inspire-indiana Chapter 294 Reunion with Voldemort in the Dark
Chapter 294 Reunion with Voldemort in the Dark
Chapter 294 Reunion with Voldemort in the Dark (5.1K) (2/2)
In a safe house somewhere in London, enveloped in layers of ancient and powerful magic, the air is thick with the scent of old floors and wallpaper, and a faint sense of tension.
Contrary to the outside world's image of a down-on-his-luck fugitive, Sirius Black, though still gaunt and with deep-seated pain and vicissitudes in his eyes, looked almost normal thanks to his rest and the potions Reggie brought him. Even the proud features of the Black family had become clear again.
Only the occasional flicker of restlessness in his eyes, like that of a trapped beast, revealed that his heart was far from at peace.
Lynch's figure appeared silently in the room like a flock of crows blending into the shadows; his gray suit barely reflected the light in the dim light.
Sirius Black immediately stood up from an old armchair, his sharp gaze fixed on him. Without exchanging pleasantries, he asked directly, "Any news?" His voice was hoarse, filled with suppressed urgency.
Lin Qi nodded slightly, walked to the chair in the center of the room, and sat down, his movements as composed as ever.
"A rather amusing incident occurred at Hogwarts. Today, the Weasley boys and Miss Granger had a public argument in the hallway, nearly to the point of breaking up."
Sirius frowned, clearly not immediately understanding what the students' argument had to do with him.
"The reason for the argument is," Lynch took a sip of water, looked up at Sirius, and said in a flat tone, "Weasley claims that Miss Granger's cat—that clever creature named Crookshanks—ate his pet mouse, Scabbers."
"Spotty—" Sirius subconsciously repeated the name, then suddenly realized the meaning behind Lin Qi's words, and the memories and hatred that had been suppressed for twelve years surged up!
"Peter!!"
The name acted like a switch, instantly igniting the suppressed volcano within Sirius Black.
He clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles cracking, veins bulging on his forehead, his chest heaving with rapid breathing. A surge of violent rage seemed about to burst forth from him, his grey eyes churning with twelve years of injustice, the pain of betrayal, and a deep-seated hatred. He looked as if he were about to transform into a giant hound and charge recklessly towards Hogwarts.
But he didn't.
He remained rooted to the spot, his jaw clenched, a suppressed growl emanating from his throat, like a wounded wild beast.
He closed his eyes, forced himself to take a few deep breaths, and when he opened them again, although the anger was still burning in his eyes, it was now forcibly restrained by a stronger will.
Lynch watched his struggle calmly until Sirius's breathing had calmed down slightly before speaking again, his voice low and clear: "Now it's your turn, Black. You need to stay calm."
Sirius raised his eyes, his gaze meeting Lin Qi's. The mania in his eyes gradually subsided into an almost icy focus.
"I know what to do." His voice was still hoarse, but the previous loss of control was gone, replaced by a heavy resolve. "Play the role of a fugitive wandering around Hogwarts, looking for an opportunity—"
"A target that's conspicuous enough, yet elusive." He twitched the corner of his mouth, revealing a cold smile. "That's not difficult for me."
He paused, his gaze fixed on the leaping flames in the fireplace, his eyes becoming distant, and his voice deepening. "I want to end this hunt more than anyone else, Lynch. Not just for revenge—but so that one day I can stand openly in the sun, no longer hiding, no longer burdened by the stigma of a traitor—" His voice held a deep, almost yearning emotion. "I want to be able to—walk up to Harry without hesitation, embrace Remus, chat with people I know—live like a real person."
These few words contain all the pain and anticipation of the past twelve years.
It explained more powerfully than any angry roar why he was able to suppress his burning rage at that moment.
Lin Qi looked at him quietly and nodded.
"Stay clear-headed. The stage is being built for you; don't smash it before the opening ceremony."
Sirius didn't answer, but instead turned his gaze back to the flickering flames. The firelight reflected in his eyes was no longer just a reflection of anger, but a symbol of a desperate, all-or-nothing determination ignited in the fight for true freedom.
His clenched fist slowly loosened, then clenched again, this time so that he could finally let go truly and permanently.
Having taken in Sirius's expressions and movements, Lin Qi understood the pain he had endured for twelve years and his current yearning for freedom and light. Without saying anything more, he simply made a "follow" gesture and led Sirius away from the safe house.
After a few brief moments of discomfort from apparitions, cold air, carrying the scent of earth and pine needles, filled my lungs.
They appeared in a remote mountain forest, surrounded by rolling hills and dark tree outlines, with higher mountains in the distance appearing as dark blue silhouettes in the night.
The night wind howled, much colder than in London.
Sirius looked around, his brow furrowed, somewhat puzzled.
"here it is?"
"The Grand Flat Mountains." Lynch's voice sounded somewhat faint in the wind. "The area around Hogwarts is now under close surveillance by the Ministry of Magic; there are too many informants. This is the only place we can come from. It's a bit far, but it's secluded enough."
Sirius nodded, accepting the explanation, but his doubts deepened: "Why did you bring me here? To practice how to be more like a fugitive?" His tone carried a hint of self-deprecation.
