Sirius Black heard the beastlike roar from the man before him and thought he'd run into a madman.
But why would a madman know about Peter Pettigrew?
Everyone thought Peter was dead, killed by Sirius in the street.
That was what Sirius had believed, too.
That was why he'd laughed when they caught him.
He had avenged James and Lily.
Sirius forced his rusted mind to turn, struggling to think.
It had been a long time since he'd used his brain.
Under the Dementors' torment, there wasn't a sane person left anywhere in Azkaban.
Dewey was no different.
Only a tiny sliver of hope in his mind had kept his brain working, allowing him to think.
Aside from the Death Eaters, most of the other serious offenders had killed themselves in prison.
Only faith and hatred were the sole antidotes here.
At that moment, he gritted his teeth and punched Sirius squarely in the face.
Black's head rang.
Even at Hogwarts, no one had ever beaten him like this.
They were usually the ones beating people up. No one had ever treated them this way!
He roared and tried to strike back, but Dewey nimbly dodged.
Dewey saw a card fall to the ground from the heavy blow.
A card only he could see!
Overjoyed, he lunged for it. The card was instantly absorbed into him.
A stream of information appeared in his mind.
[Levicorpus]
[Levicorpus: One of the minor spells invented by the Half-Blood Prince, Severus Snape. It can dangle someone upside down, like a Niffler caught by the ankles.]
["Oh, Lily, it's not what you think."]
"Damn it!"
Seeing that this wasn't the card he wanted, Dewey cursed and spun around.
He'd only just absorbed the card when Sirius charged at him.
Even without transforming into a Grim, Sirius was tall and powerfully built. He grabbed Dewey and threw a punch at him, but Dewey ducked.
Dewey could tell this body had a decent foundation in boxing.
After dodging, Dewey used Nonverbal Spellcasting.
[Levicorpus].
With a single cast, a pair of invisible hands seized Sirius Black by the ankles and hoisted him upside down.
His eyes flew wide with astonishment. He'd never imagined anyone could cast a spell in Azkaban without a wand or words!
How had he done it?
Sirius opened his mouth, but after such a long time without speaking, no sound came out.
He'd even grown rusty at talking.
Dewey had already pounced on him.
That single spell had used up all ten of his magic points.
At the same time, his duel count changed to 1.
Hanging upside down, Sirius only managed to get out a few words before Dewey punched him in the face again!
Dewey was holding on by sheer determination.
He couldn't stop.
What he needed now was an Animagus.
He didn't care about anything else!
Another card fell from Sirius.
[Protego]
[Protego: Darling, if you're looking for an effective defensive spell, trust me, this is the one. The Armor Charm is your best friend in a duel.]
["Hey, Fred, those idiots at the Ministry of Magic don't even know how to use Protego. We're going to make a fortune!"]
After taking another vicious blow, Sirius's fury erupted!
The level-one Levicorpus held Sirius upside down for less than a second before he crashed to the ground.
Staring at the lanky man who'd attacked him, Sirius charged and knocked him down with a single punch.
The two of them rolled around on the ground, but in the end Sirius pinned Dewey beneath him, straddling his body!
The weight advantage!
Sirius was like a great black dog, strong and muscular.
Panting, he spat a bloody mouthful of saliva to the side.
"Tell me," he said, fixing Dewey with his deep gray eyes. "How do you know about..."
Dewey guessed he was about to ask how he knew about Peter Pettigrew.
But he was in for a surprise.
A drowning sensation swept over Dewey.
He curled up by reflex, shielding his head with his arms.
They were here!
The scent of happiness had escaped.
Sirius hadn't finished speaking when a wave of despair and cold, like the feeling of drowning, suddenly engulfed the place.
"Damn it. Dementors."
Neither of them knew where the Dementors had come from. Sirius dropped to one knee and, overcome with despair, released Dewey helplessly.
"Merlin's beard."
Even though he'd expected it, Dewey was engulfed by a freezing despair like a Siberian wind. He felt the joy in his mind being ruthlessly sucked away.
