"I told you a long time ago, anything related to that stupid cat of yours is no good!"
In front of the castle's main gate, Ron glanced back at Hagrid's departing figure. As his gaze swept over the big cat tightly held in Hermione's arms, he couldn't help but wrinkle his nose and remarked unkindly to Crookshanks.
"...Eek?"
Hearing this, the Kabuda who was napping on Harry's head opened its eyes.
What did you just say, kid?
"They're just animals, by nature—"
"Squeak!"
Just as Hermione started to speak, before she could finish her rebuttal, a dark shadow suddenly swept past the three of them. The next moment, Ron's nose was hit hard, the pain made him instinctively reach up to cover his face and squat down. Meanwhile, Kabuda, having completed a flying kick, landed on the ground, adjusting its nonexistent belt with its claws.
"...Uh, it seems to be angry about what you said."
Harry pursed his lips, instinctively wanting to laugh, but then realized it wasn't the right moment, so he awkwardly commented.
Next to him, seeing this scene, Hermione didn't continue her explanation but instead picked up Kabuda too and quickly walked into the entrance hall, disappearing from their view.
"Alright, Ron, Hagrid will take good care of that dog... just like he said, he's quite good at training dogs."
Looking at Ron, who was still a bit angry as he stood up, Harry sighed and tried to comfort him—after all, they knew very well that Hagrid was indeed good at dog training, even with those with three heads.
But Harry's sigh wasn't because of this; he didn't even know when it started, but his two best friends were always arguing. If they weren't already at odds, they were on the verge of it. The atmosphere that had only just started to thaw over the last two weeks became tense again because of tonight's events.
Stuck in the middle, Harry just felt exhausted.
"It's not about the dog... Whatever, what was today's password again?"
"This afternoon's was 'Wyvern of Wye'... unless that Cadogan has changed it again."
"...Then we'd better hurry."
...
"...Woof! Get off! Stay away from me!"
Sirius shook off Fang, who once again tried to lean against him for close contact, then tugged hard on the collar around his neck. It was useless. He sighed helplessly, and his eyes involuntarily drifted to the ancient castle shrouded in twilight not far away—
He had just seen clearly that damned rat was hiding with that Weasley kid...
Unfortunately, what should have been a sure-win ambush was smashed to pieces by a punch from Hagrid. The direct hit to his forehead left him still a bit dizzy, with a lump on the back of his head proving that everything just now wasn't a dream he had while fainting from hunger.
He was really just a step away from biting that creature to death...
So, he needed to be more careful, not to reveal any flaws.
Lying in the doghouse Hagrid had prepared for him, Sirius silently closed his eyes. He had thought about revealing his identity outright, taking this chance to deal with that rodent once and for all, but he wasn't sure if Hagrid would listen to him. More likely, he would be taken to Dumbledore—
And once in front of that old man, Peter Pettigrew had a good chance of surviving!
Sirius knew that whether or not Dumbledore would believe him, even if he did, there's a good chance he'd hand Peter over to the Ministry of Magic for judgment.
Ha, if the Ministry of Magic really did their job, someone like Lucius Malfoy should have become his cellmate by now.
No, he can't be allowed to live; that creature must be killed by my own hands... Sirius calmed his turbulent emotions. Though he really wanted to storm into the castle right now, the small amount of remaining rationality told him that wasn't realistic, especially since he had just infiltrated the castle a few days ago; he still needed a chance.
Take it slow. At least now, staying with Hagrid, as long as he's careful, things should be okay...
"..."
"Get off!"
Sirius angrily bared his teeth again as he shook off Fang, who tried to climb onto him.
Great, now besides dealing with Peter Pettigrew, he had another more urgent task—keeping Fang off his rear!
...
...
"...It's going to rain."
Looking at the oppressive, leaden clouds overhead, which were clearly more substantial than those a while ago, William, who had just risen, remarked with some delight. Now the Room of Requirement's weather was completely synced with the real outside weather, which meant his luck was good; he'd only had to wait a month for the first thunderstorm.
Satisfied, he stretched lazily, turning to walk down the stairs, only to see a girl bent over the hall table, writing furiously.
"...Did you pull another all-nighter?"
William was taken aback. He remembered Hermione storming over in a huff the previous night, not saying what had happened when asked, only categorizing all the information on the Seik Crystal. This was a task William had previously halted, as he felt there might be something wrong with the research direction—
But now, looking at the mountain of tomes and notes piled on her desk, along with her slightly blue-tinged eye sockets, William's mind was left with only one term:
Intrinsic Workaholic Constitution.
A type that didn't even need coercion... He couldn't help but feel an inexplicable guilty conscience, like a capitalist, knowing that Hermione wouldn't normally use the Time Turner like this, and it seemed his own influence had triggered this.