163 Chapter 163: Reunion

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31 October 1993, Hogsmeade

Sirius quickly got up with a snarl, "Moony. I've been meaning to give you a visit. How nice of you to spare me the effort."

Harry decided not to involve himself as the two Marauders met for the first time in over a decade. It was useful data. Emotions tend to get people to reveal information that they would rather keep close to their chests. Sirius Black and Remus Lupin were mysteries that he wanted to solve and that provided him with an opportunity.

Black didn't finish speaking about the real reason why he was hunting Harry, a reason that Lupin seemed to recognize and not want him to divulge. It must have something to do with Lupin's plans in Hogwarts.

The werewolf stood there, with an intimidating posture, glaring at his former comrade, "You're not the only one who changed, Sirius."

"Yes, I can see her disgusting taint on you. Were you always her pet or did that only happen after graduating?" the grey-eyed man responded with a disturbing smirk on his face.

"Lily saved me, healed me. I don't need to transform anymore. Can't you see how amazing this is?"

Sirius growled in response, "So, during all our time together, you really were her little follower. You knew what she was, and you let James marry this monster."

"She could have saved my entire race, cured Lycanthropy. If everyone went through what I did, we would have died out in a generation or two, and the ones suffering like me, wouldn't be discriminated against. We would be free. Can't you see that?"

That fact seemed to have surprised Sirius slightly, "Well, it only cost you every positive relationship you ever had. I hope it was worth it. Did you even mourn James when he died? Did you mourn me? Or did you just not care about anything except your chance at curing your condition?"

Lupin looked down, "I didn't know that she was going to kill James."

"But you did know that she didn't love him, not like he did her. Looking back, I could have seen it, the small expressions of disgust and exasperation on her face when she thought no one was looking."

"I knew that she married him because she wanted something. I assumed it was some kind of knowledge, that's what she really cared for in Hogwarts. She always liked to say that with enough knowledge we could save the world. I didn't know that she would do what she did. I didn't expect the fire. I don't think she did either. Whatever happened in Godric's Hollow wasn't her design."

Black scoffed, "Of course, it wasn't. She thought she was safe under the Fidelius Charm. She might not have expected the attack, but she did plan on killing off James, of using her son for her own ends. I saw it. I saw her, and believe me, I remember. She just didn't expect the Fiendfyre. She did it in a hurry and paid the price for it."

"I lived with my sins, Sirius. Did even try anything else before resorting to mass murder?"

The dog Animagus burst into laughter, "My entire life was me trying. I did my best to fight every impulse I had. And for what? To be stabbed in the back by someone I trusted. For Dumbledore to use me as a pawn, just as he used you, just as he used all of us? Yeah, I tried enough. In death, I will do what had to be done and get rid of the monsters."

"So, you killed all those people. Some of them we had fought side by side with, some of whom were our classmates." Lupin responded.

"They were poisoning the world that I fought for. That James fought for. People who committed atrocities for Dumbledore, for Voldemort. And you know what? I watched them scream in agony as I carved their faces, and it was beautiful. It was redemptive. As far as I'm concerned, these animals got what they deserved. And isn't that what we all talked about in school, saving the world, one smile at a time."

"Sirius, do you seriously think that James would approve of what you're doing, approve of you trying to kill his own son?"

"HE'S DEAD!" Sirius yelled before calming down slightly, "And that's the only good thing about death, Moony. The dead don't care."

"I can't let you kill him," the werewolf suddenly said after a few seconds of silence.

"Your opinion stopped mattering a long time ago, Remus. You know what he is. It's the only way."

Lupin seemed undeterred, "You'll have to go through me."

The who could have been Harry's godfather let out a mad giggle, "Oh, Moony. I was already planning on doing that."

The tension between the two former friends was palpable. The very air seemed to shudder with anticipation. Harry couldn't help but observe with a morbid curiosity how this clash would unfold.

He had to admit that Lupin's transformation was fascinating. His body seemed to control, expand and reshape itself into an imposing feral creature. Muscles bulged and fur sprouted, a thick, silver-tinged coat that seemed to glow oddly. His face elongated, the jaw snapping and stretching into a muzzle bristling with needle-sharp teeth, while his eyes, those human windows to the soul, now reflected only the primal rage of his inner wolf.

This was not what a werewolf was supposed to look like. He was too large, too muscular instead of lean. Harry realized that if Lupin's earlier were true, his mother had helped him with the aim of creating a living weapon, not curing lycanthropy. The changes made Remus the ultimate werewolf that couldn't infect anyone and that wasn't forced to change. It did not suppress that change. There was something awe-aspiring about it, if Harry was completely honest.

Black's change, on the other hand, was far more natural. The duality of his nature seemed to also translate into canine form. One side of his face took the shape of a massive black dog, with thick fur and eyes gleaming with madness. The other side, however, was the stuff of nightmares, a charred and ashen mockery of his canine form with skin flaking away into ash, revealing the raw, smouldering flesh beneath. It was more akin to a hellhound in Greek Mythology than an actual dog. And from this twisted maw, the Animagus snarled in a challenging manner, something that the werewolf seemed to understand and return.

