novelraw Chapter 89: The Mark Reappears
Chapter 89: The Mark Reappears
Chapter Eighty-Nine: The Mark Reappears
Hermione Granger stumbled and staggered behind Harry, but didn't slow down her all-out run.
Darkness fell quickly. They chased after a small, dark figure flashing across the grounds until they encountered the notoriously fierce, swaying Whomping Willow—the very tree that had shattered Harry's Nimbus Two Thousand.
Surprisingly, the rat didn't stop. It nimbly dodged the furiously flailing branches of the willow and darted into the gap beneath it.
Just then, a large black dog suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It was as fast as the wind and in the blink of an eye, it followed the rat and leaped into the gap.
"No!" Harry cried out in despair.
He tried to rush forward, but Ron stopped him.
"That's too dangerous! Harry, you're going to get killed!" Ron yelled at him.
That Whomping Willow clearly didn't like being disturbed by anything. Otherwise, it wouldn't have destroyed Harry's broomstick.
It didn't know how to be merciful. The rat and the black dog had already provoked the Whomping Willow. It was already furious because it had missed the chance to "teach" them a lesson. At this moment, Harry, who was eager to try, was a blatant provocateur to it, a live target to unleash its anger.
A resilient willow branch swung swiftly, striking the ground heavily before Harry with a defiant thud, intimidating anyone who dared to challenge its authority.
Harry showed no fear. His eyes even seemed to go mad. He broke free from Ron's grasp and shouted, "Peter Pettigrew—I have to catch him—he betrayed my parents! If that dog can go in, so can I!"
Amid Hermione and Ron's gasps, Harry rushed forward, dodging left and right, trying to slip through the rustling branches—however, a thick willow branch was about to strike him on the back.
"No, Harry! Watch out!" she shouted.
At Hermione's shout, Crookshanks appeared out of nowhere. His nimble, furry body slithered through the branches like a snake, pressing his front paws directly onto a knot in the trunk.
The willow tree froze. It stopped trembling, like a lifeless object.
The cat that inexplicably appeared before them—Crookshanks—saved Harry's life just in time.
"Well done, Crookshanks!" Hermione exclaimed excitedly to Crookshanks, opening her arms to summon him. "How did you get here?"
For the first time, Crookshanks ignored Hermione. He nimbly leaped onto the Whomping Willow, perched on the thickest branch, and watched them with a thoughtful expression—if cats could think.
"Blimey—your cat's quite something," Ron said in surprise.
"Crookshanks is very clever," Hermione said proudly. "He's a Kneazle-cat hybrid, Draco told me—"
Mentioning that boy, her eyes suddenly welled up with tears. She was reminded of her own tragic, unrequited love that had ended without a trace.
But she had no time to dwell on her sorrows any longer. Harry had already disappeared into the dark gap.
"Hermione, let's go," Ron said as he squeezed inside. "We can't let him go by himself."
"That's right," she replied, following Ron as he crawled in and slid down the slope into a low tunnel.
They trudged through the dark tunnels, walking as far as it took from Hogwarts to Hogsmeade, before finally catching a glimmer of light.
They looked at each other and finally decided to follow the faint light and crawl out one by one.
Hermione found herself in a messy, grey, and dilapidated room.
The wallpaper was peeling, the floor was stained, and the windows were blocked by wooden boards lying haphazardly.
Beside a pile of broken furniture stood a pair of the most unexpected partners: Sirius Black and Remus Lupin.
Perhaps it should be said there was a third person here—the invisible man—the Animagus rat—Peter Pettigrew.
This rat, which had escaped from Azkaban and caused chaos in the wizarding world, was currently being held tightly in Professor Lupin's hand, struggling desperately.
"Sirius! Professor Lupin! You caught the rat?" Harry exclaimed excitedly, taking a step forward before looking puzzled. "I don't understand—how did you all end up together here?"
"And what about that big dog? It was a huge black dog that grabbed him just now..." Ron said, gesturing as he looked around the room.
The reasonable question he posed seemed somewhat comical to Sirius and Lupin.
They exchanged a glance and couldn't help but burst into laughter. Like the Weasley twins who'd pulled off some kind of prank but escaped Professor McGonagall's sharp eyes, their laughter was both earth-shattering and meaningful.
