Chapter 389: We Have to Do Something!
Editor: Atlas Studios
'Why not?' Sirius asked, frowning deeply and not understanding.
"In case you didn't know, Professor Dumbledore has not been at Hogwarts lately! You should know very well that no one but him has the ability to get you off the hook!"
Ivan paused for a moment before continuing. "The Ministry and the Court are not so kind as to admit their mistake and tell everyone that they locked a war hero up in Azkaban for over a decade as a vicious Death Eater!"
He also proclaimed a traitor like Peter as a hero, Ivan added to himself.
It was a scandal of epic proportions, and the Ministry of Magic officials would have done everything in their power to keep it under wraps if they hadn't wanted to be blasted to death by howling letters from angry wizards!
Sirius paced restlessly around the small house, as he was well aware, but waiting was not an option. Who knew when Dumbledore would return? What if it took a month or two?
Anything could happen in the meantime! What if Peter finds an opportunity to escape?
Crucially, he had been suppressing his murderous intent since he snuck into Gryffindor's dorm room and saw the damned rat.
After a while, Sirius stopped and said fiercely, "How about this? You bring Peter here at this time tomorrow and let me kill him!"
'You'd better calm down! Kill Peter and you won't get away with it!' Ivan tried to calm Sirius down, seeing that he was upset.
'How do you expect me to calm down? I've waited long enough!' Sirius shouted angrily.
Rather than having Peter killed, Sirius felt that he could put his affairs aside for now, and he didn't even care if his name was cleared…
"Do you want to live in the shadows for the rest of your life? Make Harry hate you so much that he views you as a despicable traitor?" Yvonne asked.
'It was Peter who betrayed James, not me!' Sirius enunciated.
"Who knows?" Ivan demanded, glaring at him. "I ask you, who knows you're innocent? Who will testify if Pettigrew dies?!"
Sirius stared hard at Ivan, who did not back down, and the stalemate lasted for some time before Sirius finally sighed and spoke in a hateful voice.
"We have to do something anyway. We can't keep waiting!"
Ivan didn't press him, but after a moment's thought, he said, "It will be Hallowe'en in a little while, and all third year and above students will be going to Hogsmeade. Peter and Harry will be there, and we can find a chance to take Harry to a quiet place and explain the situation to him…"
"Also, I'm going to try to get in touch with Lupin. He's a professor at Hogwarts and a good friend of yours. Just use the Marauder's Map to let him know that Peter is still alive. I'm sure Professor Lupin will be willing to listen to your explanation…"
Ivan remembered that Professor Lupin had clearly chosen to side with Sirius after seeing the Marauder's Map in the original timeline, and he wanted to rope him in.
Now that Dumbledore is not at Hogwarts, his words to Sirius carry little weight, and the testimony of Harry and Lupin makes them much more credible!
In that case, any slip-ups along the way before Dumbledore's return would not result in the worst outcome…
'Fine, I'll wait a few more days!' Sirius agreed after a long hesitation, as he needed to at least explain to Harry and Lupin before killing Peter.
Ivan breathed a sigh of relief. He was worried Sirius would try to sneak into Hogwarts and kill Peter.
While Peter's death did not matter to him, Sirius himself was wanted by the Ministry of Magic as much as the original dimension, and thus had to live in the shadows.
He had been helped by Sirius in Knockturn Alley, and Ivan wanted Sirius to clear his name if he could.
They then discussed the details of the operation in the ruined house.
Ivan did not want to stay too long, for fear of being caught out of school, so he ended the short meeting after they had discussed their options.
Before leaving, Sirius suddenly spoke up, as if he had just remembered something. "Hales, do you know how Harry likes his presents? I accidentally scared him on his birthday, so I wanted to make it up to him."
"Harry? Um… he prefers Quidditch. Maybe you could start with that!" suggested Ivan after a moment's thought.
"Quidditch, eh? I should have known; James was a brilliant Quidditch player when he was in school! Harry seems to have inherited his father's talent very well!" Sirius looked wistful.
"Of course, he's the best Seeker in Gryffindor at the moment!" Yvonne laughed.
"In that case, let's get him a broomstick. If I remember correctly, there's a nice new broom called the Firebolt… Harry will love it!" Sirius exclaimed.
Firebolt? Ivan's mouth twitched…
What a tycoon! If he remembered correctly, that thing was a concept broom that had just been released. Its price was negotiable!
It must have been shockingly expensive!
It wasn't as if he couldn't afford it with his current financial resources, but Ivan would never use a Galleon in a place like this. He didn't play Quidditch anyway.
Hmm… what was Sirius's present to Harry in the original timeline? A Firebolt?
While Ivan was lost in his thoughts, he used his Animagus to transform into an owl, and under Sirius's watchful eye, flew back through the circular passage to Hogwarts Castle.
After finding a remote classroom, Ivan returned to his human form and checked the clock.
"It's only been half an hour," Ivan muttered to himself. "I don't think anyone will notice." He found the nearest secret passage and prepared to take a shortcut to the library to put on an act.
With that thought in mind, Ivan walked out of the classroom and pointed to a recess in the wall next to him.
At that moment, a ghostly blue Peeves floated over from the other side of the corridor and saw a young wizard in Gryffindor uniform about to dive into the passageway.
"Aha! Look what I found! A student opened the secret passage, and now, of all times, let me guess: you were going to see Black so you could tell him the password for the day… right?"
Peeves was giggling as he talked, but when he got closer, he found the back of the figure familiar…
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone