"I don't know," he admitted. "But if you think back to last year... and the spirit..."
Richard's face brightened.
"Wait, Harry. You don't think Pettigrew was motivated by fear of Riddle, do you?"
"Why not?" Harry shrugged. "If Peter knew Riddle was wandering the world as a spirit and might one day return, then maybe he deliberately stayed with a wizarding family to keep up with everything that was happening while waiting for Riddle to come back."
"But why?" Richard asked. "I'd understand that sort of behavior from Black."
Harry's eyes sparkled behind his glasses.
"Richi... what if Pettigrew was one of Riddle's followers too?"
"Harry, I'm not following your reasoning."
Harry raised an index finger dramatically.
"It's not reasoning—it's deduction! Uncle Scott spent the whole summer teaching me detective tricks. I tried putting together a proper case, working through different possibilities.
"Here's what we know: Peter Pettigrew is officially a hero, while Sirius Black is a convicted criminal. But Black didn't have the tattoo that's supposed to identify members of Riddle's organization.
"Then there's this respectable, law-abiding citizen who fakes his own death and secretly lives with a wizarding family disguised as a pet rat. Why would the victim of a Dark wizard—Black, according to the official story—do something like that? He wouldn't. There'd be no reason. Which means Pettigrew did have a reason. One possibility is that Peter was one of the Death Eaters."
Richard's expression turned utterly serious.
"Harry, I hope you haven't shared these thoughts with anyone."
Harry shook his head. "No."
"For the time being, don't voice your suspicions—especially not in your dormitory or anywhere near Percy. Harry, if circumstances were even slightly different, I'd already be calling Madam Bagnold and summoning the Aurors."
"What's stopping us from doing it right now?" Harry asked in confusion.
"The Weasleys, Harry. They're my closest allies. If their pet really does turn out to be Peter Pettigrew, it'll be a severe blow to their reputation. And if he's revealed to be a Death Eater as well... Mr. and Mrs. Weasley—or even Percy—could end up accused of knowingly harboring a wanted criminal. Frankly, even the damage to the family's reputation alone would hurt me by association. At that point, not even all my connections might be enough to wash that filth off my own name."
Harry clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white. His expression hardened with determination.
"Then we'll have to deal with it ourselves!"
A weary groan escaped Richard's lips. The last thing he wanted was to get dragged into trouble himself. That was precisely why trained professionals existed. The problem was, he could trust almost no one with a matter this delicate.
Bringing MI6 into it would be both pointless and counterproductive. There might well be Death Eaters among the Aurors—or Dumbledore's spies—and there was no telling how such an arrest would end. Richi was eighty percent certain that even if the rat really was an Animagus, the Aurors would somehow allow it to escape.
And then there were the Weasleys.
Arthur was currently the cornerstone of Richard's wizarding business, a venture created with the goal of saving humanity. He couldn't afford to put the Weasleys in the line of fire. But at the same time, Grosvenor had no desire to risk his own neck for the sake of the redheaded family.
"Not just the two of us, Harry. We'll have to tell Ron and the twins everything. We'll bring them in to help solve this. It concerns their family more directly than anyone else's."
"What about Percy?" Harry asked.
"Too dangerous." Richard shook his head. "Percy may be too attached to his pet. If that's the case, he won't be objective. He might refuse to believe us, and worse, the rat could realize it's been exposed and escape."
"So what do we do?" Harry asked.
"Harry, let's not rush this. When you get back to Gryffindor Tower, ask Fred, George, and Ron to meet with me. Just tell them it's something very important. Tomorrow's Sunday, so everyone has the day off. We'll meet outside the twins' laboratory right after breakfast."
"All right."
Just then, Hermione's curious voice sounded from behind the boys.
"What are you two whispering about?"
"Hermione." Richi turned to the girl, an engaging smile already in place. "How are you enjoying the party?"
"Thank you, Richi." Hermione was positively radiant with happiness. "I've never had so many people wish me a happy birthday before. The cakes are delicious. And thank you again for the present. That artifact is incredible! It's like one of those wrist-mounted holographic computers from science-fiction books set in the distant future."
"I'm glad you like it, Hermione," Richard replied. "Once you've copied the entire Hogwarts library and run out of things to do, come and see me. By then, there should be updated firmware available that'll turn the Illusion into a much more advanced computer."
"Richi, do you have one too?" Hermione asked.
"Not the same model, but I do have one. My Illusion was designed for rather different purposes."
"Sorry, but what exactly are you talking about?" Harry asked.
"A new invention from the Grosvenor Workshop," Richard explained. "A wrist-mounted computer."
"I see..." Harry drawled. "So, Richi, does that mean you've actually created AI?"
(End of Chapter)
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