[224] No Master

Hall chuckled. Is he really that obedient? Sirius told him to shut up, so he'd actually shut up?

Hall declared — he's never been that kind of person.

"Shut me up? Tell me, what gives you the right? Is it because I hit a nerve?"

Hall took a quick step back, dodging Sirius's angry punch.

"You felt guilty because I hit a nerve?"

He continued to press. "You don't consider Lupin a friend. You casually encouraged Snape to enter the Whomping Willow because you never considered how much pain Lupin would feel after regaining his senses if he hurt someone."

Sirius's face flushed crimson.

"I didn't — !" Sirius roared, chasing after Hall.

"You did. You're feeling guilty. Otherwise, why would you forget you're actually a wizard?"

Hall drew his wand. "Expelliarmus!"

Sirius hesitated for a second before his wand was knocked away.

"You did this because you don't care about Snape's life or death. You don't care about Lupin's suffering. You don't care about your so-called brotherhood. Lupin's pain means nothing compared to your toying with Snape. That's the truth."

Hall had wanted to say this for a long time. Sirius Black possessed a nonchalant malice — targeted at those he hated, those he didn't care about.

"To be honest — you're a true Black. Why did you go to Gryffindor? Slytherin was much more suitable."

"Shut up — !"

Sirius was truly enraged. Veins bulged on both sides of his neck. His furious fist was about to smash into Hall.

Hall prepared to dodge — then vanished like a bubble before Sirius's eyes.

Young Sirius's fist met air.

Hall was back in 1994, in his own time, in Sirius's room. The Inferius Regulus lay on the floor. Present-day Sirius stood there bewildered, watching Hall suddenly disappear and reappear.

"You — "

"Don't speak yet." Hall interrupted. "Think back to your fifth year. Has anything changed?"

Sirius followed Hall's words, beginning to recall. "Nothing particularly special happened in my fifth year... Wait!"

He abruptly looked up, eyes sharp. "You!"

Hall nodded. "It seems you remember what I said."

Sirius's face shifted through colours. "What did you mean by what you said!"

Hall laughed. The Sirius he saw now, in his anger, overlapped with the boy he had seen before.

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"What did I mean? I'm asking you — am I wrong?"

This time, a different side of Sirius emerged. Sirius, having experienced pain and a turning point in his life, fell silent. He turned away.

"I admit," Sirius said, his voice low, "back then, the person I valued most was James. But that doesn't mean I didn't care about Remus!"

Hall crossed his arms. "So you wanted Lupin the werewolf to bite Snape to death. You didn't consider how much pain Lupin would suffer when he regained consciousness. He already suffered because of his werewolf identity. It wouldn't hurt any less just because the person he bit was Snape."

Sirius fell silent.

"Let's not talk about this anymore. It's your Gryffindor friendship. What can a Slytherin say?"

Sirius didn't respond.

"What happened next?"

"After you left, I forgot about what happened. Then... I did something similar the following month. Everything went back to normal."

Hall nodded. His appearance had only delayed it by a month.

He rubbed his forehead. Time travel was dangerous. The Ministry had sealed the Time-Turners because changing the past caused people to disappear.

But Hall's situation seemed different. After he vanished, time returned to its original course.

"Is it because of the formation I used?" Hall asked uncertainly.

The time-travel formation was special. Even the Time-Turner wasn't as complex. Perhaps the effect was that history and time couldn't be easily altered.

"What I need to do now is change history..." Hall murmured.

Did he save Regulus, only to be Regulus's bodyguard forever? Otherwise, Regulus would still end up on the path to death?

"You must have other ways!" Sirius exploded.

Hall gave him a look. "I said from the beginning, I can only try. I'll do my best, but I can't guarantee the final result."

Sirius froze.

"I'm looking for problems right now. Don't bother me."

Sirius shut his mouth.

Hall continued thinking. Not enough cases. Best to try a few more times. The timing was also a problem. He had no choice but to keep trying. Fortunately, Sirius had prepared enough materials.

Hall travelled through time three more times.

The first time: September 1971, the first day of school. The Marauders, Lily, and Snape had just entered Hogwarts. The Sorting Ceremony was taking place. Hall blended in unnoticed.

The second time: 1980, probably February or March. The nights were unusually cold, like knives on the skin. The wizarding world streets were eerily quiet. Voldemort's power was at its peak — he was frantically searching for the soon-to-be-born child of prophecy.

The third time: 1983. His destination changed from the normal wizarding world to Azkaban.

Hall was forced to stage a scene in Azkaban where a young wizard battled Dementors. After casting three Patronuses in succession, he finally returned to the present.

Hall collapsed on the floor, his whole body ice-cold.

"Shall we continue?" Sirius urged impatiently.

Hall rolled his eyes. "Shut up! Because of you, I was forced to fight Dementors. I need to rest!"

Sirius paused, then understood. "Dementors... Azkaban?" His eyes lit up. "Let me go!"

"Don't even think about it."

"Why not? Didn't you confirm the past can't be changed?"

Hall chuckled. "That's because I didn't do anything that truly affected the present. What do you want to do? Find Wormtail ahead of time? Fight Voldemort alone?"

Sirius stiffened. Hall had hit the nail on the head.

"Don't think about it. This array is being researched to save Regulus. Have you considered what would happen if you did something that affected him?"

Sirius showed a hint of guilt.

"And I'm not sure what will happen if you travel through this array. Unlike me, you truly existed in the past. One of the rules: you can't have contact with your past self. Do you think your face can fool anyone?"

Sirius pursed his lips. He was a Black. In the era before the Black family's decline, almost everyone would recognise him at first glance.

"First, try to get me to stay as long as possible. Then we'll address the issue of determining the exact timeframe."

Hall needed to know the exact time Regulus went to the cave. Relying on Sirius to pinpoint the exact year, month, and day...

Sirius looked bewildered.

After resting for half an hour, Hall's strength had recovered. His body temperature had returned to normal.

He glanced at his system panel. LV20 magic might not be enough.

He acted immediately. He wasn't short of Galleons. He upgraded his magic to LV30.

Sirius, standing nearby, suddenly felt an immense magical force envelop the entire room. His mind and body were paralysed. Facing that power, he felt like a tiny grain of sand facing a raging sea.