"Calm down!"
Faced with the uninvited intruder, Daphne reacted instantly. She whipped out her wand, ready to cast a spell at the black dog in front of her. But Rhys was even faster—before Daphne could get her incantation out, he raised his hand and pressed her wand down.
Sirius, who had just crawled through the Whomping Willow's tunnel, was stunned.
Moments ago, he had been lying under the tree, lost in memories of earlier years, when he suddenly saw Rhys's head flicker beneath the Whomping Willow and then vanish.
Though he had no idea why Rhys was here, he knew that the Whomping Willow was a dangerous opponent unless one understood its nature. Concerned for Rhys's safety, Sirius had acted immediately, using his agility to strike the knot on the tree and paralyze it, then dashing into the hollow beneath the roots.
But once inside, he froze in shock—he hadn't expected there to be a strange girl following right behind Rhys!
Now he felt utterly awkward.
Staying in dog form risked misunderstanding, but reverting to human form was completely out of the question. For a moment, Sirius just stood there stiffly—until Rhys stepped in to defuse the situation.
"Don't be afraid, Daphne. He's one of us.. calm down and put your wand away. And don't worry, Sirius, she's one of us."
Daphne nodded and tucked her wand back into her pocket.
Once she lowered her guard, Rhys turned to Sirius and told him not to worry—Daphne was trustworthy.
Daphne: "?!"
Had she heard correctly? Rhys had just called the big black dog Sirius?!
Could it be—
The very next second, her suspicion was confirmed. The large black dog transformed into a roguishly handsome middle-aged man.
Daphne blinked rapidly. From his facial structure and features, he really did resemble the face plastered across the wanted posters of Sirius Black.
"Let me introduce you. This is Sirius Black. And this is Daphne Greengrass."
Sirius and Daphne both felt a little uneasy facing a "stranger," but with Rhys bridging the gap between them, they still managed to shake hands calmly.
Once the handshake was done, the cramped tunnel fell into an awkward silence.
After a while, both of them spoke at the same time—
"Rhys—"
"Lint—"
They exchanged a glance, then both fell silent again.
Rhys felt it best to step in and offer some explanation.
"As you can see, Sirius is an Animagus, just like the rat we bought off Ron before. By the way, that rat—Scabbers—is actually Peter Pettigrew."
That single sentence was enough to crash Daphne's brain.
It took her quite a while before she could even process what had just been said.
"It's a complicated story, but the gist of it is that Sirius is actually innocent. The real criminal is Peter Pettigrew, who was even posthumously awarded the Order of Merlin, First Class."
Daphne struggled to digest the news. The complete reversal of roles between villain and hero was almost too incredible to believe.
"That's right. When I saw that Peter was still alive in Azkaban, I did everything I could to escape, just so I could make that rat pay the price." After saying this, Sirius nervously glanced at the young girl's expression.
Fortunately, judging by her look, she seemed to believe what he said.
"So, where do you usually live? Do you actually live here?" Daphne pointed behind her, in the direction of the Shrieking Shack.
"I usually stay in the Forbidden Forest and occasionally freeload meals at Hagrid's place." Sirius licked his lips. Hagrid might have a habit of throwing all sorts of odd things into his cooking, but overall the taste wasn't bad, and the portions were generous.
After mooching meals there for over a month, he felt he'd fully replenished all the strength he'd lost in Azkaban.
"I should be asking you two—how did you end up here?" After explaining his own situation, Sirius started probing how they had appeared in this place.
"I heard the Shrieking Shack was haunted, so I went in to check it out. Then I found a secret passage inside, and it led me here."
After hearing Rhys's explanation, Sirius laughed and told him not to take the haunted house rumors seriously. The place had originally been used by the school to give a werewolf student somewhere to endure his transformations during the full moon. Those so-called "Horrifying ghostly wails" were actually the howls of a werewolf in pain.
But to protect his friend's privacy, Sirius very deliberately left out Lupin's name, not mentioning that the student in question had been him.
"You see? A perfectly ordinary matter, repeated a few times outside, turns into some kind of ghost story." Rhys looked at Daphne with a smile. "Don't believe every rumor you hear."
"All right, let's hurry to Honeydukes, shall we? I still want to buy some new candies." In Rhys's eyes, the matter of the Shrieking Shack had now been settled, and it was time to return to the day's real purpose.
"Of course." Now that she knew the truth behind the Shrieking Shack, Daphne found it rather ridiculous. Once the mystery had been stripped away, the fear surrounding it completely vanished. She only wanted to leave this boring place as soon as possible.
Sirius looked at the two of them, hesitating. He also wanted to go to Hogsmeade—not for the shopping, but on the off chance of spotting Harry. He knew Harry technically wasn't allowed into Hogsmeade, but he suspected James's son wouldn't let rules hold him back.
"I think you can come with us to Hogsmeade—if you're willing to wear something like this." Rhys casually conjured a collar.
Sirius fell silent for a moment, then shifted back into his black dog form, silently allowing Rhys to slip the collar onto him.
The two of them, along with the "dog," returned to Hogsmeade Village. By now the streets were already crowded with people. Rhys was just about to head for Honeydukes to shop to his heart's content when suddenly the door of a shop by the roadside swung open.
"Thank you, come again!"
With the shopkeeper's farewell, a young man with flaming red hair, clutching a package in his arms, stepped out. Rhys immediately recognized him—it was Percy Weasley.
"Hey, Percy!" he called out.
"Whoa—ah—it's Lint, hello!" Percy was startled, his cheeks flushing red as he hurriedly stuffed the package tighter into his arms.
"First time in Hogsmeade, right? Quite lively here, isn't it? You absolutely must check out Honeydukes and Zonko's Joke Shop. I've got something to do, so I'll be off!" Percy rattled off in a rush, then bolted away as if fleeing the scene.
Rhys narrowed his eyes. His instincts told him Percy was definitely up to something shady.
He glanced at the shop Percy had just exited—it was a small store that sold potion ingredients and ready-made potions. Without hesitation, he pushed the door open and stepped inside.
The shopkeeper was tidying up when he noticed Rhys walk in with a pretty young girl following behind him... Rich customers! His eyes immediately lit up.
"Please, come in! Our shop specializes in all sorts of potions and potion ingredients. We can absolutely provide you with whatever you're looking for."
Rhys's gaze fell on the small vial of potion the shopkeeper was holding.
Seeing this, the shopkeeper gave him a knowing smile.
"Here, please—these potions are sold as sets. They can create a more delightful atmosphere, last longer, and are perfectly safe…" As he spoke, the shopkeeper placed several small potion-filled bottles one by one on the counter.
Rhys instantly understood Hogwarts' reasoning: students' comings and goings into Hogsmeade really did need to be restricted!
How could Hogsmeade shops even be selling this kind of stuff now?!
_______
Read 12 Chapters ahead:
Patreon: HornyFBI