The days at Hogwarts

The two found an abandoned classroom to write the letter, and delivered it to the Owlery in the dark. When they returned to the Gryffindor common room, it was still early.

The lounge was very lively on weekend nights, and the laughter and noise could be heard outside the portrait cave.

On the right, Harry and Ron were pestering Wood about recruiting new members for the Quidditch team, their saliva flying and their faces flushed with excitement; a little further away, Seamus was playing a duel with exploding cards and was killed by everyone.

On the sofa to the left, George and Fred were surrounding Lee Jordan, trying relentlessly to get him to eat a strangely colored candy.

"Try it, Lee. It's new from Honeydukes." George held the black, purple and brown mass to Lee Jordan's lips.

Lee Jordan's lips were pressed together, unmoved, his eyes glaring at the two men angrily.

Fred stretched out his finger and poked his cheek: "Yes, yes, it's hard to buy, try it."

Lee Jordan made an indignant hesitating sound: "Ugh! Ugh!"

If his eyes could spit fire, the twin brothers would have been burned to ashes.

"George, Fred, I want to borrow that map again." Loren raised his hand and patted George's shoulder.

The three who heard the sound turned their heads to look over. Lee Jordan's eyes were filled with surprise and gratitude. He took the opportunity to push the two away, jumped off the sofa and ran a safe distance away. He pointed at them and made an angry accusation: "This is too much, the two of you! You tried to force me after I saw through your trick! Fortunately, Gryffindor protected me..."

Loren and Hermione fell silent at the terrible line.

The twins were not annoyed when their good time was interrupted. They looked at Loren with a grin, and by the way, they saw Hermione beside him. George and Fred made a long-drawn joke together:

"Oh, George, do you feel like you've seen this before?"

"Yes, Fred. It was the same time last year."

The two of them held Loren's shoulders from left and right, and the red-haired head leaned down and whispered:

"Love comes first, but we don't recommend you go to Hogsmeade through the secret passage. This year is different from last year. The Dementors' patrols have made the businesses and residents there very nervous."

"Last time I—" Fred stopped in time, rolled his eyes a few times, and changed his words, "I heard from our acquaintances that the activity week this semester has been postponed. If you show up there early, you might be caught and inform the professor."

"It sounds like you guys have been there less than two weeks into school," Loren grumbled quietly.

George chuckled and said, "We just checked the secret passages everywhere before school started."

"That's right, Loren." Fred also nodded with a smile, then his face became serious. "You don't know that the secret passage behind the hunchbacked one-eyed old woman statue on the third floor leading to Honeydukes Candy Store has been blocked, and the secret passage behind the mirror on the fourth floor has also collapsed."

"Although the secret passage behind the statue of the flatterer Gregory can still be used, I think most of the secret passages in the castle are blocked." George smiled teasingly, "Let's find a safe place to date in the school. This is also for Hermione's own good."

After hearing the information given by the two, Loren silently calculated that this was probably the influence brought by Peter Pettigrew.

"I'm not planning on going to Hogsmeade." Loren shook his head. "I borrowed the live map to find someone."

George and Fred looked at each other. The sentence was short, but they both heard something unusual in it and restrained themselves from asking any more questions.

George pulled a roll of parchment from his pocket and handed it to Loren. Then, without looking back, he and Fred went after Lee Jordan, laughing and joking, as if nothing unusual happened.

I was stunned by T1, there is still one chapter in the early morning

Chapter 302: The Rat Appears

"I don't want to play anymore! I don't want to play anymore! I'm the only one who keeps getting bombed!"

"Oh! Catch Seamus now, don't let him get away."

……

"Wood, if we start recruiting new students next year, it will be difficult for us to defeat Slytherin." Harry said seriously.

Ron nodded uncontrollably, "Yes, yes. And I suggest that the change of captain be brought forward to this year."

Wood: “…”

The laughter in the common room was still boisterous, and the bright candlelight flickered slightly, illuminating the large room as usual.

No one noticed that in a corner away from the fireplace, Loren and Hermione were squatting behind the sofa with a large square of parchment spread out in front of them.

"Can the Marauder's Map see through Animagus disguises?" Hermione asked. "If it could, George and Fred would have discovered Peter Pettigrew long ago."

"Except for night walks to avoid Filch, they rarely use the Marauder's Map. They may not have used it this semester..." Loren did not give a definite answer. He remembered that the Marauder's Map in the movie marked Peter Pettigrew, but Voldemort sent him back after all. Maybe he used some magic to hide his name. "Anyway, let's give it a try first."

Loren pulled out his wand and tapped it gently on the worn parchment. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

In an instant, fine black ink lines spread out on the old yellowed parchment like a spider web, connecting with each other and extending to every corner of the parchment.

Large green cursive characters appeared at the top of the paper:

[Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs

Gentlemen who are here to help magical mischief makers.

Introducing

Marauder's Map

Seeing Wormtail's name, Hermione's pupils suddenly contracted, and she asked in surprise, "Wormtail? I remember that in Harry's dream, Voldemort called Peter Pettigrew like this."

