Harry Potter and the Obscurus

Chapter 62 Old Debts

Having already scared Sirius away the first time, Harry completely abandoned the idea of ​​transforming into the Obscurial to give chase. However, thanks to years of indulging in hearty meals and participating in sports like Quidditch, his leg speed was now comparable to Black's Animagus form, requiring no magical enhancement. In just a few minutes, the boy and dog ran along the edge of the Forbidden Forest from Hagrid's hut to the location of the Whomping Willow.

The other five people attending Scabbers' memorial service were still panting as they ran across the lawn, but even Fred and George, who were older students, were still half a mile behind Harry.

"Harry! Come back quickly!"

"Ouch! Ron! You tripped me!"

"Damn it, who knows how he suddenly ran so fast!"

Hermione, who was already out of breath, clutched her stomach while watching Harry's figure grow smaller and smaller in the distance. Suddenly, she remembered the pocket watch she had been wearing around her neck.

"I'll talk!"

She shouted:

"Why don't we go back to the castle first?"

Upon hearing Hermione's words, the other four stopped almost simultaneously.

"Huh? What are you talking about, Hermione?"

"Don't you know yet? That tree over there is a Whomping Willow. It's been growing for decades. Even Harry couldn't withstand a single lash from that thing!"

Ginny and Ron remained silent, both turning their gazes to Hermione, as if they already knew what she was going to say.

“Harry fought Voldemort head-on twice back in his first and second years; a Whomping Willow couldn’t possibly hurt him. Since he just ran off without saying a word, it means he doesn’t want us involved in what’s going on. Listen to me, let’s go back to the castle!”

Fred and George looked at each other.

As some of the older students closest to Harry, it would be a lie to say they didn't know their younger, gifted junior's abilities. But precisely because they were a few years older than Harry, they couldn't just let him go on an adventure alone. After all, he was still just a kid the same age as Ron!

Seeing that her two brothers and Hermione were locked in a stalemate, Ginny spoke up and suggested:

"Or we could listen to Hermione and go back to the castle first. If Harry really runs into trouble, asking the professor for help is more useful than asking us students."

"no way!"

George and Fred refused outright.

"what?"

Ginny's expression was initially one of surprise, but gradually she came to terms with it as she questioned her.

Their two older brothers were the famous Weasley twins of Hogwarts. Asking the professor for help was, in their eyes, at least as dishonorable as not being shameful.

"I really can't do anything with you guys."

Ginny, holding her forehead, changed the subject and said:

"Then let's not look for the professor, let's go back to the castle first, okay..."

With her sister's offer of a way out, Fred and George didn't hesitate for long and went straight back to the castle with the other three. However, what no one noticed was that on their way back to the Gryffindor common room, Hermione had already used the Time-Turner under the pretext of going to the bathroom.

……

"Immobulus!" (Everyone freezes)

The willow tree, which had been waving its branches like octopus tentacles in mid-air, suddenly stopped. Its entire body was in a twisted state, looking very unnatural.

Sirius Black had never seen a way to calm the Whomping Willow without touching its knots, but ever since he witnessed a black mist teaching its offspring in the Forbidden Forest, his tolerance for fright had become much stronger.

Whoosh!

The slightly thin, black dog darted like a ghost into the secret passage at the base of the Whomping Willow. Harry frowned slightly at the sight, then cast an Ironclad Charm on himself and followed Black into the hole.

Behind the tree hollow was a very low secret passage. Harry remembered seeing it on the Marauder's Map, but since it led to a place beyond the edge of the map, he didn't bother to take the time to go through it.

"This road seems to be in the same direction as the Honey Duke candy store, but it's dirtier and full of dust. Do you know where it leads?"

Having seen the movie, Mo Ran knew that the secret passage beneath the Whomping Willow led to the Shrieking Shack, but out of curiosity about Sirius's strange behavior, he didn't directly help Harry break the ice.

"Hmm... I'm not too sure either. Anyway, let's not rush to become Momo Ran. Let's keep walking and see. It wouldn't be good if we used too much force and collapsed this place."

"All right……"

Soon, the tunnel began to slope upwards, and after several turns, a small patch of light finally appeared ahead.

It was a messy, gray room.

Seeing the scene before him—stained floor, moldy wallpaper, and shattered furniture—Harry summoned the Grubbish Flame ahead of schedule.

“Gubraithian…” (Gubraithian Fire)

Under the flashing blue light, Harry realized that all the doors and windows of the house were boarded up. Apart from a few inhuman footprints on the ground, it didn't look like any living thing would want to visit.

"This looks like... the Screaming Shack?"

"seems like it."

"But why did he bring us here? Is it to explain the past so we can help him catch the rat, Spotted?"

Before Mo Ran could reply to Harry, a man dressed even more raggedly than Dobby, thin as a skeleton, emerged from around the corner ahead.

"Expelliarmus!" (Expelliarmus)

"what?"

