Hogwarts starts with stealing power.

Ron said anxiously, "Quickly think of a solution, we need to save Harry!"

As he was about to walk forward, Lin Xia reached out and stopped him, calmly saying, "You can't subdue the Man-Beating Willow. If you rashly join in, you'll only get caught by it, and then we'll have one more person to save."

Suddenly, another long willow branch lashed out, and Ron shouted, "Harry, duck down! This whip is behind you!"

Harry didn't have eyes in the back of his head, but he heard Ron's words and quickly lowered his head.

call out--

A whooshing sound came from above, bringing a chill, as if a whirlwind had swept by.

Harry kept hitting the branches of the Whomping Willow wrapped around his waist, trying to make the Whomping Willow let him go on its own.

But that's almost impossible.

The Whomping Willow was completely unaffected by the force, but Harry ended up hurting his own palm, almost breaking the skin.

Lin Xia frowned as she watched this scene. She had several ways to subdue Liu, the man who was hitting her, but they would all cause a lot of noise.

If she wanted to make things quieter, it was simple: she went to the "Hit-It-Willow" and picked it up, letting it know her strength. The "Hit-It-Willow" would probably be too scared to move soon.

But this would expose her physical secrets, and Lin Xia didn't want to do it this way.

Suddenly, a voice came from beside me: "Scar! There is a raised scar on the tree of the Man-Beating Willow. Just touch this scar and the Man-Beating Willow will calm down."

The clear, crisp voice startled Ron. "Hermione, what are you doing here?"

Lin Xia feigned a surprised expression.

But in fact, she had already noticed that there was another faint breathing sound in the room.

Everyone's breathing is unique. Depending on a person's body type, height, the strength of certain internal organs, etc., the breathing will vary in intensity and speed.

She could often hear Hermione's breathing, so she quickly recognized her.

Hermione was clearly unaware of the situation, which is why she remained hidden.

In Lin Xia's perception, Hermione arrived at the Whomping Willow even earlier than Harry and Ron.

Just as Lin Xia was about to say something, she suddenly paused, her expression almost imperceptible.

Just now, she noticed another unfamiliar breathing sound at the scene!
Although the breathing sound was unfamiliar and not something one often hears, it carried a sense of familiarity.

She quickly identified someone, but this breathing sound was more rapid than the one she had heard before.

Lin Xia observed silently.

Hermione deactivated her invisibility shield, gave Ron a disapproving look, and said bluntly:
"I couldn't sleep and felt restless, so I got up and read for a while."

My desk faces the window, from which I can see the view outside. Then I saw two shadows, and upon closer inspection, I realized they were two snail-like creatures.

I was wondering if you had secretly taken the snail-sheep beast out. I was worried that you might cause unmanageable trouble, so I came out to check.

"I didn't expect my hunch to be right; you really did bring out the Snail-Sheep Beast and angered the Man-Beating Willow."

Luo said aggrievedly, "No, it wasn't me who brought out the snail-sheep beasts. They ran out on their own. I don't understand why they ran out."

When I woke up, I didn't see them. I looked everywhere and then I found they had left the castle.

"Ah!" Harry suddenly screamed.

He felt that the attack from the man-beating willow seemed to have become even more intense.

He shouted, "I want to set this willow tree on fire. Will fire have any effect on it?"

Hermione and Lin Xia said in unison, "No way!"

Lin Xia said, "The flames will only enrage this beating willow, making it even more violent. We need to calm it down first. Ron, do you see that scar on the tree?"

Ron pointed to himself, his eyes wide, and said, "What? You want me to go and touch that scar? No way! Absolutely not! I can't escape the Whomping Willow's attack; it'll pick me up and beat me!"

Hermione said, "Yes, it's to get you into the Willow's attack range. Didn't you notice? There's a thin willow branch around that scar."

You run to the willow branch, let it wrap around your waist, and as it swings back and forth, take the opportunity to hug the trunk of the willow that struck you, gently stroking the scar.

Ron continued to shake his head violently: "How do you know that branch won't fling me away, but will instead fling me near the trunk?"