Lynch did not answer directly.
His gaze fell upon a relatively open clearing in the woods not far away, where the moonlight barely pierced through the clouds, outlining a solitary figure standing there.
The man had his back to them, as if he were waiting for something.
Hearing their approaching footsteps—though Lynch was almost silent, Sirius's footsteps crunched on the dry branches—the figure turned around abruptly.
Almost instinctively, he raised his wand instantly, the tip emitting a soft but clear white light that illuminated his own face.
That face, with its familiar, slightly tired gentleness, and the undisguised tension and vigilance, belonged to Remus Lupin.
Time seemed to freeze at that moment.
The light from the wand danced on Lupin's face, also illuminating Sirius's frozen figure.
The confusion and doubt on his face vanished like a thin mist blown away by the wind, replaced by extreme shock. His pupils suddenly contracted, and his lips parted slightly, but no sound came out.
He stared intently at that face, at the old friend he thought he would never be able to face again as a free man.
Lupin also recognized who it was.
When he saw the thin but ramrod-straight man next to Lynch, whose eyes were like burning ashes, his hand holding the wand trembled violently, and the light flickered.
His wariness was replaced by a surge of disbelief, pain, memories, and a sliver of uncertain hope.
"Remus—" Sirius finally found his voice again. It was dry and hoarse, as if he had traveled through a time tunnel of twelve years, carrying the marks of rust and the frost of time.
"Sirius?" Lupin's voice was dry, filled with disbelief and probing. His gaze was fixed on the other person, as if trying to pierce through those twelve years of hardship and confirm that what he was seeing was not an illusion.
"It's me, Remus." Sirius's voice was equally hoarse. He took a small step forward, his movements somewhat stiff. His deep-set gray eyes churned with too many emotions—injustice, pain, the excitement of seeing an old friend, and a lingering shadow of Azkaban.
"By Merlin—it really is you—"
There was no passionate embrace or tearful farewell as expected. The twelve-year estrangement and the deep rift called "betrayal" made the reunion exceptionally difficult and cautious.
They stood just a few steps apart, sizing each other up, their eyes greedily taking in the changes in one another, trying to find traces of the past in familiar outlines, yet forced to confront the unfamiliarity etched by time and suffering.
"—They all say you—" Lupin began with difficulty, his words choking in his throat.
"I know what they said!" Sirius interrupted him, his voice rising abruptly, filled with barely suppressed pain and anger. But he immediately took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white. "But it's all lies, Remus! It's Peter! It's that despicable traitor! He betrayed James and Lily, he killed them, and then framed me!" His words were like a flood bursting its banks, carrying twelve years of pent-up emotions, yet filled with an urgent, pleading desire to be believed because the recipient was Lupin.
A deep pain flashed across Lupin's face. Although he had already heard the truth from Lynch, hearing Sirius say it with his own ears was still a different experience.
"I believe you," he finally said, his voice low but firm. Those four words seemed to carry a thousand pounds, instantly shattering the invisible ice wall between the two of them. "From the moment Lynch told me about his suspicions—I knew that wasn't like what you do."
The ensuing conversation became hurried and low, with the two leaning closer together and speaking in hushed tones.
They exchanged information quickly—Sirius briefly mentioned his obsession with Peter after his escape, while Lupin talked about Harry, the current state of Hogwarts, and—the rat named Scabbers.
Each name is like a key, unlocking a long-forgotten and painful memory, yet strangely, it also gradually reconnects broken bonds.
Lynch remained standing at a distance, neither too close nor too far, with his back to them and his face towards the dark woods, like a silent sentinel.
He neither intervened in this dialogue that was twelve years overdue, nor did he deliberately distance himself to ensure he could hear the crucial developments and give them the necessary space.
However, just as Lupin mentioned Banban's recent "disappearance," Lynch's usually calm and composed figure paused almost imperceptibly. He turned his head sharply, his sharp gaze piercingly towards a dense patch of shadows behind him, swaying in the night wind.
His brow furrowed slightly, as if he had caught some extremely subtle, discordant fluctuation in the air, neither the sound of the wind nor the rustling of ordinary nocturnal creatures.
He didn't issue a warning, but silently, like a ghost, glided into the woods.
His movements were light and swift, and his gray suit blended almost seamlessly into the darkness.
Lupin and Sirius noticed Lynch's unusual behavior, their conversation abruptly ending as they both looked over warily, their wands instinctively rising.
Lin Qi approached the large trees, his gaze sweeping over the trunks and branches like that of a hawk.
He reached out, his fingertips almost touching the rough bark, sensing the flow of magic around him.
A moment later, he looked up at a taller branch.
There, a pair of small eyes, reflecting a faint green light in the moonlight, stared at him in fear. It was a small nocturnal owl, seemingly disturbed by the uninvited guest, its head darting nervously, a struggling field mouse clutched tightly in its talons. It appeared to have just finished its hunt and was preparing for its dinner, but Lynch's presence had startled it.
