." Sirius sneered and looked at Peter Pettigrew sinisterly, as if he had just recognized who he was. "I never knew you were so courageous as to come to Hogwarts and poke your head around..."
Peter shrank back, not daring to look up at his old friend. His face trembled like a candle about to collapse in the wind.
"Then let me ask it another way. Peter, tell me, who is behind you?" Sirius leaned over and whispered in his ear, his eyes unable to conceal the cold murderous intent.
"No one... no one..." Peter's face turned pale. He denied it frantically, his rolling eyes revealing his guilty conscience.
"Tell us, Peter. I know you are not a bad person and you don't want to do this." Lupin raised his wand, slowly approached him, and said in a gentle tone.
"Remus, please, let me go--" Peter said brokenly, with a pleading light in his eyes.
"You know I can't unless you're willing to tell us everything," Lupin said firmly, looking at him with an apologetic look.
But Peter just covered his face and cried, "Then turn me into a slug, if that will make you feel better..."
"He still hasn't changed his bad habits! Remus, get out of the way and let me kill him." Sirius stared at Peter Pettigrew resentfully and said through gritted teeth.
Hermione was startled. She could see that Sirius Black was serious.
Is she about to witness a death?
She suddenly felt a little scared. Although she hated Peter Pettigrew and hoped to catch him as soon as possible to prevent him from hurting Harry or Draco, she was not ready to face anyone's death.
Killing—this is wrong. This is not the right way to solve the problem. She thought panickedly.
She missed him—Draco—the boy who made her heart ache and miss her.
If he were here, what would he say to stop this? Hermione forced her brain to work.
In a panic, she suddenly remembered the conversation they had when they were observing the stars at the observatory.
The boy smiled at her inscrutablely, looking at her quietly with his cool gray eyes, and said, "If you can't hit the target directly, try a roundabout way."
Yes, Draco's circuitous tactics. Slytherin's circuitous tactics.
Obviously, direct advice was useless. Sirius Black would not listen to her.
Even the words of his old friend, Remus Lupin, were useless, let alone her, someone he had only met once?
At this moment, he was very arrogant and irritable, and he looked down on everyone.
But, it just so happened that the person he cared about most in the world was standing next to her at this moment.
"Harry, is this considered murder?" Hermione pulled Harry, who was stunned in place, and reminded him in a low voice, "If you kill someone, will you go to Azkaban?"
"No!" Harry finally came to his senses.
He shouted hoarsely to his godfather, "Sirius, don't dirty your hands! He's not worth you becoming a murderer! Let's take him to the castle and hand him directly to the Dementors..."
"Harry, you don't understand!" Sirius' eyes flashed with terrible anger and hunger. He lifted Peter Pettigrew's collar and said viciously, "He will run away again! He will! They can't do anything to him! I must kill him!"
"Listen, Sirius, the Dementors will just give him a kiss!" Harry rushed forward, grabbed his sleeve, and shook his head desperately to beg him, "We just met, you can't be taken to Azkaban again! I can't live without you... Please, I finally got a godfather..."
Sirius looked back at his godson, and a bit of rationality finally returned to his face, which had been distorted to a terrifying level.
"Yes...you're right..." The murderous look in his eyes surprisingly faded away, and he turned back into Harry's gentle godfather, as if the cruel expression just now was an illusion of Hermione.
"You are a nobler man than I am, Harry. Although he is not worthy of your nobility." He stared at Harry and gave him a sad, moist smile.
Without wasting a moment, they decided to take Peter Pettigrew back.
Hermione, Harry, and Ron followed Sirius Black and Professor Lupin.
The return journey was much faster than the outward journey. They emerged from the quiet Whomping Willow tree hollow with ease and familiarity, and saw a corner of the castle gleaming with light.
As they got closer and closer to the castle, Peter could no longer hold back his excitement. He seemed to be terrified by the fact that he was about to be handed over to the Dementors.
"Please! Don't hand me over, I don't want to be kissed by them..." The short man suddenly broke down. He burst into tears and knelt on the grass, refusing to leave. "Sirius, Remus, I don't want to do this either. I was forced..."
"Who ordered you to do that?" Sirius took the opportunity to grab his collar and interrogated him.
Peter raised his head and blinked his pea-sized eyes. Just as he was about to say something, something strange happened.
A cloud moved aside, and suddenly vague shadows appeared on the ground, and they were bathed in moonlight - the light of a full moon.
What Hermione had vaguely feared tonight finally came true - Lupin's silhouette on the grass began to tremble, struggle, and swell.
"Oh my God! He didn't take his medicine today. He's not safe!" She screamed and said to Harry and Ron, "Run!"
"What are you talking about?" Ron asked, confused.
"He's a werewolf!" Hermione yelled. "It's a full moon!"
Sirius's expression changed immediately.
He hurriedly said to Harry and the others, "That's right! Run, run quickly, leave this to me!"
Hermione knew the seriousness of the matter.
Not only can they not help here, they may even cause more trouble.
They didn't have the strength to resist werewolves. As Draco said, the best way to avoid being harmed by a werewolf was to not encounter one. In other words, to run away before he turned into a full-fledged werewolf.
However, Peter Pettigrew disrupted their plan. Just as she was about to take him away with Harry and Ron, she noticed a cunning look in his eyes.
He took advantage of the chaos to pick up Lupin's wand that had fallen to the ground, grinning and saying, "No one can catch me—"
Then, he began to transform.