"What are you laughing at?" Harry asked, confused.
A loud, impatient tutting came from behind. It was Hermione.
"What are you tutting for?" Ron asked. "What do you know?"
"Oh, for Merlin's sake, isn't it obvious? Animagus!" Hermione said impatiently, pointing to a row of huge paw prints under Sirius's feet. "He's that dog! He's an Animagus too!"
The paw prints were very noticeable on the dusty floor.
Harry and Ron were utterly dumbfounded.
"Really, Sirius?" Harry stammered.
"Hermione, you really are the cleverest witch of your age," Professor Lupin said with a smile, appearing much more excited than usual.
Hermione didn't reply. She pursed her lips, looking at Lupin with a mixture of surprise and suspicion.
Today was the full moon. Professor Lupin—had he taken his potion?
"Harry, please allow me to explain all this to you later." Sirius smiled at Harry, his handsome, thin face appearing somewhat distorted today, and like Lupin, carrying a strange excitement. He turned his head, his gaze fixed on the rat in Lupin's hand.
"That rat! It's—" Harry exclaimed excitedly.
"—Peter Pettigrew," Sirius said, his eyes shining. "I know, of course I know."
"I suggest you step aside," Lupin said to Harry, his voice trembling with excitement.
Harry and his two companions hesitated and moved closer to the window.
Without realizing it, Hermione peeked out through a crack in the window and suddenly realized where they were—in the Shrieking Shack! They'd actually arrived in Hogsmeade?
At that moment, Lupin nodded to Sirius and suddenly threw the rat to the ground.
The rat tried to run, but it couldn't outrun Sirius's wand. A flash of white light, and the struggling Peter Pettigrew himself finally appeared before them.
He stood there trembling, looking balder, paler, and more disheveled than Harry had seen him a year ago.
Lupin gripped his wand tightly, the tip pointing warily at him without any hesitation.
"Peter Pettigrew," Sirius said slowly, approaching him with what could be described as elegant steps.
Remus Lupin realized that the dashing, unrestrained young master of the Black family from twenty years ago seemed to have returned. Sirius's face was filled with a smug smile, even a touch of childishness. "My dear Peter, why are you running away? Come and play with me!"
"Sirius, Remus, my old friends! How did you know I was here?" Peter Pettigrew's battered face broke into a gleeful smile, as if he'd just recognized Sirius.
This is strange, Hermione thought. It's as if he's attending a reunion with old friends after many years, rather than being captured and hunted down by them.
"When I came to Hogsmeade, I saw lights here. Several times." A dangerous smile appeared on Lupin's slightly pale face. "Who else but Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs could get in here? So I invited Sirius to watch the lights flickering in this house from a distance."
Hermione suddenly remembered that Hogsmeade weekend when it was snowing heavily.
She and Draco had run into Professor Lupin near the Shrieking Shack, who'd said he was waiting for an old friend—presumably Sirius Black.
Oh, Draco. She sighed, feeling a deep, piercing pain in her heart.
"It's obvious you're the one playing tricks here! Mischievous Peter! Occasionally running off to Hogwarts to scare those innocent students, aren't you?" Sirius's handsome face wore a sinister, fake smile as he rubbed his wand against Peter Pettigrew's face twice—quite threateningly—as if disciplining a disobedient little pet.
Peter seemed terrified. He stood there trembling, trying to rush through the gaps in the crowd, but was intimidated by the wand in Sirius's hand.
"We've been lying in wait here for days, just waiting for you! We've missed you so much!" Sirius pressed his wand against Peter's neck, scrutinizing his terrified face. Seeing his current expression of fear, he showed a look of enjoyment.
"Sirius, please, let me go! I was forced into this, I didn't mean to betray James and Lily..." Peter blinked his small eyes in panic, trying his best to squeeze out some tears.
"You filthy traitor!" Sirius's expression changed, and he spat at him, his face showing deep contempt.
"Sirius, please, spare me, I'll do anything for you..." Peter, not bothering to wipe the spittle off his face, collapsed to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.
Sirius kicked him in disgust, but the man stubbornly pounced on his feet, trying to grab Sirius's trouser leg and kiss his shoes.
