Peter Pettigrew Is Alive?

"Congratulations," Aaron said, looking at Harry’s excited face. "But next, you’ll be facing Slytherin. You’d better be mentally prepared."

Harry froze for a moment, much of his joy over the victory fading. "You’re not going to become Seeker again, are you?"

"No. I’m not that idle." Aaron shrugged. "It’s just a reminder."

"That’s good."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief. If Draco was his opponent, he was eighty percent confident he could catch the Golden Snitch, but if it was Aaron, then even with the Firebolt, he only had a fifty-fifty chance.

This was the final match of the Quidditch season, and it was also their graduation gift to Wood, their captain. They absolutely could not afford to lose.

"Harry, may I ask something presumptuous?" Ron cleared his throat. "Do you like Ravenclaw’s Seeker?"

Harry’s face instantly turned red at those words.

"I don’t. I’m not. Don’t talk nonsense."

Seeing his flushed face, Ron immediately got his answer. "Don’t be shy. I promise I won’t tell anyone."

"I don’t," Harry said awkwardly. "Wood and the others are preparing a party in the Common Room. I’m leaving first."

"Was that really necessary?" Ron laughed as he watched Harry’s retreating back.

"What do you think?"

"Sigh!" Ron sighed with some difficulty. "Tell me, should I tell Ginny that Harry likes someone?"

"My past experience tells me not to stick my nose into other people’s business." Aaron shrugged and left with Abei.

"That’s what I think too." Hermione shot him a glare and headed to the library with an armful of books.

The next day, Hogwarts went into lockdown once again, with security tightened everywhere.

Looking at Harry and the other two in the Great Hall, Aaron asked speechlessly, "I heard something happened in your Common Room again."

"Something huge. Really, really huge." Ron proudly raised his chin. "Last night, while I was sleeping, I found Sirius Black. He was holding a knife at me."

"You?" Aaron was doubtful. "Sirius Black had a knife, yet instead of killing Harry Potter, he went after Ron Weasley? That’s absolutely ridiculous."

"But it’s true," Harry said. "He must have gotten the wrong person. Luckily Ron woke up in time, or I—no, maybe not just me. Several people in our dormitory could have died."

Ron said smugly, "I just screamed once, and he ran away."

"Wait, that doesn’t sound right!"

Aaron had just been about to say something when an owl flew into the Great Hall and landed steadily in front of Neville Longbottom.

A red envelope. A Howler.

At the sight of it, Neville was like Scabbers seeing Crookshanks, exploding into an astonishing burst of speed as he fled for his life.

But before he could even run out of the Great Hall, his grandmother’s roar rang out from the envelope. Her voice was especially exaggerated as she shrieked and berated him, utterly crushing Neville’s fragile heart.

"What did he do?"

"He leaked Gryffindor’s passwords," Hermione said helplessly. "He was worried he wouldn’t remember them, so he wrote all the passwords on a piece of paper, and then that paper…"

"He lost it?" Aaron’s eye twitched. "And, by sheer coincidence, it fell into Sirius Black’s hands?"

The three exchanged glances and nodded in unison.

"Brilliant. Only he could pull off something like that.

"But why didn’t he kill you?" Aaron asked in confusion.

Getting into Gryffindor’s Common Room was an unprecedented opportunity for Sirius Black. He would never get another opportunity like it.

Yet he had specifically gone after Ron, and after being discovered, he had fled in a hurry. Harry’s bed was only a few yards from Ron’s. He could have killed someone and still escaped afterward.

"Maybe he was worried about wasting time," Harry said thoughtfully. "There were too many people in Gryffindor’s Common Room. He could kill us, but not everyone. If he attracted the professors, he’d be finished."

Aaron nodded silently, then looked at Harry seriously. "A piece of advice: don’t leave Hogwarts."

"I understand."

"I’ll keep an eye on him," Hermione promised. "Until Black is caught, I absolutely won’t let him go to Hogsmeade."

Sirius Black seemed to know that he would not have another chance anytime soon, so he did not make any further moves.

Because he had gone quiet, Hogwarts quickly returned to order. Security was much stricter, however, and there was even a Troll guarding the entrance to Gryffindor’s Common Room.

That evening, Harry was looking over the Marauder’s Map in bed when a name caught his attention.

Peter Pettigrew.

The moment Harry saw that name, he remembered what he had overheard at The Three Broomsticks. He immediately put on his shoes and began searching through the dark corridors.

