Perhaps because the three students were standing right there, Snape and Sirius were both deliberately holding back, even if they didn't know what was going on in the other's mind. They weren't using any of the more destructive Dark Arts, and their spells were clearly toned down.
The whole thing wasn't that complicated, really. Professor Lupin had bolted ahead, chasing after Peter Pettigrew, while Sirius Black had stayed behind, trying to persuade Harry, Ron, and Hermione to leave and not get into danger.
But as everyone knows, danger is nothing to the main character. Even if they're just going to be a burden, they'll stick with their friends. Of course, the main reason was that Harry and his friends were determined to get to the bottom of things, so they didn't listen to him at all.
Sirius's pleas were useless and just wasted time. That's when Snape the Bat showed up. He had been tracking Lupin, worried because he knew Lupin hadn't taken his Wolfsbane Potion today. He finally caught up with them here.
When he saw Sirius, he didn't hesitate for a second. He just stepped out from behind a tree and immediately launched an attack. And just like that, the two of them were fighting.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione were baffled. They wanted to tell them to stop, that there was a misunderstanding and they needed to talk. But, also as everyone knows, no one listens to a bunch of kids.
When old rivals meet, tempers flare. Professor Snape and Sirius Black fought more and more fiercely. The flashes of their colliding spells grew brighter, and the cracking sounds louder. They even started hurling insults at each other. Snape called Sirius a "deranged fugitive," and Sirius mocked Snape, calling him a "cowardly creep" who had turned into an "old bat."
With so much shouting and spells flying, they weren't in any mood to listen to the kids.
This is when Professor Lupin and I arrived. We pushed through the last bit of bushes, and the sound of our hurried footsteps caught their attention.
Snape and Sirius noticed us right away. When Snape saw Lupin, his brow furrowed slightly with a mix of confusion and caution, as if he was wondering why Lupin was there. But when his eyes landed on me behind Lupin, his brow relaxed, and he even managed a subtle smirk, as if he saw me as a new ally.
Sirius Black, on the other hand, looked even more anxious when he saw Professor Lupin. His pupils narrowed, and he tightened his grip on his wand, his heart pounding. Why had Lupin come back? Did he lose Peter Pettigrew? Or had Pettigrew already escaped? Damn it! He shouldn't have been wasting time here fighting an old bat!
He thought to himself, glancing behind Lupin, as if searching for a glimpse of Peter.
My gaze flickered between Professor Snape and Sirius before settling on the wand in Sirius's hand. It looked familiar. After a moment, I realized it was the one Ron always used.
I raised an eyebrow, catching the eye signals Snape was sending me. I cleared my throat and said, "Sirius... what's all this about? Is there another person we need to deal with?"
Before I'd even finished my sentence, I raised my wand, pointing it at Sirius, ready to cast a spell. A holy, radiant light glowed from the tip of my wand.
"What spell is that? No, I mean, wait, Dylan—he's not—"
Lupin was taken aback at first, but then he quickly tried to stop me. He was halfway through his sentence when he realized what was going on. He had forgotten that to everyone else, Sirius Black was still a dangerous fugitive from Azkaban. It was only natural for me to be hostile toward him since I didn't know the full story. He opened his mouth, but couldn't think of how to explain, so he just stood there with a desperate, furrowed brow.
And as everyone else knows, people in the middle of a story usually can't seem to get a word out.
After what he'd just seen happen to Peter Pettigrew, Lupin's heart clenched when he saw me getting ready to cast a spell. He was so scared Sirius would end up as a bloody mess, too, that he acted on instinct. Before he could even explain, he quickly waved his wand, casting a counter-spell.
The spell shot through the air and slammed into my unknown spell with a loud thud and a blinding flash of white light. The air around us seemed to shake.
Lupin didn't even have a moment to breathe a sigh of relief for stopping a potential tragedy. The next second, a sudden dizzying sensation overwhelmed him. His ankle felt like it was being held in a vice by an invisible hand, and he instantly lost his balance.
With a whoosh, he was dangling upside down in midair. His hair fell to the ground, his robes flapped up, and the worn lining was exposed. Lupin felt all the blood rush to his head, and his vision swam. Before he could even react, a violent, tingling sensation shot through his wrist, and his fingers went numb. The wand dropped to the ground.
It was a Disarming Charm!
"Professor Lupin," my voice was calm and steady, with a hint of warning as I looked at him hanging upside down. "Considering your... condition, you're already a risk. Please be careful with your actions and don't do anything that makes me doubt your position."
As I spoke, I kept the `Leg-Locker Curse` on him. I also flicked my wand, and a well-aimed `Finite Incantatem` shot toward the side.
Just a second ago, Sirius Black had seen his chance and was getting ready to cast a spell. The spell was already forming on his tongue, and his wand was glowing slightly, but my `Finite Incantatem` was faster. It dissolved his spell before it could even form, like a stone dropped into water.
"Sectumsempra!"
My voice suddenly became sharp.
The invisible blade shot through the air before I'd even finished the word. It was much faster than the rhythm of my voice. In the blink of an eye, it was right in front of Sirius Black.
Sirius's pupils narrowed!
