Sir Cadogan swallowed, stammering, "Calm down, Charlie, calm down! Remember, I even showed you the way."
It would have been better if he hadn't mentioned it; mentioning it only made Charlie angrier.
"You're still bringing up how you gave me wrong directions?" Charlie pressed his wand against the painting frame, and the flame at the tip of his wand flickered more intensely.
"Open the door."
"Alright, alright, I'm opening it now!"
Sir Cadogan nimbly opened the door.
["Your Majesty violently coerced the guard, tyrant points +10"]
Charlie put away his wand, pushed the door open, and walked in.
In the Gryffindor common room, several first and second-year students were gathered around a table playing wizard chess. They looked up, saw Charlie, and all froze.
Charlie was a well-known figure among the students; his various exploits over the past two years made it hard not to recognize him.
But they couldn't understand how a Hufflepuff student could enter the Gryffindor common room.
"Kids, don't look, go play chess." Charlie snapped his fingers.
The Young Wizard immediately felt a gentle force making them lower their heads, compelled to stare at the chessboard.
Charlie walked to the staircase and found Harry's dormitory by matching the room number.
Pushing open the door, the scene inside made him pause.
The dormitory was a bit messy; Ron's bedsheet still had some bloodstains, his pillow was askew, and the quilt was on the floor.
Charlie frowned, scanning the entire room.
Under the bed, in the wardrobe, under the table, he searched every corner but didn't see Scabbers.
There were a few ginger-colored cat hairs on the floor.
Charlie squatted down, picked up a strand, and examined it closely.
He was very familiar with this fur color; Hermione's cat, Crookshanks, was this color.
There were still bloodstains on Ron's bedsheet, but not many, only a few drops.
The sequence of events was now very clear.
Crookshanks had snuck in and attacked Scabbers.
Or rather, attacked Peter Pettigrew. Peter was scratched, bled a little, and then fled.
As an adult Wizard, the probability of being killed by a cat should be small. He could have easily transformed back into human form, driven the cat away, and then turned back into a rat.
But he chose to flee, which was very interesting. Could he really be afraid of Crookshanks?
Peter had lived as a rat, in hiding, for over a decade in the Weasley family. If he was truly a hero, why was he hiding?
Was Black's escape from Azkaban really to kill Harry?
Charlie narrowed his eyes.
If the real traitor was Peter, then Black's purpose for escaping Azkaban made sense.
He had been in Azkaban for over a decade, and upon suddenly learning that Peter was alive, he would desperately escape to seek revenge on Peter.
However, this was just a guess. To confirm it, he needed to catch Peter or Black.
On the other side, after Charlie disappeared, Harry stood in the Three Broomsticks pub, his unease growing stronger.
Charlie's sudden return to Hogwarts must mean he had discovered something, and Harry had a strong premonition that it was related to Black, as Charlie had left abruptly after overhearing the Professor's conversation.
"I'm going back too." Harry, wearing his invisibility cloak, said in a low voice.
Ron put down his cup and looked at Hermione: "Then let's go too."
Hermione nodded.
The three left the pub and hurried back to Hogwarts through the snow.
It was already afternoon when they returned to the Castle; the corridors were empty, as most students were still in Hogsmeade.
Harry took off his invisibility cloak, and the three of them jogged along, looking for Charlie.
They finally found him by the Black Lake.
Charlie was squatting by the lake, and Storm stood beside him, tilting his head, listening to him speak.
"Did you hear clearly? Catch Scabbers, and the reward is a hundred pieces of dried meat." Charlie broke off a small piece of dried meat and fed it to Storm.
"Spot the big black dog, and the reward is fifty pieces."
Charlie didn't expect Storm or the others to catch Peter, but it was worth a shot, just in case they did. It wouldn't be much trouble anyway.
"Caw!" Storm cried out excitedly.
Charlie patted his head:
"Go on, mobilize all the little brothers and sisters in the Owlery. Whoever catches him gets a reward."
Storm immediately flew off.
Ron's face instantly changed when he heard this.
"Wait, Charlie, is the Scabbers you're talking about the Scabbers I know? What are you catching him for? What did he do wrong?"
"This can't be explained in a few words. You should go back to the dormitory and see for yourself first."
Ron froze for a second, then turned and ran into the Castle.
Harry followed him.
Hermione didn't move; she stood still, looking at Charlie.
"What exactly happened?"
Charlie didn't want to explain it to her first, then explain it again to Harry and Ron.
"Wait until they come back."
Not long after, Ron came over, fuming, holding the bedsheet, with Harry following behind him, looking a bit awkward.
Ron pointed at the bloodstains on the bedsheet and yelled at Hermione:
"It's all your cat's fault! He killed Scabbers!"
Hermione looked astonished and was about to explain when Charlie put a hand on Ron's shoulder.
"Quiet down, Scabbers isn't dead." Charlie paused.
"Or rather, his name isn't Scabbers at all."
Ron froze, the anger on his face turning into bewilderment.
"What do you mean?"
Charlie pulled out the marauders map from his pocket and touched his wand to the parchment.
Ink spread across the parchment, and the map of Hogwarts gradually appeared.
Charlie pointed to the location by the Black Lake on the map, where four names were clearly marked: Charlie White, Ron Weasley, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger.
"This map can show the names and locations of everyone in the Castle, even Dumbledore is no exception."
Charlie's finger pointed to the Principal's office, where Dumbledore was pacing back and forth.
Ron's eyes widened in surprise, but then he reacted.
"This map is indeed amazing, but what does it have to do with Scabbers?"
"Before, I saw on the map that you were sleeping with someone named Peter Pettigrew."
"I originally thought it was a man, but today when I heard the Professor mention that name, I realized something was wrong."
Ron blinked, not quite understanding.
"If I'm not mistaken, that's Scabbers."
The air suddenly went silent.
Ron's expression changed from bewilderment to shock.
"How is that possible? How could Scabbers be..."
"You mean... Scabbers is an Animagus?"
"Exactly." Charlie nodded.
"And according to Minister Fudge, Peter Pettigrew lost a finger back then, which is just like Scabbers's claw."
Ron's face turned pale, and he swayed unsteadily.
He couldn't accept the news immediately; the amount of information was simply too much.
Good news: your pet can transform.
Bad news: it transforms into an old man.
"Ron, you've been sleeping with an old man for two and a half years," Charlie added.
"Thank you for reminding me!"
Ron roared, his eyes losing focus, and he fell backward to the ground, unable to get up again.
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