activa-t Chapter 245 The Chase
Chapter 245 The Chase
Chapter 245 The Chase (4.4K) (1/2)
The sun gradually set in the west.
In a dirty, secluded back alley in London, the air was thick with the mixed smells of rotting food and damp stones.
A skinny but unusually large black dog was frantically rummaging through an overflowing trash can with its nose and front paws.
Its movements were driven by an almost frantic urgency, and its ribs were clearly visible beneath its filthy fur.
It rummaged through the garbage and pulled out half a moldy loaf of bread, swallowing it whole with barely any chewing, letting out a hungry whimper.
Just then, footsteps and voices came from the alley entrance.
"Oh my god, honey, look at that dog!" A Muggle woman in a simple dress, arm in arm with her husband, stopped at a distance and pointed into the alley. "It's huge! Is it a stray dog?"
Her husband, a bespectacled man, squinted and said, "Tsk, that's huge. Looks starving, rummaging through the trash. We'd better stay away; these stray dogs might be aggressive."
As the two were talking, the husband suddenly felt something brush against his trouser leg, and he instinctively turned his head.
"Ah!" he cried out in surprise, jumping back half a step and nearly bumping into his wife.
Right beside them, in the shadows of another alleyway, a huge, gray head silently emerged.
Those eyes were a cold amber color, their vertical pupils fixed on the black dog rummaging for food in the alley.
It had a long muzzle, pointed ears, and gray fur that looked much cleaner and smoother than the black dog, but it exuded a wild and dangerous aura.
"This—there's another one here!" The Muggle woman was startled, gripping her husband's arm tightly, her voice trembling slightly. "This one—this one doesn't look like a dog, darling, it, it looks just like the ones I've seen on TV—"
Wolf!"
Her judgment was correct; it was indeed a gray wolf.
Deep in the alley, a black dog that was swallowing its food suddenly raised its head.
Its wild eyes instantly caught sight of the scene at the alley entrance—the frightened Muggle couple, and, more importantly, the gray wolf that stood quietly, its gaze fixed on it!
An instinctive, deep-seated alarm rang in the black dog's brain!
The Tracker!
"Woof—!" The black dog let out a low growl from deep in its throat, full of warning and fear, completely unaware that bread crumbs were falling from its mouth.
Without the slightest hesitation, it suddenly turned its body, its powerful hind legs bursting with astonishing strength, and like a black lightning bolt, it raced towards the other end of the alley!
It knocked over the trash can with a loud crash, and trash rolled all over the ground.
Almost at the same time the black dog started moving, the gray wolf also moved!
A powerful force instantly harmonized within its body, and with a burst of energy from its limbs, its body sprang out like a ghost. There were no footsteps, only a low whistling sound tearing through the air. It shot out with an almost floating posture, like a silent yet deadly phantom, heading straight for the fleeing shadow in front of it.
"Oh my God!" The Muggle woman covered her mouth, watching two figures, one in black and one in gray, disappear at an astonishing speed into the depths of the intricate alleyways, leaving only the distant, fading sound of hurried running and the occasional...
A canine's low growl as a warning.
The husband, still shaken, adjusted his glasses and muttered to himself, "What the hell—how could a wolf be chasing a dog in London?"
The narrow, maze-like back alleys became a makeshift hunting ground.
Sirius's heart pounded wildly in his chest. Long-term imprisonment and malnutrition had left him far from his peak physical condition, but the instinct for survival and the mission deep within him—to find the traitor and protect Harry—driven him to squeeze every last drop of potential from his body.
Using his familiarity with the streets and alleys of London, he skillfully maneuvered among dumpsters, low walls, and barbed wire, trying to shake off his pursuers.
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However, the gray wolf behind them, like a ghost, relentlessly pursued them.
Reggie the Grey Wolf's tracking methods are calm and efficient.
His wolf form gave him a sharper sense of smell and hearing, allowing him to clearly detect the heavy panting of the black dog ahead due to exhaustion, as well as the subtle sound of its paws slipping on the wet, slippery stone ground.
He didn't rush to pounce immediately, but like an experienced hunter, he constantly compressed the prey's escape space, driving it away and wearing it down.
At a fork in the road filled with discarded wooden crates, Sirius tries to use a sharp turn to escape his pursuers.
But just as he rounded the bend, a gray figure, as if anticipating his movements, leaped down from the low roof of a shed and precisely blocked his path!
"Roar—!" The gray wolf bared its sharp white teeth and let out a short, menacing growl, cutting off their path.
