Hogwarts: Harry Returns from Azeroth

Chapter 214, Section 213: The Pursuit by Azkaban
Children love heroes, especially dark heroes like Sirius Black who carry secrets and clear their names. So, shops like Honeydukes in Hogsmeade specifically sought out Sirius to be their spokesperson.

Although Sirius kept saying it was too childish or something, Harry actually seemed to enjoy signing the contract.

"So, that's how it all ends?"

Sitting by the fireplace next to his office, with the howling wind and snow outside and the crackling of burning firewood in his ears, Lupin looked somewhat dazed.

"What's wrong? My dear Moonface," Sirius, who was sprawled on the sofa, comfortably shifted his position. "Don't you like it?"

“No, of course it’s not that I don’t like it—it’s just that things changed so fast that I can’t believe it for a moment.” Shaking his head, Lupin stretched out his hand and looked at his wrinkled palm. “Suddenly I have a stable job. You, who have been in Azkaban for so many years, you, whom I have cursed countless times, are the innocent ones. Peter is the traitor—we have even sent Peter to Azkaban with our own hands.”

“Suddenly everything has become so good,” Lupin said with a wry smile. “Perhaps it’s because I’ve gotten used to that kind of nomadic life, I’m still not used to life suddenly becoming so good… It’s really wonderful to be able to sit comfortably with old friends again…”

“That’s how a story should end, Remus,” Sirius chuckled, crossing his legs. “Just like in those stories, the bad guys get punished, justice is served, and the good guys live happily ever after—that’s how it should be.”

“Oh, I don’t think either of us can be considered princes or princesses, which is quite different from fairy tales,” Lupin said humorously.

"Ha! A prince or a princess?" Sirius burst into laughter. "I never thought you'd have such a dream. We're just two withered old men—well, I'm still handsome and popular with the girls."

“You’re still as shameless as ever, Sirius,” Lupin couldn’t help but complain. “Be careful, if Harry finds out you’ve been flirting with the girls in the castle, he might break your legs… He’s absolutely serious about that.”

"Hey! You furry little devil, what do you take me for?!" Sirius retorted somewhat guiltily. "I'm not one of those, um—never mind, let's not talk about these things. I have to say that life is really good now, it would be even better if I didn't have to see Snape's sullen face anymore."

“That won’t do,” Lupin sighed. “Without Snape’s wolfsbane potion, I probably wouldn’t even be able to stay near the castle right now… He’s certainly accomplished far more than we are, isn’t he?”

"Don't say a good word about him, Remus, or I'll get nervous," Sirius warned. "And those wolfsbane potions, oh my god, I bet the snotty-nosed guy threw in some stinky socks when he was making them. The smell, ugh! Just imagining it makes me want to throw up!!"

When Sirius Black said the words "snotty-nosed boy," he quickly lowered his voice and furtively glanced back to see if Harry was behind him.

“If a smelly sock really appears in a potion, it will only turn it into a poison,” Lupin said with a hint of helplessness. “I’m pretty sure Snape won’t kill me, but obviously he won’t let me off easy either—but I don’t really care, it’s what we owe him… I’m already very content with the life I have now.”

Having shed the youthful exuberance and arrogance of his student days, Lupin, unlike Sirius Black, has already experienced enough of the hardships and discrimination in society, making him more worldly and content with the status quo.

I take it all in stride.

"...It's hard to believe you accepted it so easily. If this had happened decades ago, you—"

"Harry?" Lupin interrupted Sirius, suddenly tilting his head and calling out towards the second-floor stairwell, "Are you done?"

Needless to say, Sirius immediately shut his mouth and sat up from the sofa as quickly as possible, behaving obediently as if he hadn't said anything at all.

"More or less," Harry said as he walked down the stairs, already wearing a thick leather coat. "It's time to settle things."

"Settle it?" Sirius scratched his head and said, "Settle what?"

“Of course it’s Peter’s business,” Harry said with a smile. “Get up quickly and wear something warm; it’s probably going to be cold where we’re going.”

"What about Peter?" Sirius couldn't help but ask. "Wasn't that traitor already sent to Azkaban? The trial is over."

“The trial is certainly not over yet,” Harry said, shaking his head.

However, no matter how much Sirius pressed him for details, Harry refused to say anything more, only urging the two of them to quickly change their clothes and go out together.

Sirius and Lupin looked at each other, and although Harry didn't reveal much, both Sirius and Lupin had a premonition of something.

This premonition intensified after Harry summoned Dumbledore's phoenix. The three of them grabbed Fawkes' tail feathers, and as a ball of fire suddenly exploded and disappeared, after a teleportation process that was not much better than Apparition, their feet once again touched solid ground.

The pungent sea breeze and the sound of the waves sent a shiver down Sirius's spine. The familiar melody had been etched into his memory during his twelve years of survival, especially the gloomy sky, the putrid air, and the castle-like building in the distance.

"Ah, Azkaban??!!!" Sirius exclaimed in surprise, completely dumbfounded.

He never imagined that Harry's destination would be such a place—just a few minutes ago he was telling Lupin that he would never set foot in Azkaban again.

The group was standing at the dock on the edge of the island where Azkaban was located. In the distance, they could see the houses where the guards usually lived, with lights still on inside.

"This, this is—trespassing?!" Sirius Black instinctively lowered his voice, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets. "Dumbledore's phoenix can teleport directly into Azkaban?! No, that's a small matter—Harry! We don't have a battering mate to lead us now. If we get discovered, we're doomed!"

