Sherlock turned his head to look at the wary Lupin but didn't speak immediately.
Lupin raised a furry finger to him, signalling him not to speak for the time being.
The two wolf ears on his head twitched slightly, as though he were listening for the direction of a sound.
He then cautiously beckoned to Sherlock, signalling him to follow carefully.
The movements of both men became subtle. They crept towards the left-rear, and after walking about a dozen steps, Sherlock also heard a faint, gentle snoring sound.
Lupin stopped, and Sherlock held his position. They looked towards the source of the snoring. A large black dog was lying there, fast asleep!
Both of them held their breath and glanced at each other, seeing confirmation in each other's eyes.
This black dog was Sirius Black!
The moment Sherlock saw Black, he quietly pulled a cloth bag from his pocket. Reaching inside, he took out five or six wands and tossed them beside him. The wands hovered in mid-air.
Lupin stared at Sherlock's actions in dumbfounded amazement. If this hadn't been such a critical moment, he would have thought Sherlock was showing off his wealth.
Sherlock paid no attention to whether Lupin understood and continued taking out more wands.
The first batch had already spread out silently. The maximum range of Control Magic was about ten metres.
They were roughly ten metres away from Black. Dozens of wands had already flown stealthily to hover directly above him, every tip aimed at his body.
At that moment, the sleeping Black suddenly twitched his dog ears alertly. He sniffed the air and abruptly opened his eyes!
Sherlock's and Lupin's gazes met his exactly!
In an instant, Black realised something was wrong. He sensed that this was no chance encounter; the man and the werewolf had come specifically for him!
Panic flashed across his eyes. He scrambled to his feet with astonishing speed, his four legs pushing off the ground as he tried to flee into the depths of the Forbidden Forest!
Lupin roared at the same time, charging towards Black on all fours at a wild gallop!
Sherlock didn't move, but the dozens of wands that had already surrounded Black began moving in perfect rhythm.
From every direction, countless bushes suddenly vanished, and hundreds of vines slithered across the ground like snakes, completely surrounding Black before he had even run a few metres!
Finally, under Black's desperate gaze, the vines wrapped around his body, cocooning him completely and leaving only his dog's head exposed!
Seeing Black captured by Sherlock, Lupin didn't stop charging. He slammed headfirst into Black's face, leaving him bruised and bloodied!
The sun in the east had slowly risen, and the morning glow filled half the sky, but the man, the werewolf, and the dog had no mood to appreciate the beautiful scenery.
As the moon set, the werewolf traits on Lupin's body gradually faded away. His human face returned. That dishevelled face was exceptionally pale, but the hatred in his eyes had not diminished in the slightest.
Lupin glared fixedly at Black's bloodied face.
"Transform back."
Sherlock loosened the vines around Black just enough.
The black dog transformed into a man with black hair, deep grey eyes, and a tall but extremely gaunt frame.
The moment Lupin saw Black's face, he couldn't restrain himself. He swung his fist again, striking Black hard across the face.
"You killed James and Lily!"
Blood trickled from Black's mouth and nose as he replied hoarsely,
"I don't deny that."
"Peter was blown apart by your curse, leaving only a finger!"
Lupin didn't throw another punch. The first one had allowed him to vent enough anger to regain his composure, but his interrogation was far from over.
"No! Peter isn't dead!"
At that moment, Black suddenly became emotional, struggling violently.
"I don't deny that I caused James and Lily's deaths! But I wasn't the traitor! Listen to me, Lupin..."
However, before he could finish speaking, Sherlock tightened the vines around him.
"Save your words for the Dementors. Or perhaps they won't even listen to your explanation before giving you the Kiss."
Sherlock knew the common trope that villains died because they talked too much, and he didn't want any unnecessary complications at the last moment.
Seeing that Sherlock wasn't bluffing and truly intended to hand him over to the Dementors, Black became completely frantic!
"I'm not lying! If I were really the traitor, if I truly wanted to kill Harry, I had the chance twice before, but I didn't! Since escaping from Azkaban, I haven't harmed anyone! James's death is connected to me—I am guilty! But the one who betrayed him truly wasn't me! I didn't resist when I was arrested because I wanted to punish myself for my sins!"
He poured everything out in one breath.
Sherlock stopped walking.
Lupin exchanged a glance with him, and Sherlock said hesitantly,
"How about we hear what he has to say first?"
Lupin had been thinking the same thing. From Black's words alone, he could already tell there might be more to what had happened back then.
Sherlock didn't release Black; instead, he tightened the bindings even further.
The two of them stood over Black as he lay tied up on the ground.
Lupin said coldly,
"We'll give you a chance to explain."
Black clearly treasured this opportunity.
He knew very well that if he were handed over to the Dementors, there was a ninety-nine percent chance he would receive the Dementor's Kiss and have his soul sucked away.
