In a quiet corner of the library, Harry's friend and Scabbers' owner, Ron Weasley, was completing a Potions essay under Hermione's supervision, distractedly chewing his quill into a mess.
Harry looked at him helplessly, copying excerpts from Gadding with Ghouls for his Defense Against the Dark Arts essay. It was a very easy assignment. All they had to do was read selected passages from Gilderoy Lockhart's works to a self-recording quill, and they would receive an "E." But Hermione insisted that this was a highly irresponsible form of cheating and demanded that Harry and Ron write their essays by hand ("If we don't think and complete the essays ourselves, we won't learn anything").
"After adding the porcupine quills, stir clockwise twice, Ron," Hermione whispered with a frown, leaning over to check Harry's essay. "Harry, it's not 'I realized it was a slow-acting poison,' but 'Professor Lockhart realized it was a slow-acting poison'… I think he was referring to the mixture of mandrake leaf juice and powdered unicorn horn, possibly with viper fangs."
"If I were you, Hermione, I wouldn't try to find real knowledge in a novel," Ron said bluntly, flicking his quill irritably. "Damn it, why don't the Slytherins have to write this bloody essay?"
"Because the Quidditch season is about to start," Harry said, skipping an entire page describing how the poor man struggled to beg Lockhart for help. "Hmm… 'Almost instantly, I knew what I had to do'…"
He began copying the passage quickly.
"If you only treat textbooks as novels, you'll never learn anything!" Hermione's voice grew sharp.
Madam Pince's dangerous glare could only make her lower her voice, but she continued passionately, "If you read carefully, you'll find that Professor Lockhart hints at what the poison really is in many places… He left clues for those who study seriously while ensuring that truly dangerous information isn't spread everywhere."
Harry looked up, glancing around, praying to find something to prevent an impending argument. Ron had never liked Lockhart, and he clearly hadn't realized that Hermione still stubbornly admired the author of the seven textbooks. Just then, Harry saw Professor Anthony walking over from between the rows of bookshelves, seemingly looking for them.
"Professor Anthony!" Harry said with relief, happily nudging Ron's elbow. "Ron, Professor Anthony is back."
"What? Oh, great!" A smile finally appeared on Ron's face as he turned and looked expectantly at Anthony's pocket. "Professor Anthony, where's Scabbers?"
Professor Anthony didn't speak immediately. Harry looked up and noticed his expression was somewhat odd.
Harry's heart sank. It couldn't be. Ron was just too worried about Scabbers. That rat didn't look seriously ill… This morning, Scabbers had even taken a few sips of oatmeal from Ron's bowl…
"Professor?" Hermione asked worriedly. "Is Scabbers okay?"
"Well, I'm not sure if he's okay," Professor Anthony said. "But I'm afraid you'll have to go to your Head of House's office to find him."
…
Anthony led Harry, Ron, and Hermione to Professor McGonagall's office.
"Professor Anthony, what exactly happened to Scabbers?" Ron asked anxiously.
"I'm not sure it's appropriate for me to tell you," Anthony said gently. "We've already contacted Arthur and Molly. Arthur is still at work, but Molly will be here soon."
Ron looked even more worried and silently quickened his pace. Harry and Hermione followed behind Ron, exchanging glances, clearly believing that Scabbers was on the verge of death. In a way, Anthony thought they were quite right.
"Is it because I fed Scabbers too much?" Ron whispered.
"Hmm? No, it's not," Anthony lowered his head and smiled at him. "In any case, Mr. Weasley, remember this isn't your fault."
He opened the door to Professor McGonagall's office and motioned for the three to enter. The atmosphere in the office was very strange. Professor McGonagall was writing a letter and nodded for them to come in. Fawkes perched on the coat rack, tilting his head to watch the newcomers. Opposite Fawkes, Peter stood stiffly with the help of a Petrification Charm, his small eyes darting around in terror.
Ron glanced cautiously at Professor McGonagall, then at the short man trapped by the Petrification Charm in the corner, swallowed hard, and said nothing.
Anthony closed the door.
"Henry?" Professor McGonagall looked up, then nodded solemnly at Ron. "Come here, Weasley. There's something I need to tell you." She noticed Harry and Hermione. "And you, Potter, this concerns you too."
"Oh dear, it's all over," Hermione whispered anxiously. "I told you, you shouldn't have secretly fed Scabbers in class… It's against school rules…"
"Shh," Ron said. "What is it, Professor McGonagall?"
"I think you need to know this, Weasley," Professor McGonagall said, pointing her wand at Peter. "That is your Scabbers."
Ron turned around in confusion, stared at Peter for a while—Peter's eyes were filled with tears, and if not for the Petrification Charm, Anthony was quite sure he would have knelt down and turned into Ron's rat—then turned back. "What does that mean?"
"I know this might be hard to accept at first, but he once transformed into a rat and lived as your family's pet for many years," Professor McGonagall said, unusually gently, then turned to Harry, who was frowning as he examined Peter. "Besides, Potter, we think you should know that he was once a very close friend of your father's…"
Harry froze, still staring confusedly at the stiffly standing Peter, but his frown eased.
"A very close friend…" he whispered, his eyes flickering with curiosity and surprise.
This made Professor McGonagall pause for a moment before she said softly, "But his betrayal led to your parents'… James and Lily's deaths."
It seemed to take Harry a while to understand what this meant. Like a gentle breeze, the hopeful light in his eyes as he looked at Peter wavered a few times before slowly fading.
"Oh," he said.
…
Professor McGonagall briefly explained the Fidelius Charm and the meaning of a Secret Keeper to Harry in a very calm tone.
