Harry Potter and the Obscurus

Chapter 92 The Legend Ends

The escape of the fake Harry, who tricked the fake Hermione into giving him the fake Time-Turner, was not easy. After leaving the women's bathroom, he ran into Dumbledore pacing around the castle in the early morning, Snape who always seemed angry for some reason, and the real Harry who had lost the effects of Polyjuice Potion.

"Hermione? What are you doing here? Are you preparing for today's lesson again?"

In a moment of panic, D.B. Cooper, who had transformed into Hermione Granger, startled Harry. Fortunately, having just tricked the Time-Turner, he had already experienced a similar conversation.

He replied:

"Yes, that's right. There are quite a few class times that conflict today."

“But you look very tired. I think you should really consider my suggestion and drop all the classes that you’re not really interested in.”

"Maybe... I'll try one last week. If I haven't adjusted by the end of this week, I'll cancel the course as you suggested."

"Then it's settled."

Harry smiled casually, waved goodbye to "Hermione," and walked away without saying another word.

DB Cooper breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this, but after taking only a few steps, he bumped into Professor McGonagall.

"Oh my goodness! Miss Granger, where are you rushing off to?"

Professor McGonagall looked at Hermione and asked.

"Uh... Good morning, Professor. I just ran into Harry and we chatted for a bit. I was just about to go back to my dorm to get my textbooks; I forgot I had Defense Against the Dark Arts class this afternoon."

DB Cooper said nervously.

"By Merlin..."

Minerva McGonagall gently touched her forehead and said:

“I must admit, Miss Granger, I’m starting to regret helping you apply for this Time-Turner. You can’t just take every elective you can for credits and grades. I wanted to say something when Professor Kereddy Bubbage told me there was a witch from a Muggle family in the class, but I thought you just wanted to audit the class to get a feel for it.”

"I'm sorry, Professor, I only started feeling unwell this week. Once I finish this week's classes, I'll drop a few... I promise!"

DB Cooper's acting skills have stood the test of time. Even in front of Professor McGonagall, who may be older than him, he can act like a little girl without any awkwardness.

As expected, Minerva McGonagall, as Headmistress of Gryffindor, quickly forgave the student who was "simply too inquisitive."

"Well... alright, Miss Granger, remember not to lose the Time-Turner. I still need to return it to the Ministry of Magic for you. Okay, hurry up and go, and be careful not to let anyone see you."

"Yes, Professor."

......

After hurriedly leaving through the corner of the corridor, D.B. Cooper, disguised as Hermione, kept running into obstacles. Even though he had been exploring the castle for a while disguised as Filch, finding a secluded corner in Hogwarts to escape using the Time-Turner was not an easy task.

As time passed, students who needed to attend morning classes on various floors gradually left their dormitories. Just as he finally managed to break through the encirclement and reach the lawn outside the Forbidden Forest, he was surprised to hear a somewhat familiar Hogwarts professor's voice.

"I've bought you the wand you wanted. Try it out and see if it suits you, Sirius."

Sirius?

Sirius Black?

Sirius Black, the one who escaped from Azkaban?

The sudden appearance of the names of prominent figures caused DB Cooper, who should have left Hogwarts long ago, to uncontrollably return to his old ways. He bent down and quietly approached the only two remaining members of the Raiders under the cover of the trees, greedily gathering information like a Sniffer finding a shiny coin.

"14 inches, dragon heartstring, oak. Ollivander and I described your qualities, and he said such a wand is perfect for someone as resilient as you. How does it feel?"

"It feels like... being reborn as a human being."

As Black took the wand, he spoke, then eagerly unleashed a few decorative spells. Lupin, however, slowly frowned as he looked at his friend, still dressed in tattered clothes.

“Now that you have a wand, it won’t be difficult for you to go back to Black’s old mansion and hide. There’s no need to continue hiding in the Forbidden Forest in these tattered clothes.”

"No way, Lemos!"

Sirius rejected the proposal without the slightest hesitation, saying excitedly:

"That guy's still alive, that traitor's still alive, you know that! He's right next to Harry's friends, and he could hurt those kids at any moment to save his own life!"

"Forehead......"

Lu Ping pursed his lips somewhat shyly, and after hesitating for a moment, he finally spoke his mind.

“Although I haven’t been at Hogwarts for long, after the first few theory classes, I think Harry is probably much more capable than we were when we took the NEWTs exam. What’s more, Dumbledore is here to protect us.”

What do you mean by that?

“What I’m trying to say is that instead of proceeding so cautiously as we are now, we should let you rest for a while before seeking Dumbledore’s advice. Just imagine, if we could get his help, it would be much easier to capture Little Pettigrew or clear your name.”