"What is it?" Sirius kicked him again, a noble and aloof smile on his face, which looked particularly enigmatic in the moonlight filtering through the gaps in the wooden boards.
"Of course—" Peter shrank back, wiping his face with a pitiful and innocent expression. He looked up, his eyes brimming with tears, and said, "Sirius, I've always admired you, and James..."
"Don't try to fool me with that look! You've already fooled me once!" Sirius suddenly punched him in the pale, swollen face.
Peter cried out in pain and collapsed to the ground. His short, narrow nose looked broken, making him look even more disheveled, and blood trickled down from the corner of his mouth.
Sirius waved his hand dismissively.
He wiped his blood-stained hands on his robes, looking finally satisfied.
"Tell me, what is your purpose, and who helped you?" He held his wand to Peter's face again, speaking slowly and suffocatingly in a soft voice. "It could never have been something you figured out on your own... It took me over a decade to figure this out, and you only took a few months."
Peter struggled: "I don't know what you're 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 is no short distance. What could be worth traveling so far and risking your life for? Tell me, tell me everything!"
Peter Pettigrew stood there trembling, speechless.
"What, you want to kill Harry?" Sirius stared at him with a stern gaze.
"Absolutely not! Absolutely not!" Peter turned to Harry, a forced, ingratiating smile on his face. "Harry, I never intended to kill you! Please put in a good word for me, for your father's sake—"
Harry didn't speak. He just stared at the rat-like man with disgust, his body trembling with rage.
Ron stepped forward, silently placing himself between Peter and Harry, attempting to protect his friend. He glared at his former pet with hatred, raising his wand toward him.
His expression startled Peter Pettigrew. He dared not look at Harry and Ron again, and could only turn to Hermione, the only witch in the room, hoping to gain a shred of sympathy or pity.
Hermione turned her face away in disgust, not wanting to acknowledge him at all.
"Don't even think about scaring the children." Sirius sneered, scrutinizing Peter Pettigrew with a sinister look, as if seeing what kind of person Peter was for the first time. "I never knew you had the guts to peek into Hogwarts..."
Peter shrank back, not daring to look up at his former friend. His face trembled, like a candle about to collapse in the wind.
"Let me rephrase the question. Peter, tell me, who is behind you?" Sirius leaned down and whispered in his ear, his eyes filled with undisguised murderous intent.
"Nobody... nobody..." Peter's face turned deathly pale. He frantically denied it, his darting eyes betraying his guilty conscience.
"Tell us, Peter. I know you're not a bad person, and you don't want to do this," Lupin said gently as he approached him, wand in hand.
"Remus, please, let me go—" Peter said in despair, his eyes pleading.
"You know I can't, unless you're willing to tell us everything," Lupin said firmly, looking at him apologetically.
Peter just covered his face and cried. "Then turn me into a slug, if that makes you feel any better..."
"He's still the same! Remus, step aside, let me kill him." Sirius glared at Peter Pettigrew with hatred, gritting his teeth as he spoke.
Hermione was startled. She could tell that Sirius Black was serious.
Was she about to witness a death?
She suddenly felt a sense of fear. Although she hated Peter Pettigrew and hoped to bring him to justice as soon as possible to prevent him from harming Harry or Draco, she wasn't prepared to face anyone's death.
Killing—that was wrong. That wasn't the right way to solve problems. She thought frantically.
She missed him—Draco—the boy who caused her heartache and longing.
If he were here, what would he say to stop all of this? Hermione forced herself to think.
In her panic, she suddenly remembered a conversation they'd had while observing the stars at the Astronomy Tower.
The boy had smiled inscrutably at her, looking at her quietly with his cool grey eyes, and said, "If you can't hit the target directly, try a roundabout approach."
Yes, Draco's roundabout methods. Slytherin's roundabout methods.
Clearly, direct advice was useless. Sirius Black wouldn't listen to her.
Even the words of his old friend, Remus Lupin, were of no use, let alone someone he'd only met once.
At this moment, he was arrogant and irritable, and he didn't respect anyone.
But, coincidentally, the person he cared about most in the world was standing right beside her at that moment.
