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"Fall unconscious!"
At that moment, George pointed his left index finger at the black dog, and it immediately closed its eyes and collapsed into unconsciousness.
"Finite Incantatem!"
He quickly followed up with a second spell, specifically aimed at dispelling Sirius's Animagus transformation and returning him to his human form.
A few rare spells in this world require specific counter-curses to be undone, but most can be resolved with a general dispelling charm.
That's why George had always placed great importance on mastering the general dispelling charm.
In his opinion, if such a charm could already counter most spells, then by thoroughly researching, optimizing, and refining it, it might one day become capable of breaking any spell.
Combining magical knowledge from various worlds—and with Dumbledore's guidance—
he had now reached the point where his dispelling charm could even undo complex enchantments like Levicorpus, Sectumsempra, and Animagus transformations, which normally required specific counter-curses.
"Zombie Float!"
George levitated Sirius behind him and made his way back through the secret passage leading out from beneath the Whomping Willow.
Just then, he happened to run into Professor Lupin and the trio—Harry, Hermione, and Ron.
"Professor Lupin, you're just in time. This should be Sirius Black. He's been hiding in the secret tunnel beneath the Whomping Willow."
"You subdued him by yourself?"
Lupin looked at the unconscious Sirius, his expression deeply conflicted, and then turned to George in astonishment.
Though Sirius wasn't in top condition, he wasn't someone an average young wizard could take down.
Lupin had heard stories about George during school and knew firsthand that he was exceptionally gifted in magic—a true prodigy among Hogwarts students.
Still, seeing George so effortlessly subdue Sirius came as quite a shock.
"So he is Sirius Black! I'm going to kill him!"
Upon hearing Lupin confirm Sirius's identity, Harry stormed up to the floating figure, eyes blazing with fury, and aimed his wand directly at Sirius's head.
George didn't intervene, knowing full well that no matter how angry Harry was, he wouldn't go through with it.
After all, Harry was still just a child.
Sure enough, as Harry pressed the wand against Sirius's forehead, he hesitated. He didn't cast a spell. His hand trembled.
"Expelliarmus!"
Suddenly, Lupin launched a surprise attack.
As expected from a top-tier wizard, that single Disarming Charm didn't just knock Harry's wand away—it also disarmed George, Hermione, and Ron in one powerful move.
"Finite Incantatem!"
Catching the three wands midair, Lupin swiftly waved his own wand again, dispelling the unconsciousness and levitation spells cast on Sirius.
As Sirius opened his eyes, Lupin pointed his wand at him and said:
"I never wanted to believe you had betrayed us. I need to know what really happened back then!"
"Professor, what are you doing?"
Harry stared at Lupin in disbelief.
Lupin spoke in a calm, reassuring tone:
"Don't get worked up. I just wanted to keep you all from doing anything rash. Listen to me. Let me handle this."
"Harry, don't rush. Let's hear what they have to say first."
George gently placed a hand on Harry's shoulder.
Lupin's actions had taken him by surprise.
In the original story, Lupin only intervened after seeing Peter Pettigrew on the Marauder's Map, which proved Sirius was innocent.
But now, George had kept the map with him the entire time—he hadn't lent it to Harry. Harry had only reached Hogsmeade through the secret tunnel with help from the Weasley twins.
So logically, Lupin shouldn't have had a reason to step in.
It seemed he had underestimated the bond between Lupin and Sirius. Even after all these years, Lupin still refused to believe that Sirius had betrayed them.
But that was fine. Although this unexpected turn of events occurred, it wouldn't affect his overall plan.
"It wasn't me. To deceive Voldemort, I transferred the role of Secret Keeper to Peter. The night I rushed to Godric's Hollow on my flying motorcycle, all that remained was the ruins of the house.
I knew Peter must have betrayed us, so I followed the trail, investigating everything I could. Eventually, I tracked him down.
But that despicable rat used a blasting curse to destroy an entire street, cut off his own finger, faked his death, and escaped."
Now fully conscious, Sirius looked at Lupin and recounted the truth of what happened back then.
"That's impossible! Then why didn't you explain yourself when you were caught? You're lying!"
Harry refused to believe a word Sirius said.
Sirius lowered his head, his face filled with sorrow.
"If I hadn't suggested secretly switching the Secret Keeper to Peter, James and Lily would still be alive.
So ending up in Azkaban was the punishment I deserved.
People said I was the one who got your parents killed—and in a way, they weren't wrong.
If you want to kill me for revenge, I won't fight back.
But let me finish one thing first."
"Then why did you escape and sneak into Hogwarts to try to kill Harry?"
Hermione raised the key question. Based on Sirius's explanation, his actions didn't seem to make any logical sense.
"Kill Harry? Why would I do that? I came for Peter!"
Fury burned in Sirius's eyes.
"I thought he had died in that explosion. But last year, when Cornelius Fudge came to inspect Azkaban, I was so bored I asked for a copy of the newspaper.
In that newspaper, there was a photograph—an article about someone winning the Grand Galleon Prize and going on a trip to Egypt.
That's right—it was your family's photo!"
He turned his head and looked at Ron.
"The rat in your hand, the one missing a toe, is Peter Pettigrew.
Even if he were turned to ash, I'd recognize him.
When I saw he had followed you to Hogwarts, I knew Harry was in danger.
I had to escape and kill him with my own hands!"
As he spoke, Sirius pulled an old newspaper from his pocket and handed it to Lupin.
"This is ridiculous! You're saying Scabbers is Peter Pettigrew? That's impossible! He's just a stupid rat!"
Ron's face twisted in disbelief. He didn't believe a word Sirius was saying.
Lupin took the paper. When he saw the moving photograph printed on it, his pupils instantly contracted.
Before coming to teach at Hogwarts, he had lived in poverty due to his condition as a werewolf. He rarely had enough money to afford newspapers, so he had never seen that issue of the Daily Prophet.
But the moment he saw the animated rat in the picture, he recognized him instantly—it was Peter Pettigrew.
If Peter was still alive, and had been hiding in Animagus form all this time, then everything Sirius had said was true.
"He's not lying. Scabbers is Peter Pettigrew. He's an Animagus.
You should have learned about Animagi in Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration class."
Lupin reached out and helped Sirius to his feet, then gave him a brotherly hug. A look of relief appeared on his face.
(End of Chapter)