American comics: From Hogwarts to God on Earth

Ron and Harry were both surprised to learn of Dumbledore's arrival, especially Harry. The Dementors guarding the school had left him feeling down, and even Quidditch couldn't lift his spirits.

The rat beside Ron, now under magical control, fell into Dumbledore's hands. Magic surged around them, and the rat twisted and deformed in a flash of light, transforming into a short, bald man with graying hair. He screamed in terror, unable to believe his disguise had been exposed.

Rune glanced furtively at Dumbledore, whose face remained expressionless, only slightly furrowed brow. "Please inform Professor Snape for me, okay?" Dumbledore's tone remained calm, as if nothing could anger or frighten him. A silver-white phoenix Patronus landed on Rune.

"No...no..." The short man seemed to sense his impending doom. He clasped his hands together and pleaded with Dumbledore, "Please, please, you...you can't..."

Rune didn't listen much and went straight to find his beloved dean—even though the dean might not like him.

Upon hearing that Peter Pettigrew had not died, Snape's face immediately darkened. Rune clearly sensed the bone-chilling cold permeating the surroundings; generally, this was a sign of some kind of dark magic. He shared an unusual understanding with Dumbledore; before the silver Patronus had even flown over, Snape went straight to the potions shelf and took out a small vial of colorless and odorless liquid.

Seeing that it didn't need any reminders, the phoenix became too lazy to fly and simply nestled on Rune's shoulder, shifting its body and finding a comfortable position. Rune looked at this lazy Patronus in surprise; he truly had no idea the Patronus Charm was so magical. It seemed he had to learn this spell; perhaps he could learn it from Dumbledore?

"What are you waiting for?" Snape glared at Rune, strode out, and went to Ron and Harry's dormitory. Ron, Harry, Seamus, and Neville were already standing outside. Dumbledore clearly didn't want them involved. Just as Rune was about to enter, Snape stretched out a hand and stopped him. The intelligent phoenix shook its head at him, then flew straight inside. Snape snorted and followed. Immediately afterward, the pleas for mercy from inside vanished.

Rune sighed and stood outside the dormitory. At that moment, the other four people outside all breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed Professor Snape had a high reputation.

After hesitating for a while, Harry finally asked, "Excuse me, do you know about that mouse...?"

“That’s not a rat,” Rune said, looking at Harry. “It’s an illegal Animagus.”

"An illegal Animagus? Isn't that a person, a..." Ron looked like he was about to vomit, "...and a bald man..."

"Animagus is a highly advanced form of transfiguration, allowing wizards to transform into a particular animal at will. When they transform into animal form, they retain almost all of their original thinking abilities, self-identity, and memories," Rune explained. "And the Animagus in the story has something to do with Harry."

"What's the connection?" Harry immediately became excited.

Rune shook his head: "Sorry, you'll have to ask Dumbledore about that."

"I just want to throw up..." Ron felt nauseous at the thought of Scabbers sleeping with him for so many years. Suddenly, he seemed to remember something: "Oh! I should apologize to Crookshanks and Hermione... Damn it, I had a huge fight with my friend over that disgusting man. I thought he wanted to eat my pet, but he was just helping me out!"

Ron sighed and turned to walk toward the library, Neville and Seamus followed, but Harry didn't; his mind was entirely on the three people inside the door.

A short while later, a group of lion cubs gathered at the entrance. Their dormitory had been broken into by two Slytherins and the headmaster; something serious was clearly happening. Professor McGonagall arrived quickly as well.

"Good morning, Professor," Rune said, and Harry and the other little lions followed suit.

"Hmm." Professor McGonagall nodded, then spoke privately to Rune, "Remember not to practice Transfiguration on your own. You need to wait for your magic to grow naturally; this will greatly reduce the difficulty."

Rune nodded obediently.

Professor McGonagall walked straight into the dormitory, followed by a group of other professors. The poor Gryffindors could only awkwardly offer their greetings.

"Hey, our Transfiguration master, can you tell us what's going on here?" A red-haired, freckled man approached and put his arm around Rune's left shoulder. Another man, who looked almost identical, put his arm around Rune's right shoulder and said, "Yeah, so many professors gathered together, could it be because our poor little brother's grades are too bad and they're all tutoring him?"

Because Rune never interfered in the disputes between Slytherin and Gryffindor, and because of his handsome appearance, most Gryffindors had a good impression of him. They believed that Rune had been mistakenly assigned to Ravenclaw in Slytherin by the Sorting Hat. But the Gryffindors who were truly willing to get close to Rune were these two men—the brothers Fred and George. They had consulted Rune many times about prank props and both thought Rune was a good person.

"The principal and professors are here to arrest a criminal," Rune said.

"Well, Scabbers is actually an Animagus..." Harry added.

"Wow!" Fred exclaimed excitedly. "Let me guess, its human form must be a beautiful woman?"

George clicked his tongue. "Come on, if it were really a beauty, how could it become Percy's pet? If you ask me, it must be a man, and a really, really ugly man at that, and preferably bald!"

The Gryffindors around him laughed, especially after Harry nodded in confirmation. The children around them burst into laughter, and even Rune chuckled. He quite liked this group of Gryffindors; even though they had just been attacked by Dementors on the train, they could still laugh.

The atmosphere inside Harry's dormitory was not as cheerful as it was outside.

McGonagall's lips trembled with rage, and Snape's eyes were red-rimmed, gleaming with a chilling light. This wasn't a description, but a sign of some kind of dark magic. The other professors also looked at Peter Pettigrew with either anger or sighs—the hero they had thought he was was actually a traitor who had succumbed to the Dark Lord.

“Professor… Headmaster…” Peter cried, “What could I do? That dark man… you don’t know… his weapons are unimaginable… I was scared. I’ve never been as brave as Sirius, Lupin, or James. I never did it on purpose… that man, whose name I can’t even mention, forced me… he… he’s everywhere! What good would it do to refuse him? You don’t understand! He’ll kill me, Headmaster!”

Dumbledore pressed down on Snape's raised wand. He said nothing, but the disappointment in his eyes seemed to freeze Peter's heart...