Godfather Owl: Guardian of Batman [158]

Wandering in an empty castle for over a hundred years?

Snape's words left everyone in stunned disbelief.

Their first thought was that their Potions professor had lost his mind.

"Snape, are you serious?"

Sirius reached out to touch Snape's forehead.

Given their history, Snape should have swatted Sirius's hand away with a scowl.

But he didn't.

On the contrary, Snape seemed unusually sluggish, as if his mind was somewhere far away.

"Enough!"

Ares cut off Sirius before he could press further.

"I've returned Professor Snape to you, alive and well. Now, let's proceed with the banquet.

"If anyone else dares to break the rules, don't expect my mercy. And that goes especially for you, Sirius."

Ares's tone was calm, but his words carried an undeniable weight.

"If you want to find Harry's murderer, you'd better stay in your seat and behave."

For Sirius, the words struck deep.

His heart still burned with rage, but Ares's strange abilities, coupled with Snape's unnerving reaction, compelled him to cool his temper for the moment.

With a sharp huff, Sirius sat back down.

"Good. Now let me update you all on the outcomes of the last banquet," Ares said with a measured tone. "Two members have left us forever: Harry and Peter Pettigrew."

Peter?

At the mention of the name, everyone instinctively turned to Sirius.

Sirius met their gazes with unapologetic candor.

"It was me," he said bluntly. "With or without this banquet, I was always going to kill him. I only wanted Harry to do it himself, to avenge his parents. But Harry refused."

At that moment, Hermione recalled the scene at the end of the last banquet when Sirius had pulled Harry aside.

So that's what it was about…

"How did you kill him?" Cedric suddenly asked. "Does that mean it's possible for members to kill each other outside the banquet?"

"Oh, I wanted to snap his neck with my own hands," Sirius sneered. "But when I tried, my wand disappeared. Even when I grabbed his throat, something strange happened.

"It was like he Apparated away, suddenly reappearing several meters away from me.

"In the end, I used the power of the Snake to poison him."

Poison.

This ability was unique to those blessed by the snake.

But Sirius had previously claimed to be blessed by the eagle.

"That's not surprising," Sirius said with a shake of his head. "I couldn't care less about these blessings. I'll say I'm whatever I want to say."

Kathoom, listening to this, silently thought: Makes sense.

Though Sirius might not have consciously adhered to the banquet's rules, there was a part of him that instinctively took the lead, attempting to protect the other blessed members.

This wasn't the first time Sirius had put himself in harm's way for others.

Back when he became the Potters' Secret-Keeper under the Fidelius Charm, he had done the same—stepping forward as a decoy while secretly passing the role to Peter Pettigrew.

Of course, that had ended in tragedy.

After hearing Sirius's explanation, Cedric nodded. "So, the poison really worked?"

"It wasn't much of a poison," Sirius replied, his lips curling into a dark smile. "My snake Patronus bit him, and that was enough. I saw his final moments, and his agony brought me satisfaction."

"No need for the gory details," Cedric interrupted, raising a hand to cut Sirius short.

He then turned to the others with a calm analysis.

"This confirms Sirius's role as a blessed leader. We can trust him to take the lead."

It had already been established that the leader's vote carried extra weight.

Sirius didn't object to the suggestion. He trusted no one but himself now.

Cedric continued, "The true eagle remains hidden, and that's a good thing.

"But we also can't confirm whether Peter was truly an enemy. If we assume the worst…"

Cedric scanned the long table, his gaze piercing.

"There could still be three enemies among us seven."

His analysis seemed perfectly logical.

But Hermione, after listening, felt no sense of reassurance. Instead, she found herself thinking:

Cedric is so calm.

How could he stay so composed? Did Harry's death mean nothing to him?

This wasn't a game—people were actually dying!

The real reaction should be something like Malfoy and Neville's.

Hermione turned to look at the pair, who sat huddled together, clutching each other tightly for comfort. It was probably the closest she had ever seen them.

But Cedric wasn't the only one acting unnaturally calm.

On the other side of the table, Fred had also begun his own analysis. Yet from his demeanor, it was clear he didn't relish the role.

He seemed to be forcing himself to shoulder the burden, as a senior student, to protect Hermione and the others from the weight of the situation.

