Chapter 155: An Even More Pitiful Sirius

The Shrieking Shack had a certain reputation in Hogsmeade. Many villagers believed it was haunted, and very few people were willing to go anywhere near it.

The problem, however, was that these villagers were all wizards, not some ordinary, helpless Muggles. Yet they actually believed such tall tales.

Well, regardless, back in Sirius and his generation's school days, Lupin—who transformed into a werewolf—was always able to hide safely right here, and no curious wizard ever discovered him.

This secret was known to only a few people, including Dumbledore, Sirius Black, James Potter, Peter, and Lupin, and perhaps Snape.

Sirius Black, having escaped from Azkaban, was hiding right here to evade capture. Moreover, he was able to transform into a large dog and use the secret passage of the Shrieking Shack to stroll over to Hogwarts whenever he pleased.

When Jun Ma and Harry and the others arrived in Hogsmeade, Black had arrived as well, hiding quietly inside the Shrieking Shack, waiting for an opportunity to catch Ron's rat, Scabbers—who was none other than Peter Pettigrew, possessing the same Animagus ability.

In fact, this year at Hogwarts, not only had Black been keeping a close eye on Scabbers, but Jun Ma had been doing the exact same thing. The reason Ron brought Scabbers to Hogsmeade in the first place was actually due to a prompt from Jun Ma. Of course, Ron had not realized this.

Jun Ma had pretended to be bitten by Scabbers, but secretly cast a spell that hurled poor Peter into the Shrieking Shack, leaving him at death's door.

Inside the Shrieking Shack, Black was there too! Prolonged torture in Azkaban had left his appearance looking little better than the most wretched beggar. He was nothing but skin and bones.

At the same time, because of the Dementors' kisses, his sanity had become somewhat unhinged!

Originally, Black was pondering when to rush out, transform into a large black dog amidst a group of wizards, and seize Scabbers to avenge James Potter.

Suddenly, something flew in and gave him a fright.

When Black looked down, he instantly went wild. An ugly smile twisted his face, his eyes filled with vicious malice. He stared fixedly at Scabbers, took a step forward, grabbed him straight into his hand, and muttered, "Ha, you damned vermin, you betrayed Potter, Lily! You..."

Before Black could finish speaking, the wooden wall suddenly collapsed!

Ron, Harry, and Hermione stared in blank dismay at the ragged Sirius. They never imagined they would encounter this escaped convict right here.

"It's Sirius Black!" Ron screamed in terror. "My Scabbers!"

"Get back, leave this to me!" Jun Ma stepped forward, shielding the three children behind him. "Go find the Aurors we just ran into. I'll subdue Black!"

"R—Right..."

The three little ones were extremely obedient. Naturally, they trusted Jun Ma's abilities. Furthermore, unlike the original timeline, Harry did not yet know the connection between Black and himself, otherwise he certainly would not have left!

"Harry!" Black snapped back to his senses and shouted toward Harry's retreating back, but Jun Ma blocked his path of escape.

"Prepare to meet your end, you deranged criminal!" Jun Ma declared with righteous indignation, pointing his wand straight at the other's chest.

"Hahahaha..." Black laughed wildly, his black teeth looking like those of a beast. "You fools, you want to capture me? Very well, right after I kill Peter Pettigrew!"

Back then, Black had switched his Secret-Keeper status to Peter, but Peter betrayed the James Potter family and subsequently pinned all the blame on Black.

Yet when Black was captured, he offered no defense for himself. He seemed to believe that his own actions were the cause of his good friends James Potter and Lily's deaths.

The reason Black transformed into his Animagus form to break out of prison this time was because he had accidentally seen in an issue of the Daily Prophet that the Weasley family had won a prize and traveled to Egypt, and rat Scabbers happened to be on Ron's shoulder in the photograph.

Black recognized Scabbers. Fearing for Harry's safety, he had stopped at nothing to protect Harry!

"Peter?" Jun Ma frowned in confusion. "What are you talking about? Wasn't Peter killed by you all those years ago? Enough nonsense, prepare to die!"

With that, Jun Ma's wand flashed a blinding light that struck precisely—Peter, who was clutched in Black's arms.

After all, Sirius was an escaped convict without a wand and utterly unable to fight back. He had intended to ruthlessly kill Scabbers first, only to find that Jun Ma had taken care of it for him. This left him momentarily stunned.

"I heard he's a Hogwarts professor; surely he wouldn't make such a rookie mistake!"

Then they saw Jun Ma adopt an exaggerated expression. "What? He actually used a rat to block my spell? He's got some skills after all! Still, you're going to be subdued by me!"

Black: "I—I've just been standing here the whole time, you know!"

"Professor, are you alright? The Aurors are here!" The voices of Harry, Ron, and the others drifted in from not far away.

When they entered the room, they found Professor Jun Ma casually strolling around, inspecting various parts of the Shrieking Shack as if there were magnificent scenery to behold. Meanwhile, the fugitive Sirius Black sat on the floor, motionless and silent.

Indeed, Jun Ma had cast the Full Body-Bind Curse and the Silencing Charm on him. Black could neither move nor speak.

"Professor Jun Ma, you've captured Sirius!" That Auror, Mr. Qian, stepped forward excitedly. "On behalf of the Ministry of Magic, I sincerely thank you!" Turning to his subordinates, he ordered, "Take the fugitive away! Guard him well!"

"This is merely what I ought to do as a glorious people's teacher!" Jun Ma waved his hand modestly. "I was only able to accomplish this under the brilliant leadership of the Ministry of Magic and the earnest guidance of Headmaster Dumbledore."

"You're too kind, too kind!" Mr. Qian rolled his eyes inwardly while playing along with the boss's performance on the outside. "We won't disturb you any further. We must escort the fugitive back to Azkaban as soon as possible!"

The group of Aurors departed with Sirius, brimming with pride and a very impressive career achievement.

"Professor, you're safe! That's wonderful!" Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked over, looking at Jun Ma with admiration.

"It really was pure luck catching him, so the students won't have to live in fear anymore!" Jun Ma said with a smile, then turned his gaze to Ron. "Oh, Ron, I am truly sorry. I deeply regret that during the battle just now, Sirius used Scabbers to block my spell. I'm afraid your pet..."

Ron let out a startled cry and, following Jun Ma's gaze, spotted Scabbers lying dead on the ground nearby. He hurried over to cradle the rat, his face falling in grief. "H—He stayed at my house... for so many years..."

"I'm truly sorry, Ron!" Jun Ma's expression and tone were filled with genuine emotion. "Do accept my condolences. For an ordinary rat to live this long, it was bound to happen eventually. Being able to use him in exchange for capturing Black can be considered quite a worthy end. Oh, to express my apologies, I plan to get you a new pet—how about an owl? That way you won't have to worry about Hermione's Crookshanks eating it!"

"It's alright, Professor..." Though still grieving, Ron harbored no resentment toward Jun Ma because of it. "Professor... you don't need to send me... a gift!"

"It's settled then, think of it as a Christmas surprise!" Jun Ma said decisively with a smile. "You really do need a new owl anyway!"

"R—Alright then!" Ron said, anticipation replacing his sorrow; his current owl was always hopelessly confused when delivering mail.