"Harry, is this considered murder?" Hermione tugged at Harry, who was standing there in a daze, and whispered, "If you kill someone, will you go to Azkaban?"
"No!" Harry finally snapped from his daze.
In a hoarse voice, he shouted at his godfather, "Sirius, don't dirty your hands! He's not worth you becoming a murderer! We'll take him to the castle and hand him over directly to the Dementors..."
"Harry, you don't understand!" Sirius's eyes flashed with terrible anger and hunger. He grabbed Peter Pettigrew by the collar and said viciously, "He'll run away again! He definitely will! They can't do anything to him! I have to kill him!"
"Listen, Sirius, the Dementors will just kiss him!" Harry rushed up, grabbed his sleeve, and shook his head desperately, pleading. "We just got together—you can't get sent back to Azkaban! I can't live without you... Please, I finally have a godfather..."
Sirius glanced back at his godson, and a sliver of sanity finally returned to his terrifyingly distorted face.
"Yes... you're right..." The murderous intent in his eyes surprisingly faded, and he returned to being Harry's gentle and refined godfather, as if the cruel expression he'd just displayed was Hermione's illusion.
"You are far more noble than I am, Harry. Although he is not worthy of your nobility." He gazed at Harry and gave him a sad, teary-eyed smile.
Without wasting a moment, they immediately decided to take Peter Pettigrew back.
Hermione, Harry, and Ron followed behind Sirius Black and Professor Lupin.
The return journey was much faster than the outward one. They easily slipped from the quiet gap beneath the willow and caught a glimpse of the castle shimmering with light.
As they drew closer to the castle, Peter could no longer contain himself. He seemed to have gone mad with fear at the thought of being 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, weeping and kneeling on the grass, refusing to leave. "Sirius, Remus, I didn't want to do this either, I was forced..."
"Who is it? Who ordered you to do this?" Sirius seized the opportunity to grab his collar and interrogate him.
Peter looked up, blinked his tiny, beady eyes, and was about to say something when something unexpected happened.
A cloud moved away, and a blurry shadow appeared on the ground. They were bathed in moonlight—the full moonlight.
Hermione's vague worries tonight had finally come true—Lupin's silhouette on the grass had begun to tremble, struggle, and swell.
"Oh my god! He really didn't take his potion today—he's not safe!" she exclaimed, and said to Harry and Ron, "Run!"
"What are you talking about?" Ron asked, puzzled.
"He's a werewolf!" Hermione shouted. "It's a full moon!"
Sirius's expression changed immediately.
He urgently told Harry and the others, "That's right! Run, run! Leave this to me!"
Hermione knew how serious this matter was.
They were here not only to be of no help, but they might also cause trouble.
They lacked the strength to defend themselves against werewolves. As Draco had said, the best way to avoid being harmed by werewolves was to avoid encountering them altogether. Or rather, to run away before they transformed into full-fledged werewolves.
However, Peter Pettigrew disrupted their plans. Just as she was about to help Harry and Ron escape with him, she noticed a cunning look on his face.
Taking advantage of the chaos, he picked up Lupin's wand that had fallen to the ground, grinning maliciously, and said, "No one can catch me—"
Then he began to transform.
Harry's Expelliarmus was a step too slow. They watched helplessly as he transformed into a giant rat, darted into the nearby bushes, and vanished without a trace.
"No!" they shouted at the same time.
"We have to bring him back!" Harry said desperately. "That filthy traitor!"
"Oh no, Harry, I think it's too late," Hermione said, trembling, amidst a werewolf's howl. "Professor Lupin has transformed! We have to get out of here—before we die."
Professor Lupin's head had grown longer, his body had become longer, and sharp claws had emerged.
Sirius Black then quickly transformed into a giant black dog that looked exactly like the one that had carried away the rat not long ago.
"Brilliant—" Ron said to Harry with admiration. "Your godfather's a real talent!"
"Good heavens, Ron, this is no time for admiring!" Hermione exclaimed sharply.
The black dog clearly thought the same thing. It lunged forward, trying to block their way. But the werewolf was even more ferocious, and with a sudden movement, it flung the black dog into the bushes some distance away.
Then the terrifying werewolf approached them step by step.
