The green light shot towards Peter Pettigrew. The short, stout man looked terrified and actually let out a 'squeak!'
The rat-man did not die. The air distorted as Audrey stepped in front of him, catching the Killing Curse with a single hand.
Her eyes held a green misty haze; she was clearly utilizing her Dementor constitution at this moment.
Snape was taken aback. He had never even imagined catching a Killing Curse with bare hands; even someone as powerful as Dumbledore could not do such a thing!
"Professor Snape, were you trying to kill someone just now?"
Snape composed himself and snorted coldly. "This is my private storehouse!"
"No, this entire territory belongs to me."
Snape was speechless. Indeed, Audrey was an heir personally recognized by Slytherin and had obtained ownership of Slytherin's castle. By all rights, she was the true 'landlord.'
Audrey pointed at Peter Pettigrew. Her glowing green eyes made Snape feel somewhat uneasy as she said:
"If you kill this man, Sirius Black's entire life will be ruined. Doesn't your conscience hurt?"
Snape roared, "Sirius nearly killed me! That idiot actually believed this traitor and unilaterally made him the Secret-Keeper, which indirectly caused Lily's death! That man deserves to be locked up until he dies!"
Snape shouted at Audrey with every ounce of strength in his body, spit flying everywhere.
It was clear that he was exceptionally agitated. The pain, guilt, and longing of over ten years all erupted at this moment.
"That idiot should spend his whole life in Azkaban! Besides, whether he's innocent or not, what does it have to do with you, Astley?"
"That guy is indeed very stupid, but he is my uncle."
Snape froze. The furious expression on his face solidified and slowly shifted into bewilderment.
Only then did he remember that the girl before him, Audrey Astley, was originally named Hydrus Lestrange. She was Bellatrix's daughter, and Bella's original surname was Black...
His expression turned cold. "Are you taking Peter Pettigrew to the Ministry of Magic?"
"Of course," Audrey said. "I believe the current Ministry of Magic is fair and just. They will see that evil receives its proper punishment and that the innocent are not wrongly accused!"
Snape sneered. The current British Ministry of Magic was merely Audrey Astley's puppet. Whatever she said it was, it would certainly be so.
Audrey tossed out a stack of Merlin Coins, which Snape caught instinctively.
"I imagine you might need to compensate Ron Weasley for a new pet. I'll provide the money; the rest is to thank you for capturing Peter Pettigrew."
Snape, his face grim, weighed the banknotes in his hand. Each had a face value of a thousand, and there were a full hundred of them here.
As a Potions Master, he didn't lack money, but when a hundred thousand Galleons were slapped into his hand, his breathing still hitched.
That damned rich woman!
The main problem was that he couldn't beat her in a fight.
"Take this traitor away. I want to see him die. Can you guarantee that?"
"Of course. Given his crimes, a Dementor's Kiss is unavoidable!"
Peter Pettigrew desperately wanted to escape, but this underground secret chamber was completely enclosed; he had no way out.
"Audrey! Good girl," Peter pleaded. "I'm Scabbers, the pet of your good friend Ron!"
He knelt on the ground, as humble as possible. "You can't let me die. Ron would be heartbroken!"
Snape looked at Peter and sneered, "No, Ron Weasley won't be sad, because he'll have a much more beautiful pet."
Peter quickly changed his plea, "I'm still your fan! I'm your loyal fan! I've heard every song of yours that has circulated in the wizarding world! You can't just watch your fan die, can you? Good girl?"
Audrey didn't even bother to give Peter a second look. With a tap of her wand, he was Transfigured into a computer mouse and tucked away in her perfume pouch.
"Alright, Professor Snape, I'm leaving," Audrey waved. "I hope you like my Christmas present. Bye-bye!"
*Whoosh!*
Looking at the storehouse where he was now the only one left, Snape's face turned pale and then flushed purple.
After a long while, he roared through gritted teeth, "Who would ever use shampoo from the Potter family! You bastard!!"
Meanwhile, Audrey, who was already heading to the Ministry, thought to herself that tracking down that discontinued Potter family shampoo had taken her quite a bit of effort!
...
...
In the Forbidden Forest, an earthy-yellow snake slithered forward.
It stopped beside a tree.
Judging solely by its appearance, this four-to-five-foot snake looked exactly like a Basilisk, though its body was much smaller!
It raised its head now, its pale yellow vertical pupils staring fixedly at an Acromantula on a tree dozens of meters away.
It climbed up noiselessly, wrapping itself around the tree trunk.
The Acromantula was enjoying its lunch—a rabbit that had been poisoned to death—entirely unaware that danger had descended upon it.
Closer, even closer.
Ten feet,
Five feet,
Two feet!
The miniature Basilisk suddenly sprang up, biting the Acromantula right on its cephalothorax.
The giant spider wailed and tumbled from the tree. Its eight limbs twitched once before it went still, and the miniature Basilisk had already burrowed into its body.
This was the Scottish Highlands. The temperature at the end of December was extremely low, and the cold wind howled through the Forbidden Forest, blowing the hair on the Acromantula's body.
An hour later, the Acromantula flipped over and climbed back up.
However, an extra head had appeared on its top—a crested snake head.
There was no emotion in the snake's eyes; they were cold and icy.
It opened its mouth, and a wand was spat out, wrapped tightly by its tongue.
The wand waved gently, and the spider with the snake head began to transform rapidly.
Its body size shrank at high speed.
The eight limbs merged and transformed into four.
The snake head became rounder.
After several breaths, there was no Basilisk and no Acromantula.
A young wizard from Slytherin House stood beneath the tree.
He wore a bright and handsome smile.
"I have a body once again,"
he said.
"That was truly not easy!"
He waved the wand, feeling it was a bit poorly suited for him.
But it didn't matter; he had won his gamble and successfully taken the first step.
"The essence within the Basilisk's flesh is simply too powerful. Just suppressing that violent magic took me far too long,"
the young wizard murmured to himself.
"But the final result is good."
He reached out and turned his palm over.
He looked at his long, flexible fingers, which were like jade carvings, full of ambition.
"Hahahaha, so this is what it feels like to break free from the shackles of a human shell!"
"Powerful, so powerful!"
He looked toward the direction of Hogwarts.
"Dumbledore, I'm giving up being human!"
"Just you wait for me!"
"Oh, right, and Harry Potter, who defeated the grown-up me at my peak!"
"I wonder if you'll be able to escape my Killing Curse this time?"
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]