As Aizen in Naruto and Joined a Chat Group Chapter 579: Sirius’s Shock

Looking for me?

Sirius Black, slumped against the corner of his cell, froze for a moment, then his face settled back into indifference.

In all these years, it wasn’t as if no one had ever come looking for him.

Some were distant relatives; some were from other pure-blood families. But without a single exception, every one of them had come for the Black family fortune. Sirius had long since seen through what all of these people really were.

In truth, from the very moment Sirius was imprisoned, he had already made his plan: when he died, the family fortune and the house would go to one person alone, his godson, Harry Potter. Everyone else could forget about getting so much as a half-knut.

Tap, tap.

The footsteps drew nearer, and with lowered eyes Sirius saw a pair of black leather shoes enter his field of view. He raised his head with a hint of mockery, and then his expression abruptly froze. "You?"

Clearly, the person standing before him was beyond anything Sirius had imagined.

Flaxen short hair, a neatly trimmed mustache above his lip. He wore a gray-brown suit, and his pale cheeks looked faintly weathered. This was someone Sirius knew, his dear friend, one might even say his closest friend: Lupin.

"It’s been a long time, Black." Lupin nodded expressionlessly, his eyes moving to the Ministry of Magic Auror accompanying him. "Would you give us a moment? I need to speak with my good friend in private."

The two Aurors exchanged a glance and nodded lightly. "Do be quick about it, sir." Then they turned and gradually disappeared down the end of the corridor.

Only after their figures had fully gone did Lupin draw a deep breath. "You look like a completely different man from the Black in my memory."

The Sirius of old had been dashing and spirited, the dream lover of any number of witches. The man now looked like a skeleton wrapped in dried skin, his appearance was nearly frightening to behold.

"That’s because he has no idea how to enjoy life in here!" Before Black could speak, a shrill woman’s voice suddenly rang out from behind. "All for the sake of that pitiful pride of his!"

Lupin’s brow knitted, and he turned to look behind him.

It was Bellatrix Black Lestrange, Sirius’s older cousin. Lupin knew her, and Peter Pettigrew, who was currently playing the part of Lupin, knew her intimately well.

Even among the madhouse that was the Death Eaters, this woman was an outlier. Her worship of Voldemort had reached the point of fanatical frenzy. Her heart was viperous, her methods cruel.

Peter Pettigrew had once been terrified of her, because this woman would not hesitate to turn on even her own companions.

But now? Lupin merely gave her a sliver of a cold smile. "Only someone with a hollowed-out brain enjoys life in here. Oh, my apologies. I quite forgot, faithful lapdogs of Voldemort like you were never equipped with a brain to begin with."

"You damned vermin, how DARE you say such a thing!" Bellatrix shrieked. "I’ll kill you! I’ll tear your heart out and stuff it down a sewer!"

"How terrified I am." Peter Pettigrew, in Lupin’s skin, snickered and drew his wand, leveling it at her. "So that nothing of the sort can happen, I’m afraid I’ll have to take you out first."

Humm.

A brilliant blue beam shot from the tip of the wand and struck Bellatrix squarely in the chest. Her body flipped backward, and she collapsed to the floor, dead or alive, no one could say.

"You killed her?" Sirius stared, stunned.

His shock had nothing to do with concern for his cousin’s life. In Sirius’s heart, every last Death Eater deserved to die, relations or not.

But Bellatrix was, after all, a prisoner under the close watch of the Ministry of Magic. If his good friend went and killed her outright, it would be a great deal of trouble.

"It seems a decade-plus in here has dulled even your sensitivity to magic." Lupin, played by Peter Pettigrew, heaved a theatrical sigh. "That was nothing but a minor Sleeping Charm."

"But you didn’t incant just now." Sirius frowned. "Wordless magic?"

"A little trick I picked up recently," Lupin said flatly.

Sirius nodded and said nothing more. The air between the two men sank into silence, without even a trace of the warmth an old friend’s reunion should carry.

After who knew how long, Sirius finally asked, "You’ve taken a post at the Ministry of Magic?" If not for that, he truly couldn’t imagine why an Auror would personally escort the man to see him.

"No. This September, I’ll be teaching at Hogwarts." Lupin shook his head. "I was able to see you because I asked a certain friend at the Ministry of Magic for the favor."

In truth, Lupin had no friends at the Ministry of Magic at all.

His visit to Azkaban to see Sirius had all been arranged through Aura’s hands, and Aura, in turn, had borrowed the name of Gerard, formerly of the Auror Office.

"Mm." Sirius nodded and sank back into silence. Only after a long while did he draw a breath and say, "Believe me or don’t, but the Potters weren’t killed by me. It was Peter Pettigrew. He was the Secret-Keeper of the Potters’ Fidelius Charm. He is a Death Eater, we were all deceived!"

With that, Sirius lowered his head again. He knew perfectly well that even this dear friend of his probably wouldn’t believe him. Peter Pettigrew’s scheme had been laid far too meticulously, and he had no evidence with which to clear his own name.

But contrary to all expectation, no furious denunciation came from his friend. Instead, he heard the man say quietly, "Mm. I know."

"What?" Sirius froze, jerking his head up. "You know?" How could he possibly know? Only the two of them, himself and Peter, had ever known that.

"That’s precisely why I’ve come." Lupin drew a newspaper from inside his coat and handed it to Sirius.

Taking the paper, Sirius’s eyes went wide as he stared, stunned, at the photograph on the front page. It was a picture of the Weasley family, locked away in a cage, and there, missing one toe, was the rat.

Peter Pettigrew!

Sirius was one hundred percent certain: that rat could only be Peter Pettigrew. He had watched the man transform countless times; he knew his form down to the last detail.

He’s in danger. Harry’s in danger!

Sirius’s blood ran cold, his heart burning with anxiety.

Tap.

At that very moment, Lupin, in the split second the others weren’t watching, tossed a package into his cell and rose slowly to his feet. "It’s getting late. I’ll come see you again next time."

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