Chapter 235: Question: What Happens When a Portal's Exit and Entrance Face Each Other?
This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Sirius had been discovered by the Aurors, and he'd originally thought he'd failed again. But he didn't expect Harry and the others to chase after him too, as if guided by fate itself.
The moment he spotted Ron, Sirius made his decision. He raised his wand and shouted the incantation. "Expelliarmus!"
"I've waited too long," Sirius stared intently at Ron, searching desperately for Pettigrew in his pockets. "Today, I will finish what I failed to do back then. Kill Pettigrew!"
Is he going to kill Harry?
Hermione gasped in shock, freezing in place completely, her mind going blank for a moment. The next second, Harry roared and lunged forward! He tackled Sirius to the ground in one violent motion, and they began to wrestle—two wizards locked in hand-to-hand combat!
Hermione stood frozen, at a complete loss. "W-what should we do?"
She turned to Ethan, her small hand anxiously gripping his sleeve. "Only you have a wand! But it's so easy to accidentally hurt Harry right now!"
Hearing this, Harry—with one hand plugging Sirius's nostril—looked up and shouted loudly. "Don't mind me! Ethan, quickly take them both and find the Aurors!"
Sirius wore an expression of pain. "Harry! Y-you listen to me first!"
"You killed my parents! What's there to explain now?" Harry roared furiously back at him. "Ethan! Go quickly!"
"Harry…"
Sirius's mouth twitched twice in pain, a double agony from both body and soul. His nostril was about to split open. He looked at Harry with eyes full of sorrow and relief. Truly worthy of being James's son, brimming with courage. But Harry didn't notice any of this. At this moment, his mind held only two words: revenge. When the Dementors approached, he'd heard his mother's screams, seen the green killing light, and heard that arrogant laughter. Who knew if Sirius's laughter was part of it? Even Ethan wouldn't be able to stop him now.
Ethan looked at the two tangled together like an octopus, shook his head, and let out a sigh that only a Ravenclaw could make. "Truly two reckless Gryffindors."
In the original story, if any of those present had managed to calm down and listen to the explanation, it wouldn't have resulted in all that effort for basically no real change. Sirius would still be a fugitive, and Pettigrew would still escape.
Ethan decided firmly. "I'll use a special move to make you both calm down."
In an instant, Harry and Sirius both shivered simultaneously, as if something profoundly wrong was staring at them. They turned their heads to look and saw Ethan looking down at them with cold, excited eyes, like one would regard a laboratory rat on a test bench.
Harry's eyes widened. "Wait, Ethan, I suddenly calmed down!"
However, it was too late.
Ethan waved his hand and shouted. "Portals!"
Two dark, opposing portal doors materialized above and below Harry and Sirius like a sandwich cookie, trapping them between! "Ahhhhh!" They screamed, falling into the portal beneath them, then reappearing from the one above, falling again. The cycle repeated endlessly. The speed became faster and faster.
"Ah ah ah ah ah!"
Harry and Sirius's screams echoed throughout the entire room.
Outside the Shrieking Shack, the Aurors were startled, looking toward the house in horror. "W-what twisted screams! Like vengeful spirits suffering torture!"
"Indeed, the legend is true!"
"This Shrieking Shack is truly haunted!"
Only one Muggle-born Auror frowned in confusion. Why does that sound so much like screams from a roller coaster?
"Speaking of which, where did Dawlish go?"
"Who knows. Heh, I'm afraid he's fallen into some 'dark door' again, hasn't he? Heh, how amusing!"
Inside the house, Hermione stared blankly at the two "haunted" figures. Their forms blurred with afterimages as their screams grew increasingly shrill, fully displaying Gryffindor determination.
Ron's eyes went wide. "Cool!"
"Ron, save me!" Harry's voice was lost in the chaos.
Ethan curled his lips contentedly. I'll call it 'The Ring of Harmony,' symbolizing beauty and joy. Listen to that sound, how wonderful.
After Harry and Sirius had "played" long enough and their voices quieted down, Ethan thoughtfully closed the portals. Bang! The two crashed heavily onto the floor, rolling to either side, breathing weakly. Their wands lay scattered nearby. They were completely calm now.
Ethan nodded in satisfaction. "Another dispute resolved. I truly am a kind and helpful good person."
Everyone exchanged looks silently: You didn't resolve the dispute, but rather the 'people' in the dispute, didn't you?
At the same time, the impact caused a nearby bookshelf to topple over. A pile of twigs, glass bottles, and other trash clattered out onto the floor.
"Chirp!"
The golden shrike appeared, soaring through the air. It landed on that pile of trash, pecking at the dirty, dry branches with its beak, chirping joyfully without stopping.
Ethan raised an eyebrow. The golden bird seemed to be standing on something great. Treasure, perhaps. He lifted his foot to walk toward the shrike.
Suddenly, he paused. His eyes shifted behind him.
"Incarcerous!"
A spell flew from behind, hitting Sirius directly. His limbs were bound tightly, his mouth gagged, preventing him from shouting any spell aloud.
Amidst Hermione's gasp of shock, Ethan turned to see a man wearing an Auror uniform, looking like a standard office worker whose magical power had been drained dry by bureaucratic work. Auror Dawlish held up his wand, shouting in surprise and delight. "I caught you! I caught you! Fugitive Sirius Black!"
He stared intently at the struggling fugitive on the ground, and a strange feeling arose within him. He'd originally expected Sirius to be filthy and unkempt. However, his appearance was surprisingly neat and clean, unexpectedly. His black hair was trimmed, falling messily but not greasily. His eyes were bright and spirited, his face clean without any stubble. Even his cheeks showed a healthy color, as if he'd been very well taken care of.
Dawlish narrowed his eyes. His gaze moved to Ethan, and he curled his lips. "Heh, caught red-handed, Ethan Vincent! This time, you're finally in my hands!"
Ethan looked at this grim-faced Auror and asked after a moment's thought. "Who are you?"
Dawlish, who'd been repeatedly thwarted by Ethan, snapped hoarsely. "I'm John Dawlish! You arrogant brat! During that treasure hunt challenge, you severely injured that Slytherin, making me take the blame for 'poor supervision!' And last time, when you were fishing in the North Sea, you crashed my boat and me directly into the frozen sea! And at Hogwarts—"
Listening to Dawlish list Ethan's crimes one by one, Hermione's face turned red. Ethan actually did many incredible things secretly. As expected of Ethan, truly amazing.
Dawlish finished speaking, panting heavily. "In short. Today, I'm taking both Sirius and you to the Ministry of Magic!"
"But Ethan is here to help—" Hermione protested.
"Hmph, Miss, we'll discuss the truth at the Ministry," Dawlish countered coldly.
Hermione's brows furrowed tightly together. Just as she was about to say something else, Ethan raised a hand to interrupt her.
"I came with Harry," Ethan said smoothly. "Is the Savior Harry also an accomplice?"
At the same time, a wisp of magic quietly floated out unnoticed, slowly rolling the fallen wand toward Sirius.
Dawlish looked at the weakly groaning Harry. "You attacked him, didn't you?"
Ethan smiled. "Haha, you're quite the joker, Auror."
"My name is John Dawlish!"
Just then, the wand finally rolled into Sirius's hand!