Lin Xia calmly analyzed: "I have observed the trajectory of that branch. It is too thin and weak, with limited swinging force, and it only swings around the trunk."

Given your weight, if it lifts you up and swings you around, you are very likely to be thrown near the tree trunk by gravity.

At that moment, all you need to do is hold onto the tree trunk. The slender willow branch shouldn't be able to pull you off; it's very light.

Luo remained resistant upon hearing this, asking, "Then why don't you go?"

Lin Xia and Hermione said in unison again, "We are lighter than you, and we don't have that much strength."

Harry's roar came again, "Have you guys come up with a solution?! I feel like I'm going to get dizzy from all the shaking!"

The situation was urgent, and Ron couldn't find a better solution.

He roared, stared intently at the innermost willow branch, and rushed in.

However, he died before he could achieve his goal.

He had only run three steps inside, far from reaching the innermost part, when he was entangled by a thick willow branch that suddenly flew by.

This caught Ron off guard, and before he could dodge, his body was flung into the air.

Hermione sighed helplessly when she saw this.

"I knew he was unreliable."

A faint smile appeared on Lin Xia's lips as she stretched her limbs.

"In the end, it's still up to us to take action. Should we go or should we?"

With time running out, Hermione only considered for a second before decisively saying, "I'll do it! If even I can't succeed, you can come out last."

Hermione was well aware of her own limitations. Whether in research or magical power, she was no match for Lin Xia. Lin Xia was their last trump card.

Moreover, seeing Lin Xia's calm and composed demeanor, she felt a wild instinct rising within her.

She felt that Lin Xia had found a solution.

With that thought in mind, Hermione rushed out without hesitation.

However, just as she moved forward, Lin Xia also started walking, following behind Hermione.

The two were not pressed close together, but rather a meter apart, and Hermione did not notice this.

She kept a close eye on the branches of the willow tree, dodging each attack.

Because she was calm and composed enough, she dodged the first few dangerous attacks in various ways.

Just as she was about to enter the thinnest willow branch, suddenly, an incredibly thick willow branch flew straight down from above and swung at Hermione's waist with lightning speed!

Hermione couldn't help but scream.

They observed from outside but couldn't see the willow branch at all.

The willow tree was clever; it deceived them.

Then, just as Hermione was thrown away, a dark figure suddenly darted out from behind her and quickly arrived at the thinnest willow branch.

Lin Xia moved so fast that even the slender willow branch didn't have time to react before she arrived near the tree scar. She spent a fraction of a second observing the scar, then reached out and gently stroked it, just like she would soothe a white fairy by tenderly stroking her fur.

The man who had hit Liu froze for a moment, and the willow branches that were flying everywhere stopped for a second.

Soon, all its branches fell loosely down, as if it had fallen into a deep sleep, without making any noise.

Ron and the others slid down from the air using the force.

Everyone was still shaken.

“Wow,” Ron remarked, “it got quiet so quickly.”

He couldn't resist touching the willow branch beside him.

Suddenly, the willow branch twitched slightly, startling Ron so much that he retreated three feet away.

Hermione wanted to say something, but Harry was no longer in the mood to reunite with his friends.

After he stopped, he quickly ran towards the hollow of the willow tree.

The other three exchanged glances and quickly followed.

There was a long tunnel under the hole in the willow tree, and they kept sliding down into it.

When they finally stood on their feet and arrived at an open space, everyone was stunned.

This space is Hogwarts' Shrieking Shack!

They were deeply impressed by this place, having explored it themselves and having a very clear understanding of its layout.

Before they could even be surprised, they saw the large, emaciated black dog frantically chasing a rat that looked just as pitiful.

The mouse was slightly injured; its fur was patchy and bald in places.

But the black dog also had many injuries.

The black dog is fast, but not as agile as the mouse, so they are evenly matched.

Just then, Lin Xia's voice echoed in Ron's mind.

His expression shifted, a mixture of conflicting emotions; he seemed reluctant to do it.

But in order to find out the truth, he took a deep breath, closed his eyes, then opened them again, and shouted with exaggerated acting skills:

"Banban, is that you, Banban!"

