Peter ran desperately toward the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
He had just emerged from a clump of bushes when he felt a large hand grab him from behind, the fingers almost pinching his hind leg.
Startled, he leaped forward, tumbling and scrambling several steps before gritting his teeth and transforming back into human form.
Black clearly hadn't expected him to suddenly stop and revert to human form, so he quickly did the same.
Peter advantage of the momentary hesitation Black experienced after transforming back into human form, Peter swung a punch at him.
The punch landed on Black's shoulder, sending him staggering back two steps.
"You--"
"What do you mean, 'you'!" Peter gasped. "You think I'm afraid of you?!"
Black steadied himself, his gray eyes fixed on him, and then he pounced.
The two men rolled on the ground, punching and kicking each other.
"Twelve years!" Black gripped Peter's arm, his voice low but each word seemingly squeezed out through clenched teeth, "Twelve years, Wormtail!"
"That's your own stupidity!" Peter shouted as he struggled. "What could I do! He came after me! He said he'd kill me! He'd kill me if I didn't tell!"
"So you sold James out?"
I had no choice!
"You never had a choice!" Black punched Peter on the shoulder. " James and Lily are dead! Harry lost his parents! And you're telling me you had no choice?!"
"Do you think I'm having a good time?!" Peter's voice was shrill and thin, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. "I've been hiding for twelve years! I've been a mouse for twelve years! Do you think I've had it easy?!"
You deserve it!
"I deserve it? What about you? Didn't you do the same back then—"
Black threw another punch, Peter tilted his head, the fist grazing his ear as it hit the ground.
The two continued to roll and wrestle on the ground, sending dead leaves and dirt flying everywhere.
Peter had spent twelve years in rat form and was no match for Black's strength, so he was quickly subdued.
Black's hands were around his neck, and his knees were pressing against his chest, pinning him to the ground.
"Today," Black said breathlessly, "I'm taking you back to Hogwarts. I'm going to let everyone know what really happened back then."
Peter was being choked and couldn't breathe, his hands flailing wildly at the ground.
Just then, a rustling sound came from the bushes nearby.
Three people emerged from the bushes.
Harry ran in the lead, his hair covered in leaves, his robes muddy, and his wand clutched in his hand.
Hermione followed closely behind, wand held high in front of her. Ron came out last, glancing back at the woods as he ran.
The three people stopped in their tracks at the same time.
Before them, a man as thin as a skeleton was straddling another filthy man, his hands gripping the other's neck.
Ron opened his mouth.
"Um..." He hesitated for a moment, "Have we disturbed you?"
Harry didn't reply. He stared at the person riding on top, his brow furrowed.
This person looks so familiar. That dirty face, those gray eyes, that messy black hair that looks like a bird's nest.
Hermione suddenly gasped.
" Harry!" Her voice was so shrill it almost pierced Harry's eardrums, "That's Sirius Black!"
Harry's mind went blank for a moment.
"What?!"
"There's a photo in the Daily Prophet! It's him! I recognize that face!"
The three of them simultaneously raised their wands, the tips of all three wands pointing directly at Black.
Black released his grip on Peter's neck and slowly turned his head.
He looked at the three fingers of the wand pressed against his face and opened his mouth.
"Etc--"
"Don't move!" Hermione pushed her wand forward. "If you move even slightly, I'll cast a spell!"
Black's gaze shifted from Hermione's wand to Harry's face.
He stared at Harry for several seconds with a strange look in his eyes, as if he were looking at something lost a very, very long time ago.
" Harry." His voice was very soft.
Harry didn't put his wand down.
How do you know my name?
Black opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something.
But before he could utter a sound, a bone-chilling cold suddenly surged from the depths of the forest.
Harry shivered.
He turned to look. In the shadows of the woods, indistinct dark figures were approaching.
The silhouettes shrouded in gray-black cloaks glided along the ground, closer, denser, and more numerous than they had been seen from the outside.
" Dementor..." Hermione's voice suddenly tightened.
"How did they get in?!" Ron's wand twitched.
"The edge of the Forbidden Forest —they've crossed it!" Harry turned his wand toward the woods.
Three Dementor emerged from the shadows of the trees, followed by more.
Peter was still lying on the ground when he saw the Dementor. He jumped up as if he had been electrocuted and scrambled behind a tree.
Black also stood up. His face was even paler than before.
"Quickly!" he turned to Harry and the others, his words almost a shout, "Who can lend me a wand? I can banish them!"
Hermione glared at him.
"Are you kidding me?" Her voice was filled with undisguised hostility. "These Dementor are here to capture you! Do you think we're fools?"
"They're not just here to catch me!" Black's voice was filled with barely suppressed urgency. "Look where they're drifting!"
Harry turned his head and saw that the Dementor were indeed splitting up.
The ones closest to Black did indeed float towards him, but three others bypassed Black and headed straight for Harry and his friends.
"They're coming!" Ron shouted hoarsely.
Harry took a step back. Only one thought remained in his mind: the spell Professor Lupin had taught him in private.
" Expecto Patronum," he murmured.
He raised his wand, desperately trying to recall what Lupin had said to him in his office when he told him to practice.
You should think of something happy. Something very happy.
Harry gritted his teeth. He remembered the first time he rode a broomstick.
He remembered the feeling of the wind blowing through his hair, the cheers from the stands, and Ron's silly grin when Gryffindor the match.
" Expecto Patronum!"
A faint, silvery-white light emerged from the tip of the staff. The light was very faint, like a match about to go out; it flickered twice and then went out.
Harry was panting, his hands trembling uncontrollably.
Unfortunately, as usual, he failed.
" Harry!" Black's voice came from the side, "Trust me! Give me the wand!"
Harry turned and glanced at him. The gaunt man stood a few steps away, his gray eyes holding something Harry couldn't quite place.
Harry gripped his wand tightly and did not hand it over.
I don't believe you.