"Peter Pettigrew was the Secret Keeper for James and Lily's address," Professor McGonagall said. "But he betrayed us and revealed their address to You-Know-Who. After You-Know-Who… failed," Harry reached up to touch the scar on his forehead, and Professor McGonagall nodded, "yes, after You-Know-Who failed, Pettigrew decided to flee. So he transformed into a rat and went into hiding…" Her tone unconsciously carried a hint of disgust. "Eventually, he found a family willing to take him in." She glanced at Ron.
Ron listened dumbfounded, then abruptly closed his mouth.
"B-but, Professor McGonagall," he said with effort, "how can a person turn into a rat?"
Hermione kicked Ron's heel from behind, but his words were already out. Professor McGonagall's expression turned stern.
"If you don't remember the first Transfiguration class of your first year, Weasley," she said, "I at least hope you remember writing an essay on the principles of Animagus transformation."
Ron looked somewhat embarrassed, and Hermione looked even more ashamed. A flicker of guilt also crossed Harry's face. For a moment, the shock of Scabbers' true identity and the weight of the past were overshadowed by Transfiguration homework.
Just then, Professor McGonagall's door was knocked again. Mrs. Weasley pushed the door open, furious.
"Minerva, I can hardly believe it—never heard of such a thing—" she said, turning and seeing Harry, immediately hugging him. "Oh, Harry, dear, are you all right?"
"Mum!" Ron cried. "My rat turned into a person!"
Anthony hesitated but didn't correct him to "a person turned into my rat."
"He didn't do anything to you, did he, Harry? I was so frightened," Mrs. Weasley examined Harry up and down before turning to Ron. "I was so worried, Ron—"
"The rat turned into a person!" Ron said.
"This despicable man—" Mrs. Weasley glared at Peter. "Living in our house for so many years! We took care of him for so long! Percy bathed him, Ron told him bedtime stories!" Her chest heaved violently, as if she wanted to slap Peter.
Ron's face turned green. He hadn't seemed to have considered this before.
"I let him sleep next to my pillow…" he said, examining Peter's thin, messy light hair, bald head, and plump body, looking as if he might vomit.
"Molly, we need to know the exact time Pettigrew came to your home," Professor McGonagall said seriously. "Besides, if you're willing to testify for us in court, we'd be very grateful."
Mrs. Weasley said without hesitation, "Of course!" She shot a hateful glance at Peter. "He should have gone to Azkaban long ago. Poor Sirius…" Mrs. Weasley glanced in Harry's direction and quickly changed the subject. "Really, no problem, Minerva, I'll definitely go."
"Sirius?" Hermione asked sharply.
"Nothing, dear," Mrs. Weasley said.
Harry asked, "What is Sirius?" He looked at the adults, tentatively rephrasing his question. "Who is Sirius, Mrs. Weasley? Professor McGonagall?" He glanced at Anthony. "Professor Anthony?"
Anthony said, "He has the right to know, Minerva."
"Sirius Black," Professor McGonagall hesitated slightly before explaining to the three second-years. "He was falsely accused of betraying the Potters and has spent eleven years in Azkaban…"
Ron said in surprise, "Azkaban! Eleven years!" He finally recovered from his disgust toward Peter. "He must be insane by now."
"That's why I didn't want to tell you," Mrs. Weasley said sternly. "This isn't something you should be exposed to."
"What is Azkaban?" Harry asked.
"Wizarding prison," Ron explained. "An inescapable prison, the most terrifying place in the world. Everyone who comes back alive from there shivers with cold."
"Shivers with cold?"
"Because the guards there are Dementors," Ron elaborated. "They feed on happiness and make people feel terrible. People near them can only feel endless sorrow, lose their spirits, and forget all happy memories…"
"Sounds like the Dursleys," Harry muttered.
"I heard they wear tattered black robes and have rotting hands…"
Mrs. Weasley said, "Ron!"
"Not like them anymore," Harry said. "Okay, but I still don't understand."
"Don't understand what?" Anthony asked.
Harry frowned. "How could he be mistaken for the one who betrayed my parents? I mean, there's only one Secret Keeper, right? Since Voldemort…" He paused. "Killed my parents, people must have known who leaked the secret."
"Right, why was this Sirius falsely accused?" Hermione also asked.
"Because…" Professor McGonagall hesitated.
"Because he was also a very close friend of your father's," Anthony said. "A very, very close friend, one of his best friends. He was the originally chosen Secret Keeper."
"But this Sirius leaked the secret to him?" Harry asked, pointing at Peter. "Sirius also betrayed my dad?"
"Oh, no. I think he was very loyal," Professor McGonagall said with difficulty. "In fact, the mistake James and Sirius made was that they wrongly trusted Peter Pettigrew. They changed the Secret Keeper to Pettigrew at the last minute and didn't tell anyone."
Harry still looked confused. "But if that's the case, how did you find out…"
"Another friend of your father's, Remus Lupin, noticed something odd about Scabbers," Anthony told him. "He realized it was actually an Animagus, Peter Pettigrew."
And for this, he and Anthony had violated the International Statute of Secrecy together. Anthony hoped he wouldn't be the final straw that sent all of James Potter's close friends to Azkaban.
"My dad had another friend?"
Professor McGonagall said, "James had more than just these friends… but yes, the four of them were once the closest of friends. Remus is undergoing a physical examination in the hospital wing. I think you might see him soon."
Harry seemed momentarily speechless. Ron comfortingly bumped his shoulder, and Hermione took his arm.
Thud.
Fawkes looked up, watching as Peter stiffly fell to the ground in front of him. He spread his wings, grabbed Peter's sparse hair with his claws, and lifted the ugly statue.
A puddle of water remained on the ground, as if the tears in Peter's eyes had finally been shaken loose.
Extra: Remus Lupin's School Days
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