A gut feeling of mortal danger instantly grabbed him. He relied on years of combat instinct to swiftly dodge. He also frantically waved his wand, casting a hasty shield charm. Even so, he only managed to deflect the invisible blade slightly.
The next moment, there were a few loud crashes. Several large trees the size of bowls fell to the ground beside him. The cuts were smooth, like they'd been sliced through.
Sirius's back was instantly drenched in cold sweat. Before this, he hadn't even paid attention to this seemingly ordinary third-year student. Now he realized how big of a mistake he had made! A spell with this much power was not something a normal student could possibly control!
"Excellent work." Snape's cold eyes showed a hint of a smile. A ruthless and merciless strike. It was perfect for dealing with an idiot like Sirius!
Lupin, hanging upside down, was dizzy from the blood rushing to his head. When he heard the loud crashes and the trees falling, he became even more anxious. He twisted his body, trying to get a better look at what was happening below. He opened his mouth, not even bothering to think about what to say. The people in this scene had completely different information, so how was he supposed to explain any of this?
"Wait! Everyone, wait—please, just listen to me!"
Lupin's voice was hoarse with desperation. "There's more to what happened back then! Black isn't here to kill Harry! He really isn't!"
"Save your breath, Lupin," Snape said from the side, a cold smirk on his face. His eyes were full of undisguised sarcasm and satisfaction. He looked at Lupin, hanging upside down and looking humiliated, and his voice had a triumphant edge. "It looks like Azkaban's cells will have two more occupants tonight, won't they?"
He emphasized the word "two," his gaze flickering between Lupin and Sirius, clearly convinced they were working together.
"I can't wait to see Dumbledore's reaction when he finds out about all this. He always insisted that you were trustworthy... called you a 'gentle werewolf'... Hmph."
Snape's voice was icy, and his lips curled into a sneer. He slowly adjusted his cuffs, and his tone suddenly changed, with a pointed hint. "Oh, and I forgot to mention something. You didn't take your Wolfsbane Potion today, did you? Are you trying to use your identity to do something on purpose?"
Professor Lupin completely ignored Snape's cold sarcasm. All his attention was on me. He twisted his body desperately in the air. His hair hung messily, and his bloodshot eyes were fixed on my inverted figure. His voice, hoarse from the blood rushing to his head, rang out.
"Dylan! Dylan! You must have seen that person earlier, the one you took down!" He took a deep breath, speaking so fast his words blurred together. "He's Peter Pettigrew! Has Harry ever mentioned that name to you? He's a vile faker, an Animagus! You know what an Animagus is, right? With your intelligence, you must know what this means... Ugh—blub blub blub—ugh—"
He was cut off.
Lupin's eyes suddenly went wide. Without warning, a string of pink soap bubbles started bubbling out of his mouth. They gushed out, covering his chin, and he couldn't get another complete word out.
"Peter Pettigrew?"
I heard the name and frowned slightly, as if trying to remember. "Yes, there was a man with that name." I looked at Professor Snape, nodding calmly. "He tried to attack me earlier, but I already took him out."
Snape's brow furrowed into a tight knot. His sharp gaze lingered on my face for a few seconds before he looked away and spoke coldly. "No matter what the truth is, the priority is to take down this intruder first. We can question him later." As he spoke, his eyes swept over to Sirius Black, his wand still firmly pointed at him.
While I was talking to Snape, my right hand was still holding my wand, its tip steadily locked on Sirius Black, without a single tremor.
"That's perfect, Professor Snape. I happen to have some Veritaserum and other marvelous potions on me."
My words were calm, but they landed right in Snape's heart.
When he heard this, the corners of Snape's mouth curled up almost imperceptibly. A flicker of approval crossed his eyes, clearly pleased with the suggestion.
Sirius Black looked at the two of us. One with a cold expression, the other with a calm one, both with their wands pointed at him. A wave of panic rose in him. It wasn't that he was afraid of Snape, it was just that his current condition was terrible. Years of imprisonment in Azkaban had left him gaunt, practically skin and bones. His eyes were sunken, and his cheekbones protruded.
After escaping Azkaban, he had been constantly on the run from the Ministry of Magic. He hadn't had a proper meal or a peaceful night's sleep in ages. The best meal he'd had was a stale chicken leg, courtesy of Crookshanks.
He had already been struggling when he fought Peter Pettigrew. He was only able to hold his own because of his burning rage and a slightly superior skill in magic. Now, facing an attack from two people at once, he was completely out of his depth.
Snape was already a handful. But now there was also a student who had just taken down a professor! What was wrong with this kid? How could he be stronger than a professor like Lupin? And from what they were saying, was this kid the one who had also defeated Peter? This was too ridiculous!
"Should I stop them from fighting?"
Harry stood on the side, his brow deeply furrowed, his face full of conflict. He unconsciously gripped the hem of his robe. Although he and his friends had vaguely guessed there was more to the story of how his parents died, they had no idea what it was.
Ever since they had found Sirius, they hadn't had a chance to ask him anything. He had just grabbed Ron's wand and started fighting Peter Pettigrew, who had suddenly appeared. Everything had happened too fast and was too chaotic.