But now it's different. Now, with Cassandra and Vivi, one lost her life, the other her magic power for traveling a hundred years into the future...
No matter who he chooses, he will let the other down.
Originally, he could avoid all of this, but now Ron suddenly pierced through this facade, making him feel at a loss.
He decided that once he had the chance, he would ask Sebastian or Pabi what exactly he should do.
At this moment in the Forbidden Forest, Sirius in his black dog form was gnawing on a rat in front of him.
It was something he just caught; there wasn't much food in the Forbidden Forest, and he couldn't go to Hogwarts or wizard gathering places to find food — after all, he was a wanted fugitive now.
So he could only catch rats to fill his stomach, and couldn't eat them cooked, only raw.
But all of this was not without meaning, Sirius thought. As long as he could catch the scoundrel who betrayed James and protect my godson, it was all worth it!
"What are you eating?"
An ethereal female voice sounded from behind him.
Sirius was startled, barking once and jumping to the side. He turned his head warily, only to find that the sound came from a unicorn.
Seeing it was a unicorn, Sirius's vigilance instantly disappeared.
Everyone knows that unicorns are noble and sacred magical creatures...
"Woof woof woof," Sirius answered.
"Oh, you must be here to graze," Pabi said with a cheerful shake of her head, unable to understand dog language. "Come, I know where there are some delicious grass, follow me..."
Sirius hesitated a bit, unsure if he should follow.
Grazing... it doesn't sound too bad. It's at least better than eating dead rats.
He followed Pabi to a small shrubbery where blueberries and other berries grew.
"Have some berries, I remember dogs can't eat grass," Pabi said with a smile. "Wow, you're the biggest one I've ever seen... Are you really a dog?"
She said this for a reason, as Sirius was about the size of a pony.
"Woof woof!" Sirius nodded quickly.
"Alright, then have some berries here, and don't eat dead rats anymore—if you want, you can join me later; I have a lot of good food in my tent." Pabi said with a smile.
For some reason, Sirius felt he saw "kindness" on Miss Unicorn's face...
Early the next morning, the third-year students attended the Defense Against the Dark Arts Class.
The new year's Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom seemed to have been renovated. Professor Lupin's style was simple and unpretentious, unlike Lockhart's flamboyance—or rather, unlike Lady Rozier's extravagance.
In any case, the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom looked more like a qualified classroom now.
At the front of the class, there was a massive wardrobe, and it was jumping up and down as if there was something inside.
The students watched the wardrobe apprehensively, recalling last year's lesson from Lady Rozier—it contained a Yin Corpse in a wardrobe, and if it was another Yin Corpse this time...
It's not that a Yin Corpse couldn't be dealt with; it's mainly because they looked quite creepy.
"Don't worry, students," Professor Lupin came out from the break room. "Inside there is only a Boggart."
"If you've done your reading, you'll know that a Boggart prefers dark, enclosed spaces," Professor Lupin continued to educate the students. "Including wardrobes, the space under beds, the cupboard under a sink—once I even found one hiding in my grandparents' old clock."
"Of course, this one was brought in yesterday afternoon. I consulted the headmaster, asking the professors if we could leave it undisturbed so my third-year students could have some practical experience."
Saying this, Professor Lupin placed his hands on the podium and looked at the class.
"Now, let everyone listen to my first question—what is a Boggart?"
Several people raised their hands immediately.
"Hmm..." Professor Lupin thought for a moment, then pointed to Hermione. "Go ahead, Miss Granger, tell us what a Boggart really is."
"A Boggart is a shape-shifting creature," she said. "It can see into your heart and transform into what you fear most. The more people there are, the easier it is to deal with a Boggart—the actual way to defeat a Boggart is by laughing at it, producing loud laughter, and the Boggart will burst into thousands of wisps of blue smoke and disappear."
"Very good, very good," Professor Lupin applauded with praise. "I couldn't have put it better myself."
"So, the Boggart inside the dark wardrobe hasn't assumed any form yet, it doesn't know what would scare the people outside," Professor Lupin continued. "No one knows what a Boggart looks like when it's alone, but when I release it, it will immediately become something that scares each of us the most."
"But we now have a big advantage; do you know what it is?" Professor Lupin smiled and called on, "Ron, tell us?"
"Well?" Ron began with a hesitation word, then said, "Just as Hermione said, the more people there are, the easier it is to deal with a Boggart because it becomes confused and doesn't know what to change into."
"Indeed, you're quite right," Professor Lupin applauded. "The best way to deal with a Boggart is to have a crowd. It gets confused... it thinks, 'What should I become? A headless corpse or a carnivorous slug?' Once I saw a Boggart make such a mistake—it tried to scare two people at once and turned into half a slug, not scary at all."