"Mmph... mmm-mmm-mmm!!"
Harry clutched his throat, unable to utter even a single coherent word. Furious, he raised his wand and aimed it at Sirius Black, whom he currently considered most likely to have cursed him.
Sirius: ...
Unfortunately, Harry hadn't mastered nonverbal spellcasting. Under his desperate attempts to cast magic, his wand barely managed to produce sparkler-like sparks.
Harry: ...
Glenn quietly raised his wand and cast the Binding Curse. Rope expanded in the wind, swiftly and flexibly coiling around Harry from behind, securing his hands, feet, and entire body.
Harry: ?!
It's over—there really is a traitor inside Hogwarts!
But don't forget where you are!
How dare you do such a thing in Professor Dumbledore's office?!
Harry finally remembered his location. He turned pleading eyes toward Dumbledore, only to be shocked when the old man—who should have been raising his wand with stern determination to cast powerful magic subduing this accomplice of Sirius Black—was instead holding his forehead helplessly, showing no intention of rescuing him.
Harry: ????
"Glenn, doing this is still somewhat—"
"Almost forgot about the other one."
Hermione seemed to remember something, suddenly speaking up while tapping her small fist against her palm. Then, like Glenn, she drew her wand and pointed it at Ron, who was currently sprawled unconscious on the floor in an awkward position, casting the counter-curse to the Stunning Spell.
White light struck its target. Ron twitched and slowly regained consciousness, gradually opening his eyes. He grimaced, touching his forehead before clutching the back of his head, uncertain which spot needed attention.
"What happened to me... why do both my forehead and the back of my head hurt so much..."
He muttered while sitting up, then spotted Harry bound tightly with ropes. Suddenly shuddering, he whipped around to see Glenn and Hermione looking down at him imperiously.
I remember now!
"Ah! You two—"
As if replaying the scene from moments before, Ron was about to voice something in terror and fury when he discovered he couldn't speak. But unlike Harry's experience, before he could even react or reach for his wand, a thick rope flew straight at him, instantly binding him like a pretzel.
The force of Hermione'sBinding Curse was so intense that the trussed Ron toppled over with a thud onto Harry, knocking him down as well. It was difficult to say the girl wasn't secretly venting her frustration at everything going wrong.
As they say, "Even a clay Buddha has three parts anger"—how much more so for little Hermione, who possessed a fiery temperament and certainly wasn't made of clay?
"Ron stubbornly insisted Scabbers' disappearance was related to Crookshanks. He absolutely refused to listen to my suggestion to ask you directly, and kept bothering me while I was studying. So I decided to forcibly bring him here to have you tell him the truth directly."
Hermione pointed at Ron sprawled on the floor, resembling a student tattling to the teacher, her expression radiating righteous indignation.
"That was me."
Glenn corrected Hermione's account.
"Same difference."
Hermione immediately retorted.
"Fine."
Glenn fell silent.
"Then Harry also joined Ron in making baseless accusations against me initially. Later, when we were taking Ron away, he tried to stop us. I thought he should also know about Sirius, so I took it upon myself to bring him along too. You won't blame me, will you?"
Hermione's index finger shifted slightly to indicate Harry, who was pinned beneath Ron. Her large, luminous brown eyes stared directly at Dumbledore.
Hermione: Stare.
Dumbledore didn't know whether to laugh or cry, his smile transforming into something more rueful.
"I had originally planned to tell Harry and Ron about this matter, though I hadn't expected the opportunity to arrive so quickly. So I won't blame you, Hermione."
Dumbledore then shifted his gaze to Harry and Ron. Seeing that both boys had calmed somewhat after his words, he nodded and extended his right hand with a gentle gesture. Invisible force lifted both boys from the floor.
"The situation is exactly as Hermione described. What you know and believe is... slightly different from reality. I will tell you everything you wish to know. Now I'll help you remove the spells affecting you, and I hope you can patiently listen while I explain the entire truth. I ask that you not interrupt me."
Faced with Dumbledore's gentle words, Harry and Ron exchanged glances and nodded silently.
"Very good."
Dumbledore waved his hand. The ropes that had been binding Harry and Ron vanished, and their tongues—which had been adhered to the roofs of their mouths—were freed from the spell's control and could move again.
Just then, the headmaster's office door was suddenly knocked upon. Dumbledore had to pause the words that had reached his lips and glanced at the monitoring device in his hand.
"Please enter."
The wooden door opened in response. The visitor was Professor Lupin, carrying several vividly colored potions.
Lupin was obviously somewhat surprised by the sudden presence of three or four young wizards in the headmaster's office. Then, catching the indication in Dumbledore's eyes, he asked no questions. He quietly murmured "excuse me" to Glenn and Hermione, who were standing in the narrow passage before the office door. After both stepped aside, he walked directly toward Sirius lying on the hospital bed.
"Sirius, here—drink this one first."
Lupin rummaged through his collection and extracted a particularly revolting-looking potion—though actually, every potion in his hands appeared disgusting—and handed it to Sirius.
"...Thanks, Remus..."
Sirius lying on the bed smiled at Professor Lupin, then grimaced as his facial muscles pulled at his wounds. Regardless, it was clear to observers that these two men were acquainted.
"Honestly, I really don't want to drink potions brewed by that bastard."
"But this will help you recover faster."
"...True, though I still have no bloody idea where all these injuries came from."
This scene of old friends conversing left Harry and Ron completely stunned.
What the hell—even Professor Lupin has connections with Sirius Black?!
And they appear quite familiar with each other?
Bloody hell, what else don't we know?
Witnessing the undisguised astonishment and shock on both their faces, Hermione couldn't suppress her laughter, her words dripping with mockery:
"There's still plenty you two don't know. Just listen carefully to what Professor Dumbledore tells you next."
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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