A few thick iron chains materialized out of thin air with a clatter, binding Sirius Black tightly. The links wrapped and held, leaving him unable to move, his hands and feet shackled, suspended in mid-air.
But that was clearly not enough.
Dylan stepped forward, his wand held steady and pointed at a dazed and utterly drained Sirius Black, whose eyes were fixed blankly ahead. He began to chant a long and obscure incantation.
It was an anti-Animagus spell, a spell that was rarely used. So rarely, in fact, that Dylan had barely practiced it after learning it from Professor Flitwick. However, thanks to the honed instincts he had gained from completing achievements, he finished the incantation and the proper wand movements without a single mistake.
The spell landed on Sirius with perfect accuracy.
With that done, Dylan flicked his wrist, his wand a blur in the air, releasing Professor Lupin, who had been hanging upside down, his face a swollen red. Lupin stumbled as he landed, steadying himself against a nearby tree trunk, and rubbed his aching temples.
"Professor, should we interrogate them here?" Dylan turned to Professor Snape, pulling a small glass vial of Veritaserum from his bag.
"...No." Snape's brow was deeply furrowed. After a moment of silence, he rejected the tempting offer. The events of that night were his own business, and he was, in a way, complicit. After all, if he hadn't told the prophecy to Voldemort... In any case, this was a matter for Dumbledore. He had no interest in repeating the story he was about to hear.
"Oh, and Peter Pettigrew..." Dylan said, waving his wand in a casual, almost dismissive gesture.
In the distance, Peter Pettigrew was lifted from the ground by an invisible force, drifting toward them. He was followed by Seeker, the creature Dylan had instructed to watch him.
"Good boy, Seeker. You did so well," Dylan said, reaching out to stroke the beast's neck and smooth its fur. He took a strip of meat from his bag and held it out. Seeker took it and began to chew happily. "Go on home now. I'll come see you again in a few days," Dylan said softly.
Snape's gaze swept over the three figures lying on the ground. One was completely spent, staring vacantly at the sky, barely able to blink. Another had just been released from an upside-down spell, his head pounding, his vision blurry, and his chin still covered in pink soap bubbles, looking dishevelled and ridiculous. The third, with the worst injuries, was unconscious, covered in blood and scorch marks, his breathing so shallow that his chest barely rose.
"What a long-awaited 'reunion'..." Snape's voice was laced with undisguised mockery, a cold sneer on his face. He flicked his wand, and the three bodies floated into the air in the same positions as when they had fallen, like three soulless puppets.
With that, he strode over to Harry, Ron, and Hermione, his black robes slicing through the air. "Follow me," he said, his eyes narrowing like a snake's as he fixed his gaze on Harry. His voice was as cold as the Forbidden Forest at night. "I'm sure Professor Dumbledore will be delighted to hear about your evening."
He straightened his robes and turned to walk toward the castle. The three floating bodies followed him slowly, like heavy objects on an invisible string.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione exchanged glances. No one dared to speak or move until Dylan, having bid Seeker farewell, turned and walked toward them. It was as if they had found their center. They fell into step with Dylan, walking side-by-side toward the castle. The wind rustled through the leaves, making their silent procession even more pronounced.
"Dylan, you just..." Harry's lips moved, but he didn't know how to start. A tangled mess of thoughts was stuck in his throat, and he couldn't figure out where to begin. He knew Dylan could perform divination, so when Dylan had said they had to take down Sirius first, Harry's heart had ached. He was sure Dylan had seen a future where Sirius was finally judged and that's why he made that choice. But after hearing Dylan's words about "disturbing a nice dream" just before he acted, Harry realized that even if Sirius was a good person, he wouldn't have escaped a beating tonight.
So, the most important thing for him to know was...
"Dylan, how could you attack a professor?" Hermione's voice cut in, stopping Harry's hesitant question. She spoke in a hushed whisper, glancing back at Professor Lupin, who was floating behind them with Snape, a look of concern and confusion in her eyes.
"Ah, Hermione, look," Dylan said, his voice calm. "The moon is very bright tonight, isn't it?"
"What? Oh... yes, the moon is—" Hermione didn't understand. She paused, then followed his lead. But halfway through her sentence, she stopped. Her eyes widened, as if a crucial thought had just occurred to her. A look of dawning realization crossed her face.
"Of course! It's a full moon! Professor Snape said before that Professor Lupin hadn't taken his Wolfsbane Potion tonight!" she said, her voice quick and nervous.
"But... the Wolfsbane Potion? What's that?" Ron timidly raised his hand, his other hand clutching the wand he had just retrieved from the bushes. He was clearly still shaken.
"It's a new potion that was just recently invented to stop werewolves from transforming. Don't you ever read the Daily Prophet?" Hermione asked, looking at Ron with a face that clearly said, "How can you not know this?"
