Chapter 36 - 36: Oh My God!

"I accidentally came across some crucial information and wanted to inform you." Dumbledore nodded and turned to Snape and Lupin. "Severus, Remus, you may return to your quarters. We can discuss matters tomorrow." "Wait. What I have to say involves both professors as well." "???" Snape shot Edward a puzzled look, while Lupin seemed even more confused: Who are you? Do I even know you? Dumbledore's expression grew serious as he stood up. "Let's talk in my office." ——— On the way to the headmaster's office, Dumbledore led the way, while Edward and Snape walked in the middle. Lupin trailed behind, deliberately keeping a few steps back. Snape's expression was colder than ever. He looked less like a bat now and more like a full-fledged vampire—the terrifying kind from horror movies, of course. "By the way, Professor Snape, I brewed some potions recently." Edward handed him a few vials. Snape accepted them with a flicker of surprise, uncorked one to take a sniff, and a fleeting look of approval crossed his eyes. However, his tone remained as unpleasant as ever: "Passable at best. There is still much room for improvement." After a brief pause, he glanced back at Lupin and continued, "If I recall correctly, I taught you how to brew the Wolfsbane Potion, didn't I?" "Yes, Professor." Snape sneered. "I've had some improvements in mind. Adding senna leaves and soapwort to the original formula should yield...very interesting results." Oh, wow. One of those herbs was a powerful laxative and the other induced vomiting. And Snape had deliberately said it loud enough to make Lupin nauseous—was he just trying to disgust him? No, considering Snape's sheer hatred for Lupin, he was fully capable of actually doing it. Lupin's face turned increasingly bitter. He shook his head but said nothing. ——— Soon, the group arrived at the headmaster's office. Dumbledore flicked his wand, conjuring three chairs. "Go ahead, Edward." Even though Edward had already decided to report Peter Pettigrew, he still felt a little nervous now that the moment had arrived. After all, there was an unavoidable problem—How did he know? But keeping silent would be even more reckless. Leaving a walking time bomb unchecked? Not a good idea. He couldn't exactly follow the Lord of the Mysteries approach—smashing a window and leaving an anonymous report, achieving his goal while hiding in the shadows… Wait, why smash a window in the first place? Edward quickly reined in his wandering thoughts and spoke. "You three should be familiar with a man named Peter Pettigrew, also known as Wormtail." Snape let out a cold snort. "You mean that cowardly, pathetic fool who somehow managed to receive the Order of Merlin, First Class after his death? Of course, I remember him. The real question is—has Professor Lupin forgotten his old lackey?" Lupin's face turned serious. "Severus, I know you hate us, but Peter sacrificed himself to oppose…him. You shouldn't insult a hero like that!" Snape opened his mouth, venom already loading, but Dumbledore cut him off. "Please continue, Edward." "Over the summer, I stumbled upon a shocking piece of information from a Dark wizard. To be honest, even I found it hard to believe." Edward braced himself—an old internet habit of mentally preparing for a backlash. "Peter Pettigrew is not dead. The one who betrayed the Potters was not Sirius Black, but Peter! During his confrontation with Sirius, he faked his death and has been alive ever since." "Impossible!!!" Lupin immediately shouted in denial. The revelation directly involved three of his closest friends, and he refused to believe it so easily. Snape, however, merely stared at Edward with an eerie intensity. "Mr. Edward, are you aware of the weight of your words?" Edward shrugged. "I was just as shocked when I first heard it. That Dark wizard scoffed at the Ministry's incompetence—how could they be stupid enough to award an Order of Merlin to a devoted Death Eater? He even joked that, at this rate, a Death Eater might become the next Minister for Magic." Snape, surprisingly, quipped, "That last part seems quite plausible." Dumbledore fell into a brief silence, adjusting his half-moon spectacles as he considered the claim. Noticing Snape and Lupin's questioning gazes, he finally spoke. "Severus, you are aware that Edward was away from school during the latter part of the summer. I find it unlikely that he would fabricate a story that brings him no benefit." After another pause, he continued, "I assume you also know where Peter is now, don't you?" Dumbledore's words made Snape and Lupin tense up. Their eyes locked onto Edward, waiting for his answer. Edward nodded. "Peter Pettigrew is an unregistered Animagus. He can transform into a rat. Coincidentally, the Weasley family happens to have a rather unusual pet rat that has lived for eleven years—far longer than a normal rat should." "And right now, that rat is probably curled up, sleeping peacefully in the arms of Ron Weasley." ——— [Gryffindor Dormitory] Ron was sound asleep when he suddenly felt something tapping his face. Drowsily, he cracked his eyes open, only to see several tall figures surrounding his bed. His drowsiness vanished instantly. He jolted upright with a start. "W-Who's there?!" Dumbledore stepped forward, his wand casting a soft light. He spoke gently. "Don't be afraid, Mr. Weasley. It's just me." "Professor Dumbledore?" "I would like to know—where is your pet rat, Scabbers?" Ron blinked, still groggy. He reached toward his pillow. "He was right here before I fell asleep. He was trying to chew my bedsheets, so I scolded him a bit…huh? Scabbers?" Dumbledore turned to Edward. "Are you certain that you did not alert him before telling us?" "No! I only thought about it in my mind. Even if he happened to use Legilimency on me at the time, I have confidence in my Occlumency skills." "Did he leave