Chapter 174: Ambush and wait

As Peter Pettigrew's high-pitched screams echoed down the hallway, Snape's memory returned to that night twelve years ago.

That night, when he had received the news and rushed to the house, it was in ruins.

He had already decided to protect Lily from the Dark Lord, and he was willing to pay any price for it.

Even if it meant openly defying Voldemort, even if it meant death.

But what he saw was only her corpse, lifeless.

She was dead, she was killed by Voldemort.

In the days that followed, when all the wizards were celebrating the news of Voldemort's downfall, Snape locked himself alone in the house. He was blaming himself. If he had not told Voldemort about the prophecy, Lily would not have died. It was he who killed her.

Thinking about it, Snape hated himself and only wanted to die.

Later, Dumbledore told him that after receiving his own warning message, Lily and Potter originally intended to hide with the Fidelius charm, an ancient magic that could hide a secret forever in someone's soul.

The secret would never be discovered unless the Keeper of the Secret divulged it.

Under the protection of this enchantment, not even Voldemort himself should be able to find them. This was originally the most foolproof way, but they chose the wrong Secret Keeper and mistakenly believed Sirius Black.

Black sold them out and revealed the location of their home to Voldemort.

If they only despised each other in their student days, after Black killed Lily, hatred grew deep in Snape's heart. For the past twelve years, countless days and nights, Snape couldn't wait to kill Sirius to avenge Lily's death.

But now that he had heard the truth, it was all done by Peter Pettigrew.

All the hatred he had built up over the years towards Black almost instantly shifted to Peter Pettigrew and it was on the little guy he had never noticed before.

Snape clenched his wand in his hand and was about to kill the despicable traitor.

He shifted a little and soon hesitated. He didn't want another person to know how he felt about Lily. In the dark hallway, the conversation was over. Black was about to kill Peter Pettigrew.

Maybe letting him do it was the best option.

Ivan stood behind a curtain, looking strangely at Snape.

Snape seemed to be springing into action, but then stopped immediately. He didn't know what he was thinking. His face was grim and terrible, his body trembling steadily, speaking wordlessly of his innermost anger.

Ivan had no time to guess what thoughts really inhabited Snape's mind. His attention was focused entirely on Peter Pettigrew. He had to find a way to catch this guy and not let him run away or die again.

He secretly watched. This was undoubtedly the strangest feeling of his life: standing behind the curtain on the second floor, he saw himself in the hallway, downstairs.

"Sirius, you can't kill him!" said Harry.

"Harry, do you know what you're doing? This scum has made you lose your parents!" snarled Black. "This despicable, dirty bastard could watch you die without feeling a thing. You heard what he just said. His own bag of stinking skin is more important to him than your family's life."

"I understand!" Harry gasped. "He killed my parents. He set Professor Lupin up. He took control of Ron and tried to kill Ivan. I'll never forgive him for doing all these things, never! But you can't kill him, Sirius, I don't think my father would want his best friend to kill anyone! Especially, such a despicable person!"

The conversation in the corridor continued, and Ivan saw Harry stopping Sirius.

They decided to hand Peter Pettigrew over to Dumbledore and the Ministry of Magic, so he could pay the price he deserved. Then Ron, who had been standing in the corner, started walking towards Peter Pettigrew, who fell to the ground. Ivan knew what was going to happen soon. He wanted to stop Ron, but he didn't know what to do.

He had to be careful not to be seen himself.

Ivan hesitated for a moment and gave up his intention to move. He must keep his actions within the scope of the rules. If an accident occurred, it would have irreparable consequences.

There have been many similar incidents in history. Wizards became confused, attacking the sudden appearance of themselves. Many went mad, killing their past or future self, and even distorting time and history themselves.

You can't mess with time, it's one of the most important rules in the world of magic.

If he wanted to catch Pettigrew, he had to find a way to do it in the Forbidden Forest. So Ivan was ready to wait for him to escape through there.

He glanced at Snape again, then turned and jumped hard over the side window, exiting the castle.

By moonlight, he glided across the lawn in the direction of the Forbidden Forest.

Ivan's Animagus form is a black cat. The sky outside was dark enough that he would not be spotted. Even if he was seen by someone in the hallway as he went there, all they would see would be the shadow of a small animal slithering across the grass.

On the grass by the forest, Ivan did not rush into the Forbidden Forest. He saw Peter Pettigrew leading Ron out of the castle. They quickly approached the Forbidden Forest. Pettigrew showed the excitement of one who was able to stay alive, while Ron's otherwise dull and emotionless face suddenly looked distorted as if he was in immense pain.

Ivan knew that Ron was about to break the hold of the Imperius Curse.

Just off the grass where he was hiding, Ron suddenly reacted fiercely.

He tightly grabbed Peter's right hand, which was missing a finger, and struggled with everything he had to retrieve his wand.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Ron rebelled against Peter, crying loudly. "I'm sorry, Harry, I'm sorry, Ivan, I'm sorry, Hermione! It's all my fault. I shouldn't have doubted you guys, I should have believed. Look what I've done..."

"Damn it, damn it, what are you doing?" Peter shouted, and quickly uttered the spell and was ready to stop his from moving.

Ivan, who had been hiding in the grass, came running out. He passed under Peter's feet, and shook him, interrupting his spell.

Bang!

Both Peter and Ron fell heavily to the ground, splattering a pile of dust.

Ivan saw himself, Harry, Hermione, and Black quickly approaching, and ran to the grass beside him.

Next, Peter Pettigrew will be forced into the desperate situation that forced him to use that powerful evil black magic. Ivan knew there was nothing he could do to prevent it. He had to ambush in the Forbidden Forest in advance, and wait for Pettigrew.

And yes, there were also those horrible Acromantulas waiting for him to deal with them.