novelraw Chapter 41: The Incredibly Long-Lived Rat
Chapter 41: The Incredibly Long-Lived Rat
Chapter Forty-One: The Incredibly Long-Lived Rat
"Luna Lovegood has given me the Ravenclaw list." Hermione asked curiously, "When did you become acquainted with her?"
"I don't know her. We just have a mutual friend," Draco answered somewhat absentmindedly, still lost in his own thoughts about Peter Pettigrew. "Good thing I got it..."
"I'm screening those suspicious students the way you suggested," Hermione said with interest, flipping through the list. "Would you like to take a look and add your thoughts?"
"Ah, that's good—you did a good job—" He rested his chin on his hand, sitting in his usual seat, gazing out the window in a daze.
He didn't even glance at them, whether it was the lists or anything else. He was only focused on looking out the window!
What's there to see? Hermione thought resentfully, craning her neck to look outside, but there was nothing there except a snow-covered courtyard!
"Draco, what have you been up to lately?" She slammed down the parchment, her lips pouting, a hint of displeasure on her face. "Why have you been acting like a different person since Christmas? You always seem so absent-minded."
It was early January, and the students returning to school seemed not to have recovered yet from the pleasant atmosphere of the Christmas holidays. They were dragging their books into the Transfiguration classroom when they heard her voice and craned their necks to look at the front row.
"Susan, don't go over there," Neville said in a panic, pulling back the Hufflepuff girl who wanted to "mediate." "They're probably going to fight again. They've been at odds since before Christmas... Look at Hermione's face! And look at the cold aura emanating from Malfoy! At this moment, whoever goes over there will suffer..."
"But what if Hermione gets bullied?" Susan said indignantly. "Why does that Malfoy always make her angry? It was the same in Herbology last time—he made her so angry that she had to partner with me... and she even defended him before..."
"Oh, Hermione won't be bullied." Neville said in a respectful tone. "Although Malfoy is terrible, Hermione always wins... Usually, she gives him the cold shoulder, and then he gives the cold shoulder to everyone else... like me."
"Wow, Hermione's that amazing?" Susan's face lit up with excitement as she sat down a short distance behind them, observing them furtively. "No wonder she's the leader of our Lockhart Fan Club..."
At that moment, the leader of the Lockhart Fan Club was glaring angrily at the boy's platinum blonde hair, hoping for an explanation.
"It's nothing." Draco finally turned to look at her, his expression somewhat innocent. "There's just one problem... I still don't understand it."
"It's rare to see you looking so preoccupied—though I hate to say it—you're much more pleasing to the eye when you're expressionless." Hermione's expression softened, and she said in a worried tone, "What's bothering you? Can you tell me? Maybe I can offer some advice and help you think of a solution."
Draco sighed.
("Look, even Malfoy is sighing," Neville said to Susan, who was craning her neck to see. "He probably got a really bad scolding from Hermione...")
"I'm afraid you can't help me much." Draco glanced at her and noticed the girl's face flush rapidly, as if she was about to get angry. He hurriedly added in a low voice, "Unless you know a way to keep someone silently by another person's side without anyone noticing or suspecting anything..."
("Ah, that's right—Malfoy is frantically explaining something to Hermione. He's probably at a loss for words and has bowed his head in admission of his mistake!" Susan said cheerfully.)
Hearing Draco explain to her earnestly, instead of his previous evasive attitude, Hermione's anger subsided, and she fell into thought.
"An Invisibility Cloak?" she asked amidst the growing clamor of voices. She recalled how Draco had recently led her out of the Slytherin common room.
"No. It has nothing to do with an Invisibility Cloak," he said firmly. If Peter Pettigrew was merely wearing an Invisibility Cloak, things would be much simpler.
"Not Polyjuice Potion either?" she asked again.
"No," he said regretfully.
"I'm not sure about that," Hermione said, frowning. "However, I think what you're describing sounds a bit like Thumbelina."
"Thumbelina? What's that?" Draco asked casually.
"A Muggle fairy tale. You can put Thumbelina in your pocket anytime and no one will notice." Hermione shrugged, a look of disapproval flashing across her face. "However, I think the ending is too clichéd. Why, after all that running around and effort, escaping those horrible suitors, does she still have to marry a prince to live happily ever after? Can't she just stay independent on her own?"
