"Harry... Potter, the resemblance is uncanny... especially those eyes..."
The man's words made Harry's pupils constrict slightly. His wand instinctively shifted away from him.
For some reason, Harry Potter felt strange emotions radiating from the man—regret, longing, guilt. Though it was just a few fragmented words, Harry somehow understood the meaning behind that gaze. His initial vigilance slowly faded, his mind growing hazy.
And in that very instant, the ragged-looking wizard across from him struck without warning.
"Expelliarmus!"
"Protego!"
"Wah!"
"Harry!!"
A flash of red light shot across the room. Only Hermione and Ron, reacting in time, managed to cast protective spells on themselves. Caught off guard, Harry Potter was hit by the curse, his wand flying from his grasp and landing in the other man's hand.
Watching from her hiding spot, Pansy's face darkened with disbelief.
He actually let his guard down in a fight? What was this so-called Chosen One thinking?
And with how weak he was now, that wandless spell had been pathetically slow—anyone could have dodged it. The great savior, defeated more easily than his own sidekick...
Now, Sirius Black held a usable wand. For any wizard, having or not having a wand was the difference between life and death. Even a wizard like Dumbledore wouldn't face Voldemort unarmed. And now, the situation—already dire—had just turned far worse with Harry Potter's wand in the enemy's hand.
"Hmph... hahaha... ahhh!"
Harry couldn't imagine a human making such a sound.
It was like the laughter of a soul that had clawed its way back from hell—spotting the one who had cast it down, finally finding a chance for revenge.
In short, the madness radiating from the man made Harry, unarmed and vulnerable, take a cautious step back, overwhelmed by unease.
That one step was enough to make the man stop laughing.
"Don't worry. Only one person will die here today."
"Die... die?"
"Just hand him over."
Harry followed the direction of the wand—toward Ron Weasley, standing beside him.
But why Ron?
...
The sudden turn of events gave Draco a moment to glance at Hermione, who was hiding behind him.
If she was planning to act, now would be the time.
But to Draco's surprise, Hermione didn't move. She stayed quiet, as though waiting for something.
In truth, the other Hermione never had the chance to use the Time-Turner...
After a glance at Sirius Black, who looked ready to strike, Draco leaned closer to Hermione's ear.
"What are you waiting for?"
"Don't suddenly whisper in someone's ear like that!!"
The low murmur and the ticklish sensation made Hermione jump, her cheeks instantly flushing red.
The sight of her blushing only made Pansy, who had noticed, grit her teeth in irritation. With a scowl, she jabbed Draco sharply in the side.
Completely oblivious, Draco blinked in confusion.
Had he done something wrong?
But a second later, he realized why Hermione hadn't acted...
"Tsk tsk tsk... where's my little doggie run off to? Oh, this is getting more and more interesting~"
"....."
"...Lockhart?"
Accompanied by that unsettlingly cheerful voice, Gilderoy Lockhart appeared—the same man Draco had met earlier.
The wand in his hand swayed lazily until his eyes fell on Harry and his friends. For a brief moment, he froze, then his lips curled into a chilling smile.
That smile... Draco recognized it all too well.
Before Harry and the others could even react to Lockhart's sudden appearance, the first to move was Sirius Black, clutching Harry's wand.
He turned and cast a spell.
"Stupefy!"
"Reducto!"
Boom!
The clashing crimson lights burst through the air, forcing Harry Potter and the others to instinctively drop to the ground.
Even after being ambushed, Lockhart still had the audacity to laugh.
"Ha ha... I don't mind this kind of greeting at all."
"...."
"If I'm not mistaken, you must be Sirius Black. What a stroke of luck to run into you here!"
Lockhart's words made Harry freeze. As he lifted his head, he finally recognized the face—it was the same one he'd seen in the Daily Prophet.
A few seconds later, Harry's expression twisted with fury, his eyes burning with hatred as he stared at Sirius Black.
"Sirius... Black!!!"
"Harry!"
"Calm down!"
Seeing the fight intensify before them, Hermione, knowing they stood no chance against such power, hurried to stop Harry.
Ron, on the other hand, quickly pressed him down.
The moment Lockhart blurted out the man's name, they both knew how Harry would react. After all, thanks to a certain Minister of Magic, this secret was no secret anymore.
"Let me go!!"
"Harry!"
As Hermione struggled to think of what to do, something suddenly clicked in her mind. Her eyes widened.
"Listen to me, Harry! Where did you just see me?"
"Now's not the time! Help me hold him down—I can barely manage—By Merlin, Scabbers, stop squirming!"
"This is important! I think I understand what's happening. If it were me, I'd do exactly the same thing. Yes, if it were me!"
"Alright, it was on that bench at the Shrieking Shack. That's where we saw you."
"I see. I'm counting on you, then!"
"What?"
Ron blinked in confusion as Hermione suddenly dashed off after leaving those words behind. He wasn't ready for it at all—and in that brief moment of distraction, Harry almost broke free from his grasp.
"Let me go! That's him! He's the one who killed my parents!!"
No one noticed the slight pause in Sirius Black's movements at Harry's shout. A violent gleam flickered in his hollow eyes...
"Out of my way! No one will stop me from killing him!!"
Wild, chaotic magic burst from Sirius Black, the force of his spell so intense that even Lockhart, who had been almost giddy with excitement, had to back away.
After driving Lockhart off, Sirius Black's gaze locked onto Ron Weasley.
"Come out, you traitor!!"