<h4>Chapter 220: One thing after another</h4>


    Drac returned to Hogwarts with a refreshed Sirius ck.


    Sirius, who had taken a bath in the pond, trimmed his dirty beard and hair, and changed his clothes, was currently wearing a ck striped suit and a tie.


    Aside from the fact that his face was still too skinny and his demeanor still had a bit of the crazy aura from when he came out of Azkaban, Sirius really did have a bit of the schoolboy look from back then on him.


    He was tall, with a face that was too skinny but still looked handsome and elegant, with elegant and beautifully cleaned and trimmed ck hair and a pair of striking gray eyes, and a careless arrogance and spontaneity in his mannerisms.


    "I didn''t realize you were really the schoolboy of Hogwarts, huh?" Drac looked at Sirius, who hade out of the fitting room of Mrs. Morkin''s Clothing Store, and couldn''t help but raise an eyebrow.


    "Is it okay for me to be exposed to people like this?" Sirius nced at Mrs. Morgan, who was cutting clothes next to him, and leaned close to Drac to whisper.


    He had experienced a lot of time in hiding, and at this point, standing bright and early inside a clothing store, he always felt a little weak.


    "It''s okay, don''t feel too good about yourself." Drac said, "Did you see Mrs. Morkin even look at you?"


    Sirius then dared to look up and take a closer look at the clothing store owner before he realized that Mrs. Morgan''s adoring gaze never moved from Drac''s face.


    "It shouldn''t, should it?" Sirius touched his face, "I don''t feel like I''m any harder to look at than you are, so why is it that you''re the only one she''s looking at?"


    "You probably haven''tpletely recognized yourself. This skeleton face of yours now looks much stronger than before, but who gave you the courage topare yourself to me? Go back and eat something good to replenish yourself before you say anything!"


    Dracughed lightly and snapped his fingers, and a dark moon quietly enveloped the two.


    ...


    In the next moment, Drac and Sirius appeared together in the Hogwarts staffmon room.


    By now, Peter had awakened from the effects of the truth spit and was bound to a chair by Dumbledore''s binding spell, which was also firmly glued to the floor.


    Dumbledore and Lupin were both sitting at a table in themon room, seemingly discussing something.


    On a long couch, Harry, Ron and Hermione sat with puzzled expressions.


    Ron had even just thrown up, covering his mouth and looking a little pale.


    Seeing Sirius''s arrival, Peter squirmed restlessly, trying to break free of the chair and escape, but couldn''t move a single inch no matter what.


    "Little ... Sirius ..." Peter had no choice but to curtly force a smile and whisper in a shrill voice, "My friend, my old friends ... It''s been a long time ..."


    "And you know we''re your friends?!" After seeing Peter, Sirius'' originally suppressed madness surged back into his eyes, "So how did you treat your friends ... back then how did you treat Jaime and Lily?"


    "Yeah ... I''m sorry, but the Dark Lord is just too powerful, and there''s really no way I can resist him." Peter cowered in his chair, shivering.


    "Sirius, think about it ... If you were in my shoes and were forced by the Dark Lord and arge group of Death Eaters to defect to them or let you die, what would you do ..."


    "I would rather die than betray my friends!" Sirius roared without the slightest hesitation.


    Peter seemed to be in shock and cried out in sadness.


    He was crying so terribly that he looked like an oversized bald baby, shivering on the floor, making the few young wizards present look at him.


    "Sirius, Sirius ... what can I do?" Peter mumbled mumbled mumbled mumbled, "That Dark Lord ... you don''t know, he''s so powerful you can''t even imagine it ... I was terrified!"


    "Sirius, I''ve never been as brave as you, Lupin, or Jaime. I never did that on purpose ... The man who couldn''t even mention his name forced me to ..."


    "Don''t lie!" ke growled, "You''ve been passing information to him since before Lily and Jaime died, you''re his spy! We realized there was a mole a long time ago, but it never went to you. We were all deceived by you!"