Even after seeing the owl clutching a field mouse with a terrified look in its eyes, the sharpness in Lynch's eyes did not completely disappear.
Without the slightest hesitation, a thin gray mist quietly spread out beneath his feet, spreading silently like night dew, quickly enveloping an area of several dozen meters around him, blurring the figures and voices of the three people.
Then, his lips moved slightly: "The person has appeared!"
The magic of the spell rippled outwards like water, subtly sensing all traces of consciousness or magic within its range.
A moment later, the feedback was clearly presented in Lynch's mind: in addition to the three of them, the frightened little owl in the tree and its dying prey, there were several field mice hiding in their burrows, a badger digging for roots under the bushes and stopping its movements due to the mist, and a nest of squirrels sleeping peacefully in a tree hole further away—all ordinary little creatures, each with its own faint instincts, forming the normal ecology of this mountain forest at night.
The chill emanating from Lin Qi slowly subsided, and the thin mist beneath his feet quietly dissipated as if absorbed by the earth.
He turned around to face Lupin and Sirius, who were nervously clutching their wands as they approached—Reggie had already commissioned someone to forge a suitable wand for Sirius.
"What's going on?" Sirius asked in a low voice, his gray eyes still scanning the dark woods around him warily.
Although Lupin didn't speak, the question in his eyes was equally clear.
"It's nothing." Lin Qi's voice returned to its usual calm. "I seemed to have sensed a hostile gaze just now. It seems to be thanks to this little guy."
""
He pointed to the owl in the tree that had finally begun to enjoy its dinner in peace: "It had just finished hunting, and its remaining hunting instincts were still concentrated, which led me to misjudge it."
Hearing Lynch's explanation.
Lupin breathed a sigh of relief and lowered his wand slightly.
Sirius spat and muttered, "This godforsaken place—"
This little incident interrupted the previously heavy and urgent atmosphere of reminiscing.
Lin Qi then said, "Let's end our meeting here." His gaze swept over Lupin and Sirius. "If things go well, perhaps we won't need to be so secretive next time we meet."
These words were like a ray of light, piercing through the darkness of the mountains and forests and the gloom that had long shrouded their hearts.
Lupin nodded, a hopeful yet solemn expression on his face.
Sirius took a deep breath of the cold air, nodded vigorously, and the flame in his gray eyes burned even more resolutely.
This brief but significant reunion undoubtedly instilled in them much-needed strength and conviction.
"Stay vigilant."
Lupin glanced at Sirius one last time, condensing a thousand words into a simple instruction, before turning away decisively and Apparating away.
Lynch stood there, watching Lupin leave. Then, his gaze returned to the depths of the woods that had previously alerted him, his eyes sharp as an eagle's, as if trying to pierce through the layers of darkness to confirm that nothing had truly been missed.
After a moment, he looked away.
"We should go," he said to Sirius.
The two said no more, and their figures quickly disappeared into the night of the Granbian Mountains.
The wind blew across the open space, which had just experienced a reunion and a period of caution, swirling up a few fallen leaves.
In the sky, a thick, dark cloud drifted slowly, completely obscuring the sparse starlight. Then, the pure white moonlight poured down like mercury without any obstruction, casting clear and dappled light and shadow through the bare branches onto the forest clearing.
Under the moonlight, the little badger, which had been startled by Lynch's mist and stood motionless by the bushes, seemed to have its immobilization spell broken by the cool moonlight and suddenly trembled.
Like any startled animal, it looked around for a moment, then turned around without hesitation. Its four short legs pawed at an astonishing speed that belied its clumsy body, and like a brownish-gray shadow, it darted into the depths of the dense forest without looking back.
It raced wildly, weaving through tangled tree roots and skimming over withered grass, oblivious to the presence of other nocturnal creatures along the way, with only one clear objective—its hidden, damp nest nestled beneath the roots of a giant beech tree.
After burrowing back into the cramped space filled with the scent of earth and its own body, the little badger's tense body suddenly relaxed, and it lay prone on the ground, breathing heavily.
However, in the very next moment, an extremely bizarre scene unfolded—
A blurry, distorted, illusory face, like condensed smoke, slowly emerged from the little badger's furry back of the head.
The face had no physical form, as if it were outlined by the deepest shadows, with only the narrow, snake-like nostrils and a pair of eyes that gleamed with an ominous red light faintly discernible.
A sinister and terrifying smile, filled with malice and ecstasy, slowly spread across that face.
"Traitor—the rat—Blake—Lupin—and that troublesome Lynch—" The fragmented words pieced together in his mind, "So that's how it is—a meticulously planned exoneration drama—for the real rat—"
He sensed the immense amount of information contained in those few words, as well as the opportunities hidden within them.
"Very well—" A phantom face appeared and disappeared in the darkness, a silent, cold laugh echoing through the lair, "Struggle, tear each other apart—someone will—reap the rewards of your efforts—"
The moonlight continued to fall silently on the forest clearing, as if nothing had ever happened.
But the gears of fate, because of this unexpected eavesdropping, quietly added a variable and dangerous element to the mix.
Another player has joined the ranks of those playing chess in the darkness.
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