"Yes, Wormtail is Peter Pettigrew, Padfoot is Sirius Black, Prongs is Harry's father James, and Moony is Professor Lupin."

Loren simply told her everything in one breath. There was nothing worth hiding from Hermione. "They were good friends when they were in school. After they graduated, Voldemort launched the Wizarding War. Black persuaded James and Lily to replace the Secret Keeper with Peter Pettigrew, but was eventually betrayed. You should know what happened afterwards."

"Moon Face..." Hermione inexplicably remembered the Boggart, which had once turned into a silver-white disk in front of Professor Lupin. "How did you know?"

"Principal Dumbledore told me..." Loren casually brought up the principal as an excuse. He couldn't say that he had seen the movie.

On the worn parchment, the details of Hogwarts Castle and grounds were depicted with thin ink lines, many small black dots moved on the picture, and the names were marked in tiny fonts above the small black dots.

The little black dot representing Headmaster Dumbledore was walking down the stairs towards the kitchens;

Professor McGonagall was sitting motionless in her office, probably marking assignments;

Professor Lupin paced around his office;

Mrs. Norris, the caretaker Filch's cat, was patrolling the seventh floor, and Crookshanks seemed to be following her.

The common rooms of several colleges were crowded with densely packed black dots, and the young wizards were so crowded together that it was almost impossible to see their names.

Loren squinted his eyes and carefully searched for the names on the map: "The Slytherin Chamber of Secrets and the Room of Requirement are not on the map. I don't know if they didn't draw them when they made the map, or if these two places cannot be described-"

He paused and stared at a place on the map. On the corridor on the eighth floor of the castle, a small black dot was moving rapidly.

"Peter Pettigrew..." Hermione murmured the name.

dong dong!

dong dong!

The sound of the heart beating faster in the chest was dull but loud, and the two people were so close that they could hear it very clearly.

The sound of her heartbeat drowned out the noisy laughter that filled the lounge and made Hermione's heart tremble. She wanted to persuade Loren not to do anything impulsive, to report the matter of Wormtail to Dumbledore, to follow the legal process...but when the truth came to her lips, she couldn't say anything.

Looking up at Loren, his eyes were complicated, some surprised, some angry, and perhaps joyful, but more of it was the indifference of a frozen black lake in the cold winter.

"Loren..." Hermione suddenly felt that Wormtail was not important anymore. Whether he should be executed directly, sent back to Azkaban, or let the Dementors outside give him a kiss, it didn't matter.

She just wanted Loren to be well and not feel the cold of the coming harsh winter.

Finally, Hermione firmly took his hand and said, "Let's go and catch this murderer!"

Loren was silent for a long time, then he shook the girl's hand and said softly, "Hermione, wait for me in the lounge. If you are too sleepy, go back to bed."

Hermione looked at him incredulously, her eyes reddening: "Are you going to leave me behind?"

"Of course not. I just feel that having someone waiting for me in the lounge will make me feel at ease." Loren wiped the corners of the girl's eyes, wiping away the tears that had not yet turned into beads.

"Then remember to come back before lights out."

……

In the corridor on the eighth floor of Hogwarts Castle, a mouse started running towards the tapestry of Silly Barnabas.

Perhaps because he was missing an index finger, his steps were not fast, and his gray fur was not bright, and was even a little sparse, making him look a little ugly.

The mouse Banban looked back from time to time, fearing that the two stupid cats would catch up with him. He would occasionally wonder how he had ended up in this situation.

In front of the tapestry of Barnabas the Fool and the troll sleeping together, Scabbers the Mouse recalled the scene in the stone house at Ilvermorny half a month ago.

"Great master, please don't send me back. Don't let me die." The slightly plump middle-aged man with a bald head knelt on the ground and begged.

A cold, sharp and harsh voice suddenly rang out from the baby carriage that was completely covered by black cloth: "My most loyal servant, how could I let you die... As long as you do as I say, find the crown on the armor in that mysterious room and put it on... you will gain unparalleled magic power, comparable to my magic power..."

"No, no need." The middle-aged man stammered, but a trace of greed flashed in his watery eyes, "Wormtail just wants to be with the master, just wants to serve the master well..."

In the dark shadows, a trace of mockery flashed in the scarlet snake eyes: "Think about it, Wormtail, you have been a foil for others since you were a child. Don't you really want to be the focus of the crowd? Besides, I need a more powerful servant now..."

"Power... Focus..." The greed in Wormtail's eyes became even more intense. He lowered his head respectfully. "If this is your order, Master, I happen to know a secret passage to sneak into the castle..."

Chapter 303: Meeting Peter Pettigrew Again

Chapter 303: Meeting Peter Pettigrew Again

Dark clouds covered the sky, and the waning moon could not be seen, but there was still a faint light shining into the tall buildings of the thousand-year-old castle. The area around the windows was always brighter than other places in the corridor.

In the dim light of the night, Mouse Banban saw that the silly Barnabas on the tapestry was sleeping with the trolls, with his head resting on the big wooden stick that had beaten him during the day, and he actually looked somewhat peaceful.