"You've arrived? Harry."

A greeting snapped Sirius Black, who thought he had committed a crime by teaching his son to do something wrong, and Lupin, who was standing next to him in shock, out of their reverie. They both recognized the voice.

"Malfoy?!" Sirius Black exclaimed with disgust upon recognizing the person.

“Don’t be so rude, Sirius. I’m still your brother-in-law,” Lucius Malfoy said with a sneer. “I’ve put a lot of effort into your case.”

"Ha! You—"

“He’s right, Sirius,” Harry said calmly, interrupting Sirius. “Lucius did help you a lot, persuading many of the Wizengamor judges.”

Sirius's expression was as if he had just shoved a lump of shit into his mouth. "...What's going on, Harry?" Lupin had just been lamenting how fast the world was changing, but now he felt that the world was changing even faster than he had been able to accept.

Why does Harry seem so familiar with Lucius Malfoy?

What did they do?
Lupin had thought he had gained some understanding of Harry during this time, but now he suddenly realized that he didn't really know his friend's child at all.

"Don't be so hostile, Sirius," Lucius said, shaking his head slightly, "You are Harry's godfather, and I am Harry's uncle. We are relatives."

Sirius: "..."

His expression now looked like he had just dug that lump of shit out and stuffed it back in.

Lucius Malfoy's words only made him feel worse.

In Sirius's mind, the Malfoys were staunch Voldemort supporters, pure evil seeds, the kind he would never consider associating with.

"Enough of this talk, where are they?" Harry wasn't going to let these adults vent their old grudges, so he asked directly.

“Right here!” Lucius called out, turning to the side. “Dias?”

"Here comes! Mr. Malfoy!"

Two men emerged from a small hut used for temporary lodging next to the dock, each supporting a short, stout man on either side. This man was none other than Peter Pettigrew, who had been convicted and sent to Azkaban.

"No, no, no, no, no! No!" Peter Pettigrew struggled frantically as soon as he saw the people standing outside, not knowing what Lucius had said to him before. He only calmed down a little after Baldwin punched him on the back of the head.

“Sorry, this despicable man is struggling a bit,” Diaz said breathlessly after dragging Peter in front of the group. “But don’t worry, he definitely won’t get away.”

“Thank you, and it’s been a long time, Diaz, Baldwin,” Harry said with a smile, shaking hands with the two men. “Thank you again for your help, please accept my gratitude.”

As he said this, Harry slipped two small bags into each of their hands after shaking hands, and the crisp metallic clinking of metal could be heard from inside the bags—a sound only a beautiful Galleon could make.

“Oh, Harry, you don’t have to do this,” Diaz said, squeezing the bag in his hand. “We all hate this guy, this traitor—frankly, even if you and Mr. Malfoy hadn’t asked us to, we would have taken good care of him inside.”

Diaz tried to put the bag back to Harry, but was refused.

“No matter what, this puts you at risk,” Harry insisted. “Take it, consider it a gift from a friend.”

“…Alright,” Baldwin shrugged. “Since you’ve said that, then we wish you a happy revenge, Harry—don’t worry about anything, have fun. It’s perfectly normal for a prisoner to die in Azkaban. We’ll bury him in the cemetery over there.”

"Or just throw it into the sea to feed the fish, as long as it makes you feel better," Diaz said with a smile. "Then let's go over there first."

"OK, thanks."

Watching the two batters leave, weighing the bags in their hands, Harry knew how they would explain things to their colleagues; it wasn't a problem for them to worry about, and it probably wouldn't be too difficult.

Right now, the more important thing is Peter the Pettigrew.

"Wait, Harry, what's going on?!" Sirius couldn't help but ask.

“It’s very simple. As you can see, I am actually Harry’s man.” Lucius glanced at his not-so-bright relative, sighed, and explained, “I bribed people in the Ministry of Magic to let Peter die, and I also gave you a chance to take revenge yourself.”

Sirius: "..."

Everything Lucius said was something he could understand... he could probably understand, but it was precisely because he could understand it that his mind became increasingly confused.

"Why?" Sirius couldn't help but ask, "Malfoy isn't—I mean—"

“Death Eaters?” Lucius scoffed. “That’s all in the past. Now I only serve Harry.”

Finally, Lucius bowed to Harry, a humble gesture that Sirius and Lupin found unacceptable.

"That's pretty much it. Lucius is working for me now," Harry testified. "You all already know about Voldemort's Horcruxes. Lucius is now in charge of contacting those pure-blood nobles, pretending to be one of them, and gathering information about Voldemort's Horcruxes. If one of Voldemort's souls is resurrected, we'll know immediately and be able to respond."

"Letting you meet is to prevent any unforeseen tragedies from happening when you meet outside in the future. After you leave here today, you still have to maintain that antagonistic relationship and not mess things up."

“I will, sir,” Lucius said respectfully, completely unconcerned about Sirius’s ghostly expression.

“Alright, stop thinking about these things,” Harry said, looking at Peter Pettigrew, who was curled up on the ground. “This is what I promised you, Sirius—the sins of a traitor can only be atoned for with blood.”

Staring blankly at Harry, Sirius understood what his godson meant—it was the urgency of killing.

Sirius had longed countless times for the image of piercing Peter's heart, but when the moment actually arrived, he was somewhat at a loss—not because he was afraid of killing, of course, but because who among those who had experienced the Wizarding Wars did not have a few lives on their hands.

Sirius simply couldn't understand why Harry could face death so calmly.

(End of this chapter)