"Hermione can be trusted completely. I vouch for her."
Grosvenor's confident words sent a wave of happiness through Hermione. A warm feeling blossomed in her chest.
Richie values me! He trusts me! Granger thought delightedly. I won't let him down.
George exchanged a furtive glance with Fred and received an almost imperceptible nod in return. Then he drawled,
"All right... If you trust her, Richard... Listen, then." He gathered his thoughts. "In our first year, Gred and I landed ourselves in detention with Filch. When the caretaker left us alone in his office for a while, we had a look through the confiscated items and borrowed a certain piece of parchment."
"You stole it!" Hermione declared accusingly. But when she noticed the hint of reproach in Richard's gaze and the barely concealed irritation in the other boys' expressions, she immediately corrected herself. "Sorry. Go on. I won't interrupt again."
"The parchment turned out to be an enchanted map of Hogwarts," George continued. "The Marauders made it. Which means they must have known about the passage behind the One-Eyed Witch."
"Well, that explains a great deal," Richard said slowly and thoughtfully.
Harry scratched his lightning-shaped scar, looked at George, and asked,
"So you think one of the Marauders has broken into Hogwarts?"
"Who else could it be?" Fred replied with a shrug.
Harry began reasoning aloud.
"My dad is dead, so that leaves Pettigrew, Lupin, and Black."
Hermione hung on every word the boys said. She was beginning to realise that the secrets she was learning were far more serious than she had ever imagined. It took an extraordinary effort to restrain her curiosity when she wanted to ask hundreds of questions.
Ron, meanwhile, had never truly stopped thinking about the Great Hall and whether he might miss dessert. Even the twins' secret map paled beside the prospect of lost pudding, like a candle beside an electric lamp.
"Pettigrew is dead as well," Richard added. "He was sentenced to death at a closed session of the Wizengamot and executed."
"Then it wasn't him," Harry concluded. "That leaves Black and Lupin."
Fred said enthusiastically,
"I don't know who Lupin is, but I'll bet ten Galleons it was Black."
"Agreed," George said. "But what does he want at Hogwarts?"
"What do you think…?" Richard snorted, trying to hide a triumphant grin. "The madman probably sneaked into the castle to take revenge on Pettigrew. After all, he has no idea Peter was executed. I wouldn't be surprised if Black still doesn't know he's been pardoned and has spent all this time hiding in Hogsmeade in the form of a dog."
"I've read about Black," Granger said importantly. "He's the criminal who was pardoned over the summer."
"No!" Potter objected sharply. "Black is innocent. He was sent to Azkaban for murdering ordinary people and Peter Pettigrew. But we discovered that Pettigrew was the one who killed those people and faked his own death. He was an Animagus and had been hiding at Hogwarts in animal form. We managed to catch him and hand him over to the Aurors."
Hermione's face lit up with understanding.
"Richie, so that's why you needed to know about Animagi!"
"Yes, Hermione." Richard smiled at her. "Thank you very much for your help."
"I think I'm beginning to understand," Hermione continued, riding the wave of happiness. "Black escaped from prison to take revenge on the man who wronged him. But he still doesn't know that he's been pardoned and Pettigrew is dead."
"Exactly," Potter said grimly. "We have to help Black. He was my father's friend."
Richard looked sadly at Potter and said,
"Harry, you're thinking about the wrong thing. Here's what I've realised: Severus Snape was a Death Eater, just like Pettigrew."
"What?!" Hermione stared at him in shock, her eyes growing as large as coins. "Snape was a Death Eater?!"
"Yes," Richard confirmed with a nod. "So Snape knew Pettigrew was a Death Eater. And Headmaster Dumbledore testified at his trial that Snape had been acting as his spy, which is why Severus wasn't sent to prison."
Harry Potter stared at Richie in bewilderment. A wave of anger began rising inside him.
"Dumbledore knew!" he exclaimed furiously. "He knew Pettigrew was the traitor."
Hermione glanced nervously at Harry and edged closer to Richard.
"Boys," she said, "but I read that the Death Eaters wore masks. Perhaps Professor Snape didn't know about Pettigrew."
Richie felt Granger, without even realising it, take hold of the edge of his robes. He replied,
"Hermione, there's one thing you don't know. Professor Snape attended Hogwarts at the same time as Pettigrew. The group Pettigrew ran with used to torment Snape. Do you really think a mask would have stopped Snape from recognising an old enemy from school? I very much doubt it."
Ron, who had been counting down the moments until the next course, realised that the dishes would soon be changed and the discussion showed no sign of ending. He rejoined the conversation.
"I understand all that... There's a deranged Animagus running around the school. Dumbledore knew about the prophecy, about Pettigrew's betrayal, and about Snape being a complete bastard. It's entirely possible he was the one who set You-Know-Who on Harry's parents. And yes, he's a great wizard and a dangerous lunatic, but... we're going to miss DESSERT!!!"
Fred grinned.
"Ron always has food on the brain."
"A bite to eat wouldn't hurt," Richard remarked.
"Oi!" Harry exclaimed indignantly. "What about Black?"
"What about him?" Richard shrugged. "Suppose they catch him in the school—so what? He's no longer a criminal. They'll escort him off the grounds, and that'll be the end of it. At worst, they'll hand him over to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. One call to Bagnold, and he'll be sent straight to St Mungo's for treatment. After prison, he almost certainly needs it badly. Harry, you're not suggesting we run all over the school looking for a madman, are you?"
Potter looked embarrassed.
"Weeell..." He scratched his scar. "Actually, that's exactly what I was going to suggest. Richie, are you sure they won't hurt Black?"
"At worst, they'll stun him and give him a few blows to the kidneys," Richard said confidently. "The professors certainly won't start throwing Killing Curses around. So everything's fine. We can calmly go and eat dessert."
(End of Chapter)
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