For some reason, he actually recalled the days when he was in school.

With Padsfoot and Prongs, he would attract the attention of other little wizards wherever he went, and he also got to experience that kind of scenery... On full-moon nights, they would go to the Shrieking Shack together and turn into animals to play around... Although he could only be a follower of those people, his life was still easy.

Now, he has not found the crown that carries magic power, and all the secret passages out of the castle are blocked. He is trapped in this dangerous castle. Outside the school are annoying Dementors like flies, and even mice are not let out. There are also annoying house elves in the castle, and they have recently started to catch mice.

He once thought about sneaking into the Gryffindor dormitory. He was very familiar with the place. There would be snacks hidden by the little wizards and there would be warm beds. As long as he hid it well, no one would find it.

Except for that damn big cat!

Thinking of this, the mouse Banban cursed the ugly cat again.

This magic house is a good hiding place. It can create a clean room, a warm bed, and a soft quilt... But there is no food, and it is not very safe. The crazy female alcoholic occasionally comes to hide empty bottles, and the house elves come to put cleaning supplies.

So he could only hide in the sewer and the secret room during the day, steal something to eat in the kitchen at night, and then come here to have a good sleep.

Pacing back and forth in front of the wall opposite the tapestry until a wooden door appeared, the gray-furred mouse reared up and stood up, there was a blinding flash, and a very short man appeared in its place.

"Damn cat, damn Dumbledore, damn Bellatrix..." Peter Pettigrew cursed in a shrill voice and reached out to open the door of the Room of Requirement.

A thin crimson ray of magic light hit the door and splashed into scattered fragments of light.

Then a cold male voice sounded: "Nice to meet you, Mr. Wormtail."

Holding the magic wand in one hand, Loren approached slowly, his black pupils emitting a dim blue light, and his facial expression showed no emotion.

Loren didn't show up much when he was arrested in the first year, and Peter Pettigrew's impression of Loren Morgan was that he was a friend of Ron and Harry, nothing special.

"Lo-Loren Morgan..." Peter Pettigrew was startled and glanced to the back of the corridor. He didn't see any professor following him. He was slightly relieved, but not completely reassured.

His green bean-like eyes rolled around a few times, making him look more like a mouse. Peter grinned, revealing his front teeth, and laughed twice like he was coaxing a child: "Brave little wizard, tell me, do you have other companions? Did they ask you to hold me back while they went to inform the professors? Listen to me, what happened back then was very complicated, and it was not what the newspapers said..."

Loren's gaze rested on Wormtail. His skin was loose and wrinkled, like a fat man who had lost a lot of weight in a short period of time. His pointed nose and two weird front teeth also gave him some rat-like features.

His body was very dirty, with stains from the sewer and dust from somewhere unknown.

It just made people feel sick. Loren didn't want to listen to his rambling anymore and waved his wand: "[Collapsed]"

A red magic beam shot out and headed straight for Peter Pettigrew's cheek. Peter Pettigrew was startled, but reacted quickly and cast a spell to block it.

Unexpectedly, the adult wizard's blue magic light collided with the little wizard's red stun spell light and collapsed immediately.

The remaining force of the Stunning Spell hit Peter Pettigrew hard, causing him to lose consciousness instantly. The remaining impact force hit the door of the Room of Requirement, making a dull sound.

It was just a battle of spells, and the middle-aged Death Eater was knocked unconscious before he could even put up any resistance.

Loren picked up the brown chestnut wand on the ground, pushed open the door of the Room of Requirement, cast a levitation spell, and lifted up the unconscious Peter Pettigrew and walked in.

The crisp sound of a door closing was heard, and the corridor on the eighth floor of the castle fell into a long silence again, with only the faint snoring of Silly Barnabas and the trolls on the tapestry.

……

The sound of broken glass colliding kept lingering in my ears, clattering and very noisy.

The pure white light was too bright, and he could feel it even with his eyes closed. Peter Pettigrew opened his eyes and the crystal chandelier on the ceiling was a bit glaring, so he couldn't help but squint his eyes slightly.

Those clattering sounds are made by the crystals colliding with each other, a bit like the sound of a mirror breaking.

It took me a while to get used to the scenery before me. The door frame was made of square wood. The wooden frames on both sides were carved with smooth slide grooves. A steel knife was hung above it. The blade was shining coldly. The spine of the knife was extremely thick and looked very heavy.

The hardwood scratched his neck and made him feel a little painful. He realized that he was lying on his back on this strange device. The sharp blade reflected the bright light of the crystal chandelier, shining into Peter Pettigrew's eyes and making his thighs tremble.

"To be honest, I hesitated between the guillotine of Louis XVI and Queen Mary." Loren pulled the linen rope that hung the blade and raised it higher until it made a clear clicking sound when it touched the wooden beam. "In the end, I chose the one of Louis XVI. By the way, I made a little modification so that you can face up and see the scene of the blade falling."

The rope hanging the blade stretched straight, as if it would be cut in the next moment. Peter Pettigrew felt an unprecedented fear from the rope and the blade, a fear completely different from the one he felt when facing the Dark Lord.