Just Knock Louder

Professor Lupin told Harry about his school days, mostly trivial things, but Harry listened with great interest.

When Professor Lupin mentioned the seventh-year graduation, his gaze turned to Sirius Black, because after graduation he had been helping Dumbledore contact other Werewolf and was unaware of what was happening here.

By the time he received the news, James and Lily were dead, and Voldemort had fallen. As if overnight, the once massive and terrifying Death Eaters army had collapsed.

Even the Werewolf he had been in contact with disappeared after losing a large number of members and retreating back into the shadows, never to be found again.

After he finished speaking, Black had already fallen from mid-air.

"It all began with a Prophecy..."

He sat on a dilapidated stool, and under everyone's gaze, slowly recounted the truth of that year.

Professor Trelawney made a the Chosen One Prophecy, saying that a child who could defeat Voldemort had been born. Two children were born that year, and Dumbledore ultimately chose Harry.

But somehow, the Death Eaters also got the news.

"It must have been Peter off..." Black said through gritted teeth. "Dumbledore instructed James not to let anyone else know about this, but he still told us..."

"And then...?" Harry asked eagerly.

"James and Lily took you with them, hiding from the Death Eaters as they went," Black murmured, lost in thought. "Then they decided to take Dumbledore's advice and use an ancient magic to protect you as you grew up."

The Fidelius Charm.

It's a kind of magical power that can hide secrets in a person's heart, such as the address of a house.

"As long as the Secret Keeper doesn't reveal James and Lily's location, even if Voldemort pressed his nose against the window, he wouldn't see them."

Hearing this, Harry roughly understood what Black meant.

"So, Peter is the Secret Keeper, right?"

"It's all my fault!"

Black suddenly pounded his head and said hoarsely, "The Secret Keeper was supposed to be mine, but at the last minute I persuaded Lily and James to use Peter instead... I thought it was a good plan... a switcheroo, Voldemort would definitely come looking for me, and they wouldn't have thought they would use such a weak and incompetent guy Peter..."

"It's my fault that Lily and James are in this mess..."

Black became more and more agitated as he spoke, but whenever he gritted his teeth in hatred, he would think of Peter's current predicament and then burst into another hysterical laugh.

But even when he was laughing, Harry couldn't hear a trace of joy in his voice.

After Black calmed down, he recounted what happened next, albeit haltingly, when questioned by others.

This included seeing Scabbers ' picture in the newspaper, recognizing him as Peter, and how he used the Animagus to escape Azkaban and get to Hogwarts.

"So that dog was you!" Harry said, pointing at him.

"Yes, it was me." Black grinned. "I wanted to see you, so I went to Privet Drive, but I'm sorry, I think I startled you."

Harry didn't know what to say... Black had scared him more than once; he'd been living in fear for months because of that big black dog.

"Sorry, Sirius." Lupin went over and hugged him.

"Long time no see, Remus." Black gave him a hug. "You really should have given me a good beating."

"That's what I thought too." Lupin nodded, then punched Black in the face without warning. "You should have told me this sooner."

Black flew backward and crashed to the ground, but then he laughed.

Professor Lupin walked over, took his hand, pulled him up, and the two embraced again.

"Forgive me, Remus ..." Black said.

"Not at all, Padfoot, old friend," Lupin said. "Then please forgive me for once thinking you were a spy, okay?"

"Of course." A faint smile flickered across Black's haggard face.

"Terribly sorry..."

Although I really didn't want to disturb their brotherly bond, it was already quite late, Kyle wasn't planning on spending the whole night in such a place.

He walked over and handed the cage containing the Scabbers to Black.

"He's yours now... but as compensation, you have to buy Ron a new pet, how about an owl?"

"Of course, no problem, that's only right."

Ron, who had been wearing a long face, suddenly brightened up when he heard this.

You should have said so earlier...

If I'd known I could trade Scabbers for an owl, would I have bothered with this?

Black took the cage with a ferocious expression, looking as if he wanted to devour Scabbers. Then he looked at Kyle, about to thank him, when he suddenly remembered something...

"I think I've seen you before," Black said. "Remember, in Hogsmeade, you gave me a packet of jerky, the best thing I've eaten in over a decade."

"Oh, that time?" Kyle feigned surprise. "You deserved it; your fire-jumping act was spectacular..."

Silence fell again.

"Jump through hoops of fire?" Professor Lupin looked at Black with a strange expression. "You can do that?"

"Uh..." Black's eyes darted around a little, but he quickly regained his composure and forced a look back.

Anyway, he was a dog back then, so what's wrong with jumping through hoops of fire? Besides, it was to fill his stomach, so there's nothing shameful about it.

"Ha..." Professor Lupin let out a soft laugh, which was unusually clear in the small room.

It was like lighting a fuse.

Ron and Hermione both turned their heads away, their shoulders shrugging.

"Puff..."

Harry, who had been engrossed in the truth, couldn't help but laugh.

Perhaps realizing this wasn't appropriate, he quickly covered his mouth with his hand and changed the subject, saying, "What are you planning to do with Splatter... Peter?"

"Of course we should kill him!" Black looked at the unconscious mouse in the cage. "But it's fine as it is now, let it stay a mouse forever!"

"Is he really beyond redemption?" Harry asked softly. "I mean... someone like him doesn't deserve to be a real murderer."

And Peter is the real traitor. If anyone should go to Azkaban, it's him, not you..."

Black's eyes were bloodshot, and he was breathing heavily.

If he could, he would certainly want to get rid of those Dementor forever, because only then could he openly take care of Harry.

The problem is, Black doesn't know if Peter can turn back...

Quite naturally, everyone turned to look at Kyle.

"In fact, it is possible," Kyle said. "After the wizards discovered the Animagus who could not revert to human form, they studied related Potions."

"Do you remember those people who were petrified by the Basilisk in second grade?"

Everyone nodded in agreement; they naturally remembered vividly the time Hogwarts almost had to close down.

"The Mandrake Restorative Draught that finally broke their petrification was invented at that time, and it was the only way to restore them."

"But..."

He looked at the surprised crowd and continued, "Before making a decision, I think you'd better go see Professor Dumbledore."

After all, everyone now thinks you're the traitor, Peter is the hero. Nobody will believe a traitor... You won't even have a chance to defend yourself; the Dementor won't listen to your explanations.

Unless you can convince Professor Dumbledore to help you."

"You're right," Black said, having calmed down. "I'll go tomorrow."

"No need, we can go now," Kyle said. "He's a light sleeper, just knock a few more times."

Thank you to reader "The Wheel of Fate" for the 10,000 reward.

Thanks to Tiandi Mangmang and Me Alone for the reward!

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