Suddenly, a man in black robes rushed before them—spreading his arms like a large bat spreading its wings—trying to block their way.
Harry and the others were stunned—it was Professor Snape with an icy expression.
"You're here, Potter." Professor Snape's voice trembled slightly as he quickly turned to look at them.
In the glow of the full moon, Hermione saw a mixture of anxiety, worry, and panic in his dark eyes.
He shielded his students behind him, facing 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 abandon the students he usually hated and insulted.
He raised his wand as if to cast a spell—but it was no use—the werewolf impatiently swung its paw and sent him flying to the side.
"Professor Snape!" Hermione exclaimed. Harry and Ron seemed stunned by the scene, staring wide-eyed at the ferocious werewolf before them, completely speechless.
The werewolf growled. Hermione followed Harry and the others, taking a step back, then another, a ridiculous thought flashing through her mind. "Draco was right... he told me ages ago..."
Her heart was filled with bitterness, knowing that now wasn't the time to wallow in self-pity.
They should escape from here.
But how could they escape? The werewolf was right there, and they had no chance of winning.
As the werewolf drew closer, the big black dog miraculously leaped from the bushes again, batting the werewolf to the distant grass.
"Sirius!" Harry exclaimed in surprise.
They heard the sound of wolf's jaws and dog's jaws biting together, the sound of claws tearing at each other. For a moment, the two animals seemed evenly matched, which ignited hope in Harry's eyes.
"Oh no, he's been thrown aside..." Ron said fearfully, watching the commotion in the distance.
Based on the pitiful cries and the constant rustling of leaves, Hermione guessed that the black dog must have fallen down the hillside through the grass.
"Sirius!" Harry realized. Before the werewolf could react and was still howling at the moon, he scrambled down the grassy slope to find his poor, wounded godfather.
"Harry! Wait for me!" Ron hurriedly followed behind Harry, rushing down the hillside.
Hermione, of course, had to check on him—Sirius Black seemed to be seriously injured.
However, her path was blocked by a huge dark shadow. The werewolf, having vented its frustration at the moon, leaped back to block her way. Now, fueled by the black dog's repeated harassment, it appeared even more agitated than before.
It desperately needed someone to vent its anger on.
Hermione stood there, stunned, and suddenly realized that she was all alone.
"Professor Lupin?" she called out tentatively, terrified, clinging to a sliver of hope that she might awaken the usually kind Lupin to his senses.
Clearly, her hopes were doomed to be dashed. Under the full moon, the werewolf howled wildly, each howl more piercing than the last, no different from the irrational werewolves described in textbooks.
Wizards had a hard time dealing with werewolves head-on—they were highly resistant to magic. The boy had once told her this with a serious expression.
Hermione's hand holding her wand began to tremble—how could she defeat the werewolf before her?
She was now completely isolated and helpless.
Harry and Ron had run far down the grassy slope. Professor Snape, left behind in the distance, was missing and his fate unknown. The werewolf, baring its teeth menacingly, was closing in on her, its wild and savage gaze a stark contrast to Professor Lupin's usual gentle and warm demeanor.
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 stretched forward, assuming a pouncing posture.
She could see the werewolf's eyes gleaming with a sinister light, just as she could see his fangs flashing with a chilling light under the full moon.
Hermione closed her eyes, bracing herself for her tragic fate. However, someone suddenly rushed over and blocked her way.
Who was it?
In a panic, she opened her eyes and saw an unbelievable person standing before her.
His platinum-blond hair shimmered under the full moon.
It was Draco.
She couldn't believe it.
That was the name she kept in her heart, but never dared to say aloud.
He appeared out of nowhere, without any reason or explanation, and protected her firmly behind him.
"Hermione Granger, I've finally found you." She heard his usually clear and calm voice trembling.
She saw that his profile was deathly pale, and his grey eyes were filled with panic.
Draco Malfoy.
He always said he hated risk. He always said he lacked courage.
He always said that Slytherins never put themselves in any dangerous place.
But why didn't this self-proclaimed cowardly Slytherin run away?
Why would he rush over to protect a Gryffindor who prided herself on being brave?
Why, like Professor Snape just now, did he stand weakly yet resolutely before the enormous werewolf, wand in hand?