"So the question now is: who would want to kill Harry?" Fred said, his gaze drifting across each face, searching for signs of guilt.

Finally, he sighed. "I think Peter was the enemy. Sirius didn't poison the wrong person. Peter killed Harry."

"No!"

Fred had barely finished speaking when Sirius's voice rang out in sharp protest.

"Peter didn't have the opportunity to kill Harry," Sirius growled. "Because I killed him before Harry died!"

A dead man can't kill, Sirius's furious accusation echoed around the hall.

Fred fell silent.

A heavy silence enveloped the banquet.

At last, Cedric broke it.

"Then the eagle's blessed must reveal themselves and tell us who they've investigated—whether that person is friend or foe."

It seemed like the only solution.

But no one responded.

The eagle's blessed didn't step forward.

With no clear way forward, the banquet had reached an impasse.

Ares clapped his hands.

"Well, it seems you've finished your discussions," he said. "Now, it's time to vote. Decide who you want to hang tonight. Make your choice."

Everyone exchanged uneasy glances.

Was this some kind of sick joke? They were supposed to casually decide someone's life or death?

"I'm not voting," Sirius said firmly. "I want to find the real killer, and that requires investigation and evidence—not a few casual discussions at a banquet deciding someone's fate.

"Besides, voting to kill someone like this is no different from murder."

Sirius saw himself as an avenger, not a murderer.

He still clung to a sliver of rationality, refusing to make a hasty decision born of vengeance.

"I assume abstaining doesn't violate the rules?" Sirius asked coolly. "If I must vote, I'll vote for myself."

"Abstention is allowed," Ares replied, his gaze sweeping over the group. "Anyone can abstain. It doesn't matter."

At that, a collective sigh of relief swept through the room.

"Then I abstain!" Hermione said quickly.

"So do I!" Malfoy and Neville chorused, eager to follow suit.

Even Fred raised his hands in surrender. "As much as I disagree, I can't bring myself to vote. I abstain."

One by one, they declared their abstentions until only Cedric and Snape remained.

Snape, however, sat muttering to himself, still lost in his own world.

"A hundred years? No, maybe two hundred…" he rambled, occasionally glancing at Sirius. "How long was I gone?"

"Just one minute!" Sirius snapped impatiently.

Snape was in no state to vote.

All eyes turned to Cedric.

Cedric finally relented.

"Honestly, voting is the only way for the good to eliminate the bad," he said. "But given the circumstances, I won't push it. I abstain too."

With that, the vote was decided.

No one voted. Everyone abstained.

"So be it," Ares said, indifferent to the outcome. "As long as you're content with the result."

His tone remained calm as he announced, "Congratulations on surviving. The next banquet could be called at any time—no more monthly intervals."

With those words, Ares vanished.

Neville and Malfoy bolted from the hall, eager to escape as quickly as possible.

One by one, the others rose and left. Cedric lingered the longest, clearly uneasy.

As he passed Hermione, she overheard him muttering something about the vote count.

Hermione couldn't shake the nagging feeling that the good should vote.

But who could she vote for?

No name came to mind that wouldn't leave her burdened with guilt.

"Let's go, Kathoom," Hermione said, scooping up the owl as she left the hall.

The moment she stepped outside, Bruce was there waiting for her.

"You've been here the whole time?" Hermione wrinkled her nose. "Fine, I forgive you."

"Forgive me for what?" Bruce asked, confused, before quickly adding, "Never mind. What happened in there?"

Hermione recounted the events, including the unanimous abstentions and the others' reasoning.

Bruce listened in silence.

When she finished, his expression was strangely hollow.

"Of course…" Bruce murmured. "Young wizards wouldn't be able to vote to kill someone. It's over."

"What do you mean, over?" Hermione demanded. "If you have something to say, just say it! Stop being so cryptic."

"It's too late now," Bruce said, shaking his head. The banquet had only strengthened his resolve.

"Winning through the rules is impossible."

Bruce looked directly into Hermione's eyes.

"No matter what it takes, I won't let you die in front of me."

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T/N: so shes gonna die not in front of you (morax millionaire has been reuploaded under the title of Contracts Beyond Realms: The Geo Archon's Journey id appreciate it if you can put it in your collections again pwetty please)

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