Bryan, floating mid-air, stretched lazily. After glancing into the distance and confirming that the centaurs had started their journey back, he chuckled softly and followed the two youngsters.
At this moment, Harry regretted not bringing his firebolt. If he had it, he could have caught up with Peter in a blink of an eye. But Now, he had to rely on his legs to leap through the complex terrain of the forest, keeping pace with Hermione.
About ten minutes later, aside from the sound of breaking branches and rustling leaves, there was silence. The ancient trees that had grown for centuries became denser around them, and the stars and moon were no longer visible overhead. Harry was immensely grateful for his exceptional eyesight, which kept them from losing Peter.
"Now... *pant*... what should we do?" Harry asked, gasping for breath, as he looked at Hermione beside him.
"Uh... *pant*... I think we should be fine in this situation," Hermione replied, also tired from running while wearing the Invisibility Cloak.
The moment she gave permission, Harry lifted the cloak from his head and let out an angry roar that disturbed many dark creatures in the quiet, gloomy Forbidden Forest.
"Stop, you despicable traitor!!!"
Peter was fleeing for his life, but in reality, he didn't know where to go. He couldn't return to the Weasley's, and as he was officially dead, he might soon become a wanted criminal by the Ministry of Magic. There was no safe place for him in the wizarding world.
'Everything had been going so smoothly; why had there been so many unexpected events?'
Peter was filled with despair.
Sirius, Remus, and now Dumbledore, who would soon learn the truth, would not give up searching for him. In front of these people, his power was insignificant; he couldn't protect himself.
But who else could offer him protection? It was said that the Dark Lord was currently lying low in the forests of Albania. Perhaps Peter could seek refuge with him, but rumors had it that the Dark Lord had lost his great power and was now barely clinging to life. What use would it be to seek refuge with such a wizard?
As he fled, Peter felt increasingly despondent about his bleak future. Just then, an angry roar from behind caused him to lose control of his limbs, and he tumbled forward, rolling several times on the ground before crashing into a tree root and coming to a stop.
When he managed to get up and saw Harry approaching with his wand raised high, Peter's eyes widened in terror.
Squeak!
Peter jumped up, frightened. Instinctively trying to flee, but two spells that anticipated his path blew up his route, and his small body was thrown into the air by the expanding air, slamming hard against a tree trunk.
Dazed and confused, Peter struggled to clear his head, but before he could regain his senses, a gust of wind lifted him up. A pair of fiery green eyes glared at him, as if they wanted to devour him alive.
"We did it, Harry, it was easier than I thought!" Hermione exclaimed with surprise, looking at the rat that Harry held firmly in his palm.
But Harry had no joy in his heart. He glared at the desperately squirming rat in his palm and said through gritted teeth, "I want to talk to this traitor, Hermione, is there a way?"
"Oh—" Hermione exclaimed in distress and embarrassment,, "An Animagus transformation is advanced transfiguration magic. The reversal spells I learned in Professor McGonagall's class aren't enough—"
Snap!
Thinking of his parents who had died because of the betrayal, Sirius who had been seriously injured and was missing in the normal timeline, and Professor Lupin who was also seriously injured and missing, Harry couldn't control his anger. He slammed the rat onto the ground, stepped on its tail, and growled, "Transform back into your original form, now, or I'll kill you right here!"
Peter, struggling to get up, froze and dared not move.
"Don't do this, Harry, he's not worth it, and your parents wouldn't want you to become a murderer—" Hermione said, holding Harry's arm, her eyes filled with tears.
"Ha!" Harry let out an angry laugh, "I'll never know what my parents would have thought, will I!"
Without giving Hermione a chance to interject, Harry stuffed his wand into Peter's mouth and threatened again, "Transform back, you vile creature, or I swear I'll kill you!"
Then, Harry felt a force resisting his stomping. Peter rapidly grew limbs and a head, as if he had taken a growth potion, and in a blink of an eye, a dirty, ugly wizard stood before them.
"Harry… Harry," As soon as he returned to his original form, Peter burst into tears. He knelt in front of Harry and Hermione, his body convulsing, wailing loudly, "I…..I didn't want to do it, Harry, but I was too scared, Harry. You don't know how powerful the Dark Lord is. He killed so many people, and anyone who opposed him met terrible fates. I've been regretting it all these years."
"Lies—" Harry spat out through his clenched teeth, "You've never repented. Tonight, you still wanted to kill everyone."
"I didn't do that, Harry—" Peter trembled as he glanced fearfully at the wand pointed at his forehead. "I just wanted to run away, Harry. I wanted that Malfoy boy to get me out of the school. I swear I never thought of hurting anyone."
"You liar," Harry said bitterly.
Peter suddenly threw himself at Hermione's feet, startling her to scream in fear, "Smart girl….. you should be able to understand, right? I never thought of hurting you. I never even considered it. I've been with Ron all this time. If I wanted to do something like that, I would have done it long ago."
Hermione shrank back in fear, looking at the furious Harry, "Don't let him turn you into a murderer, Harry. Let's take him back; he'll be punished."
"I'm willing to accept punishment!" Peter shouted excitedly, "I'm willing to go to Azkaban, I'm willing to atone for my sins!"