He clutched himself tightly and passed out.
Sirius passed out as well.
After consuming their happiness, the Dementor floating in the air left, satisfied, leaving two men lying on the ground, their lives uncertain.
After an unknown amount of time, Dewey woke up first.
Without checking his duel points, he looked at the still-unconscious Sirius beside him and punched him again.
A card dropped. He looked at it. Not the one he needed.
Another punch. He looked again. Still not the one he needed.
Dewey felt the despair in his heart growing more intense, and even his fists were getting weaker.
He was tired.
Suddenly, the punch he'd expected to land on Sirius's face never came.
Someone caught his fist.
Sirius had woken up, too.
"Stop."
Like a beast, Sirius grabbed Dewey's arm and threw him off.
"Stop."
Sirius muttered to himself. His face contorted with fury as he got to his feet. There was a rock beside him, and it looked like he was planning to smash Dewey's skull open and let the brains see daylight.
Looking at Sirius, his face covered in blood and ready to fight back, Dewey saw that his magic had returned to ten points. He also saw the cards he had and immediately came up with a better idea.
He didn't use Levicorpus again.
Throw away your morals, and you can live better.
That was what Dewey thought.
He'd come up with a way to avoid getting beaten.
"Fine, Sirius. First, drop the rock beside you, unless you want me to use Levicorpus on you again."
Dewey pointed at Black and shrieked.
Sirius grinned savagely.
"Go ahead and try. I don't know who you are, but I'll smash your head in before you can cast a spell."
Sirius spoke through clenched teeth. "Don't doubt my methods or my resolve."
Dewey stuck his head out. "Then smash it, Sirius, unless you don't want to know how I learned about Peter Pettigrew.
Peter Pettigrew isn't just alive. He's also near your godson.
The Dark Lord is returning. What do you think Peter will do when he finds out?
What will he do to Lily and James's son?"
The words struck Sirius right in the heart. It was as if strength suddenly flooded back into him and brought him to life.
He dropped the rock and grabbed Dewey again. "Do you know what you're saying, you bastard?
If you're lying to me, I'll eat you!
Believe me, I swear on the Black Family: if you're lying, I'll kill you.
Who are you?
What do you know?"
He questioned Dewey, visibly agitated.
Dewey leaned against the wall and ignored Sirius.
All he could think about was how hungry he was. That meant he might have missed lunch while he was unconscious.
It wasn't good news.
Azkaban wasn't some all-you-can-eat buffet. They only served food at set times each day.
"You made me miss lunch, or dinner, Sirius," Dewey said.
"I can answer your questions, but for each one you ask, you have to let me punch you once.
If you agree, we can begin.
If you don't, you can smash my head in or use Wandless Magic, Legilimency. Whatever you like.
Be my guest."
Dewey went on, utterly unbothered by threats.
He wouldn't fight back or even complain. He looked like he wouldn't say a word unless Sirius let him punch him.
Sirius released his grip.
He stared at Dewey.
Dewey knew he'd give in.
Compared to news about Peter Pettigrew, Sirius wouldn't care about taking a couple of punches to the head.
He was someone who valued friendship and family.
Especially since Harry Potter was his godson.
For Harry Potter's sake,
he wouldn't mind taking two more punches to the face.
Dewey felt no guilt about using happiness as leverage in this despicable way.
In Azkaban, anyone with morals and a conscience had already killed themselves.
Apart from Voldemort's loyal followers, only innocent men like Dewey and Sirius Black were still struggling to hold on.
He had to get out of here.
No matter what.
No matter what it took.
After hearing Dewey's words, Sirius leaned his face toward him.
"Good. I'll remember that face, you scum.
Let's get started."
Sirius said.
Dewey looked at Sirius's face and punched him with all his strength!
A card fell. Dewey didn't have the strength to stand, so he crawled over to absorb it and said weakly, "All right, there's your punch.
Ask your first question."
Before you continue