Exchange with Sirius

"Wait, you said you want to kill him here?" Ryan asked, shocked.

"Of course, do you expect you, a child, to do it yourself? Hurry up, bring him out. Oh, right, this is a public lounge, so it's a bit inappropriate here, but I can take Peter outside to kill him," Sirius urged.

"What I mean is, what will you do after killing Peter? Are you going to continue being a fugitive? As far as I know, Harry hasn't had a good life with his relatives. As his only living relative, not only did you leave him with his relatives for over a decade, but now you want to avoid your responsibility as his godfather," Ryan sarcastically remarked.

"No, I'm not avoiding my responsibility," Sirius argued excitedly. "I was just seeking redemption, redeeming myself for wrongly trusting the person who killed my friend."

"And then? After finding solace in your self-imposed imprisonment, you leave your friend's only child out there to suffer?" Ryan taunted mercilessly.

Ryan realized that Peter's situation had become Sirius' inner demon, and he hoped that by speaking these words, he could help Sirius break free from that demon. After all, in the original story, Sirius was a good person, and if possible, Ryan naturally wanted to lend him a hand. Besides, as a good person, Sirius would naturally give something in return after receiving help from others.

Watching Sirius sink into contemplation after hearing his words, Ryan quickly continued, "You just feel unable to face your friend's orphan, unsure of what to do, so you avoid it. If you really want redemption, shouldn't you take on your friend's responsibility, take care of their orphan in place of your friend?"

"Well, I suppose you might be right," Sirius said, opening his mouth after a few minutes of deathly silence. "I do feel like a coward who can't face reality, but in that case, I don't know what my next step should be."

"That's simple. When you just said that, I thought of a solution," Ryan said, explaining his plan to Sirius. Seeing Sirius nod in agreement, he said, "You should leave now. After all, this is the school, and you could be discovered at any time."

Untying the ropes, Sirius stood there, glancing hatefully at the boys' dormitory. When Ryan thought he was about to break the agreement and rush forward, Sirius forcefully turned his head and walked towards the exit. Just as he was about to enter the tunnel leading outside, he suddenly asked, "What were you doing in the public lounge so late at night?"

Without thinking, Ryan blurted out, "Practicing kung fu."

Upon hearing the answer, Sirius didn't say anything and simply crawled out of the tunnel and left. In fact, Sirius had been suspicious about why Ryan was waiting in the public lounge at such an early hour, but Ryan's impromptu answer successfully dispelled his doubts.

After all, Sirius, during his rebellious period, had a strong liking for Muggle things, and the flying motorbike was his masterpiece during that time. So he had also watched martial arts movies when he first arrived in the West.

Just now, Ryan easily overpowered Sirius with his moves, clearly stronger than an average 13-year-old boy, and he happened to be from China. So in Sirius' imagination, Ryan had obviously practiced kung fu.

As for why Ryan was practicing in the public lounge in the early hours, it wasn't difficult for Sirius, who came from a pure-blood family, to understand. People who possessed certain special skills would secretly practice away from others, wasn't that standard procedure?

And Ryan's recent answer perfectly matched his imagination, so he dispelled his inner doubts and left without saying a word.

But Ryan didn't know what Sirius was thinking. He thought it might be because Sirius had spent too much time in prison and his mind was a bit abnormal, so he asked some strange questions.

After returning to his dorm and sleeping for only a few hours, Professor McGonagall arrived at the public lounge at 5 a.m. and woke everyone up. Everyone stood in the lounge wearing pajamas, still sleepy.

"I apologize for waking you up so early, but according to the descriptions from the portraits in the castle, Sirius broke into the school again yesterday and entered Gryffindor's common room. So I hope everyone can cooperate with today's search of the castle. By the way, Neville Longbottom, come with me."

Watching Longbottom leave with Professor McGonagall, Ryan silently prayed for him in his heart.

After McGonagall left, everyone quickly went upstairs to wash up and then stood in the public lounge wearing their coats. However, there was no news about their classes, and at lunchtime, Professor McGonagall regretfully informed them that Sirius had escaped.

Back in the dorm, Ryan noticed that the paper talisman he had attached to the cage before going downstairs hadn't been touched. Crookshanks was still sleeping peacefully in the cage, and the calming talisman on the cage was prepared to make Peter fall asleep and avoid arousing his suspicions during the search.

During dinner, Neville returned, and Professor McGonagall was very angry about the consequences of Sirius entering the public lounge due to the lost note. Although this time it didn't cause any serious consequences, McGonagall still forbade Neville from going to Hogsmeade again; he was put on probation, and no one was allowed to give him the password to enter the tower. He could only wait at the entrance every day for someone else to let him in.

In addition, Neville received a howler from his grandmother. Even though Ron reminded him to run out as soon as he received the letter, everyone in the Great Hall still heard his grandmother's scolding, blaming Neville for bringing shame to the whole family.

"Ryan, could you accompany me to Hagrid's later?" Hermione sat down next to Ryan with a few books in her hand and asked.

"Of course, but can you tell me why you want to go to Hagrid's?"

"As a friend, I took some time to help Hagrid gather some defense material regarding magical creatures causing harm. But I also know that the chances of winning this inquiry with Hagrid are small, so I wanted to find someone to accompany me, otherwise I would feel a bit embarrassed."

"Okay, wait for me in the entrance hall later, I'll go to the dormitory to get something and then go with you." Ryan was actually worried about not having an excuse to go to Hagrid's, but now he had finally found one.

Ten minutes later, Hermione saw Ryan coming down from upstairs with a mouse cage in his hand. When her gaze fell on the red strings wrapped around the cage and the jade talismans hanging from them, her eyebrows twitched. However, she didn't say anything and went with Ryan to Hagrid's hut.

When they arrived at the hut, Ryan knocked on the door, and Hagrid quickly opened it. "Welcome, what brings you here?"

"Well, we heard that you're going to London on Friday to defend Buckbeak, so we've summarized some materials that we hope will be helpful," Hermione said, showing Hagrid the materials she had with her. "Thank you so much. You can come in and have some tea," Hagrid said, stepping aside to let them in. After entering, they saw Buckbeak lying on Hagrid's patched sheets, with its enormous wings folded tightly to its sides, dozing with half-closed eyes.

Ryan and Hermione instinctively chose to sit far away from Buckbeak, and Hagrid poured them two cups of tea and brought out a plate of biscuits. After accepting the materials Hermione had marked, Hagrid began reading.

Ryan quietly drank his tea, listening to the crackling sound of the fire. He noticed that Hagrid's excitement grew as he read through the seven or eight pages marked by Hermione. "These materials you found are really helpful. I think Buckbeak might have a chance to win..." Hagrid said with joy after finishing the marked pages. Ryan felt that it was best not to pour cold water on him at the moment, so he put down his tea cup and said, "Since we only returned after the Christmas holidays, we didn't have much time to prepare the materials. But honestly, given the circumstances, I don't think the Committee on Dangerous Creatures will give you much time to argue, so I think if you can memorize one or two cases thoroughly, it should be enough."

"Thank you so much," Hagrid said gratefully. "After all, I know you've been busy lately, so I really appreciate you taking the time to help me."