The wind blew strongly through the trees of the Forbidden Forest, rustling Aurelian's clothes and those of the twins. Under the pale, diffuse light of the moon hidden behind the clouds, the black dog stood motionless for a moment, its eyes fixed on Aurelian's.
In his mind, Sirius was making assumptions and evaluating his options. Die at the hands of the Dementors, be captured by the Ministry and return to Azkaban, or listen to what that student had to say.
Slowly, the dog nodded his head, not missing a word as he listened to them.
Aurelian made a slight movement with his wand, loosening the pressure of the magical ropes enough to allow him to return to his human form.
The animal's body contorted, its limbs stretched, and its fur retracted until it disappeared, leaving in its place a man kneeling on the damp earth. Sirius Black was breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling sharply. He looked even more worn out up close, his skin extremely pale and his teeth yellowed, showing a grimace of pain. Despite the magical bonds that still immobilized his arms and legs, he retained an aristocratic air, a shadow of the arrogance he once possessed.
Sirius coughed, spitting a little blood onto the grass before looking up at them, squinting to focus on them in the dim light.
"And who are you?" his vocal cords rasped. "You're clearly not Aurors."
Aurelian stepped forward, allowing the dim light to illuminate his face.
"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Black. I am Aurelian Gaunt," he said calmly. "And these lovely ladies beside me are Hestia and Flora Carrow."
Sirius froze for a second. Then a laugh emerged from his throat, dry and harsh, growing into a broken guffaw that echoed through the silent forest.
"Gaunt... a Gaunt?" Sirius repeated, shaking his head in disbelief and mockery. "Really? That old line of inbred lunatics and poor devils? I thought they'd died out years ago, drowned in their own misery and delusions of grandeur. A Gaunt and two Carrows! What a welcoming party for a prisoner!"
The air around the twins turned icy instantly.
"Shut your mouth, you filthy traitor!" hissed Hestia, raising her wand, her eyes flashing with fury.
"I'll rip your tongue out!" growled Flora, taking an aggressive step toward him.
"Stop!" ordered Aurelian, raising a hand without taking his eyes off Sirius.
The twins stopped abruptly, though they continued to glare at Black with rage. Aurelian looked at the Animagus with an impassive expression, refusing to be provoked.
"You can laugh all you want at my surname, Sirius," Aurelian said softly, "but I'm the only one here who understands your situation and can... help you."
Sirius' laughter slowly faded, replaced by a calculating look.
"A deal... you said you wanted a deal, didn't you?" He smiled. "You've got guts, kid. Most would run to find Dumbledore."
"Most don't see the whole board," Aurelian replied calmly, crossing his arms. "And Dumbledore has a bad habit of not doing what needs to be done and not acting when necessary."
Sirius let out a dry laugh, almost a bark.
"And what do you want?" He looked at him curiously. "What kind of deal could you want from a man who has nothing? My vault at Gringotts is guarded, my name is mud, and my wand... well, it was broken years ago."
Aurelian took a step forward, his shadow falling over the prisoner.
"You're wrong, Sirius. You have much more than you think..." he murmured. "I offer you your freedom." Aurelian smiled, his voice firm and clear. "I offer you your innocence proven before the world."
Sirius's eyes flashed with maniacal intensity. He leaned forward as far as his bonds would allow.
"I don't care what the world thinks," he spat fiercely. "I want the rat! I want Peter! He's in the castle, I can smell him... he's with that Weasley boy! Hand me the rat and let me kill him with my own hands!"
Aurelian watched him silently for a few seconds.
"Is that all you care about? Revenge?" Aurelian asked quietly, shaking his head. "Tell me something, Sirius... if you go into the castle, kill the rat, and then escape or get caught... what will happen to him?"
Sirius frowned, confused.
"What will happen to who?"
"Harry," Aurelian questioned. The name hit Sirius harder than any spell.
Aurelian took a step closer, carefully choosing his words so that Black would agree.
"Harry has grown up alone. Without parents. Without a family that loves him. Believing that you... his godfather... are the monster who betrayed them. If you choose quick revenge tonight... What will become of poor Harry Potter? Are you going to leave him alone again at the mercy of a world that wants to kill him, just to satisfy your hatred?"
Sirius froze. His face contorted into a mixture of pain, guilt, and horror.
"No..." he whispered, his voice breaking. "I never... I never wanted to leave him."
"Then prove it," Aurelian urged. "Don't be the murderer everyone thinks you are. Be the family he needs. I offer to clear your name so you can give Harry a home."
Sirius lowered his head. Aurelian's words had pierced through his madness and touched the only part of his heart that remained intact.
"In exchange for what?" he asked, his voice trembling with urgency. "What do you want from me, Gaunt? My soul?"
Aurelian's smile widened, a charming and dangerous smile.
"Your soul is of no use to me. What I want is knowledge."
He crouched slightly to bring himself down to his level.
"I want the legacy of the Noble and Ancient House of Black. I want your family's entire library, the grimoires, the artifacts rotting away at number 12 Grimmauld Place. I want everything your family has accumulated over the centuries."
Sirius looked up, a bitter smile crossing his face.
"The damn books? The house I hate more than my own cell?" He snorted. "Boy, if you help me not fail Harry... you can have all that junk. Burn it, take it away, or turn it into a circus if you want. I hate every brick of that place."
Sirius opened his mouth to seal the deal, but before he could utter another word, two wands were pointed almost at his eyes.
"Not so fast, Black," said Hestia, her voice as sharp as ice.
"Words are carried away by the wind," added Flora, narrowing her eyes. "Madness runs in your blood. We need guarantees."
Sirius looked at them, surprised by the twins' ferocity.
"What do you suggest, then, ladies?" he asked sarcastically. "That we sign a blood contract?"