Ron exclaimed excitedly, "Banban, come here quickly! Where have you been these past few days? I haven't been able to find you!"

This exaggerated acting made it seem fake to others at first glance, but it successfully fooled the mouse.

The next second, Scabbers really ran towards Ron, and at that moment Harry stepped in the middle of the road to prevent the big black dog from chasing the rat.

Banban jumped into Ron's arms and burrowed into his embrace.

Ron gripped it tightly and said with an exaggerated expression, "Don't worry, I'll take you away right now."

He drew his wand, recited the incantation for invisibility, and pointed it at himself.

Before the last syllable of the spell fell, the wand wobbled and ended up pointing at Scabbers.

The next second, the wand emitted an eerie light, a light that was completely unlike that of an invisibility spell!

At the crucial moment, Ron's "hitting east while attacking west" trait came into play.

He was chanting an incantation for invisibility, but what came out was a completely different spell, and a very dangerous offensive one at that—a spell that could shatter bones.

The eerie green light struck Banban directly, causing him to shudder, then his limbs to twitch. The rat fell straight from his arms to the ground, seemingly motionless.

Lin Xia subtly moved her fingers, setting up one binding spell after another around the rat.

If the occasion weren't so inappropriate, she would have preferred to set up multiple layers of binding magic runes, which would have been much safer.

Seeing that Scabbers had been knocked to the ground, the big black dog that had been barking at Scabbers finally quieted down and turned its attention to Harry.

Everyone noticed that the black dog's gaze had become very complex, filled with a human-like light.

Looking into those eyes, they would think this is a dog with thoughts.

But is this possible?
Harry suddenly spoke up: "You're Sirius Black, right? I want to know how my parents died?"

He looked somewhat agitated as he drew his wand and pointed it at the big black dog.

Tell me the truth, I need to know the truth!

His tone was somewhat hysterical, and Harry's emotions were extremely unstable.

The big black dog tried to take a few steps closer to Harry, but Harry screamed and blocked its way.

"do not come!"

Hermione frowned, looking at Harry with some concern: "Harry, you..."

"hiss--"

Ron suddenly gasped. She quickly looked up and saw that the big black dog was slowly transforming into the shape of a person.

The man was extremely thin and haggard, and his once handsome features could still be vaguely discerned from his gaunt face.

His eyes were large, but the eye sockets were sunken, and there was a deep blackness in the bottom of his eyes, as if he hadn't slept well for many days.

“Sirius Black,” Hermione murmured to herself.

She had looked up pictures of Sirius Black and seen newspapers about his imprisonment in Askaban.

After so many years of torment, he was no longer the handsome aristocrat who had just been imprisoned.

Harry's hands trembled slightly as he stared at him, agitated. "You killed my parents! It was you, wasn't it? You killed them!"

“Harry.” Black’s voice was hoarse and strange; he seemed to have not spoken for a long time. “It’s not what the media reports.”

Harry: "What is it? Tell me the truth! I need to know the truth!"

Lin Xia spoke up at this moment: "The report said that everyone on the street saw Peter Pettigrew die."

Blake's expression turned agitated, and he said indignantly, "No! They didn't see it, they didn't see it with their own eyes at all, they're just trying to run away!"

“It!” He pointed to the mouse lying motionless on the ground, his voice trembling. “It’s Peter Pettigrew. I’ve been looking for him for over ten years. I never imagined he’d been hiding in the Weasleys’ house all along!”

Although the young wizards already knew the truth from the Marauder's Map, they were still amazed when Black told them again.

Hermione frowned and said, "You mean Animagus? That's not quite right. Every Animagus has to be registered with the Ministry of Magic. I don't see anyone on the list whose Animagus is a rat."

Hermione actually believed Black's story, but she still needed to understand some things.

Blake scoffed, dismissing the argument with disdain.

“There are many Animagus who don’t register with the Ministry of Magic. They are all hidden in the corners, and as long as the person who saw their appearance dies, no one will discover this secret.”

Harry: "So what's the truth about what happened back then?"

Black exclaimed excitedly, "It's him! Peter Pettigrew! He betrayed Potter! He led Voldemort to them!" (End of Chapter)