Lupin never saw it coming. He hadn't expected to be tailed, and he made no move for his wand. Harry's spell caught him square in the chest, hurling him backward through the air.
Sirius reacted on instinct, lunging at the intruder. It wasn't until they both crashed to the floor that he realized it was Harry pinned beneath him. Their eyes locked—Harry's burning with raw hatred, Sirius's filled with a haunted mix of regret and relief.
"I'll kill you!" Harry's voice cracked as his eyes turned bloodshot. He flipped Sirius over in a surge of fury, straddling him and clamping both hands around his throat.
Sirius didn't fight back. A bitter laugh escaped his lips instead. "Hahaha... So you're going to finish it, Harry? You have no idea how many nights I've dreamed of this exact moment."
Harry's free hand snatched his wand from the floor, jamming it against Sirius's temple. He was seconds from pulling the trigger when—
"Expelliarmus!"
Lupin, scrambling to his feet, disarmed Harry at the last second. The wand skittered across the dusty boards.
"Moony, stop him!" Sirius rasped, still not resisting. His teeth were yellowed and stained, his matted beard and wild hair framing a face gaunt from years in Azkaban. The once-proud heir of the Black family was gone, replaced by a ragged shell of a man.
"Harry, calm down!" Lupin urged, edging closer. "It's not what you think!"
But Harry, consumed by rage, wouldn't hear it. He snatched up his wand and whirled on Lupin. "I trusted you! You were supposed to be my parents' friend—my only ally in this world!"
He fired a wild curse, forcing Lupin to dodge. "But you lied! You're his accomplice—the traitor who got my parents killed!"
Lupin deflected the spell without retaliating, his face etched with pain. He couldn't risk hurting Harry. That restraint only fueled Harry's anger further. "Fight back, you coward! Aren't you the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor?!"
"Harry, it's more complicated than that," Lupin pleaded, dodging another blast. "Let me explain!"
One of them was lost to grief and vengeance, deaf to reason. The other was unraveling, his mind frayed from twelve years in Azkaban. Sirius had come here seeking revenge, but seeing Harry's face had shattered him—he'd rather die than face more betrayal.
"Enough talk, Remus," Sirius growled, his voice unstable, eyes wild. The prison had twisted him; without Azkaban's constant torment, he could pass for sane, but this? This dragged every buried memory to the surface. "Just kill me and be done with it!"
"Padfoot, wait—we can't—"
"I've waited long enough!" Sirius surged to his feet, roaring at Lupin. "Twelve years in that hellhole! How much longer do you want me to suffer?!"
Lupin parried Harry's latest curse while trying to soothe his old friend. "We have to kill him, but... Harry deserves the truth first!"
"The truth?" Harry spat, chest heaving. "I know the truth. You betrayed my parents, Black. You murdered them!"
"No, Harry!" Lupin shouted, blocking another spell and sending Harry stumbling back. "Someone did betray James and Lily—but it wasn't Sirius. It was someone we thought was dead!"
Harry's laugh was bitter, mocking. He didn't believe a word. Lupin had deceived him too often; trust was shattered.
"Peter Pettigrew!" Sirius bellowed suddenly, his voice echoing off the walls. "He sold them out!"
"Peter! Peter, I know you're here! Show yourself!"
"Come out, you rat! Come out and face me!"
He dissolved into manic laughter. "Ha ha ha..."
"Madman!" Harry snarled, raising his wand anew, stance shifting to full combat readiness.
Outside the Shrieking Shack, Argus Filch paused, senses prickling. Beyond his own tracks, he spotted signs of others. One set matched Snape's deliberate stride... the other was unfamiliar, cautious. Had they noticed him? He melted deeper into the shadows, moving with predatory silence.
Inside, the argument teetered on the edge of violence when a curse blasted through the door.
"Expelliarmus!"
The spell hit like a battering ram, slamming Lupin into the far wall and splintering the wood. Far stronger than Harry's attempt—it was surgical, lethal.
"It's you," Snape drawled, striding through the doorway. His lips curled in a rare, vicious smile. "Long time no see, Azkaban's most notorious fugitive. Revenge feels exquisite."
Harry blinked in shock, then relief flooded his face. Snape might despise him, but the man was still a Hogwarts professor. He wouldn't let this madness continue. Snape was the only one here he could count on.
Snape ignored Harry entirely, his dark eyes fixed on Lupin, who groaned amid the debris. "I warned Dumbledore you were aiding a criminal. Now I've caught you both red-handed."
He faced them alone, yet his presence dominated the room, wand steady as he suppressed any counterattack from Sirius or Lupin.
"Impressive as always, Snivellus," Sirius sneered, the old nickname dripping with venom. "Finally soothing that fragile ego of yours? Moony and I have business—unless you want to swing with us on the old playground."
"I'll pass," Snape hissed. "Expelliarmus!"
Sirius's taunt had done its job—Snape's curse was a hair from fatal, sending Sirius sprawling. Snape advanced slowly, pressing his wand to Sirius's forehead. "Do you know how long I've waited for this?"
"Severus, don't!" Lupin coughed, hauling himself free of the wreckage, blood flecking his lips. He knew the depths of Snape's grudge; without intervention, Sirius wouldn't leave this shack alive.
But Sirius just grinned defiantly through the pain. "Can't do it, can you, Snivellus? All bark."
"Shut up, Sirius!" Lupin snapped, desperation creeping in. "Say less—calm down!"
"Listen to you two," Snape mocked, "bickering like a married couple. Why don't you crawl back to your potions and leave the real work to me?"
"I could end you anytime," Sirius shot back. "You know it."
Snape's eyes gleamed with cold intent. "Let me think... The Dementors in Hogsmeade—they must be starving for compan
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y. Shall we see what a Dementor's Kiss feels like ?"