Lupin's words were undeniably reasonable, and even DB Cooper, who was eavesdropping nearby, wanted to agree. However, for someone who had endured twelve years of torment in Azkaban, it was simply impossible to ask him to give up the will to live.

"If Dumbledore had been 100% convinced of my innocence, he wouldn't have allowed the Ministry of Magic to arrest me and send me to Azkaban!"

After yelling that outburst, Blake calmed down considerably. He weighed the wand in his hand, looked at his old friend standing before him, and slowly said:

“It’s not that I don’t trust Dumbledore, Remus… he… he’s not like you and James, and he’s definitely much stronger than us. If he doesn’t trust me, we probably wouldn’t even have a chance to resist before being sent straight to Azkaban. I’m begging you, trust me this one more time. You definitely won’t like that kind of place.”

Remus Lupin's memories of Sirius Black are almost entirely from his school days and the years after everyone graduated. Back then, Black was handsome, dashing, and full of vigor. No matter who or what he was dealing with, others were always the ones asking him for favors; he was never the one asking others for favors.

However, twelve years later, when they met again at the Screaming Shack, Lupin understood everything without needing any explanation, simply by seeing Blake, draped in rags and looking like a beggar, pleading with him to believe him.

"I understand, Sirius."

Lupin sighed and said:

“But our operation needs to make some progress. You said before that the rat next to Ron isn’t Little Pettigrew, so you wouldn’t let me catch it directly. How did you know that?”

“A cat told me this. She must be the pet of a student in Gryffindor. I met her when I became an Animagus, and she promised to help me find Peter.”

"Haven't you considered the possibility that Peter is no longer at Hogwarts?"

"No, he must still be alive!"

Blake stubbornly said:

“My Animagus is a dog, I can smell that guy! Before I saw you last time, I even thought I was going to catch him, but it turned out I just bumped into Filch in the Forbidden Forest.”

Black's memories of chasing Filch were often hazy. He remembered smelling Peter's scent and running from the outer edge of Hogwarts Castle all the way into the Forbidden Forest. But after catching up with Filch and confirming his identity, he could never quite recall why he had suddenly collapsed from exhaustion.

"How about this then..."

After listening to his old friend's story, Lupin suggested:

"This afternoon I will be giving a practical lesson to all the third-year students at Hogwarts. I will take them to the staff lounge to deal with the Boggarts. All students' personal belongings will be left in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, and the student dormitories will be empty. You can take this opportunity to search them thoroughly."

"That's great, Remus! You really are..."

"Don't be too happy yet. If you still can't find Peter's trail this time, you should listen to me and go back to the Black family mansion to settle down and make further plans."

Sirius, whose old friend had poured cold water on his enthusiasm by negotiating terms, pouted, then nodded and said:

“Okay, we’ll do it your way! But let’s make it clear beforehand that you can’t limit my rest time. As soon as I feel I’ve recovered, I’ll return to Hogwarts, and even you can’t stop me.”

"Alright, I got it. You'd better hurry up and go to Hogsmeade Village to find some food."

Lupin reassured them in a gentle voice as much as possible, and then the two left the Forbidden Forest one after the other, going their separate ways.

DB Cooper was such a shrewd wizard that even before he saw Sirius use Animagus magic to turn back into the big black dog, he knew that the person who had chased him in Filch's form was him.

Things suddenly became terrifying upon closer examination.

Why didn't that Death Eater who always wore a black robe use the Killing Curse, but instead used the more troublesome Oblivion and Confusion Curses?

That was a dog! Why would he alter its memory just to prevent Hogwarts staff from discovering something? Unless he already knew it was an Animagus!

Who exactly is he?

Which side of the wizards is he loyal to?

Voldemort? Dumbledore?

With his strength, he could easily establish his own independent force. And if he wanted to intervene in the conflicts of the European magical world, he could be a decisive factor regardless of which side he joined.

DB Cooper grew increasingly terrified as he thought about it, but the more afraid he became, the more he realized the importance of this intelligence.

If he could figure out the identity of the Man in Black, whether it was Voldemort or Dumbledore, he could gain a great deal of benefit. More importantly, he now essentially held the future of the entire European wizarding world in his own hands.

"Hu, hu, hu."

After taking a few deep breaths, DB Cooper regained control of his escalating emotions. He stared in the direction Sirius had gone, and deep within him, he seemed to rediscover the burning passion he had felt before the hijacking in his youth.

"We can't leave so soon."

DB Cooper said to himself:

"If I can pull this off, my place in history won't just be that of the first hijacker. Besides, now that I have the time-changer, if any real crisis comes up, I can just go back in time and escape... Hmm, that's what I'll do!"

......