He wasn't afraid of death. What he feared was that, if he died, no one would ever know that Peter was the real traitor.
"After the prophecy about Lord Voldemort's defeat spread, James had already decided to go into hiding," Black said, trying his best to steady his ragged breathing as he explained to Lupin and Sherlock. "When choosing the Secret Keeper for the Fidelius Charm, he originally wanted me."
"But I thought I was being clever. I suggested announcing to everyone that I was the Secret Keeper, while secretly making that bastard Peter Pettigrew the real one. That way, Lord Voldemort would focus all his attention on me and never suspect who truly held the secret."
"But I never imagined my so-called brilliant plan would kill James and Lily! Peter was the traitor! The moment he became the Secret Keeper, he immediately revealed everything to his master!"
"Lord Voldemort later killed James and Lily! When I found out, I went mad trying to hunt Peter down for revenge. I cornered him in a dead-end street where he couldn't escape. In front of an entire street full of people, he shouted that I had betrayed the Potters, then cast a powerful Blasting Curse!"
"He blew up all the Muggles on that street, leaving behind only one of his fingers!"
"I thought he was dead, so I didn't resist. I accepted the Ministry of Magic's arrest because I wanted to spend the rest of my life in Azkaban paying for my mistake. But it wasn't until last year that I discovered Peter was alive! He's been hiding right beside Harry all this time!"
"That's why I had to escape from prison. I have to kill Peter! I have to kill him with my own hands!"
Black roared, his hatred seeming ready to burst from his throat.
Sherlock listened to the entire account with a frown. He asked only one question.
"What is Peter's Animagus form?"
"A rat!" Black said through gritted teeth. "He must have escaped beneath my nose by transforming back then. He fooled me twice!"
Hearing this, Sherlock felt that Black was most likely telling the truth.
From his memory, one of the strongest impressions of this school year was that the real culprit transformed into a rat and escaped.
Lupin was also beginning to believe Black's story.
They had grown up together, so he naturally knew Black's character. He had always found it impossible to believe that Black would betray James. With this explanation, everything finally made sense.
But Sherlock still wasn't prepared to release Black immediately.
He reached into his pocket and produced a small vial of potion.
"Will you still swear everything you've said is true after drinking Veritaserum?"
Black answered without hesitation,
"No problem!"
Lupin looked at Sherlock in surprise.
Veritaserum was a tightly controlled substance in the Wizarding World. Apart from the Ministry of Magic and a handful of qualified Potions Masters, ordinary people had no way of obtaining it.
Sherlock walked over to Black and held out the potion.
Without the slightest hesitation, Sirius opened his mouth and drank the entire vial.
Afterwards, Lupin and Black waited for the Veritaserum to take effect.
However, not only did Black show no signs of becoming dazed, but the injuries on his face from Lupin's punches began healing rapidly.
Both of them stared at Sherlock in shock.
Sherlock shrugged.
"Sorry. I don't have the means to obtain Veritaserum yet, so what I gave you was simply a healing potion. If you hadn't dared to drink it, I would have taken you straight to the Dementors. Since you did, I believe you're telling the truth, and this potion might as well help your injuries."
As he spoke, he released the Transfiguration, allowing Black to move freely again.
Lupin extended a hand towards Sirius.
"So you suspected I was the spy back then. That's why you never told me about the change in plans?"
Sirius clasped Lupin's hand and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet.
"Forgive me, Lupin. I never imagined that cowardly Peter would betray us."
"It's alright, my old friend. I've misunderstood you all these years as well. We're even."
The two embraced like long-lost friends.
Watching them, Sherlock couldn't help reminding them,
"I think reminiscing can wait. There's still one important question we haven't resolved."
Sirius released Lupin and turned to Sherlock. He looked him over before extending his hand.
"We've met several times now, but I still don't know your name."
Sherlock shook his hand.
"Sherlock Cavendish, the current Defence Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts. I also want to thank you for helping Hilke and me before."
After the brief introductions, they turned to the matter at hand.
"Since Peter is the real traitor and has been hiding with the Weasley family as their pet, then he must already know you've escaped from prison to hunt him down," Sherlock said calmly.
At the mention of Peter's name, Sirius couldn't help gritting his teeth.
"Of course he knows I've come for him. I've broken into the Gryffindor Common Room twice. The first time I didn't find him there. By the second time, he had already faked his death and escaped from that boy's side."
Sherlock also knew something about Ron's rat, Scabbers.
"A few days ago, I ran into Harry and Ron's friend. Hermione was crying alone in a classroom, saying her cat had eaten Ron's pet rat, and the two of them had fallen out over it."
"No, it didn't!" Sirius said immediately. "That girl's cat is the cleverest cat I've ever seen. I earned its trust and asked it to help me catch Peter, but Peter faked his death a second time, trying to escape again with the same old trick!"