Crookshanks first took a leisurely stroll around the school, moving with elegant and nimble steps as it slipped lightly through every corner of the castle.
The ginger-colored figure would sotis flash past beneath the long corridors, sotis pause briefly in the garden, as if carefully searching for an important target.
This ti, instead of returning to Hermione as usual, it walked straight out of Hogwarts' main gates.
"Just as I thought," Wes Elwin mused to himself. He knew that following Crookshanks this ti would definitely yield results.
Once outside the school grounds, Crookshanks noticeably quickened its pace. From ti to ti, it stopped to sniff the air with its nose, picking up the faintest of scents. At the sa ti, it looked around warily, maintaining a high level of vigilance.
Before long, Crookshanks arrived before a dilapidated, crumbling house. It stood there quietly, tail swaying gently, and owed twice toward the inside.
"Woof! Woof!" ca two loud responses from within.
Then, a huge black dog erged from the rundown house. Though it looked large, it was gaunt—every rib visible—its body telling the tale of long suffering.
Its fur was matted and unkempt, stripped of its forr luster.
"ow~"
"Woof~ Woof~"
The cat and the dog seed to be engaged in so kind of exchange.
The black dog's eyes carried a near-human sadness. Lowering its head, it looked deeply dejected. Crookshanks rubbed its head gently against the big dog's, as if offering comfort.
At that mont, Wes canceled his Disillusionnt Charm and appeared before the two animals.
They froze for a mont—then their fur bristled instantly, standing up like sharp quills. They growled loudly at Wes, full of hostility toward this uninvited guest.
"Nice to et you, Padfoot… or should I say, Sirius Black."
The big black dog froze again. It had been a long ti since he had heard that na—familiar, yet strange—stirring a surge of complicated feelings within him.
But his instincts still pushed him toward defense; he bared his sharp teeth, ready to leap at Wes.
"I know Peter Pettigrew isn't dead," Wes said evenly, "and I know you were frad."
The words hit Sirius like a thunderclap. His mind went completely blank, and for a mont, he couldn't react at all—his canine face frozen in disbelief.
"Woof!"
"Woof!"
He barked urgently at Wes, as though trying to explain sothing important.
"I don't speak dog," Wes shrugged, looking helpless. "You can turn back into a human first."
The big black dog curled in on itself, and then its body began to shift—slowly taking the form of a tall, adult man.
His clothes were tattered beyond recognition, any trace of their original color and style long gone. Oily, filthy long hair and a ragged beard concealed most of his face, making him look more destitute than the average beggar—only a pair of deep, gray eyes were visible.
"Who are you… and just… what exactly do you know?" Sirius asked haltingly, his voice rough—whether from lack of human contact for so long, or simply because of how weak he had beco.
"Before we discuss any of this, I think you need to replenish your strength first," Wes Elwin said, giving his wand a gentle wave. A picnic cloth appeared on the ground.
Imdiately, bread, milk, fruit, steak, and various other foods appeared on the cloth one after another, releasing an enticing aroma.
Sirius' throat moved involuntarily as he swallowed. Ever since escaping from prison, he had either rummaged through trash bins for food or hunted small animals like rats to barely stave off hunger. It had been far too long since he'd tasted such a feast.
Yet, he still kept his guard up toward Wes Elwin, unsure why this stranger wanted to help him.
"Relax. To deal with a wizard without a wand, I wouldn't need to resort to poison. And if I truly wanted to catch you, I would have already inford the Ministry—what ca for you then would have been Dentors."
At the ntion of "Dentors," Sirius shuddered involuntarily.
Still, Wes Elwin's words made sense. From their brief interactions, Sirius hadn't sensed any malice from him.
So, with trembling hands, he grabbed a piece of bread and shoved it into his mouth. In less than three seconds, it was gone.
Next, he hastily snatched up a steak with his hands and stuffed it into his mouth. Without even swallowing, he cramd another piece of bread in, nearly choking himself in the process.
He quickly grabbed a bottle of milk and gulped it down, spilling it all over himself. Once he finally swallowed the food in his mouth, he resud shoveling food into his mouth non-stop, leaving the picnic cloth a complete ss.
Halfway through eating, Sirius suddenly began to cry, tears and snot streaming down his face.
These foods brought back a warmth he hadn't felt in so long, and with it, the pain and grievances buried deep in his heart surged forth.
Wes Elwin didn't interrupt him—he simply stood quietly to the side, letting him vent his emotions.
Crookshanks jumped into Sirius' arms, softly owing. Sirius handed the cat a at patty. "You've worked hard. Without you, I don't know what I would've done."
This man—who had been wrongfully imprisoned, who had endured years of tornt from Dentors in Azkaban without shedding a tear—was now crying uncontrollably.
His tears carried too many emotions: pain, resentnt, gratitude, and even a trace of hope.
After wiping away his tears, Sirius looked at Wes Elwin. "How did you know Crookshanks was helping ?"
Wes Elwin handed him the Marauder's Map.
Sirius gently caressed the parchnt. The familiar texture brought back countless mories.
"The Marauder's Map you lot made ended up in the hands of the Weasley twins. By chance, they gave it to…" Wes Elwin began spinning a pre-prepared explanation. "Crookshanks' behavior was far too suspicious, and it ignored all other rats. I suspected it was acting under soone's orders—I just didn't expect that soone to be you."
Wes Elwin's reasoning had plenty of holes, but at that mont Sirius' mind wasn't sharp enough to notice.
"So that's it. I never thought sothing we made for pranks would end up helping again."
Sirius gazed at the map, lost in mories.
"What are you planning to do next?" Wes Elwin interrupted his thoughts.
"Of course, I'm going to catch that traitor Wormtail," Sirius said, his eyes turning vicious. "I'll make him repent for everything he's done."
"And how exactly will you catch him?"
"Crookshanks has done great so far—he almost caught that rat. Give him a little more ti and he's bound to get him," Sirius said confidently.
Hearing such praise, Crookshanks proudly lifted his head.
"I said your Animagus form is a dog, but that doesn't an your brain's turned into a dog's brain," Wes Elwin said, looking at Sirius in exasperation.
"What do you an??" Sirius was clearly baffled by Wes Elwin's remark, not understanding what he was getting at.
°°°
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