Evan climbed up the dark stairs to the second floor, and the old black wooden floor creaked under his feet. From time to time, owls hovered over his head.
The layouts of the post office on the second and first floors are similar. There were owls everywhere. On the shelves under them, there were codes of various colours.
Crookshanks was lying on a semi-circular balcony. When it saw Evan, it purred with satisfaction.
Hold on, where is Sirius Black?!
Evan suddenly realized what was happening; he quickly turned around, and behind him in the shadow of the hallway, a black figure rushed out.
Right then, Evan was thrown to the ground and splashed with dust.
Several grey long-eared owls spread their wings and flew higher, in fear of the scene of Evan and the big black dog on top of him.
Sirius Black leaped swiftly and took the wand from his hands.
His body was quickly morphed in mid-air, and when he fell back on the floor, Evan saw a middle-aged man who looked exactly the same as the one wanted by the Ministry of Magic: his filthy, tangled hair was hanging down to his elbow. In the dark pupils of his eyes, there was no light at all, and his waxy skin clung to his face's frame making him look more like a skeleton.
"You've been too careless, kid!" Black held Evan's wand tightly and grinned showing his yellow teeth. "Don't resist. Since you're a friend of Harry, I'll only use the Obliviate Charm on you and wipe out all the memories about me from your head."
Black's voice was low and hoarse. It sounded like he hadn't spoken for a long time.
"Listen, I need to talk to you, Sirius!" Evan whispered. "I'm not going to resist. You can keep my wand if it makes you feel safer."
"Huh, safety means nothing to me!" Black smiled with a ridiculous sneer. "If you, like me, were locked in Azkaban for twelve years, and like me, were tortured by hundreds of Dementors day and night, with your head full of the darkest memories, and enduring the suffering made by the loss of your best friends that's frying your mind; if you've endured all of that, you'd also forget all about fear and safety."
"That sounds really bad," Evan said worried.
"Do you know how I got through it?!" Black's expression suddenly became ferocious. "It was revenge. It was the power of revenge that kept me sober. That's how I didn't become a walking corpse like everybody else in there."
"Maybe I can help you get your vengeance." Evan sat up from the ground.
"Help me?!" The smile on Black's face became even more pronounced. The wand in his hand pointed steadily at Evan. "I don't think so. You'd better be honest and not play tricks with me. I've been observing you for the past few months since our first meeting in Muggle World in August. I know that your skills are actually amazing. I wasn't nearly that strong at your age."
"Thank you for the compliment. If I were as powerful as you said, I wouldn't have been in this situation right now!" Evan paused and continued, "But I do want to help you. You remember when we met at the edge of the forest for the second time on Halloween's eve. I covered for you so you could flee; otherwise you would've been discovered by Professor Lupin!"
Evan secretly gathered magical power. Since he saw Tom Riddle's use of Ron's broken wand to release the curse in the last semester, he has been studying Wandless Magic.
Although he found many theoretical books on this topic were, the actual process was extremely difficult. Evan had to practice for nearly a year, but he could not control well his magical power and all he was able to make was light that's even less impressive than the doing of a young wizard with his wand.
Such a light was of no value in actual combat.
But perhaps, it could distract Black if it took him by surprise.
Evan had to be careful. If communication fails, he'll have his back against the wall. He did not want to be turned into an idiot by Black's Memory charm.
"If it weren't for you, I would have never been discovered." Black hummed and the wand gleamed slightly. "And I don't need anybody's help!"
He waved his wand, but Evan was faster than him.
His Magic spouted out, and a dazzling white light flew by like a lightning bolt, Black closed his eyes subconsciously.
Hundreds of owls rose into the sky and the whole second floor was in chaos.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Evan stood up from the ground and he slammed into Black. Although he was short and thin, far from his tall opponent Black, but it was a fast dash and Sirius did not have his guard up.
Black didn't raise the wand in time. One of Evan's hands fastened over his wasted wrist, forcing the wand tips away; the knuckles of his other hand collided with the side of Black's head and they fell, backward, into the wall.
