Chapter 394: The dust settled (Edited)

Sirius squirmed wildly as Harry and Lupin looked on worriedly, overturning the chairs around the office.

Everyone except Snape looked uncomfortable as Sirius wailed loudly, and Fish even raised his hand to give him a rejuvenation shot, only to be stopped by Professor McGonagall....

God knows if he would have rendered the medicine ineffective, and Black would have suffered in vain.

After a few moments, Sirius' movements began to slow down and his moans diminished, only a faint whimper or two escaping his mouth from time to time.

He was lying on the floor on his back, limbs limp, face covered in beads of sweat and tears, eyes narrowed, expression expression expressionless and even saliva dripping down the sides of his mouth... like a retard.

"Minerva, Severus' magic potion is terrible!"

?(??)?

Even the bold Fish was surprised by the effects of Heartbreaker Potion, Snape's potion could turn people into fools!

He dipped his head into Professor McGonagall's arms, cautiously peering out of the corner of his eye at Sirius on the floor. At the same time, the cat gave his nose a few sharp twitches, trying to remember the scent left in the empty jar on the floor.

"Don't worry, Fish, no one but me can make this potion, and I have no intention of using it on anyone else."

Snape soothed the cat and then, at Harry's malevolent look, walked over to Sirius and crouched down.

Looking down and admiring Sirius' miserable form, a sneer lifting the corners of his lips, and had Dumbledore not urged him, Snape might have watched all night.

At Dumbledore's urging, Snape brought the Veritaserum potion to Sirius' mouth and dropped three drops into his mouth....

Accompanied by the feeding of Veritaserum, Sirius' eyes became even more lifeless, as if he had died, and his cheeks that were still trembling slightly were also relaxed, looking very peaceful.

Dumbledore knelt down, looked up at Sirius, and asked, "Can you hear me?"

Sirius' eyelids fluttered a couple of times, and then he replied in a flat, emotionless tone, "Yes."

"I want you to tell us," Dumbledore said softly, "The truth about James and Lily being found by Voldemort."

Sirius shuddered and took a deep breath, a remorseful expression appearing on his face as he opened his mouth to reply, "It was my fault, I convinced James and Lily to replace the Secret Keeper with Peter...".

Her voice was still monotone, but Harry could hear the pain in it.

"... I don't know why I didn't see him as a spy in the first place. He always liked powerful friends, to get his attention. It used to be us... Remus and me... and James..."

Sirius' answers were not much different than before, even more detailed, and then Dumbledore asked him a few more questions about how he had escaped from Azkaban, and how he had found Peter, and his answers remained the same as before.

"It seems Sirius and Remus don't lie..." Dumbledore stood up straight and looked at Snape, "Severus?"

"Hmph!"

A disappointed expression appeared on Snape's face and he turned his head away, tacitly giving up on reporting to the Ministry of Magic by default.

Lupin and Harry then rushed over to help Sirius to his feet, before Harry asked with a mixture of concern and surprise, "Does that take Sirius off the wanted list?"

Fish, across the room, was also surprised.

"That's right, Fish's bounty is gone too, nya!"

∑(?ΦДΦ?)

"If Fish wants the reward, it's okay to hand Black over to the Ministry now."

Snape encouraged Fish grimly, in response to Harry's question.

And Lupin shook his head with a bitter smile at that moment, as he said to Harry, "Severus' Heartbreaker Potion hasn't been approved by the Ministry, they won't believe Sirius' word, and those officials..."

No one in the Ministry of Magic would admit that they caught the wrong guy without real evidence.

This last part Lupin didn't say, just to let Harry know that Sirius would have to stay hidden.

Harry was a little disappointed to hear that.

The cat was upset too... because his reward was gone....

And Scabbers had swindled a lot of food from him!

As for Snape's suggestion, of course Fish couldn't follow it, though he didn't know why Black was still wanted even though he was innocent, but the cat himself wasn't in the habit of accusing good people of evil, even if he didn't like them very much.

"Very well, come back," Dumbledore began, "Of is getting late, and as for Sirius, I will make arrangements."

As much as Harry and Fish wanted to stay, they had to scurry back to their dormitories under the combined pressure of Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall.

"Harry! Fish! Are you all right?! Where's Black and Lupin?!"

As soon as the two of them emerged through the hole in the wall, they were immediately surrounded by Ron and the others.

Although Harry knocked him unconscious earlier, Ron didn't take it personally, but grabbed his friend by the arm and asked worriedly.

Harry looked at Ron's worried expression and felt guilty, he first apologized to Ron, then looked at his classmates and said, "Professor Lupin was knocked out by...er.... Black, we couldn't catch him.... got away."

The two had been instructed by Dumbledore not to tell the truth before they returned, because if they did, the Ministry would probably guess that Sirius was in hiding for him, and as for Ron, Harry planned to tell him the truth alone later.

"Professor Lupin isn't with Black?" Ron froze, scratching his head a little awkwardly, turning his head to look at the crowd. "But he's a werewolf, everyone already knows that... and someone's already sent a letter home with an owl."

"Even if Lupin is good, I don't want a werewolf to be my teacher!"

"Exactly! He's too dangerous."

Even in Gryffindor house there were many people who feared and loathed werewolves, and even if they knew Lupin wasn't a bad person, they didn't want him teaching anymore.

In this case, it was clear that Lupin could no longer teach.

"The curse of You-Know-Who is still strong..."

Ron, who revealed this secret, blamed him decisively.

Harry rolled his eyes, but didn't feel too bad, since Lupin himself had said he was going to look for Peter Pettigrew at the end of the term, and he had no intention of staying.

Neville off to the side couldn't help but sigh, the others nodded, and the girls even looked terrified.

"I'm glad Fish wasn't hurt by Black, don't do anything that dangerous again."

Sharpay said as she stroked the kitten's head, coaxing it earnestly.

But the strong cat immediately whined.

"It's not dangerous, Fish knocked Black out with one punch! That guy doesn't even have a wand, how could he hurt Fish? Fish is so powerful!"

?(? `ω′?)?

Fish replied with a snort, how dare he underestimate the Cat's strength? this kind of thing is not allowed at all!

"Yes, yes, yes, yes! Fish already had Black when I arrived." Harry interrupted Fish, and quickly remedied the situation, "Only my arrival and Snape's arrival gave .... Black the opportunity to escape."

With Harry's interruption, Fish remembered the need to keep this a secret, so the kitten swallowed his next words and made his way through the crowd towards the dormitory.

"Fish is sleepy, I'm going to bed, goodnight everyone nya!"

?(??ω??)?