Battle in the Forest

It smelled like a human! Mixed in with it was a very faint scent, but one that Black would never forget for the rest of his life!

Driven by hatred, Black suddenly stood up.

After a moment of twisting, he transformed back into the big black dog and disappeared into the shadows of the woods.

"Guys, how long have we been walking?"

Ron tugged hard at his robe, which was caught on a branch, and after breaking the branch, he asked breathlessly.

Neville took out his Personal Terminal, glanced at it, and said:

"Less than 20 minutes."

"Oh my god! I thought we'd been walking for two hours!"

There were no paths for the three of them to walk through the dense Forbidden Forest. Moreover, not knowing when they might catch up with Black, they dared not remove their Invisibility Cloak and could only huddle together as they walked.

"Oh no! Get out of the way!"

Harry suddenly yelled, ripped off the Invisibility Cloak, and lunged to the side.

However, his reminder came too late.

Ron and Neville tried to dodge, but due to the Invisibility Cloak cloak, they ended up colliding with each other.

"No--!"

Amid Harry's furious roar, a large black dog swiftly pounced on Ron and Neville.

"It's you again!"

Harry recognized the big black dog.

He had seen this big black dog during the summer vacation and during previous Quidditch Match.

He had previously suspected that the large black dog was a symbol of misfortune, because he always encountered danger after seeing it.

But to Harry's surprise, this black dog was actually Black's accomplice! It not only helped Black see through the Invisibility Cloak's disguise, but also launched the first surprise attack on them!

Although he hadn't seen Black yet, Harry no longer cared about going to keep watch. He just hoped Ron's earlier assessment was correct—that the dog was an animal that naturally lived on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest.

Stunning Spell!

Harry roared and charged at the big black dog. But fearing he might accidentally hurt Ron and Neville, Harry's Curses went off course and landed on the open ground.

The big black dog bit Ron's right leg tightly and dragged him forcefully into the darkness.

With Ron blocking his attack route, Harry felt completely helpless. At that moment, he was filled with resentment towards himself for not having studied Transfiguration properly before.

If his Transfiguration were at the level of Hermione, the top student in his house, he might be able to control the ground to Transfiguration and save Ron right now.

"Let Ron go!"

Just when Harry was at a loss, Neville, who had been ignored by everyone, suddenly pounced on the big black dog and, with his own weight, successfully pinned it down.

"Well done, Neville!"

Ron had experienced Neville's "Mount Tai Slam" move more than once or twice. He knew its immense power all too well.

Ron reached for his waist, wanting to draw his Wand and give that wretched dog a good whack.

However, he found nothing.

It turned out that his Wand had been accidentally knocked away while he was struggling violently.

Ron failed to achieve his goal, but his actions served as a wake-up call for Black, who was pinned down by Neville.

Black deactivated his Animagus Transfiguration and used the force generated during the Transfiguration to push away the Neville on top of him.

Then, to the astonishment of Harry and his two companions, he lunged at Ron's Wand on the ground.

"Oh no! Stop him!"

Ron exclaimed.

He made up his mind: if he could make it back alive this time, he would find a rope and tie the Wand tightly to his body. As long as the wand was there, he would live; if the wand was gone, he would die!

"Expelliarmus!"

Just as Black's hand touched Ron's Wand, Harry, alerted by Ron, snapped out of his daze of the sudden "surprise."

At this moment, Harry was very grateful to their Defense Against the Dark Arts professor from the previous year— Gilderoy Lockhart.

Although Lockhart was a complete fraud, at least the Disarming Charm he taught was genuinely effective.

Before the Curses could even bring a smile to Black's face, he was sent rolling on the ground several times by Harry's Curses.

The Wand I just got has vanished without a trace.

Neville pounced again, using the same trick to pin Black down. And this time, he learned from his previous mistake, using all four limbs to hold onto Black's body tightly like a koala.

As the undisputed MVP of this battle, Neville felt proud of his weight for the first time.

Sirius Black, the Ministry of Magic's most Wanted Criminal, who has shaken the entire British Wizarding World, is now pinned down by him, unable to move!

If the occasion hadn't been so inappropriate, Neville would have asked Harry and Ron to take a few more pictures of him. His grandmother would surely be so proud of him when they got back.

This flavor is a bit too strong...

Neville tilted his head, trying to reduce his breathing rate.

"Well done, Neville!"

Ron limped over.

He looked at Black lying miserably on the ground and snorted disdainfully.

"What did I tell you? With the three of us working together, Black is no match at all!"

Ron waved his hand dismissively, thinking he looked cool, but received no response.

Ron awkwardly lowered his hand and looked at Harry.

At that moment, Harry was staring at Black with hatred in his eyes. He hadn't heard a word Ron said.

"I finally caught you, Black! I knew I could catch you!"

Harry strode up to Black, looked down at him, and pointed his Wand at Black's forehead.

"Now, it's time to pay your debt! Use your life to atone for the sins you've committed!"

"Wait, Harry! Are you... are you going to kill him!?"

Ron looked at Harry in disbelief.

He thought Harry just wanted to catch Black.

Murder was something that was simply unimaginable for Ron, who was only a teenager.

"Of course! He killed my parents, and now he wants to kill me. Shouldn't I kill him?"

Ron was speechless when faced with Harry's questioning.

To be honest, Ron, with his parents still alive and a large family, couldn't possibly understand how Harry was feeling at that moment.

Although he felt that what he was doing was wrong, he didn't know how to dissuade Harry.

"I never intended to kill you, Harry."

Black, who was struggling to breathe under Neville's pressure, managed to speak.

"Shut up, you traitor! You have no right to call me by my name!"

Hearing his own name spoken by the other person made Harry feel nauseous.

"You're right, Harry. I really don't deserve it."

A bitter smile appeared on Black's face.

"But I never intended to kill you. What I wanted to kill was Peter Pettigrew."

"Huh!? You don't actually think we're just kids and easy to fool, do you? Peter Pettigrew was killed by you more than 10 years ago! Please, at least try to be a little more sophisticated when you lie!"

Harry chuckled.

If Black was trying to Wand him by making him laugh, then Harry has to say that the other almost succeeded.