Faster … Faster!
Sirius was panting heavily as he channeled his magic throughout his body. His limbs seemed to be convulsing as he ran towards Hogwarts Castle, his body a blur.
He only hoped he wasn't too late…
As the noise from the castle grew louder, Sirius became more anxious, for he could hear several cries and screams, indicating that something had happened there!
As he was thinking, he was interrupted by a strong sense of danger.
Sirius felt his skin crawl, and he looked up to see a giant eagle swooping down on him.
Before he could understand why an eagle would attack him, his body instinctively moved!
Sirius arched his back and retracted his forelimbs, using the momentum of his run to accelerate and roll away like a black furry ball. The hard ground rubbed his back painfully, but he managed to avoid the eagle's sharp talons.
Sirius resisted the pain, and as soon as he stood up, his body began to change rapidly, and in a moment he was back in his wizarding form, grabbing his wand from his mouth and pointing it at the giant eagle.
"Stupefy!"
A blinding red light shot from the tip of the wand.
Ivan flapped his wings and raised himself up high, dodging the attack. His eagle-like eyes locked with Sirius's, and his magical eye sprang into action, giving Sirius a strange sense of solidity.
Sirius then felt himself being hit so hard that he was sent flying backwards, crashing into a tree behind him.
After giving Sirius a blow to the head, the eagle slowly landed on the ground and transformed back into its wizard form.
Looking at Sirius, who had been thrown to the ground, Ivan did not dare to be careless. He waved his wand in his right hand and conjured a python to tie Sirius up.
Sirius then recovered his wits.
He watched as the giant eagle took the form of Ivan, and although he found it strange that Ivan's Animagus form was not an owl, Sirius had no time to think about it as he yelled at Ivan in a hoarse voice.
"Quick… let Dumbledore and the others know!"
'What?' Ivan stopped in his tracks, staring at Sirius in bewilderment. 'You've broken the Imperius Curse?'
Instead of answering Ivan's question at once, Sirius asked more urgently, "Where's Harry? Where's Harry?"
"Didn't you just take Harry?" Yvonne asked, frowning. She had a theory, but she wasn't sure.
'Damn it, I'm too late!' Sirius said through gritted teeth, his gaze fixed on Ivan as he explained urgently, 'It was Peter, he used Polyjuice Potion to disguise himself as me, to get Harry to You-Know-Who!'
"Dwarf?!" Ivan asked suspiciously. "Where have you been all this time? And how can I trust you?"
'Let go of me first, there's no time to explain, I know where they'll be preparing the ritual, we might make it in time, I'll tell you on the way!' Sirius said anxiously.
Ivan hesitated; he could not trust Sirius completely just because of his words, and it was possible that Sirius had sent Harry away and then returned to fool him.
However, due to his confidence in his own abilities and the feedback he received from performing Legilimency, Ivan waved his wand to free himself. Sirius was no match for him anyway, so he was not worried about him causing trouble.
Sirius scrambled to his feet, stiffening as if he had been hit with a Slowing Charm, and nearly fell over again.
'Drink this!' Ivan thought for a moment, then took a bottle of potion out of his pocket and threw it at Sirius, allowing him to dispel the effects of the Eye.
If he was telling the truth, then he might have to face Voldemort head-on. If he stayed in this state, he would be courting death.
Sirius took the potion, unscrewed it, and drank it, as it was not the first time he had been poisoned, and he knew exactly how it worked.
After finishing the potion, Sirius grabbed Ivan by the wrist and ran off in the direction they had come from. 'Come on! Let's get to Hogsmeade. You can't Disapparate here!'
'Now will you tell me what's going on?' said Ivan, running alongside Sirius.
"Do you remember the World Quidditch Tournament last summer?" Sirius asked.
Ivan nodded. "Of course, you asked Professor Dumbledore to bring me tickets, only I was too busy to…"
"That's right. It's a pity you didn't come, but I invited Harry and the others to the game," Sirius said hurriedly, then paused before continuing.
"It was all very normal, but when we got back to our tents after the game, there was a riot, and a large group of masked and hooded wizards set fire to the campsite and tortured the Muggles camping nearby…"
"I read all of this in the Daily Prophet. You don't have to go out of your way to tell me all about it…" Ivan said impatiently, then seemed to remember something and said, "I once heard Harry say that you'd been bothering the Death Eaters?"
'No, I saw Peter there, to be precise!' Sirius's expression turned serious.
Ivan's pupils contracted as he stared at Sirius in astonishment.
"He was wearing a long robe, and when he sneaked past the crowd, it was too dark to see his face, but I knew him well enough to recognise him!" Sirius said quickly. "I suspected he had something to do with the riot, so I told Harry to find Arthur and the others, and I went after him!"
"You're being reckless," Ivan said angrily. "He's obviously trying to lure you there."
'You're right, but I wasn't thinking, I just knew I couldn't miss the chance to catch Peter!' Sirius responded awkwardly.
He originally thought that Peter was just a stray dog who would run away when he saw him. At most, he would hide in the dark and plot against him, encouraging others to sabotage him. He did not expect Peter to have the guts to lead him there…