Sirius Black suddenly stopped, his fur standing on end, his body lowered, and he let out a threatening growl.
He recognized the wolf as an Animagus, just like himself!
People from the Ministry of Magic?
Or—someone else?
There's no time to think!
Blocked in his path, Sirius didn't hesitate to bounce backward, smashing through a pile of empty cardboard boxes and disappearing into another, narrower, darker passage.
He must escape!
Without a wand, he lacked the means to fight against normal wizards.
He can't be caught here!
Reggie watched the black dog flee in panic, his amber wolf eyes devoid of any emotion.
He shook his head, took another step, and followed at a leisurely pace.
He was very patient, just like when he used to run the chamber of commerce and wait for the best trading opportunity. He could feel that the black dog in front of him was losing its strength rapidly.
The silent chase lasted for more than ten minutes, traversing several blocks, and eventually shifted the battlefield to a closed railway marshalling yard.
The rusty rails, like the skeleton of a giant snake, meander across the overgrown ground. The abandoned carriages, their paint peeling off, stand there silently, like rows of steel tombs.
Sirius's stamina was finally nearing its limit.
He stumbled into a dilapidated carriage with its door open, then collapsed onto the cold floor, gasping for breath, his tongue lolling out and saliva dripping uncontrollably.
Is it finished?
Is this where it ends?
Resentment and despair surged into my heart like an icy tide.
Just then, a figure blocked the light at the carriage door.
The gray wolf slowly walked in.
Its steps were steady, with an air of complete control.
It stopped a few steps away from the black dog, lowered its head, and calmly gazed at its prey lying limp on the ground with its amber eyes.
The carriage was deathly silent, save for the heavy breathing of the two animals.
Then, to Sirius's astonishment and uncertainty, the gray wolf's body began to change.
The outline was distorted and stretched, and the gray hair receded like the tide, revealing the pale skin underneath.
The limbs became longer and the torso stood upright.
A few seconds later, a man shrouded in a gray robe stood there, pointing his wand at the large black dog on the carriage floor.
His hoarse, flat voice broke the silence in the carriage: "Have you run enough, Sirius Black?"
Reggie's hoarse cry of "Sirius Black" echoed through the dilapidated carriage, like a block of ice hitting the black dog's heart.
The black dog jolted, its wild eyes instantly filled with disbelief, horror, and even greater vigilance.
He thought he was hiding it well; the Animagus form was one of his biggest secrets!
Who is this strange, dangerous-looking Animagus?
How did they know his identity?
Is he a newly recruited hunter by the Ministry of Magic?
Or—something worse?
He let out a threatening growl, struggling to his feet as his limbs trembled from exhaustion. He bared his teeth and faced the grey-robed man who had revealed his identity.
"Woo—!" A low roar filled with fear and determination.
Just then—
"Hey! There's some noise in that carriage over there! What's that?!" A rough Muggle male voice suddenly rang out from the edge of the tracks, accompanied by the beam of a flashlight.
"It looks like an animal! And it's quite big! Be careful!" another voice said.
They were Muggle workers responsible for patrolling this abandoned railway marshalling yard; they had been drawn over by the commotion caused by the black dog knocking over the trash can and chasing it.
Startled by the sound, Reggie instinctively looked away from the black dog and glanced at the approaching light and footsteps outside the carriage.
His attention was briefly drawn to this sudden interruption.
opportunity!
In that critical moment, the instinct for survival overcame everything!
Without the slightest hesitation, Sirius used all the strength he had just gathered to burst out like a black lightning bolt through the gap created by Reggie's distraction!
It rushed straight towards the door on the other side of the carriage, lunging towards the tracks and weeds outside!
When Reggie turned around quickly, he saw the black dog's back as it resolutely fled and quickly disappeared into the shadows of the abandoned train cars.
The Muggle worker's voice and flashlight beam were still approaching: "It's out! It's a big black dog! Quick, see if there are any others! I think I just saw another one!"
A cold, calculating glint flashed in Reggie's wolf-like eyes.
He glanced in the direction from which the noise was coming, then glanced in the direction where Sirius had disappeared.
The Ministry of Magic's manhunt and Muggle interference—the city environment is full of uncontrollable variables.
We must remove him from this complicated environment and take him to a quieter place, one more suitable for conversation.
The next moment, Reggie's figure twisted and shrank again, and gray fur quickly covered his entire body.