"Of course, she can do whatever she wants..." Draco absentmindedly echoed her.
For some inexplicable reason, he was drawn to a certain detail in this Muggle fairy tale.
You could put it in your pocket and no one would notice. Draco felt as if a blurry mist was slowly forming in his mind, about to burst forth.
It's so close. What is it? He rested his chin on his hand, staring blankly at Hermione, at her glossy, wavy brown hair, as if trying to find the answer in her hair.
After checking on her study partner, Hermione was about to turn her attention back to the parchment—given that she couldn't come up with any good solutions for him.
But she felt a little uncomfortable being stared at by him with that probing gaze.
She peeked at him through the gaps in her hair and found that his grey eyes were staring at her intently.
"What's wrong?" she asked him, like a cat in a good mood hiding behind curtains.
"It's nothing," Draco said softly, staring into those brown eyes, his tone somewhat dazed.
"What are you thinking about again?" she asked him again, putting on a proud air, with the corners of her mouth slightly upturned.
"I wasn't thinking about anything." He was a little confused, his mind blank, unsure whether it was because he was too tired from thinking about Peter Pettigrew's question, or because her smiling eyes were too bright.
The school bell rang. Professor McGonagall didn't seem to have appeared yet. A moment later, Harry and Ron rushed in, panting.
"Oh, thank Merlin Professor McGonagall hasn't arrived yet, or we'd be in deep trouble," Ron said thankfully.
As soon as he finished speaking, the tabby cat on the podium suddenly leapt off and transformed into Professor McGonagall the instant it landed.
"Wow, that's brilliant!" Ron exclaimed, speechless with admiration.
"Thank you for the compliment, Mr. Weasley. But I still need an explanation for why you are late," Professor McGonagall said sternly.
"We misread our watches," Harry said, somewhat ashamed.
"Perhaps I should Transfigure you and Mr. Weasley into a watch, so you might be a little more punctual?" Professor McGonagall glared at them and waved for them to find seats.
Professor McGonagall was clearly still fuming—especially after she saw Ron casually pull his pet rat out of his pocket and place it on his desk.
The listless rat seemed to elicit a pang of pity from Professor McGonagall. She strongly suspected that Ron was mistreating the poor animal.
She frowned and said, "I must remind you, Mr. Weasley, transfiguring a rat into a goblet with a rat's tail, like you did in the last lesson, is unacceptable. Please spend more time learning about Transfiguration and stop tormenting that rat for no reason."
Ron glanced at Scabbers with concern, then nodded with his head drooping.
"Professor McGonagall is absolutely amazing. I can never get enough of watching her Animagus transformation," Hermione whispered to Draco, excited after witnessing Professor McGonagall's entire transformation. "I've heard there are only seven registered Animagi in the wizarding world right now—she's truly—"
"Yes, Animagus!" Draco's confusion finally took shape, and he couldn't help but raise his voice. "Why didn't I think of that?"
The students around him looked at him blankly. Professor McGonagall on the stage also glared at him fiercely.
"Mr. Malfoy, what opinion would you like to express?" Professor McGonagall asked sharply, looking offended.
"It's nothing, Professor—I was just amazed by your superb skills." Draco then realized how rude he'd been. He recovered and praised her in the characteristic Malfoy accent.
"Mr. Malfoy, if you had used the time you spend flattering me on research into Transfiguration, perhaps you would be the next successful Animagus." Professor McGonagall seemed to be in a better mood and didn't pursue the matter further.
Draco sat down, looking with delight at the rat that was fast asleep not far away.
Since Rita Skeeter, this gossipy woman, can turn into a beetle and pry into other people's private lives, who can say for sure that Peter Pettigrew might not be another unregistered Animagus?
Perhaps—he's that sickly rat?
"Are you all right?" Hermione asked curiously.
The boy had suddenly become very happy, as smug as a cat that had caught its own tail.
"Never been better. In fact, I've made a major discovery." Draco's voice was filled with barely concealed joy.
"What?" she asked, puzzled.
"Shh..." The boy in front of her pressed his pale finger to his light-colored lips, and blinked his light grey eyes at her. "The time isn't right—I cannot say more. I need some evidence to prove my conjecture."