Besides the magical creatures that inhabit the Dark Forest surrounding Hogwarts, there are also intelligent magical life forms like centaurs. Therefore, even disguised as Filch, DB Cooper never dared to explore too deeply on his own.

He cautiously followed the big black dog along the narrow path through the woods, and soon he came to a beach covered with rough pebbles.

A gentle breeze rippled across the water, intensifying the chill in the air. Sirius shook his fur and, as usual, began sniffing around at the empty space.

DB Cooper couldn't understand this inexplicable behavior, but after Blake confirmed that he had left empty-handed, his desire to get away from the area as quickly as possible made Cooper realize something was wrong.

"This is... a Confusion Charm?"

“Specialis revelio.” (The true nature is revealed.)

"Finite." (Stop the curse)

The moment the two beams of magical light, one white and one yellow, appeared, they were completely swallowed up by the multiple protective spells formed by the Peace-Protecting Spell and the All-Encompassing Protection Spell. Clearly, this area had been magically protected by a powerful wizard.

“Finite Incanta......” (All curses...)

"No, this magic, while ingenious, is far too blatant. Using such an obvious method on Hogwarts grounds, right under Dumbledore's nose, suggests that the wizard is either incredibly stupid or utterly reckless. If it's the latter, then I can't just forcefully break it with magic."

With this in mind, D.B. Cooper reached into Neville's Gryffindor robes and grasped the Time-Turner wrapped in a handkerchief. Then, with the thought that "if I can break this spell and see what's inside, all my problems will be solved," he resolutely drew upon all his knowledge and began the final chapter of his criminal career.

Breaking through magical barriers and Muggles using thieves' tools to pick locks are similar in that, besides skill and experience, another very important quality is patience.

By the time DB Cooper finally overcame all the obstacles and saw the Thunderbird Egg, it was already afternoon.

The silver-white bird egg with flowing golden lightning patterns couldn't have come from anywhere else; it was the very one stolen by the dark wizard in North America a few months ago. And if it appeared here, it could only prove one thing—those two so-called Death Eaters were actually Dumbledore's spies planted among Voldemort's ranks.

"We've made a fortune!"

DB Cooper pumped his fist in ecstasy.

Besides crucial intelligence that could influence the situation, he even found the Thunderbird egg that had been abandoned, a truly unexpected surprise!

However, just as he was about to reach for the precious gem in front of him, a calm old man's voice suddenly rang out from behind him.

“I have temporarily borrowed something from the owner of this egg, so I cannot let you take it away.”

DB Cooper, still resembling Hermione, was already feeling quite disheartened. He turned around and, with a try-it-and-see attitude, said:

"Professor Dumbledore? The Headmaster? I don't know what this is..."

"You didn't poison Argus, nor did you prepare Polyjuice Potion, so I guess you're not a Death Eater... Tell me, what exactly is your purpose in coming to Hogwarts? And who have you been in contact with during this time?"

Dumbledore had no wand in his hand, but even so, the pressure emanating from him was still stronger than that of the black-robed wizard Cooper encountered in Arizona.

Without a second's hesitation, DB Cooper, his forehead already dripping with sweat, reacted with lightning speed. As he silently cast the Armor Charm, his fingers parted the handkerchief covering the opal necklace.

"what!"

The powerful curse tore apart the disguise of the pocket watch.

With a series of crackling sounds, DB Cooper was lifted into the air by an invisible force.

His mouth was wide open, almost tearing the corners of his lips apart. Soon, the shrill sound that initially came from his throat turned into a silent scream.

Pfft!

DB Cooper, with Hermione's face, fell from the sky.

Under the influence of the curse, her once fluffy brown hair withered and turned into that of an old woman. Her eyes, which had lost their former bright and clear appearance, seemed to be covered with a layer of gray mist. Even though she had lost her life, the "girl's" empty eyes were still staring straight at the broken "time converter" in her left hand.

"Eh..."

Dumbledore sighed, then stepped forward and examined the broken "Time-Turner" on the ground, saying:

"Although I don't want to use words like clever or ingenious to describe it, I have to admit that even for me, this method is indeed rare in my life."

Upon hearing this, Harry slowly emerged from behind a thick tree trunk.

At this moment, he was somewhat at a loss for how to answer the principal's question, but he couldn't hide his excitement at having finally put his mind at ease.

"Ahem... This wasn't meticulously planned; it was merely a coincidence. But Professor, did you know all along, or...?"

Dumbledore didn't answer directly. While using his wand to flick the cursed necklace, which had reverted to its original form, he said:

"This thing is far too dangerous for students, so I will keep it safe for a while."

Harry, who was already used to his headmaster’s behavior, didn’t say anything more. He took out the Forbidden Forest Pocket that he had prepared earlier and walked toward the Thunderbird egg that was lying quietly in the nest.