The gray wolf shot out of the carriage like an arrow, its movements more agile and coordinated than the black dog's. It landed silently, like a gray shadow trailing behind the black dog, maintaining a distance that was neither too close nor too far.
In the ensuing chase.
Whenever Sirius Black, relying on his remaining memories and instincts, tried to turn back to the densely built-up area or crawl into a bridge or factory where he might hide, the gray wolf would always appear like a ghost at the intersection in that direction, or suddenly accelerate from the side, baring its fangs and letting out a menacing growl, forcing the black dog to abandon its original route and continue its desperate escape in the direction away from the city center.
At a three-way intersection, the black dog tried to rush towards the left path leading to an old warehouse, but the gray wolf made a swift side cut, almost hitting him. Its sharp teeth grazed the fur on his hind legs, forcing him to stagger and turn to the right path leading uphill to the countryside.
Once again, the black dog tried to rush into a narrow alley with a barbed wire fence, but the gray wolf suddenly leaped up from behind and pounced heavily on the black dog's hindquarters with its front paws! It wasn't a bite, but a powerful push and shove that caused the black dog to lose its balance and roll to the ground. When it got up, the only way out was the increasingly sparse forest in front of it, which eventually connected to the open wasteland.
The chase turned into a one-sided expulsion.
Like an experienced sheepdog, Reggie calmly and precisely controlled the prey's escape route, using his superior physical abilities, speed, and judgment of the situation to constantly reduce Sirius's options.
The city's hustle and bustle and lights were left far behind, the road surface underfoot changed from gravel to dirt, and the surrounding buildings were replaced by trees and shrubs.
The last rays of the setting sun painted the sky a dark red, casting long, twisted shadows across the woodland.
Sirius was completely exhausted.
Long-term malnutrition and Azkaban's brutal treatment drastically reduced his stamina. His lungs roared like broken bellows, each breath carrying the stench of blood, and the muscles in his limbs began to twitch and ache from overuse.
In contrast, Reggie's wolf form clearly shows signs of long-term training and adaptation; his breathing is steady and his steps are powerful.
He was not in a hurry to capture him immediately, but cleverly used the method of driving him away to exhaust Sirius's already dwindling strength.
He would suddenly accelerate, approaching from the flank, forcing the black dog to change direction and escape to a more rugged and energy-consuming uphill path; or he would use his howls to create echoes in the woods, putting psychological pressure on his prey.
As the chase progressed deeper into the sparse woodland, the trees grew taller and denser, the soil beneath our feet became soft, and fallen leaves piled up.
Sirius's steps became increasingly unsteady, and his speed noticeably slowed down.
He tried to hide behind a huge oak tree to catch his breath, but as soon as he stopped, the gray wolf appeared not far away like a ghost, its cold amber eyes staring at him silently, as if to say, "You have nowhere to run."
Despair welled up in my heart again.
No! He can't fall here! For James and Lily! For Harry!
He let out a roar that was a mixture of resentment and anger, and with his last bit of strength, he rushed toward a nearby narrow, rocky ravine, hoping to use the current to cover his scent and tracks.
However, physical exhaustion caused him to misjudge the situation.
While jumping over a slippery rock, his hind leg buckled, causing him to lose his balance and fall heavily into the icy stream, splashing water everywhere.
He struggled to get up, but his limbs felt like they were made of lead, and his heavy breathing made his vision go black.
Just then, shadows fell over him.
The gray wolf approached step by step, its pace steady, with the composure of a victor. It looked down at the black dog struggling futilely in the water, its amber eyes devoid of any emotion.
The next moment, the wolf's outline began to twist and stretch, and its gray fur receded like a tide.
A few seconds later, Reggie stood by the creek.
He didn't even bother with the wet tips of his shoes, but calmly raised his hand, and the hidden wand silently slid into his palm.
He gently tapped the tip of his wand on the large black dog that was completely collapsed in the stream.
A faint light flashed, and several thick ropes, like living snakes, appeared out of thin air, precisely and swiftly binding the black dog's limbs. Even his muzzle was tightly bound by a rope to prevent him from making a sound or biting.
Bound tightly, Sirius was completely unable to move and could only lie on his side in the cold stream. Only the violent heaving of his chest and his gray eyes, filled with madness, resentment, and anger, proved that he was still stubbornly breathing and thinking.
Reggie walked down into the stream, the icy water soaking his trouser legs, but he didn't care.
He looked down at his bound "brother," his hoarse voice still clear amidst the babbling water: "Quiet down, Sirius." He said, "You're safe. We just have some questions for you to answer."
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