For safety's sake, Sirius had to temporarily abandon the idea of Apparition.
He looked at Morris, who was clearly still a student, with a mixture of apprehension and doubt in his eyes.
"Who are you?" he asked, his voice still hoarse. "A student of Hogwarts?"
Um?
It seems they're still trying to put up a last-ditch effort.
Morris noticed that although the other person was asking questions, his eyes were constantly darting around, probably looking for an opportunity to escape.
However...
Morris was very confident.
If you're so capable, then run away.
If he can escape, then he loses.
He stepped forward, a slight smile playing on his lips. "Sir, you stole my cat's wand. That's not very ethical."
Sirius subconsciously glanced down at the wand in his hand.
"I'll return it," he said, his tone even carrying a hint of sincerity, "But I need to borrow it for now. As you can see, I can't move an inch without the wand."
"In that case," Morris shrugged, "Try defeating me, or killing me, so you can leave."
Sirius never expected to hear such words.
He stood there, stunned, wondering if he had misheard.
"What did you say?"
"I said," Morris repeated, "That you can leave if you defeat me."
Sirius stared at him for a long time.
Is this person... possibly an idiot?
Keep in mind that he is currently a fugitive from Azkaban.
murderer!
Isn't this reaction somewhat off?
Forget it, the most important thing now is to get out of here as soon as possible; this place is no longer safe.
Fortunately, he also knew of several secret passages leading to the interior of Hogwarts.
Sirius didn't hesitate any longer and immediately cast a Disarming Charm.
" Expelliarmus!"
A red light shot out from the tip of the staff, heading straight for Morris.
Morris didn't even try to dodge.
If he could be hit by such a casually thrown curse, he might as well find a block of tofu and kill himself.
With a thought, a gray-white bone shield materialized out of thin air in front of him, precisely blocking the path of the advancing red light.
Bang!
A burst of red light flashed Disarming Charm struck the bone shield, producing a dull thud.
Unharmed.
The bone shield that Morris now unleashes is far less resistant to magic than it used to be.
That's it?
Morris was somewhat surprised.
This Disarming Charm was clearly less powerful, even less effective than Fred's.
But thinking about it carefully, it makes sense. The other party has lived in Azkaban for more than ten years, so it's already quite impressive that they can release a spell.
Let's be more forgiving.
Seeing Morris's disdainful look, Sirius felt a long-lost surge of anger.
But it can only be impotent rage.
He did not continue his attack.
Morris had been expecting a decent fight, but that seems to have been dashed.
How strong can a prisoner who has been tortured in jail for over a decade be expected to be?
He clapped his hands. "Alright, that's enough."
" Skeleton Summoning!"
The next second, more than a dozen skeletons appeared out of thin air and surrounded Sirius.
The skeletons were of various shapes and sizes, each wielding different weapons, but all were tall, terrifying, and exuded a dangerous aura.
Sirius was stunned.
He had seen a lot of Dark Magic, but summoning so many skeletons at once was completely beyond his comprehension.
Before he could react, the skeletons swarmed forward.
" Confringo!"
Sirius frantically waved his wand, and the red light struck the foremost skull, causing its skeleton to shatter and bones to scatter across the ground.
But it didn't work.
Before he could even utter the second incantation, more skeletons pounced on him.
A bony hand reached out from the side and suddenly gripped his wrist with astonishing force.
The wand slipped from his hand and fell to the ground.
Then, more bony hands grabbed his arms, shoulders, and legs.
He struggled desperately, but the skeleton's strength was too great, rendering him unable to move.
A few seconds later, Sirius was completely subdued.
He was held down by two skeletons, forced to kneel on the ground, only able to raise his head and stare at Morris with bloodshot eyes.
Morris whistled, walked over unhurriedly, and bent down to pick up the wand from the ground.
With that, the battle is over, and the five thousand Galleon are about to be obtained.
It was so relaxing it was almost boring.
"Who exactly are you?" Sirius asked in a hoarse voice.
"Just a bounty hunter," Morris said casually.
"Bounty hunter?"
Sirius squinted, sizing up the young man before him.
"How much did the Ministry of Magic pay you?" he asked.
"The newspaper said five thousand Galleon," Morris said frankly.
Sirius.
Then, he slowly said, "Let me go, and I'll give you double."
The room fell silent for a moment.
Morris, his voice righteous and indignant, replied, "As a righteous man, do you think I would let a heinous criminal go free just for an extra five thousand Galleon?"
It really didn't work out.
Sirius seemed to have anticipated this outcome, his expression one of despair. "Is there no way to negotiate?"
"No, no, no," Morris waved his hand, a knowing smile appearing on his face, "You misunderstood me."
"What I mean is... we need to pay more."
Sirius was stunned.
Where are the righteous people they were supposed to be?
"That's settled then," Sirius breathed a sigh of relief. "I'll give you the money after I've finished my business."
Morris looked at him, his smile unchanged, but a hint of amusement flashed in his eyes.
"Pay now, or I can't let you go."
He's not stupid; how could he be fooled by the other party's empty promises?
He would not release them easily until he saw the Winky Galleon.
The criminal's credibility is practically zero in his eyes.
"Now?" Sirius looked down at his ragged appearance. "Do you think I look like I can produce any money right now?"
"Then there's nothing more to say."
Morris raised his wand.
" Stupefy ~"
The red light shot straight towards Sirius's forehead.
"Wait a minute."
Before Sirius could finish speaking, the red light struck his head.
He collapsed to the ground, completely unconscious.
Done.
Morris breathed a sigh of relief.
It's a waste of time to talk so much when you can't even come up with the money.
He waved his hand, and all the skeletons instantly turned into specks of light and disappeared into the air.
After doing all that, he slowly walked to the Trapdoor and called out, " Fred, George, you can come out now."
The two crawled out of the secret passage, looked at the unconscious Sirius on the ground, then at Morris, their expressions incredibly interesting.
Fred excitedly punched him. "What you just said was so cool, Morris!"
"Really?" Morris shrugged. "I think it's alright."
"Get to the point," George leaned closer and asked naively, "So Sirius's bounty really is five thousand Galleon?"
"Absolutely true."
The two exchanged a glance, their faces revealing undisguised envy.