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"It really is Sirius Black! Quickly notify the Minister!"
The Ministry examiner, upon seeing the large black dog transform back into Sirius, immediately ordered others to use the Hogwarts fireplaces to notify the Minister to come as fast as possible, without even approaching closely.
Meanwhile, Dumbledore stepped forward and asked George:
"What's going on here? Why has Remus been captured as well?"
He wasn't surprised that George had subdued Sirius—after all, he knew George's true abilities. What puzzled him was why George had taken action against Lupin.
"Hmph, what's there to explain? Remus must have colluded with Sirius, which is why George went after him. No wonder Sirius managed to break into the school twice—it seems Remus let him in."
Snape watched with great satisfaction as Lupin, suspended upside-down in midair by a spell created by his prized student George, was incapacitated, while Sirius lay unconscious.
He recalled how those few had tormented him in the past, and now they were easily defeated by his own student, which gave him a sense of vindication.
Moreover, he had always opposed Dumbledore's decision to let the dangerous werewolf Lupin teach at the school and suspected Lupin of aiding Sirius Black's entry into Hogwarts.
But Dumbledore never believed him.
Seeing the current scene, Snape immediately knew his suspicions were correct.
"You misunderstand, Severus. Sirius did not come to the school to kill Harry."
Though Lupin could not move his body, he was still able to speak.
Before he could finish, George interrupted him:
"I'll explain it. Here's what happened."
In the simplest terms, George recounted the whole story from his perspective.
"It's all just lies made to deceive you children."
Due to his prejudice against Lupin and Sirius, Snape was clearly unwilling to believe their words.
The Ministry examiner felt the same:
"He's only trying to avoid blame. Please hand over Sirius Black to the Ministry for processing. And Professor Lupin here, for aiding Sirius's escape, is also guilty of shielding a fugitive and must be taken back for interrogation."
"Wait. If they were just trying to deceive us, then why bother explaining so much after confiscating their wands at the start? Why not act immediately? If Sirius's goal was to kill Harry, that would have been the perfect opportunity.
Besides, you don't know that George can perform magic without a wand."
The wise Dumbledore quickly identified the key point and stopped the Ministry examiners who were about to make an arrest.
Everyone fell silent, pondering his words, which indeed made a lot of sense.
"Actually, it's simple. We just need to find Scabbers and confirm if it's really Peter Pettigrew. That will immediately reveal who's lying."
George looked at Ron:
"Where's your Scabbers?"
"He bit me right after you flew off, then disappeared," Ron replied, scratching his head.
George nodded, unsurprised:
"That's okay. I'll see if I can find him."
With a wave of his hand, four sheets of differently colored paper floated into the air, forming a magical array.
"The Riddikulus Quadrant!"
"Is this George's tracking spell? He really is a genius."
The professors, stunned by George's new spell—something none of them could understand—immediately began praising him.
They had already been shocked several times hearing about how George had subdued Sirius and defeated Lupin without a wand.
"Found him! He's already out of the school, moving quickly westward."
After locating the little Sirius with the Riddikulus Quadrant, George told Dumbledore:
"If Scabbers really is Peter Pettigrew, once he escapes beyond the school's anti-Disapparition range, he'll disappear with a Disapparition spell, making him nearly impossible to find. If I fly there now, I might still catch him."
"Then it's up to you. Be careful."
Dumbledore nodded. Even if it really was Peter Pettigrew, he wouldn't stand a chance against George, so he wasn't worried about George's safety.
With Dumbledore's approval, George spread his wings and shot off like a sonic boom in the direction the little Sirius had fled.
Within Hogwarts' anti-Disapparition wards, the little Sirius couldn't use Disapparition magic. Without a flying broomstick or flight spells, he could only escape at a mouse's pace.
But as a mouse, his stealth was strong—once he got outside the castle, it would be very difficult for anyone to find him.
"It's fine. They won't find me. They can't catch me. Damn it, why did I have to run away? I was forced into this. I never wanted to kill James—I just wanted to survive."
Desperately fleeing away from the castle, he kept complaining in his mind.
Years ago, he'd been captured by the Dark Lord. The Dark Lord's power terrified him. Not wanting to die, he became his spy. Later, by accident, he became a secret keeper, and ended up causing the death of his best friend James.
To avoid being hunted down, he framed Sirius Black, faked his own death, and escaped. But fearing revenge from the Dark Lord's followers, he hid in the sewers as a rat.
Because he didn't want to sever all contact with the wizarding world, he wanted to keep track of the Dark Lord and the magical community to respond accordingly.
So he attached himself to the Weasley family, living as their pet for twelve years.
Originally, he planned to continue this way—living safely as a pet—but he never expected Sirius to break out of prison.
"Hey, Scabbers, where are you going?"
When he had already fled beyond the Black Lake, near Hogsmeade Station, just a thousand or two meters away from using Disapparition to escape, a familiar voice suddenly sounded in his ear.
"It's him. How did he find me so fast? Shouldn't he be after Sirius?"
Because George's new magic could track Sirius, it could also track him. So when he saw George locate Sirius's position with the new spell, he immediately decided to leave Hogwarts.
If Sirius got caught, the past would be exposed.
Though he believed no one would believe Sirius's words, if someone did—and if George used his tracking spell on him—he'd be finished.
He had thought catching Sirius wouldn't be easy, that George might even be counterattacked, and that the time was enough for him to escape.
He never expected George's speed to be this fast.
"Trying to bite me? Do you think you can?"
George grabbed Scabbers by the tail and lifted him up. Scabbers snapped his jaws, biting at George, but George didn't defend himself—he let him bite.
An Animagus in rat form was stronger than an ordinary rat, but only to a point.
With George's current physical condition, even if Scabbers bit hard enough to break his teeth, he couldn't pierce George's skin.
(End of chapter)