Harry and Ron looked at each other, a silent, awkward understanding passing between them. They were both a little embarrassed, and the subject of "attacking a professor" was forgotten.
Inside the Headmaster's office, the air was so thick with tension you could cut it with a knife. The portraits of the past Headmasters were silent, their eyes fixed on the center of the room.
Professor Dumbledore sat at his desk, his fingers gently laced together. His deep-set eyes looked over his half-moon spectacles at the figure bound to a chair: Peter Pettigrew. He was huddled in the chair, trembling like a leaf, his head bowed, unable to make eye contact with anyone.
To Dumbledore's left, Sirius Black stood quietly. Though he still looked exhausted and pale, he was in much better shape than before, his chains long gone. He was leaning forward slightly, his voice low, as he recounted the story of how he had changed the Secret Keeper and how it led to that irreversible tragedy. With every word, his clenched fists tightened, his eyes filled with years of pain and anger.
To the right of the desk, Professor Snape stood with his arms crossed, his black robes draped like shadows. His face was emotionless, but his jaw was clenched tight. He looked at Sirius with a cold, piercing gaze, then at the trembling Peter, his contempt plain to see.
Beside him, Dylan was much calmer, his hands at his sides, his eyes clear. He looked like an innocent bystander, listening to everything. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had been in the office earlier, but Professor Dumbledore had sent them away after a brief explanation. They were clearly not the focus tonight. Ron and Hermione looked at each other and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Good thing Gryffindor didn't lose any points," they whispered to each other as they hurried out of the office. Only Harry had insisted on staying and had been allowed to remain. Now he stood a little way back, holding his breath as he listened to Sirius's story, his eyes filled with confusion, eagerness, and a deep need to understand. This was the truth of his parents' death, the truth of his past. The more he listened, the more a strange anger burned in his heart. His hands were clenched so tight that his nails were digging into his palms. His eyes, like fiery daggers, were fixed on the unconscious Peter Pettigrew, his chest heaving with an unstoppable rage. By the look of him, he was ready to pull out his wand or throw a punch to vent his fury.
As for Lupin, he was not part of the conversation. And why not...
"I think I understand the gist of what happened," Professor Dumbledore said after Sirius's account. He slowly blinked, his clasped hands moving slightly. "But we can put those details aside for now." He looked around the room, his gaze finally settling on two particularly prominent figures. His voice was calm but held an undeniable sense of inquiry. "Perhaps someone can explain... why are these two in their current state?"
The two "beings" Dumbledore was referring to were the limp form of Peter Pettigrew in the chair and a giant block of ice in the corner. The block of ice was remarkably clear, with sharp edges. Through the icy surface, you could clearly see Lupin. His mouth was slightly open, and a stream of tiny bubbles was frozen around his lips. Clearly, they hadn't had time to dissipate before he was frozen solid.
"Why is our professor blowing bubbles in a block of ice?" Dumbledore asked, sounding genuinely confused.
Sirius Black's face instantly shifted to a look of complex emotion, a mix of embarrassment and resignation. He unconsciously turned his head to look at Dylan. Dumbledore followed his gaze.
"Ah, yes, Mr. Hawkwood," he said gently, with a hint of curiosity. "I haven't asked you yet, why were you there?"
"Professor Dumbledore, it's like this," Dylan said calmly, meeting Dumbledore's gaze. "Because of what happened with Buckbeak—you were there today, you saw it all—I was a bit worried, so I went to the Forbidden Forest to find Seeker." He paused. "Seeker is a Hippogriff I met in Care of Magical Creatures. We're friends."
"I was worried that today's events might have made him uneasy. What if he got sick or got into a fight with another creature? So I wanted to check on him. I'm sure you can understand the feeling of being worried about a friend, Professor?"
"Oh, of course." Dumbledore's smile was still warm, his eyes twinkling with approval. "Rules are important, but there are some things more valuable than strictly following them, and true friendship is one of them." He nodded gently, his mind seeming to wander far away. "Ah, that reminds me of my own time as a student, when I also rushed to help a friend... But let's not get into that. What happened next?"
"Later, while Seeker and I were having dinner in a clearing, this man and Professor Lupin came out of the bushes," Dylan said, pointing to the lifeless form of Peter Pettigrew. "He was a complete stranger I had never seen in the castle, and as soon as he appeared, he cast a Blasting Curse at me without hesitation. My goodness, I was petrified."
Dylan's voice was flat, and he patted his chest without a hint of emotion. Snape's mouth twitched slightly. Sirius looked at the young boy with a complicated expression.
"Faced with such a sudden attack, I couldn't just stand there and do nothing, so I disarmed him and returned the favour with a Blasting Curse of my own. I did, of course, control the power to only temporarily incapacitate him." He continued to state the facts. "After that, Professor Lupin and I were just about to talk when we heard the sound of a struggle and spells clashing in the distance. I thought some unknown people had broken into the school, so Professor Lupin and I went to check it out."