Initially, their clash was a cacophony of growls and snapping jaws as they collided with a force that seemed to shake the floor beneath them. Harry had a hard time following it, not because of the destruction, but because they were just so fast. Lupin was a whirlwind of destruction, his claws seeking Black's flesh, yet each strike met only air as the dog Animagus phased through them and attacked the surprised werewolf from the back. But every single wound was also healed in seconds. Lupin's regeneration was just on another level.

They seemed locked in a stalemate of some sort, neither of them doing any sort of damage. That was until the dog Animagus leapt towards his opponent and phased completely through him, planning to attack him from the back, only to be taken by surprise by Lupin who unleased an odd howl. From the maw of the werewolf, a sound that was more than sound took on some kind of silver sheen, which blasted the dog Animagus away, towards his enchanted knife. The Smiling Killer reverted to his human form, Lupin seemingly following his lead.

Even in their human forms, they were still glaring at each other, "We're in a stalemate, Padfoot. I can't touch you, and you can't harm me. There's no scenario where you could lay a finger on Harry."

Sirius's laughter in response was unhinged, "Maybe you're right. Maybe this is all useless."

However, before the professor could react, the dog Animagus reached into his cloak, his movements swift and precise despite his injuries, and flung a handful of gleaming, silver dust towards Remus's face. It was an old trick, a dirty one, but effective. Lupin really shouldn't have let his guard down. Perhaps he thought that Black would just leave?

The werewolf howled in pain as he clutched his eyes, "Then again, maybe you're wrong. Silver still seems to hurt you, Moony. Not as effective as before but seemed to be enough for it to matter. I knew that this would come in handy. You always said that I fight dirty. I guess you were right."

Blinded but not defeated, Lupin staggered, trying to attack his opponent somehow. If Harry had to describe what he saw, it would be that the dust acted more like pepper spray than anything else. Black didn't let him have time to recover and stabbed him with his knife. The enchanted knife must have contained a silver alloy of some sort as the wound didn't seem to heal as quickly. Deciding to not take any chances, he threw more silver dust into the wound, making the werewolf howl in pain.

An interesting solution. Harry was more partial to liquids since they stayed more than just powder or a knife. The effects stayed for longer than way. Although the powder to the eyes was a nice touch. Harry could see uses for it.

"Don't worry, Moony, I'm not going to kill you now. We'll still have a lot of fun. After all, there's a lot of questions I need answered about Lily." He then turned towards Harry with a mad grin on his face, "Well, with that distraction out of the way, let's get back to our business. Where were we? Ah, right, I was about to gut you."

"Is that so?" Harry responded with a bored tone, "I distinctly remember kicking your ass."

"Oh, little ickle Potty, I was just playing with you. You got one shot by surprise, and you didn't do much. I have to say I'm looking forward to seeing the desperation in your eyes, your terror, as the light leaves your eyes. It's always been the best part. I would have rather watched your mother bite the bullet, but you're a close second. After all, you have her eyes."

"I'm sorry to disappoint, but that's not going to happen," Harry stated with a clinical bored tone.

"Alright, I'm curious. How are you going to stop me then?"

"I guess you'll just have to find out."

The mass murderer leapt towards Harry who dodged and released his hold on the spell he's been preparing during his attacker's fight with Lupin.

Harry gave him a small grin, "Do you know what heat is, Sirius Black?"

Before he could realize what was happening, Harry took a step forward. What the monster didn't expect was for an entire side of his body to freeze the moment it happened. Before the man could turn intangible, Harry sent an exploding charm at the frozen body, sending him away in pieces.

"Heat is how we measure how fast molecules move around. And well, cold just means that they're not moving. You can try to phase through it all you want, but you won't be able to do anything to me without touching me, without materializing yourself, in which you'll be frozen into nothing."

Black's missing parts body seemed to reform very slowly into ash. He didn't really see that coming. Actual chunks of flesh turned to ash and returned to the man's body. Even the injured flash returned as ash, giving him a more monstrous nature. Even then, the ash seemed to darken and turn into darkened flesh similar to the destroyed side of his face.

Would he be able to return to his previous state? What was the limit of this regeneration? He had never regeneration like this ever. Most magical creatures capable of healing missing limbs would regrow them over time. It wasn't anywhere near this fast.

Looking at him in slight awe, Harry couldn't help but ask, "What are you?"

Black declined to answer and leapt at Harry trying to get one cheap shot, only for Harry to extend the range of his ice spell and blast him once more with his wand. Harry didn't want to show it, but maintaining this spell took a lot out of him.

Even though the dog Animagus was completely disintegrated, his remains turned to ash and started to reform, slowly taking a humanoid form. Harry could finally see just how inhuman the man who could have been his godfather became as he floated at the border of Harry's ice spell. The monster whispered in a monstrous tone, "I'll be back," before flying away with a screech.

Harry slumped in relief, unlocked the tunnel to Hogsmeade once more, and levitated his groaning professor through it. It was time to go back to the castle.

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