"Something better," replied Hestia, without lowering her wand. "An Unbreakable Vow."
Silence fell over the clearing. The Unbreakable Vow was not something to be taken lightly. Breaking it meant instant death.
"We don't trust you," said Flora, taking a step toward him. "Aurelian is too good, sometimes too trusting. We are not. If he saves you, if he risks everything for you... you will fulfill your part or you will die before you can betray him."
Aurelian remained silent, watching the twins with a mixture of affection and amusement. He didn't stop them; securing Sirius's loyalty was vital.
Sirius looked at the wands pointed at his face and turned his head to look at Aurelian, who simply raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to speak.
The prisoner sighed deeply. The despair and exhaustion of twelve years in Azkaban weighed heavier than anything else. Besides, it wasn't as if he had any other choice.
"All right," Sirius said, his voice dull but firm. "If that's what it takes to catch Pettigrew... I'll do it."
Aurelian knelt before him. Sirius raised his right hand, and Aurelian took it in a firm grip. Hestia stepped forward, placing herself between them. She rested the tip of her wand on the two wizards' clasped hands, and a thin tongue of bright flame shot from Hestia's wand, enveloping both their hands. She looked at Sirius first, her dark eyes fixed on his.
"Do you swear, Sirius Orion Black," Hestia asked in a solemn voice, "that you will surrender full ownership of all books, objects, and knowledge belonging to the House of Black to Aurelian Gaunt once your innocence is proven?"
"I swear" Sirius replied.
A strand of red fire intertwined around their wrists.
Hestia turned her gaze to Aurelian.
"And you, Aurelian Gaunt," she continued, "do you swear that you will do everything in your power to prove Sirius Black's innocence and secure his freedom?"
"I swear" said Aurelian without hesitation.
A second thread of fire closed over the first.
Hestia looked back at Sirius, a final warning in her eyes.
"And do you swear that you will never raise your hand or conspire against Aurelian Gaunt or any of us while we fulfill our part of the bargain?"
Sirius looked at the girls and Aurelian for a few seconds.
"I swear."
The third strand of fire closed, sealing the pact. The magic glowed brightly in a chain of light that bound their destinies together before fading into their skin.
The oath was made. If anyone broke their word, they would die.
Aurelian let go of Sirius's hand and, with a wave of his hand, the ropes binding the animagus's body came undone, causing him to fall to the ground.
Sirius staggered to his feet, rubbing his wrists, which were marked by the bonds. He looked at Aurelian, no longer as an enemy or a stranger, but as his only hope.
"Well," said Sirius, his eyes shining with anticipation, "where is he? Let's find the rat and get this over with."
"Not so fast," said Aurelian, raising a hand to stop him in his tracks.
Sirius paused, frowning.
"We made a deal, Gaunt! You swore you'd hand him over to me."
"You misunderstood, Sirius," Aurelian replied with imperturbable calm. "The oath was to prove your innocence and give you your freedom, not to satisfy your impatience in the middle of a forest full of Dementors and professors on high alert. If I show up with a rat in my hand without the stage set, everything will fall apart."
Sirius clenched his teeth, frustration evident in his posture, but Aurelian's logic was undeniable.
"Then what?" he growled. "Do I have to go back into hiding and wait?"
"Exactly. Keep doing what you're doing. Stay hidden... and be careful when you go out," Aurelian ordered. "I'll step in when the time is right."
Sirius let out a long sigh, running a dirty hand through his tangled hair. The adrenaline of the moment was beginning to wear off, and for the first time, he seemed to truly notice the scene before him.
He looked at Aurelian, impeccable and with a calm smile, radiating an authority that did not correspond to someone his age. Then he looked at Hestia and Flora flanking the young Lord, both beautiful and lethal, still holding their wands high, ready to attack him at the slightest false move.
A hoarse laugh escaped Sirius' throat. It was not a laugh of madness this time, but one of genuine amusement and masculine pride.
"Well, well..." Sirius muttered, shaking his head as a crooked smile appeared on his lips. "I have to admit it, Gaunt. You've got style."
He looked the twins up and down and winked at Aurelian.
"Your classmates must be green with envy," he said with a mixture of mockery and camaraderie. "Look at you with two girls so... devoted."
Sirius straightened up a little, puffing out his chest in an attempt to regain some of his former glory.
"You remind me a little of myself, you know?" he said with a touch of nostalgia. "Back in my day at Hogwarts, I was quite the Casanova. A heartbreaker. The girls wouldn't leave me alone... Gryffindors, Ravenclaws... even the occasional Slytherin who pretended to hate me. I had a charm they couldn't ignore."
Aurelian laughed, amused by Black's indestructible personality.
"Whatever you say, Sirius. Although I think your current charm needs a good wash before it works again."
However, Hestia and Flora did not find the comments funny. They both looked at him with an expression of utter disgust, wrinkling their noses as if he were nothing more than trash.
"In your dreams, mangy dog," Hestia spat with disdain.
"Not in a million years could you compare to him," added Flora, looking at him as if he were an insect under her shoe.
Sirius just shrugged without taking offense, letting out another laugh before his body began to contort. The man disappeared and the big black dog took his place again. The animal gave them one last look and a low bark that sounded almost like a farewell. He turned and disappeared into the darkness of the Forbidden Forest.
Aurelian stared at the spot where he had disappeared, with Hestia and Flora once again at his sides.
"Do you think he'll keep his promise?" asked Flora, putting away her wand.
"The Oath binds him," replied Aurelian, turning toward the castle. "And his guilt binds him more strongly than any magic."
"Let's go," said Hestia, taking his arm. "It's cold, and I want to go back to sleep with you."
Aurelian nodded, and the three vanished back into the shadows, returning to the Great Hall before the storm had passed. The game had progressed, and now he had Lord Black in his pocket.
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