The heavy impact finally brought Black back to his senses. The wand in his hand sent a jet of sparks into the air that missed Evan's face by inches; the latter felt the shrunken arm under his fingers twisting madly, but he clung on, his other hand punching every part of Black it could find.
But Black was far stronger than him, and his free hand had found Evan's throat.
Just as Evan felt desperate, Crookshanks that was crouching on the balcony suddenly jumped to join the fight. His stuck his two front paws deeply into Black's arm.
Black grunted and let go of Evan. He wanted to throw Crookshanks off, but he did not succeed. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Evan took a few punches at Black's stomach, and the latter was in pain. He curled up loosening his hand and releasing his wand.
Evan grasped his wand and quickly stood up. He pointed it at Black's chest and looked down at him.
Black sprawled across the wall with his limbs spread out, and his thin chest swelling quickly.
"Good job, Crookshanks!" Evan gasped.
Crookshanks meowed softly and jumped back onto the window's balcony, as though he had finished a trivial matter. The owls in the air came back.
Evan looked at Black. He could vaguely see the handsome man that he used to be in his faint sallow face. Twelve years of prison life have made his character cold- blooded. Before killing Peter Pettigrew, he will not believe anyone, nor will he need any help.
As a lonely avenger, he will use his own power to seize Peter.
He's not as good as a cat in trusting others.
"I've underestimated you. You are much better than I thought. A wandless Spell! I haven't seen a Wizard with such skill since a long time." Black's lips hung up again with his sarcastic sneer. "What do you intend to do, hand me to the Aurors of the Ministry, or to the Dementors?!"
"I repeat, I just want to help you, whether you believe it or not!" Evan wiped the blood from his mouth and there were a few sparks on the tip of his wand. "But if you like this way of conversation, we shall communicate well."
"Speaking of that, I really want to thank you!" said Black calmly. "I thank you for to the Hogwarts Magic News that you run. When Fudge visited Azkaban, he gave me an issue. There were photos of him giving special awards to several of you. On the front page of the newspaper, on the boy's shoulder, I immediately recognized him. I saw him so many times transforming. He was still alive. He was actually in Hogwarts, near James and Lily's son… That night, I escaped from Azkaban because I knew I had to kill him. That's the only way I can make up for my mistakes, even if I had to face death."
Black's body trembled slightly, and his voice was full of sorrow.
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"I've been in jail for murder, and I'm coming back here to commit it again!" Sirius shouted. "I'll kill him with my own hands. I'll avenge James and Lily!"
"You can't do anything in your present state…" Looking at Blake's appearance, Evan quietly shook his head.
"It's useless to say more. You've won, turn me in, go ahead!"
Black closed his eyes weakly and his head leaned back against the wall. He was completely decadent like never before.
Suddenly, his eyes snapped open again; he flew into a rage and shouted reluctantly. "That boy who lives in the same bedroom as Harry, the Weasley boy, that boy's rat is an Animagus, he is Peter Pettigrew!"
"Peter Pettigrew?!" Evan blinked.
"Believe me, you're also an Animagus, you just have to take a closer look at that rat or use the Animagus reversal spell on him…" Black suddenly stopped and said, "You must think I'm Crazy, don't you?"
"To be honest, you don't look any different from a mad man right now."
"I'm sure that you're confused. Do you know who Peter really is?" Black suddenly burst into a grin. His smile was filled with hatred. "Let me tell you, let me tell you about the true face of that hero in people's eyes. When we were in Hogwarts…"
Evan did not say anything. Looking at Black's appearance, he knew that he wanted to recall his past student days, and Evan did not mind listening to this hidden history.
However, it is not the right time, nor is it the right occasion.
Here is the Owl Post Office. There may be other people coming in at any time. Before all the truth was to be revealed, he did not want people to misunderstand them and didn't want to be linked to Black.
Besides, Hermione was still waiting outside for him. He couldn't stay here much longer.
"I'm sorry to interrupt your memories. Sirius, we'll get into the subject as soon as possible. About Pettigrew, he is Ron's rat. I believe you!" Evan said quickly. "Actually, I know lots of things about him."