    "He ... he''s sticking his nose in everywhere!" Peter gasped, "What''s ... to be gained by turning him down?"


    "What good would it do to fight the most evil fiend that ever lived?" At that moment, Lupin, who hadn''t said a word, stood up, "Isn''t fighting the Death Eaters about saving innocent lives, Peter?"


    "You don''t understand!" Petermented, "He''ll kill me, Lemus!"


    "Then you deserve to die!" ke yelled, "It''s better to die than to betray your friends, and if you''re trustworthy, we''ll do the same for you!"


    ke and Lupin stood side by side and together they raised their wands at Peter.


    "You should understand," Lupin''s tone backfired, "that if Voldemort hadn''t killed you, we would have. Farewell, Peter."


    "Just a moment." Dumbledore suddenly pped his hands, interrupting Sirius and Lupin''s movements, "Before you do anything, I think it would be best if we asked the two parties involved what they thought."


    He looked over to the three young wizards on the couch, who were already looking confused, and said, "Harry, Ron, what do you think about this?"


    "What can I think!" Ron red at Peter in disgust, then with a twitch in his throat, molded, "It''s just this ugly, disgusting man who used to sleep in my bed and I used to hold him in my arms ... Vomit!"


    He lowered his head and dry-heaved in agony.


    Dumbledore thoughtfully waved his wand and pushed a trash can in front of Ron''s face, protecting the floor from being clean and clear in the process.


    He then turned his attention back to Harry beside Ron.


    "I ..." Harry froze.


    He felt something surreal about the scene now.


    The wanted criminal that he had always thought would be a threat to him and felt he had a deep grudge against, Sirius ck, was now an innocent wizard who had spent over a decade in Azkaban for nothing.


    And the pet mouse, who had been with Ron every inch of the way, and whom he had held dear, had transformed into an ugly adult boy wizard, and he was the traitor who had truly betrayed Harry''s parents!


    For a moment, this drastic change left Harry a bit puzzled.


    "Well ... that, Mr. ke, I have a question for you." After a few moments of thought, he looked over at Sirius, who was still ring indignantly at Peter, and said carefully.


    "Harry, don''t call me Mr. ke, it''s not a title you should use. Just call me Sirius." Sirius looked over at Harry.


    The moment he turned his head, all the madness, resentment, and mania in his eyes all disappeared in an instant, and only the deepest gentleness and caring remained in them.


    "Harry, I don''t know if anyone has ever told you ... that I am your godfather." As he said the words, Sirius recoiled in a bit of distress, his voice ced very, very softly.


    "Yes, I know. Hagrid told me that once." Harry gave a small smile, the gentle look in Sirius'' eyes making him less nervous than before.


    "i ... Well, Sirius, I was wondering why you stayed in Azkaban for so long back then?" He asked, "You were innocent, Peter Pediru was the traitor!"


    "No Harry, I never thought I was innocent ... et I killed them." Sirius spoke in a heavy, hoarse tone, "I was the one who convinced Lily and Jaime to rece me with Peter to act as a keeper of secrets at thest minute ..."


    "It''s my fault, and I know what a mistake I made. At the time I thought Peter was dead and I couldn''t face facing my former friends again, so I thought ... Azkaban would be a good ce to go, at least good enough for me to confess ..."


    "No, that''s not true!" Harry eximed as his eyes reddened, "You weren''t wrong! The only thing that''s wrong is that rat, he''s the one who killed my parents, and it shouldn''t be up to you to atone for that!"


    "Thank you, Harry ...," Sirius said with a slight tremor in his voice, "I never actually knew how to face you, I didn''t know if you''d ever forgive me... ...It''s nice, it''s nice to know that you don''t me me."


    "Well, Sirius, it''s not time to be moved yet." Lupin patted Sirius on the back and said softly, "We haven''t dealt with that rat yet, he should pay for his betrayal."


    "That''s right, he has to pay!" Sirius wiped the corners of his eyes, and when he turned around, his expression once again became menacingly insane.


