Ron's jaw nearly dropped to the floor; he still couldn't believe it. "You... what did you do to Scabbers?"
However, all illusions were shattered by Peter's pleading. Almost the instant he transformed into human form, he slid to his knees towards Ron, even trying to kiss Ron's shoes. "My little master, I beg you to forgive me. Have you forgotten the wonderful times we spent together?"
Ron suddenly felt as if there were several slugs in his stomach.
Lupin and Sirius drew their wands and watched Peter perform quietly.
Peter that his pleas for mercy from Ron were ineffective, Peter immediately knelt down and turned to Harry: " Black is a master at spreading rumors. You can't be fooled by him. He's the one who killed your father. I only had to Severed Finger Escape because I was afraid of his power. You'll understand me, won't you?"
Peter's explanation is untenable. If what he says is true, why would Sirius disguise himself as a rat to hide after being arrested and imprisoned?
Sirius's hand trembled as he gripped his wand. He had waited thirteen years for this moment. Even though Lorne had told him it would be best to expose Peter in front of more people, Lorne had also said that special circumstances should be handled specially.
Even if he doesn't clear his name, being able to kill the culprit who killed his father in front of Harry is equally significant.
Thinking this, he slowly raised his wand.
Lupin shook his head and softly reminded him, " Sirius, this isn't the best time."
He knew perfectly well that Sirius was itching for a fight, and that hatred was probably the only thing keeping him alive during his thirteen years in prison. But helping him clear his name was equally important. So Lupin only gave him a warning, and if Sirius really couldn't control himself, he wouldn't stop him anymore.
" Expelliarmus!"
A clear, crisp chanting sound suddenly rang out, but the voice did not come from Sirius, nor from anyone else in the room. Harry turned around sharply and saw Snape, dressed in black, slide into the room as if he were floating.
After knocking Sirius's wand away, he pointed it at Lupin: "What a pity, Dumbledore should see for himself that his Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor, whom he trusted so much, has fallen so low as to associate with escaped convicts. If you ask me, his biggest flaw is that he trusted you people too much—"
"That's not how it works, I can explain, Severus— "
"Who are these people? Don't they look like Snivellus?" Sirius, even without his wand, refused to yield. " Dumbledore really should take a look at the people he hired. You're a professor at Hogwarts, what do you teach? How to wash underwear?"
Snape scanned the room, noticing Pettigrew Peter's presence but not enough to make him lower his wand. What caught his attention more were Harry and Ron's presence.
"I'm sorry to see you killing each other. It seems our old clique is crumbling from within... What are you waiting for, Harry? Do you want to hear a fairy tale from your father's killer?" Snape commanded coldly, raising his wand high. "Do it!"
" Expelliarmus!"
" Stupefy!"
" The Sectumsempra!"
Three spells were unleashed simultaneously, Snape and Lupin's spells instantly intertwining, the collision of beams of light illuminating the room. Snape calmly dealt with the situation, and was just about to be distracted to watch how Harry and Sirius were fighting each other when a green beam of light grazed past his ear.
"How dare you!" Snape roared. "I should have known! You're just like your father, forever arrogant and conceited."
"Well done, Harry!" Sirius, who had been knocked to the ground, quickly got up. Just as he was about to pick up his wand, a lewd face suddenly appeared in his eyes.
It's Peter.
He picked up Sirius's wand, his four fingers splayed out in a greeting, and grinned slyly. "Now it's really goodbye, my Black."
"Hey! There's someone else here!" Ron yelled. Although he didn't quite understand the situation, Harry's attitude was clear. Without hesitation, he pulled out his wand and shouted at Peter, " Eat Slugs!"
As a member of the Marauders, Peter's magical talent wasn't as good as the other three, but it was more than enough to deal with Ron in his current state. Even with his wand not working properly, he easily deflected Ron's attack with a wave of his hand, then grinned as he walked towards Ron: "My little master, do you want to live in a cage? I'll prepare a coffin for you."
In the nick of time, Sirius transformed into a black dog and attacked from behind. He bit Peter's arm, trying to force him to drop his wand. However, the pain didn't frighten Peter; instead, it drove Peter even crazier. He flung Sirius off his body and unleashed the purest form of evil curse, " Avada— "
"Take my life!"
Sirius nimbly flipped across the ground in his canine form, then transformed back into human form and stood up. In the most critical moment, he made the right decision—snatching the wand from Ron's hand and instantly casting a Silencio Transfiguration Spell, turning the wooden planks in the room into layers of shields that barely blocked Peter's attack.
With his own wand, Sirius was very confident. He cracked his neck and said, "I'll knock out your remaining nine fingers, Peter."
Inside the room, six people and five wands engaged in a chaotic battle. Snape held his own against Lupin and Harry, and because Peter was always intentionally or unintentionally drawing Sirius toward him, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he was fighting three against one.
"Damn it, why can't I hit him?" Sirius yelled in frustration.
Peter was alright, being beaten back step by step, but how did Snape manage to dodge the sneak attack?
Snape was also somewhat incredulous. After leaving Lorne's office, he saw Harry and Ron sneaking into the Whomping Willow's secret passage—a place he knew all too well. Suddenly, a series of thoughts flashed through his mind: could Sirius, the troublemaker at the school, be hiding there?
Before entering the Whomping Willow Passage, he drank the Felix Felicis that Lorne had once distributed as Fawley, and by some strange twist of fate, he found Sirius and survived several ambushes by Harry and Sirius.
He inwardly marveled at the power of Lorne's version of Felix Felicis, but outwardly remained calm and composed, instead sarcastically remarking, "It seems our ruthless Marauders, who are so great they can even kill each other, have neglected their training; even when they all gang up on me, they can't gain the upper hand."
Peter, panting heavily, slipped over to Snape's side. Actually, he was more afraid of Sirius, a staunch Voldemort follower, eliminating him than Snape. But due to the circumstances, Sirius had more people on his side, so he had no choice but to stand on the same side as Snape.
"We'll unite," Peter said, feigning nonchalance.
Snape let out a disdainful snort, which reminded Peter of the contempt in Lupin's eyes when he recommended himself to James and Sirius.
Peter's eyes burned with hatred, yet he still stood with Snape. As the five faced off, it was unclear who first shouted out the spell's name, but a fierce battle was about to erupt.
In the chaos of the colliding light waves, Peter pretended to be outmatched, struggled to pull out his wand, and took advantage of everyone's distraction to rush out the door with the wand in hand.
His action immediately drew whispered curses from everyone. Ron wanted to chase after him, but Sirius stopped him. "You don't have a wand, kid. Let me go."
Even after all these years, Lupin's tacit understanding with him remained. He immediately took the lead in the confrontation with Snape and ordered, " Snape won't kill me, Harry. You go help Sirius too."
Lupin intensified his attack, repelling Snape, and then unleashed another spell, turning the three-on-one situation into a one-on-one fight. He grinned and said, "That's more like it. We never gang up on each other; it's always one-on-one."
Snape scoffed. "Don't you find it ridiculous? In your little group, your mind lives in the past, Peter's courage lives in the past, Black's soul lives in the past, and as for the other one, well, he can only live in the past too."