*In the air*
'Too young, indeed.'
Watching Harry, whose wand was slowly falling from his hand as he struggled internally, Bryan sighed. Whether to kill or to spare, they had to ensure Peter was incapacitated first.
Boom!
The ground heaved, and a powerful blast of air flattened all the trees and vines within thirty feet. The soft earth was peeled away layer by layer, filling the air with the scent of scorching. The scene from the Muggle street twelve years ago was once again brought to life!
Harry and Hermione were trapped in a deep pit, surrounded by thick smoke and a transparent magical barrier that left them bewildered.
"How could this happen… Who was it?" The question hung in the air, unanswered, as the smoke began to dissipate, revealing the absence of their adversary. Peter, the man they had sought to confront, had vanished into the air, leaving behind only the mystery of his escape.
Harry, his expression a mask of confusion and loss, reached out tentatively to the magical barrier. At his touch, it melted away like morning mist kissed by the sun, and he whispered to the silent forest, "I bet it was Dumbledore—"
The devastation wrought upon the earth was a sight to behold, and it caught Hermione unaware. She stumbled, her breaths coming in labored gasps as she clutched at her chest, the weight of their predicament pressing down upon her. "I guess he anticipated that we might be at a disadvantage if we really encountered Peter, so he must have done something to us when he removed our names from the Marauder's Map."
Harry squatted down, holding his head, his lonely figure appearing helpless in the heavy night. "I should have killed him right away, now it's all over—"
Harry's voice was muffled, but Hermione could hear a sob in it.
Hermione had never witnessed Harry in such a state, stripped of his usual tenacity, his voice laced with a despair so profound it seemed to drain the hope from the very air around them.
"Harry—" She began, her voice soft and laced with concern.
The sudden disappearance of Peter had been a blow to them both, a stark reminder of their vulnerability despite the precautions taken by Dumbledore and if it weren't for those precautions, they might not have even survived. It wasn't just Harry who felt the sting of powerlessness; Hermione too was grappling with the unfamiliar sensation of being utterly outmaneuvered. In the past, no matter the challenge, they always managed to create unbelievable miracles.
But no matter what, they still had to face reality.
Now, more than half the time had passed, and if they didn't make it back to Hogwarts Castle in the remaining time, something even more terrible would happen.
As Hermione reached out to offer solace to her friend, the stillness of the forest was shattered by a cry of desperation. It was Peter's voice, distant yet unmistakable, filled with terror and pain—the very man who had slipped through their grasp moments ago.
"What's going on!" Harry's voice was a mix of incredulity and renewed determination as he leaped to his feet, the emerald fire in his eyes rekindled by the prospect of that traitor within his reach. "It's that traitor, who caught him?"
"Anyway!" Hermione's voice was also filled with surprise; she held her breath, listening intently for any noise, "He must have run into some trouble."
Harry and Hermione exchanged a glance, and the next second, they both leaped up and dashed towards the source of the sound.
Click-clack-click-clack— Amid the rustling of leaves and Peter's increasingly faint wails, a strange noise made Harry and Hermione shiver.
"I guess it's some kind of dark creature living in the Forbidden Forest," Harry mused, a grim satisfaction in his tone. "I just hope that when it eats him, it leaves something behind for us that can prove Peter's identity, then the Ministry of Magic will have nothing to say."
"Don't say that, Harry—" Hermione's admonishment was cut short as a potruding branch lashed out, tearing at her arm and drawing blood that seeped into her already battle-worn garments. Grimacing in pain, she pressed on, her voice a mixture of reproach and concern. "Neither Professor Dumbledore nor Professor Watson would want to hear you talk like that—"
Hermione's words struck a soft spot in Harry's heart. He fell silent, not speaking further, just trudging ahead with his head down.
Before they knew it, the surroundings became even more silent and oppressive. Not even the constant chirping of insects and birds could be heard among the branches and leaves.
As Harry and Hermione ventured deeper into the Forbidden Forest, the terrain grew increasingly treacherous, the earth softening into a spongy morass that threatened to swallow their footsteps whole. They ascended a gentle slope, and as they crossed an invisible threshold, the dense canopy abruptly gave way to a sparse grove, the trees retreating as if in fear of the thorny underbrush that barred their path.
In a daze, Hermione seemed to see shadows moving behind those tall bushes. Fear made her grip Harry's arm tightly, and she lowered her voice and said, "Shouldn't we use the Invisibility Cloak, Harry?"
Click-clack-click-clack— The rhythmic click-clack-click-clack of unseen creatures echoed ominously, resonating with the beat of their own racing hearts. Harry also noticed the movement behind the bushes. He hesitated for a moment, but then, from behind the hillside, Peter's cries for help suddenly intensified, as if he had seen something terrifying.
"Let's go check it out!"
Harry pulled Hermione's arm and rushed up the hill without hesitation, and the dark shadows behind the bushes quickly retreated as they passed. Hermione caught a glimpse but couldn't make out what the moving shadows were. If she had seen them clearly, she would have stopped Harry's impulsive action.
Finally, they reached the top of the long hillside. Now, before them lay a vast crater-like depression.
'Ron is really lucky!'
Upon seeing what was in the pit, a nonsensical thought popped into Harry's head.
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