"So secretive again," Hermione muttered to herself, not pressing for more details—Professor McGonagall didn't like students whispering in her class.
Draco gave her a lazy smile and continued to stare intently at the rat.
It wasn't that Draco intentionally kept things a secret from Hermione. Of course, he couldn't reveal his guess in Transfiguration—who knew if that rat's ears were even sharp?
Moreover, after making bold assumptions, careful verification was still needed. Not just anyone could transform into an Animagus—it required extremely high magical talent. And as far as Draco knew, Peter Pettigrew had never been a highly skilled wizard.
He was cowardly, weak, and mediocre. The most earth-shattering thing he'd ever done was side with the Dark Lord and betray Harry's parents. Transforming into an Animagus—forgive Draco's bluntness—was not an easy task, nor was it a skill that could be acquired simply by having the Dark Mark imprinted on one's arm.
To become an Animagus, one must possess talent in both Transfiguration and Potions. The preparation was intricate and the steps extremely complex. Even the slightest mistake in any step required the caster to start all over again. This was the main reason why Animagi were so rare in the world.
Peter Pettigrew didn't seem like a wizard with that kind of talent. It would have been more believable if someone had told him that Severus Snape was an Animagus.
However, when all other options were impossible, the remaining explanation, though bizarre, was very likely the truth.
After the Transfiguration class ended, Draco strode out of the classroom, his gaze sweeping over the crowded people in the corridor.
It didn't take him long to spot the Weasley twins. Their identical fiery red hair and tall, lanky appearance always made them stand out in a crowd.
Right now, the Weasley twins were excitedly talking to a boy named Lee Jordan about mutant spiders.
"Wait, George, Fred..." Draco caught up with them.
The twins turned around and looked at him with interest. "Wow! Look who this is. What brings the young master of the Malfoy family here? Is he here to buy our Skiving Snackboxes?" Fred patted him on the shoulder affectionately.
"Of course." Draco proudly raised his head. "This is a big order. We need to find a quiet place to talk."
The Weasley twins exchanged a glance, knowing that he wasn't there to buy Skiving Snackboxes, but rather for something else important.
They said a few more words to Lee Jordan, patted him on the shoulder, and then followed Draco into an empty classroom.
"What's wrong?" they asked him in unison, sitting casually at the two desks in the front row of the classroom.
"I noticed that your brother Ron keeps a rat?" Draco didn't sit down—he leaned against the podium, sizing up the two brothers.
"You mean that mangy, listless rat—" Fred asked, raising an eyebrow with interest.
It was quite rare to see Malfoy, the young master of a wealthy family, so interested in Ron's mangy rat.
"Yes, it sounds like yours." George exchanged a knowing smile with his brother.
"We wanted to use it for experiments—" Fred said with a grin.
"It's a pity Ron never wanted to hand it over to us..." George said regretfully.
Don't underestimate the Weasley brothers' coordinated efforts. If you thought they were indifferent to everything, you'd be sorely mistaken!
Draco could glean a subtle signal from their playful banter: Ron loved the rat. If Draco wanted to conduct any dangerous experiments on the rat, Ron probably wouldn't allow it, nor would the two brothers.
They sided with their younger brother. That was their underlying meaning, though expressed in a subtle, playful, and indifferent manner.
Draco wasn't in the mood for beating around the bush. He was determined to get his hands on the rat. He interrupted them, asking bluntly, "I'd like to know—how many years has it been in your house?"
The answer seemed obvious.
"Oh, that goes back to our childhood—" Fred said in a nostalgic tone.
"Back then we were innocent children—" George made an innocent expression.
Draco's mouth twitched.
Innocent and naive? How could they even say that?
Who'd blown up the toilet seats in the boys' bathroom, causing Filch to curse for hours in the corridor? Who kept stuffing Filibuster fireworks into salamanders' mouths, causing one to suddenly pop out of the fireplace at Hogwarts, crackling and sparking, giving everyone a fright? And who'd conjured up boils all over their body to scare the female students? Not to mention their constant mischief in the Forbidden Forest, putting on a daily game of cat-and-mouse with Hagrid...
If these two brothers could be considered innocent and naive, then Draco Malfoy could be considered a pure and innocent flower.