at exactly this moment?" Dumbledore frowned slightly and waved his wand. "I'm sorry, Mr. Weasley, but for your safety, I must do this." "Obliviate." Then, he turned to Snape and Lupin, who had remained silent. "If he never returns, it means he either sensed danger in advance or had another reason that forced him to leave. But I hope it's the former." Lupin's voice was cold. "Why?" "Because that would mean Voldemort has likely returned!" ——— The next few days were eerily calm. Peter Pettigrew truly vanished without a trace, but other than that, nothing else happened. During this time, Edward approached Dumbledore about learning some magic that wasn't found in books. After some consideration, Dumbledore said he needed some time to consider the request further. Snape did assign him the task of brewing the Wolfsbane Potion and repeatedly reminded him not to forget the two additional herbs. For the rest of his time, Edward and Audrey continued attending classes as usual. In the evenings, they exchanged magical knowledge, and he taught her Chinese on the side. Unfortunately, her remarkable learning ability didn't seem to extend to language acquisition—perhaps because Chinese was entirely different from any language she had previously studied, making it impossible to infer rules from other tongues. Thus, every night, Audrey could be seen diligently practising with an elementary school textbook: "ā, á, ǎ, à; ō, ó, ǒ, ò." Meanwhile, Edward secretly researched the method for becoming an Animagus. It looked difficult. It was difficult. Even the first step—holding a Mandrake leaf in his mouth for a full month—shook his confidence. Fortunately, Mandrake leaves weren't expensive, so there was no major loss in trying. The only downside was the stomach pain he experienced each time he swallowed one. On the first day, Edward swallowed six leaves. The second day, five. By the third day, he was back up to eight. On the fourth day, just as he was about to give up, he finally made a breakthrough—he barely managed to tolerate holding the leaf in his mouth while speaking to others. But…he still swallowed two leaves. ——— Over the next few days, Audrey gradually adapted to student life at Hogwarts. She found Charms fascinating, History of Magic utterly dull, Transfiguration gave her a headache, Herbology was diverse and enriching, and Defense Against the Dark Arts proved to be particularly rewarding. Then came Friday. Audrey's first Potions class. Even though this type of 'potion' wasn't the kind she was familiar with, she was still quite interested. The moment she stepped into the dimly lit dungeon classroom, she spotted Malfoy bragging to his two lackeys. His expression stiffened, and he quickly averted his gaze. In the past few days, he had suffered a lot at Audrey's hands. Every time he habitually ran his mouth, he would end up on the receiving end of a spell: Tarantallegra, Slug-vomiting Charm, Petrificus Totalus, Locomotor Wibbly… At first, he kept threatening to have his father expel her, but when that didn't work, he resorted to the ultimate student ability—tattling to a teacher. That also didn't work. In the end, he decided to simply avoid her. If I can't win, I can at least stay away, right? Well… Turned out, he really couldn't avoid her. They were both first-year Slytherins, attending all the same classes. How could he possibly avoid her? Audrey smiled sweetly and greeted him. "Good morning, Mr. Malfoy." Malfoy could no longer pretend he hadn't seen her. Especially with so many students watching—if he backed down, how would he maintain his dignity? He raised his chin slightly and responded in a tone that was neither too rude nor too polite. "Good morning." Audrey grinned. "Not bad. You are finally learning some manners. If you had done this earlier, we might have even been friends by now." Malfoy's face turned slightly red. He huffed, "I've always been a gentleman! It's just—who told you to always hang around with those Weasley redheads and that Mudb—" Before he could finish, Audrey twirled her dragonbone wand in her fingers. Malfoy instinctively took a step back. "Good morning, Audrey!" Hermione walked over, struggling to balance a stack of thick books. She brushed her messy hair back and asked, "Are you putting Malfoy in his place again? What spell are you using today?" Ron, who was following behind her, grinned. "Use Transfiguration! Turn him into a skunk!" Malfoy's face twisted in fury. He whipped out his wand and shouted, "You filthy, poor, red-haired Weasley! Pull out your second-hand, broken wand and duel me!" The smile vanished from Ron's face. He instantly yanked out his wand and pointed it at Malfoy. "Bring it on, you pasty ferret!" Harry quickly stepped between them and pushed Ron back. "Ron, don't be reckless! If a teacher catches you, we'll lose points!" "Excellent." A low, disdainful voice rang out. Like a bat materializing from the shadows, Snape appeared silently, looking down at them with scorn. "Ronald Weasley. Five points from Gryffindor for your stupidity. And…" His gaze shifted to Harry Potter. "Our dear Savior, Mr. Potter…Since you failed to stop your classmate's foolishness, Gryffindor will lose another two points." Audrey had already switched to spectator mode. Actually, even without close observation, it was clear that Professor Snape deliberately targeted Harry. After spending a few days around him, she had formed a rough understanding of The-Boy-Who-Lived. He had survived Voldemort's attack and grew up in a Muggle household, far removed from the wizarding world. Sometimes he acted impulsively, but he was kind and brave overall—certainly not the type of person to warrant this level of antagonism from a professor. Wait a minute… Why does Snape's gaze carry such a peculiar emotion? Was that…nostalgia? Regret? And—love?! My God!! ——— [Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.