Harry's Expelliarmus was a step too slow, and they watched him transform into a giant rat, scurry into the bushes nearby, and disappear without a trace.
"No!" they shouted at the same time.
"We've got to get him back!" Harry cried desperately. "The filthy traitor!"
"Oh, no, Harry, I don't think it's too late." Hermione said tremblingly amidst the roar of a werewolf. "Professor Lupin has transformed! We must run away quickly - before we die."
Professor Lupin's head had stretched out, his body had lengthened, and sharp claws had emerged.
Sirius Black quickly transformed into a huge black dog, which looked exactly like the dog that had taken away the mouse not long ago.
"Cool—" Ron said to Harry admiringly, "Your godfather is such a genius!"
"Good heavens, Ron, this isn't the time to be lamenting!" said Hermione sharply.
The black dog obviously thought the same thing. It rushed over and tried to block them, but the werewolf was even more ferocious. With a sudden swing of its hand, it flung the black dog into the bushes in the distance.
Then, the terrible werewolf approached them step by step.
Suddenly, a man in a black robe rushed in front of them - with his arms spread out like a giant bat's wings - and tried to block their way.
Harry and the other two were stunned - it was Professor Snape with a frosty face.
"You're here, Potter." Professor Snape's voice trembled slightly, and he quickly looked back at them.
In the light of the full moon, Hermione saw a mixture of anxiety, worry and panic in his dark eyes.
He protected his students behind him, and in front of him was the terrifying werewolf. Hermione saw that Professor Snape's body seemed to be trembling slightly, but he did not run away, did not hide, and did not give up protecting the students he usually hated and insulted.
He raised his wand as if to cast a spell - but it was no use - the werewolf swiped its claws impatiently and sent him flying.
"Professor Snape!" Hermione exclaimed. Harry and Ron seemed shocked by the scene. They just stared at the ferocious werewolf in front of them with wide eyes, completely speechless.
The werewolf growled. Hermione followed Harry and the others and took a step back. A ridiculous thought flashed through her mind, "Draco is right... He told me a long time ago..."
Her heart and eyes were filled with sadness, and she knew that now was not the time to be sad.
They should get out of here.
But how could they escape? The werewolves were so close, they had no chance of winning.
As the werewolf approached, the big black dog jumped out from the bushes like a savior and threw the werewolf onto the grass in the distance.
"Sirius!" Harry exclaimed in surprise.
They heard the snap of wolf's jaws against dog's, the ripping of claws, and for a moment the two animals seemed evenly matched, which lit a spark of hope in Harry's eyes.
"Oh no, he's been thrown aside..." Ron said fearfully as he watched the movement in the distance.
Based on the miserable cry and the sound of branches and leaves rolling, Hermione guessed that the black dog must have fallen down the hillside through the grass.
"Sirius!" Harry reacted. While the werewolf was still howling at the moon, he tumbled and crawled from the side to the bottom of the grass slope to find his poor, scarred godfather.
"Harry! Wait for me!" Ron hurriedly followed Harry and rushed down the hillside.
Of course Hermione had to go and see what was going on - Sirius Black seemed to be seriously injured.
However, her path was blocked by a massive black shadow. The werewolf, having vented its frustrations at the moon, leaped over to stop her again. Now, irritated by the repeated harassment from the black dog, it seemed even more aggressive than before.
It desperately needs someone to vent its anger on.
Hermione froze in place, suddenly realizing that she was alone and helpless.
"Professor Lupin?" She was terrified and called out tentatively, hoping with a glimmer of hope that she could awaken the usually kind Lupin's sanity.
Obviously, her hopes were doomed to fail. Under the full moon, the werewolves howled wildly, each one more shrill than the last, no different from the mad werewolves described in the textbooks.
It is difficult for wizards to deal with werewolves head-on, as they are highly resistant to magic. The boy once told her solemnly.
Hermione's hand holding the wand began to tremble - how to defeat the werewolf in front of her?
She is now isolated and helpless.
Harry and Ron ran away along the grassy slope; Professor Snape, who was left in the distance, was unknown whether he was alive or dead. The werewolf, with its teeth bared dangerously, was approaching her step by step. The wild and violent look in its eyes was completely different from Professor Lupin's usual gentleness and warmth.
The werewolf was getting closer and closer, ready to attack at any moment.
She could see its hind legs slightly bent and its front legs extended forward, as if ready to dive.
She could see a faint murderous light in the werewolf's eyes, just as she could see the fangs in his mouth flashing a terrifying cold light under the full moon.
Hermione closed her eyes, prepared to meet her tragic fate; however, someone suddenly rushed over and blocked her way.
Who is it?
In panic, she opened her eyes and an unbelievable person appeared in front of her.
His platinum hair gleamed in the full moon.
It's Draco.
She couldn't believe it.
That was the name she kept repeating in her mind but never dared to say out loud.
He just came down from the sky for no reason and protected her tightly behind him.
"Hermione Granger, I finally found you." She heard that his usually clear and calm voice was trembling.
She saw that the profile of his face was pale and his gray eyes were filled with panic.
Draco Malfoy.
He always said he hated risk. He always said he lacked courage.
He always said that Slytherins didn't put themselves in any danger.
But why didn't this self-proclaimed coward Slytherin run away?
Why would he rush over to protect a self-proclaimed brave Gryffindor?
Why, just like Professor Snape just now, facing the huge werewolf, he stood in front of her weakly but resolutely with his wand in hand?