But following the Marauder’s Map, he failed to find Peter Pettigrew. Just as he began to think the map was wrong, Snape appeared behind him.

"Potter, what are you wandering around the corridors for at night?"

"I’m sleepwalking," Harry explained casually.

"Why are you so much like your father, Potter?

"He was just as arrogant and conceited, strutting around the castle."

Harry immediately flew into a rage. He could not tolerate anyone speaking about his father like that. "My father was not conceited, and neither am I.

"If you don’t mind, please lower the Wand in your hand."

Snape looked at him coldly. His Wand, lit with Lumos, slowly lowered until it pointed at the Marauder’s Map in Harry’s hands. "What is that?"

"A piece of parchment," Harry said nervously, hoping Snape would not discover the Marauder’s Map’s secret.

Snape clearly did not believe him. No one carried around an old piece of parchment unless it possessed some special magic.

"Reveal your secret," Snape said, lightly tapping the parchment with his Wand.

Words slowly appeared. However, they were somewhat different from what Harry had seen, and no map appeared on the parchment either. He let out a huge sigh of relief.

"You read it."

"Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs send their regards to Professor Snape, while also… asking him not to stick his enormous nose into other people’s business."

This infuriated Professor Snape. He had just been about to punish Harry when Professor Lupin came over and stopped him in time, though a flicker of surprise passed through his eyes when he saw the Marauder’s Map.

Lupin still got Harry out of trouble, calling the Marauder’s Map a prank item.

But after sending Snape away, he took Harry to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, severely reprimanded him, and confiscated the Marauder’s Map. Clearly, he knew what the map was.

Before Harry left, however, he told Lupin that the map had a problem. It showed the name of someone who had already died: Peter Pettigrew.

Divination classroom.

Professor Trelawney had already finished teaching palm reading. Now, a hazy Crystal Ball sat before every student.

"Broaden your minds. Your gaze must reach farther.

"The art of Crystal Ball Divination lies in making your Heavenly Eye clearer…"

During this lesson, some people were utterly confused and understood nothing, some were struggling desperately against sleep, and others were seriously staring into their Crystal Balls.

Hermione and Aaron shared a desk. One wore an unpleasant expression, while the other looked full of vigor.

"You can understand it?" Hermione asked in astonishment.

"I can barely see some things," Aaron said calmly. "I have a talent for Divination. Professor Trelawney personally confirmed it."

Hermione’s eye twitched. She could not see anything at all, but her pride would not allow her to admit it.

But when she looked at Ron, who was already snoring beside her, and Harry, whose eyelids were fighting each other, her mood improved considerably.

"Have you seen anything?" Professor Trelawney came over and asked.

"Professor, you might not believe it if I told you, but I saw a rat."

"A rat?" Ron suddenly woke up. "You saw Scabbers? He’s still alive?"

"Of course he’s still alive," Hermione said unhappily.

"That’s incredible. He actually survived the claws of that ugly, vicious cat."

Hermione’s expression became indescribable. She shot Ron a fierce glare and turned her face away.

"Aaron, where is Scabbers?"

"How would I know?" Aaron said speechlessly. "Besides, this is about the future. He might not be there right now."

"Then he…"

"Quiet," Professor Trelawney interrupted, then looked eagerly at Aaron. "What else did you see?"

"I saw a pet reunite with its owner. That was all."

"That’s already very good." Trelawney smiled approvingly. "Practice more, and you will see the future more accurately.

"Divination is the most mysterious form of magic. Your Heavenly Eye will become clearer and clearer, until eventually, the world will hold no secrets for you."

Aaron nodded in deep agreement. He had intended to divine his own future just now, but the sudden appearance of a rat had caught him off guard.

This proved that his Divination was still lacking. The rat might have some connection to his future, but he truly could not determine what that connection was.

"Ahem!" Hermione suddenly coughed. "Shouldn’t someone apologize to Crookshanks? He’s been wrongly accused for far too long."

Ron’s expression changed slightly. After pondering for a moment, he said, "This only proves that Scabbers isn’t dead. It doesn’t prove that cat didn’t hurt him.

"Don’t forget, Scabbers still hasn’t come back. That cat must have scared him out of his wits."

"You really are…" Hermione laughed in exasperation. "Impossible to reason with."

"You’re the impossible one," Ron said indignantly. "You didn’t keep that cat under control, and you’re always defending it."

"Enough, you two. It’s class time." Professor Trelawney interrupted them. "What did you see in your Crystal Balls? Do you need me to explain it?"