Leonard's sudden appearance had caught everyone off guard, and what he did next made everyone's eyes light up.
Sirius especially was dying to jump up and shout in approval.
But not wanting to alert Peter Pettigrew, he forced himself to stay still and watched as Leonard pointed his wand at him.
If Peter Pettigrew could just be taken down in a surprise attack, then it would all be over. The warrant on Sirius would be cleared, and he could finally return to a normal life.
"Nobody move! Don't follow me..."
Peter Pettigrew shouted as he spun around and rushed for the stairs, only to come face to face with someone who had somehow appeared behind him.
The person looked a little familiar...
"Things are lively in the Headmaster's office," Leonard said, wand still in hand. He had not expected Peter Pettigrew to turn around so suddenly, and gave him a slightly awkward smile.
Peter Pettigrew froze.
He had seen Leonard before, during Leonard's Horcrux experiments. But every time he came into contact with a Horcrux, Leonard had erased his memory.
So Peter Pettigrew only felt a strange sense of familiarity. He did not recognize this "devil" who had tormented him for several nights.
Even so, Peter Pettigrew instinctively shivered. Seeing the person in front of him somehow frightened him even more than seeing Sirius Black.
And yet, strangely, Leonard radiated a peaceful aura. It felt like wandering through a lush forest, or walking across an endless grassland. It was the kind of presence that made hostility hard to summon.
The clash between instinctive fear and what he was feeling in the moment left Peter Pettigrew briefly disoriented.
But in the conflict between instinct and reason, his will to survive snapped him awake.
"Put down your wand!" Peter Pettigrew shouted instinctively.
He watched as Leonard obediently lowered his wand...
And then slapped him across the face.
The wand was in his hand. In theory, he could have killed the hostage instantly.
But Dumbledore's earlier words had taken effect.
I only have one hostage. If I really kill him, I'll never get away. There's no need to do that now. It's just a slap. I can teach them a lesson later and settle the score then.
That thought flashed through Peter Pettigrew's mind and, once it did, he could no longer ignore it. Dumbledore's words had worked. The hostage Peter Pettigrew had thought would protect him had suddenly become a burden.
More importantly, Leonard's slap came much faster than Peter Pettigrew had expected.
A sharp whistling sound made Peter Pettigrew go blank for a moment, and then Leonard's palm struck him square in the face.
Peter Pettigrew's fat face caved in from the blow. His skin and flesh rippled like waves, and then his whole body flew through the air.
"Sorry to interrupt."
Leonard pulled back his hand after smacking Peter Pettigrew away and turned to the stunned people in the office with a gentle smile.
Everyone there broke into a cold sweat, staring uncertainly at Leonard's pale hand, wondering whether their eyes had just deceived them.
How could someone slap a man who was so obviously heavy clean off his feet with one hand?
The others might not have fully understood the weight behind that slap, but Ron Weasley, who had nearly been caught by it, had felt its force very clearly.
It was like a gale-force storm had brushed past his face. Just the edge of it had scraped his cheek raw.
If it had hit him head-on, it would have killed him, right?
Ron Weasley stared at his classmate in alarm, not knowing whether he should thank him or scream.
But Leonard simply strode past him, hurried over to the Peter Pettigrew sprawled on the floor, and grabbed him by the collar with one hand.
"Sorry, I hit him a little too hard. He's still useful, right? Let's not have him die from a slap." As he spoke, he uncorked a potion and poured it into Peter Pettigrew's mouth, blood still streaming from the corners of his lips.
Die... from a slap?
Ron Weasley's legs went weak. Only now did he realize just how close he had been to death.
If Leonard could slap an adult to death, then accidentally slapping Ron to death too would hardly have been difficult.
"Thank you very much, Leonard. You've solved this problem for us," Dumbledore said, the corner of his mouth twitching as he watched Leonard force the potion down Peter Pettigrew's throat.
Judging from Peter Pettigrew's face, Leonard had truly been just a little short of solving the problem permanently.
As in, dead permanently.
"Oh, you're welcome. Though if you really want to thank me, could I trouble you to do me a favor?" Leonard said, letting go of Peter Pettigrew's collar.
Peter Pettigrew hit the floor with a thud, and his head bounced twice against it.
Sirius stared blankly at the fallen Peter Pettigrew, his emotions tangled.
He had desperately wanted Peter Pettigrew caught, but the fact that he, the person most directly involved, had ended up doing absolutely nothing left him with a strange sense of dissatisfaction.
It was not bad, exactly. Just unsatisfying. There was none of the joy of avenging a deep grudge.
The thrill of revenge had vanished in an instant.
Still dazed, Sirius had not even thought to wonder why Leonard had appeared here.
Tonks, however, who had also mostly been standing around uselessly, noticed the important part.
"How are you completely fine?" Tonks blurted out in shock. "Weren't you turned into a tree?"
Turned into a tree?
Dumbledore paused and shot Leonard a puzzled glance.
"Oh, that. It's a bit complicated. The end result is that I'm fine, and I left a bit of greenery behind."
Leonard answered vaguely.
There was not much he could say about turning into a tree. That tree was now the World Tree, and it even came with the Time-Turner's ability built in. Was he really supposed to explain that?
After devouring the Time-Turner, the World Tree had gained the same function. Leonard himself still could not travel back into the past, but he could now send avatars.
That, however, was not important right now. He still had not found a plant suitable for carrying his consciousness, so the matter of sending avatars back would need long-term planning.
The urgent matter was the World Tree itself. Those Aurors had already started preparing tools to chop it down.
Leonard's final bit of goodwill was coming here to ask Dumbledore for help. Otherwise, if those Aurors really dared to take action, Leonard would not hold back.
It was not that he had never considered handling it himself. But he looked too young. Even if he showed up in person, nobody would believe him.
Humans, after all, only believed what they saw with their own eyes.
So, to prevent things from spiraling out of control, Leonard had no choice but to come to Dumbledore.
Leonard looked at Dumbledore and said with a smile, "Professor Dumbledore, there's a group of Aurors over there discussing whether they should cut down my tree. Could you say a few words for me? Help persuade them?"