    "Wait!" Harry suddenly eximed.


    He got up from the couch and ran forward, blocking Peter.


    "You can''t kill him," he said, looking a little struggling, but moving with determination, "Yes, you can''t."


    Both ke and Lupin were shocked, wondering what Harry, who had just been so hateful to Peter, was thinking.


    "Harry, this is the same thug who caused you to lose both your parents!" ke snarled, "This groveling filth has no mercy for your family. You heard what he just said, his own stinking skin is more important than the lives of your entire family."


    "I understand," Harry gasped, "but we can give him to the Dementors, he should be locked up in Azkaban ... just don''t kill him."


    "Harry!" Peter''s eyes widened in joy, he had just about lost hope of living, he didn''t realize that the child of his enemy had spared his life, "Thank you, thank you for opening up to me ... thank you ... "


    "I never spared your life for you!" Harry nced at Peter in disgust and spat, "I did it because I didn''t think my father would want his best friend killing someone ... especially someone like you!"


    "And if you die like that, Sirius'' wrongs will be hard to wash away ..."


    ke and Lupin looked at each other. After a moment, their wands lowered.


    "You''re the only one who has the right to make the decision, Harry," said ke, his expression seeming reluctant, "You don''t have to worry about me, I don''t care about the wrongs ... but you have to think about what he''s done. "


    "He could have gone to Azkaban," Harry''s tone grew firm, "He was supposed to be tortured by dementors for the rest of his life ..."


    "Let me interject."


    Suddenly, a voice interrupted Harry.


    Everyone in the room turned their heads and moved their eyes to where the voice came from.


    Only to see Drac, who had been watching the y for half a day, leaning back on the couch with his legs crossed, shaking a tall ss of wine in one hand and holding a piece of pudding in the other, looking with interest at the direction where Peter and Harry and the others were.


    Harry: "..."


    Sirius: "... Do you really think you''re watching a y, Professor Drac?"


    "Of course I''m watching a show, what else would I be doing here?" Drac said rightfully, before cing his ss in the air and giving a thumbs up to a few people, "Wonderful, what a wonderful y!"


    "But, Potter, you seem to be missing the point - if Sirius ck could sneak out of Azkaban through the Animagus, why wouldn''t a smaller, less conspicuous mouse be able to escape?"


    Harry froze.


    He hadn''t really considered that.


    "So I have a suggestion, why don''t we turn this Mr. Pediru into a dud before we give him to the Dementors, so that he loses his ability to shapeshiftpletely!" Drac said with great interest.


    He had just thought of a way to turn a sorcerer into a dud some time ago, and hadn''t had time to implement it yet.


    "Wonderful!" Sirius pped his thigh and expressed his hands in favor of Drac''s proposal.


    Even Lupin showed a hint of interest.


    Looking at the eager Drac, Dumbledore finally couldn''t sit still.


    "Ahem, Professor Drac''s proposal is indeed a solution ...," he stood up from the sofa and discouraged, "However, next we need Peter as a proof to clear Sirius'' name. "


    "This proof will be much less strong if others know that we have tortured Peter."


    "Tell you what, I will arrange for Fawkes to supervise him at all times to eliminate the possibility of him escaping with his Animagus transformation."


    Dumbledore then looked to Peter, "If you do not listen to advice and are bent on escaping by transforming into a rat, Fawkes will immediately burn you to the ground! Peter, you should still know something about the mes of the Phoenix."


    Peter nodded repeatedly, as if he was afraid that Dumbledore would backtrack.


    Being able to retain some more magical ability would give him an extra chance of survival, and he felt that he still had a chance!


    "Tch, no fun." Drac shrugged and got up and walked towards themon room door, "Looks like the y is breaking up today, so it''s time for the audience to leave!"


    He pushed the door open and walked out of the faculty lounge in faith.


    "Wait, Professor!" Just then, Hermione suddenly called out to Drac from behind.


    "What''s wrong?"


    "Professor, Hagrid and Buckbeak are still waiting for your help!"