Faced with Sirius's sudden attack, Harry and Moran were both somewhat bewildered. After casually deflecting the spell fired by Sirius, Harry immediately used Grubbish Fire to rush forward.

The smell of burnt food instantly emanated from Sirius's filthy, elbow-length hair. His deep-set eyes were filled with terror, and in his desperation, he could only bare his yellow teeth and scream:

"Damn it, what is this thing again? Remus!"

"Expelliarmus!" (Expelliarmus)

Another disarming spell.

Harry could clearly sense that the person who attacked him had no intention of harming him, but to be honest, in terms of proficiency with the Disarming Charm, he really didn't think anyone could take the wand from his hand.

"Protego!" (Protego armor)

"Calm down, Harry! It's me, Lupin! Sirius Black isn't the kind of murderer you think he is!"

"Of course I know that, but how... have you been in the know all these years?"

The look of confusion shifted from Harry's face to Lupin's and Black's.

They stared in utter shock at the boy who should have been innocent, impulsive, or even naive, exchanging incredulous glances.

“I know that the Secret Keeper was replaced by Peter Pettigrew, and I also know that he betrayed my parents by telling the Secret Keeper the location of their home, which they protected with the Faithful Charm.”

"How did you know..."

Black's voice was trembling, but Harry quickly interrupted him.

“That’s not important. What’s important is that he’s dead. I killed him with my own hands. My mission of revenge is over.”

"What? You killed him?"

Lupin was also stunned, but having not experienced over a decade of torment in Azkaban, he was clearly more concerned with the integrity of Harry's soul, and he continued:

“Harry, did you really kill him? In a duel? Were you acting in self-defense? If not, your soul might be torn apart by the murder.”

Seeing that neither of them had the urge to cast a spell on him anymore, Harry slowly lowered his arm, which had been holding the wand high, and said:

“He probably scared himself to death. Although I helped him in the process, I haven’t felt anything wrong with my soul in the past few months. Wait… you still haven’t answered how you knew Blake wasn’t the murderer of my parents.”

Lupin and Black were clearly not quite accepting of Harry's version of events, but as James and Lily's only son, Harry certainly had the right to know the truth.

"During the second full moon of the last semester, after drinking the wolfsbane potion, I chose to go to this Screaming Shack to wait for the waning moon. As a result, I encountered Black in his Animagus form and a large ginger cat there. Sirius took this opportunity to tell me what happened twelve years ago."

Blake looked at Lupin with some surprise, seemingly not believing he should so directly reveal his werewolf identity. But Remus calmly shook his head at him and continued:

"Actually, the Shrieking Shack was never a haunted house. The reason I trust Black so much goes back to this house... When we were students, the Wolfsbane Potion hadn't been invented yet. Every full moon, I would turn into a terrifying monster. It was then that Professor Dumbledore, who had just become the headmaster, out of compassion and enlightenment, found some protective measures for me and admitted me to Hogwarts. Sigh..."

Lupin sighed, glanced at Harry, and continued:

"I've known for a long time that you have even greater talent than your parents. Judging from your reaction, it seems you already knew about my werewolf identity. I heard you were quite close to Professor Snape at school. Did he tell you that?"

Harry shook his head and replied:

“He did hint at it, but your identity isn’t hard to guess. Even if Professor Snape hadn’t taught me how to brew wolfsbane, I probably would have figured it out. Go on about Peter Pettigrew and your school days.”

Lupin's expression was somewhat bitter. He looked around the screaming shack and said:

"That Whomping Willow was actually planted specifically for me the year I entered Hogwarts. The tunnels connected by its roots, as well as this Shrieking Shack, were all built so that I could secretly escape the castle alone during the full moon and find a secluded place to survive my werewolf form."

"So, the screams and ghostly noises that the villagers of Hogsmeade heard were actually made by you after you turned into a werewolf?"

Lupin nodded and continued:

“At first, I was very resistant to becoming a werewolf, but your father James, Sirius Black, and that… Little Pettigrew, the three of them noticed my monthly disappearances and, like you, very cleverly guessed my werewolf identity. I was terrified at the time. I thought that the friends I had finally made at Hogwarts would leave me, but the three of them actually took the initiative to learn Animagus so that I could have an easier time during my transformation.”

Harry was incredibly intelligent; without Moran's prompting, he had already guessed which pillagers were listed on the cover of the Marauder's Map.

Moonface – Remus Lupin, Wormtail – Peter Pettigrew, Bigfoot – Sirius Black, and his father, Forkhead – James Potter.

Mastering Animagus transfiguration is extremely difficult, not only because the process is tedious and challenging, but also because it carries serious risks. Harry can easily imagine the deep friendship that must have formed among the few who mastered Animagus in their fifth year.

“Werewolves are only dangerous to humans. After we all learned Animagus powers, Jaime would use his invisibility cloak to sneak us out of the castle, transforming us into animals to keep Remus company. We know each other too well… Damn it, damn it…”