"Mum bought it for Percy in the first place. It must have been eleven years ago, right? Ron was only one year old then, and Mum said he got bitten by that rat and cried." Perhaps seeing Draco's serious expression, which didn't seem like he was joking, George finally became serious as well.
Draco quickly calculated the year in his mind—it was 1981.
This was the year Scabbers entered the Weasley house as a rat, the year Harry's parents met with tragedy, the year Peter Pettigrew, who was publicly believed dead, was supposedly killed, and the year Sirius Black was imprisoned in Azkaban as a murderer.
Everything was connected.
Draco had long thought that Peter Pettigrew was sneaking around like a rat.
But he'd never expected that he'd transformed into an Animagus in the form of a rat and hidden in the Weasley family for eleven years!
"Don't you think eleven years is a bit too long for a rat?" Draco asked the twin brothers tentatively.
"Indeed," George agreed. "We also thought that rat was a bit strange—"
"Percy and Ron probably fed it too much good food," Fred said dismissively.
Draco covered his face and sighed silently. The Weasley family's nerves are as thick as that Whomping Willow at school!
How come no one had noticed anything wrong with this rat that had lived for so long?
This incredibly long-lived rat had even followed Ron to Hogwarts, where it had lived under the same roof as Harry for nearly two years.
He's a Death Eater! Draco dared not think too deeply about how Harry had been living under the terrifying shadow of death for the past two years.
If Peter Pettigrew wanted to kill Harry, it would be an incredibly easy task.
If he were to transform into human form, pick up the wand of any of the sleeping students, and cast the Dark Lord's most familiar "Avada Kedavra," Harry might be in grave danger.
"May I make a request? Could you steal that rat for me without Ron noticing?" Draco pondered for a moment before making a strange request to the two brothers.
"That's a peculiar request," George smiled, looking at Draco with a probing gaze. "Why does it have to be Ron's rat? Just because it lives a long time?"
"I have no ill intentions toward Ron," Draco said hastily. "I could even buy him a new rat or an owl, but I do have some questions and want to study the rat itself."
"That's not enough. Give us a reason that can convince us," George said solemnly. Fred's face showed a similar expression.
"All right." Draco took a deep breath. He knew these two brothers weren't easy to fool—he had no choice but to be honest with them.
"I suspect that rat is an Animagus. You've seen the Marauder's Map—you should know whose name appears next to Ron's. That rat must be Peter Pettigrew in disguise." Draco's expression was grave. His expression told the two brothers that he was not joking.
"Are you sure? I mean... Peter Pettigrew is dead... isn't he? His killer, Sirius Black, is still in Azkaban." Fred became somewhat incoherent. "Dad mentioned it... Black is actually a distant relative of ours."
"But nobody saw how he died. The largest piece of human tissue they found was his finger!" Draco said sombrely. "I'm guessing the rat is missing a toe too."
"That being said, we always thought Percy broke it by accident." George's face also turned pale.
"Think about it carefully! Is there any basis for my suspicion?" Draco's tone was slightly impatient. "Maybe I'm overthinking it. But trying won't hurt, will it? You don't want Ron to be in constant danger, do you? Sleeping in the same bed with a middle-aged man who's supposedly dead and turned into a rat?"
"Of course not." A rare look of worry appeared on Fred's face. "What do you want us to do?"
"Don't tell Ron. You all know how much he treasures that rat. He definitely won't believe you, and then he'll argue with you for ages, giving the rat an easy opportunity to escape," Draco said.
"Understood." "No problem," the two brothers said.
"Don't make a fuss about it. Find a suitable opportunity, and steal the rat as if it were a prank. Even as a rat, an Animagus will still have its own thoughts, so don't give it away in front of it and let it know what you suspect." Draco revealed his plan. "I will prepare a special container to temporarily contain it. Then, we will hand it over to the professors. If the rat is fine, we'll still return it to Ron, and consider it a false alarm."
"Contain it with a container? Will that work?" George asked.
"There have been similar precedents. You can use an Unbreakable Charm on a container to control an Animagus," Draco said with absolute certainty.
That was one of Hermione Granger's little tricks. In his past life, at the end of fourth year, she'd used this trick to subdue Rita Skeeter.
Very intelligent. Gryffindor should get an extra fifty points. A slight smile appeared on Draco's lips.
"All right, count me in." Fred nodded.
"Me too," George said, frowning.