"What?!" Black's eyes widened and he suddenly screamed with excitement. "How much do you know about that man?!"
"A lot! Definitely more than you think. Of course, I still need you for more details, but not here!" Evan said in a relaxed tone. "And, you'd better lower your voice, unless you really want to draw Aurors and Dementors' attention."
"What did Lupin tell you about Peter?" Black said in a low voice, his face full of suspicious looks. "No, he wouldn't say anything about us; maybe Dumbledore, it's so much like him, but if it were to be really him, you wouldn't be standing here alone right now."
"I investigated the events of that year, what happened before you were arrested, and what you did in school was no secret," Evan said, blinking. "To be honest, the only thing that makes me curious is the Marauder's Map, where did you get enough magical power to make it? I heard from Professor Lupin that you got help from a certain item in the Forbidden Forest. That place needs the approval of certain creatures to get in. Who are they?"
"It's the Centaurs; the Centaur colony in the Forbidden Forest was hiding some kind of treasure left by Godric Gryffindor. That stuff can provide a Wizard with a lot of magical power." Black was excited again. "I can take you there, and help you get the Centaurs' approval, but getting that thing depends on whether or not you can pass that final test. In exchange, you only need to bring Peter Pettigrew to me!"
"Deal!" Evan said hurriedly.
He listened to Sirius Black's statements, and combined them with the information he already had.
If there isn't any misshapen, the legendary magical item hidden deep in the Forbidden Forest with the Centaur colony should be the key to Gryffindor's secret treasure.
Yet, he didn't know how to get the Centaur's approval, nor did he know what the final test was?
This will certainly not be simple, or else Black would have taken it long ago. Since all four of them have failed, Evan is not sure that he will succeed. However, he will not give up this opportunity to try. Besides, he originally intended to help Black.
"You go back and grab that rat, no, no, it's too risky. Peter is weak, but he's an adult Wizard. It's not safe for you, a young Wizard to handle this. You just help me get into Gryffindor's common room. All the rest will be left for me to solve."
"I have a better idea. Why don't we tell the professors about this?"
"Tell them?" Black shook his head. "Besides you, who else would believe me? They think that I betrayed James and Lily, and then killed Peter Pettigrew and twelve innocent Muggles. They all think I am crazy and no one will believe me."
"I don't know about the others, but Professor Dumbledore and Professor Lupin would still believe you."
"No, I can't take such a risk. Now that they don't believe in me, I can't trust them, especially Lupin, he… In short, it's my own fault that I'm alone. I should solve this by myself!" Black stubbornly said, "I convinced James and Lily to let Peter Pettigrew be their Secret Keeper. They were killed because of my foolishness; it is entirely my fault. I must kill him myself to avenge James and Lily!"
Black was talking; tears flowing uncontrollably down his skinny cheeks.
"Okay, okay!" Looking at Black, Evan had a headache.
Black's decision increased the difficulty of the whole problem by several times. He stubbornly believed that the death of James and Lily was entirely his fault. In order to preserve his pride and self-esteem, he wouldn't accept any help in accomplishing his revenge.
It was as if he preferred to stay in Azkaban for twelve years to make atonement, rather than defending himself.
Not only could he not defend himself, but he also felt it wasn't worth it!
No wonder he did not seek Dumbledore's help after his escape from prison; it's no wonder that he hadn't tried that for so long.
Even if this deal with Evan was somewhat of a compromise, he is forced to do so.
In Black's eyes, Evan was helping him catch Peter Pettigrew, and he was helping him to get the Centaurs' approval in return. The whole thing was more like a transaction than help.
"The password to enter the Gryffindor common room is "Strange Skins". Sir Cadogan will let you in." Evan continued, "But I suggest you wait one more day, as the semester will be over tomorrow." I have confirmed that this Christmas holiday, only four Gryffindor students will be in Hogwarts: Harry, Ron, Hermione and me."
"Hmm, the typical weak thinking, I wonder if you're really a Gryffindor?!" Black was completely dismissive of Evan's advice. "For this day, I've been waiting for twelve years. I will not wait any longer; I'll do it tonight!"